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trouticecream · 3 months ago

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Intermission: Amends or their Lack Thereof

Posture taut and upright–from the perkiness of short triangular ears to the way his rat-like tail curls just a bit at its end in a way that seeps a kind of edge or rather, being on the verge of flicking with a sudden snap, but just barely managing not to do so–Gregory neatly sits atop a perfectly-cut cubic greyscale block that serves as a chair at a table similar in design before it. A table that is pristine in its cleanliness and void of any work being done at the moment, but is no less useful to have nearby, even though he isn’t currently utilizing it as he had on reactivating that Starman Super earlier on. Rather, as opposed to tinkering or inventing, the Psion stares with narrowed voids at a blank rectangle of luminescence projecting out from a diamond-shaped outline on the inside of his wrist. A bright contrast to the dimly-lit rocky interior of Mt. Itoi, even with the many breaks in the ragged terrain with smooth, perfectly cut and angled, greyscale alien technologies integrated into it as seamlessly as any other part of the mountain. But no less, blank and flat like a piece of paper yet to become more than a vague outline of what-could-be; filled to the brim with indecision or rather, in this case, a trailing line of distracted thought.

A single clawed digit taps, almost impatiently, atop the holographic interface but nothing moves from the abstractions of his mind and to something a little more tangible. The Stonehenge base had been completely disassembled a few days prior–a momentary pause taken in his overall operation of cleaning up–to closely observe its status post- application of reparative procedures to the cavities left behind in lieu of all that metal plating, circuitry, and various other things that certainly did not belong there. The reparative substance isn’t something that he’s ever used all that much before–almost quite literally an ancient relic itself or rather, a spin on it–but thus far, the results seem to be quite satisfactory according to the data brought back by the Starman Super he had reactivated after his original excursion into the now ex-base. A task it had been more than ‘happy’ to do while the Psion himself re-organizes other data points more relevant to his ultimate endeavor of completely cleaning up after his invasions.

It isn’t a difficult task. At the very least, he knows where every single point of operations (major and minor ones in kind) is. Where to go to disassemble each one and exactly how to do so in the most efficient manner possible, courtesy of the schematics he had subsequently gone on to retrieve before wiping the computers completely clean. Nothing about any of this is difficult. The true problem in question is what needs to be removed outside of the bases. Various battles and operations took place outside of the operation points and as a result, there may be many bits and pieces of rubble that will not be accounted for under the strict purview of the bases. A few more silent taps against the holographic screen before he promptly types something in, constellation-like characters appearing on the screen in lieu of a more recognizable human script–evidently an alien system or Psion script, to be precise–as he does so; a note to invent something that will detect every single piece out there, presided by a perfectly round bullet point in what seems to now be the start of a ‘to-do’ list, one of many others he had designed and redone over and over again out of the perhaps overzealous drive to do especially well in this undertaking.

Putting together a detector that will only single out technologies of Psion origin–no matter how mangled and fragmented the pieces–and plot every single temporal-spatial point from which he can retrieve them… He frowns for a split second, a hint of disapproval at himself creeping into the shift in his expression as he does so.�� It’s something that he should have done from the very beginning, but admittedly, he had gotten a bit too impatient on pushing through what he so strongly felt that he owed the Earth and its life-forms. Too impatient and maybe just a touch… desperate; fuelled by the ever-increasing weight of his crimes, blotchy and vague as many such memories may still be.

Many, but not all. A fact that is promptly proven by the way in which, on mentally moving through each and every single task to be accomplished in the name of his overarching goal here on Earth, the notation of dismantling Mt. Itoi sticks to his mind like super-glue; utterly impossible to move onto the next thing as easily as everything else as it digs its figurative claws into the forefront of his mind with startling razor-sharp clarity. After all, it isn’t just any base of operations, but it is the one. An uneasy flicker of his tail off the side from its previously statuesque stillness, ears folding back just a little. The very one from which the very first Psion operations on Earth were carried out in an effort to better study humanity and the mysterious power which resides within their very planet’s core. The very one which he had gone on to utilize during the first invasion of Earth. The very one on which he had first met one of her descendants.

Ninten.

He shuffles in his seat, a touch uncomfortable, but otherwise forces himself to continue with the task at hand even as that particular thread of thought continues to slowly unwind in the backdrop of his mind.

It’s difficult to completely piece together, as if attempting to peer through murky waters, but Gregory certainly remembers him. He remembers his courage… his determination… his loyalty to his associates… and… –a peculiar sensation, as if he were being ‘wounded’ like any softer organic being without any physical signs of anything having ever elapsed at all. Almost instinctively, the Psion’s free hand moves to rest just over where a heart would be, were his physiology like a human’s. A stinging which had begun the moment the human boy (rightly) declined his offer to spare him. Rejection which had inadvertently (on the human boy’s part) scraped open old wounds from somewhere beyond his physical formatting; an intangible and nebulous area that humans often referred to as a ‘heart’ or ‘soul’. Wounds he had forgotten he even had. Wounds he had concealed by supplanting himself with a facsimile of a Psion military operative and more; of an experiment that had far transcended the limitations of ordinary Psions and as a result, attained a higher level of existence. Wounds which started as small trickles of figurative blood before gushing out in a violent stream the moment he heard her song. A broken and long-forgotten melody, discarded with the very things he thought to be trivial at the time like ‘identity’, ‘dreams’ and ‘self-determination’. Or things he had deluded himself into believing did not matter.

A sudden sharp pinprick, his hand squeezing just a bit over his chest, before eventually loosening as the pain fades away at a rate as fast as it had come. Even without a complete set of memories… the most important bits are still there. The most important people have not been lost to the despair-ridden darkness and insanity he had once fallen to. The most important sensations, even if they hurt, remain permanently etched into this… –patchwork ‘heart’ of his; as the human saying goes, the heart never ‘forgets’ after all, now does it? His free hand falls back to its idle position by his side while he continues to tap away at the holographic screen with his other hand, mind still restless and still unwinding that thread.

Ninten. What is he doing right now? How… has he been since… that encounter… on the very summit of Mt. Itoi?

Gregory certainly hopes that it did not cause any permanent damage to him. That afterwards, the human boy was able to move on and live an otherwise unextraordinary life. It is what he deserves of course. Now he frowns. But. Is it really that simple…? After experiencing trials that even humans with more life experience had balked at and being exposed to things from far beyond the star system of the Earth… is it even possible for Ninten to live like anyone else? Events like that change people. Sometimes it can be for the better… for under pressure, is when the most heroic and virtuous traits emerge in some. And sometimes it can be for the worse. A momentary flush of subdued shame. Just as the case had been for the Psion himself upon being defeated the first time around. He stops tapping away at the holographic screen, done for the time-being, and dismisses it with a curt wave of his hand before tensely bringing his fingers together with barely-contained disquietude as the mental thread hits an especially dreadful point. One that he had (admittedly) been avoiding giving any thought at all since his initial disorientation, post-reassembly, had worn off.

Did he… ‘ruin’... Ninten’s life?

Did his actions make it impossible for one of her descendants to ever exist as just a human, one of many rather than one in many, permanently cleaved from the remainder of his species?

Did he permanently tear asunder the peace of the life Ninten had been leading before the first invasion had elapsed… just as his own had been, fabricated and contorted by the twisted design of a Psion experiment as it may have been, by the machinations of the Psion Superiors?

Another sharp flicker of his tail, barely contained tension guiding its trajectory to erroneously strike against the sharp edge of his block-like ‘chair’ as opposed to the ground below.

It’s… a distinct possibility. But he just cannot know for certain. Gregory himself has not even thought about Ninten in a very long time, much less sought out to discern his exact status. But now that he has… within the space of fixing up the damages caused and scraps left behind post-invasions… he feels (almost inexplicably) compelled to retrieve that data himself. Just to know. Just to ascertain himself of the human boy’s status. To eradicate the distraction caused by his ‘concern’ over such a thing so that it does not interfere with what he needs to do here on Earth before departing. There is nothing else to be done. After everything that has happened, it is only ‘right’ he thinks, to stop interfering with his life. Enough damage has been caused as is.

And yet. Somehow his fingers press even more tightly against each other, sharp claws digging into but never breaking the ‘skin’ of his exoskeletal coating. Uncharacteristically so, a reckless notion charged with almost manic energy bubbles to the forefront of his mind anyways. More than rectifying the physical consequences–as he had been doing through his large-scale cleansing project–of his actions, making things ‘right’ often involved more ‘emotional’ components to it. Compensating others for non-physical damages caused. In other words, making ‘amends’. In-between his cleansing project, the Psion had conducted a bit of research across various literature and maybe a few programmings offered by something referred to as a ‘television’, he had seen it mentioned and frequently enacted ‘making amends’. An apology and compensatory action is all it took to eradicate the pain caused by another’s misstep and allow for things to return to the so-called ‘normal’. Whatever that is supposed to mean.

But.

His ears flick back further, now almost pinned against his head, as his tail settles back down to a statuesque yet undoubtedly tense curl.

The situations featured throughout the materials he had combed over in his research were never this severe.

Accidentally agreeing to plans with differing sets of ‘friends’ at the same time is not comparable to a literal ‘alien’ invasion.

Miscommunications over basic things is not comparable to the abductions that had occurred in the name of supporting continued Psion research of humanity, even after the remainder would be wiped out.

Even a momentary breakage in trust by unveiling a secret (of low-stakes) is not comparable. Such a thing might cause one to waver in trusting another, but it typically does not hold the same impact as attempting to annihilate an entire species.

Can anyone even ‘make amends’ for something like this?

The tension between his fingers is abruptly released, before he slowly leans into the desk, resting the tip of his chin atop the blocky greyscale structure. He takes a moment to gather his bearings, to reign that tumultuous bout of emotion back somehow, even as it ‘feels’ as though his current body is far too diminutive to contain it all. It ‘feels’ as though it should have been impossible for anything of this magnitude to arise at all and so abruptly too at that, right in the middle of basic administration.

It isn’t just Ninten, but humanity as a whole.

Things like this cannot be ‘taken back’ with a mere apology. And even if they could be… perhaps shamefully so… he admittedly lacks the courage to face anyone as his true Psion self (much less Ninten of all humans) anyways. He just can’t. There’s something inexplicably difficult about it. Challenging in a way most things had never been before. Seemingly insurmountable in ways that even overthrowing ‘fate’ itself to change his own endpoint had never been. This is personal and at this point in time, he supposes that he lacks the associated skill levels to overcome it.

The faintest of sighs, a bit exasperated by the momentary lapse in his own focus and calm, before he straightens himself back out. This isn’t like him. Losing focus… getting overly derailed by his own… –emotions… but it’s inevitable in a way. A natural part of continuing to exist in a way that has thrown him so far off the conventional path of a Psion. The price that must be paid in full to continue walking his own path and doing things in his own way; experiencing momentary afflictions or flares in his own emotions over things he cannot recall in full, but strike him with the same ferocity all the same anyways. The very same emotions that compel him to continue his cleansing operations as efficiently and neatly as possible now.

In a way, perhaps on a level beyond even his own conscious awareness, it is the only way he can even approach the concept of ‘making amends’, even if only in a purely physical manner. The only ‘good’ action that he truly feels as opposed to merely thinking about whether or not something is ‘good’ in a logical and detached manner.

Maybe one day the topic of ‘making amends’ with Ninten at least, in a more ‘personal’ way, may be revisited but as it stands now… he dares not have the nerve to do such a thing after everything that has happened.

And perhaps he never will.

After all, what good would it even do?

How would it even benefit the human boy?

Only Gregory himself stands to gain anything from it and in that way, it must (by definition) qualify as ‘selfish’. And on this planet, he has been ‘selfish’ enough as is.

The Psion takes a moment to shake off any more stray thoughts of doing anything that would ever put him in contact with the very species he had inflicted so much damage and suffering upon, before his ears perk back up attentively and he levitates off his chair to make a beeline for the room's exit, his expression falling back into stoic blankness. He hasn’t much more time to waste. While the Starman Super is out collecting data… Gregory must continue to do his own part and start on making a device to locate anything else that needs to be removed from the Earth. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

#.peanutwriting #earthbound #earthbound zero #mother 2 #earthbound beginnings #mother 1 #giegue #giygas #earthbound au

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canmom · 2 years ago

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more Candle. around chapter 78. bloody addictive, these webnovels lmao

i read up to the end of book 4 and a little beyond last night.

this book develops Joon and Fenn's relationship, and the adventure of the week sees them attempting to teach Joon 'soul magic', which turns out to give him access to his 'true character sheet', which lets things get pretty wild.

that comparison i made to Baru Cormorant? seems like it's going to continue to be relevant, because most of this chapter was about dealing with an adversary who can rewrite someone's motivations, particularly 'values', here understood as a list of discrete concepts assigned importance by various criteria. this not by a lifetime of indoctrination but a magic touch. so we have a book with our cast forced to regard each other with extreme paranoia - paranoia which proves entirely justified.

also first party death. even though resurrection is possible, it's not surprising that this leads to everyone becoming worse, short-tempered versions of themselves

now the author's rat background is becoming increasingly evident, although I don't think this is going to become a HPMOR-style propaganda piece - it's more that the pool of concepts he's playing with is, well, the sort of thing that gets discussed on Lesswrong. it's clear there is going to be some kind of 'AI risk'-type question implied in Joon's ability to fuck with his own values, and if the author continues to be pretty good at writing, I expect he's going to do his best to make Joon's likely slide to the dark side seem entirely justified in the narration the whole way.

oh yeah there's more sex going on now. the mc's hangups are conveyed pretty well. it's putting him in the middle of a harem plot, which is not universal but not uncommon in litrpg (something else we can probably blame on Sword Art Online). given how openly metafictional this story is, I assume it's going somewhere with that.

one thing briefly about the power fantasy here. when I was much younger I read about half of another massive webnovel, Fallout Equestria. it's not an especially good book and I wouldn't go out of your way unless you really like deranged pony fandom shit and specifically the kind of story where the bad guys do a lot of (often weirdly creative) sexual violence to show how bad they are. anyway, I'm reminded of that because the MC of that story gets a girlfriend who absolutely adores her, and the MC of course turns out to be the best at sex ever, so she's oh-so-embarrassingly overheard by the rest of the party. I'm sure there are other examples.

so the fantasy isn't exactly that you have a lot of sex with different people. it's that you're recognised by your peers as attractive (and good at sex), and you get a committed relationship with someone who's perfect for you. this happens through no special effort on your part.

harem anime and manga used to be a major subgenre, usually a comedy where a hapless bumbling male character ends up in an all girl environment by some contrivance and antics result. I can't comment too much on its usual story devices since, well, I never watched much of it beyond a small amount of Urusei Yatsura, and what I have is pretty far from the core of it. as far as I'm aware it's a subgenre that's basically dead and buried now, partly swallowed by the isekai wave and partly just tastes change

all the same, afaiu a core part of the genre is that the protagonist does not really pursue the girls - he's just a nice guy and everyone's got low enough self esteem that that's enough. the expected ending is that the protagonist will pick one of the girls and settle down.

by contrast, the type of male character who is having sex with multiple women is usually depicted as a brutish character, probably a rapist, overflowing with dangerous sexual energy - a demon in Berserk or many an 80s OVA for example. this is actually true even in reverse come to think of it - consider Zero of DoD3. (exceptions definitely come to mind, notably Naze Turbine in Gundam IBO, but that's more recent. it also seems less likely to apply this sort of frame to lesbians.)

so in a very stereotypical harem story the point isn't that you get loads of girls and have sex all the time. it's that you could do that but you don't, because you're a good boy who observes the cultural taboo against non-monogamy.

I expect this may get explicitly addressed in the story at some point, because among rationalists, polyamory is a lot more accepted or even a norm. right now we have the amusing idea of achievements intruding into sex scenes, and it seems like the game 'wants' Joon to be fucking all seven of his current and future companions. Joon doesn't like this, and I can only guess what the author is planning with this plot, although if this somehow ends up with Joon fucking the deer that will be goddamn hilarious.

anyway, moving on...

I've changed my mind about Arthur being the DM, or at least it now seems less likely than the ancestor sim angle. I now think this simulation was definitely built by Joon himself, much older, as a way to resurrect Arthur and give him a good life, but something went very wrong and activated Joon's ruthless DM tendencies, or maybe the only way Joon could get the resources to resurrect Arthur was by building his dream immersive MMO or something. in any case, I think pov!Joon is probably a version of admin!Joon inserted into the game in order to save Arthur. or maybe Arthur took control and is now doing to Joon what Joon did to him. AI gods are not my favourite trope, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt, because I have no idea what modern ratfic is like.

(I kind of want Tiff to be involved in running the sim somehow, because to me she's the most interesting member of Joon's D&D group. seems unlikely right now, but I'd be glad to be proven wrong.)

the basic arc of litrpg is that a character goes from the bottom of the heap to the top. in accordance with conventional storytelling wisdom, the early part where a weak character survives by their wits tends to be the most fun. Wales has done a good job so far of maintaining tension - honestly so much of it that the death of this arc's fantasy-Mengele villain came as a serious relief, although as a character the queercoding was a bit much lmao (a lisp? seriously?).

but Joon getting the ability to fuck with his soooouuuullllll very directly seems like it's going to be a turning point, even if the 'soul' here definitely seems to be another abstraction; and given I'm not even at the halfway point of this behemoth, I'm curious what will happen if we finally move out of the reactive protagonist territory.

many lampshades have been hung on Joon's lack of a strong driving motivation, incidentally. the closest thing he has to a main goal is resurrecting Arthur, but that is more of a vague long term aspiration than a project that structures the story at large, and indeed, we now learn it officially ranks several rungs below Joon's devotion to his immediate companions. in RPG terms, the DM - the cosmic force of Narrative as the characters see it - is doing most of the work to structure the story, sending a series of threats and problems Joon's way to hook him into adventures; as an RPG player, Joon himself has given few 'flags' to help signal what he's interested in doing. ironically, while Joon seems like he'd be a great DM, he seems like he'd be a slightly frustrating player - although he'd probably give more to work with if he weren't playing 'himself'.

that Joon is a reactive type of protagonist is apparently important enough to call attention to in narration, although I can't guess where it's going with this choice. generally speaking that's seen as a writing flaw, and motivated protagonists are preferred, but this story is so eager to call attention to narrative devices and artifice that I feel like I must assume it's doing this for a reason. I'm just not sure what that reason is yet.

guh i promise I'm not going to be just blogging about this webnovel for a while. these webnovels really get their hooks into you in much the same way an actual game does, the chain of overlapping problems and solutions is a powerful thing.

#worth the candle #fiction #novels

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superbdragoncollection-stuff · 4 years ago

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A Visual Reference guide to my thoughts through Wing it Like Witches

This is a visual guide of my reactions to Wing it Like Witches, written with notes I took during the episode that were typically stream of consciousness.

Okay, so we have another episode this week! Well, I wonder what they’re going to do. I mean some ships have been one-episode affairs and... Molly Ostertag helped write this one.

Let’s roll!

Scorpia?! Aw, no, never mind...

Sportsball? What’s sportsball?

HEY IT’S NOT SAD! LOTS OF US MAKE FRIENDS OUT OF-- Well, not plants...LOOK JUST BECAUSE SOME OF US TALK TO...COMPUTERS...AND VEHICLES...AGH

[GASP] AMITY WHOO! Wait what are you up to--?

“I used to be like you; obsessed with status, challenging my competition, but I grew up. When will you?”

Aww! I’m so proud!

Literal school spirits? I’m not sure how I feel about that.

“Gory Days” doesn’t phase me at all. I’m just wondering how many bodies she’s buried.

Wait a minute did she say cheating? Oh no this had better not be a cheating episode--

“Cheating isn’t anything to brag about. How do you know how good you are if all you do is cheat?”

...Luz that’s a good point.

“Well, can’t reason with crazy!”

Okay, Eda, King is right, that rat didn’t look healthy. CLEAN YOUR FRAKKING HAIR!

The spirit and Hooty should make friends sometime. Probably wouldn’t end well though...

“Over fifty years ago, the emperor appointed a head witch to each coven” WAIT DON’T TRAIL OFF I NEED BACKSTORY MAN!

Hey, who didn’t use movies as guides in high school?

Not food. NOT FOOD.

WAIT A MINUTE, WILLOW FEVER?! IS THAT PIECE A CHARM OR SOMETHING?! WILLOW SAY IT ISN’T SO

Oh, it’s just a bully.

[pulls out gun] NOBODY MAKES MY KIDS SAD. Where the heck’s the teacher?!

Well I mean it is the Boiling Isles...

WAIT A MINUTE, WAIT A MINUTE...THEY ACTUALLY HAD A TEACHER INVOLVED?! I can’t tell if he’s just trying to draw her attention or...ah nuts.

OH MY GOD A HIGH SCHOOL KID INVENTED A NEW SLUR?!

“She got away with murder? I can’t say I approve but I’m glad she’s trying new things!” Hey, up yours Back-to-the-Future-teacher! Unfortunately, this is actually being played in a realistic way. This is a problem some schools have, it’s not a movie cliche. I’ve heard reddit stories like this, with the popular kids, especially the sports kids, getting support and are allowed to get away with everything.

[GASP] WELL DEAR VIEWERS, THIS IS WHY WE’RE ALL HERE!

OH MY GOD AMITY IS BEING SO AWKWARD IT’S ADORABLE

“YES I CAN HELP!...With what exactly?” oh my god that’s adorable.

Luz gets close and Amity starts backing up oh my god!

Luz oh my god what the hell

Wait is Amity thinking the same thing I am or--

...okay good

Hm, what’s mom doing back at the house?

Hm, the 90s motive might actually hint that she’s been exploring earth for a while--

HOOTY GET OUT

WHAT THE YOTZ I WAS NOT EXPECTING HER SUBPLOT TO DO THIS

Okay that jacket looks really good on Eda. I like the contrast it adds. Also she was just mirroring her wanted poster pose.

Okay, what’s Lily got this time? Hah, look at Eda...

Oh my god they’re such siblings. I love how she’s just ignoring her.

[SPIT-TAKE] “--THE HELL DID SHE JUST SAY?! ‘The emperor has big plans for the isles’?!”

EDA LILY IS BEING GRUMPY AND PLOT RELEVANT

Oh no...memory? “Why can’t you remember me...?”

I do love how Eda is just doing things for the heck of it half the time.

It’s refreshing that the sport they’re good at isn’t stereotypically “feminine”, like it’s not cheerleading or something. It’s the regular sports stuff

WHAT THE FRELL?!

CANTALOUPE GUY SHUT UP

OH NO OH NO LUZ GENRE SAVVINESS CAN BE A CURSE WATCH OUT

“Me?” ...what.

“On...a team...with you?” WHAT.

“Running around in cute uniforms?” OH WOW

“Sweating?!” THEY WENT THERE?!

“...I gotta go!” THEY WENT THERE!

“So...how do we play this game?” Luz, you’re a girl after my own heart. This is my friends and I trying to decode sportsball.

Huh. how about that minefield. At this point I’m hardened. Nothing’s gonna surprise me now.

HAH! ROCKY

What. The frell.

“What happens in the montage stays in the montage!” OKAY OKAY

WHAT THE YOTZ IS KING WEARING AND HOW IS HE PULLING IT OFF

This is gonna end with one heck of a sibling fistfight.

“She’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had” oh, kid, that hits me hard.

OH GOD IS THIS KOHLII? I’M HAVING MASK OF LIGHT FLASHBACKS AAAAAAAAA

HOW’D SHE GET A DVD?! Hm the way she hesitates, and the fact that Gus tried to eat the DVD, I wonder if that means it's not a movie here

Hm, now leadership is an interesting thing, how do you know how far to push the people following you--?

AAAHH WHAT THE FRELL

SHE’S BLUSHING AND I LOVE BACKSTORIES TOO

“I know how to make it up to Willow.” [throws a grenade]

HOW MANY BODIES ARE BURIED HERE

“She can be so stupid...which i love…”

“I MEAN HATE” PFFF HAHAHAHAHAH

“Which is sweet…”

“AND I HATE IT. AND IT’S DUMB” OH MY GOD

Oh god that IV tower hurts.

What the frell. Welp, I have seen into the void.

EDA WHAT THE YOTZ?!

WHAAAAAAAA HAHAHAHA

“I’ll be waiting.” UH...

WHOOOO!

WHAT SOCIAL LIFE?!

SHE’S LOOKING INTO HER EYES WHO’S TALLER OH MY GOD

DA FRAK FIRE MAGIC?! WHOO!

Well I thought there would be a fistfight. I didn’t think it would be between Amity and Boscha.

HOLY CRAP THEY SURVIVED WITHOUT ANY INJURIES...Hey where’s Amity-

THE WHAT

THE SNITCH?!

I mean wow yeah quidditch freaking sucks.

OH NO AMITY NO NO NO

“Are you sure you’re okay? I could help carry you if it really hurts…”

“HAHAHA I’M FINE! WHO’S AMITY?!”

Lesbian.exe has stopped working. Oh you poor girl.

“And scoop!” OH MY GOD

“Oh...wow...sports…”

SHE’S STILL HOLDING HER UP- NERD ARMS INDEED

Mom’s scoping out her daughter’s new girlfriend…

I am actually really enjoying how accurate of a high school experience this feels like. It feels a lot like my own. Minus the magic of course. This episode wasn’t as extreme of a Lumity overload as the last, but prom episodes are usually stuffed with that sort of thing. This episode was great nevertheless.

#THE OWL HOUSE #spoilers #wing it like witches #lumity #luz noceda #amity blight #screenshot #reactions

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coldshrugs · 4 years ago

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FIVE CHARACTER TROPES

RULES: List five tropes applicable to your character, then tag others to do the same. (Tropes Wiki)

@impossible-rat-babies tagged me and this was fun omg, ty ily! tagging: @syrcus @dreamfall @lavampira @consulaaris @kingdom-dance and anyone else that wants to do this!

alma greene

where i was born and razed

Hometown isn't doomed? Doom it yourself! Whether it's an accident, revenge or just plain anger, heroes sometimes display disturbing tendencies toward destroying their own hometowns, countries, planets or even universes. Bonus point if they simultaneously kill their parents.

It doesn't count if only the house is destroyed, in attempt to kill the hero or just to spite him. It also doesn't count if a broader war is involved, unless the character's actions directly created that war.

invisible to normals

There are just some things that normal people don't seem to notice. In some settings, it's because they just don't seem to want to see it. In some, it's because it's just not their problem. But then there are the settings where they don't notice because they literally can't: The supernatural creatures just can't be seen in the first place without having some supernatural power of your own. Whether it's psychics being able to see ghosts or wizards being able to see magical creatures, the one thing that stays the same is that normal people just can't see what's really going on.

Sometimes this is accomplished by innate ability, or sometimes it's a spell that keeps them hidden. Sometimes it's because they just aren't in phase with the rest of the world, but the end result is the same.

trouble follows you home

Basically, this is when a character who wants to escape some nastiness, or probably he just defeated the nastiness, and finally returns home... and sees that the nastiness is there, too.

It can happen in the middle of the plot or be a finale.

hot scientist

Or, if you're feeling punny, a Test Tube Babe.

When a male protagonist needs to consult with or bring in an expert on some obscure and/or technical subject (poisonous orchids, particle theory, rare diseases, ancient languages, prehistoric sharks, whatever), said expert will turn out to be female, drop-dead gorgeous, and, at twenty-something, conspicuously too young to have possibly earned the relevant academic degrees or otherwise accrued such expertise (often this is handwaved by mentioning at some point that she was a Teen Genius). Not all of these are required, but the general gist is good enough.

The reason why this trope is popular is that "men want a woman who can tell them about Lagrange points and do a lap-dance. Preferably both at the same time."

five-man band (the heart)

The Five-Man Band is a group of characters whose members fall into archetypes that all complement one another. They are a very specific team, each with skills that contribute to the group in a unique way. The group traditionally includes:

The Hero - The leader of the group. Can be clean-cut and upstanding, bold and charismatic, serious and driven, or some combination of the three.

The Lancer - The second-in-command, usually a contrast to The Hero. If the Hero is clean-cut and/or uptight, the Lancer is a grizzled Anti-Hero or Deadpan Snarker; if the Hero is driven and somewhat amoral, the Lancer is more relaxed and level-headed.

The Smart Guy - The physically weak, but intelligent or clever member. Often nerdy and awkward played for comic relief. Sometimes unconventionally young (early- to mid-teens). Sometimes a trickster and a buddy of the Big Guy.

The Big Guy - The strongman of the team. May be dumb. Or mute.

The Chick/The Heart - A peacekeeping role to balance out the other members' aggression, bringing them to a nice or at least manageable medium. The Chick is often considered The Heart of the group. The Heart is a personality aspect that comes up quite often in the Five-Man Band or really just about any ensemble. Their personality is based on getting the others to recognize that there are more things at stake than their personal vendettas. Quite often, The Heart character will also be The Messiah, where they go out of their way to help all of the little people.

#tags #alma greene #tropes #long post

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critical-ramblings · 5 years ago

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Things that Mean More on a second watch-through of C2

Episode 8-10

"He burned alive in front of me" "Yeah you did that though" this is why I love Beau

Caleb identifying all the things and then not telling them what it is makes a first appearance! It's so clear here how little he trusts them, even as he jokes with Beau 'you look like a nerd' and Fjord 'yeah those manacles just stop you from being gassy"

Fjord snaps Beau's goggles almost immediately upon her acquiring them. so what I'm saying is that they've always had that sibling energy

Caleb purposefully manipulates Jester by giving her the wand--to distract her from the glove of blasting...too bad Beau is on the case.

Beau says she's getting her own room, and Jester says they've always been roommates...this is also the night Beau tucks her in, so....THIS IS IN EPISODE 8 PEOPLE

Jester extorting the starosta for Fjord's letter is still Incredible, as is the first appearance of "Fjord Tough." I still lost it with the rest of the table.

Caleb didn't have to roll a wisdom save after he incinerated the bandit leader because he was immediately knocked unconscious, but Liam makes up for it with the nightmare he has afterward (take them out, take them out!) LOVE ME SOME ANGSTY WIZARD

I already made a post about this, but I feel compelled to remind everyone that the shady guide they meet when they first get to Zadash is the abandoned business partner of Lawrence, Tary's husband.

First appearance of Pumat Sol! I love how much the cast love's Matt's voices

"Unpleasant one, let's go" "obnoxious one, I'm with ya" Molly and Beau are so good you guys

"There are those who believe [tieflings] are the result of the Curse of Ghor Dranas" cool world-building Matt!

"The Apple Tree Learning Center" is a soltryce-run 'public school' for children and adults...who wants to bet it was a similar school that discovered the blumentrio? Or at least encouraged them to apply

the first time Caleb transcribed a spell (unseen servant) he IMMEDIATELY invited Nott to help him. And Nott, though dismayed that it was going to take 2 hours, was willing to help out.

"What are you doing with my cat?" Molly won't be able to see through Frumpkin's eyes, but he's got the spirit

"When you compliment people it sounds like a fucking insult," Fjord and Beau are GREAT

Maye one reason we have a dim view of the Empire is because our first plot line in Zadash involved corrupt politicians...not to mention Caleb's whole Thing

First mention of the Cerberus Assembly: general complaints that they're grabbing for power and influence in Zadash and beyond.

Nott being afraid of the bath :( "a person could drown in that"

I legitimately forgot how much they treated Nott like a kid...from the swimming lesson, 'you'll get a sticker'

Caleb is SUPER paranoid, asking everyone how they feel about the Empire and sounding out these new party members. Funnily enough, it's Molly who is most on his wavelength as far as keeping a low profile goes

Yasha really didn't want to confess which god she followed to the rest of the Nein, but when pressed said, "he pulled me out of what felt like literally the depths of hell. I owe him my life." this is without even remembering Obann or what he did.

The contrast between early Beau/Yasha 'do I get a good view" 'roll for perv' and later Softness is...a lot

Caleb and Yasha bond over not doing the hugging thing

Nott LEANS AWAY after asking how dangerous the sewer job is going to be. She is Not On Board for risking her life the way the others are--not even for 700 gold.

'you kicked his cat into oblivion!' "I didn't!" Matt doesn't often distance himself from his NPCs, but when he does it's for animal cruelty and bad parenting.

Jester talking about her visit with the Traveler in the Pillow Trove is...Relevant. It's kind of crazy how early the line was drawn between Fjord and Beau not trusting him and Caleb being quick to prop up Jester's faith, "there are stories that tell of gods dabbling with mortals, not often but it does happen." whereas Beau says, "I'm interested in a god who kicks it with mortals. Never heard of that."

Caleb not wanting to get a new jacket because he knows this one is big autism feels (even if it is also his paranoia talking)

"she does see hamster unicorns. they're gods, right?" "No Beau they're just--they're just unicorns" I love them

"I've never been in a sewer" Molly says, excitedly, and also making me Feel Things

the evolution of Yasha's voice is really cute. we stan 1 Ashley Johnson

I think I was still listening to the podcast at this point so I totally missed all of the It jokes Liam did in the sewer job

Nott sees everyone getting ready to fight and takes a drink. It is interesting to keep track of her drinking, knowing everything we know now.

rat punching, the pasttime of lvl 3 adventurers.

Yasha, to Caleb: "are you very scared right now"

Caleb: "no because I am with all of you"

Nott: "I'm very scared right now"

Caleb advocating for looting the guards the spider killed is #vultureculture

It gets overlooked in later episodes, but 10 was when Nott's button collecting really took off.

They meet the Zadash Lawmaster Orentha and Nott immediately says, "she seems nice. I wonder why all those people wanted to rebel against her." if that doesn't sum up the themes of this campaign idk what does

Nott says, "and now we never have to do another adventure again" she's come so far

Caleb is VERY transactional after this fight, handing out loot for favors and goodwill with individual party members rather than splitting the loot.

This leads directly to Molly pinning him to the wall, which in retrospect was definitely a play for authority and dominance and not anything shippy.

Caleb straight up says to Fjord, "I don't trust you yet. I don't trust any of these people yet."

That whole conversation is actually Very Good:

Fjord: "That's too bad"

Caleb: "yeah I have...I have made mistakes in my life. And, I'm, I have harmed people. Not in a long time. *clears throat* you know I thought I was going to be something, someday, a long time ago, and now I. Don't."

"We've all harmed people, and I hope you come to trust me in time" this is why I ship widofjord (emphasis mine)

Nott going through Fjord's stuff is also this episode! Such shady motherfuckers

"If the money's right and it's not stupid" is a good philosophy for this group

"Your cat got kicked into another dimension?!" "Oh he had such a face, I will never forget this face"

They have fireflies in Kamordah and not Nicodranas. Canon.

#cr #critical role #the mighty nein #this one got Long

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spiralcompendium · 4 years ago

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Day Six: Arc One World Critique

This will be a review/critique of each of the five worlds in the first arc--what I thought was effective and ineffective about each world’s plotline, setting/lore, and characters! Spoilers: there are a lot of Problems but I still love this horrible little game anyway.

═══*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*═══

.·:·.✧ Wizard City ~ A- ✧.·:·.

✦ Plotline ✦

Wizard City functions well as an introduction to the game. We immediately get introduced to the main villain, but we don’t know what his plan is yet. The Wizard’s mission, at this point, is to stop Malistaire’s undead from overtaking the streets. After we defeat Lord Nightshade, we learn that this was all a distraction from Malistaire’s real plan--to get the Krokonomicon from Krokotopia. Even though this means that what the protagonist did in Wizard City doesn’t have a direct connection to the main plot, I still think that it works well as a low-level story.

I appreciated the originality of some of the subplots on each street; some standouts include stopping undead from siphoning powerful Storm magic from the Storm Mill on Triton Avenue, as well as defeating Cyclops Lane’s Cyclopes and Trolls, who were originally summoned to defend against the undead.

While some of the side quests were just your standard MMORPG delivery or defeat quests, some were also pretty interesting! For example, Gloria Krendell’s and Duncan Grimwater’s quests provide insight into Malistaire’s backstory. Even the more simple-seeming quests had flavor text that made it a bit more fun. Being sent to defeat a boss to get back the Sleeper’s Timepiece, a watch that can bring nightmares to life, is a lot more interesting than being sent to defeat a boss who’s just evil and attacking citizens.

✦ Setting and Lore ✦

Every game needs to start with a relatively basic area, and in this one, it’s Wizard City. Still, I love all of the little details that flesh out the world. The devs could have chosen to go with really basic fantasy areas and use just houses, castles, and libraries. Instead, we have places like the Storm Mill--“one of the main sources of magical energy for all of Wizard City,” the Hedge Maze that is watched over by an ancient seraph, and the Fireglobe Theatre in the center of a burning street. It’s also really cool how all of the different streets have a different “feel”--Triton Avenue seems very industrial, Colossus Boulevard seems very upper-class (despite the Gobblers), and Firecat Alley seems very artsy and creative. Having abandoned areas like the Haunted Cave and mysterious places like Sunken City imply a history to the world. Still, Wizard City doesn’t feel like it has much of a past.

Overall, Wizard City has a good amount of lore with the various magical creatures and villains, especially considering Bartleby, the creator of the Spiral, lives here. With the addition of the Catacombs quest, it seems like Wizard City has a lot going on behind the scenes.

✦ Characters ✦

Very few characters stand out at this point in the story. I liked Duncan Grimwater’s arc (although this doesn’t pay off until arc three), and I loved dealing with the shenanigans of both Nolan Stormgate and Cyrus Drake while questing in Cyclops Lane. Still, none of the characters have any major presence besides Ambrose, who is just there to be an Old, Wise Wizard. I would have liked there to be a maximum of six or seven major characters, possibly to represent each of the main schools. They wouldn’t all have to travel with us everywhere, but it would be cool to have more overlap instead of just meeting one or a few separately in each street. I also wish that some of the villains had a larger presence in the story. We don’t even hear about Lord Nightshade, the final boss, until we’re sent to fight him.

.·:·.✧ Krokotopia ~ B- ✧.·:·.

✦ Plotline ✦

In Krokotopia, the Wizard is chasing Malistaire to try and prevent him from getting the Krokonomicon, a book of powerful Life and Death magic. They are also stopping the awakened Kroks and some undead along the way. The plotline could have been more compelling if there was more of a focus beating Malistaire to the Krokonomicon, stopping Malistaire, or having Malistaire find different ways to stop the Wizard. Instead, Malistaire has very little presence, and we learn at the end that he beat us there--who knows how he got there or what he was even doing the whole time.

By itself, though, Krokotopia’s plot isn’t too bad. Freeing slaves and reassembling an ancient magical order of anti-authoritarian Kroks is a good premise.

✦ Setting and Lore ✦

Krokotopia’s setting is somewhat compelling in theory, but I do wish there was more variety--we’re pretty much inside hallways the whole time. I liked how each major area (the Pyramid of the Sun, the Krokosphinx, and the Tomb of Storms) has their own Krok leading family, such as the Nirinis and Sokkwis. I liked the family conflict between the Ahnics and Djeserits in the Tomb of Storms, as well. Krokotopia has a much more obvious history to it than Wizard City. I really liked the Marleybone presence, as well, which hinted at their dominance over many different worlds in the Spiral; it also showed that the various worlds are interconnected and not just levels in a game.

✦ Characters ✦

Yeah, no one in this world is particularly important. The major Marleybonean characters are pretty much just there to give quests, and the villains are just there to be something to fight, similar to Wizard City. Hetch al’Dim’s character trait was Anxiety, which I thought was pretty cute. Alhazred’s character trait was Old, so… alright. Once again, we get introduced to our final boss pretty much right as we have to fight her. Still, her design is pretty fabulous, so that’s cool.

.·:·.✧ Marleybone ~ D+ ✧.·:·.

✦ Plotline ✦

Marleybone’s importance to the overall plot of arc one is minimal:

1. Malistaire frees Meowiarty so he can steal the Krokonomicon.

2. Malistaire gets the Krokonomicon.

These last two events happen at the very end of the world, so everything else feels like a lot of filler. The Wizard has to put a stop to gang uprisings and attacks by automatons, only some of which Malistaire is connected to--and these were only started to interrupt the Wizard chasing him. It would have been great if the narrative as a whole was a mystery; despite having some elements of a mystery story, it wasn’t one. Also, it would have been interesting to have more of a focus on the obvious social issues occurring in the world. We see the dogs discriminating against the cats, rats, and frogs throughout the story--accusing them of crimes they didn’t commit and literally paying the Wizard to attack Street Sweepers out of a pavilion who were doing nothing but loitering, at worst, just because Abigail Doolittle wanted to have a party celebrating the police. Yikes!

Beyond that, a lot of the side quests were unquestionably bad. I always hate doing the quests for the ladies in Marleybone, because it’s all just bringing hats and scarves to different places. One quest like that would have been fine.

The moment when the Wizard had to chase Malistaire and Meowiarty during the prison break was pretty fun, although (as @calamity-callie pointed out) they immediately moved to an unrelated case in Knight’s Court instead of just continuing to ramp up for the Meowiarty fight. This makes the story seem kind of janky. Again, I would have preferred for both Malistaire and Meowiarty to have more of a presence in the story.

✦ Setting and Lore ✦

Marleybone’s setting is a lot of fun, and I love how much it contrasts Krokotopia. While magic is deeply ingrained in Krokotopia (from the presence of the Balance school down to the colors of the Manders’ scales), Marleybone doesn’t practice magic at all. I like how dark the world is--it’s very fitting for a place that has so much turmoil. I definitely would have liked to see more of a variety in the specific locations though--Hyde Park, Chelsea Court, and Knight’s Court are pretty much the same, not to mention that 99% of the story takes place on rooftops. The lore is alright, but there’s not too much that I find to be super compelling--most of it is just Victorian English stuff + steampunk.

✦ Characters ✦

Sherlock Bones is kind of there, although he doesn’t really solve any interesting mysteries. The concept of Baxter was good--having a “guy on the inside” who could guide the Wizard--but he was a flat character. Meowiarty was probably the most compelling, but he didn’t have much of a presence. I would have liked the world to have much more of a mystery-based plot (as in, actual mysteries) that was focused on working with Sherlock Bones, Watson, and Baxter to find/stop Meowiarty and Malistaire.

.·:·.✧ MooShu ~ F+ ✧.·:·.

✦ Plotline ✦

MooShu has always bothered me a lot, because it has little direct connection to the overarching story. Malistaire comes here, steals the Spiral Key from the Emperor, and then leaves before the Wizard even gets there. The Jade Champion was able to get the Spiral Key back right as Malistaire went through the door, but he did not give it to the Wizard because the Emperor must be the one to give it to us for some reason. Still, I really liked the concept of the different Onis affecting each area in different ways.

The side quests are… fine, I guess, although I did love the ones centered around the two lost lovers in the Ancient Burial Grounds.

✦ Setting and Lore ✦

This is the first W101 world that stands out as being, uhhhhh,,,, NOT super PC. The accents, stereotypes, and blending of different Asian cultures is not a great look. If we’re able to look past that (which we shouldn’t), I honestly don’t really like look or aesthetic. There’s just a whole lot of brown and a whole lot of bamboo. Pirate101 MooShu is leagues better visually (although it has the same problems with reeeeeally problematic language and characters). I do like a lot of the lore though, especially concerning demons, the Spirit World, and religion. But yeah, I do wish that the setting had more relevance to the story as well. Malistaire wants an ancient magical text from Krokotopia--Krokotopia as a setting makes sense. The ancient text gets stolen by an England analogue and put in a museum--Marleybone as a setting makes sense. The Dragonspyre Spiral Key is kept in MooShu just for fun, I guess. We learn later that the Emperor of MooShu is a member of the Council of Light, so I guess it would make sense for him to have it, but they literally could have made him the Emperor of a world based on anything else and it wouldn’t have changed anything in the main, overarching plot.

✦ Characters ✦

The characters sure do give you quests! They’re really good at telling you how to progress in the game. They absolutely tell you where to go to get XP.

.·:·.✧ Dragonspyre ~ B- ✧.·:·.

✦ Plotline ✦

Dragonspyre’s plot definitely needed some work, as well. When we get there, we learn that Malistaire is in the process of summoning the Dragon Titan in the Headmaster’s Office, but the Wizard can’t get there until they can become a student at Dragonspyre Academy. So we, again, aren’t actively working against Malistaire, because he’s literally static the whole time--the Spiral would be screwed if the ritual took like five minutes.

Despite that, some of the subplots in the different areas were pretty fun: going into the past to see the start of its end, learning lessons from its history in the Crucible, and hatching and raising a Drake (whom we never see again, which sucks).

Like with MooShu, it would have been a lot more impactful to be actively fighting against Malistaire the whole time. In the other worlds, part of the tension comes from Malistaire’s minions attacking innocents. In Dragonspyre, the tension isn’t there because they’re all already dead. Still, if they had focused on this aspect (i.e., the Wizard is the only living person in a world full of ghosts and Malistaire’s minions), it could have been really impactful.

✦ Setting and Lore ✦

I love the premise of this world: a ruined city that was destroyed by a horrible, ancient power due to the hubris of its elite. Dragonspyre has one of the most in-depth histories out of all the worlds of the Spiral, and I love the blending of the cultures of ancient Rome/Pompeii and Russia + dragons. Plus, Dragonspyre Academy darkly mirrors what Ravenwood could become if Malistaire successfully summoned the Dragon Titan.

However, similar to Marleybone, all of the different areas have the same buildings, color palette, and mood. I like the additions of areas that are based on ancient Roman structures (the Basilica, the Necropolis, the Forum, etc,), but it doesn’t really matter because they all look the same.

✦ Characters ✦

Cyrus Drake is one of my favorite W101 characters. His character arc is really good, especially if you play as a Myth wizard. He’s tough on the Wizard at first, but I honestly think it’s because he doesn’t think this Literal Child should be sent to defeat Malistaire.

Malistaire is alright as a villain, and I’m certainly glad he wasn’t a generic evil guy who wants to rule/destroy the world just cuz. I would have wanted him to have just a little something extra, though?? Morganthe is a necromancer who was once a student just like the Wizard, but her mind shattered after the Spider Magi showed her how to touch Shadows. Old Cobb is an elder god who wanted to end the Spiral and recreate it. Malistaire is… an old professor who wants to bring his wife back. I do like how it’s unique, but I would want there to be something more.

Besides them, the characters in Dragonspyre are once again very flat, although I am very gay for the Russian-accent soldier ladies.

═══*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*═══

Before writing this, I probably would have said that arc one was my favorite. Looking back, it has soooo many problems--writing isn’t exactly one of KI’s strong points lmao. I think that Wiz has some very creative ideas and premises, but sometimes the execution just isn’t the best. I definitely think that a lot of these problems were a result of crunch time, though. If they were actually given time to flesh out their ideas, I think that the game would have turned out much better in terms of storytelling and design.

I’m thinking about making reviews for arc two and three, as I’d be really curious to see how they’d compare. They all have different strengths and different problems. Still, this game has been my favorite game since I was eleven, and it’s something that I will always come back to.

Image Sources

https://101universe.fandom.com/wiki/Wizard_City?file=Ravenwood.jpg

https://101universe.fandom.com/wiki/Krokotopia?file=Tumblr_n1e872SXlZ1tsc4dmo2_r1_540.jpg

https://www.swordroll.com/2013/05/Pirate101-Krokotopia.html

https://www.mmorpg.com/columns/wizard101-abigail-doolittle-is-the-true-villain-2000108162

http://www.edwardlifegem.com/2018/11/wizard101-questing-where-we-ended-up_14.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hGd5cDTxd0

https://finalbastion.com/wizard101-guides/w101-pet-guides/pets-dropped-mooshu-wizard101/

https://101universe.fandom.com/wiki/Dragonspyre_Academy?file=Dragonspyre_Academy.jpg

http://www.wizard101central.com/wiki/File:(Location)_The_Crystal_Grove.png#axzz6a4BqFgfv

#wiztober2020 #Wizard101 #w101 #spiral lore

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deitiesofduat · 7 years ago

Note

I was wondering if u can do a bunch of random facts/headcannons for the main cast?

Oh man, I mean, I’m happy to try, but I’m not sure where to start for the entire cast of 10… well, now 11 gods. I know have some that are scattered around the blog’s tags, and also in places other than tumblr, but It’ll take me a bit to find them or think of new ones without revealing spoilers, hmm…

So here’s what I’ll try that’s similar to the 1 Like 1 Fact meme I did on twitter a while ago: for every note this post receives, I’ll add a DEITIES-related headcanon or fact about the main cast. The main cast includes Set, Horus, Anubis, Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Bastet, Sekhmet, Thoth, Ra, and nowwwww Sobek – and maybe the Set Spawn and the big bad serpent too, if relevant. You can add a note by +liking this post, and if you’re interested in learning about a particular deity, you can mention their name in a comment (and it’s not necessary to reblog this, unless you want to!).

This should help give me a bit more focus and time to think of some decent non-spoiler headcanons/facts to share. I’ll come back to this post in a few hours and add any many as I can, depending on the amount of notes it receives, and I’ll bump and place them under the cut for easy access. So yeah, go for it /o/!!

[1] Been playing with a headcanon where Horus’s Eye can see an object’s or person’s weak spots – though only for like, a moment once it’s activated, cuz I’ve wanted to avoid him being OP (but then again… he’s a literal god… so >>)

Also a related-headcanon where he can see a person’s past injuries thru his Eye too, including the hidden ones that have long-ago healed and left no visible scar. I’d like to draw the ones he “sees” on others one day if I keep it…

[2] Set is the only one of his siblings that doesn’t have an avian sacred animal, and for a while I wanted to keep it that way and literally keep him “grounded” compared to his family (sans Anubis). But I found that he’s sometimes also associated with crows (and falcons??? interestingly enough), and even though I haven’t found solid evidence of this yet, I also like the idea of him being associated with bats even before I read about it in Kane Chronicles I swear– So those 2-3 animals are probably some alternate animal form that he has but just rarely takes.

[3] Actually while I’m at it– aside from the Sha Animal, here’s a list of 30-ish animals that I keep as Set’s canon forms in DEITIES verse (based on a combination of historical speculation, recorded myths, and personal headcanons), and would love to eventually draw him as one day:

Aardvark, African Wild Ass (and Donkey), Giant Anteater, Baboon, Bat, Boar/Pig, Bull, Camel, Crocodile, Crow/Raven, Dog (some sort of sighthound?), Fennec Fox, Fish (Eel?), Gazelle/Antelope, Giraffe, Goat, Goose, Hare/Rabbit, Hippopotamus, [Spotted] Hyena, Jackal, Jerboa, Okapi, Oryx, Panther, Rat, Scorpion, Shark, Snake (Viper), and Zebra/Quagga.

[4] RELATEDLY… I REALLY REALLY like the idea of Set somehow acquiring a Thylacine form even tho it’s in no realistic way in the current timeline because thylacines weren’t native to Africa let alone Egypt. BUT… I JUST… THEY REMIND ME OF SHA ANIMALS SO MUCH o)——–

[5] When I was considering the color schemes for the main cast, I once briefly envisioned a purple/violet scheme for Nephthys, but decided to scrap it because (1) I wanted her colors to contrast with her sister’s and match a bit more with her husband’s and son’s and (2) I found that purple was nigh impossible to find in AE wall art and admittedly worried “maybe it won’t look authentic if I use those colors;;;”

Even though I’m happy with her orange/black/red scheme now, I’ve recently found that purple is a common association / kemetic UPG (or doxa?) with her?? SO THAT WAS INTERESTING… I don’t think I’ll change her color scheme for DEITIES, but maybe I’ll draw her in an alternate purple outfit one day to see how it looks on her >>

[6] One of the reasons why I like Horus, Anubis, and Bastet as their own casual friend group in DEITIES verse is that, because they’re all relatively young gods, they all share the experience/pressure of being measured up against their older royal relatives – Horus being seen as both his father and mother’s legacy and feeling the pressure to restore his family’s throne; Anubis being know for his infamous father, and even having his paternity questioned (via rumors and “myths”); and Bastet being the youngest of Ra’s daughter, sometimes being compared to her sister’s roles and achievements.

They’re all really good at masking any pressure they feel, but they also probably confide in each other about it more than with others, cuz they’ve all “been there.”

[7] Relatedly, one of the earliest version of DEITIES Project, before it was known as “Deities Project,” had Horus, Anubis, and Bastet as the main trio. That’s been changed “for reasons” since then, and their characters were quite different back then, but it might be fun to explore a story that focused on the 3 of them someday.

[8] Okay ya’ll know the part during The Contendings where Horus and Set are racing in stone boats and Horus “wins” by painting his wooden boat to look like stone? I have ideas for how that entire race happens in DEITIES verse that would be fun to explore as a side story, but in order for me to give Horus a “legit” way to win without outright cheating, he covers his boat with stone casing/accents, and after he wins and is confronted about it… well…

HORUS: “The rules we agreed on were to sail a boat made with stone. They said nothing about it needing to be made entirely out of stone.”SET: “…”HORUS: “ :)c ”SET: “…” *Internally raging*

[9] I’ve headcanon’d that Nephthys has her own set of ~7 Shabti who act as her personal assistants while she’s conducting her nightly duties, or working around her home, but I haven’t decided much more past that (still debating on how she acquired them, and if she more-than-likely named them…).

The concept and number were loosely based on how many of the other goddesses had their own sets of 7 as extensions of their power and/or control (7 Ribbons of Hathor, 7 Arrows of Sekhmet, Isis’s 7 Scorpions), and I thought it’d be neat if the Goddess of Service had her own Shabti that exemplified that part of her domain.

[10] Thoth is an avid lover of puzzles, trivia, and strategy games, and he’s also exceptionally skilled at games of chance. He doesn’t gamble or make bets often because he understands the risks, but when he does he tries to be calculative about it… and also has a natural knack for luck going his way (EX: That one game of senet that he won to help assist Nut with having her children… which is another story for another day)

[11] Ummmmm Isis is the only one of the main cast who I haven’t drawn a ref of her sacred animal form yet… or at least, not digitally. Her animal is the kite, but I’ve been debating on a while for what species to base her design on. I like the idea of her kite form looking like the Black-winged Kite, although those species aren’t native to Egypt… but some are native to Africa… and they’re so fricken pretty and they fit her colors so well so I might cave on this ffffffffffff–

[12] While we’re on the subject of sacred animals (and to help me get somewhat closer to the note count lmao I’m trying guys–), Horus’s falcon form is based on both the Peregrine falcon and the Lanner falcon, with more simplified markings for my own sanity when I draw him in dozens of panels.

At one point, I considered making his falcon form leucistic to contrast more with Anubis and Set, buuuuuut I also liked the brown colors on the falcons’ normal coloration, so I kept it. (That and more leucistic birds of prey are hawks, so… maybe for Khonsu tho if I don’t change him to an owl, hmmmm…)

[13] Okay continuing thoughts on animal forms, Bastet is able to shift her cat form into nearly any coloration or breed she desires (aside from her eyes, which remain green), but for the purposes of DEITIES I draw her as a brown cat with light gradation markings. I knew of the Egyptian Mau but also realized the spots would take a lot of effort to redraw in the panels where she appears as a cat (much like the spots on falcons for Horus). I also personally really like solid-colored coats on cats, and in particular I liked the coloration of the Havana Brown, so it may be a little less authentic but it did factor into her colors as well.

[14] I'm still debating on Sekhmet's main hairstyle and want to play with it a bit more -- not the arrangement per se but whether to keep it as locks or to make them more obvious twists -- or perhaps a combination -- since I can see her with both style at certain points in time. Either way, at full length Sekhmet's hair is very long: if she were to loosen her tie and let it fall, her longest locks would reach past her hips.

[15] I initially gave Set yellow eyes because even though he's often depicted with red eyes, I didn't want to over saturate his design with just... well, red -- especially in his animal form where his entire body is covered in red fur (red eyes + red sclera would have been, a lot). I like how his yellow eyes provide some contrast, and I've since found some story-related reasons where his eyes might play some role in the plot… but anything further might be spoilery 8')c

[16] It took me a while to settle on Osiris's "resurrected" skin tone because there were a lot of sources that describe his skin as being green, or blue, or black in coloration. I even tried them out in an earlier color test that I shared on patreon, but I eventually went with black since the color has had various meanings in Ancient Egypt that include both life and death. (It also gave me some opportunity to give green skin to Ptah and blue skin to Hapi to help vary the designs for each of those gods).

[17] Relatedly, Osiris's mortal form is a naturally dark skin tone, but following this death he can no longer appear in that form. He is also unable to travel to the overworld / realm of the living, though I'm still debating on how restrictive this is (if it's limited to his physical body or if he can split his soul under special circumstances, or with assistance). Regardless, most of his correspondence with other deities have to be arranged within Duat for this reason.

[18] I haven't made any plans to designate a spouse or romantic partner for Ra. I understand that there were a number of goddesses that were associated with him in the myths and often said to be his wife, but for that reason it was hard to settle on choosing one -- or multiple, and I realized that for the purpose of the main story it might not be necessary. I also kinda like exploring the idea of this high king and powerful creator deity who's also a happily single father, and where it's not for tragic reasons like the separation from or death of his spouse (not to knock that trope at all tho sdjfdsf). I'm not opposed to him being shipped with anyone though, I just don't think I've been inclined to do it myself lmAO;;

[19] RELATEDLY, while Ra's daughters (Sekhmet, Mafdet, Hathor, Serqet, Bastet) don't have a biological mother, I like to think that they were raised in an environment with a lot of parental figures and mentors to go around, aside from just their father. I haven't quite settled on how it was organized though, but I know that the daughters regard Thoth as something of an uncle/secondary dad (tho their dynamic with Thoth is can vary a lot from the one the have with Ra), as well as their teacher and mentor. I can also see where other gods like Khnum, Khepri, and Bes, and goddesses like Neith, Seshat, Taweret, Ma'at, and Mut, might also have played some direct mentor role in the daughters' upbringing and sense of self.

[20] (squick + implied nsfw) I uh… have this minor gag headcanon where Horus, Isis, and Osiris just don't eat fish. They just… don't. And it's entirely based on that one part of the myths after Osiris's death, where a certain part of Osiris's desecrated body ended up in the river and was swallowed by a fish 8')c (should be noted that I'm not saying that event did happened in DEITIES canon, but I'm also not disputing it either >>).

Apparently that was considered a bad omen, and I still find conflicting information on whether consumption of fish was taboo for some or all in Ancient Egypt (I think "for some" makes better sense, cuz why would an entire society that resides near the Nile river pass up on a perfectly available food source?? But I digress, I might need to review this again so take my thoughts with a grain of salt--). I also admit that I've seen it mentioned that fish are not ideal food offerings for Isis and Osiris?? and I can imagine that maybe Horus adopts the distaste for them as well. Either way, I go with the DEITIES canon that while most people and deities happily consume fish, Horus and his parents will not, and they don't enjoy it as offerings either.

I’MMMMMM gonna end it here for now cuz my headcanons have run dry for the time being, thank you guys!!

#// I'M SRSLY JUST blanking on new facts right now o)-----< but I wanna give this a try later after I make dinner in a bit #// I will… also see if I can make a tag for the headcanon-type replies since it seems that people are interested in them!#DEITIES asks #general asks #meme #Horus #Set #Anubis #Bastet #Nephthys #Ra #Thoth #Isis #Osiris #Sekhmet #headcanons

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nelsonsledge · 8 years ago

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"Right"?!!!! o2 oK jUS breeeath i-K-no-W=oOW-twenty uNo YEARS of remembrance, the flying times, the Y-2 soon, hey BooBoo! & "HeyYouGuys"! Electric/"StaticCompany" un'RealizED. 💡 (ideas) RIPed. Little bit liquid 📺,a dash of heatED.D-Bait ~hookED. On phonics-vs-Ebonics (Norton)ed. Spoon Feeding G-MazZ & oG'z POP'ahhs A-DasHe'dD of Voc. BreakING down on the YIN-YangG stage like cCrOss-firED. Heated freedom debating with the black|white line drawn down the center of Hot-Topics, meltdown transitions via be back in two&two wit luv connections CHuck-abbey or ObBey that Giant Client Art Biz- compared and contrasting facts vs FAX, guess sponsors lead Mr Whipples squeezing addictions, Carols Mop vs Mob Closets after the shows Bloopers Gone WildER. MadDad plots to snagG the Bad Guys with the help of a few good fellows re-Union reunited (and it feels so good, need a razorback haircut:fellas bring in the boar'dD. 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Gets firsts dibs after the from this point on moral fabric of the Matrix gets all calls and filtering powers MSN gets to go darker than Dark after hours, Jeckle gives Hide the ok to Seek in the forbidden areas of commerce, spy vs spy gets grey and redrawn by daybreak the lines of right vs wrong, this vs that, who get to purge, who fasts til the neXt night time showing, Rodger the Rabid Rabbit shows Rodger More secrets then any pre-or post double 0's ever wanted to know, Redefined Epic spoofing of SpyHard get a legit static stasis, absurd becoming relevant , idiots getting FaceTime on NotFOXYenuff trilogy enuff realizes finally that it could never be... enough. Bob cat Screams "Hey You Guys" Bane is the Hero that says nothing in anticipated camE-O-S and Martin Larance sound bite starts it off, "WELLCOME TO HELL BITCH" Little Suzy gets the Uzi, and mom and dad flip. for drone cone control. 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elwright13 · 8 years ago

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Crispin Glover as ” Mr. World” in the Starz series American Gods

On June 16th and 17th at Alamo Drafthouse (Omaha ), I attended both nights of Crispin Glover’s appearance consisting of live performances, film screenings, Q&As, and book signings. And what a great time it was! Crispin Glover is one of the most wonderfully gracious, down-to-earth, and intelligent people I’ve met. His live performances films and should be experienced firsthand, because they defy easy description. But I’m going to try anyway.

Before I get to that, I want to foreground this review by saying that I didn’t know too much of what to expect from the event or from Crispin himself, and didn’t want to bias my opinion of the event by reading detailed reviews in advance. Aside from enjoying Crispin’s quirky performances in various films (including his recent role as “Mr. World” in the Starz series American Gods), I didn’t know much about him as a person, aside from media articles describing him as” eccentric” or even “crazy,” two terms that are neither equivalent nor interchangeable. Usually, the “evidence” for the “crazy” label consists of speculation about his cringe-inducing first appearance on Letterman in the late 1980s, or the fact that he used to collect antique medical equipment (a fun-sounding hobby that mostly makes me feel envious). As I discussed in an earlier post, “crazy” is a nebulous label, a sloppy blanket term for a range of behaviors and attitudes that don’t necessarily indicate actual mental illness. I’m not just carping about the descriptor “crazy” merely because Crispin Glover clearly isn’t. I also find it egregious because it’s an intellectually lazy way to dismiss someone whose ideas or behaviors are merely inconvenient, outside the status-quo, or fail to support one’s own agenda. More on this later.

An unexpected reference to bestiality in “Rat Catching”

This isn’t to say that Crispin’s artistic output isn’t eccentric or massively weird, because it is. If you have the opportunity to attend both nights, do so. There is some overlap in content but not so much as to be overly redundant. Both nights began with variations of “Crispin Hellion Glover’s Big Slide Show,” in which Crispin crawled out from somewhere beneath the stage (literally) and then presented dramatic reading of several of his books accompanied by a powerpoint presentation of the book text and illustrations. Most of Crispin’s books consist of Victorian-era texts and illustrations, which have been redacted, recombined, and annotated in ways that transform the narrative entirely, usually making it funny or into absolute nightmare fuel. For example, “Rat Catching” contains a surprise reference to bestiality. Other books, such as “Round My House,” consisted of Crispin’s original text, reprinted from his own handwriting. This was my favorite among the books available for purchase at the event and on his website. The others were out of print or never printed for distribution in the first place. My favorite among these was “The Backward Swing.” Crispin’s dramatic reading style most often further mutated or obfuscated the meaning of the text, because he would often read with an emotion that didn’t seem to fit the text, or would read in a counter-intuitive cadence or put emphasis on atypical words. I enjoy the books themselves, but would argue that they are best experienced when performed by Crispin himself.

Poster for It is Fine! Everything is Fine

Following the Big Slide Show on night one was a screening of It is Fine! Everything is Fine, which is directed by Crispin as part two if the “IT” trilogy. Part one, What is It? was screened the second night. In retrospect, I think I understand his reasoning for screening his films out of order. It is Fine! is a good way to warm up audience members who attended both nights, because of the two films, it is more palatable for mainstream audiences. Moreover, it’s in some ways helpful to learn about the screenwriter and lead actor Steven C. Stewart before seeing the first film. Steven C. Stewart, who had a severe case of cerebral palsy, portrays a serial killer who has a fetish for women with long hair. I won’t spoil this film for readers as I tend to do. While there are several taboo elements in It is Fine!, it’s a film with a coherent, linear plot.

Promotional still for What is It?

That said, the oddities of the Big Slide Show and It is Fine! did not adequately prepare me for seeing part one of the “IT” trilogy, What is It?, which Crispin describes as, “Being the adventures of a young man whose principle interests are snails, salt, a pipe, and how to get home. As tormented by an hubristic, racist inner psyche” ( the racist inner psyche is portrayed by Crispin himself). In his Q&A afterward (as in interviews which can be read online), he states that one controversial element was the fact that the cast of What is It? consisted almost entirely of actors who had Down syndrome portraying characters who do not necessarily have Down syndrome. That’s really only one of many controversial aspects of the film. I would go so far to say that there is something potentially offensive or disturbing for every viewer. Some of those things include excessive use of Nazi swasticas, screaming snails, and unsimulated sex scenes involving women in animal masks. In multiple interviews, Crispin said his goal in making What is It? is for audience members to ask themselves, “Is this right what I’m watching? Is this wrong what I’m watching? Should I be here? Should the filmmaker have done this? What is it?” It worked. Among the things that pushed my personal buttons were gratuitous scenes of snail-killing and some…unique soundtrack choices that included Johnny Rebel’s rendition of “Some Niggers Never Die (They Just Smell That Way)” and selected songs by Charles Manson. To clarify, these songs were played in the main character’s subconscious by the aforementioned “hubristic, racist inner psyche,” which didn’t prevent me from dying a little on the inside anyway.

To say What is It? is disturbing is an understatement. More specifically, I actually found it more disturbing than one of my perennial favorite movies, A Serbian Film, and as least as disturbing as my friend Andrey Iskanov’s Unit 731 quasi-documentary film Philosophy of a Knife. I don’t mean this in a disparaging way at all. In contrast to a lot of big-budget dreck that is entertaining in the moment but which leaves you without a thought in your head, What is It?, like the other disturbing films I mentioned above, is not necessarily pleasant to watch , but is something to be appreciated in the long term precisely because it is thought-provoking.

Which brings us to the Q&A sessions, which were an oasis of calm rationality after the strangeness of the dramatic readings and the films themselves. In response to each question, Crispin gave thorough, intellectual answers that reminded me of my favorite professors’ lectures in film theory classes and from subsequent graduate school behavioral science courses. Although each night’s roughly two-hour Q&A had a different overall focus, one unifying theme was Crispin’s argument that corporately-funded films function as a type of propaganda because they discourage audience members from asking questions of any kind. Another observation was, and I hope I am paraphrasing this appropriately, that corporate films are intended for the eyes of children, because anything that could make an audience member uncomfortable is excised. I very much appreciated his in-depth insights and discussions in this subject, in part because I have a similar perception of such films. For over a decade, I’ve believed that most mainstream, corporately-funded films force the filmmaker to take a “No Child Left Behind” approach to storytelling, insofar that even if a film has subject matter deemed not suitable for children, that film is ultimately scripted and edited in such a way so that even the most intoxicated or least intelligent test screening audience member can understand it. Additionally, it seems that the budget of a film is inversely related to how taboo it is “allowed” to be. While that isn’t a terrible thing for every type of film, it’s obviously deleterious for horror films and any other type of film that by nature needs to convey things that are disturbing or controversial.

Crispin Glover as the screaming hair fetishist “The Thin Man” in Charlie’s Angels

Since What is It? was a reaction to corporate straightjacketing, it’s not entirely without irony that a significant a percent of Crispin’s acting work is in corporately funded and distributed films. However, that doesn’t indicate that Crispin’s views on corporate propaganda are somehow inauthentic, but rather that corporate control over the U.S. entertainment industry is so ubiquitous that it’s virtually impossible for an artist to detach entirely from the system. Crispin states that he used income from Charlie’s Angels and other corporately-funded films to cover the cost of making his independent films What is It? and It is Fine! Which brings me back to the issue of some journalists labeling Crispin as “crazy” or some variant on the term. On one level, it may just be an attempt to entertain celebrity gossip junkies or reflective of a common difficulty in separating an artist from his work product, but on another, more insidious level, it is also an easy way to dismiss Crispin’s more subversive views about the U.S. entertainment industry.

Crispin’s Q&A sessions weren’t restricted to professor-like discussions about corporate propaganda and relevant works by Noam Chomsky and Edward Bernays. He also discussed the influence of the Surrealist movement on his own work and shared several humorous personal anecdotes, including his intent behind his first appearance on Letterman. (I won’t reveal the answer here.) The fact that he openly answers questions in his Q&A sessions that he will not answer in typical media interviews is yet another reason to attend his live performances and film screenings.

Finally meeting Crispin at his book signing Friday night

After the Q&A sessions concluded, both evenings ended with a book signing. While it was a long wait to meet Crispin (I didn’t make it home until 2 a.m. on Friday and 1 a.m. on Saturday), I’m glad I did, and appreciated the opportunity to speak with him one-on-one. A staff member at Alamo Drafthouse told me that they had recommended that he spend only two minutes with each guest, but he generously spent quite a bit more time with those who wanted to talk. As I mentioned earlier, he was very gracious and grounded, and also genuinely interested in each guest and in hearing their feedback about his presentations and films. Even though I intended to not bring up weird or inappropriate topics, my conversation with Crispin started benignly and then evolved to an academic discussion about paraphilias. Fortunately, he seemed unfazed.

Crispin is currently writing a book about propaganda (I can’t wait for it to be released) and completing an untitled film starring his father, Bruce Glover. Visit crispinglover.com to sign up for his newsletter, buy his books, and get information about his tour dates.

#IFTTT #WordPress

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