#If only people explored that and didn't just use the same corrupted characters from the trailer over and over 😔

[crossover-enthusiast]

I love that the thing that makes me think about Pibby again is the got damn Spooky Month crossover /pos

[rin-solo]

Let's talk about "Monster" ... and one of Odysseus' criminally underrated traits: his lack of judgment.

I was re-listening to "Monster" the other day and it kind of just hit me... Overall, that song isn't my favorite (it's somewhere in B tier; the lyricism is great, and the part after "So if we must sail through dangerous oceans..." absolutely slaps, it's just not one that I go back to frequently.) But there are some things I genuinely adore about it because I adore the way it progresses Odysseus' character arc as clearly not a "corruption" and how this is conveyed through the way the song is set up and presented.

First of all, I simply have to yap about how Odysseus isn't justifying his foes' actions the way that I have seen some people falsely assume. He's describing what they did or do and essentially saying, "They aren't letting themselves be stopped by guilt from doing what they think they have to do, so why should I?"

Polyphemus doesn't overthink whether it's right or wrong to kill some people because they harmed him or his sheep.

Circe may deep down feel guilt but isn't letting that stop her from turning men into pigs to prevent any more harm from befalling her nymphs at their hands.

Poseidon isn't losing sleep over drowning a fleet because that is what gods do to retain their infamy and status.

Odysseus and the rest of his soldiers didn't use the Trojan horse tactic out of malice or bloodlust, but out of pragmatism. It was the most efficient way to win a war that would have only cost more lives on both sides if they hadn't ended it then and there.

You look at that and you may think, "That's all very fair, but that doesn't mean any of those actions are justified" ... and you'd be right. None of the actions above are actually right or justified.

But the thing about "Monster" that I love so much is that it's specifically NOT something like, "These people I've encountered are all evil and ruthless and they are right and justified in being that way; I'll be the same." It's actually, "These people I've encountered act with ruthlessness; it clearly aids them in achieving their goal, and they seem to have figured out how to not feel guilt over their actions. I want to reap those benefits too. So far, I've been acting with mercy, which seems to have disadvantaged me. If they can do it, I can and should do the same to level the playing field."

Odysseus isn't saying that their actions are right, wrong, or justified. He's simply exploring why these people act the way they do. And he does so entirely without judgment.

I'm not surprised about him not judging Circe; while she was still wrong since she went overboard and struck preemptively against people who were not guaranteed to ever cause harm, she was pretty much redeemed in the end and her point is the easiest out of these to understand.

But the rest? Polyphemus killed his best friend. Poseidon drowned his whole fleet. The Trojan horse? It never comes up anywhere else but since he mentions it here, I think it's safe to assume that Odysseus feels guilty for using a tactic such as this. And still... Odysseus talks about his foes' actions with understanding and an open mind. He acknowledges their points of view—all of them, even if none besides Circe ever acknowledged or understood his.

The only time we genuinely see Odysseus act out of resentment is when he tells Polyphemus his name... After that, he never shows anything of the sort ever again. If he ever held any resentment toward any of his foes, I feel like this is where he lets it go for good.

Hell, even Poseidon, whom he would have by far the most reasons to resent, Odysseus doesn't actually judge or resent. I wrote a whole mini-essay on why the Vengeance saga proves that Odysseus doesn't actually seek or want vengeance on Poseidon. One might argue that he sounded like he was avenging his crew in "Six Hundred Strike" but it's important to remember that he offered Poseidon forgiveness one song earlier. He didn't lead with vengeance or resentment, but he rekindled his anger when Poseidon rejected his mercy.

My point is that Odysseus doesn't judge or resent any of the people who attempt to stand between him and his home... which shows incredible character strength in and of itself. This occurs later, but he acts similarly toward Calypso in "Not Sorry for Loving You" as well.

This is such an underrated trait of his, especially considering it fits perfectly with EPIC's themes, which revolve around seeing every perspective and balancing between ruthlessness and mercy. Honestly, I don't think those themes would even work with a protagonist who isn't so open-minded.

Coming back to "Monster," as we've established, Odysseus doesn't pass judgment on his foes. Similarly, he isn't saying that his decision to embrace ruthlessness and "become" a Monster (read more to find out why I put that in quotation marks) or any of his future actions as this Monster are justified.

I genuinely despise it when people call his arc a "villain arc" or "corruption" because that's pretty much missing the entire point. He isn't actually becoming a monster, corrupting, or genuinely changing his personality—hence why I put those quotation marks earlier. He is deliberately choosing to embrace a certain ruthless way of acting, fully knowing that it is not actually right or justified. "So what if I'm the Monster?" is self-gaslighting. He knows it's not "so what?" But he's doing it anyway because he has seen this way of acting aiding his foes. He literally says, "I must become the Monster / And then we'll make it home." He is convinced that this is what he must become because he keeps being told this by everyone.

From the top, his values or person isn't actually being corrupted. He's not really internally changing. He's merely adapting a way of behaving because he thinks it's the only way he'll still get home, and only because of that. It's really f*cking sad actually. Especially because he is wrong; his not being ruthless is not actually the problem, as we find out later.

Genuinely, his monster act lasted exactly 3,5 songs; in the second half of "Mutiny" it's already all gone because he is so afraid for his crew and what they're about to do to themselves that he instinctively goes back to wanting to save them despite how they just led a mutiny, despite how they don't listen to him regarding the cows.

Odysseus' entire arc can be described as, "He tries out mercy, and it doesn't get him home. He tries out ruthlessness, and it doesn't get him home either. In order to get home, he needs to learn balance, in Hermes' words "Every trick in his domain"." And that is also, as I believe, the main theme of EPIC: Neither ruthlessness nor mercy by itself is the solution. Both have their place; one needs balance. Or: treat people as they ask to be treated.

Only by the time of the Vengeance saga does Odysseus seem to have finally figured this out, and that's where he genuinely starts succeeding.

So no, Odysseus is no longer "The Monster" by the time of the Vengeance saga, no matter how much the visuals in "Six Hundred Strike" try to convince us otherwise. But he isn't "Just a Man" either. Did anyone besides me notice how he stopped calling himself this or justifying his weak moments like that in "Monster" and how he doesn't go back to it even after dropping the monster act?

And here we have the perfect segway into an essay I haven't written yet that might answer the question, "If now he's not a man and not a monster, what is he then?"

Well, technically Odysseus told us himself that one time he acted out of resentment... "Neither man nor mythical." But that's an essay yet to be written... I'll get to it soon, and there we might answer what actually happened in "Six Hundred Strike" and why the line "If you dance with fate I know you'll enhance your state", that I see is mostly overlooked, matters so much more than we probably all think.

Until then, know that I am not actually the first one to address the "Neither man nor mythical" significance. Credit goes to @glisten-inthedark; coming across her post on this matter genuinely enhanced my understanding of what happened so much and I need all of you to read it because it's a truly brilliant conclusion. I'll write my own essay on this topic soon, I promise. But without that post, I would've probably not come to this realization for a long while.

Either way, we end this essay with words that I will never tire of repeating: Stop villainizing Odysseus, y'all. It's not cool, not only because it's undeserved but also because it pretty much shows that you have successfully missed the point and core theme of this musical.

... See you when we inspiration for another essay strikes me. In the meantime, have a brief introduction to what that essay will cover in meme form because I can.

[minamorsart]

Enter Merla: Queen of Darkness!!! 🖤✨

I was pretty disappointed when VLD didn't explore the culture and politics of the Galra Empire more, especially after Lotor took the throne, and I was also quite disappointed with Merla's cameo. So I decided to take a crack at her design myself! Some backstory below!!

I made her Acxa's twin sister because while I don't believe it was confirmed, I always thought that 80's Merla's character must have been divided into the four women who became Lotor's generals in VLD, so why not make Merla and Acxa related? Plus in every piece of fiction you need to have at least one set of twins ;) That's just da rules babeyy~

Acxa and Merla are from Planet Drule (a loyal territory of the Galra Empire) and are half-Galra and half-Drule. They are not of royal descent, and since they were children they were looked down on because they are half-breeds. As the oldest, Acxa takes on the responsibility of looking after Merla, who over the years begins to grow restless with the two of them settling for low-ranking positions in the army and living a less than satisfying life.

One day exiled Prince Lotor comes to oversee the planet just as Merla is planning a coup to overthrow the corrupt Drule king. The coup fails, and wanting to protect her sister, Acxa takes the blame even though she had nothing to do with it. When she is sentenced to death, Lotor, seeing the potential and skill Acxa possesses, offers to pardon her in exchange for her loyalty to him, thus saving her life (it is my personal headcanon that Acxa is the first of the generals to be recruited). She accepts and tries to convince Merla to come with her, but Merla refuses and insists on staying, saying that she wants to change things on Drule, and that by leaving Acxa is abandoning her. The two part ways on bad terms, and do not see each other for many years.

Merla eventually succeeds in taking the throne, her followers assassinate the king, and she becomes queen of Drule. She and Acxa have the occasional run-in, which is how Lotor and the other generals get to know her more. There is still lingering resentment between the two sisters, however, particularly on Merla's part. The events of VLD proceed as normal up until the end of season 5, and I personally would like to take out Lotor killing Narti and the generals turning against him. Now emperor, Lotor works tirelessly to unite his people and deal with the growing Galra factions which plot to rise up against him.

News of Lotor's ascent to the throne spreads throughout the universe, and soon Queen Merla is paying a visit to the Empire and demanding an audience with him. She knows all about the Galra factions, including Sendak's Fire of Purification, and proposes that she and Lotor marry in order to combine the forces of both the Galra Empire and Planet Drule. If Lotor accepts, the two nations will become stronger than ever and no one will dare stand against them. If he refuses, Merla will merely seek support from the factions, perhaps even form an alliance with Sendak, who will eventually try to take the Galra throne himself.

What can this mean for not only the Galra Empire, but for Voltron and the Coalition as well?? What can this mean for Lotor and Allura's developing relationship??? For those who haven't seen the 80's show, Queen Merla debuts in the US-made 2nd season. She and Lotor are actually engaged for a time! Merla is cold, cunning, and calculating like Lotor, and perhaps even a little more manipulative. She enjoys being entertained and can on occasion be condescending.

And this is not meant to create any unnecessary love triangle between Merla, Lotor, and Allura. While Merla has people in her life she cares for and she respects Lotor, her first priority is maintaining her seat on the throne and looking after her people, so she really only sees Lotor as a means to gain more power. Lotor recognizes this, because he mostly shares the same mindset as her and can see the benefits of marrying her, regardless of his own feelings. And how does Allura feel about this whole matter?? 👀 Only time will tell, though it is also likely that the princess may be too proud to ever reveal how she truly feels. At the end of the day, I just think it would be fascinating to explore more of the politics of the VLD universe and the complications that come with ruling an entire empire whilst trying to keep alliances and territories intact. Plus it would make for some fun drama! Particularly in the romance category hehe.

[dani-luminae]

You gripe about human star love interest for asha which is real funny when your fic is basically a role swapped version of that idea...

By "your fic" I'm guessing you mean Love from the Stars? The only similarity there is that there's a main character of color associated with the stars.

Lia isn't a wishing star, either. She doesn't grant wishes. Sure, she'll used her powers to aid others in times of great peril, but that's not the same as Star. She didn't come to Auradon because of a wish either, she came to explore and Ben just happened to be hurt in front of her so she decided she would go with him.

Also I feel there's a massive difference between "lovingly crafted story for relatively small audience" compared to "product of global multi-million dollar company with a fandom that's not known for being kind to WOC."

Because honestly. My criticism isn't the concept itself. Funny human/Genie-like/Peter Pan clone Star could have been really cool! My problem is that, had he been in the movie, fandom would erase Asha completely to focus on her white boy love interest. It happens all the time.

There's a similar criticism of mine with the "evil power couple Amaya and Magnifico" concept art. Amaya is significantly more brown-skinned. I can just imagine the hoops that fandom would leap through to pin all the evil happenings on her and say Magnifico's innocent and was completely heroic until she "corrupted him." They already jump through hoops to say that Asha's the bad guy bc she doesn't like her "benevolent" ruler literally keeping pieces of peoples' heart and souls hostage.

In summary, human!Star isn't a bad idea in and of itself, but I just know how horrible the fans would be in erasing Asha from her own story.

Contrast that with LFTS, in which I and my mutuals would break kneecaps if anyone even tried to lightwash/remove Lia from the story.

Which is a world of difference.

[mirkwood]

i know u didn't rb that post, BUT I WANT TO KNOW what u think of ur melkor and feanor :)) so !!! 18, 13, 22.

Well I actually just did 👀

Thank you for the ask, you're too kind and thank you for your patience again <3

Let me put this under here :

For Melkor :

13. What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

When I think about him these emojis come to mind: 💥☄🌒😡🌫❗🕳👺

Listen there's no in between with him, he is either not big on emojis OR he overuses all of them. it doesn't matter the context. he puts them everywhere. he's talking about sth serious? he will put the crying laughing emoji. followed by random emojis (mairon can't stand it). that depends on his mood though.

But if he knows that you have one emoji that you hate, he's gonna use that ALL. THE. TIME. Everywhere. hes annoying.

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

Well i really like his dynamic with Mairon, even if we're not talking about it in a romantic way.

I think it's interesting because look there's this big bad guy who has a lieutenant and they both only like each other. I also think they balance each other out well, they are similar but not so much that it makes them clash this is more feanor/melkor.

And Melkor definitely needs the order and everything Mairon has to offer. Look at him, the chaos is everywhere. They both have a lot to offer to each other and I think that's the main key for their dynamic here.

Also. "The corruption of Mairon" yes okay but i think he WANTED to be corrupted, Melkor just offered him this opportunity. It's another version of them that can be pretty interesting, it all depends on how you want to see their dynamic/relationship.

My thoughts are all over the place about them but I have to sit and ponder more to give you a better answer tbh.

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

I really like when people write him as ruthless and relentless, but also. let's not forget that this guy is a loser. so I like it when people add that side of him in their fics. Because he's literally just fucking around and finding out most of the time. Let's be real kfjsdkdjfsd

Something I don't like. Well I don't really know. I haven't read anything that I didn't like. The only thing I would like to see more of is melkor who is just a wreck tbh. Like emotionally and mentally i just want to read about him dealing with those feelings (even though he doesn't really know how to do that!!!)

I'm currently writing a piece that kiiinda resembles what i said above and I have to say it's very interesting to explore that side of him.

For Feanor :

13. What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

Emojis that remind me of him : 🤬💎🔥☄🌪

BRO USES THIS 💀💀💀 EMOJI ALL THE TIME!!!! CONTEXT BE DAMNED

Also he's such a dad he uses 👍🏻 this one too. Like. Whatever the convo. He will send it.

AND THIS "........" DAD MOMENT!!!! OK.....👍🏻

I feel like he'd also use "lmao" too but only in a sarcastic way. like when he gets pissed off he uses it TOO MUCH.

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

Listen....... basically I can talk about him w melkor here since this question doesn't specify the kind of relationship.

So i think it's SUPER interesting bc i've seen people saying that they are the two sides of the same coin (and it's def true. they both follow their emotions more than being logical. boh of them also go against the Valar for their own reasons etc.)

I think feanor ofc has every right to hate melkor but at the same time. it's like you are hating a part of yourself bro bc they are so similar. Also they both have a passion that is unmatched. like I am not even seeing this from a shipper perspective, that's right there.

Their dynamic, even though it's barely discussed is sooo good and I think if melkor wasn't such a fuckass dipshit and feanor wasn't so impulsive it would be sooo interesting to explore another side of them where they could work together or sth. Think about it.

Then again, you can also see them exactly as Tolkien intended (feanor, who hates melkor for sooo many valid reasons. melkor who just loves manipulating and lying and being a bitch) and still enjoy their dynamic idk i think it's very promising.

I AM RAMBLING. DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE.

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

I will admit i haven't read many fics w feanor (yet) so I wouldn't know.

But I'd love to see him portrayed as very soft and gentle with his family because he definitely IS!!!!

Need more soft dad feanor in my life fr.

[studynxiety]

06/09/2023

Lately, I have been tired. I am not sure if it's burnout, a random depressive episode or executive dysfunction. All I know is I haven't been really doing as much as I could be. I didn't want to admit it since I was still doing enough to get 80% on most tests and things could be worse.

Looking back, however, I haven't really done much that enjoy lately. I don't remember the last time I turned on some good music and wrote away, burning the midnight candle for something that made me alive. And there has been this constant knot of anxiety at the bottom of my stomach. So, things haven't been vibrant but things aren't exactly bad. It's like waking up on the wrong side of the bad; nothing's horrible but everything's off nonetheless.

All this is to say, I think I need to bounce back and I'm done being passive for this year. I've always been ambitious and I'm going to start pursuing things I want again. I woke up today feeling weirdly motivated so I've decided to start the 100 days of productivity challenge!

Things I hope to achieve from this challenge:

Become good enough in Physics that I can enjoy it again

Finish at least half of the CS50 course

Study for SATS

Make a complete compilation of which Unis to apply to

Finish at least two WIPs

Get better at French

Extra/Less-prioritized goals:

Get abs

learn to cook

Sketch/Draw more often

I think there will be two main obstacles in the way of me accomplishing these things. The first will be finding time. Most of the goals I've mentioned are things I have been putting off for more immediate concerns or just, generally, people needing me for things in the present that need to be dealt with but don't have much of an impact in the future.

The second problem is my undeniable internet addiction. Okay, I feel like internet addiction is too broad; my addiction to constantly consume some form of creative media, be it in the form of books, movies, TV shows, anime, cartoon, comics, or fanfiction. I really need to cut down on that. I think this will be the most difficult part. I'll try cutting out serialized content and instead explore more indie books and movies again. They're usually less addictive but fulfilling in the same.

As always, I'll be ending this post with some talk about the most recent shows that I have been enjoying, which is kind of ironic given the previous paragraph is me just complaining about my inability to stay away from them. Lately, I have been into the ongoing Kdrama "My Lovely Liar." I think the chemistry between the main characters is great and the mystery is alluring. An 8/10 in my books.

Other than that, I've been watching "The Boys." Currently, in season three. It's one heck of a show and it's just so believable and feels like a mirror to reality. The corporate greed of pharmaceutical firms, the corruption among the people who have sworn to protect us, and how hard the world works ... only to maintain the status quo. I think it's very interesting and directly draws parallels to the real world. It's definitely a 10/10 for me. The world building, characters, humour; everything hits just right.

That's all for today. I'll do some chemistry, look over the CS50 course and fill out some forms for some official stuff today and kickstart the productivity challenge tomorrow. I'll try to be more active on tumblr during the 100 days as I need something to keep me accountable. Here is to hoping for better me's and better days and better outcomes.

[egg-emperor]

Given the sanitization of fandom in recent years, can you imagine the reaction to Sonic Adventure 2 if it were released today, given its very dark themes of violence, murder, government corruption, terminal illness and attempted genocide?

Especially since it features Gerald's execution and shows an unarmed, terminally ill CHILD being Mercilessly gunned down by GUN(no pun intended) on screen? Do you think people would try to "cancel" Sega for it?

Well from my experience, the people who get at fan creators for exploring dark themes tend to ignore and downplay any of the sort that actually already exist in canon that makes them uncomfortable (Eggman being abusive and genuinely evil being another one of them) so I don't tend to see them react to it. Or they like how it exists but only so they can try to say the Robotnik family tragedy is the reason Eggman is evil, despite that being obvious bs in every way as the very same game even disproves that lol

BUT when they see similar themes in canon they do condemn and try to shut down the creator and put them on a load of blocklists alongside actual criminals etc. So I think because SA2 existed before they were fans and they can also use it as reasons to say Eggman is not so bad, they're hypocritical in acting like it's fine for themes like that to exist in the games but then act like bad stuff happening to kid characters in fandom is crossing the line, or they just pretend it doesn't also exist in canon in the first place.

So if SA2 had been made today that could've been a different story because people would have to properly acknowledge how messed up the plot points in SA2 were and couldn't just pretend it didn't happen. And assuming they'd pay actual attention, they'd find it harder to use it to say Eggman isn't so bad or has tragic misplaced good intentions behind his actions or something. So I wouldn't be surprised if they said Sega was fucked up and bad for including those themes in a kids series.

But as it goes right now, the mindset in them often seems to be hypocritical along the lines of Sega being allowed to write the grim plot line of a 12 year old girl being terminally ill and being shot to death and her grandfather being executed by firing squad, so long as you use it as reasons to try to excuse Eggman's villainy as a result- but if you acknowledge and write the villain Eggman being a villain and the abusive person like he also is the games then that's an unforgivable crime! Logic 100 lol

I'm also still baffled by the reaction I got of "I can't believe you wrote Eggman being abusive towards a little girl you're so sick" towards my concept of him manipulating Sage, the ageless AI that just looks like a child- yet an actual real child like Maria having a terminal illness and being shot to death in game is fine in comparison. Even though if that is, my concept should be more than okay since it's already literally based on actual canon story events too!

It's a shame because all the darker aspects of the games used to be fully acknowledged and portrayed in fandom much more often and that's why we had so many cool edgy darker fan creations in the early 2000s - early 2010s. Now none of those creations of the sort seem to be allowed in the fandom space because people insist on ignoring all those parts of canon and insist on all fan creations being positive and pure. Really wish we could go back :')

[unnursvanablog]

The Uncanny Counter, season 2 / kdrama review.

This is just my opinions on the season two of the kdrama The Uncanny Counter, pretty much spoiler free.

I've often felt that one of the charms and appeals of kdramas is that there is only one season. There are emotions, there is plenty of quiet character moments, angst, and a beginning, a middle and an end all in one season that American show would stretch out over 5 seasons. It's not really in the kdrama formula to have a season two. It just doesn't seem to work all that well (although series like Kingdom or Age of Youth have managed it or series that are independent continuations of each other like the Reply series). And I think this second season of The Uncanny Counters sort of proves that. The story was over. It had a beginning, middle and end. It doesn't need more.

The plot here is predictable and there is nothing there that adds to the narrative of the first one. There is a lot of room for character development, but the drama doesn't use its time well at all instead giving us rather silly, fluffy moments between the characters and overall, it just feels rather poorly done. As if the people behind this didn't really care or didn't feel like it needed to bother with the plot all that much.

Instead of giving us more time to delve deeper into the characters they give us a cardboard cutout of them and a few romantic moments between some of the characters that are totally cute or sweet but add nothing to the story itself. Nothing that happens really matters. There are no puzzles to solve or mysteries to uncover, backstories to explore (like why the bad guys are bad) which pretty much takes away a lot of tension from the narrative. Everything is easy. There is no real desperation or intensity in the story. The struggles they had that made them interesting in the first season are no longer there. There is no battle going on here.

Many of the characters don't work the same as before and neither do their superpowers. The character who struggled in the first season doesn't struggle now. So Moon seems almost invincible and way too rugged and cold when he was the soft heart of the story last season. He doesn't even feel like the main character here or the sensitive as the heart of the series and we are not following him learning more about his powers. But there was still no decent successor to him to fill that main character, fish-out-of-water role so the story has no anchor or focus.

Our characters have nothing much to do but try to fight some very dull and colorless bad guys. They are not being given time to grow organically so they will change with the narrative. They have changed, without us getting to see it as it all happened off screen between the two seasons, to serve the oh-so-generic, bare-bone plot that this new series has to offer.

While the plot of the first series felt like a story that has been retread a little too often, it also managed to find some fresh and exciting angles on the very common underdog superhero story with some good tension and humor along with a great lovable cast and characters. And although the actors and characters are still lovely, the story here doesn't really nothing to say here. Not about human greed or corruption or humanity. At least not in an exciting new way. Everything is a little too simple or convenient to hit it's mark properly.

On the surface, the series is cool, flashy, with funny moments and some really cool special effects and fight scenes, but that was never really what made The Uncanny Counters, or any sci-fi for the matter show fun to watch. People may start watching genre shows for the setting; dragons, swords, superpowers and all that but people keep watching for the plot and the characters. The character struggles, seeing those less fortunate stand up for something bigger than them, people coming together and working together using their powers makes for an exciting narrative and hopefully a good story. It's so much more than just some superpowers. The previous series seemed to understand that, but this feels very much surface level to its approach to a story.

This series seems rather dull. The story is missing something and both the old characters and the new ones we are meeting do not have the same charm and depth as in the previous season. There isn't really any story going on, very little momentum or character moments that move the story forward. It just sort of tugs along. Everything is too easy, too predictable and there is very little real conflict going on, apart from cool fight scenes, or characters growth which makes it really boring to watch because nothing really happens. Or matter. There is nothing about season two that stays with you after watching it. If you have nothing to add to a story, don't make season two.

[dontgofarfromme]

Rewatching EXU bc the Dorian message got me thinking abt them and I missed them, things I have noticed as of ep 1:

Dorian has always been the wildest combination of lying liar who lies and guy who can't lie to save his life. He won't tell you shit about himself however he constantly flags that he's rich by accident and doesn't realize it.

The number of characters all from small towns/areas (or not from this plane of existance) all with minimal experience in big cities!! The exploration of newness is an overarching theme. I also forgot how closely paralleled Opal and Dorian especially are on some fronts in this respect, there's a naivete to both of them, which Opal just spills all over the place and which Dorian tries his best to cover up. Theres this sense esp this early into the show that they've just been let out of a restricting cage for the first time and are riding high on it, but also have some gaps in their understanding of how everything...works. Orym is an interesting contrast bc you get the feeling that while he may not have experienced the city himself and has lived his whole life in a place with leaders that could be trusted, he seems aware of the potential dangers and corruption in the world but actively chooses to give people the benefit of the doubt despite this.

Fearne was always chaotic but I think she's actually become more chaotic as time goes on. Ashley plays her as slightly more reserved here.

Forgot how much Dorian and Orym sort of teamed up as the slightly more restrained ones early on. This obviously goes out the window a bit later on Dorian's part, but the contrasting reasons for not wanting to steal shit for Poska are interesting--Orym has a clear moral objection and suspicion of Posla's intentions, Dorian seems to both have some 'grew up rich' sympathy for her targets but I think also has some worry around doing an illegal thing in general (another compare/contrast between him and opal, she's raring to use her newfound independence to do whatever the hell she wants; and also maybe a consequence of his history in a pretty restrictive environment).

Ruidis + Catha on flag of the ship they rob 2:07:15. The ship is called "the Blightstar" and Aabria says "this looks like...the ship is named after Ruidis, yeah." *Travis voice* WEEEOOOOWEEEOOOWEEEOO. It's also from Issylra, not a place known for trade, so it's weird that it's there.

In the same convo Aabria says Orym is "extremely well-traveled," but earlier in the ep Orym says he's only been to 2 "city taverns." Was the traveling for work with Keyleth or in the 6 years after he left Zephra, or both? I am shaking this little guy upside down so all his secrets fall out of his pockets tell me everything!!!!

Truly the entire "He's a real sailor! He's kept us aloive! Many toimes I would've doied if it weren't for him!" is hilarious

Do we know what Dariax's compass is for? Does he actually follow a deity?

I fully don't remember who did all the murders on this boat or why they didn't take the crown with them while they escaped, I can't remember if we ever figured it out?

It's really interesting how often Dorian tosses the ball to Orym for input/final decisions from like day one. It feels almost like he's looking for either someone who knows what they're doing or a moral compass outside himself and he's pretty convinced Orym's got both those things covered.

Orym, questioning all his life choices: we stole an oily dark crown from a ship full of corpses with evaporating assassins and a monster in the hull.

Opal, having the time of her life: Yeah!!!! We did that!!!

Speaking of evaporating assassins, hey Orym...I do wonder if any of this poked at those memories for him

The fact that Orym's first battle maneuver was bait and switch, I continue to sob over this halfling oh my god he's just doing his best to keep everyone else safe.

I've been doing an awful job of keeping track of plot points in cr3 and I'm p sure they mentioned it but the nameless ones have 40 pounds of smuggled refined residuum from Zephra, def ties into the box they got recently in cr3.

How do the baby ankheg and the big ankheg line up is it that the ship the CK rolled was one Poska's group was targeting anyway but the CK interrupted and took the crown before anyone else could?

It's really interesting that while Orym has been the one trying desperately to steer them right and keep them away from unnecessary dangerous theft etc through this whole episode, in the end his decision to take the residuum (honestly a fair and understandable one!!) is a solid 50% of what puts them on Poska's bad side. It's about what's right for him, not what's safe--he's consistent!

[ryin-silverfish]

My response to this gets too long, so I decide to put it in a reblog.

First: SWK wasn't exactly against them "even before he got power". In the original novel, he is pretty giddy when the Gold Star of Venus arrived with an invitation to the Celestial Realm. He only started the first Havoc after he found out that his position, the Pimawen, is the lowest in the hierarchy: basically, he felt personally slighted and insulted.

Part of it is, indeed, motivated by grievances that the JE didn't acknowledge his prowess and use him wisely. But it's still not the same as the "rebellion against an unjust feudal order on behalf of the oppressed" narrative both Havocs were often interpreted as in the 50s/60s.

To paraphrase Lin Gen's 西游记漫话 again: "Did the Havoc start because the utopian FFM had become barren and downtrodden thanks to the Celestial Realm? Because the Celestial Realm had been taxing the monkeys and subjecting them to conscripted labors or similar oppressive laws? No, you can't find evidences for either arguments prior to the first and second Havoc."

"It paints a vivid picture of SWK's character and motivation, but none of it is close to the common motivations of a historical peasant rebellion."

(Also: though the Celestial Realm had dished out a lot of disproportionate punishments to their own officials and mortals alike, in the novel, they do not "enslave people".)

Second…well, second is why this response is so long.

The Celestial Realm, a.k.a. the bureaucratic Daoist Heaven, is certainly one of the major targets of JTTW's satire, from very harsh laws to mismanagement of its officials.

JTTW also mocks Daoist priests more often than Buddhist monks, even though, unlike people's common impression that JTTW is basically Buddhist propaganda, it does poke fun at Buddhist clergy and deities too.

However, however: JTTW's satire is a lot more gentle than modern audiences think it is.

"Satire can co-exist with genuine faith and religious messages" is something mentioned over and over in my other posts, so I'll just put it here and go back to what people tend to think JTTW's satire is: a scathing war declaration against the corruption of the establishments and the falsehood that is traditional religions, with the ideal goal being said hierarchy's destruction, and the tragedy being SWK's failure to fulfill that goal.

It's a very modern interpretation, and also one that obscures the original novel's most important themes: the "cultivation of the heart" and exploration of selfhood. Campany's paper really puts it best:

To summarize and analyze: both Havoc Era SWK and the demons encountered during the journey represent a pitfall in self-cultivation, in which one starts to believe the self is the universe, not beholden to any higher authority or orders.

At the same time, the book does not advocate for the complete subordination and elimination of the self either: enlightenment is where you are both in harmony with the cosmological orders AND free, a continuous process instead of a fixed state.

Through that lens, the flaws of the "Celestial Realm a/o Western Heaven as Oppressive Tyranny" narrative become clear: they believe that 1) the destructive freedom + unrestrained expansion of selfhood of the Havoc is seen as a good thing in the novel, and 2) submission to something higher than the self and acknowledging one's limitations can only mean the complete elimination of one's free will, and forced subjugation by an oppressive authority.

And, well…the destructive freedom the narrative embodied and promoted at the time was neither real freedom, nor without its own horrid consequences.

Back to the question of the "establishment": like almost every historical regime, imperial China is not a society I, or any modern people, will want to live under. Like any human institutions, the courtly bureaucracy and the Daoist + Buddhist clergy could be, and were often, self-serving and corrupt.

But the caricature of "Feudal Order" offers little insight into the "Hows" and "Whys".

The history of the Three Teachings is a complicated web of negotiation, adaptation, conflicts, syncretism, and co-existence, interlaced with political, economic, and cultural concerns.

Daoist and Buddhist establishments competed for the state's favors and were beholden to its regulations; they were almost never independent, powerful political factions of their own, yet they weren't obedient parrots of the imperial court either.

And the line between "institutional" and folk religions, between a tool of state control in a religious trenchcoat and an embodiment of local autonomy and agency, was far from a clear one.

A Buddhist temple could be part of the imperial legitimacy-making process through royal patronage and donations; it could also be an economic entity entrusted with the management of gentry land and loan-making, a service provider that fulfilled important roles in everyday funerary rituals, and a ground for folk entertainment and performance arts.

Because traditional religions were so closely integrated with life and society and "secular" concerns, they were also subjected to all the failings and conflicting interests on both local and state level.

Here's the thing: JCT-style takes reduce the complex webs of causes and effects into a binary opposition. Whether by portraying the religious establishments as the true powers, the conspirators working behind the stage, or opium-of-the-mass salesmen working on behalf of the Feudal Order, they are, once again, seeing "people believing in this stuff" as the real problem.

More generally speaking, demonizing any historical society/institutions tend to make us think that 1) these things only happen in the past, where people are backwards and stupid, and 2) they are only bad because everyone involved are uniformly evil and corrupt and believe in false/evil principles.

(Same for romanticizing the past, but that's less relevant to the topic at hand.)

It's a mindset that denys historical people their voices and agencies, while also stopping us from questioning our own fallibility and assumptions about ourselves and the world we live in.

More specifically, the binary divide of Oppressor vs. Oppressed, Establishment vs. The People, also ignored the commoners' own autonomy, their ability to be complicit as well as resist, to manipulate and negotiate.

To go back to the original quote:

And for most of chinese history the establishment has been shown in positive light while acting in pretty evil ways, so to have a cynical view of them is natural no?

It's cynical, sure, but a very modern cynicism that disencourages any attempts to dig into the historical context and themes of the original novel. And that's why I dislike it.

I'm a Theravada Buddhist. I saw many people interpreting the story and meaning behind Black Myth Wukong, differently. But I hope the devs team didn't intend to insult Buddha Dhamma by recreating this new story and distort the meaning of Buddhahood or Enlightenment itself..

I don't know if they intended to insult Buddhism, but I can say that their presentation of Buddhism in the game is disrespectful.

@ryin-silverfish recently posted a wonderful essay on what's known as the "JTTW Conspiracy Theory," which is a method of interpreting the story by twisting details, making the heavenly hierarchy look evil. The game follows this method. I recommend that you read the essay:

I unknowingly ran into the JTTW Conspiracy Theory a couple of years ago. A Chinese article claimed that the Buddha lies in the novel. This is my rebuttal.

[arcane-temp-fandomblog]

the conflict about the future of Hextech aka is it possible to achieve the dream

I really like the conflict Arcane is setting up around the question 'can technology in itself be the source of good'. And imo. it clearly answers that 'no, it can't', technology is just a tool and in itself does not create a better or worse world. The configuration it enters with different character convictions shapes how it influences the world. Jayce's fascination with developing hextech comes from the time he felt impossibly powerless and scared of loosing those closest to him.

And he sees magic as a tool to never make other's feel as powerless to save loved ones as he did. For him magic/hextech just by existing makes everything bad and painful go away.

And imo. Jayce is very, very wrong.

It's not about the magic, it's about the user. The magic didn't save his mother's life, the mage using it saved it because he decided to help someone less fortunate - a scared child and his dying mother - without any need for payment etc. A selfless act.

But Jayce doesn't see it as such, he sees magic as the thing that does good and doesn't factor people's intentions. But in flashback the source of good and beauty lies in how you choose to use it, not the magic itself.

And here comes the delicious Act 2 of Arcane, where 'the conviction that hextech/magic is the source of good' is explored by putting hextech's future into framework of different characters around Jayce.

The cautious and reactionary Heimerdinger, that comes from the place of fear. All magic is source of corruption. Which again imo. is wrong, and clearly Piltover shows that corruption can exist without magic.

This is main point of contention between Heimerdinger and Viktor.

Viktor sees any time where magic isn't used to help people as potential loss of life, and active choice to not help. For Viktor the use of magic or 'the magic of hextech' lays not in the technology but in how it influences the world. It can't be passive. Hextech dream is only the goal if it helps people, that's why through all Act 2 he pushes Jayce to make the hextech technology influence real lives - creating real change in the world.

It's the same non-passive stance as Mel btw, which makes the scene above with Viktor and Heimerdinger and scene that follows it with her such a delicious juxtaposition of all 3 possible paths for hextech.

Mel also sees hextech as only creating real change in the world if it is used, she's just like Viktor in that regard. In contrast thou, Viktor is direct antithesis of her statement 'everyone wants the Hextech for themselves'. She does want hextech for herself and honestly, this does not make her a bad person - she's just illustrating another path to answering the question 'can hextech be beautiful and save lives' by mere virtue of existing. Plus in comparison to all other members of the council she is active, not reactionary to technology.

I mean they're not even subtle in how they arrange the scenes in the story, where Jayce is constantly being thrown between Mel's and Viktor's perspective.

This issue of Jayce seeing 'magic/hextech will automatically generate the good' is compounded with how he believes in the good of the system of Piltover. Which worked out for him (albeit barely if it wasn't for Viktor's help), the fact that he never really failed and was cast away by the system reinforced in him the idea that Piltover is the city of progress and all other values it proclaims to symbolise. This is something he very strongly shares with Heimerdinger, but Viktor coming from the undercity sees a completely different view of Piltover and it's flawed values.

That's why imo Jayce may not see mixing with the council partaking in backroom deals and preferential treatment by association in direct opposition of initial hextech dream that is selfless and works for the good of all regardless of where you are in the society. Since hextech is the thing that makes things good, not user of it - as if the touch of hextech technology magically makes everything bad into everything good, everything corrupt into good. Jayce in the end is very naive about the reality of the world he lives in and misconstrued the idea of what is the source of good in the world - the tools, not the actions.

Imo. it's made pretty obvious in the storytelling that Piltover system and helping people is mutually exclusive, or more aptly you need to choose which bed you end up in.

The thing I like about Arcane is none of the options presented to Jayce by Heimerdinger, Viktor and Mel is path to evil, but not all of them lead to capturing the magic he witnessed as a child.

So lol, I think Jayce set himself up for a big slap in the face with his naive perspective in act 3, because he already messed up. He's such a disaster in the making, I love his characterisation. The Piltover system says - become like one of us and we'll help to realise your dreams, so how come you've felt more on track with pursuing your dream when you went against the council in act 1? What a moron. And imo. narratively speaking there was actually a correct choice who to spend the night with to follow path to recreating magic from his childhood, it was not with the council.

[lesbeet]

glass onion spoilers //

k this would be a video essay if i made video essays but i don't so. i've been ruminating more on what was missing from glass onion for me bc as much as i enjoyed it i felt like there was SOMETHING knives out has that glass onion doesn't, and i actually think it's the same reason i love the big short but don't look up didn't do much for me even though they were both written and directed by adam mckay (the big short was adapted from a non-fiction book tho) just like rian johnson did knives out and glass onion

and i think what knives out and the big short have that glass onion and don't look up lack are real emotional stakes. glass onion and don't look up both feel like movies that are SAYING SOMETHING! but don't have the emotion to back it up

like. knives out and the big short are both hilarious and are also both cynical as fuck about the world, about systems, about people. but the big short makes sure to remind you every few minutes that real every-day people are the ones who ultimately suffered due to the corruption of the us banking system, and knives out is a story told entirely over the course of a familial grieving process for a character who brings out poignant emotion even in largely unsympathetic characters like linda. don't look up and glass onion both fail to attach their messages to actual emotional stakes. don't look up is saying "you should take these extinction-level threats seriously!" while not really taking anything seriously itself, since the movie is mostly just caricatured versions of contemporary media archetypes running around acting unreasonable until it's too late, with very little in the way of showing the actual consequences of ignoring such clear warnings with any kind of gravity. similarly, the message of glass onion is "elon musk is an evil moron" and it's like. true! and...? the emotional undercurrent (helen trying to solve/avenge her sister's murder) is more like an emotional whisper since it's only revealed about halfway through the film, and honestly i think having miles be alive the entire time prevented anything deeper. if he'd either eventually been murdered or maybe had been pretending to have been murdered from the beginning (maybe he's the one who invited blanc to get someone to confess to his murder, and then he could pin andi's murder on them too, etc), maybe there could've been some more nuanced character exploration, but like. there's no central "harlan" figure to hang all the shitty personalities on bc miles is an alive jackass moron so it's hard to care enough about any of the charactrers to find them interesting beyond simply being funny and entertaining a la jodi from knives out. but i don't think knives out would've been good if every character was jodi, and that's kind of what glass onion was.

idk if this made any sense i just wanted to get it out of my brain before going to bed bye

[shadowthestoryteller]

I have finally made peace (somewhat) with the Bad Batch show

I still am unsatisfied with how they did things, namely Crosshair's dechipped reveal and the over abundance of cameos. I also feel like most of the time and effort went into the animation. Which admittedly is ASTOUNDING compared to Season 1 of the clone wars. The pacing is still a bit odd, and I feel the Infested ep should DEFINITELY have come before Ryloth.

But all that aside, I've come to accept something

It just wasn't made for me

Let me explain

TLDR at the end for those with ADD like myself

I felt often that the episodes lacked the deeper "omph" that some episodes in the clone wars had. There was angst, yes, but it wasn't really explored or fleshed out. Things kinda happened more for shock value (ex. civvie BBQ, dechipping, ect) and then weren't ever... mentioned again??? Crosshair, forced against his will to brutally murder unarmed civvies alive, only to never have it mentioned again. That's no small incident. The Crosshair from tcw would definitely have felt deep rooted and visceral horror at what he'd done, even if he didn't say it aloud. Because he's not evil.

You don't just brush something like that off. Admittedly, we do see him reflect at the end of that episode but then we just... move on. It is never brought up again. His abandonment gets a bit more spotlight, with that absolutely gut-wrenching speech in episode 15. Even still, it doesn't go as deep into it as I feel it could.

Ultimately, much of my issue boils down to that; things weren't really addressed in-depth like I felt they should be. Many of my fellow Bad Batch stans have the same thought. There are many fans out there who have, in my opinion, written the Batch better than the show-writers. I myself have gotten the same praise, which is not to brag but to point out that even those writing for purely hobby's sake go in-depth with the characters and their issues.

Thing is... we go deeper into these issues, into what should be broken men, because of one critical factor.

Our target audience is NOT a bunch of kids.

The Bad Batch show, per IMDb, is rated TV-PG. PG. That's for kids. Just like the Clone Wars.

I was eight when the Clone Wars movie came out. EIGHT. Why did I watch it? Cool lightsabers, neat character designs, kick-ass action sequences, and intriguing plots. NOT deep and intricate characterizations. Hell, half of it probably went right over my head. Because I was a KID. Kids aren't really gonna get the deeper meaning of things. Ask a eight year old to read Shakespeare and see what happens. They don't care. They care about action or cool visual effects.

The Clone Wars, and by extension Rebels, did mature as the seasons went on, but that's probably because the audience who started with Season 1 was also more mature. They could better understand the death. The corruption. The deeper, more adult themes.

Many of us fanfic writers, or at least those in my circle, are 17+ verging on 18+. My material is not for kids. Or even teens at some points. I can delve into things like PTSD, abandonment, perfectionism, trauma, abuse, and so on. Because I'm not targeting young kids; I'm targeting people around my age. Those who too grew up with the clone wars and deeply yearn for a different outcome. A different outcome where the galaxy didn't fall. The clones got their freedom. And the musty crusty dusty raisin choked on a grapefruit.

My audience is different. As such, I'm going to tackle topics a completely different way. Ways that no kid, or sometimes even teen should be exposed to.

Writing is an art, and a hella difficult one at that. Especially when aimed at kids. Even if you want to explore the character on a deeper level, you can't. Not if you want the rating to stay the same. A kid will look at Crosshair's speech and go "yeah he's hurt". But they probably won't think too much of it.

I didn't realized the true terror of the mind control worms. I didn't think too much of Pond's death. Umbara didn't horrify and scar me. It was only when Ahsoka underwent the hell that she did that I really felt impacted by the show. Because at that point, I was 12 almost 13. And I'd been attached to Ahsoka for years, so saying goodbye to her was saying goodbye to my childhood. But if you showed me that exact same scene at 8, I would have just "noo!! she's leaving!" and then jumped to something else.

Because that's how kids are. They don't really get the deeper "what's happening here". Looking back they will, just how looking back we all are like "bro what were those early kid's movies ON that is NOT child friendly" (Pink Elephants in Dumbo, the entirety of All Dogs Go to Heaven, ect). Another example? That scene in the Patriot (2000) where the surrendering soldier got shot in the face? I remember very vividly my seventh grade classmates laughing. Kids and very young teens aren’t exactly gonna take dark things seriously.

The Bad Batch isn't meant to be a deeper, thought provoking show with convoluted and twisted morals, showing the horrible and dark reality of war.

It's a kids show.

For kids.

Hence Omi. She's the tether for the kids. As such, the topics cannot get overly dark. But when they do, they can only be shown at surface level. Something that, to an older audience (such as myself) comes across as shallow and lazy.

Do I still wish they did things differently? Yes. Do I prefer my/others version over the show? Yes. Will I still grumble about things? Most likely yes. Will I make shots at canon in my fics? Hell yeah, its fun.

Here's the thing.

You're allowed to complain! You're allowed to hate something! You're allowed to wish they did something differently! Welcome to media consumption!

But you can't go into a kids' show with adult expectations and then be surprised when it doesn't meet those expectations. If you want a animated series catered to adults, watch Arcane. The Bad Batch show, a show rated PG, is simply not for you.

Additionally, you most certainly cannot bash others who like the show/characters. The amount of hate I see towards Omi, a literal child, is sickening. Do I like her within the context of the show? Not really, no. I feel like her presence limits how dark they can go, and I also feel like she replaced Crosshair as the marksman. But do I hate Omi herself? NO. She's the new generation's Ahsoka.

TLDR;

The Bad Batch is made for kids, and judging it by adult standards will just leave you disappointed. I know, because I did the exact same thing and have suffered for it.

[moongothic]

You know immidiately after posting this I went to bed and ended up having an epiphany about Rebellion and what it means

Like for a long time I had been kind on the same boat many others had been on, where Homura becoming satan and kind of undoing Madoka's sacrifice felt like a cruel continuation/end to the original series. Like I thought on a narrative level, it made sense as an exploration of the series' lore and a natural continuation of what could/would happen next, but at the same time... I kind of wished I hadn't watched it. It didn't really leave me feeling good the same way the original series did (if in a bitter-sweet way)

But indeed, just as I came to have a new view/understanding of the original series and what it means... I think I understand Rebellion now

So, years ago Hbomber guy made a video about Undertale with the title "Perverted Sentimentality". Among other things he discusses the way the game encourages/discourages people from replaying it over and over again to find all the secrets and see what might change if you do XYZ, milking the game dry for all its content because you love it so much you can't seem to let it go. Your love, your sentimentality for the world and its characters, becoming perverted and corrupt, to the point you even kill everyone in the game because at least then you get to spend a little bit more time with them.

The magical girl genre (in its ideal state) is about empowering people (young girls in particular), giving them hope and encouraging them to reach for their dreams. But as we get older, people can become cynical and depressed if/when our lives don't turn out the way we envisioned as small children. The worst of us may start to lash out and take it out on others, hurting people around them. Or, as Madoka Magica puts it; magical girls maturing into witches when despair takes their hearts over and corrupts them. And that's where our dear girl Madoka comes in; she's meant to encompass that promise the magical girl series from our childhoods told us; to never give up hope and to never fall to despair, that good things will come again and we aren't doomed to curse others around us. Madoka literally becomes that promise. She will always be with us in our hearts, to remind us to not give, even if we can't see her anymore, even if her story ended so long ago.

And that's where that concept of Perverted Sentimentality hit me after kinda rewatching Rebellion Homura going back in time to try to save Madoka countless time, loosing her seemingly forever, and then going so far as to literally rip her out of the heavens to try to get her back... It gives "person who watched a magical girl series a bajillion times a child to cope with the horrors of life, only to become resentful of the fact that it ended, deciding to take the matter into their own hands to continue the story the way they want so they don't have to say goodbye to it and the comfort it brought them, even if that goes against the very core of the original story"

And that does reframe Rebellion for me, it makes me appreciate it so much more. It isn't just a logical continuation of the series and an exploration of what could happen, it's a warning of what we could and might become if we let our sentimentality become perverted. Hell, in a way, by simply watching Rebellion it already kind of did, because we wanted to see Madoka again so bad that we forsake what she did for us just to get her back.

Madoka is the promise you won't turn from a child, full of hopes and dreams and the wish to save the world, into a bitter adult who just wants to hurt others and ruin people's lives

Madoka promised to be there for you to remind you of the person you wanted to be and to stop you from becoming what you sought to destroy

Madoka made that promise and became the very embodiment of it

[erismerald]

𝑰 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕 (Jacob Frye x reader) 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 1

Hello, my lovely assassins, I've been away from writing for a while but I'm back! And I bring you a story of our beloved assassin Jacob Frye X F!reader, I don't know yet how many chapters this story will have but I hope you like it and have fun with it, I just want to remind you that I am open to requests if you want to send me a message!

𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: Some fluff and Near Rape

𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔: 3306

𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎

You just got off the plane, you look around you, a feeling of excitement and euphoria fills your chest in a comfortable warmth, your gaze fixed on the incredible sight you had, you are amazed, it was your first time in London, and since you were a little girl you wanted to visit that wonderful city, You listened to the bedtime stories your grandmother told you, about the city, about what happened before it became as free a city as it is now, since you were 5 years old you have tried countless times to convince her to come with you to London, it was just you two against the world, she raised you in place of your parents, since they never cared much for you and your well being, and now you had just turned 18, and on this school trip you finally have the chance to make your greatest wish come true, you were so excited that it was hard to breathe, until you felt a hand lightly resting on your shoulder, it was your best friend F/n, she was looking at you with a huge smile, she knew how much you had asked your nanny to allow you to make this trip, In fact, you smiled as you remembered the conversation you had with her:

𝑭𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌

"Ahm nanny, can I talk to you? "You said leaning against the frame of the glass door of the living room, the atmosphere around you, was nostalgic, you loved the rain and the cold, your grandmother was sitting in a small brown armchair, old with time, in front of the big fireplace, the glass roof that both of you had built some summers ago allowed you to see the rain falling, even during the night, it was really calming, in her fragile hands was a book, you knew that book well "Ah that book ...." You approached slowly, and like a child you sat on the carpet looking at your grandmother with a gentle but mysterious smile.

"I know that look my dear, do you want to tell me something?" she asked already knowing what your look meant, you sighed through your nose and gave her permission for the trip "Y/n...." she said with a sweet smile, but before she could say something disapproving, you interrupted by putting both your hands on her lap on top of the book.

"Nanny you have told me so many stories about that city, why don't you let me explore, I.... I have saved enough money to be able to afford the trip, besides F/n will be there with me, can I go? I promise to draw everything I see, to show you nanny, but I want to find out who I am, so far I don't know where I belong..." you said sadly, it was true, you had a family legacy that tormented you for nights on end, your grandmother said it was a brotherhood that helped people but in your view they stole people's lives, to protect? It wasn't right, and you never accepted it, and preferred to believe it was just another bedtime story made up by your grandmother to make you a stronger person.

"Y/n... I wouldn't deny it dear, I encourage you to go, I'm too old to keep you here, besides it's only a month, what could go wrong? I just want you to be careful, and not to be fooled by anyone, and take this" she got up from the chair and walked to a wooden box hidden in the shelf, from there she took out a necklace, made with a coin? "This necklace belonged to a very important person, one that you know and that will make you know a better world and discover who you finally are" she gave you the necklace with a smile and let you enjoy it on your fingers.

"Who did it belong to?" you asked, curious about the small necklace that had been handed to you.

"Jacob Frye. That necklace belonged to Jacob" She said would be, but confident, you laughed a little, she looked at you confused.

"Nanny, you know I don't believe in bedtime stories anymore, Jacob Frye and Evie Frye are just characters in your stories, that you told me to put me to sleep, but they didn't exist but thank you for giving it to me, I will wear it proudly, even if it didn't belong to Jacob, it belonged to you and that's worth a lot, and Thank you for letting me go, I'll be eternally grateful," You said kissing her hand and smiling at her "Well now, how about I make you some tea and you read me some of your book of tales, remind me who was who?" she laughed and nodded, watching you disappear into the darkness that surrounded you.

𝑬𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌

"So excited huh?" she smiled and put her arm over your shoulder, as you laughed a little, it was a strange but warm feeling that you were in a place you had dreamed of so much.

"Of course, I am, you've seen the atmosphere! Can you imagine the adventures we'll have in a month here? I'm so excited I can feel my body energetic, I want to know, I want to visit, being here is just a demonstration that my journey to find out who I am, is going to go well!" you said excitedly as you picked up your bag and moved it to your classmates.

"I like seeing you like this, ever since you found out you were coming here, you've talked about nothing else" she laughed, you smiled shyly, grabbing the necklace your grandmother had given you before you left

"Where does that necklace come from anyway? Did your grandmother explain it to you?" F/n asked as she sat in front of you waiting for the teachers and the rest of the class to arrive.

"Well, she told me it would be useful to me in my future, I didn't quite understand, she said it belonged to one of the Frye twins, the ones she tells in the bedtime stories when we were little" you explained watching and twirling the pendant chained around your neck.

F/n smiled and thought for a moment before speaking, she seemed amused in her own thoughts, it was funny to see her like that you thought to yourself as you heard the teachers calling you to go to the bus.

"Do you think it could be true?" She asked getting up, and following the others, you stopped for a small moment, looked at the necklace, and smiled, Nah... it couldn't be true, could it? Since you were little you knew the story of the Frye brothers, their fight to save London from corruption, their adventures, your nanny loved to tell you those stories when you were younger, when she left the room you stayed awake for hours looking at the stars in the sky, closing your eyes and trying to feel the emotion they had, they were your heroes, you always admired them, but they were just bedtime stories, right? it couldn't be true, maybe your grandmother just said that to remind you of old times? You shake your head and go on your way.

*Time skip*

When you arrived at the hotel you were informed that you were going to make a night tour of the streets of London, you couldn't be more excited, you looked at F/n and she noticed your look immediately.

"I know that look," she said a bit teasingly "tell me what do you want to go and see?" you grabbed her hand and stormed out of the room "ahm calm down young lady, you are going to rip my arm off" you laughed a bit as you got into the elevator.

"You know I'd like to go see Big Ben at night and walk around there, what do you think? we could have dinner nearby, I want to draw the streets at night, to show my grandmother" you answered, going through the small backpack you had, confirming that you had everything there, pencils... sketchbook... wallet... watercolors... phone... you got scared when you heard F/n calling you, you were too lost in your thoughts.

"Hello? land call Y/n I've been calling you for 5 minutes" she looked at you with an amused smile on her face, you looked forward and finally noticed that you had arrived embarrassed, you looked to the side and smiled trying to disguise it "Come on let's go I'm hungry" she pulled you out of the hotel while signaling for a taxi.

As you walked through the streets of London, you imagined what it must have been like in 1850, you were always connected to history and literature, you loved to draw and your grandmother always fascinated you with her stories and her adventures here in London, it was here that she had met your grandfather, would the future also await you with unexpected adventures and romances?

*A few hours later

You were in a cafe near the big ban drawing the environment around you, in a way it seemed magical, it seemed that it wasn't real, you sighed happily while you put back the watercolors and your notebook in your bag, you looked at F/n and a group of friends that were with you.

"I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back!" you said, getting up and picking up your backpack, heading for the cafe's bathroom.

"Okay, try not to take too long, we'll be going to the hotel soon" F/n warned you as you walked away.

The bathroom was very rustic, it looked like it was from 1880, that was an interesting thing, when you finished doing what you had to do, you went to the small sink and looked at yourself in the mirror, your hair was tied up in a clumsy bun, and your eyes were more sparkling than usual, a small shade of pink adorned your face, you felt free, inspired, you were ready to have this adventure.

you made a little shell with your hand and took some water on your face to refresh it, when you looked in the mirror you saw a shadow behind you and the light had failed for a few seconds, suddenly you looked back afraid, but... there was no one there, could you have imagined it? Were you so tired that you imagined someone behind you? You took a deep breath, picked up your backpack and headed back to your friends' side, but something unexpected happened, when you left the cafe the atmosphere had changed, it didn't even look like the same cafe you had visited, the people were dressed in an old way, they spoke old English, what had happened? You felt fear invading your mind a little, still quite confused, you approached the bartender in an attempt to get an answer, but he seemed a little surprised to see you, he looked at you from top to bottom, with a disapproving look.

"ahm sorry, but what happened to the cafe? And did you happen to see a group of students on the outside terrace, do you know where they went?" He looked perplexed by what you had said.

"I'm sorry miss but, who are you? and what are those clothes you are wearing? And the student girl? I don't know where you come from but I don't want prostitutes or liars in my pub, if you can get out of here, I would appreciate it" you looked at him outraged, what does he meant by a prostitute? Clothes? Ahm you were really lost, but you respected the gentleman's answer and left, when you left you got an even bigger shock, the environment had changed, there were no cafes, the streets were badly illuminated, the people dressed differently, feeling a wave of fear invading your body you started to run like crazy, looking for someone who could help you, after many panicky minutes and without getting any answer you just sat down in an alley and started to cry, where are you? How could you have stopped there? Not even 10 minutes ago you were with your friends, and now you were alone.

You felt the raindrops wet your body and taking advantage that the rain disguised your tears, you hugged your body and tried to breathe, doubts and fears went through your subconscious until you heard the footsteps of someone approaching you, a feeling of hope invaded you but was soon replaced by fear.

"Hey there doll, want some company for tonight?" a man in his forties approached you, and crouched down beside you, he looked you up and down and examined your body, you tried to get up but he pulled you down and pinned you against the wall.

"You look strange, you don't look like you're from here... but I don't care, you'll do for tonight," he said trying to remove your clothes, you screamed and cried, while that pig undressed you and pinned you to the cold wall, the memories of your grandmother, your friends passed in your eyes while you felt your body being abused, you wanted to escape, you wanted to go home, you weren't ready for this... you should never have come .... out of nowhere you felt his body leave yours, he had fallen unconscious on the floor, you looked forward and saw another man, this one looked to be in his early 20's, his costume was different more hidden, he looked at you and helped you to pull yourself together, when you finally finished you looked up at him, his almond colored eyes bewitched you, he put his thumb on your face wiping the tears that were falling.

"I... I don't know... help me..." You fell to your knees on the ground but your body was held by the mysterious man who had saved your life, you felt safe and somehow protected in his embrace, but you weren't strong enough not to cry once again.

"Shhh love, it's ok" he hugged you tightly and pulled you closer to him "You look a little heated, do you have somewhere to stay?" His voice was husky but mesmerizing, but you couldn't answer as you had collapsed in his arms passed out, the fear, the cold, the pain had overcome the last thing you heard was him asking your name.

𝑱𝒂𝒄𝒐𝒃 𝒑𝒐𝒗

With a sigh the assassin took your face lightly, noting every feature of your face, his eyes slid down your body, it was true what he had heard, the rumors that there was a strange traveler roaming the streets was true, but your clothes looked nothing like what he had seen so far.

The rain fell on your bodies, he was afraid you would get sick, even though he didn't know you he couldn't leave you on the street after what had happened, in one movement he gently picked up your body and took your backpack, and went towards the streets calling for a carriage to take you to the station to take refuge on the train, and take care of you.

Getting into the carriage slowly, so you wouldn't be woken up, not that it would be possible to wake you up because you were fainting from exhaustion, but to prevent it, Jacob put your body on top of his, and with his coat wrapped around you, to warm you up.

"Evie will freak when she sees me... what the-" Jacob stopped his words as his gaze was drawn to the necklace that adorned your neck "How come she has this?" he said holding the necklace in his fingers and looking intensely at you "You really are an unexpected traveler."

The streets of London were bustling, the fight against Crawford Starrick, had not been won yet and there was still a long way to go, but still the streets of London was mesmerizing and agitated, the rain was a strange charm of the city, Jacob knew the streets well, he spent most of his time on the streets freeing people from the clutches of the templar.

But he was curious about this strange traveler, during the early evening some Rooks had told him about this mysterious girl who desperately asked crazy questions to people, some even theorized that she had escaped from some asylum, but Jacob had to see with his own eyes this strange girl who had stopped the city with her unusual appearance.

When he arrived at the station, he saw Grennie carrying some boxes of groceries into the train, and when he approached him with a girl in his arms, Henry ran to meet him helping him out.

"What the hell have you been doing now Jacob? Who this girl?" Henry placed his palm over her face, the heavy breathing and the heat she was eradicating were just signs of a strong fever "This girl is burning up we need to get her to a doctor" He said trying to pick up your body but Jacob refused.

"I am sorry my dear Grennie but unfortunately we can't take her to a doctor, she isn't from around here... I found her because of rumors of a strange traveler in town, but I didn't believe it until I saw her lying on the ground with a Blighter on top of her undressing her, the poor thing was terrified, I couldn't leave her there, but look at the way she looks" Jacob removed his coat a little from over you revealing the clothes your real look. "I don't know where she is from but inside her bag, there is some evidence that she isn't from here, I think it might be useful to us, on our mission... just..." Jacob looked at grennie's face with an abandoned puppy dog look.

"I...I don't know Jacob, Miss Evie will freak out about it, but since she might be useful, we can try to wait until she wakes up so we can ask her who she is" Jacob smiled at the answer, Henry opened the door to Jacob's wagon and helped him lay your body down on the small couch, where Jacob use for sleeping.

"Jacob I just got some news... What is going on here?" Evie said abruptly entering the "room" she looked at Jacob with a disapproving look, she walked over to your body examining you, you are burning up with fever.

"She was helpless with a Blighter on top of her doing God knows what, I wasn't going to leave her there alone, besides she's sick, I felt obligated to bring her here, besides Evie.... She is the girl of the rumors, if what they say is really true that she is not from here, she can be useful to us in this fight." Evie stood up and faced Jacob, she knew he was right but she didn't want to admit it, she knew well that her brother sometimes acted before he thought but at this moment he had the right thing to do.

"We'll take care of her until she recovers and we can get answers from her, we won't leave her on the streets, it's really dangerous, but try to consult me before you bring anyone else here, remember that we have a mission to accomplish, and "personal feelings, can compromise the mission" ". Evie said stroking your hair, "Now both of you get out of here, we can't let her sleep in her wet clothes or she'll get even sicker, and Mrs. Green can call a private doctor to come here to examine her?" Evie smiled sweetly in Henry's direction, who replied just as sweetly, walking off with Jacob, leaving you and Evie alone.

[queer-as-used-by-tolkien]

Character Study: Caithe

I'm just replaying the White Stag sylvari storyline.

I am struck by how much Caithe hates the Nightmare Court in combination with her Night bloom reservedness. It makes her seem almost cruel.

Caithe really does hate the Court with a passion. She said that they "stole something precious to me." That was Faolain, clearly - but that was twenty-three years ago, at least.

Caithe still feels so strongly about this that she just murders a Courtier we promised freedom to. And I understand killing Courtiers, but we promised to keep this one's secret. The level of hatred Caithe carries around can't be good for her - I imagine that's why, during the Claw Island arc, we see her possible future of falling to Nightmare.

Caithe would be a very scary Nightmare Courtier.

I almost want to write a fic about this, where Caithe does fall to Nightmare - a world where the player never brought Destiny's Edge together.

But I think saying that Caithe would accept Nightmare solely to be with Faolain doesn't do justice to Caithe's personality. Caithe absolutely has the potential to fall on her own. She is full of bitterness because of Faolain.

Caithe killed Wynne because of Faolain. We make a big deal over killing Trahearne, but then we forget that Caithe had to do something very similar - and Wynne wasn't just another sylvari. Wynne was one of the twelve Firstborn, the only people Caithe knew for two years. They were fellow Night blooms.

It must have pained Caithe greatly to kill Wynne, and she can lay the blame for that solidly at Faolain's door. No wonder Caithe hates the Court so much.

And yet, she loves Faolain still so fiercely. It's a beautiful contradiction that I want to explore deeper. I might write a fic about that. Caithe is so alone. She isolates herself. She carries Wynne's secret. She seems exceptionally close with the Pale Tree, and maybe even confides in Trahearne a bit, but otherwise she is alone. She has remarkable strength in not falling to Nightmare already, but I think she lives in a world of grey - and Mordremoth used that to his advantage.

Caithe has been remarkably transformed by Aurene, and we don't see her nearly as much anymore so it doesn't show - but she's happy now. She has a child. She doesn't mind that many of the main characters don't trust her - I mean, she was at Tarir, why didn't she show up in S4 with Taimi, coming after Aurene?

But Caithe doesn't care. She just loves Aurene. She was devastated when Aurene died, but not in the same way she was when she killed Faolain. Faolain, from Caithe's perspective, was tragic - the brightest of the Firstborn, she said, corrupted so soon and twisted into pain and suffering, and finally a victim of Mordremoth.

But Aurene was Caithe's child who was too young to grow up, and then she was dead. I wonder if there wasn't a spark of selfish relief in Caithe's heart when Aurene returned. I think I'm going to give my Commander a touch of regret that Aurene had to return to such a hard world, but by contrast, Caithe would have clung to her baby - the one who brought her out of her darkness and let her move on from Faolain.

Caithe stepped into a leadership role with the Crystal Bloom, and you can find her in Dragonfall worrying about how she's not a leader.

I laughed at her and compared her to Trahearne. She was definitely supposed to show up in the Icebrood Saga - there's a Crystal Bloom in Eye of the North saying she's not here - but all Caithe got was a DRM. I think Caithe should have been a supporting figure for Aurene, there to teach her how to be an adult now and how to be strong in the face of Jormag's temptations.

Because Caithe's story is one of strength, and carrying on through grief, and clinging to an ideal when all hope is gone, even through the darkest hour just before dawn, when all her fears about Mordremoth were coming true and Faolain had turned, a hope comes that she hadn't even looked for, possibly didn't even fully recognize while Aurene was still an egg.

Caithe's story is powerful and it's really sad how undersold it is in-game. She's a hero - an atypical hero, yes, and a dark one with darkness following her everywhere (she threatened to tear out that Courtier's tongue, I'm beginning to think all sylvari can be beautifully eloquent when speaking about graphic details), but a hero nonetheless, a spark of light shining from within the cloud.

Caithe represents hope in the midst of darkness.