#I say she isn't a major character but I might draw her more if people like them

[transjeffdr]

I made a "creepypasta oc" last week (they're more like an OC that happens to exist within the creepypasta universe than an actual creepypasta so forgive me for the lack of spooky), they recently got put on the JtK case with Jane so they're pretty hyped about it! I forgot to mention that she's very socially awkward outside of work which means she doesn't have a lot of friends besides Jane (yes Nessa does consider Jane a friend they just don't know how to approach it)

[blossomthepinkbunny]

Vivzepop will always be the biggest issue with her own show if she doesn't change. And i'm not saying that because I desperately want to shit on her but rather because it's so clear that her attitude is what made Hazbin Hotel be so dissapointing after the long wait. The pilot released four years ago and Viv had these characters for much longer than that. One could assume that with this much time on her hands she would have a concise plan for how a series of her story would play out (I can imagine that having an own show is a dream for lots of creative people out there). And I get that that plan might get screwed up by a shorter episode count then expected, but she should be the one who knows her story best and who should know what stuff could also be cut out. The first season of Hazbin Hotel is so incredibly overstuffed with characters and plot that it completely looses the main premise the show was originally pitched with (the idea of a hotel were sinners are redeemed. As it is now the hotel is really not important at all). People have talked endlessly about how Viv can't handle criticism and it really sucks because criticism is one of the best ways to improve your writing, drawings, music etc. Without criticism you won't refine the thing you're working on in a meaningful way. Of course it feels bad when you put something out there you wanted to share and then people critique it, but that's part of pretty much every creative journey, or atleast it should be and Vivzepop shouldn't get a pass from this just because she doesn't like it. And there are great shows, movies or books that are rarely or almost never criticised. But the artists behind these works probably went trough years of honing what they do by being criticised for the stuff they put out. And I don't want to say that Vivzepop didn't work hard to make Hazbin Hotel, but it is hard to claim that she improves in her craft, when everytime someone says they don't like her show she throws a hissy fit. She wants the same reactions that these other amazing pieces of media get without ever listening to criticism. Which she sees as a personal attack rather than a tool that could help her to achieve the same level of writing prowess the creators behind media like that have. She believes she is already on the same level as them, just because she basically shuts anyone out who disagrees with her. There's this clip at the end of a Drew Gooden Video which I think sums up the situation with Viv pretty good (the Video is called "Leaving the YouTube Bubble"). He is talking about Lily Singh and her talk show but I feel like a lot of the stuff he says about handling criticism applies to Vivzepop as well.

(you might have to turn up the audio).

Unprofessional behaviour like that might be excusable when the creator is pretty young or they are interacting with publicity for the first time really. But neither of that applies to Viv. And Hazbin Hotel isn't just an indie animation pilot on youtube anymore. It's now a fully realized show created with a pretty prominent studio on a major streaming network and it should be held to the same standards as other shows or movies alike (not saying indie animation or animation on youtube doesn't have a standard but with more budget and support, there's obviously going to be different expectations for the show now). There have been issues in Helluva Boss and the Hazbin Hotel pilot ever since their release which could've been handled with more time and the new show. But Vivzepop shows time and time again that she isn't willing to listen to people who criticise her, which could actually lead to her show getting better. I don't like Viv or her work a lot. I think she is incredibly unprofessional and she has done her fair share of questionable or problematic stuff, which often leads to issues in her shows. There have been some characters I like, some songs or scenes that were pretty well done, very cool animation and an actually interesting premise on paper in HH and HB. There are things that make me come back to these shows to watch the next episode. And i'm obviously passionate enough about these shows to make whole posts about what I think was done badly and what could be changed. But for the aspects of HH or HB I enjoy, there are soo many more problems I have with it. Problems that won't go away unless Viv stops seeing every criticism as a personal attack. Because if Vivzepop doesn't stop acting like her writing is some unreachable stuff that needs no changes I don't really see a point in assuming that these shows will ever get better.

[overleftdown]

saltburn and privilege; an investigative tangent

god, where to begin.

i've seen a lot of people discussing this moving and specifically using the word "privilege," along with power, dominance, desire, control, greed, etc. me included. these are all very essential aspects of this movie. what i want to focus on is emerald fennell's nuanced portrayal of how different types of privilege interact. which one trumps the other? which types of privilege are more visible, while others are more subtle? what differentiates different levels and layers of privilege?

when emerald fennell describes the core of this movie, her inspiration for this script, she talks about desire versus untouchability. she chose the most absurd type of wealth to represent untouchability: the british aristocracy. old wealth, generational wealth, so far removed from the majority of their ancestors' sins that they can arguably ignore that the money they're standing on is dirty. and they live in fucking castles. this is one of the most unbelievable, gaudy, visible types of privilege you can imagine. everyone is entirely aware and feels entirely justified to call attention to this type of privilege.

oliver, being the main character, might be considered the least privileged within this movie. i'd like to take a critical look at this. this movie is not a straightforward class commentary; there is no traditional "the poor eat the rich" dynamic. because although some people perceive oliver as the least privileged character in this movie, he is incredibly privileged. oliver comes from a comfortable upper-middle-class home in the suburbs. oliver has two loving parents and two sisters. oliver is white. oliver is a man. interestingly, from oliver's perspective, he's not privileged at all. he hates the cattons because they are more wealthy, more comfortable, more untouchable. this extends to venetia and farleigh, even though oliver has applicable layers of privilege stacked above even them. he knows he has a certain type of power over them... yet he still hates them because they have one type of power he doesn't have.

that brings me to my next point. the existence of one type of privilege does not negate the effects of another, entirely different, type of privilege (or marginalization) [quote]. this is what venetia and farleigh's characters draw attention to. venetia experiences some of the same struggles as many women; she is ignored in her own household, perpetually existing within her brother's shadow (rosamund pike once lovingly pointed out that venetia does not have a single conversation with elspeth in this movie). she's insecure about her body and her worth, so she takes what little opportunity she has to use felix's friends as a form of self-fulfillment. farleigh is not only half black, but he's also queer, non-immediate family, and unaccustomed to english culture (specifically this type of english culture). farleigh is, in some ways, more financially unstable than oliver's family because his mom was too sheltered to understand money and his dad is, apparently, "a lunatic." (that's not to say farleigh isn't economically privileged because oh boy, he absolutely is).

this movie doesn't intend to incite pity from the viewers for any of these characters, and it generally doesn't. oliver is pathetically greedy, ungrateful, and desperate for a chance to lick the boots (or bathtubs) of those above him. venetia is pathetically bored of the privilege she does have yet is still so entrenched in emotional turmoil due to other areas in which she is marginalized. farleigh is pathetically attached to uninterrupted comfort and arbitrary white-centric expectations, constantly running from or attacking any threat of struggle. none of these people understand, comparatively, what the less fortunate experience. they are so ignorant to the bubble they exist in and just how grateful they should be for what monumental privileges they do have. but... felix.

felix is the epitome of privilege. oliver is specifically obsessed with felix. just like oliver, felix is a white man. but felix is more wealthy, more comfortable, more untouchable than oliver. oliver isn't as infatuated with farleigh and venetia because he's fully aware of the privilege they lack. he's fully aware of the privilege he holds above them, and he enthusiastically uses this power he has against them. to be in the position of oliver is to be consumed by jealousy and greed so bottomless that you will assert your dominance over any group that you're able to. felix doesn't need to do this. he's been handed every privilege under the sun and therefor welcomes the less fortunate with childlike interest and an equally childlike attention span. there's an aspect of farleigh and venetia's marginalization that is so invisible, so quiet and unassuming, that felix doesn't even notice it. he can't possibly be confronted by it. to be in the position of oliver is to understand what power you hold over others, because there is always more power to have.

racism, sexism, wealth, power, control, desire. there are so many facets of this movie that come into play. it may seem overwhelming, but this is... how things work. commentary on wealth is, and should be, equally a commentary on other areas of privilege. to be black and wealthy means different things than to be white and wealthy. to be a wealthy woman means different things than to be a wealthy man. to be rich to some also means you're much less rich than others, unless you're the richest person in the world. and, as this movie so beautifully portrays, to be richer than most doesn't make you less messy. the catton family is an ugly one, but also a complexly human one. each catton (or start) is jealous of someone else for another reason. each catton is emotionally damaged or incompetent for another reason. each catton has a different layer of privilege over the other. and each catton loves everyone in saltburn, because this is still a family, albeit a terrible one.

[mike-haters-dni]

Scalding, unnecessary take that I'm going to use as an excuse to yap about my hyperfixation characters more than anything, but El's character is actually impossible to stick into coffee shop fanfiction No Supernatural Shit AUs. That's Jane you're writing about. Jane and El are not the same person. At all. And like, Jane is interesting to think about, don't get me wrong. I have thought about Jane. I love Jane. She's adorable and vaguely autistic. But Jane != Eleven.

Eleven is the way she is almost entirely because of her experience/trauma of growing up in the lab and having supernatural murder powers. Her main characters traits are being a self-sacrificing hero and not being sure who she is due to the fact she grew up in an isolated sterile inhuman environment. Unless you're directly translating those things into something unsupernatural (like growing up in a fucked up cult or something and like fighting her way out and now she'll fight to protect other people from similar experiences or something idk) you're writing about Jane the normal gorl who got to grow up with a normal personality in a normal world. And like, you can do that. It's fine it's fandom do whatever u want. But personally, the first thing I come up with when I birth an AU is what crazy powers and fucked up backstory we give Eleven here. Also how do we make her and everyone else really fucking cool but that...might be beside the point idk.

The powers have to basically ruin or have had ruined her life at one point. They have to be a curse that she either reclaims or gets rid of at the end. If she isn't tortured she isn't Eleven Stranger Things lmao

And then yeah yeah my next step is to figure out how Mike AND THE OTHERS OK but mostly Mike get involved in this. Which brings me to my next point: Jane and Mike have no real reason to talk to each other. Mike x Jane is just Normal Gorl x Normal Boy which is like, fine sure if that's what you want, but also you kinda just erased everything interesting about their dynamic. You wanna know what makes El and Mike's relationship so compelling? Objectively? I'm objectively right about everything I'm about to say here? Ok their dynamic is this: Eleven is the most important person in the world, and Mike is the only boy who will ever love her. And yeah that second one sounds really sad but 1. yeah it kinda is :) 2. its not really true that's just what El thinks which is like a major theme for her character TO ME, her underestimating how 'normal' she is esp in her later years 3. it also is kinda true because he's the only boy romantically interested in her who actually understands and experienced all the supernatural/lab trauma bullshit and is actively fighting beside her through the plot of the show, and 4. he's literally perfect and also the only boy she'll ever love and need so it all works out.

And to explain the first one, I mean, you know she's saved the world twice right? She kinda literally is the most important person in the world considering its up to her to stop the apocalypse probably in the end? But its not the being important exactly that makes Mike love her ok, that's more of a meta character thing. Like she doesn't have to literally be the key to saving the world and the most powerful being in the universe. Its more that she has to have something really special about her that draws Mike specifically to her and binds him to her permanently and inseparably and he belongs to her forever and ever and they die in each other's arms. Like she deserves. In canon I imagine objectively and correctly that it went like this: Mike is a natural outcast collector and protector due to his pervasive unconscious need to be needed and his fear of losing the few people who like him, who meets the ultimate outcast girl who literally has nothing and needs him in a very real way, and this gives him an excuse to just pour his entire self into her, fulfilling one of his deepest interpersonal needs. The best part is that she's super selfless and amazing and she loves him the same right back so its actually a beautiful thing they get going. Basically the idea of being anything less than perfect for her is so sad and horrible due to how fucked her life was that it drives the already caretaking Mike into overdrive to make her happy. Not at the cost of him still being an individual person, mind you. But that's the vibe. Also let me just say, all the self-sacrificing vibes and obsession and desperation can become toxic under certain circumstances and that is absolutely a feature not a bug. Sorry you don't like watching your faves yell at each other but we are not the same.

Anyway what the fuck was I talking about? AUs? Yeah ok so when translating Mike (AND THE OTHERS...and the others) into other stories there's more flexibility u kno because he's mostly just Some Guy. He really just needs (TO ME) an excuse to be fighting with Eleven (she has to be fighting something with the powers I know you gave her). He shouldn't be directly involved with whatever gave her the powers but he should generally know of and be somewhat affected by it. Or become aware of it/involved with it over time. Like in the show. You get it. Honestly his only real consistent character traits are being kinda moody and being the leader of the party in whatever vague or not way. And being intelligent. Like he has to be leader for a reason. I guess that's a decent base for a character right there.

oh right side note: you have to do something fun with her name. like she was basically branded Eleven by the freak that gave her the powers so u gotta take that energy and translate it into another branded name that has el in it because she needs to get the nickname ofc. unless its a cyberpunk au in which case Eleven is a pretty normal name and she can just go by that lmao.

So the point ig is Jane and Mike break up when they go away to different colleges and don't talk to each other again until their next high school reunion, while Mike and Eleven are...well you should know by now.

[greatwyrmgold]

Long before reaching the Wano Country arc, I'd heard a fair amount of gender discourse around Yamato, son of Kaido. When Kaido's retainers started talking about him, I was readying myself to consider Yamato through that lens. I'd already had some half-formed thoughts, but they'd need to be tempered by how Yamato was actually presented when he first appeared on-page.

I always knew Luffy could smash the Straw Hats' plans, but I never thought he could do that to me!

Luckily, Yamato's bullheadedness wins out over Luffy's, so I can start having informed opinions about Yamato Discourse by the end of the chapter. And there's one page which both strongly informs those opinions and can't be easily broken into separate panels.

Okay, so let's start with the simplest thing. Those two panels in the right-middle. Luffy is confused because Yamato called himself Kaido's son, but Yamato's build is feminine under those big swishy robes. Yamato explains that he "chose to be a man," and the conversation moves on. So that suggests that Yamato's gender is significant enough to comment on, but not a central focus of his character.

On the other hand, Yamato's introduction feels almost identical to those scenes in cartoons where some new character shows up in a mask, and they act badass and stuff, and then at the end of the scene they dramatically remove their mask/hood/whatever and the main characters gasp and realize that she's a girl! Yamato literally takes off a mask, and half a splash page shows off his womanly character design, and Luffy is confused that he looks like a girl. The only difference is that Yamato says he isn't actually a girl.

The point I'm getting at is that this makes Yamato not being a cis man feel like a plot twist. The specific type of plot twist written by uncreative or misogynist writers who need to include a girl character but assume that kids won't accept a girl character unless she shows off her badassery before showing off her femininity. This makes Yamato's gender seem like a major part of his character.

On a different other hand, Yamato's name box calls him "Kaido's daughter" with narrator's-voice certainty. It doesn't call him that because Kaido insists on calling Yamato a girl; he explicitly calls him his son multiple times in prior chapters. So does everyone else; they call Yamato Kaido's son whether Kaido is listening or not, so they're probably not just saying that because Kaido would whup them if they didn't respect Yamato's identity.

Yet the narrator calls Yamato a daughter.

If there's not some translation nuance I'm missing, this...it feels bad. The narrative draws great attention to Yamato not being a cis man, then the narration calls him a girl against the judgement of every character who has talked about him.

And on top of that, Yamato's explanation of his gender feels weirdly...I'm torn between "incidental" and "instrumental". Yamato claims he chose to be a man because he wants to be more like Kozuki Oden; his gender is a mere instrument to a gender-irrelevant goal, and it's a pretty minor part of that goal.

When I listen to actual trans people tell their stories (or read transgender characters written by trans authors), there's not one specific thing that they're trying to do by becoming a man/woman. This isn't that. Yamato doesn't feel uncomfortable in a feminine role or euphoric when she presents masc. Yamato's gender isn't anything so generalized; it's a single, concrete, cause-and-effect explanation. Yamato wants to be like Oden, so he's a he.

Uncharitably, it feels like an author who doesn't understand trans identities trying to guess why a daughter might want to be a son. More charitably (but not very), it feels like an author who wants to include more queer characters for whatever reason, but also wants plausible deniability to avoid any controversy. Yamato can be trans if you want him to be, or a deluded girl if you want her to be. Keep it ambiguous enough and it's win-win!

Most charitably, Oda wanted to include a transgender character without telling a transgender story. (Probably a good call; I'd love to see a trans seinen* write a battle manga about a trans shonen*, but Oda's not the right seinen for the job.) So he wrote a trans man, stuck in two panels explaining why he looks like he does,† and tried not to draw too much attention to it.

*TL Note: "Seinen" means "man" and "shonen" means "boy". Well actually, both terms are more specific than that, but for the purpose of explaining that sentence, they're basically "man" and "boy".

†Snarky note: Weird how Oda felt that readers needed an explanation for Yamato's boobs but not his horns. Yeah, Kaido also has horns, but it's not like Oda explained them either!

But if Oda was trying not to draw to much attention to Yamato's gender, if he was trying to include queer characters without making a big deal out of it, he failed. Yamato's real character design getting a dramatic "Samus is a girl!"-type reveal scuttled that before it could leave port. And that's not getting to the baffling "Kaido's daughter" label.

With the power of hindsight, I can see a better way to handle Yamato with ease. Have Yamato introduce himself to Luffy without Luffy getting confused by his appearance. (A dude who looks like a lady is far from the weirdest kind of dude Luffy's seen on the Grand Line. Heck, he saw a dude actively turned into a lady by Emporio Ivankov.) Later, when Yamato meets the other Straw Hats, Sanji can do his usual schtick, then Yamato can correct him and explain the Oden thing. This makes Yamato's gender identity clear enough from the start—everyone treats him like a man—without making a big deal out of it.

Also, get rid of that "Kaido's Daughter" popup. Lies have no place in that kind of character introduction.

[the-nosy-neighbor]

Uzumaki, Gyo, and Welcome Home

Spoilers below for Junji Ito's horror work included. If you haven't read them, this isn't too terrible a spoiler post, but if you want to start fresh, i would recommend skipping this. The two works are very worth a read and stick with you.

Of course, there may be potential Welcome Home spoilers as well.

All of you here in our lovely community of tumblr.com are more likely to be familiar with the work of horror manga artist (and cat dad) Junji Ito. Sometime in between updates, but not this last one, it occured to me that Welcome Home might have parallels to Ito's works Uzumaki and Gyo.

Uzumaki is not that much of a stretch. It is a collection of stories that are all set in a previously quiet town, as an obsession with spirals comes to light in different ways among the townsfolk. The town literally reshapes itself into a spiral, with long row houses expanding and expanding as the town's citizens relocate to this central spiral. Even those who manage to avoid the obsession can see the pattern evolve, creating things like cyclones, which destroys the majority of the town. One of the protagonists' long hair reshapes itself into a spiral and hypnotizes people around her. When she tries to cut it off, the hair tries to strangle her. Her boyfriend and fellow protagonist manages to cut her hair and they get away from town, maybe the only two who have escaped the spiral madness. They pretty quckly go back, only to discover that the people in the town have been compacted and compresed into the row houses long enough that they have become one miserable entity, screaming with horror at what they have become.

(Despite what i have just written, the story isn't nearly that linear. Possible pun there)

When i first saw the prevalence of spirals in Welcome Home, i was immediately reminded of Uzumaki, and the obsession of the characters with the shape, leading to the transformation of the characters into grotesque beings, and the willingness of characters to accept this horror as their fate. The ending of Uzumaki, in particular, has a very strong vibe of this is your home and you must stay in your home and accept the fate that befell your people.

The concept is that a prior town succumbed to the spirals and sinks, and then when a new city expands over the top of the buried cursed city, the spirals take over the expanding town, which is made to shrink itself down to the curse's preferred shape, until another city intersects and also experiences the horrific curse.

Granted spirals are shapes that exist in the natural world and one of the, if not the, oldest shapes in human history.

As discussed previously (in repeated symbols, spirals) the image occurs in different senses. Overall structure, as the neighborhood itself is a spiral (liked the cursed spiral city). Wally has a spiral drawn right into his hair, which is a strong connection that doesn't even need to be explained. The people who encounter the materials sent by the contributor draw spirals, like some sort of manifestation of their link to, or to push people toward the black pit spiral at the center of town. The protagonists in Uzumaki end up below the city in the center of town (pretty sure it is the center) where they slowly become absorbed by the spiral. Maybe, we are being pulled to the center to be absorbed by Home the entity or Home the town (if there is even a difference, it feels like it is all a growth from the center.)

I think there is a secondary clue on the site that strengthens the link between the spirals of Welcome Home and Uzumaki, and it is this guy:

Ok, hear me out. This fish is in the guestbook, with a comment from Roro who says, "I like rats." And Wally replies with this image, called "rat.png" and the response "rat." Two things here, i think this is supposed to mean that Wally doesn't know what a rat is, and why would he give a rat or a fish Howdy's antennae. (Maybe it is hinting that Howdy is a rat in the gangster movie sense.)

However, and this could be a stretch, is Ito's Gyo, which features this guy:

And thousands like him, each more fantastical than the one before. There are dead fish and sharks and whales with mechanical legs, as well. I can’t recall if any are wearing hats.

My first response to Gyo, as i am sure anyone's is, is what the actual fuck, but it really is a compelling read beyond fantastical sharks with robot legs. In this story, the mechanical legs attach to a host, injecting it with a virus that leads to death and uses the gases created by the decaying body to power the movement of the legs, as well generate a truly horrific smell. This technology was developed during WWII, as a way to turn the tide and win the war, and escapes, walking into the ocean. In the end, the machines attack and subdue the humans, incorporating the bodies into the same configuration.

I have always kind of wondered about this story on and off. Is it about hubris as humanity messes with the natural order of things? Is it a message about overfishing? Does it need to mean anything? It is pretty masterfully grotesque even without a deeper meaning.

The connection between Welcome Home and Gyo is a weak one, at this point in the story. However, what is the walking machine but a method of animating the dead/unalive in order to pull in new victims (looking at you, Wally)? It seems at the very least that a component of the tv show was a danger to the audience, or else it wouldn't have been yanked so quickly. I anticipate finding that the children watching this show became either monsters or were damaged by their exposure.

But who can say? Despite the unique flavor of a very body-based horror, these two works hit common themes: mystery and obsession, the insular nature of small towns, the unnatural nature of creating destructive weapons, the fear that our own creations will work against us--all common thoughts and fears.

Something to think about. And if you haven't read Ito's works, i highly recommend. It is powerful and grotesque and it is a story that provides imagery that isn't easily forgotten.

[esther-dot]

If good chunks of people are refusing to see Dark Dany even after reading books and watching show, could it be grrm fault somewhere? I am not saying that he is a bad writer or Dany is a badly written character. But sometime I wonder that writing could be better. Especially related to handling of POCs in her arc and her unnecessary sexualisation. She was the one character whose show character was close to book according to author.

I don’t think he’s playing games with the audience the way D&D did. People often say the show just needed more seasons, but I think the problem was, D&D wanted Dany to be a heroine in the audience’s eyes until the moment she burned KL, so their choice there, to essentially force-perspective things by excluding dark moments from the books re-writing Tyrion, Jon, even Davos once they came onto the screen with her, that makes them “responsible” for the audience not getting Dark Dany in a way Martin is not.

If, say, they had left in Dany’s command to kill everyone wearing a tokar, and we had witnessed teenagers being slaughtered at her bidding, I think the audience would have realized the story we were watching. Or, maybe if Davos who had just lost a little girl he adored to a fire obsessed woman had cautioned Jon, or if D&D had Jon admit his fears to Sansa... There are so many things D&D could have done that would have permitted the audience to draw their own conclusions as characters responded to Dany in a more believable way, but D&D didn’t want to give away the twist. I don’t think Martin is doing that.

What he is doing is expecting readers to engage with the emotional world of characters while simultaneously exerting some judgment about larger ethical ideas. I believe agentrouka-blog has written on this. Martin is dedicated to the reader doing the work and not compromising his artistic standards, we all come to different conclusions about what his moral framework is, hence all the contradictory spec. Because of how he's written ASOIAF, and since it is so much more demanding than one might expect from genre fiction, I can't really blame the casual reader for not coming to firm conclusions about what his view is/how it all will end. It can be difficult when reading something to tell what's merely being presented to us, and what the author is endorsing (two different things!) when we don't have the end of the story.

Do I blame Martin? Well...I certainly can't criticize him for not being didactic, no one wants to read that nowawdays, but when you try to be a hands-off writer, to show not tell, all sorts of different interpretations are gonna happen. As I've tried to improve my own writing and make it more immersive, I've gotten readers upset with me as if *I* am saying something about Sansa or Jon, and I had to clarify, well, that's how they see the situation, that's how they feel, that isn't the reality of the situation, and it isn't what *I* am telling the reader to think. Now, I am not a subtle writer, and Martin is far more sly than most, and yet in my very limited experience, you can be pretty dedicated to undercutting a character's version of reality to communicate something more to a reader, and they can still miss it. If good writing is showing, if respecting your audience is assuming they'll intellectually engage rather than immediately react, I'm not sure if you can fault him for people not picking up on Dark Dany. He's trying to write literature, not spoon food people. (This of course, is with the understanding he won't pull a D&D and destroy other characters to keep the burning of KL /Dany's final descent into darkness a surprise).

Something I have lamented are his blog posts assuring people how different his books will be from the show when he has to know, the vast majority of the fans are upset about Dany's ending, are taking his words to be about Dany. He isn't being dishonest--the journey to his ending will be quite different, he does have characters that weren't in the show etc, but I think we all know how misled people will feel when we get TWOW. Still not technically his fault tho! And I should note, he did make it clear how awful slavery is in his fictional world right at the beginning of AGOT, and then he had Dany witness the slavery and rape and death that happens as a result of a war campaign and then had her use forced labor and profit off of the slave trade. It isn't his fault people have chosen to defend it and convince themselves that we aren't meant to judge her. 🤷🏻‍♀️

It also isn't his fault that some of the smart fans, the dedicated fans, know Dany will burn KL, but still theorize that she is a hero who will die saving the world...ya know, after she commits mass slaughter. It isn't his fault the ASOIAF "experts" assure people Dany murdering countless civilians isn't her downfall, and is instead, a speedbump. This is the peril of mature writing, of trying to elevate the genre. You give your audience space and they may run in a…surprising direction. If he ever finishes, it will a wonderful pay-off, even if it is a headache for us Dark Dany fans. Even so, I know why other fans don't see Dark Dany. Literature is an emotional experience as well as an intellectual one. I read some of the posts about what Dany meant to abuse survivors after s8 and even though it didn’t change my mind about who she was/the fact that she had to be stopped, it did make me realize why people couldn’t fathom that she was always intended for such a fate.

I agree that Martin has issues with his writing, how he's handled POC in his world, how he has sexualized Dany in the text and how he has spoken of her in interviews…that’s on him. I do think you're onto something that if he had done more to flesh out the characters that surround Dany, people would have been clued into where it was all going. Maybe that's his thought process, if you aren't enamored with Dany, if you think of the people who suffer in order for her rise..we might be less lost in her struggle, less caught up in the moment, and perhaps he doesn't intend the reader to fully grasp it all just yet. However, I don’t think hiding Dark Dany is why she is overlysexualized or why he wrote the Dothraki the way he did. I attribute that more to the norms of the era he grew up in/the problems with the works that he was formed by.

[that-ari-blogger]

Here We Go! (Agony Of A Witch)

While it isn't wrong to say that Agony Of A Witch is the episode in which The Owl House picks up speed, it is possibly the understatement of the century. This episode switches vehicles from a golf cart to a drag racer and puts a rock on the accelerator.

But, pacing isn't everything. The true test of a story is how well it handles the turns, how efficient it is with its maneuvers, and how much this metaphor falls apart.

I actually think this episode is phenomenal and is a demonstration of the character writing muscles that were previously glimpsed in Understanding Willow being put to full use.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD: (The Owl House, One Piece - Whiskey Peak, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe)

My thesis for this post is that it explores motivation to create a compelling conflict that draws on entirely well-meaning intentions that contradict each other. As in, there is an antagonist in this episode, that being Lilith, but she isn't entirely villainous, I don't think.

Let me define some terms. A villain is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as the following:

"A character in a book, play, film, etc. who harms other people."

This definition sucks. That's right, this little Tumblr blog about The Owl House is going toe to toe with Cambridge. Fight me, nerds (please don't actually fight me).

In my opinion, this definition manages to be both reductive and unhelpful. While "harm" is a fairly open term, that is a problem, because it encompasses characters who don't constitute as villains. For example, Deadpool is a villain by this structure, but so is James Bond, and Obi Wan Kenobi has removed enough people's arms that it has become a meme.

Hooty causes harm in this story. Is he a villain? Don't answer that.

On the other hand, what about villains who don't succeed in causing harm. Mr 5 is unquestionably villainous in One Piece, but he gets his arse handed to him in Whiskey Peak, and doesn't really succeed at anything other than looking like a chump.

So, there is some intentionality there. Allow me to propose my own definition of the term, that I will be working from:

"A villain is a character who willingly does bad things, as described in the story, even when given an option to do otherwise."

In this case, "bad" is defined as whatever the story's themes advocate against. In the Owl House, this is willful ignorance, bigotry, and denial of another's freedom. It is the latter of these that characterises Lillith as villainous and has characterised her as villainous for the series up to this point.

But this is where the intentionality comes into play, because for the majority of season one, Lilith has been the main villain, trying repeatedly to restrict Eda into joining a coven, and she still fills that role here, but this episode makes that more complicated.

I cannot gush enough over how incredible this opening scene is, it feels like what would happen if Wes Anderson did more than just look pretty (apologies to any Wes Anderson fans out there, I just don't like his movies).

The imagery here is clear, a massive castle made by an architect who clearly had a thing for the Eye Of Sauron. There is a cage being walked across the bridge, and shadows everywhere. This is where the villains hang out.

Good sound design often goes unnoticed, except for when it is meant to be overwhelming, but I genuinely think that this scene is carried by its subtlety in that regard. There is nothing here, just the wind, and the sound of marching. In a story about freedom and expression, this is a place where there is absolutely zero of that.

This is Belos' first appearance, and he is steeped in religious imagery. He is in a place of worship, plated with gold, on a massive stained glass window.

You can tell a lot about a person by how they talk about themselves, even more than how they physically appear. For example, someone who appears unkempt might be less tidy and refined than someone in a suit, or they might be the most eloquent person you could ever meet. In short, actions speak louder than appearances.

So, lets look at how Belos has chosen to present himself. First up, he is huge, and towers over those looking at the window. But he also towers over the others in the frame. Those others happen to be kneeling to him in subservience, worshiping him. Belos presents himself as powerful and worthy of praise.

He is also leaning into the idea of freedom expression in his villainy here. Because there is colour in this room, but only on his window. Only when looking upon him, can you be free.

The room, however, is gold, the same colour as his mask and cloak, so he definitely has a hand in the limiting of power

Then there is the fact that this is a window. To see the outside world, Lilith needs to look through Belos. Even when she isn't trying to see him, he dictates what she sees anyway. Belos revels in control.

I also want to talk about the religious imagery here, because it plays into his personality. It shows a character who thinks of himself as deific, who has placed himself in the centre of the room. When people pray, they pray to him. This is a narcissist.

Back to Lilith, the start of this episode goes out of its way to hammer home Lilith's goals, and hints at why they might be.

"I haven't forgotten what you've promised me. I will bring you my sister, Emperor Belos."

I think that Lilith manages to walk the line between villain and antagonist in this episode, fully exiting the former in the finale of the season. She doesn't appear to be doing things of her own volition, but that isn't clear enough yet to say.

I also want to stress this, forcing someone to do something doesn't have to be physically bending their arm behind their back and making them do it. In this case, Lilith has been handed two choices, one of which is objectively worse, so the choice is self-evident.

Luz and Eda on the other hand, get their motivations laid out as the episode opens after the credits. They want to protect each other.

Eda is struggling with the owl beast curse, and that has been getting worse. But to protect the naivety of her student, she has been hiding this fact from her, until it is too late. Remember how I said the story emphasises willful ignorance as bad? Well, that is explicitly how Eda's actions to obscure the truth from Luz are framed.

Eda repeatedly does this over the series. She hides elements of her life from others to make their lives better in her eyes, but it always backfires. People find out, and the result is always worse.

Then there is Luz, who is idealistic and determined. She wants to help out Eda, and when the opportunity to do so falls out of the sky in front of her in the form of a road trip.

Both of these characters want to protect each other, but that means they can be used as bait for each other. Contradicting goals from compelling intentions.

Ok, one more thing about Belos.

"The Relic Room. These items are reminders of our great Emperor's overwhelming power."

Kikimora is saying the quiet part out loud here. Look, everyone! This guy is powerful. Worship him.

Anyway, this conversation is so revelatory about Lilith. Belos issues demands, and though they aren't spoken with any real menace, the threat is obvious.

That threat is why I keep bringing Belos up when talking about Lillith, because in the same way that Amity was a key part of Understanding Willow, Belos is a key part of understanding Lilith. Because that threat colours everything she does.

The audience doesn't even get told what happens to wild witches and why Lilith fears it so much, but we get the malice in him from his tone, and from how the scene frames him.

Take, for example, the first thing we actually see Belos do:

You know that scene in Who Framed Roger Rabbit where Christopher Lloyd's character murks a shoe? (It makes more sense in context). Well, that is what is happening here. Belos kills a small creature and drinks from its life force. If you take that with the imagery surrounding him, it is valid to say that the Emperor of the boiling isles is a vampire.

If Belos is willing to do this, what might happen to Lilith?

Once again, however, that sound design carries this scene, because there is no way this moment would be nearly as intense if it wasn't for that heartbeat that Belos breathes in time with. The man controls the scene, right down to the beating of the heart in your ears. This man is terrifying.

Now, I have been saying this name for so long that it is starting to become white noise, so before that fully sets in, why is Lilith called Lilith?

Contrary to the general public opinion, I love stupidly edgy names in fiction. I think there is a place for cheese, and antagonists definitely fit that mould. Don't get me wrong, I think if a character's name is "Skullcrusher" or "Shadow" or "Tazerface" and that doesn't immediately get picked up on as needlessly over the top, that is a disruption of my immersion, but names that have that edge attached to them are writing gold to me. Lilith is one of these names.

Lilith isn't directly in the Bible, but she is referred to in folklore as Adam's first wife before Eve. According to Britannica, she is credited as a mother of demons, specifically succubae and incubi.

In terms of pop culture, however, the name Lilith has spiraled into being synonymous with "evil lady who might be demonic," the White Witch in the Chronicles of Narnia series is a descendant of her and characters in Devil May Cry, Supernatural, and Doctor Who bear her name.

So, this is a name that is traditionally associated with evil, mostly. Wherever you find stories with people who are "inherrently evil", you run into people who explore what that means, and so there are a few stories out there that either take Lilith's side, or suggest that the name should not be used to make a judgement about a person's character, a fact that I agree with.

Lilith Clawthorn doesn't really engage with this directly. Instead, she bears a name that has moral implications, and makes that person morally complex. The traditional betrayer angle is brought in through her relationship with Eda that I will get to in a moment, but the misunderstood aspect is important here as well.

I love the fact that Gus and Willow are fully prepared to help Luz out here. Someone is in danger, so they offer their advice, and this scene also jumps in on that theme of honesty. Once again, the truth outs itself, and I don't think Luz would have lived through this episode if it hadn't.

Eda, meanwhile, spends the entire episode filling that maternal role for Luz. She knits for her, she has photos, she discusses the human "growing up", so its not exactly subtle.

So, naturally, the moment Luz is in trouble, Mamma Owl Beast doesn't hesitate to try and save her.

I think that Witch's Wool cloak is a cool little metaphor for the two's relationship. This is an item that can protect one of them, and Eda is willing to give it away to Luz, even after admitting she needs it for herself. But, Eda still can't tell Luz about it, because she still refuses to actually tell Luz how much she means to her.

On the other hand, we open this episode still without knowing who cursed Eda, and the dream serves to remind the audience of that, without having to do a "previously on..." segment.

I do have a love for when The Owl House messes with aesthetics, and this weird, amorphous blob is a really neat way of obscuring the assailant's form. Character design in cartoons is often focused on silhouettes, you can tell almost any two characters in this series by their shadow, for example. So, it's a neat bit of direction to hide that.

But, Ok. I know what y'all came for. The fight.

The first thing to point out is that the Clawthorns have a signature spell, that being this teleportation thing. The only characters in the entire series who do this burst of light and then warp are Clawthorns. There's some foreshadowing going on there.

"Renounce your wild ways and join the Emperor's Coven. He can help heal your curse!" "Don't believe everything that bone head tells you. He doesn't want to heal me, he wants to control me."

So, we have the two sides and their goals and ideologies. Freedom vs Safety, and we will get back to the nuance of this next week, when all the reveals happen. But for now, this is what both sides think they are playing for.

One of the most prevalent pieces of advice on the internet for combat in TTRPGs such as Pathfinder and D&D is "roleplay doesn't stop when initiative is rolled", in essence, characters are still characters when they are fighting. This scene is an example of what that means.

Eda is direct and to the point, she comes out of the gate looking for blood and clearly has the upper hand throughout this fight.

Lilith, however, is clever. Not to say that Eda isn't, but Lilith fights more tactically. She uses Luz as a shield, and is constantly talking and trying to get under her sister's skin.

"It's sad to see you slowing down, Sister. Tell me, is it the curse?" "Maybe it is the curse. But then how pathetic are you that you can't best me at my worst."

Eda is a ticking time bomb, and Lilith knows that she just has to outlast that. She is buying herself time.

There's also something really cool about how Eda and Lilith's magic is coloured. Eda leans into the fiery orange of wild magic and Lillith takes on a bright blue, and both of those kinda relate to Belos a bit.

Belos' gold is similar, but not exactly the same as the wild magic, he is offering freedom, but not exactly. Meanwhile his eyes are the only things in the entire series besides the magic that have that bright blue tint (Camilla's uniform comes close, but it isn't as bright).

"You always thought you were better than me. That I could never beat you at anything." "I am better than you." "Then why were you so easy to curse?"

Tick, tick, boom.

So, let's talk about redemptions for a moment.

There is a general atmosphere on social media that Lilith's redemption arc wasn't handled well, and I would like to peacefully say that I think this idea is bogus.

The argument comes from two points, the first being that Lilith wasn't built up as enough of a threat, and the second that she skipped the redemption part of her arc and moved straight to being redeemed. The latter of those arguments is a discussion for a later date, but the former I would like to discuss here.

This episode shows Lilith at both her most villainous and her least at the same time. It gives you a hint at her true motivation, and hints at her being manipulated, but it doesn't spell it out, yet. It's a set up for what will come later.

But in terms of being a true threat, let me just lay out what Lilith has done so far. Curse Eda. Capture Luz. Throw two children into a wall. Throw another child off a bridge. Try to push said child into a bed of spikes out of sheer spite. This is all in this episode, by the way.

I think Lilith needed to spiral like this so that she had further to climb from in her redemption arc in later seasons. You can't redeem someone who ain't done nothing wrong.

Thank you, nameless strawman opponent, you were very helpful in proving my point. Anyway...

"Luz, thank you for being in my life."

Wendy Malick needs more praise. This line is incredibly well performed, and that tiny hesitation is golden.

But, the meaning of this is also important, because this is the first time Eda has actually expressed any affection for Luz directly to her face. Otherwise she has been the distant, cranky mentour.

The Owl House plays with tropes a lot, but the mentour sacrifice is one it plays almost straight, and it hits incredibly hard. These are what Eda thinks are her last words to Luz, and its a thank you.

"I am richer for having known you, friend."

(If you get that reference, you can have a cookie.)

FINAL THOUGHTS

It's important to the pacing here that the heroes lose this episode well and truely. It sets up the finale well, and it gives an air of malice to both Belos and Lilith that is imperative for the next episode to have any weight to it.

This episode has garnered a ton of affection from the fan base, and I think it might be more popular than Young Blood Old Souls, and possibly on par with King's Tide and Hollow Mind, but that is just my observations and not backed up by any statistics. Let me know in the replies if you agree or disagree, I'm keen to know what you think.

Next week, I am tackling the finale, Young Blood Old Souls. So stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[nav-ix]

to what extent is gideon the main character of tlt. and if she’s not then like… who is

ok so first of all, harrowhark. like, without a doubt

second of all i’m gonna answer this in way more depth than anyone asked for. I feel like there are a couple of answers and in a way they're all true (or at least have the potential to be, definitely possible AtN might shift these answers one way or another).

so I think gideon isn't not the main character. she's the narrator of the first (and arguably second) book, and so much of the story hinges on her existence and her purpose.

but realistically, when we look at the locked tomb as a whole, it's true that it isn't really her story. even though she is the apparent narrator of HtN, she's effectively absent for the majority of the book. she's absent again for most of Nona, and when she does appear, we are left without any context for how her side of the story has gone in the last six months. I think that if this was a series where gideon was really and truly the narrator, we would have come to understand those six months and the experience of kiriona gaia through a much different (and much more thorough) lens.

I think that the story revolves around a situation, and it's a situation that's been building for ten thousand years, and its end is drawing near. in that sense, I think it could even be most accurate to say that John is the main character. I think it's a story about a man who wanted to save the world and failed, and what love means in the long-festering aftermath of that failure, and I think that the reason the POV switches around is in order to give the readers a very specific understanding of what it is trying to explore. if it were solely gideon's story, I think we'd miss out on some of the most vital parts of that, so I think in that regard she can't really be the main character.

at the end of the day, though, if we are to choose one main character of the locked tomb, I feel like it's one hundred percent harrowhark. true that the series did not start with her as protagonist (quite the opposite at the beginning) but I think that was a necessary move in order to contextualize our understanding of her story. gideon needed to be the narrator of GtN in order for us to understand how harrowhark operates and to illustrate her relationship to lyctorhood (and therefore, her relationship to the overarching framework of the empire). nona needed to be the narrator of NtN in order to effectively demonstrate the stakes of the entire conflict; if love carries grief with it, then why is it necessary to love? what is the love worth? (a lot, actually). it sets us up to understand how Alecto functions both as a character and as a narrative device in the larger story, which I expect harrow is going to have to contend with in one way or another.

so yeah i think it's been a neverending cycle of john's story for a long long time, but i think that harrowhark shares so many parallels with him for a reason. there are arguments to be made for why gideon is the main character, and i think i’ve even seen people say that camilla is the true protagonist of tlt. but I think that in the end (for us AND for gideon), everything was always gonna come back to harrowhark

[pastelprince18]

"Hello from Rayman Chibi!

"So you might be wondering why I'm submitting this here. For one thing, it's not entirely normal for me to post sketches of what I've planned out, especially considering my usual art-style, but I've been drawing this at school and I couldn't be any more prouder. However, that's only to cover up the other reason, which is to say that, yes, this contains some Rayman x Rabbid Mario (Punching Pals) content. And spoilers... I actually drew them kissing.

"Now I don't have a Nintendo Switch to play M+R:SoH's Rayman DLC, so to anyone seeing this, this contains NO SPOILERS FROM THE GAME WHATSOEVER. However, it may contain character inaccuracies (both visual-wise & personality-wise) as well as a bit of transphobia under the long 'read more' description, so here we go... Rayman in the Phantom Show but it took place in the Rayman Chibi universe:

"Click on 'read more' for context, but I have to warn you once again that this contains transphobia and a veeeery long type-out.

"Now you might be wondering, 'WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED IN THE FIRST IMAGE????' Well, allow me to explain:

"in my AU, Rayman is transfem and goes by she/her, they/them and even he/him pronouns (I'm not even joking, I'm pretty much one of the first people to outright make a more feminine Rayman and say she's trans and not genderbent), and while normally, it's not questioned or invalidated or anything since it's been pretty much normalized in my AU (since thankfully no one gave me even a slap on the wrist for that), here, this is probably the first time her gender identity was... well, questioned and invalidated.

"When the Rabbids (including Rabbid Mario & Rabbid Peach (as well as all the other playable Rabbids in Sparks of Hope & their DLCs because why not)) arrived, Tom Phan took over in writing the series and made it so that it had the drama of older arcs but better. However, Phan meant to make these events as accurate to the arcs Rayman and friends went through as possible, which yes, meant that Rayman would have to play as a guy all the time.

"However, Rayman isn't comfortable with this and gives Phan a piece of her mind, but Phan refuses to hear it and tells her that she's not supposed to be trans because he's been studying the audience and confirmed that the majority of them liked her as a man, so telling them that she's trans would risk losing a good chunk of her fans, including conservatives and people who were fawning over her. Plus he was like 'hey, femboys exist. Why can't you just be a femboy?' (Because she technically already is, dipshi-)

"This upsets Rayman, and it seems like she's the only one who's being stripped of her identity she's worked so hard on discovering, however, other characters sympathized for her and even plan on taking Phan down because of their creative differences. This is a series about Rayman characters doing dumb things, dang it! Who's to say who can do who (other than the fans)?? This led to other characters helping Rayman feel more welcome in her identity, from her usual friends assuring her that she's valid to the Rabbids not only making her feel more comfortable around them but also helping her rid her trauma to even Rabbid Peach even admitting that she too is a trans woman and even giving Rayman her wig and clothes that Peach herself made to wear for even a little while to feel the gender euphoria that she had. Rabbid Mario also helps in making Rayman feel better by whispering to her things that make her feel valid while on camera with her, and while at first he isn't used to referring her to her identity, he does learn this helps them form a more romantic relationship over time.

"However, it's by the end where Rabbid Mario decided that he's had enough of Phan's shiz, starting the first part of the sketched-out comic. After seeing Rayman protest to Phan one last time by taking off her bandanna and showing him what she's become, witnessing her being chained up and hearing Phan call her something along the lines of a 'deluded fool who doesn't even care for his fans' (interpret that however you want) Rabbid Mario ultimately defends her, saying that she's been struggling to find her identity and that that's just been happening behind closed doors. He then goes to Rayman and attempts to kiss her, but the chains pull her upwards before their lips could even touch.

"The other part happens after Rayman saved the Magician even after finding out his secrets (which I won't entirely be showing, and also Rayman calling the Magician 'Dad' isn't a spoiler; it's actually a callback to an old post I made back in 2021). Rayman asked if she could go see Rabbid Mario before he and the rest of the Rabbids go, to which the Magician obliged. Rayman comes up to Rabbid Mario and gives him a hug, thanking him and the rest of the Rabbids for helping her get the series back. Rabbid Mario takes the thank you for granted and asked if they could 'finish what they'd started' (referring to the attempted kiss in the first part)... and then... finally... they kissed.

"However, it didn't last long as Rayman still isn't used to kissing Rabbids and Rabbid Mario tasted a bit of alcohol on Rayman's lips. However, he does suggest that they do a redo when they see each other again, to which Rayman agreed. Then the Rabbids left. When will they return? Who knows..? Either way, everyone lived happily ever after. The... end..."

- Rayman Chibi _____________

HOLDS U AND HOLDS THIS FUCKING POST THIS FR MADE ME MY NIGHT AHHH!! I KID U NOT I YELLED AND SQUEAL KICKING MY FEET,,,,My god rayman being Transfem and rabbid mario comforting her and loves her for her AGHHHHH *SQUEALS* This is so beautiful chibi this is going on the fridge <33

[theflyindutchwoman]

What is your opinion in Lucy being UC? Because for me it doesn't make sense. She has literally been in like 3 documentaries. I feel like that is too much exposure for her.

And there is the whole Tim issue. I don't think Tim will ever be truly okay with her being a UC.

I think i would rather her just be a detective.

Personally… I'm relatively divided on the whole UC storyline, documentaries aside. I can't say that this is the path I imagined Lucy taking, as it seems rather antithetical to who she is and what she wants. At the same time, I do like seeing her undercover, playing different characters, getting more and more confident... There's one aspect in particular that I love : it's how covert ops taps into her background. Being a former psych major helps her create these different personae and adapt to the situation at hand. But more than that : she can draw on her life experience to guide her. She has tried different things before joining the Academy and that gave her a wealth of knowledge that she can use to her advantage. Psychology alone isn't enough for her, she needs the action, the danger… Undercover work gives her the opportunity to combine both aspects.

That said, I'm curious to see how this type of work could affect her. Being isolated, constantly being on edge, not seeing her loved ones for long period at times, leaving people behind, living a lie… It can get too much, real fast, especially for someone as empathetic as her. So far, she hasn't really seen that ugly side of the work, the one we've heard so much about… I think this is something she needs to experience so she can make an informed decision. But even if she decides that being a UC isn't for her after all, she can still work in covert ops. There is more to it than just being undercover. Or she could indeed just be a detective. At the end of the day, she is beginning her career, it's normal that she is still figuring it out. She deserves that chance. And that's why I want her to make the final decision on her own terms, whether she stays on track for undercover work or change path. So as nonsensical as it might be to send her undercover after the documentaries, I'm at least glad that this isn't used as a random reason against her, to prevent her from going forward with her career (at least, for now).

As far as the documentaries go… I actually already discussed this, so I hope you don't mind if I basically repeat what I wrote. At this point, I think we should simply take these documentaries for what they are : an opportunity for the writers to develop ridiculous plots and have fun, even though they don't make much sense… The last one was so over the top that I loved it - but I can understand that it's a bit hard to suspend your disbelief here… especially regarding the UC arc. I didn't mind Lucy being in them at first - or Nyla for that matter. Not to stereotype here, but I'm not sure the criminals she goes after watch these type of documentaries. And even if they were, they would still have to remember her specifically. I mean, only one person in-universe has ever referenced these episodes… and that lady was a director herself, who didn't apparently recognised Lucy (5.06). That last one, on the other hand… Let's just say that outing her as an undercover cop was definitely a choice… When the promo aired, I thought for sure that this issue was going to be addressed. I even wondered if I had missed a conversation or something after watching the episode. I guess, we're just supposed to pretend that it doesn't matter since not one single person raised the issue of Lucy being in the spotlight when she should be in the shadows. Then again, the LAPD doesn't see a problem with advertising a whole conference about covert operations… So we clearly have a very different definition of secrecy. That said, maybe this will come back later and someone will recognise her. That's always a possibility - though it would seriously make the whole department look incompetent for not considering that ahead of time…

I also touched on the whole Tim issue in another ask, so here's what I wrote. Tim absolutely knew about all of this and still decided that it was worth the risk. He was aware of her choice of career long before he even realised his feelings for her. From the moment she graduated, he's been nothing but supportive towards her goal. He was the one to convince her to go to the UC Academy. He asked her out mere days/weeks after she last went under (seriously, that was the episode right before). Undercover work is even the reason why they got together in the first place… which is so ironic when you think about it. When he said they were worth taking the risk, he meant it. Just like when he told Isabel that Lucy was different, I have no doubt he also meant it. He has some experience in the matter, he has some inklings as to what being separated for months truly means. And let's not forget that he knows what's it like not to be supported… Ashley was trying to make him quit his job because she suddenly wasn't okay with it - I can't see him doing the same to Lucy. I believe that Tim's biggest challenge will be to express his feelings, since he tends to internalise them. That's why I'm glad that he and Lucy were able to set boundaries and open up about this. They can only make it work if they're both honest and communicate with each other.

And last but not least, your last point about preferring Lucy to just be a detective. That's perfectly fair - and I know you're not the only one feeling this way. For what it's worth, even if she were to stay in covert ops, odds are she would mostly work as a detective (provided that she passes the exam, of course, and she doesn't get blocked). I seriously doubt the writers will create a different persona for every episode - it would get old fast - or let her spend too many episodes undercover… It's a procedural after all. I'm a bit unsure as to where the writers are going here… But The Rookie was first and foremost a show about patrol. That was what distinguished it from other cop shows. So far, we already have Nyla and Angela as detectives… Having Lucy doing UC might simply be a way for them to keep things fresh and avoid having three regular detectives.

I hope this answers your questions :) (I also hope you won't mind the copy-paste of previous answers but since the asks were pretty similar, it was faster this way - this isn't a knock against you at all. It's also a good reminder that I need to up my tagging game).

[evanpeterswifeyyy]

Personal Beef/ Vent Stuff. Absolute behemoth of drama, read at your own discretion

warning! topics of clear mental issues, sa, excessive yapping, lying, sexual content, drugs (weed)

lowkey might delete this if I regret it but oh well

I need to air this out into the void before I go insane because just talking about it with irl moots is not enough, and journaling isn't the same to me, and doesn't feel right. This is gonna be long, so buckle up buttercups.

Ok, so a little background.

I will be referring to this person as Amanda for privacy sake.

Me and Amanda have known each other since about third grade. We used to be friends for about a year around that time, but things went south when I realized that she had some major anger issues and lied about a lot of things. Obviously, we were children so it was petty stuff, but it was real for me at the time, and overall I just don't respect liars. It's something I was grown up on.

We stopped being friends in about fourth grade when she threatened me with violence, but became friends again about a year or two later when we were forced back together because of after school activities. I accepted that maybe she had changed and matured during that time, but things had only gotten worse.

During this time she lied to me about being one of the most popular animators on Youtube at the time. Childish, yes. But I was also a kid and a huge fan of said Youtuber at the time. I believed this lie for a few years until I pieced things together, the inconsistencies with her "proof" about animations and the fact that she only showed her drawings on paper. This isn't super important to the story, but it sets a start of a long pattern of attention seeking and lying.

Also at this time, we were going through puberty. We were both exploring our sexuality and gender expression, and there were inappropriate topics brought up. I have never been super comfortably talking directly about explicit content, at least not when I'm not the one trying to engage that sort of conversation. It's a very specific circumstance to me. (I'm saying this because it's important for later). Amanda used to pull up inappropriate material in front of me and we would laugh about as pre-teens do.

Eventually we stopped being friends again, I don't remember exactly why this time though. Just know that we wouldn't speak again until middle school.

During about eighth grade I believe, a new kid (we'll call him Jack), joined a few weeks into the beginning of the semester. I became friends with him because a large friend group I was in during that time were all friendly with him already. I ignored a growing gut feeling about him because all my friends liked him and also he had a more alternative style that I enjoyed. Only a few weeks into knowing him, he would begin dating Amanda, and me and good chunk of my friend group having known her since elementary school began to warn him about her pattern of behavior.

He brushed us off and we all started arguing with him about how we had known her for years and they had been dating for weeks, yet he kept arguing that she had "changed" (unsurprisingly she had not). He also told us that she had claimed that we didn't like her because she was too "caring". Which was obviously a complete lie. Eventually we gave up after finding out that he had his own problems, like believing that bullying fat people was a valid way to make people lose weight to "save them" from health issues.

Fast forward a few weeks that year and we began hearing rumors of them doing...things, in public in the school. ie the library, bathroom, locker rooms, etc. I knew that Amanda was already a slightly sexual person, but not to this extent. So I became worried, it was out of character even for her. I knew what it was like to have rumors spread that ruined reputations, so I wanted to confirm if they were true or not and see what was going on.

Amanda confirmed that yes, most of the rumors were true. I was of course then worried she was being pressured, and she sent me a long message that essentially implied that she was and that he was coming onto her all the time without her full consent. At that age, I knew what that meant and that it was serious. So I told an adult about what happened and reported the situation to proper authority (not the police, there was no evidence of actual assault). She received a call and so did Jack, and after that, she thanked me for doing and I believed all was solved and well. Oh boy, I was severely mistaken.

After that, I would begin to occasionally check in on her and see how things were doing, only dipping my toes into a friendship. I told her that I only wanted to be acquaintances, still traumatized from our past friendships. She agreed and understood, but eventually we got to highschool and we became inseparable. The most we had ever been friends. Amanda had never stopped dating Jack. We began having issues already a month later when they started dating on and off, leading into highschool.

To keep things short about their messy relationship, she would come to me all the time and talk about her relationship with Jack. She would tell me when they broke up, would bring him up if they were back together, told me all the times he supposedly cheated on her (conversation from a few months ago now implies that he may not actually have, but I can't say for sure.).

It got to the point where every month they broke up for a week and then got back together, and during that time they would both sleep around, Amanda would find out and then tell me how she was talking to a girl he had been with during/ between their relationship and we would both become friends with said girl. Every single time, Amanda introduced me to them. Every time, Amanda told me about it herself. Everything I know about their relationship is from her mouth (this is important).

During our friendship, I knew 3 girls that Jack had been with. But there was one that stood out in particular. We'll call her Susie.

Susie met Jack and one day they were hanging out at someone's house, Jack smokes weed big time and offered some to Susie for her first time. (She had never smoked before). She ended up greening out, and became conscious to him trying coerce her into doing stuff with him. She obviously didn't want to, and I don't know if things went any further. I remember it not, but the point is, he at least tried to assault her.

Susie told both me and Amanda about this situation and we all talked about it. Obviously mortified, I hoped that this information would finally keep the toxic relationship of Amanda and Jack officially broken. But alas, it did not.

Eventually we all drifted apart, and during that time they kept breaking up and getting back together over and over again. It was genuinely exhausting because I'm not exaggerating when I say 90% of our conversations were about Jack, and most were instigated by Amanda. So I knew essentially every detail as soon as it came about.

I found out later/ during this time that Amanda was also doing the same thing to some mutuals we had, and I talked with them about what was going on. Amanda later claims that me talking between these friends that already knew was "spreading rumors". Despite the fact that they were facts that came from her mouth, and were only shared to people we both knew or that already knew because of her.

There were a few times (and I also found out later that this happened to other friends of mine as well, more people I know that I haven't even spoken to about it) where she would show me private photos of her and Jack. Their entire relationship was and is very sexual. A lot of the positive conversations Amanda had about Jack was about how they had slept together, or when they were broken up she said word for word to me that she was "addicted to sex" so she was sleeping around between their breakup. As time went on, their relationship became more and more physical after middle school.

These photos that Amanda showed me were very explicit, and I never gave my full consent to seeing them nor had the rational mind at the time to consent. I brushed off because we were friends still, but looking back, I'm disgusted and I feel disgusting. This is something i feel she brushes off a lot just because I didn't say no.

And it doesn't help her case that I was not the only one to see these photos, and without explicit consent.

By the end of Freshman year, I tried to break the friendship off. I was becoming exhausted and couldn't keep up anymore. I had a conversation with her directly about it, but the very next day it was ignored and she kept talking to me. By the beginning of Sophomore year we had officially gotten into our first full argument over Jack and their relationship and everything that happened and stopped being friends.

There are details between then, but lets fast forward to now. We still have mutual friends, like a lot. And what I've noticed is that every time my name is mentioned by someone or a photo of me is shown, she begins a tirade about how I'm a bad person, and how I was "spreading rumors". She was apparently upset with me for "getting involved with her business", despite the fact that she always included me in and told me about it--and never once said I couldn't tell anyone. Especially when I knew she was telling other people the same information.

There were a few more arguments, mainly over text as usual, but eventually the arguing ended. I had thought.

I've heard from friends many of times how she brings me up, which I want to say--I barely talk about her or think about her anymore. The only time I do is when I actually see her, or someone is talking to me about her. Which I never tell any of our business to people who don't already know either of us, and I don't bring it up unprompted. And no, I don't mean I talk about when her name is brought up or there's a photo of her. I only talk about what happened if someone is already telling about something she did to them, or they ask me about it because she was talking about me to them.

Now we have today.

Today I received a message from a close friend of mine that informed me she was still talking about me to my friends.

Here's how it happened:

She posted on her social media alluding to me, about how she was upset that we had mutual friends because I'm a "bad" and "problematic" person (for caring about her well-being and toxic relationship she threw me in the middle of).

I feel the same way, the issue here is, I don't talk about it. I don't. I don't go to my friends and talk about it and try to sway them away from her, I don't post on my social media (except for now, but tumblr is more like a public diary to me) about it, and I don't bring her up every time I see her face or in my friend's following. Not even if she's in their posts or comments and dms.

I have no idea what prompted her to make the post, but I do know that the same post prompted my friend (we'll call her Trish) to message her and ask her what it was about. She began talking about me (the details I'm not aware of), and then Trish came to me and told me about it. I told Trish my side of the story, and she believed me and told me she already didn't enjoy being friends with Amanda and didn't believe her because me and Trish are much closer.

Fed up at this point, I go onto an unblocked account and message Amanda, respectfully and as kindly as possible, asking her to stop talking about me--especially to my friends. She tells me a bold faced lie that she was in fact not trying to turn my friends against me, but no matter how many times she says she's not trying to control the fact that her friends are mine as well, it is very obvious that's not actually the case from the amount she talks about me, and how my friends have described/ shown her talking about me.

She tells me that she is just explaining what I did wrong to her, and I'm still in the dark of what exactly I did to upset her specifically and how she thinks I'm the bad guy, so respectfully (again), I ask her and try to have a conversation that may finally settle the bad blood between us so we can both finally go our separate ways and I can stop hearing about this. But no, as soon as I ask she blocks me.

I find out she has posted MULTIPLE posts alluding to me again, a final one saying (paraphrasing) "normalize talking things out. Something that hurts other still exists even if you don't realize it". Which is ironic, because I was fully aware she was upset and hurt and acknowledge that in my message, and was trying to have a civil discussion about it. She also has never recognized the fact that she has done things to hurt me as well.

All this is to say, AMANDA I KNOW YOU WON'T EVER SEE THIS AND I RLLY HOPE YOU DON'T, BUT I'M TIRED. PLEASE FUCKING DROP IT AND LET ME LIVE IN PEACE.

Istg this gets brought up to me every few months and I'm genuinely done with it. I can't do it anymore.

Her and Jack are still together and are still having issues to this day and somehow I just cannot escape her mouth. All I have to say anymore, is that if she wants me out of her business, she can keep my name out of her mouth--and I'll give her the same respect.

If you listened to this unholy yap session, thanks. I'm actually exhausted from all this drama and I wish it would end already, but I know it's gonna resurface all over again and I'm going to have to explain to another friend that what she says about me isn't true and she's twisting what happened.

Some side notes:

She retracted Susie's statement about being practically assaulted, and genuinely used "well they made up and are friends now" as an excuse for not breaking up with him after what he did. She also claimed that because I told people about her boyfriend essentially being a rworder, I was "telling her story when it's not my place", when Amanda was the one going around and telling everyone. I had not mentioned Susie's name once when I told people, I just told them what he had done. Amanda was the one associating her with it and also told her that I was talking to people inside the group Amanda had told. And to be fair, I told people who I knew would not spread that kind of thing to anyone else but to me and the people involved. Susie ended up messaging me about it because of Amanda, and I explained to her the situation and everything was fine. I'm not sure if Susie and Jack being friends afterwards is true, and I can't confirm with her anymore because she either blocked me or deleted her Instagram. I'm still in close contact with one of Susie's close friends who joined in on the conversation during the time to this day though.

Whenever they broke up and she told me the reason (usually cheating or arguments) I would tell her that it's good they're not together anymore because of that (and I would also bring up the past issues they had as well, adding to the list each time) and that they should stay broken up this time. Every single time she told me "yeah, you're right" and agreed, and then went on to talk shit about Jack with me, before getting back together with him again a week later. And I would only ever find out because she would begin talking about him positively again unprompted, or about the last time they had sex. She apparently still does this same exact thing to her friends to this day, because the mutuals she's still "friends" with (most of them that I talk to say they are actually fake friends I find out, which is crazy to me, because so far it's been most of her friends) tell me how they have the same exact behavior from her after I tell them how she acted around me. Most of her conversations with people are always about her and Jack and especially how they're always supposedly having sex. It's so strange and vile.

Really hoping talking about this on here doesn't bring me some bad karma or anything. I don't even care if no one reads this, I just need to get it out and have someone other than 10 of the same people know about it. I need a fresh opinion, someone not involved or with personal ties.

[bonetrousled]

Ccan u please explain like. Halfway down and lower of papyrus iceberg bc i only vaguely know most of these and some i have NO idea

OF COURSE! i'm gonna do the sixth layer and down since that's exactly halfway and Lower

LYING TO SANS AND UNDYNE/FEIGNS IGNORANCE: these sort of go hand in hand. on certain phone calls where only papyrus is on the line, he'll say something to the player. in separate calls on the same topic where sans is present, he acts like he has no knowledge on the subject despite proof that he DOES- he just acts stupid around sans. there's around 3 or 4 of these contradictory calls where papyrus plays dumb when his brother is around. papyrus also blatantly lies to undyne when called in grillby's, turning around the second she says she likes the restaurant and changing his opinion to be liked more by her

SEES FROM PLAYER VIEW: there are multiple instances where papyrus will comment on something in the room on phone calls despite the player being NOWHERE near it or facing the object he's describing. he also claims to have a "PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY FOR PHONE CALLS" and asks to have drawings held up to the receiver of the phone to see them. this also applies to the puzzle he claims to have rearranged into the shape of his face, which is only clearly seen as that when viewed from the player's top-town perspective. there is NO WAY he is able to see that puzzle from where he's standing

SHAKING TEXT: papyrus's text in his speech bubbles on his date, his fight, and subsequent battle-sprite appearances is constantly subtly shaking. this used to be MUCH more apparent but has been toned down a little since release. when viewed in the context of shaking text really only being used to show someone who is nervous, upset, or otherwise experiencing some kind of heavy emotion, it's interesting to note that papyrus's text is the only character's that does it CONSTANTLY for seemingly no reason

FOUR VINES: this is just in reference to the fact that in the cutscene before the asriel fight, papyrus is restrained with four vines while everyone else is given two. it's also worth noting that this is the only time that papyrus makes a face of genuine pain in the entire game and it seems like his arm might have been broken from this. combined w the knowledge that papyrus took flowey the longest to get tired of, he knows what he's capable of and ensured to restrain him accordingly

REPEATED LOST SOUL DIALOGUE: papyrus is the only character that nearly verbatim only uses lines he's already said before in his lost soul fight. he says "I MUST CAPTURE A HUMAN! THEN EVERYONE WILL," before trailing off. the first line is nearly identical to his line in his introduction ("I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!") while the second is a combination of his aspirations to follow afterwards. everybody else has at least some form of original dialogue that isn't taken from things they've already said. compounding this with the preexisting knowledge that papyrus tends to put on an act when around other people paints a picture that, to his core, he feels like he has to keep this up

WEIRD ABOUT PRIVACY: papyrus just has a weird fascination with keeping things private, as seen below

PRETTY BRUTAL KIND OF GUY: when attempting to initiate the undyne date after having killed someone and not given her water, papyrus will say that she said she wouldn't hang out with a murderer. he somehow gets the impression that this is about him, stating: "SHE SAID SHE WON'T HANG OUT WITH A MURDERER. BUT... HMM... I DON'T REMEMBER MURDERERING ANYONE... THOUGH I AM A PRETTY BRUTAL KIND OF GUY." we are given NO indication as to what this could possibly mean. what is his problem

ECHO FLOWER ROOM CALL: papyrus, generally speaking, will answer the phone and talk to you at least once in the majority of rooms, even in hotland- which he vehemently hates. the exception to this rule (aside from rooms that won't let you call for plot/tone related reasons) is a single room in waterfall, the one next to gerson's shop hall with the floating lights and echo flowers. attempting to call papyrus here will have him answer in a panic, stating: "WHAT'S THAT STRANGE WHISPER? I MIGHT HAVE TO HANG UP." attempting to call again will make him say "PAPYRUS ISN'T HOME RIGHT NOW!!". he will repeat this until you leave the room. if you call in this room after completing the undyne date, she will answer instead of papyrus and he will say absolutely nothing. she mentions that the echo flowers are kind of creepy, but she doesn't have nearly as much of a reaction as papyrus.

PAPYRUS KNIGHT THEORY: general umbrella entry for any evidence pointing towards papyrus being the knight. it would be TOO MUCH For me to get into here but there is an entire section in the PAPYRUS POWERPOINT that covers this. just know i am a papyrus knight truther to my last breath

ABORTED NO MERCY DIALOGUE: if you start a no mercy run and spare papyrus when he offers to turn your life around instead of killing him, you're able to do his hangout. every line of dialogue is identical past this point, save for when you inspect his box of attacks. here, he says: "HEY, THOSE ARE ALL THE ATTACKS I DIDN'T USE. HOW LUCKY OF YOU! HAD I ONLY USED MY SPECIAL ATTACK, YOU SURELY WOULD HAVE BEEN BLASTED TO...". this essentially confirms that he has gaster blasters and WOULD have used them against you if needed

NO RESOLUTION IN TRUE PACIFIST: in the true pacifist ending, he never gets an explanation or resolution to his conflict. he doesn’t get any more friends than he started with (undyne), he never joins the guard, and he never becomes more confident/less lonely. every other main character comes to terms with something and has their past resolved aside from him, INCLUDING SANS (if you have the don't forget fun value and backtrack to his lab, he's put a picture of you and your friends in along with the picture of people you don't know). in the true pacifist ending he says it’s the “worst possible ending” since he can’t join the guard. and genuinely, for him, it’s true. in pretty much every other neutral ending he has SOME sort of semi-important title for himself. ruins caretaker, sentry, king, MTT’s bodyguard, etc. he has SOMETHING to do. he doesn’t even get to be ambassador unless you decide you don’t want to.

THE GLOVES: papyrus NEVER removes his gloves, to the point where he claims he has no idea what his hands look like. this is referenced multiple times in things post-game (toriel says he can put the mittens she knitted him over his gloves in the winter alarm clock dialogue, and he's still depicted with his gloves even in pajamas on the sleepover shirt). this brings into question the idea that he wore them even prior to his costume being made and WHY he wears them constantly

SOLVING THE HOROSCOPE: if you say that junior jumble is harder than the crossword and talk to sans after, he'll thank you for going along with papyrus and riff on him for "[getting] stumped trying to solve the horoscope" in the newspaper. this is easily dismissed, but paired with papryus's multiple strange gaster connections and the heavy presence of horoscope symbols in wingdings, it's a little weird

SCARY BACKGROUND BONETROUSLE CHORDS: the chords at the beginning of bonetrousle (which then continue through to the rest of the song) have an uneasy, sort of disturbing discordance to them. it's easier to hear in piano covers, but it's definitely apparent. the fact that they're present the entire song but get drowned out by louder, more upbeat instruments is food for thought

BONETROUSLED DEFINITION: bonetrousled is actually a word USED ingame and given a contextual definition by papyrus himself. if you lose to papyrus twice, he'll leave you a note in the punishment shack which reads: "PLEASE ASK BEFORE YOU ESCAPE!!! WHEN YOU WENT MISSING I GOT WORRIED SICK!!! - SLIGHTLY BONETROUSLED, PAPYRUS". the interesting implication is that being SLIGHTLY bonetrousled is equivalent to worried sick. we can infer then that the definition of bonetrousled is equivalent to something like "anxious" or "panicked" and thus the name of his theme song IS "i am fucking scared". why

KNOW LESS ABOUT HIM THAN SANS AND GASTER: this is more of a blanket statement which is basically what it is on the tin. if you play the entire game, cover to cover, and learn LITERALLY everything, you will come out of it knowing more about the backstory of sans AND gaster than you do about papyrus. we know nothing about papyrus's history prior to the game except for A) he wants to be in the guard and B) he went to a costume party at some point. that is literally it

SILENT ROOM CONNECTION: papyrus's room will cancel ANY music playing. aside from his house's normal soundtrack, it will ALSO cancel the music that plays at the end of true pacifist when you can backtrack and see asriel. the ONLY OTHER ROOM in the entire game that does this is gaster's room. papryus's door is also identical to gaster's door aside from gaster's being gray

CAPSLOCK THEORY: this is in reference to a pattern of characters with various ties to one another who all seem to speak exclusively in uppercase letters- papyrus, gaster, spamton, and jevil. i will expound on this shortly

BARELY HAS HIS OWN MOTIF: papyrus only has ONE theme associated with him (nyeh heh heh is Just bonetrousle without drums) that shows up essentially NOWHERE aside from the credits. undertale is a game that uses music to connect a lot of things together, and to have such a major character have little to no link to any other themes in the game is strange. an argument could be made for STPWYMFS but it's not even present in the game. put together with the fact that bonetrousle wasn't even originally meant for papyrus and was just a general battle theme, it lines up with his preexisting themes of not really having any identity.

LINKS TO SECRET BOSSES: both secret bosses are characters that are tossed aside/forgotten about, and nobody in snowdin even knows papyrus’s name. they also rave on about one specific goal/dream (that they notably NEVER achieve), and both are tied heavily to gaster. papyrus is very similar in this regard. along with that is papyrus's adamant distaste for "STRANGE WHISPERS" on the phone which draws parallels to spamton. all three characters also have very deliberate "grand finale" type endings to their fights

OK WHEW thatwas a lot . autism blast GO!!!!!!!!!!

[acourtofthought]

Hey! Good?

I didn't know that sjm had said something about rejecting partnerships or that she would like to work with rejected bond. that is true?

I ask because my language is Portuguese (Brazil) and I don't understand when there are several people distorting things.

I ask you because I follow you and I know how much you like to bring facts and not reader speculation. good week!

Hello there!!

SJM never said she'd like to write about a rejected Mating Bond in any of her interviews (unless I somehow missed it). Fans of E/riel like to refer to this scene in ACOWAR as proof that Elucien will reject their bond:

“Azriel knows you’re watching,” Rhys drawled

“Why not make them mates?” I mused. “Why Lucien?”

“What decides it? Who decides it?”

“You said your mother and father were wrong for each other; Tamlin said his own parents were wrong for each other.” I peeled off my dressing robe. “So it can’t be a perfect system of matching. What if”—I jerked my chin toward the window, to my sister and the shadowsinger in the garden— “that is what she needs? Is there no free will? What if Lucien wishes the union but she doesn’t?”

“A mating bond can be rejected,” Rhys said mildly, eyes flickering in the mirror as he drank in every inch of bare skin I had on display. “There is choice. And sometimes, yes—the bond picks poorly. Sometimes, the bond is nothing more than some … preordained guesswork at who will provide the strongest offspring. At its basest level, it’s perhaps only that. Some natural function, not an indication of true, paired souls.” A smile at me—at the rareness, perhaps, of what we had.

But truly, SJM is not the kind of writer to say something that specific about two characters and have it end up happening exactly as she said it would. SJM might give major clues but they don't usually end up being a word for word scenario which is what Elain rejecting the bond with Lucien in order to be with Azriel would be. And E/riels tend to forget:

“Even so,” Rhys went on, “there will always be a … tug

There is no HEA for Elain, Lucien or Az if Elain and Lucien reject their bond because no matter who they end up with, they'll always share a connection with one another and that's too messy when you're trying to be with someone outside the bond (especially for her main characters who will always be a part of one another's lives. Lucien isn't just going away even if Elain rejects the bond, he still has relationships with Feyre and Rhys. So Az will always be destined to see Elain's actual Mate while he tries to have a relationship with her and she'll always feel a draw to Lucien even while trying to have a relationship with someone else.

The only way I can see SJM spinning what Rhys and Feyre were talking about is if we've already seen a rejected bond (the LOA and Helion, hence the reason he's still pining for her) or Mor and Eris (if they turn out to be Mates). As Mor prefers woman, Eris would be understanding that her rejecting the bond has nothing to do with him, making it easier to handle.

Back to interviews, the only thing SJM has ever said is how she loves JR Ward, a Fated Mates author who has over 20 books of Fated Mate couples. So it's really too bad for anyone who thinks SJMs Mate count is too high considering she fangirls over an author who has double her number.

Thank you for your ask and I hope you have a wonderful day / evening!

[fantasyinvader]

I've been thinking about Edelgard's supposed depth according to the creators, the fact she's meant to both be a cute girl and a brutal dictator in-line with the series past villains.

I feel there is something here. Like, which way is the gap moe supposed to go? Are we supposed to see her as this conqueror only to see she's the cute girl, or is the cute girl the surface and the conqueror what lies underneath? Considering how the game treats the Flame Emperor being unmasked as this major reveal, I'd say it's the latter of the two. We are meant to be taken in by the cute girl lord, especially since Dimitri and Claude are initially assessed as having a hidden darkness and having a fake smile initially. Not to mention Rhea. It would make sense why the devs expected most people to pick the BE's as their route, since Edelgard is not only presented more favorably (though she does drop her views on the other nations if praised after the prologue, a hint of where her character is going) and she's a cute girl that will draw in male players.

The we consider the route split and it's various symbolism. Byleth defaults to Silver Snow, symbolized by the game's own take of Buddhism's banner of victory. The devs even pointed out the importance of Byleth's flag, saying that it was the true Fire Emblem of the game to them symbolizing people coming together to fight for you because they believe in you. This would mean that the player walks the path of Nirvana/Enlightenment, the path of the righteous if you interpret the Safflower/Crimson Flower route as being a path of thorns. Safflower would mean that the game uses attraction to try and ensnare the player into going down this route, with the player being the one to ultimately decide to join her or not. Edelgard is presented as both a temptress, tying into the story behind the banner of victory, as a false messiah considering her signature weapon bears the Crest of Maurice aka the Beast. It's said to be the representing the animal path in the Japanese, the opposite of Enlightenment, while the path of thorns reading would make it out to be a sinful where Byleth was lazy.

Byleth is supposed to fight Edelgard, no matter how painful it might be for them or the player. It's the central conflict the game was designed around, especially it's main musical theme Edge of Dawn. it depicts how Edelgard and Byleth's relationship plays out, Edelgard hoping Byleth will choose to walk beside her only to lie to them and end up as enemies. The music doesn't play in the Flower route, but it's also baked into Apex of the World, Edelgard's final boss theme that also plays in Azure Moon. The musical choices of Engage would also suggest the heroic Emblem Byleth is from the Silver Snow route through the pieces that make up Trial of the Academy, with the other routes being relegated to a DLC Emblem with the three lords.

i also feel that the game questions if the player is turning a blind eye if they join Edelgard. The first part of the game establishes the Flame Emperor as someone helping TWSITD with their acts in order to reap the rewards before being unmasked, with TWSITD saying they're doing these things for her benefit. The idea of the path of the beast would suggest Byleth/the player sides with Edelgard out of ignorance but when the Japanese script has Edelgard being called out by Dimitri for ignoring shit, something she admits to doing in Hopes, it really looks like the game is questioning if the player is doing the same thing.

Seriously, if Edelgard is told to her face that the people who experimented on her did so in order to create a weapon against the Goddess and her children by the person who did the experiments and killed her siblings, saying the nobility did it in order to make a strong emperor to rule over Fodlan after they stopped her father's attempts to centralize power and took it for themselves, that makes her look beyond stupid if she isn't intentionally ignoring the truth.

Really makes the case that Edelgard is initially meant to be seen as the cute girl, with the tyrant being her depth. It's not meant to be a case of "and actually, you discover she's a real sweetheart if you join her." No, Flower is meant to be a route where you didn't do the right thing and moved to stop Edelgard, instead ignoring everything to join her. You ignore who Edelgard actually is, instead focusing on her waifu-status, as well as the reality of what you are really doing.

No wonder the Korean fanbase said "she tricked me" back when it was revealed she was the most hated character there.

[enigmaincrimson]

So... I'm sitting here and dabbling with the DuckTales variant... And kind of wondering...

Part of me thinks it would be amusing to play a bit more with "it looks like a duck, but isn't a duck" angle.

Also, wondering how certain parties would react as the reality that isn't a duck starts to settle in.

Admittedly, the 1987 proportions are different than the 2017 proportions...

Like... As an adult, she's definitely taller than a duck.

If I use the 1987 characters as reference... While it's easy to compare her height to Launchpad, I'd probably also compare her height to Robotica... and Gandra Dee in her disguised form.

if we use the 2017 characters... I'd probably say she's about as tall as maybe Storkules or Launchpad regularly... more like Selene while disguised.

I'm not sure how to make any precise comparisons.

_

But what would the Ducktales version of the Sorcerer Queen look like? Also, what would people remember of someone like her? That and... how would anyone know she exists... anyway?

Also, I do get the feeling that the discovery that a blood descendant exists would result in some major league trouble...

Like... who would be drawn to the young woman, hoping to restart that ancient legacy for their own interests?

As for some other things...

_

I'd suppose that accounting for timing, Gyro probably does feel a little annoyed with Evelyn whenever she shows up in the lab... since she keeps finding little things he's missed.... or considering some past events, actually broken some of his machines.

Admittedly, Evelyn's constant suggestions to "keep things simple" probably does get on Gyro's nerves, even if she does know what she is talking about. He has a terrible habit of making his creations overly complex, resulting in unwanted, anomalous behavior.

_

Odds are that the secretive JANUS organization would have snatched up Dr. Akita after his arrest. Of course, JANUS has pretty much been playing F.O.W.L. like a fiddle since the organization's interception, so them secretly collecting what's left of F.O.W.L. after its collapse for their own interests wouldn't be surprising.

The discovery of the sorcerer queen's successor would draw some rather unwanted attention to Evelyn... Not only from various magic users desiring to pay their respects, but also other parties with their own interests. Especially Scrooge, knowing that there is treasure involved.

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Considering that JANUS is a subdivision of the Lancaster Group, Evelyn technically is their new master director of the entire organization as soon as she turned 21... although there's the little issue of wrangling them back under control as they've been pretty much running around unchecked since her parent's passing.

JANUS runs itself very differently than F.O.W.L... I'd call them more of a silent and secretive puppet master than an organization that wants or cares to be in the forefront. That's for idiots.

Getting someone else stupid enough to do all the work and steal their work right under their noses on the other hand... while the poor sap takes all the brunt of whatever errand they sent themselves on... that's more their style.

If JANUS did make a move, there might be various villains suddenly showing up with polished, mass produced versions of various artifacts that Scrooge might have uncovered. JANUS gets their new, experimental technology field tested and nobody is the wiser.