#Reaver Montag

[vveedwacker]

Reaver & Bec

[acre-of-wheat]

Everyone ready for an unhinged theory about The Gales from Willow 2022?

So obviously they’re a dark mirror for our protagonists, and they function like a lot of teams of baddies in media-- they tie up each character in combat scenes by either having skills that subvert what the heroes are good at, or are simply just better at the same skills the heroes have.

Have a fast and dexterous fighter like Kit? Throw the Scourge at her and it overpowers anything she throws at it. Have a knight commander in full armor? Toss the Lich at him and have it bamf out of existence every time he swings his sword at it.

But I think there’s more to them than being battle foils for the characters. When Elora and Kit are hemmed in by the Gales and Airk, he tells them that the Gales are, “not what you think they are.”

So much of Willow has to do with the past, and choices, visions and alternate futures, recursions and cursed blood. I think that the Gales actually are our heroes, from a time when they gave into the Crone’s temptations.

Spoilers under the cut.

The Lich / Graydon Hastur

There’s a lot going on with Graydon.

First, his scar. I think it’s pretty obvious that there’s something magic going on here, and my guess is that it is a seal meant to prevent whatever possessed Graydon in the first place from popping out again.

I’m going to hazard a guess that whatever is still inside him is where his magic comes from. Magic apparently comes in several colors, but it does seem to at least partially relate to who is casting it, and what the spell is.

Willow and Elora’s natural colors are green, which you can see in the training montages and in Elora’s battle with the crone. Red appears to be pretty obviously bad.

Something happens to Elora’s magic color when she casts a Nekotic spell the Crone taught her though. The color turns darker, and goes blue.

Graydon’s “natural” spell color seems to be purple, and it doesn’t change based on what he casts, even when he fights the Crone and uses a spell that sounds very Nekotic.

I think it’s only a matter of time before the influence of the Wyrm makes Graydon’s spell work go fully red.

I also think his scar/seal is spreading. During the trek across the shattered sea, Graydon begins to learn magic. We know from Willow that magic takes a toll on the body, and we see that a bit with Graydon during a conversation with Elora.

She tells him not to scratch at something, and Graydon pulls his shirt aside to look, very carefully not revealing what it is. It’s worth noting that this is not on the side that he was injured on, so it’s not that “acting up.” Instead, I think it’s the seal spreading as he uses more and more magic, thinning the line between him and whatever possessed him.

If the scar continues to spread, perhaps Graydon might come to look like the Lich that we know-- covered completely in scar tissue.

The Doom / Jade Claymore

This is the one that initially got the gears turning, and all because of the weapons involved.

Throwing stars are only used by two characters in the show, and it seems like such an odd choice. Not daggers, axes, or javelins, but throwing stars. The Bone Reavers and the Tir Asleen knights don’t seem to use them, so they’re not a cultural practice that Jade might be familiar with. They aren’t used in the original movie either. Jade uses them once in battle, and then once during a training scene which doesn’t seem to have any story significance other than to remind us that she has them.

The only other character to use such a distinctive weapon is the Doom, when attacking the silt sleigh.

Because we’re talking about weapons, it’s worth noting that the Doom dual wields metal whips. Until the last episode, the only one of our heroes to dual wield her weapons is Jade, when she uncouples her sword from its staff/sheath

Speaking of distinctive, the Doom’s dark metal face plate is pretty unique, but we do know another character who wears a face mask into battle-- a battle that took some of Jade’s innocence with it.

I also really like the symbolism of the Doom’s first fight being with Kit and Sorsha, the very people Jade is most adamant about protecting.

The Dag / Kit Tanthalos

This one feels like a fairy-tale curse. What does Kit’s dream mother offer her? Freedom, a chance to go wherever she wants. In the usual wicked twist of irony, why not make that freedom both symbolic and literal by transforming her into a bird creature? Rootless, homeless, chasing after who she used to be and the girl she used to love.

The Scourge / Thraxus Boorman

This one doesn’t have much to go on--  they’re both tall, beefy dudes? The only thing that might be symbolic is that we know Boorman would rather jump off the edge of the world than have an intimate conversation-- what better way to avoid intimacy than to have a spiked cage around your head?

[quaddmgd]

and since soul reaver 1 isn't the first game in the franchise it'd be cool to include some kind of "the story so far" montage of blood omen's crucial story bits... or at least explain them in text.

while i might not need them since i played every game in the franchise, it would be a great way to bring new players up to speed. certain moments in soul reaver 2 are truly jaw-dropping if you already experienced blood omen

i hope soul reaver i & ii remastered gets the same treatment as tomb raider remasters. keep the original geometry and involve fans in making new textures and models.

i can only hope to see cut content reintroduced in some way, for example as something like quake 2 remaster's id vault or something. both games (but especially the first one) became infamous for the amounts of cuts they suffered. a girl can dream...

[destieldisaster]

07x09 - How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters

MotW: leviathans drugging people with burgers that make most people docile but rare cases hyperactively murderous

Any Cas? Nope

I second your "what the hell" and I'll raise you an "ew"

Bobby! Good to see you again 😊

Bobby basically saying "don't think about it too much" has to be aimed at the audience

"Some people just don't know how to live" Sam. SAM. Coming from you guys??? HAHAHA

I stg every time Bobby shows up in a suit..

"Not a happy camper" :')

Big bird, ken doll, and creepy uncle 👌👌👌

"Bunch of birds shoved up inside each other" see this is why everything is better when Bobby's around

"You don't shoot Bambi, jackass. You shoot Bambi's mother" i hate this why is it so funny

That's.. more mellow than weed can account for

Just.. all the ew. I'm eating here

Okay, so more than one bullet

"A glamper or two is one thing but you gotta be damn hungry to eat a cat's head" WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHOW

OH, is it the ridiculous sandwich? Would explain why only Dean is acting stoned

Yeahhhhh it is

"My sandwich didn't do anything"

"I think you pissed off my sandwich"

But also: more ew!

Yeah Sam, that's some deep shit

The person who decided to call the head leviathan 'Dick' really wanted Supernatural to be a straight up comedy and honestly I respect that

"I just got drugged by a sandwich" bunch of great sandwich quotes to choose from here

"You die before me and I'll kill you" except it's so not a joke, Bobby has lost too many people he cares about. Ad of course Dean know and he's right there with him 😭

The rise of Dick. Of course.

That's some decent mannips of Dick with famous people. This montage is great

Of course Bobby has spy gear in his car

This whole thing has iZombie fibes. Also reavers from Firefly. That's not a bad thing, it's an interesting concept

"You're bibbing me?"

HE'S EATING HIMSELF

Of course Bobby gets up to steal their plans right away

I honestly love the cleaning product offensive

FUCK, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[cleoselene]

Witcher 1x08

When Yennefer summons all the pain and rage in her life and we hear the voiceovers of the people who have hurt her throughout the run of this serious before she unleashes all that anger, you know whose voice we don’t hear?

Geralt’s.

Because Geralt didn’t speak cruelly to her.  Plainly sometimes, yes, but never with some kind of intentional barb meant to injure the way Istredd did.  We hear her bullies, we hear Tissaia, which you now, is a mother figure and we all got that complicated ish going on with mom, so that makes sense, but don’t hear Geralt with a cruel world.

Because when Yen thinks of Geralt’s words, she thinks of him sleepily smiling and saying “you are important to me.”  Yen doesn’t know it yet, but her exclusion of Geralt in that montage of cruelty was important.  Just as important as Geralt desperately crying for her in his dreams.

I do wish very much we’d gotten more content of them but I really like the subtleties that make their romance really lovely.  The tenderness in the way he kisses her in contrast to her aggressiveness.  The obvious power she has over him with her mystical perfume and the fact that he doesn’t mind it, but revels in being under her thrall and longs for it when it’s gone.  The way he quietly seethes but doesn’t act overbearing when the Reavers are creeps to her because he knows she can handle himself, but he smacks Jaskier anyway for saying something tacky about her.

I can’t wait for more.  He is so much more emotionally open and is so soft inside for her despite the laughable “witchers have no emotions” thing and Yennefer is just a ball of anger and distrust.  I love that dynamic.

[vickyvicarious]

DA:I musical episode

Varric: Narrator of the open/closing numbers, kind of tells the story of how we got here. Also has a song about how he's seen it all before; both serious fear/guilt over the red lyrium and Corypheus, and humorous comparisons to adventures with Hawke in a 'well, it can't be worse than the time...' kinda way. Funny and irreverent.

Dorian: Badass Venatori-killing song, with lots of pyrotechnics action. Softer, wistful heartbreaking part about the Tevinter he loves, the one it could be but isn't - then lots of corpses/spirits play backup to the furious determination to make his people better, starting right here killing these Venatori.

Iron Bull/the Chargers: Fun and straightforward drinking song about the company, mostly led by Krem. Everyone chimes in with how they joined or what they like about it, the chorus the one from that one cutscene. Bull keeps trying to tell about killing a dragon but they never let him finish.

Cassandra/Cullen: A training montage song, very inspiring. They sing about how their respective orders have gone wrong [mage ally playthrough] and how they will become better than before. Training recruits/building the Inquisition all the while. Interrupted before the grand finale by Iron Bull who takes over the final verse about being able to handle the fight together, rid the world of at least this ev-DRAGONS, Bull bursts in, did you hear I killed a dragon?! There was something sexual in the power of its roar... and he finally finishes that story at last.

Leliana/Josephine: Also an Inquisition-building song but more focused on connections, knowledge. High ground/low ground. Open/secret. Josephine sings about working the nobles a little coin here, a party there, you wouldn't want the world to know of your mistress / a knife in the dark, a spy in your house, no one will ever miss you on Leliana's end. Probably called something like 'Send A Raven.'

Vivienne: A precise enumeration of the issues she sees in the Inquisition, dear. I support the cause of course but see some areas ready for improvement. She's not happy with the mages being free allies, there's rubble everywhere, do you know how much you slouch in your judgement chair? Put velvet on the cushions, impressions make such a difference, darling. Manners, take care, be controlled-

Blackwall: He's woodworking, humming, muttering about shaving off the bad bits to make something new. Turns into a whole song that is clearly a poorly-veiled metaphor for himself, for Gray Wardens, and eventually the metaphor collapses as he waxes eloquent about making yourself anew... Horsemaster Dennet walks by as he holds a triumphant note, casually says, "you missed a bit there" as he points out a flaw in the work. Blackwall sinks into his chair, laughs a little, one more quiet line back in the woodworking metaphor as he goes back to work on it.

Solas: [context note: in this playthrough we have a running joke that hobo-looking apostate Solas hid who he was from Cullen and pretends to be just a farmer around him. As we are almost at Winter Palace and have never seen them interact we are milking this crack for great amusement.] An eloquent soliloquy about the Fade. Spirits he has met, the joys of learning, histories and mysteries and so much that has been lost. Magic as knowledge, walking in dreams... Back in the days when the elves were - and then Cullen walks through looking for Leliana, and Solas quickly shifts gears to some awkward line about farming in a terrible accent. The music goes all twangy till the Commander is gone (this happens several times).

Cole: A short, soft, wistful number about wanting to help and to find a place. Uncertainty about himself and wishing just to ease others' pain - cut off by a much louder number (probably Sera's). He will wander through the background of other songs helping, for example a one line cameo in the training montage to help a scared soldier feel better.

Sera: A quirky, fun song about pranks she is pulling, both against friends and for Red Jenny. Mostly weird and silly stuff, very funny and lighthearted, until at the end she learns something truly awful a noble has done to some innocents and gets furious, ending the song with a quickly sung rant as she fires many many many arrows into his chest. Panting in the sudden silence.

Inquisitor: Elven reaver seems to hate singing. Actively avoids joining in with the advisors though they try to appeal to her love of firm physical solutions (Cullen/Cassandra) or the importance of being a symbol for the world (Leliana/Josephine). But out wandering in the wilderness, she perks up when the search bings with a resource. Begins singing with great joy, much to her companions' surprise, about collecting rocks, hunting wildlife and gathering herbs. Yes, I know I have a duty to try and save the worl - ooh! Is that nugskin Fade-touched? Look here I see some elfroot, I think that shape's a stone. Hey Varric get me in here I can sense more booooooze~!

[mistressofthelearningplateau]

Bushwhacked

Guys, this show is dark. And by that I mean that yes, there was a corpse pinata and a guy sliced his own face to bits, but mostly I mean that sometimes I’m worried you won’t be able to see what’s happening in my screenshot.

As anyone familiar with the movie Alien will tell you, the endless expanse of space can get pretty damn claustrophobic under the right circumstances. Being stalked through a spaceship of death by a ravenous being that fears no pain, out of range of any help? Yeah, that’ll do it. What starts here as a sort of locked room mystery very quickly turns into a survival horror situation when it becomes clear that no one made it off that ship alive. Oh, also the authorities do finally show up, but they are not our friends.

Reavers have been mentioned before, but this is our first real glimpse at why everyone is so scared of them. Crucially, this is not a full-on onslaught of them. It’s just a guy, driven to the brink, slowly becoming that which destroyed him. And somehow, that’s worse. It really drives home why everyone is so terrified of these things. It’s not because they’re monsters. It’s because they haven’t always been.

Flight Log:

Man, I love an interrogation montage. Very clear juxtapositions between characters made clear with humorously timed cuts between them? You guys know I live for this stuff.

"Who's winning?" "I can't tell, they don't seem to be playing by any civilized rules that I know."

"Looked bigger when I couldn't see him."

"Captain was looking for a pilot. I found a husband. Seemed to work out."

"You fought with Captain Reynolds in the war." "Fought with a lot of people in the war." "And your husband." "Fight with him sometimes too."

"Seems odd you'd name your ship after a battle you were on the wrong side of." "Maybe on the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

[dumouwin]

that montage of reaver's hits was EROTIC

[vveedwacker]

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