#They have a perspective that is very important to young heroes now a days and plenty of experience on the field

[kakusu-shipping]

I wasn't even keeping up with the MHA manga but I did read the last three chapters without context and I've already decided how to fix the ending for my Self Insert

[drchucktingle]

It’s Carly Tingle’s big day, the release of her first traditionally published horror novel, Camp Damascus. Unfortunately, Carly’s having trouble enjoying this moment as fear and chaos begin to swirl around her. She wants the book to do well, of course, but it slowly becomes apparent there’s more to Carly’s ambition than meets the eye.

Things get clearer when Carly revisits an old erotica short she’d written, titled Eaten Right By The Physical Manifestation Of My Pride And Excitement That The Lead Character Of My First Traditionally Published Horror Novel Is On The Autism Spectrum Just Like Me. This sets off a chain of fourth-wall breaking events that will send Carly on an adventure unlike any other.

Now at the book shop, Carly will come face-to-face with the beautiful physical manifestation of her pride and excitement as an autistic artist, culminating in an erotic lesbian encounter that could inspire generations to come.

This erotic tale is 4,300 words of sizzling human on sentient physically manifested excitement in the form of a punctuation mark action and lesbian autistic pride love.

----

please enjoy EATEN RIGHT BY THE PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION OF MY PRIDE AND EXCITEMENT THAT THE LEAD CHARACTER OF MY FIRST TRADITIONALLY PUBLISHED HORROR NOVEL IS ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM JUST LIKE ME out now for free but asking for donation to AUTISTIC SELF ADVOCACY NETWORK

MORE ABOUT THIS TINGLER:

hey there buckaroos i would like to use today to talk on something that is very important to me. i have talked a lot about my journey as a bud on the autism spectrum, and about how I LOVE BEING AUTISTIC.

my story on the spectrum is not a struggle. my way was diagnosed in early twenties, but because of way of masking VERY FEW BUCKAROOS WOULD EVEN NOTICE. it has given me ability to hyper focus and get large amounts of writing done, to find creative ideas neurotypical buds might miss, and to have a unique perspective on life on this timeline.

HOWEVER as man name of chuck my pride in this way used to make me uncomfortable, thinkin i should not share my story. there are many buds on this spectrum who have a MUCH harder time than chuck, and i want to respect the VERY IMPORTANT AND VERY REAL struggles of my fellow autistic buckaroos. for long time i did not feel like it was my place to share and say ‘personally, i wouldnt change my autistic trot for anything. i think being autistic is very cool’

but as tingleverse got more fans and buckaroos started listening to my words more i started thinking: THIS is an opportunity to prove love. part of the reason i am PROUD of my spectrum way is because FIRST INTERACTION with idea of this trot (was called aspergers way back then) was to realize that ALL MY HEROS were on this spectrum: david byrne of band TALKING HEADS being number one.

my FIRST INTERACTION with this idea was not ‘whoa this is tragic’ it was ‘whoa the coolest buckaroo on the PLANET is the same as me’

POINT IS i have been on this timeline a while now and now i am in this position myself. i can be the one buckaroos see when they learn this about themselves and think: WOW LOOK AT THIS WILD ARTIST I ADMIRE BREAKING THE NORMS AND CHARTING A NEW TROT THROUGH THIS TIMELINE WE ARE BOTH AUTISTIC THIS IS THE HECKIN COOLEST

most of the characters i write are probably a little on the spectrum because they are comin from inside chucks head. i look back and notice this and laugh, but other than a single tingler i rare actually OUTRIGHT SAY this character is autistic. i decided that FIRST BIG HORROR NOVEL WITH A TRADITIONAL PUBLISHER was a good time to change this. while i write erotica most of the time which means NO YOUNG BUCKAROOS ALLOWED, horror is a little different. buckaroos young and old can read CAMP DAMASCUS and think ‘i see myself in this autistic hero and I FEEL COOL’

EVEN WRITING THIS NOW makes me get teary eyed and emotional, because these feelings of belonging and positive representation were SO IMPORTANT to me. i would not be trotting here without these autistic heroes, and now i have been given the chance to create one of my own with CAMP DAMASCUS and WITH MYSELF just by being chuck and talking openly about my joyful, exciting, artistic trot on the spectrum.

WITH ALL OF THIS IN MIND i am releasing a brand new tingler called EATEN RIGHT BY THE PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION OF MY PRIDE AND EXCITEMENT THAT THE LEAD CHARACTER OF MY FIRST TRADITIONALLY PUBLISHED HORROR NOVEL IS ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM JUST LIKE ME for free. HOWEVER i am requesting that if you choose to read you send your three dollars (or whatever donation you would like) to the AUTISTIC SELF ADVOCACY NETWORK. this way 100 percent of all profits will go to them. (WARNING this is actual erotica so no young buckaroos allowed for this one).

all ages (who are old enough to read horror) can preorder CAMP DAMASCUS at any bookstore. i also have a tingler name of NOT POUNDED BY THE PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION OF SOMEONE ELSE'S DOUBT IN MY PLACE ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM BECAUSE DENYING SOMEONE'S PERSONAL JOURNEY AND IDENTITY LIKE THAT IS INCREDIBLY RUDE SO NO THANKS that is pound free so all ages can read so check that out if you would like.

thank you for blessing me with a space to explore these ideas. i am so thankful to be here with you and you have treated me so well. i am eternally grateful for our tort together and look forward to the future we craft on this timeline.

LOVE IS REAL - chuck

[donkeys-waffles]

One piece of DFO brain rot that has lived rent free in the back of my mind for days is their hair.

AFO has always cut his hair very short, to the point where you can barely see the definition of his curl pattern. He definitely did this for both convenience and safety purposes. Afterall, when you're fighting against people, especially adults as a small child, you have to be careful of things like hair because it's easy for your opponent to grab it and catch you off guard. And I'm sure AFO would have no idea how to care for his curly hair because he never had a parent to teach him basic hygiene.

He kept his hair short all these years because it wasn't a priority for him. But what interests me is Yoichi always had long hair, during an apocalypse his hair poses a big threat for him. If he were to be caught by his hair by an enemy, he could easily be killed with a weak body and no quirk to fight with. AFO never forcefully cut his hair, (I also find it surprising that AFO didn't do this to make them look more alike, I feel like he'd like that.)

Their differences in hair length really illustrates the difference in childhood experiences/exposures to the worlds affairs that the two had. We see AFO was in the middle of everything, he had to fight and kill people from a very young age to protect his brother, and while Yoichi was exposed to some of that. I feel that their key differences in perspective are a root cause of AFO hiding Yoichi away from the worst of it. Like that scene where AFO flies into their hideout and Yoichi is already there, I don't think he was a part of a lot of the fights. I think he was very sheltered after that one scene when they were children, and it looks like Yoichi was attacked.

Yoichi's perspective is very idyllic while AFO is more realistic (in ways.) Yoichi's hair in some ways reflects the innocence he still has while AFO, who was forced to keep his hair short for protection, is scarred and brittle from what he was exposed to.

Yoichi is childlike in his heroic admiration.

AFO is childlike in his admiration for the villain who was surrounded by followers. He's childlike in his need for what he believed was love, a sense of belonging, and calm (his childhood scarred him to the point of sabotaging all of that.)

Now with Izuku, I see it as being similar.

Izuku keeping his hair on the longer side is very important to AFO. I like to think that AFO only started to learn how to take care of curly hair when Izuku was born with it. He read all the books and bought all the products. He kept his hair short, but he wanted to make sure Izuku could keep his hair long. I like to think that baby Izu had the best curls, fluffy, shiny, and soft. I like to think that Izuku knows how to care for his hair even if he doesn't remember who taught him.

And I like to think that AFO did all of these things for Izuku in the same way he did for his brother. He wanted Izuku to keep that innocence. He wanted to make sure his ducky never had to fear getting grabbed by the hair in a fight, because he'd never be a part of any fights. It all travels back to his hatred for All Might, that safety and innocence.

It all travels back to his warning, about the 'thorny path' Izuku was following. Because while the paths between them aren't the same, hero and villain, they take with very little reward. And I feel AFO knows that very well.

[yonkokraven]

Leak night and A Little Rant: Soulless ending for a Hero Journey (MHA 430 Spoilers)

Horikoshi now I understand why you were afraid that your manga would be cancelled, because you don't deserve that position

Seriously, there are so many things wrong here, not only because you contradicted yourself from the previous chapter and doubled down on making us ignore it completely, but you expect me to feel like this ending is worthy of being called bittersweet when it doesn't qualify as an ending to any of the plots presented.

Midoriya Izuku, someone who at the time I saw the potential to be a Superman, a Spiderman, a genuine hero reduced to a teacher with the same expressionless image for 8 years before being given a suit to be a hero (Which he didn't need because Midoriya's strength without the OFA is already superhuman)

No, I'm not going to start the Rant like this, sorry, but I'm seriously upset with the insult that this chapter has become.

The Chapter

Chronologically, the chapter tells us that time passed normally at the academy before the war, Bakugo adapted to being ambidextrous, Gran Torino seems to have recovered although he probably died at most a year later, Tokoyami and Hawks talking, Aizawa and Mic in the cemetery (unfortunately Aizawa is still alive), the League of Villains book is on sale and several other things.

And then...

“I was able to live a dream that should have been impossible. The story that began when my body moved before I could even think has come to an end alongside the embers of One For All”.

Midoriya loses the last embers of One For All during the last days of the academy as indicated in the full panel, so it seems that he did not become a hero with his classmates.

8 years after graduation, the perspective changes to Dai, this young man who appeared at the beginning of the final war arc. And we have mentions of La Brava (who has her own IT company and is married to Gentle), Doctor Yoshida (the doctor Yoshi) and Hatsume (who seems to have a very renowned Laboratory)

Dai is being bullied for his quirk, and one of his classmates says that now that the number of heroes has stabilized, only the strongest quirks will have a chance in the academies.

Dai says that unlike the others, he did not change, he feels like a child for wanting to be like All Might, Endeavor, Jeanist, Deku or Dynamight, and his insecurity guides him to the Statue of All Might.

There is another scene change that shows us more of the students of class A

Shoji receives an award for resolving prejudiced conflicts in a peaceful manner, and he thanks all the heteromorphs who went to the hospital 8 years ago and who are only there thanks to their will.

Uravity, Ingenium, Froppy and Creati are now a team of heroes (possibly oriented to everyday and rescue situations) who go around the country's schools explaining a new and important aspect of society: the expansion of quirk counseling.

And Eri attends a music club with friends from her school.

Aizawa talks to Midoriya and shows him a video of Bakugo yelling at a civilian for filming him too closely, and points out that this will cause Bakugo to fall in the Ranking and Todoroki to rise (we are told that Shoto works day and night, yet he is still kind to his fans and people)

Shoto is no longer known as "Endeavor's Son", but as his own hero identity.

Aizawa asks Deku if he feels lonely, and Deku answers that since his talk with Fuwa (in chapter 425) he realized that he can use his knowledge and experience to help other people even without having a quirk. And he says he thinks this is a cool way to live.

Midoriya asks Aizawa if he agrees with him, but Aizawa says that he should be strict with his students, since many who enter UA believe that they are guaranteed passage into the profession and tend to become arrogant if there is no one who is strict and corrects their path.

Midoriya says that since graduation he has barely seen his friends as their days off don't coincide. As he walks home, Midoriya looks out at the scene, Tokoyami or Kirishima products on TV screens, or children playing in the street.

One of these children trips and Midoriya goes over to help, and notices Dai coming over as well.

Dai talks to him about his insecurities and how he comes to see the statue of All Might every time he feels that way, and asks Midoriya,

"Can I be a hero like All Might and You?"

Midoriya remembers his conversation with All Might and begins to analyze Dai's Quirk, a Quirk that allows him to create plates from his hair. Dai is somewhat surprised by Midoriya's way of speaking but understands that he is trying to help him.

"Now it's my turn to give people dreams"

Midoriya tells Dai that he will be okay, because he helped that kid and confirms that he can be a hero. The next panel shows us the new statue of All Might with new additions, statues of civilians rooting for him. Midoriya tells Dai to do his best.

"If I said I'm not a little sad, I'd be lying. However, I can at least encourage other people like that. And that was the story of how we all became the greatest heroes."

All Might appears before the chapter comes to an end and destroys the "END" with his own hand.

All Might apologizes for the delay, while Midoriya tells him that he could have met him at the airport, but All Might says that he wanted to give him a surprise gift while explaining that the data collected from his fight against All For One 8 years ago opened up huge possibilities. All Might gives his disciple a Briefcase.

"Technology evolves just like quirks."

Midoriya says it must have cost a fortune, but All Might says it was created by a friend of US (possibly Melissa and her father) and Hatsume, and the expenses were paid jointly by all the students of class A, especially Bakugo.

“Take this to heart, kid. You've earned this power too, fair and square.”

Deku smiles, we get a panel of Bakugo calling Midoriya, and then Hawks being informed about a landslide on a highway and he asks for any heroes who can to report to the place immediately. Midoriya jumps up using his new support and looks down for a moment, seeing the "ghost" of Shigaraki.

The last page is a double spread of Class A as adults in their hero outfits.

"This is the story of how we will continue to reach out."

A Rant

Well, to begin to understand this chapter and give it a proper rant, I summarized it, and for that reason I want to talk about some things and say again that it is a deteriorated ending for how the Manga began.

Things seem to change but at the same time they stay the same, it's basically like raising the sails of a ship to half mast, you go in the same direction, but slower.

Horikoshi doesn't have a clear perspective for Midoriya in the chapter since he alternates protagonism with Dai, this student who barely appeared once

Dai gives us the perspective of the new generation, and again strength prevails over heroism since Hawks didn't start to reward what really mattered, precisely: Heroism.

Midoriya decides that he will be a teacher since he doesn't have a Quirk to practice the profession of hero, a stupid thing because in previous occasions we were shown that Midoriya's physical strength without the OFA was abundant, although it is understood that Midoriya wants to teach we don't see anything about his class or how he teaches.

The heroes are still people without personal lives, and this is highlighted by the little interaction time that Midoriya had with his friends in a span of 8 years, in addition to Shoto patrolling day and night.

The plot of Shoji and the heteromorphs seems to improve as well as that of Uraraka, both being heroes they try to educate civilians so that people like Toga are helped or the heteromorphs can live with dignity.

Spinner released his book but we didn't see a reaction from the people, but from Compress who had no relevance in this manga.

There is something very wrong with all this and it is that they build us up to the idea that change will happen in the long run, when Horikoshi had the means to immediately begin said changes (And no, I'm not referring to civilians).

Midoriya should have had recognition and interviews for his motivations, even if you don't want to tell the whole story Midoriya would say that he brought Shigaraki to where he was (ridiculous reason but it would be a way to justify it) and people would stop looking the other way

Uraraka could have done what she does now from the academy and interviews, but you didn't allow it either.

Shoji and the heteromorphs was a beautiful plot but you did everything so off-screen that it loses the impact of these two panels that you dedicated to the chapter.

Hawks is now at the head of the commission, and the only thing you did was fix half the problem by adding the top "Eiyuu" when you should also have eliminated the old top that makes people perceive power as something rewardable.

And do you know, readers, why all this is happening? Because Horikoshi most likely has a sequel prepared, because if not, it would not explain the amount of inconsistencies that arose in this last final arc and later this attempt at an epilogue (It literally still makes me sick that he wasted the portal resource like that.)

I would detail for the umpteenth time the inconsistencies when writing the League of Villains or the lack of evolution outside of panels, but you already know my opinion about that and more.

I only hope that on August 5th the news is not a sequel or I will have to mentally prepare myself to see another decade of inconsistencies.

and yes, Deku will have a new OFA in part 2, the ghosts (Shigaraki) don't appear on the street just because.

[knightofthenewrepublic]

Percy would have worked with Octavian, but the Augur never gave him a chance

(or Why Octavian's actions weren’t justified)

As people spend more and more time critically examining the Riordanvese (often to a fault, it must be said) one of the most common revisionist arguments is to try and absolve the mortal villains of the consequences of their action; usually by exaggerating their motivations. That includes the argument that Octavian was so quick to war partially because he was treated poorly by the Greeks. Particularly by Percy Jackson. 

But does that actually hold up?

People will argue that Octavian was not evil, because attacking Camp Halfblood was justified from his perspective; he thought they had broken a truce with New Rome and attacked it. And that would be a fair argument, IF that was the only bad thing Octavian had done, or even the worst thing. It wasn’t. And Octavian had begun trying to trigger conflict well before that. Percy, on the other hand, did his best to prevent it.

The first scene where Percy meets Octavian, is also the first time we see his sinister side. And that is of course when he tries to blackmail Hazel into supporting him for Praetor.

Now there is an aspect of the context of this scene that I think a lot of people overlook; their ages. Octavian is 18, or near enough, and Hazel is 13. This is a guy old enough to vote, (the only one of them who isn’t a child soldier) blackmailing a girl too young to get a learner’s permit. Just before this, Percy says Octavian reminds him of someone; which is obviously a reference to Luke Castellan. This type of nearly grooming behavior would have really reinforced that impression; which explains Percy’s hostile reaction to it.

Percy slipped his hand into his pocket, and grabbed his pen. This guy was blackmailing Hazel. That was obvious. One sign from Hazel, and Percy was ready to bust out Riptide and see how Octavian liked being at the end of a blade.

But Percy keeps these urges internal. He doesn’t voice his anger, and doesn’t give any visible reaction. The other two keep talking like he’s not there. This is a pretty good demonstration of Percy’s hard won self control; on his first day at Camp Half-Blood he doused Clarisse with toilet water for less, without even meaning to.

The next interaction he has with Octavian isn’t much better.

“Recruit,” he [Octavian] asked, “do you have any credentials? Letters of reference?” Percy shifted. “Letters? Um, no.” Octavian wrinkled his nose. Unfair! Hazel wanted to shout. Percy had carried a goddess into camp. What better recommendation could you want? But Octavian’s family had been sending kids to camp for over a century. He loved reminding recruits that they were less important than he was.  “No letters,” Octavian said regretfully. “Will any legionnaires stand for him?”

Now just asking this question is obviously standard practice, so Octavian isn’t wrong for that. It’s his condescending reaction that is the unsubtle putdown.

But then things come to a head very quickly, when that night’s game of capture the flag ends in a visit from the god Mars, and the command he delivers; a quest to retrieve the legion Eagle, and free Death.

Now what’s really important here is that, while people often think of Leo attacking Camp Jupiter as the point where Octavian turned against the heroes, THIS is the actual point. THIS is where he goes from being a nuisance to being an antagonist.

It starts in the Senate meeting the next day, when Percy tries to make sense of the situation:

“This Giant, the son of Gaea--he’s the one who defeated your forces thirty years ago. I’m sure of it. Now he’s sitting up there in Alaska with a chained death god, and all your old equipment. He's mustering his armies and sending them south to attack this camp.”

Percy is just repeating what Mars literally told them the night before. Octavian’s reasonable reaction to this is:

“Really?” Octavian said. “You seem to know a lot about our enemy’s plans, Percy Jackson.”

Him, and everyone else who was conscious at the end of the war games.

In spite of being almost outright accused of treason, Percy still keeps his cool. This shows a lot of growth on his part, compared to where he was in the second book of the previous series:

This was so completely unfair, I told Tantalus to go chase a donut, which didn’t help his mood.

After a bit more discussion, Octavian makes his move. First he gets in another insult. 

“Mars has clearly chosen the least likely candidates for this quest. Perhaps it is because he considers them the most expendable.”

And then he argues that the senate should not give any of the support that would normally be given to a quest. The odds of them succeeding are already so low; better to use their resources to protect the camp.

It’s pretty easy for us, the readers, to overlook what a dick move this really is. Of course WE know that the heroes are going to come back alive; but in universe, there is nothing to guarantee that. Even a small magical trinket could be the difference between life and death. And Octavian is trying to deny them that.

This could be understandable, if there was any sincerity to it. A sad but necessary sacrifice for the greater good, to protect the camp. But after arguing that all their resources have to be saved for the battle, Octavian proceeds to do nothing with them. When the giant’s army arrives, the legion simply marches out and fights them with conventional ranks and swords. Aside from a few roman scorpions (large crossbows), no specialized weapons are brought out, no magical items are used, they didn’t even build a wall or a trench. So there was no real reason not to give them anything; even if he sincerely believed the quest was doomed, that was all the more reason to help. The right magical tool might have at least given them the chance to get back alive. Depriving the questers served no purpose other than to make them fail.

You can also see this, in the fact that all Octavian’s stated reasons don’t actually win over the senate. 

The senators’ eyes moved back and forth between Octavian and Reyna, watching the test of wills. Reyna straightened in her chair. “Very well,” she said tightly. We shall put it to a vote.”

No one gives their support to Octavian before this. The senators are waiting to follow the person they see as more powerful, not the argument that was more convincing.

As for motivations, there is only one that Octavian could have; with the election just days away, he wants to prevent a rival for the praetorship.

Is the fulfillment of an epic quest a silly basis for entrusting someone with supreme executive power? Yes, in the real world, it is. But demigods don’t live in the real world; and in their world, everything revolves around quests. Quests drive every important event in the series, and are the ultimate standard by which the skill and power of a demigod are demonstrated. As Annabeth puts it in TLT:

“At camp you train and train. And that’s all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That’s where you learn whether you’re any good or not.”

If Percy returns from a land that wiped out half a legion of demigods, with the long lost legion Eagle, the mob that is Rome will raise him up on the fanciest shield they can find. And Octavian isn’t the only one who has put that together. The very next chapter sees Reyna tell Percy that he could stand for praetor if he succeeds; and we are reminded several times that Octavian is far more politically savvy than she is. If she’s put it together, you can bet that he has.

But going back to the senate meeting itself; we see another example of Percy choosing not to start a conflict with Octavian, even when he seems to be trying to get him killed. Instead, he focuses on the important issues:

Frank jumped to his feet. Before he could start a fight, Percy said, “Fine! No problem. but at least give us transportation.”

Percy is more concerned about succeeding in saving the camp than satisfying any grudges. Octavian is more interested in how many insults he can fit into one meeting.

“A boat!” Octavian turned to the senators. “The son of Neptune wants a boat. Sea travel has never been the Roman way, but he isn’t much of a Roman!”

(The insult proves to be quite a hypocritical one in BOO, when Octavian has boats built to surround Camp Half-Blood.)

Octavian’s next attempt to start a conflict with Percy is slightly more subtle.

They were only halfway across the forum when someone called, “Jackson!” Percy turned and saw Octavian jogging toward them.  “What do you want ?” Percy asked. Octavian smiled. “Already decided I’m your enemy? That’s a rash choice Percy. I’m a loyal Roman.” Frank snarled. “You backstabbing, slimy–” Both Percy and Hazel had to restrain him.

Why is Octavian talking about being enemies? It doesn’t say Percy asked angrily, or Percy growled, or Percy glared at him. It’s a very dramatic reaction.

And Percy has done nothing to suggest that he wants to be Octavian’s enemy. Sure he has grown to dislike the augur, as most people would with someone who insults them and blackmails children:

Nico put his finger to his lips. Suddenly all the lares went silent. Some looked alarmed, like their mouths had been glued together. Percy wished he had that power over certain living people . . . like Octavian, for instance.

But he’s been keeping those critical thoughts to himself. He even avoided arguing in the senate meeting so as not to escalate things. The worst thing he’s done was knocking Octavian out during capture-the-flag which was both a perfectly fair move and a good strategy. Hardly something to base a feud on.

Most likely, this is a freudian slip on Octavian’s part. He’s already started to see Percy as an enemy, for no other reason than he might be a rival. That, or it’s an attempt at gaslighting Percy into thinking he somehow provoked Octavian into trying to get him killed. In any case, the augur hardly seems unhappy to see him, and the two legionnaires at his side, go off to their deaths.

Octavian smiled wickedly. “The last person she [Reyna] had a private talk with was Jason Grace. And that was the last time I ever saw him. Good luck and goodbye, Percy Jackson.”

If he’s happy to see them go, he’s certainly not happy when they come back alive. 

The look on Octavian’s face was priceless. the centurion stared at Percy with shock, then outrage. Then, when his own troops started to cheer, he had no choice except to join the shouting: “Rome! Rome!”

Not the appropriate reaction when Percy is saving the city, not to mention Octavian’s own life. The auger doesn’t have a single kind word to say.

The Roman symbols burned into Percy’s arm: a trident, SPQR, and a single stripe. It felt like someone was pressing a hot iron into his skin, but Percy managed not to scream. Octavian embraced him and whispered, “I hope it hurt.”

Just before this, Octavian kills a teddy bear and reads the future from it, announcing:

good omens for the coming year–Fortuna would bless them!

It has been suggested that Octavian actually had a very different vision at this moment; that he saw the Argo II opening fire on New Rome, and kept that to himself, but turned against Percy and the other Greeks because of that. This doesn’t seem likely. It would serve his purposes better to share that information; and he would have seen that vision in front of hundreds of demigods hardwired to notice small details, none of whom notice him having any visible reaction to it. Besides which, this can’t be the point when he turns on Percy, since he’s already been trying to sabotage him for most of the book.

Now if there is some big conflict between Percy and Octavian, this is the time for Percy to win it decisively. To use his new power and authority to put the auger in his place.

But Percy doesn’t do that.

“Why should we trust these Greeks?” Octavian was saying. He’d been pacing the senate floor for five minutes, going on and on, trying to counter what Percy had told them about Juno’s plan and the Prophecy of Seven.

Rather than simply steamroll over the discussion, and try to use his authority to silence any opposition, Percy allows Octavian a reasonable amount of time to air his concerns, before finally stepping in with his counter argument.

When Percy lays out the details of why they must join the Greeks, Octavian never comes up with a logical counter argument. Instead, when a messenger reports the Argo II has been spotted, he resorts to paranoid rambling.

“Praetors!” The messenger cried. “What are your orders?” Octavian [who is not a praetor] shot to his feet. “You have to ask?” His face was red with rage. He was strangling his teddy bear. “The omens are horrible! This is a trick, a deception. Beware Greeks bearing gifts!” He jabbed a finger at Percy. “His friends are attacking in a warship. He has led them here. We must attack!”

Yesterday when he last read the entrails, Octavian said the omens were good. Now, they’re suddenly horrible. That pretty well justifies Percy’s growing disregard for Octavian’s auguries.

Not only that; he is accusing Percy of treachery, while at the same time suggesting they attack a ship that can be seen bearing a white flag.

And this is before a single shot has been fired on New Rome. That false-flag attack by Gaea can not be the inciting incident for Octavian’s hostility to the Greeks. Not if what he wanted to do before it happened is the same as what he wanted to do after it happened. The attack is just what incentives the rest of the camp to support him.

The last interaction between Percy and Octavian is pretty much the first two chapters of MOA, where Octavian does his best to offend the Greeks.

“You’re letting these intruders into the camp!”

When Reyna orders Octavian to go make a sacrifice to the gods, Percy adds:

“Good idea. Go burn your bears Octavian.”

An insulting way to put it; but no more so than calling the Greek ambassadors (including a Roman praetor and Percy’s own girlfriend) “intruders.” And no more harsh than the insults Octavian has used for legionnaires below himself, like Frank and Hazel. And Percy has been given enough reason not to trust Octavian’s auguries any more than he trusts him.

The last exchange between them is about the praetorship:

Octavian snorted. “Which means we have three praetors! The rules clearly state we can only have two! “On the bright side,” Percy said, “both Jason and I outrank you, Octavian. So we can both tell you to shut up.” Octavian turned as purple as a Roman T-shirt. Jason gave Percy a fist bump.

I can only imagine how long Jason has been waiting for someone to say that to Octavian. It has been suggested this is an abuse of power on Percy’s part, but there is no reason to think so. They are surrounded by the senior officers of the legion, some of whom will be on Octavian's side, and no one raises an objection. And it's not like Octavian actually treats it like an order.

“I’ll step aside for Jason,” Percy said easily. “It’s no biggie.” “No biggie?” Octavian choked. “The praetorship of Rome is no biggie?”

No need to go into detail about how the rest of the series goes. Gaea triggers a war between the Greeks and Romans, and Octavian walks right into it. There is no reason to think he was working for her; but he was plainly looking for an excuse to start hostilities.

[tyttamarzh]

CONGRATULATIONS DEATH FAMILY!!! This is a megapost for celebration. 💗

Today marks one year since the arrival of Chayanne and the birth of the Death Family! And I have prepared a series of gifts to celebrate!!

First in the list… well, I wanted make a special something, so, I decided reunites all the arte that I made about them and create a commemorative video… I thinks isn't a big deal but… I hope you can enjoy it! Really I love this family, really I love them, and I make this whit all the love in my heart. 💕

It was incredible to realize that by putting all this together I could tell a small story, I really feel bad for not drawing more moments with Phil and the children, I think it is very noticeable that my main is Missa, so the song and everything seems to be from its perspective (but that's okay, because there really is very little material focused on him and his perspective).

Now a little remembrance:

That day… the adoption day… when the destiniy unite Phil and Missa with the "D" tickets.

They had to choose an egg to adopt. Missa left the decision to Phil (who initially wanted chose Dapper), who finally, at the crows' insistence, opted for that nice guy with the ducky floatie.

So they had to give him a name, this time, Missa was the one who decided and at the insistence of the Missaurios, he chose the name "Chayanne"

At that moment our little warrior was born, at the same time that a loving, protective and warm family was formed that did not know that it would have to go through a thousand obstacles in their life in the island.

From the beginning, Chayanne was encouraged to become a great warrior by his parents. His father Missa encouraged him to be a protective hero and his father Philza's stories about the legendary Technoblade inspired him to become an invincible fighter. Chayanne has been through great dangers and has had to make difficult decisions despite his young age. That has helped him become what he is now, someone very strong who was able to stand up to his father, Phil, being possessed by Enderking, to save him.

Chayanne has managed to combine his role as a warrior with his love for cooking, a hobby he acquired after spending an afternoon baking desserts with Missa (who taught him how to cook from the first days). His great passion was always encouraged by Philza, who always helped him obtain materials and encouraged him to create various dishes when necessary for a task. Despite still being a child, Chayanne has become the best chef on the Island.

From the first days Death Family became one of the most loving and functional families on the island. Phil and Missa built something beautiful, all thanks to his warm heart and tender, protective fatherly attitude. I know that there have been several bumps in the road, things cannot be perfect, but it has been thanks to the love that they have for each other that they have managed to move forward despite everything and have managed to overcome the obstacles. Thanks to that, I now know that no matter what happens or what problems arise, they will be okay, because it is the four of them against the world.

But that's not all I have to say. I can't celebrate this union without talking about the incredible relationship between Phil and Missa.

When this family started, I never thought it would become an important part of my life and it has all been thanks to the incredible chemistry that the two of them had from the beginning.

No one would have imagined pairing Philza, being one of the most experienced Minecraft players, with Missasinfonia, probably one of the least experienced on the island (but in my opinion the one with the biggest heart), would create this unique, loving and angst dynamic at once. Circumstances have created a panorama that has turned them into the sun and the moon, being a couple that longs for each other for not being able to be together, a couple that constantly demonstrates their love for each other in different ways, who always keep in mind to the other, who fight to defend what they have and who make the most of the few moments they can be together, giving us adorable and incredible moments that are capable of driving us crazy and feeding us well enough to keep us alive, desperately waiting for the next eclipse.

However you want to see it, romantic or platonic, whatever they are doesn't matter. What difference does it make if they have been able to give us moments that have managed to steal our hearts? What they both have is very special and labels don't really matter, the only thing that matters is being able to see them together once again creating unique and fun moments together and with their children.

Today I want to celebrate the birthday Chayanne and the Death Family, but I also want to celebrate Phil and Missa as a couple. THEM, simply THEM. Because their dynamic and their strong feelings for each other have managed to create a beautiful community and have brought us all together here, to toast them and wait for their reunion. Thank You! 💖

[mbruben-stein]

Hello!

I wanted to request Victor and Yurio with an s/o who started skating in their teens(it's considered starting late)

Ofc feel free to ignore this request if you like!

Have a great day! /night!

~Victor~

Admiration, Victor would greatly admire his s/o's dedication and passion for taking up skating at an age considered "late" by competitive standards. He would be impressed by their determination to pursue their dreams despite the challenges.

Supportive coach, As an experienced skater, Victor would likely take on a coaching role to help his s/o improve their skills. He would be patient, encouraging, and always ready to offer advice and demonstrate techniques.

Balancing act, With his s/o starting their skating journey later in life, Victor would understand the importance of balancing training with other responsibilities, such as school or work. He would help them create a schedule that allows for both practice and personal time.

Emotional anchor, Starting a competitive sport later than most can be emotionally taxing. Victor would be there to comfort his s/o during moments of self-doubt or frustration, reminding them of their progress and unique journey.

Celebrating milestones, Victor would make a point to celebrate his s/o's achievements, no matter how small, knowing that each milestone holds special significance for someone who started skating later. He would be their biggest cheerleader.

Learning from each other, While Victor would have a wealth of experience to share, he would also be open to learning from his s/o's unique perspective as a late-starter. Their determination and fresh outlook could inspire him in his own skating journey.

Defying expectations, Together, Victor and his s/o would challenge the notion that starting skating later in life means limited success. They would work together to prove that with hard work and dedication, anyone can achieve their dreams on the ice.

~Yurio~

Initially, Yuri might be dismissive or even resentful of his s/o for starting skating "late." He could see them as not taking the sport seriously enough since they didn't dedicate their entire childhood to training like he did. However, as he gets to know them better, he comes to respect their determination and work ethic in pursuing their passion despite the late start.

Yuri's s/o may struggle with feelings of inadequacy, comparing themselves to skaters like Yuri who have been training since they were very young. Yuri, in his blunt way, would tell them to stop making excuses and to focus on being the best skater they can be now. He believes that hard work and drive are more important than the age someone started.

During joint training sessions, Yuri would push his s/o relentlessly, knowing they need to work twice as hard to catch up to their peers. He wouldn't go easy on them, but it's his way of showing he believes in their potential.

Yuri's s/o might look up to him as an incredible skater despite his young age. While he'd be secretly flattered, Yuri would outwardly act annoyed and tell them to quit the hero worship and focus on their own skating.

If anyone made disparaging comments about his s/o's late start or skill level, Yuri would absolutely explode at them in anger, passionately defending his s/o. He knows exactly how much effort they put in.

Over time, Yuri would develop a deep respect and fondness for his s/o's unconventional path and unique perspective. He'd still tease them about starting late, but there would be affection behind it. He'd be proud of how far they've come.

[damianbugs]

would love to see u talk about the parallels in bruce’s dynamic with steph versus any of the other kids like emotionally and all that <3

i think the best way to start this is to highlight that stephanie and bruce's dynamic is quite literally "never meet your heroes" —

— and that bruce had the opportunity to truly take her under his wing and help her sharpen her skills while also teaching her why being a hero can be important to her personally without trying to be her father (which is the biggest difference between her and any of his other children).

it is also important to note that bruce did none of these things the way he should've.

in a meta reading, it was 100% misogynistic writing, ESPECIALLY her robin run. bruce, as the only grown up man in her life now that her father couldn't be used, was the person who was then used to bring her down at every possible chance. but in a storytelling perspective, i think bruce and stephanie's dynamic has many layers and is absolutely fascinating and incredibly tragic.

Batman: One Bad Day — Two Face

young stephanie watching batman fight her father, cluemaster.

batman meant something far more personal to stephanie than it did to anyone else. although characters like tim and damian had predispositions of what batman meant to people, or characters like jason and duke grew up with the idea of batman being normal in the places they grew up — to stephanie batman was genuinely just a hero.

another thing that really separates stephanie from bruce's other kids is that she is not his kid. bruce was never in a position to try and be her father, and that is not something she was actively seeking out either. to her, batman was always a hero who was kept at arms length. when they did form a more emotional relationship, it was still never familial in the same way the other kids eventually became to bruce.

this is not to say stephanie didn't become immensely important to bruce, but it was always different with her. this is why bruce could share things with stephanie in a way he couldn't with the others.

Robin #92

after a night of training/patrolling together, bruce and stephanie have a heart to heart conversation about the future of batman.

i know a very popular idea is that stephanie reminds bruce of jason, and that is why he was so hard on her, and while there is some truth in that i think there are a lot of moments that can give an entirely different impression;

and that is stephanie reminding bruce of himself.

there is no one who hates batman more than batman himself, as he is his biggest critic. bruce is startlingly self aware of his flaws and mistakes, but has accepted that he can't change them because it would mean putting gotham as risk.

Detective Comics 796

after a brief argument in which bruce heavily criticises stephanie, she asks if bruce is firing her. he responds "No, I'm teaching you."

it makes sense, in a terrible way, that bruce's own stubborn and headstrong desire to wear the cape to save people, to make sure their families don't end up like his did, is reflected in stephanie. this 'tough love' attitude which is more tough than love is nothing but bruce projecting his own desire to 'fix' his faults by doubling down on stephanie, in hope that maybe she'll turn out better than him.

whether or not stephanie is actually like bruce is an entirely separate conversation, but it doesn't change the fact that bruce ruined every opportunity to train stephanie in a way that didn't hurt her self esteem or confidence in being a hero.

but stephanie is one of the most emotionally strong characters. the inevitable tragedy and cruel ending to bruce and stephanie's mentor-student dynamic wasn't completely a loss, because she bounced back twice as skilled.

(and maybe that's just another thing bruce expected from her. to roll with the punches and keep standing back up.)

obviously there is a lot i haven't mentioned about their dynamic and how she was treated in general, and that's just glossing over the shitshow that was war games and her three month run as robin. but this is already way too long and i am not even on topic anymore.

tldr; stephanie and bruce truly were a wasted opportunity to showcase a deep and emotional bond as teacher and student, helping her find her role as a hero and bruce's chance as a mentor. despite it all, they care deeply about each other and stephanie deserved a better version of bruce.

i love them a lot. i wish dc would see the potential and treat them both with the respect they deserve and give their duo another chance. i think they can both teach each other very important lessons.

[rubykgrant]

I think I am finally finished with this design for Lisa... which is a very nebulous thing to say, since I first came up with this character when I was like, 14 when me and my best friend were just making up super heroes together (mostly inspired by Teen Titans and X-Men Evolution at the time, but also everything else we liked all rolled together).

Lisa is tall, with a muscular body-type. Her regular outfit is a gray t-shirt and black vest, a brown belt, and dark-blue jeans. Her shoes are black and red velcros. She also has a red headband, keeping back her thick and wavy dark-brown hair, two black wristbands (one has a red stripe that is actually a hair-tie, for when she needs to pull her hair into a ponytail), and a small polished/carved wood earring. Her super hero uniform is styled as a short-sleeve vest with a flame pattern around the shoulders, dark red arm-length fingerless gloves, black pants with a flame pattern at the knees, and dark red shoes. For a mask, she has a red bandana tied over her head, keeping her hair back (now slightly longer, with a gradient turning golden-brown at the ends), and openings for her eyes.

Waaaaay back in the day, Lisa started out as this character who was short in stature, but big on attitude, kind of a feisty, little blonde punk girl... which is cool and all, but as the story grew, so did the characters. Lisa eventually became somebody who has a lot of "typical" themes for an iconic and powerful hero; she's tall, with a muscular build, broad shoulders, and a strong jawline... but she's also a 16 year old girl, with a sarcastic sense of humor, and sort of a "casually rebellious" attitude. When she starts developing super powers, she gains the ability to fly, enhanced strength, and can conjure/control flames. She decides to go with the hero name Super Nova (I know, like a dozen characters with that name already exist, but whatever), with a symbol similar to a star exploding with light (a semi-circle with lines going from the inside out).

As a kid, Lisa lost both her parents after they were in a car accident... but she had her two older siblings, Dixon and Angela, as well as her grandpas (father of her mom, and father of her dad) to take care of her. She went through a bit of a bratty/punk phase at school, acting out her frustrations and what-not. She ALMOST would have become a bully... until a bigger kid started pushing her around, and went after some other kids, too. Suddenly, Lisa was DEFENDING the other kids. She kinda got her butt-kicked, but it changed her whole perspective; you never know why somebody is being mean, and if the situation is different, maybe they can change for the better. She did. Sometimes a person needs the chance to get help, and sometimes a person needs to be stopped before they REALLY hurt people.

A big lesson for a little kid, but it stuck in there. Having a family that was there, ready to support her when she was ready to finally ask for help, was also important. As Lisa grew up, some of the adults still remember her as "the bad kid", and Lisa doesn't want to give them the satisfaction of constantly trying to "prove herself". Hence the casually rebellious attitude. She knows who she is and what she's about. Lisa can be very caring and compassionate, and the only time she really worries about appearances is when she tries to set a good example as a hero (sometimes she can be brash or a little reckless, and she's very aware that her friends depend on her, and other people look up to her). It can also be a little frustrating; she had to grow up a LOT, and still feels like a teenager, she hates when people dismiss her thoughts and feelings because she's young, but resents when she's forced to act more "mature" with responsibilities she has no choice about

(on her dad's side of the family, she's Hopi and Norwegian. on her mom's side, she's Inuit and Irish. she got ALL of the tall genes, so even though she's the youngest of her siblings, she's already taller than them; 16 years old and 6 feet tall! her brother Dixon is 22, and is in a band with his friends. Angela is 19, going to college where she plays basketball. Grandpa Allen, father of her dad, previously worked at a small amusement park, fixing and running some of the rides. he moved in with his son, daughter-in-law, and grandkids after his wife passed away. Grandpa Edmond, father of her mom, worked restoring art and antiques. he actually divorced his wife, on relatively friendly terms, and retired. when he found out his daughter and son-in-law passed away, he rushed over to be with the grandkids, and moved in as well. Ed and Al get along really well, people are surprised they haven't known each other all their lives. Lisa plays soccer on her school's team, and she likes learning weird little history facts/trivia)

[sophsicle]

Hi soph! Just a quick question about writing tips and such. Do you/did you study creative writing or did you develop the skill through something else?

heeeelloo!!! i have never studied creative writing no, i did take just general english courses though, if that counts? i think i would probably do very badly in a creative writing honestly. like being told when and what to write would kill me. they'd be like "we're writing mystery stories this week" and i'd be like "i am just going to write a story" and they'd be like "yeah but it has to be a mystery" and id be like "i don't know how to do that so im just going to write this story and maybe there will be a mystery and maybe there won't, mystery inception"

like i am very bad at following rules

even in academia, idk if you've ever gotten a list of like essay "thesis questions" or like "topics" but i have never once written anything off those lists. i'm always like "yeah i have a better idea" and in academia that works because ultimately that's what they're trying to get you to do, be able to come up with your own research topics, so as long as you can pump out a good paper they let it go. but if the exercise in the creative writing course is to write something a book store would sell as Romance and you write a story about a middle aged warlock who led a failed rebellion against the king only to be betrayed by his best friend and is now on the run and developing a severe drinking problem when he runs into a plucky young hero who wants to try to save the day just like he did - i feel like you will fail

mostly i think the best way to develop your writing skills is to a) write, like the more you write the better you get, and you have to accept that sometimes you will write bad things because the more bad things you write the more you will figure out how to write good things b) read, read lots of things by lots of people in lots of genres, that way you will have a good idea of what you like and what you don't like and all the possibilities for story telling, like i always say this but, Game of Thrones was a really important series for me as a writer because it was the first story i read with all of these different POVs in no particular order, and like some characters have lots of POVs and some have one, and like before that i could never finish a story, but once i realized i could switch perspectives like that writing became WAY easier for me

[thunderberryz]

So the last couple of days have seen some pretty exciting updates for Silent Hope. An interview with producer Makoto Shioda and scenario writer Honoka Moriwaki from Gamescom 2023 was published a few days ago, and today we got a new English gameplay trailer as well as a major update to the official English website, which not only provides insight into the gameplay, but also a bunch of tasty info about the lore of the game and the profiles of the protagonists, including their backstories. I've done my best to compile most of the important story and gameplay info here in as concise a manner as possible, but there is still a LOT to go over. Buckle up, because this is going to get long!

Story and Lore

Silent Hope's story exists as an old fable within the world of Rune Factory, and presumably takes place in the distant past.

In regards to the appearance of the Story of Seasons cows and chickens: Honoka Moriwaki explains they were considering unique creature designs, but because Rune Factory originated as a spin-off of Story of Seasons, they decided it only made sense to reuse the iconic bubble cow designs. (I'm still suffering whiplash knowing buffamoos and bubble cows now exist within the same canon.)

We already know that the King stole away the world's words following a period of civil unrest in his kingdom; when he did this, he not only took away his subjects' ability to speak, but also their ability to write. In other words, very concept of language itself no longer exists. The individual sufferings of the protagonists are caused because of their inability to adequately communicate important ideas or their feelings.

With no way to communicate through speech or writing, communication has been reduced to facial expressions, gestures, and noises such as cries or laughter. (Even though the people can't talk, they still have their vocal chords!)

The Princess, the only person in the kingdom still capable of speech (albeit through telepathy), serves as the narrator and recounts the history of the nation as the protagonists progress through abyss. Additionally, the protagonists will discover stone steles in the Abyss that tell the story from the King's perspective.

Everyone in the world has their own power, with the effects varying between individuals. The Princess and the King have the strongest abilities, and it is the Princess's blessings that protect the heroes as they journey through the Abyss. (Ex: Rather than dying when defeated by a monster, the heroes are instead teleported back to the safety of Base Camp.)

Princess accidentally reveals a spoiler on the site in that the Abyss apparently wasn't there when she was young. It did, however, already exist when the king sealed away the world's words. It has undergone many strange changes since then and is incredibly dangerous.

Gameplay

Unlike its parent series, Silent Hope lacks town-building elements and the facilities remain the same throughout the game. Each one has a different purpose: Rogue's Workshop and Caster's Atelier produce wood and material stone respectively, Warrior's Forge is used to enhance equipment and weapons, and Archer's Fields and Farmer's…Farm produce ingredients that Fighter can utilize in the Kitchen to cook dishes.

Although the facilities don't change, they do gain levels, which improve the production and efficiency over time.

It's been mentioned elsewhere, but Wanderer has no specific facility tied to him; instead, he will fill in at any facility should the character running it be used by the player in the Abyss. (Ex: If you decide to do a run in Abyss as the Warrior, Wanderer will take over the forge.)

Before entering Abyss, you can ask the characters in charge of the various facilities to produce items, which will be available upon returning. (For instance, if you desire turnips, ask the Farmer to grow them.)

While you don't need to play as every single hero, you do get special buffs if you swap between heroes using the crystals found in Abyss. Honoka Moriwaki recommends a strategy revolving around 2 or 3 characters when you go into the Abyss.

Characters

General

Each of the seven protagonists hails from a different country; growing up in a world with no language, none of them have names and are instead referred to by their occupations.

According to Princess, Base Camp was built from scratch through the teamwork of the seven heroes. In terms of where everyone sleeps, she explains that everyone has their favorite resting spot, although with how she describes it, Moriwaki likens the situation to a cuddle pile. (Aww...)

Note: The following character profiles were all directly taken from the Official World Guide section of the English site.

Wanderer

After turning 17, life began to feel a bit empty. He realized that he had no real dreams of his own to chase. Everyone seemed to have a calling. Except for him.

Even as a kid, he didn't stand out. However, he always learned fast, watching and imitating the experts as they worked. While he was decent at any trade he tried, he was never exceptional—a frustrating reality, for he wanted to find something he could devote himself to heart and soul.

Finally, he decided to embark on a journey around the world to find his own path. The more he met people during his travels, the more he wanted to talk to them. "If only I could ask how they chose their jobs!" he thought. But in a world without words, all he could do was wonder. Still, he needed to know…

Wanderer's birthday is October 22nd. In her comment, Princess describes him as "friendly and considerate," and he's still struggling to determine his future. His favorite food is omelet rice, he dislikes tomato juice, and excels at replicating the skills of others. Growing up, he lived with his father, mother, older brother, and older sister.

Wanderer's advanced classes are the Adventurer and the Drifter.

Warrior

As a child, she admired anything that could be described as awesome or impressive, however impractical—a love she inherited from her three older brothers.

And nothing made her eyes sparkle more than the huge swords hanging in her family's weapon shop. She dreamed of forging the coolest sword in the world for herself one day.

She took her first step toward becoming a blacksmith by apprenticing at the village forge. Unfortunately, the owner refused to train her, filling her days with chores instead. Years went by, and he still wouldn't teach her anything. "He probably thinks a woman couldn't handle it. I'll show him. I can do anything a man can do!" But in a world without words, she could never truly stand up for herself. Before long, she grew tired of waiting and set off on her own journey.

Warrior's birthday is January 19th. In Princess's comment, she's says Warrior is "brimming with confidence and so very passionate!" In terms of food, she loves ice cream and dislikes peppers. As mentioned in her profile, she grew up with her father, mother, and three older brothers.

Warrior's advanced classes are the Paladin and Berserker.

Rogue

Spent her childhood in an orphanage. Knowing she needed a job to survive, she eventually found employment as a maid.

She first worked in a mansion, home to a seemingly happy family. Given her unpleasant memories of her own family, serving them was a bittersweet experience.

One day, she came across her employer abusing their only son. Was this family's happiness nothing but a lie? Unable to control her anger, she lashed out at her employer in a rage.

After that, she never worked in one place for long. That wasn't the first time she'd witnessed such cruelty, and it wouldn't be the last. "How can people abuse one another like this?" she began to wonder. "I'd love to ask what's going through their thick skulls when they pick on those weaker than them." But in a world without words, her grievances went unheard.

Rogue's birthday is July 19th. As a maid, she's excellent at housework and enjoys tea; however, she dislikes rice balls. (Princess theorizes that she dislikes eating food handled by others.)

Rogue's advanced classes are the Trickster and Ninja.

Archer

Lived with his family in a quiet home near a jungle. One day, a terrible storm caused a landslide, which reduced his house to rubble. He returned from picking mushrooms to find himself the sole survivor.

After that, he learned to survive on his own. However, he was never truly alone, for he befriended many animals living in the jungle.

Sometime later, the jungle was engulfed in a raging fire. He led as many animals as he could to safety, then charged into the blaze to search for more survivors. There, amid the flames, he discovered the source of the fire.

"Why would anyone do this?" he thought as he stared down the cruel arsonists. "If only I could say something. What kind of monster would want to harm innocent lives?"

But in a world without words, he could only silently flee the flames.

Archer's birthday is February 2nd. According to Princess, while he comes off as a loner, he's actually very friendly and spends much of his free time napping. Unlike Rogue, he loves rice balls and doesn't dislike any food in particular; however, he struggles using eating utensils and is self-conscious of that fact.

Archer's advanced classes are the Bomber and Sharpshooter

Farmer

Born in a rural community of mostly elderly farmers. With so few kids around, her older neighbors spoiled her as if she were their own child. Of course, her grandparents treasured her most of all.

One day, an old neighbor passed away. For the first time, she knew true grief and loss.

She realized then that someday soon she would have to bid a final farewell to her own loved ones. "Before that day comes," she thought, "I want you all to know just how much I care!" But in a world without words, she had no way to express those feelings.

Then, she had an idea. She would set off on a journey to collect the world's most delicious sweets as a gift for her beloved grandparents.

Farmer's birthday is March 14th. According to the Princess, she loves cute things and enjoys parfaits. She dislikes milk, and is described as having a unique talent for making others smile.

Farmer's advanced classes include Ranger and Geomancer.

Fighter

Born to a rich family of great repute. As the eldest daughter, she embraced this prestige and wore it like a badge of honor.

Yet beneath this calm facade was a young woman with a very short fuse. She took great care to prevent that anger from taking control.

And she succeeded, until the incident. At a gala, one of the guests spilled their drink over her dear friend on purpose. After witnessing this shameful display, she cooly tried to correct their behavior. But this proved near impossible in a world without words. Soon she grew impatient with the guest's dismissiveness and surrendered to her temper. When she returned to her senses and saw the fresh red handprint across the guest's cheek, she ran away, ashamed of letting her rage get the best of her.

Fighter's birthday is August 25. Owing to her rich upbringing, she has excellent manners and is well-educated; according to Princess, she manages to be charming even while angry. She loves drinking milk, but dislikes eggplants, especially grilled eggplant. She also greatly admires her father.

Fighter's advanced classes include Battle Master and Destroyer.

Caster

Grew up alongside many brothers and sisters. Since they weren't very wealthy, everyone had to work to make ends meet. He hated watching his siblings suffer, and so decided to learn the art of alchemy to make a living. After a mere three years, his intellect and abilities surpassed even that of the world's most renowned alchemists.

So great was his skill that he soon amassed a sizeable following of admiring apprentices. But in a world without words, none of them could quite keep up with his genius. While he tried his best to communicate through simple vocalizations and invented scripts, these would mysteriously vanish as soon as they manifested.

"How can I pass on my knowledge without words?" he thought. "There must be some way to break this spell constraining our speech..." Determined to find an answer, he set off on a journey, his carefree smile masking confident conviction.

Caster's birthday is September 16th. According to Princess, before he became a member of the party exploring Abyss, he'd deliberately cut corners or make mistakes to discourage requests for teaching, and is an extremely curious individual. He loves fruit sandwiches, but dislikes pickled foods, and is the oldest of thirteen siblings. (His younger siblings include seven brothers and five sisters.) He also knows how to play the lute!

Caster's advanced classes include Sage and Summoner

Princess

Once upon a time, there was a small, peaceful kingdom. Its King committed a terrible crime by stealing all the world's words. He then abandoned his subjects, hurling himself into the seemingly bottomless depths of the Abyss. His only daughter, the Princess, mourned her father with an endless flood of tears. She cried and cried for 100 years straight, until her tears had encased her in a beautiful crystal teardrop.

Many moons passed… The people's memories of the Abyss, the old kingdom, and the Princess grew dim. Then one day, seven rainbow-colored lights flew from the mouth of the Abyss.

Recalling a story her father once told her about shooting stars granting wishes, she prayed to these miraculous lights. "Please… Let my voice reach someone. Anyone. Bring me heroes to brave the Abyss and find the King!"

As if answering her prayers, seven travelers then arrived one by one at the Great Crystal by the edge of the Abyss. There, they miraculously heard a voice—the Princess's voice, as she began to call out to them.

Princess's birthday is December 31st. She loves pizza and doesn't have a specific dislike for any food; however, she's apparently a poor cook and envies the abilities of her father and the Fighter. Tragically, her mother died shortly after she was born, although she's said to be a lot like her in personality.

And that's everything I could scrounge up! Silent Hope releases on September 28th in Japan for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam, with its overseas release scheduled for October 3rd. If you have the cash to spare and are interested in preordering, orders are open for the standard version as well as the physical-only Day 1 Edition, which includes an artbook as well as a physical copy of the soundtrack.

[claire-starsword]

Shining Force Pre Release Coverage

yes i have made a post about this before but i was a baby with one magazine. Now i’m a big 90s kid who has gone through the entirety of the Beep Megadrive archives from 1991-1994, as one does. Get ready for what might be my biggest post ever, I don’t wanna break it into parts for the timeline vibe.

To contextualize the following dates: the game came out in Japan on March 1992.

October 1991

More cool sword animations for Max. Also it took me way too long to realize this background is also not anywhere in the final game, though the final Gate of the Ancients bg does take a lot from it. Apparently it was once meant to be an indoor location with torches.

Here are screenshots of the map itself. Icons were completely different, and Gort and Mae are there. Obviously this could be just the use of debug features to test the characters, but I suspect their story roles were actually changed and they were meant to be starting characters. More on that later.

there’s also a screenshot of Guardiana with a slightly different layout. There are centaur NPCs in town as opposed to only in the castle, the old man sprite is different, and the little girls are normal as opposed to dragging cats around. In the final version, this little girl sprite is only for Karin, Krin and Koron, the important little girl trio. The bed sprites are also different and kinda failing at perspective.

Besides screenshots, we also get a synopsis.

Centuries before Mephisto’s uprising in Shining in the Darkness... In the continent of Rune, far to the east of Thornwood, many countries big and small lived in endless days of peace. However, the great nation of Rune Faust, wanting to take over all of Rune, plotted to get its hands on the “Legacy of the Gods” inherited by the country of Guardiana since ancient times.

The Legacy of the Gods is said to be both a superweapon and a frightening beast. Whoever attains it can become a god or a devil... But even though the Rune Faust army has invaded Guardiana and ravaged the country for its plans of domination, it hasn’t succeed in finding the legacy...

Meanwhile, the soldiers of Guardiana, forced into a life of wandering after the fall of their country, have risen to the task of defeating Rune Faust. And as they resist against the unknown evil power controlling Rune Faust, people have come to call them “the forces of light”, Shining Force...

The grassy plains of Guardiana, mountains full of precipices, jungles, deadly deserts, rivers where piranhas live, those and other stages await our heroes.

After all, who is the one controlling the powers of darkness? And what is the truth behind the Legacy of the Gods? Hiding many mysteries, a new legend begins now!!

Very basic stuff, but while it might just the drama vibes, it does feel that Guardiana was supposed to get more wrecked, or get wrecked earlier, which would explain Mae and Gort joining earlier as well. Simone narrating the king’s last wishes right in the intro supports that idea as well.

Lastly, we get some character art and info:

(i know it’s hard to see the og text with this resize but hey, that’s why I linked the magazine collection before)

These are the forces of light, “Shining Force”!

“I’m the swordsman protagonist, Max!”

The protagonist of this story, Max. He’s human, but is an expert with the sword and can also use magic. He roams across the continent, leading the Shining Force in its way to defeat Runefaust.

One more for the “Max was meant to have magic” pile.

Archer - Hans

An elf who used to work at Guardiana’s palace. His skill with the bow is first-class.

Very nitpicky detail: Hans’ class is written with kanji here, when it’s written in katakana in the final version.

Knight - Mae

A young centaur warrior. Daughter of the late Knight Captain.

Priest - Lowe

A dwarf who’s a great friend of Max. Currently training at magic.

Shining in the Darkness already had a hobbit priest so i wonder if there’s some miscommunication here. The hobbit discourse is even older than I’d imagined.

Warrior - Gort

A hotblooded dwarf old man and Mae’s servant.

Told you there were changes on these two. There’s no indication of any connection between the two in the final version, especially since centaurs tend to be arrogant towards other races, a fact that does not come up here at all, nor does Mae’s tough personality. Even more evidence will come up later that those things were added late in development.

Knight - Ken

A centaur in knight who admires Max.

The enemies don’t get descriptions and all have their final names except the Rune Knight, who is only Centaur Knight at this point.

November 1991

This is a big one. The beta title screen is the least interesting thing about it.

We see more of Guardiana, and the centaur NPC was actually Varios all along, meaning the intro was really different.

Max and Mae get to smile! Given the story is kinda obvious why this was changed, but I always did find it weird that their artwork had different expressions to begin with.

Plenty of screenshots of a field battle with completely different graphics. More on this later.

Also a different and apparently pretty big shop.

But now for the part that really rocked my socks, a whole beta map:

Here’s the final map so you can compare the geography yourself. This map doesn’t label pretty much any town and instead brings up a bunch of new names for the natural areas.

The Gate of the Ancients, or what I suppose is it, it’s not labelled, sits atop the Mountain of Guidance, which seems to be a single mountain as opposed to the big mass that stretches up to Rindo in the final version. The gate also seems drawn like a little castle, which would explain the indoor bgs shown so far.

Alterone is to the northwest of Guardiana as opposed to the northeast. It is also right next to the Beagle Mountain Mass, which, makes A Lot More Sense with how much we hear it is a mining town. I’ve been wondering where their mines were in the final map. They must have mined too much though, because in the final version this mountain mass is largely gone.

Further to the north is Rindo Harbor, and you, english speaker, might think, “oh yes Rindo that’s the final name” but nope, in the JP version the town’s name is Rindorindo, for some reason, so that’s a difference. A difference that matters to no one.

There’s no river near Rindo, and Manarina and Shade are not labelled, though its concepts seem to be around. Manarina also seems to be surrounded by a lot more forest than in the final version, which might explain its guide book entry.

The forest near Manarina has a name that deserves its own post, Kaien, in katakana so that it is harder to discerning its meaning of course (and intentionally allow double meanings). Possible interpretations are the start of a performance (開演), the opening of a park or garden or banquet (開園 and 開宴), a superb performance (快演), or an eerie yet fascinating performance (怪演). I’d say the last one is the most fitting for Manarina, but localizing it is still a pain in the ass, the english staff dodged a bullet here. Right now most I can think of is Enthralling Forest, but you still miss some charm.

I also have to wonder if Mishaela was conceived as a boss for this place. Puppet performance and all that. She also ends up having a forest stage in Shining Soul.

All the white mass on the north is Pao Plains, no sign of the bridge or the forests of Bustoke, although there is a town in the mountains. Was this a Shining Force without Zylo? Inconceivable. But might confirm something I’ve been suspecting due to my debug mode escapades. In the battle test mode, egress usually takes you to the last church you’re supposed to access in that chapter. Yet for chapter 2 battles, it takes you to Bustoke, which is on Chapter 3. The editor also shows Bustoke as one of the first map in the data, between Rindo and Shade. It is likely that Bustoke was meant for Chapter 2.

In fact the reasoning for going to Shade Abbey is very shaky, you can see in the final map that there’s a lot more mountains between Shade and Bustoke than from Manarina. I guess the point is that guides work there, but in that ase they should work somewhere else. I’m not complaining though since Shade Abbey is one of the most iconic parts of the game.

The Pao Plains are surrounded by the Boho Mountain Range. Boho is short for bohemian, the romanticized view of nomadic/alternative lifestyles, so it’s very fitting for Pao.

Waral was a single island instead of an archipelago, and the ocean between the two sides of Rune is Cypro Ocean, a name that eventually made its way to the guide book. The region in the center of East Rune is Conga Basin, which we’ve also seen in another book, and Dragonia is to the north already. Finally, the Crescent Mountain Range is the bunch of mountains to the east of Runefaust.

Note also the big isolated structure south of Runefaust. Perhaps the Castle of the Ancients has not always been under the ocean. I also see no sign of Prompt, while all other towns are in (except Waral but Waral isn’t even in the final map, it’s tiny). This might explain why Chapter 7 is cursed on debug mode, frequently failing to load an egress point.

All this rambling was just for the map itself. There’s more written about it, I’ll just translate things directly because I’m a bit tired of taking screenshots.

This is the Rune Continent where Shining Force will take place

There’s no comparison between the world of Shining Force with that of Shining in the Darkness, it is far larger. There are mountain ranges, towns, large coasts, and even islands as well. The adventure starts at Guardiana to the south of West Rune, and the you’ll move clockwise to north, and then to the eastern part of continent, shrouded in mystery. That region to the south of East Rune, could it be Runefaust...?

East Rune and West Rune

The two continents and the Cypro Ocean between them are all referred to as the Rune continent, and are far to the east of the land where one day Thornwood, the kingdom where SitD takes place, will be built.

Guardiana, where the journey begins, is on West Rune. West Rune, compared to the eastern side, is more developed, with many countries living in peace and abundance.

In the eastern side, it is said an ancient civilization once lived there, but currently there are no countries other than Runefaust, and a wide spread of steep mountains and eerie forests.

Because of that and Runefaust itself, the people of West Rune regard the east as a dark land full of mystery.

They’ve thankfully chilled a bit on the “light side versus dark side” in the final game, possibly because they needed churches/HQs/shops to welcome the heroes gameplay-wise. I do see something drawn in the map here where Rudo should be, so perhaps other settlements in the east were already in the cards, just not very developed.

The country of Alterone

A neighboring country of Guardiana. It was originally a mining town built to extract rare and magical minerals from the Beagle Mountain Range around it, and then developed into a country. With the minerals excavated, Alterone amassed a lot of money, which was used for its own development. The common citizens began to live in luxury, and even despite other countries. Of course the royal family too has filled the castle with loads of luxury items and art, and the army is small and lacks zeal despite its extravagant equipment. The cultural level of these people with not much history, is not very great. A rising rich country. One could argue it’s a bit like today’s Japan with its excessive liquidity, or maybe not?

oh i am unequipped in so many ways to understand that jab

The country of Guardiana

A country that prides itself in having the deepest history in all of West Rune. It is said this country was built by people who inherited the duty of protecting the “Legacy of the Gods”. Because of that they’ve grow a tradition of respect for the military arts, and the royal family believes in maintaining a humble lifestyle, so the castle has no ornaments or luxurious items. However the long time of peace has weakened these traditions and the people, and they could not defend themselves from Runefaust’s ambitions, being destroyed...

Being a small country, it has little stock of weapons and such, but it is blessed with fertile land and the agricultural production is plentiful. The story of the Shining Force will somehow begin around this country.

Nothing I hadn’t seen in guide books already, but I’m somewhat surprised the worldbuilding was all already there and not refined for the guide books only. I guess it just didn’t find its place in game.

Speaking of that, here’s a long interview with the devs and I don’t have the energy to translate it all. Here’s the summary:

Unsurprisingly, the game’s biggest challenge was data size. Without compression it was around 30MB, around 15x the size of its final ROM, and definitely not fitting a Mega Drive cartridge. The interview only talks about compression but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had to cut things as well.

It’s brought up that they could have solved that problem by making a CD game instead, but they wanted to reach a wider audience.

Lots of comparisons with SitD, how the game was bigger and more complex, requiring more work and graphics and maps and everything basically. Again it is said that the story happen centuries before SitD.

When asked if there's a connection with the SitD, Masaki Wachi (writer for SF and the GBA remake) enthusiastically replies “Yes! Oops, I said it (laughs)”. He then elaborates that there were big clues about it, but that he wouldn’t comment on the connection with Mephisto and the ending of SitD.

Kenji Orimo (director and writer) does add though that if it was meant to be a direct sequel, it would just be called Darkness II. He also mentions seeing more potential in expanding the Shining World from Force than from Darkness.

Yoshitaka Tamaki (character designer, art director) mentions SitD characters having more of a fairy tale vibe, while SF characters were more grounded, with some pretty scary enemies in the late game, with more of a “war spectacle” vibe.

Lots of hyping up the battle animations.

Also hyping up the unique spin on tactical games, where characters and enemies all have their own agility instead of just alternating between an ally and an enemy phase. I don’t know anything about tactical games to comment on this.

December 1991

We get a better scan of Mae’s old portrait :)

Max on the other hand has already changed to his final one. Character description are largely the same as October with a few more tidbits on personalities such as Ken being a super honest boy. Gort is still referred to as Mae’s old servant, Lowe is still listed as dwarf, and no mention of Mae’s tough personality yet. Max’s class is also listed as warrior, but he was mentioned as swordsman on October so I assume it’s just a mistake.

We do get more characters this time though.

Tao Class: Mage Species: Forest Elf

A mage in training, but her talent is huge. Has a close relationship with Anri, the princess of Guardiana.

The forest elf thing is very curious since Hans and Diane are not listed as such. I have seen the term float around for Nigel of Landstalker, but I didn’t play that yet so no comment.

Diane Class: Archer Species: Elf

A wild girl who lives in Bustoke. Being raised in the mountains, she’s vigorous in battle. Scary.

Zylo Class: Werewolf Species: Beastman

Leader of Bustoke, the mountain nation. Focused in hand-to-hand combat, he does not equip weapons, and instead fights with his sharp claws.

Guntz Class: Steam Knight Species: Beastman

A knight of heavy power who wears an armor powered by a steam engine. Well known through the world as a mercenary specialized in castle assaults.

Well, that’s not my chill guy. Seems his personality wasn’t nailed down yet, which surprises me as his artwork very much implies the gentle guy we know now. Worth mentioning though, Guntz does join the team right as you’re going to assault the fort, and the GBA version even elaborates a bit on that invasion by requiring you pick a bomb from Crock, though Guntz isn’t involved in any of that. Perhaps this sequence was intended to be a bit more elaborate from the start.

Khris Class: Priest Species: Cantaul

A priest who used to work in Alterone. Despite being both priests, she’s stronger than Lowe in battle. Let’s see who is the best at magic.

Kokichi Class: Wing Knight Species: Human

An old gramps from a noble lineage of knights. Entranced by the dream of flying, he spent fifty years researching flying machines.

We then get a bunch of monster art i won’t even try to fit in a screenshot, and more description than they ever got in guide books as far as I’ve seen.

Dwarves

Skilled at close combat due to their strong body, but has low defense. Their lethal axes are menacing.

Dark Priests

Runefaust priests, wearing white masks as per the army’s regulations. Working on an attack with focused magic.

rip dark priests you did not learn blast in time if that’s what they’re implying here

Also, they’re called Dark Priests here, Priests in the final game, and Dark Priests in the english localization. I don’t know why I bother paying attention to that.

Snipers

With superior footwork, they attack from a long range with bows. The double team kind, working as pairs with the Rune Knights.

Puppets

Evil marionettes, it’s unknown if they have consciousness. Part of the Monster Corps, they attack swinging swords.

Except they don’t in the final game. They don’t even have swords in the art either, so I’m unsure if that’s a change or an idea that never made it in.

Hell Pierrot

It seems they are not really pierrot, just disguise as such. Those who are fooled and approach them carelessly end up hurt.

That’s the final JP name for the Dire Clown as well.

Gargoyles

They are statues, but had temporary life breathed into them by magic. Seems not all of them turned into flesh, some parts remain stone.

Cerberos

Guard dogs of hell into a deep sleep in the caves under Alterone. Trained by the Runefaust army.

Worms

Giant mutant earthworms dozens of meters long. Don’t have any senses other than touch.

Dullahans

Headless ghost knights who used to be Rune Knights. No comparison between their power though.

And now a special boy that does get to be screenshotted:

Mimics

Transform immediately as you open them thinking it’s a chest. Their lids grow sharp fangs, and they sprout legs to move.

It’s worth noting that while these guys didn’t make it to any classic game, SF2 does have a mechanic of monsters spawning from chests, we just don’t get to see because the search in battle option was removed in the english version.

To finish the parade of weird creatures, Yogurt is here.

What is this Yogurt creature, after all?

Yogurt, a mysterious characters that shows up around Guardiana and toys with the enemies. No clue if he’s an enemy or an ally, but he certainly has a likeable vibe, you could even call him cute. He’s not docile enough to be raised as a pet, and seems prone to quick mood swings. Does a lot of weird things as he pops up in the adventure. You could say he’s kind of a versatile performer.

Yogurt’s Data

He’s 80 cm tall, weights 10 kg, walks on two feet, while the front paws have atrophied and become small. His main food seems to be berries, but he’s omnivorous. From what’s been observed, he can swim, is fast and has strong jumps. It’s unknown when he started wearing the helmet on his head. No one has seen him take it off either.

Insides:

Tail - Uses it to balance while walking in two feet.

Feet - Way better for jumping than for walking.

Head - On par with humans. Seems to be very intelligent.

Hands - Cannot use tools

Belly - Quite fat but he’s still agile.

There are also doodles of his secret appearances which I’m not gonna translate now. They’re very much just describing his antics.

January 1992

Pink haired Simone appears. Sadly there’s no dialogue screenshots.

Guardiana is already pretty much the final version, only the entrance still seems unfinished, some NPCs are different.

Remember that field battle with different graphics? There’s more of it here, including the map.

It’s horrifyingly large.

Finally, there’s some talk of critical hits being capable of special effects like one-hit KO, but it’s very vague so it might be the magazine staff not knowing this was attached to a specific weapon.

February 1992

Pink Simone is still around, and so are unfinished weapon animations and the old knight battle sprites. Max still shows up with zero MP. Guardiana and the starting maps seems mostly finished with a couple odd spots.

Guardiana castle is full of chickens, and has a gate.

The king’s room has a couple more flags in it.

The Gate of the Ancients now looks like the final version, though battle screenshots still show the indoor background. The starting team is also the final one, with Mae and Gort no longer there.

The Alterone battle shows enemies inside the shops.

The article ends with a recipe for yogurt.

March 1992

The game is released, and I too am released from this long ass post. From here on, every article, ad and official material I’ve seen uses only screenshots from the final version of the game. If that sounds obvious to you, wait for the SF2 post.

Update: ??? 1992 

Joke’s on me, I was not free from the post. I found some old footage, sadly i don’t know which date it is from, but it shouldn’t be too early in production. Simone already has brown hair, the Gate of the Ancients is already outdoors. 

There are still things to note though. Simone still talks of the king of Guardiana in her intro as opposed to the final one. The intro to Chapter 1 is a placeholder text.

Anri’s dad does not have a unique portrait and uses the default king one. Also, the castle still do not have centaur knights, even though their sprite already exists. In the place are not chickens though, and instead some weird placeholders you can see at the top right corner here.

Unlike every other battle scene in this post, the final sword sprites are in, but their animation for Max is still unfinished. Also, having footage we can hear some audio, and while Simone’s theme and the field map theme are in, the town and battle scenes use placeholders from SitD

More importantly,

cat.

Their sprite isn’t exactly the same as the unused ones in the ROM though, as those have the tail up like a properly happy cat. This means these sprites still got further polish before being ultimately scrapped anyway :(

[dolphin1812]

The “heroism” of previous chapters (to the extent that Hugo sees combat as glorious) vanishes in the first paragraph as the chaos of defeat takes over. Hugo adds a lot of particularly horrifying details - like friends killing each other, arms littered across the battlefield, and men walking over those dead and alive - to illustrate this, to good effect; this opening paragraph is all over the place and very disturbing, just like an army towards the end of a battle.

Hugo then centers on the change in the “Grand Army” which, once so widely praised (or derided in fear), is now falling apart:

“Blücher outdid Roguet. Duhesme, the general of the Young Guard, hemmed in at the doorway of an inn at Genappe, surrendered his sword to a huzzar of death, who took the sword and slew the prisoner. The victory was completed by the assassination of the vanquished. Let us inflict punishment, since we are history: old Blücher disgraced himself. This ferocity put the finishing touch to the disaster.”

The chaos of battle continues here with the notes on who killed who and the recognition that “victory” entailed many deaths, but I’m most interested in the line after that: “Let us inflict punishment, since we are history.” “We” implies a collective. It could be Hugo and his audience, the people, or both, but either way, it’s a sharp contrast to the focus on individuals in the rest of the paragraph. It also brings back Hugo’s notion of the populace as the force evaluating the past, although here, the populace is not merely “judging,” but is specifically meting out punishment. The broader historical narrative of Waterloo, then, is subject to the populace’s memory of it, but just as Napoleon’s overall image is determined in their minds, so too are other men who contributed to the disaster pardoned or condemned by the people.

The next paragraph is also interesting:

“This vertigo, this terror, this downfall into ruin of the loftiest bravery which ever astounded history,—is that causeless? No. The shadow of an enormous right is projected athwart Waterloo. It is the day of destiny. The force which is mightier than man produced that day. Hence the terrified wrinkle of those brows; hence all those great souls surrendering their swords. Those who had conquered Europe have fallen prone on the earth, with nothing left to say nor to do, feeling the present shadow of a terrible presence. Hoc erat in fatis. That day the perspective of the human race underwent a change. Waterloo is the hinge of the nineteenth century. The disappearance of the great man was necessary to the advent of the great century. Some one, a person to whom one replies not, took the responsibility on himself. The panic of heroes can be explained. In the battle of Waterloo there is something more than a cloud, there is something of the meteor. God has passed by.”

Much of this paragraph repeats earlier ideas: Napoleon was destined to be defeated, and Waterloo is merely where that defeat happened; this end was divinely ordained. Hugo also references the importance of Waterloo in the nineteenth century, but this time, in a different way: the nineteenth century as a “great” century was only possible after Waterloo because that battle put an end to the era of “the great man.” It’s not specified what replaces that, but the opposite of the “great man” is the common people, so perhaps this alludes to Hugo’s general notion of Progress. The great man is gone, so now the common people can come to take charge of their affairs; the nineteenth century is when that will be decided and it is therefore “great,” and then, “the twentieth century will be happy.”

This isn’t related to the content of the chapter exactly, but I find old translations from French to English funny because of the overlap between the two languages. Napoleon “essaying to advance” isn’t something we would say today even if it might actually be a word in English, but it does match the use of the verb “essayer” in the original French.

[hattafan2593]

Rewrite of Arkham Knight's (comic) Origin Story

So you know how the Arkham Knight in the comics is Jeremiah Arkham's daughter? And you know how complete dogshit her origin story is? Here's my version:

After the death of Jeremiah's wife, he kept his daughter in the lowest levels of Arkham Asylum out of fear for her safety. However, he was very neglectful towards his only child, having orderlies tend to her needs and otherwise leaving her alone for long periods of time.

As Astrid got older, she became curious about the upper levels of the asylum and the outside world and started sneaking out to explore. She met various patients and workers, and learned how they came to be there. Eventually she came across the members of the Rogues Gallery. And the Rogues, for reasons that varied from one to another, took the child under their wing. Not all of them - some tried to harm the child for her connection to her father, but the others managed to protect her. The biggest surprise was the Joker - it was no secret that her father utterly despised him, and he didn't exactly have any scruples about harming children. But when asked, he would just smile and laugh, like he just heard the funniest joke. Through the Rogues, she learned many things about the world - or at least, their perspective of it. And most important, she learned about Batman. The Dark Knight. Gotham's City's masked hero and guardian. Some spoke of him with hatred and vitriol, others with fevered obsession, and some with wistfulness, dare I say, fondness. Her father, though? To him, Batman may as well have been the devil incarnate. Apparently, he blamed the Caped Crusader for the death of her mother and, well, pretty much everything else wrong with Gotham. When Astrid tried to probe further, in one of the few conversations she managed to engage him in, he sternly told her to drop it.

Now, the thing is, Astrid, sheltered as she was, was not stupid. Far from it. She was her father's daughter, after all. And after years of being raised and taught by some of the greatest manipulators and masterminds in Gotham, she had learned how to tell when someone was lying, or at least not telling the whole truth.

She went snooping around and eventually came across a series security tapes of the day her mother died. Her heavily pregnant mother, who was in the cafeteria in the middle of a riot, and who she witnessed be violently assaulted by an inmate before going into labor on the floor. As her mother was carried to the nurse's office by orderlies, Astrid scanned the footage for any sign of the Batman and... she found none. He had not been in the cafeteria that day. Nor in the nurse's office, where her mother gave birth to a tiny, pale Astrid, before dying with her baby in her arms. In fact, as far as she could see, he had not been at Arkham at all. With this in mind, she concluded that her father had lied... either to her or himself.

And as for the Batman himself? Well she wouldn't meet him in person until years later, as a young adult. She did, however, come across Robin who, thinking she was a visiting relative of a patient, greeted her civilly. Before he could leave, she asked, curious. "Hey. Why do you...do what you do?"

Robin could have said anything to that. "Because it's the right thing to do." "Because no one else will." Instead, he merely shrugged and said, "Just trying to make Gotham a little better than I found it." And then he turned and left.

That...resonated with Astrid. She thought about those words later in her room. Batman and Robin must live in Gotham, right? It's their home. So of course they would want their home to be livable, to be safe. For Astrid, Arkham Asylum was a prison. A gilded cage, but a cage nonetheless. But even so, it was her home, the only home she had ever known. Did she not deserve to have her home as safe and comfortable as possible? She thought of the patients, of their pain and suffering, both external and internal, of the conditions they were being kept in. She thought of the guards and orderlies, who dealt with so much disrespect and vitriol, from the patients and higher-ups and each other with so little pay. She thought of the doctors, who had all but given up on actually treating their patients from lack of funds, proper equipment and just overall help, and were just trying to earn a paycheck and make sure they live another day. She thought of her father, who surely must know that all of this was going on... and was just letting it all happen.

She thought of the Rogues, this group of men and women who raised her and treated her as one of their own. The closest thing to family she ever had. Oh, they weren't saints. Astrid knew that they had all done terrible things, unforgivable things. But she loved them all the same. And Arkham was their home too, was it not? Did they not deserve to be safe and comfortable in their own home? Did they not deserve better?

... Yes, Astrid decided. They did deserve better. She deserved better. And if her father, or Batman, or the city wasn't going to give them what they deserved, then she would. No matter how long it took, no matter what she had to do, she would become Arkham's Knight. She would become a guardian of the asylum and all within and do everything she could to make Arkham the shining castle it was meant to be, the utopia her people deserved.

[gnattyplayssims]

1918 Pt2 - News From the Battlefield

The day the letter came it was Lizbeth who got the mail. Despite not being able to read, she could tell the letter was important by the seal and the swirly writing. "I wonder what this is?" She thought as she examined the envelope.

"What do you have there, Sweetie?" Elena asked when Lizbeth came inside.

"A letter. It looks important." Lizbeth held the letter out to her mother. "Is it for Aunt Mari?"

Lizbeth couldn't know the way Elena's heart jumped when she saw who it was from. "Thank you, Sweetie."

"Elena, by the time this letter reaches you, I may be gone. It's funny how staring Grim in the face changes your perspective and I realize suddenly how much I've failed you and our children. There is so much I regret. So much I wish I could have done differently..."

"When I first saw you I thought convincing your dad would be the hardest part. Winning your heart turned out to be harder. Maybe I should have left you and let you be happy. I'm sorry for being a boy you didn't deserve. I hope you can find a way to forgive me. Your Husband Daniel"

Finding out Daniel was gone had been hard enough, reading his final words filled Elena with confusing emotions. What was she going to do now? She couldn't survive without a husband. What about the children? Where would they go? Could she go back to Del Sol?

"Mama?"

Elena started as a small hand settled over hers. "Mama don't cry."

"I'm fine, Sweetie. What are you doing up?"

"I had a nightmare. Mama, did daddy get hurt?"

Elena didn't know how to tell her daughter but she didn't want to lie to her. "Sweetie...daddy isn't coming back."

"Did Grim come for him like he came for Grampa?"

Lizbeth's words broke Elena's heart and she quickly wrapped her arms around her daughter. "That's right. Daddy loved you and Kye very much. He was a hero. But we can't control who Grim comes for"

"I know he loved you too, Mama"

Hezekiah was still too young to fully understand his emotions. And Marianna's cruel words had damaged the boys trust. Even his mother had difficulty getting him to talk "What are you doing out here all alone"

"I like to watch the weeds grow"

"Kye, what's going on? Talk to me"

Kye didn't know why his mom was in his space. He liked coming out to the garden to be alone and sort through his thoughts. Aunt Marianna said he needed to grow up and that a man sorted through his own problems. He didn't want to burden his mom with childish nightmares.

Elena sat down next to her son, "Lizzie, said she told you about your dad."

"He's really not coming back?"

Elena shook her head. "He was a brave man. I want you to remember that. He loved you both"

He didn't know what he felt but he knew he wasn't sad like his mom was.

"Mom, if dad isn't coming back does that mean we're going to stay here forever."

"There are a lot of things we still have to figure out. Aunt Marianna is very generous."

That's not at all how he felt about it. "I can be the man of the house!"

"I'll keep that in mind, Buddy"

Kye's conversation with his mom didn't make him feel any better. His sister was the only one who seemed to understand "I don't like it here Lizzie"

"I know. Be strong just a little longer. Mama will figure it out"

"Are you sad about Dad?"

"No, I'm sad because it makes mom sad"

1919 Pt1 - Kicked Out

[crossguild]

i love how w359 gives you essentially nothing about kepler's backstory or motivations or internal thoughts, and then you look at his playlist and match it up to some of the stuff he does let slip about himself and then it's ALL on the table

“I had things I wanted to do, places I wanted to see, people I wanted to be with, and that's all... that's all gone.” (Matter of Perspective)

a whole bunch of songs with verses about loss & abandonment & sacrifice and at least one important relationship that ended

I made up in my mind that I would see you Listen to me now Well, sometimes when they fall down My cheeks are wet with tears Mellow You gotta be the greatest of them all I thought I'd see you again (see you again) (Fire & Rain)

Just yesterday mornin', they let me know you were gone Suzanne the plans they made put an end to you I woke up this morning, oh I wrote down this song But I can't remember who to send it to, oh (Fire and Rain)

Good times, bad times You know I've had my share When my woman left home For a brown-eyed man Well, I still don't seem to care (Good Times Bad Times)

And I wonder what become of you What became of you Sunlight over me no matter what I do Apples in the summer are golden sweet Everyday a passing complete (The Shrine / An Argument)

“I like the taste of it. I like the smell of it. I like the feel of it in my hand.” (Securite)

bunch of songs about poverty and financial extremes, but tombstone blues points to having grown up real poor

Mama's in the factory, she ain't got no shoes Daddy's in the alley, he's lookin' for food And I'm in the kitchen with the tombstone blues (Tombstone Blues)

I've seen fire, I've seen fire, Lord knows I've seen rain I've seen lonely days that I thought would never end And ooh, I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend (Fire & Rain)

and while nobody wants you when you're down and out could be commentary about his life before canon, it also reads a lot like his relationship with jacobi-- when he's in power and in control, they're besties-- as soon as they run low, 'couldn't find my friends and i had no place to go'

Once I lived a life of a millionaire Spending my money honey, oh I didn't care Takin' my friends out for a mighty good time Drinkin' that good gin, champagne and wine

Aww, just as soon as my money got low Couldn't find my friends and I had no place to go But if I ever get my hands on a dollar again I believe I'd hold on to that eager grin (Nobody Wants You When You’re Down And Out)

“Yes. Of course I am. You really thought I was going to let Cutter go through with this? At the cost of all of humanity? [But... you said...] What I had to, Miss Young. To be where I could make a difference.” (Brave New World)

a lot of these speak to both an idealistic vision of what he hoped he could do with goddard, but disillusionment and resignation upon realizing what it'd cost. and is especially interesting in contrast to rachel young, who seems to occupy a similar position to kepler. but cutter specifically says to rachel that she grew up just well off enough to see that the truly rich are the only ones with opportunities in life, that she's in it for the entertainment value, that what goddard is doing seemed more interesting. he says to kepler, 'you want BETTER', because that's what's at the core of his character, and that's the fundamental difference between him and young at the very end

Well there's always talkin' on the telephone line Talkin' about things to come But sweet dreams, flying machines, pieces all on the ground (Fire & Rain)

Well John, the Baptist, after torturing a thief Looks up at his hero, the Commander-in-Chief Saying, "Tell me great hero but please make it brief Is there a hole for me to get sick in?" (Tombstone Blues)

this one is also SUPER interesting because it also speaks a lot to how he regards dispersing information-- information is a burden, it's accountability, it's awareness of how bad things are and how bad they can get. it's the same position as commander zhang, who knew that she would blow the station eventually, but she assigned the crew tasks and kept them ignorant to protect them emotionally for as long as possible.

jacobi said that he trusts when kepler withholds information and calls the shots, because for the most part, kepler does it to give him and maxwell plausible deniability-- and in overture, CUTTER was the one who ordered him to keep the info about aliens quiet, despite his trust for jacobi and maxwell. in 'one of them', kepler all but confirms that he would've told them if not for those orders, but he also doesn't deflect from the fact that he made the choice to follow those orders

Now, I wish I could write you a melody so plain That could hold you dear lady from going insane That could ease you and cool you and cease the pain Of your useless and pointless knowledge (Tombstone Blues)

“It’s not about understanding. That’s different. But communication? (shrug) Species communicate with each other all the time. […] Think about animals, Eiffel, which is all any of us are when you get down to it. Some of us have claws. Some of us have teeth. Some of us have nukes. But what we say is always the same: This is mine. Stay away.” (Shut Up and Listen)

and mr urbina had this to say about radio silence:

1. Once again, all songs about communication (whether successful or failed) between people are eternally relevant to...the enterprise as a whole. Big bonus points if we can get blatant radio metaphors thrown in for good measure. #Shameless 2. Specifically, I like it as commentary on Kepler and his current inability unwillingness to connect. He can command or inspire people, but he doesn't connect the way that, say, an Eiffel or a Maxwell does. I wonder about how he feels about that. A lot. 3. The ghostly tone of it just goes with Kepler for some reason. There is an aesthetic click there.

No-one 'round here's good at keepin' their eyes closed The sun's startin' to light up when we're walking home Tired little laughs, gold-lie promises We'll always win at this, I don't ever think about death It's alright if you do, it's fine (Glory & Gore)

I thought, I found a way to enter It's just a reflektor (It's just a reflektor) I thought, I found the connector It's just a reflektor (It's just a reflektor) Now, the signals we send, are deflected again We're still connected, but are we even friends? (Reflektor)

Just please, more time I'm sorry, I don't know how you feel I don't know how you feel It's hard to tell if I don't know how you feel But in my heart There's a radio silence going on But in my heart There's a radio silence going on (Radio Silence)

“You know why I hired you, Warren? You were bored with being the top of the class. Because you wanted something that would challenge you. You're not interested in ‘best.’ You're interested in ‘better’. And that means you're never going to stop, are you?” (Cutter, Kansas)

Wide awake in bed, words in my brain "Secretly you love this, do you even wanna go free?" Let me in the ring, I'll show you what that big word means (Glory & Gore)

Now, the medicine man comes and he shuffles inside He walks with a swagger and he says to the bride "Stop all that weeping and swallow your pride You will not die, it's not poison" (Tombstone Blues)

Underline everything I'm a professional in my beloved white shirt Underline everything I'm a professional in my beloved white shirt I'm going down among the saints (Squalor Victoria)

love these mostly as commentary about his ambition and drive-- because it's not, in the end, depicted as a bad thing the way cunning and ambition so often are (sideeying harry potter), it's just a quality like any other than can be good or bad, and ultimately it's kepler's ambition & his drive, his investment in humanity that flipped him away from cutter. and he did it, as he does everything else, without any expectation of recognition or reward-- kepler is, of all the characters, the one who sticks most firmly to his actual stated principles, and if you actually listen to the podcast instead of projecting personal beef onto a fictional character, those principles are reiterated throughout the series

It's exactly what you've earned, Warren. For years of loyal and exceptional service. And now... we're even. Even Stevens. Blank slate. So now you get to prove to Doctor Pryce and myself that you belong here. Can you do that, Warren? (Cutter, Idle Hands)

i think a lot of the impression (deliberate, i think!) that kepler had more agency in his life than the hephaestus crew is very much an illusion, a performance that he genuinely wants to believe... but kepler's profile says that he's directly under cutter for most of his stint at goddard, and i don't think anyone who works under cutter has quite as much freedom as they like to think they do... and some of the songs speak to that!

gabriel urbina has said (on a now-deleted tumblr):

he's here by choice, but that choice could very well be just as much of an act as the rest of his persona, and with the finale & his relationship to cutter in mind, i think this post (which iirc was from before the finale) hints to a lot less choice than kepler tries to act like he has

How does it feel When you treat me like you do And you've laid your hands upon me And told me who you are? I thought I was mistaken And I thought I heard your words Tell me, how do I feel? Tell me now, how do I feel? (Blue Monday)

The king of the Philistines, his soldiers to save Put jawbones on their tombstones and flatters their graves Put the pied pipers in prison and fattens the slaves Then sends them out to the jungle (Tombstone Blues)

Well, mountain lions found me there waitin' And set me on a eagles back Well, mountain lions found me there, And set me on a eagles wing He took me past to the outskirts of infinity, And when he brought me back, He gave me a Venus witch's ring Hey! And he said "Fly on, fly on" (Voodoo Child)

also wow, tombstone blues is all over the place huh