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lastcrystalwitch · 4 years ago

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4/15/2021

So the term Earth Angel found me. And I'm not particularly crazy about the term, but the meaning behind it is absolutely spot on with me. Its crazy that I'm finally finding articles and messages everywhere recently since I started working with messenger Gods and Goddesses. I've been receiving a ton of information about self growth. But a friend of mine called me and Earth Angel yesterday. I had to look it up. I'd heard it before, but it wasn't something that I was interested in because I thought it had to deal with Christianity, Jesus, Mary, and the heavenly pure spirit that makes up "God." or the , "Holy Ghost."

But an earth angel isn't someone who is Christian and follows Christianity, but instead someone who is bound to the earth, Gaia, and ancient natural energies that are in all living things. We attune with these natural energies and feel much more them, when they are by themselves in nature. This is where they go for themselves to recharge, and are overly sensitive to what others say and think about them. These individuals are highly critical and can even be very mean to themselves in a way that is not fair, when others judge them, make fun of them, tease them, because earth angels are sincere. I always try to live by the words, say what you mean, and mean what you say.

These people are easily misunderstood because they are not very common in their ways of thinking, and from the very beginning, Earth Angels go through a lot of shit early on to get their heads straight, and suffer through injustice at a dangerous obnoxious level, and can pick up coping mechanisms that are very unhealthy. But, all so that their soul is ready to help others who are suffering. They live through experience of their own suffering and are great at understanding energies and are the first to know when there is a "...disturbance in the Force." They have a severe passion for helping those who they love, and while Earth Angels don't like violence, or people who fight, they have a great respect for people who have had been through difficult situations because they can feel someone's energy completely and absolutely like they are experiencing the pain of others.

Earth Angels have the positive energy to send out love to the world, feels others problems as their own, cares immensely for others happiness, has the ability to accept others exactly the way that they are. When an earth angel sets their sights on you, and takes an interest in you, its because they see someone with a rare light, a rare soul. If and Earth Angel shows you love an affection they bind a part of their heart to you and you will have that bond and love with them for the rest of your lives. Earth Angels don't abandon people, nor do they forget injured souls. They often think of those that they want to help, and be with, and love.

But sometimes Earth Angels will understand when someone needs to change for themselves, and will give that person the room and tools necessary to realize their own priorities. They can encourage people to have what Tarot Readers call a Tower, moment. And ultimately want to be just a support system for you while you're going through some shit, and growing as a human, and learning life lessons. Earth angels can miss people to the point that it becomes an unhealthy level of stress, and need to find distractions so they aren't constantly worrying about the ones that they love.

The hardest lesson I have learned as an Earth Angel is this, "Everyone is growing and learning and changing at different rates. Just because someone hasn't learned a life lesson that you did, doesn't make them any less of a person. And many people take longer than others to learn lessons like, you cannot change a person, setting healthy boundaries, when someone pushes you away, its not your fault usually, they just didn't understand how I think and feel and communicate. Its hardest to realize that the path someone must walk down sometimes has to be done by themselves, and the Earth Angel just wishes that she could be a support for the person struggling with career, finances, feelings of guilt, anger and resentment.

An Earth angel can forgive, but getting back that trust, is like passing a class. You have to get your shit together and prove to them that you are worthy of their love when you misuse and abuse them. They'll never forget you though. In fact, they'll think of you quite often because they know you'll be happier if you love yourself and be a friend to your spirit. Your soul.

The sooner that people realize that being your own friend and being comfortable who you are, and doing good things to set you up for success is like feeding a pet on time every day the same day. You can learn to trust yourself to say and do the right things, and it absolutely is possible to feel happy. Yes it is. I know. I have that wisdom.

In DND, (Dungeons and Dragons) a tabletop game that is as unique as a fingerprint with those who play ... Knowledge is different than Wisdom. So, ask yourself, what is the difference?

Well, knowledge is information passed down from one person or animal or thing, to another. Basically it is, "He told me that the oven is hot. I trust him to tell me the truth, so I'm going to take his word for it and not touch the oven."

Wisdom is knowing for yourself, that the oven is hot. You touched it, you got burned, therefore you have that wisdom. You know. Not just because you were told, but because you experienced it yourself.

The crazy thing is about Wisdom and Knowledge is, it is just another level of personal experience. People experience things differently. That's why I find it so incredibly interesting to learn other peoples truths, and find out their stories, what they had been through, and how can I make this person happy.

Recently I went through something that scarred me very deeply. I am needing to withdrawal a little bit into myself, and just really give myself a hug because I have been through a lot, and I need to tell myself that everything is going to be ok. My heart spirit was injured, and this has caused me to feel hopeless at first, then sad and depressed, then just crying for others, to the point that people started really worrying if I would be okay. I had friends coming into check in on me, and ended up surviving.

But If I can't help someone, and they must go on their own journey for a while to get their goals, and priorities onto a healthy level, I realize that I can't be with them for this journey, as much as I really really really want to be there for them. But I think of them everyday, and I think about the good things, and how they made my soul happy just being around them. I felt recharged. And they made me grow as well, and question things that I never really had the initial knowledge to understand in the first place.

Tower moments are times in our lives when our personalities, or ways of thinking have to shift in order for us to grow. These life lessons that we as humans have to walk through, are ones that Earth Angels take pride in holding your hand and letting you know that they will always love you, care for you, and do their best to make sure that you know they won't leave you, and you are not alone. An earth angel can suffer and worry about a person more than that person is worried, and the most important qualities to a friendship to an earth angel are honesty, communication, and of course love. They are good at showing others Pure Love, what it is, and how to love yourself.

The love that they show, are understanding, accepting someone exactly the way they are, bringing happiness and joy to others around them. We get bullied because people don't understand that we are helping for the sake of helping.

Altruistic. "/ˌaltro͞oˈistik/ adjective showing a disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others; unselfish. "it was an entirely altruistic act" (borrowed from google dictionary)

Pacifism. pac·i·fism /ˈpasəˌfizəm/ noun the belief that any violence, including war, is unjustifiable under any circumstances, and that all disputes should be settled by peaceful means. "there remains a powerful undercurrent of pacifism" (borrowed from google dictionary)

That we really do feel good when we can make someone smile, or laugh. I myself am not very funny, and enjoy humor that is pure in form. I never liked trickery, or injuring someone's character to take personal pleasure in making someone suffer or feel better to make me feel better. That's not how it works with me. That isn't nice. Sincerity and doing what you say, and being honest with yourself and true to your heart are all qualities that we as Earth Angels like because it is just easier for our soul to be happy. Earth Angels are light workers, and ... "If you had a super power, it would be love." They use light energy to change the world and bring happiness and understanding to those around them. They experience pain and suffering on a larger scale than those around them because they wear their heart on their sleeve, and are easily hurt by those who ever try to hurt an earth angel. Earth Angels can see transformation happening to others, who cant see it, and usually choose to only share their highly intuitive thoughts with those who are very close to them.

Earth Angels can be very artistic. They have a natural ability to work with the arts and spread love and light through their art and their musical ability. Earth angels want everyone to understand each other, and want everyone to be happy. It is possible to have everyone on the same page. It is possible to have everyone be happy, using something called communication.

Opening up your heart when it has been hurt before and scarred is so hard for some people. But earth angels accept this pain and understand it because they bleed for their family and friends in a way that is hard to describe. They are so sensitive to those around them and how they feel.

All I am saying, is that I am 32 now, or 33. I think I'm 32. It changes every year, so I'm not too worried about it. hahaha

Earth angels can see layers of someone's soul by looking and speaking with them. They can tell the sadness and hurt inside someone, and instantly want to make them better. Earth angels are happiest when others are feeling happy, because they feed off of that happy, calm, content energy. And when an Earth angel is kept away from being able to recharge in an environment that is calm happy and content, like a forest or park, that person is more likely to feel overwhelmed, trapped, and stressed out.

Earth Angels shouldn't be confused with Christianity. Most Earth Angels are more prone to believe strongly in energies, what you send out comes back, kahrma, dahrma, and different planes of existence. Earth angels are better at making people feel better, because they truly feel real сочувствие, (seh*choos't*tiah) which translates sort of to empathy, and take great pride in being honest, truthful, and a good friend to others.

Earth angels from my own personal experience, are people who suffer for others, and are a good player two. They seek approval from other people quite often. Not because they can't think for themselves, but because they just want everyone to get along. These people are chameleons and can adapt to other peoples waves of energies and attitudes, in order to better understand someone. They are not trying to be unique and original, they already check those boxes. They just try to understand, provide aid, friendship and good mental health and love to those who are hurting. Earth angels are good to talk to if you need someone to listen to. They'll think about you all the time, and do little things for you to remind you that they care, and they hope you are happy. Earth angels use PURE UNBIASED LOVE AND AFFECTION to express themselves, and are very stern that you shouldn't use people.

Earth Angels kind of keep to themselves. Taking on other people's problems like their own can be very draining, and if you have the attention of an earth angel, they will cry over you, and look into how to help you (on multiple planes tbh) if you ever are suffering uncontrollably or super upset that its affecting your BA. (spirit soul energy) If you have the love from an Earth Angel, they will always love you no matter what, no matter how much you hurt them. They are understanding and extremely sensitive to many things. When Earth angels are injured in their BA, from someone hurting them intentionally, it is the worst thing that you can do to this person because it leaves a very deep deep scar. But they'll always love you, and they'll always listen to you and be there for you if you reach out to them.

Earth angels are said to be put on this earth to help others understand their soul's connection with the world around them and often remind and show others that there can be a very strong natural and grounding, warm hug energy from the earth, being outside, and the natural energies of the world around them. They are open to the world's energies and often seek out questions on a spiritual level, not to be confused with a religious level, as there is a very big difference between using tools to help you vs. adopting someone else's way of thinking. They like to think for themselves, but learn all they can from others. And they can be naturally good at learning other languages because they've made it their goal to understand and help others ... through understanding itself. One great way to learn about other peoples understanding is through Communication, Understanding, Listening, and learning healthy grounding ways to connect someone's BA, to their environment.

Earth angels are artistically talented but do best in careers where they can work closely with people in order to make them feel better, where they can have one on one connections with people. Earth angels are rare, and usually were people who put up with an unusual amount of pain growing up, and bullied, and who have suffered a lot, and just don't understand or like it when people are mean to others.

They're not perfect. Their not in human. They still have all the problems as someone else, but they know the more that you can understand what it is that is bothering you, the more Wisdom you gain, and the happier and more grounded you can be. Imagine being content and happy with yourself on a very very deep level. <3

I hope you have a good day. I love you, and hope today you do something to remind you to love yourself. I hope you smile today, and really feel it. *hugs*

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lynndoublelegacy · 4 years ago

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just a cool dnd meme i saw

Yook so it’s less a meme and more like. a big ol questionare but hey, might as well do it. originally saw it on @/probablyottrpgideas, go check them out

1. Game Master, Player, or both? Why?

Ok so technically I’ve DMed twice but I really don’t find it fun? and don’t ever want to do it again. so. Player. I like building characters and their connections with fellow PCs more than building worlds

2. When did you start roleplaying? How old were you?

oh god, if we’re talking about roleplaying in general? I’ve been doing it basically as long as I can remember. As a kid I would play House, and then once I got older in like 5th grade I actually started making characters and playing out their stories with friends. Google+ is what made me realize this was actually like, a THING, though, and I got into some roleplaying groups there, then on DevaintArt. Dungeons and Dragons is a newer development? I got into it in late 2018 when my sister’s friend invited us to a one-shot, and... well, yea, I got hooked lol

3. What was the first roleplaying book you ever owned?

dude, bold of you to assume I really own any. I don’t have that kind of money and literally only own the Guide to Wildemount, and that was a gift

4. Describe the first game you ever ran or played in.

I mean... it’s not a game but ima describe the one shot, bc my first campaign was a hot mess without a true storyline and I used the same character for it anyway. I played a tiefling bard called Aisling Kai (I didn’t know this was a cliche combo at this point, and I honestly played her like a rogue with a music motif but Whatever) and we were a little group tasked to figure out why the hell anyone who goes into this cave never comes out. So we go in, make our way through the dungeon, fight some frog people (I made one of their ears bleed just by getting a nat 20 on a performance check to play a high f# on flute, that was fun, FWEET), and turns out yep, theres a hill giant down here. We kicked his ass and collapsed the cave on top of us (dw I think we were fine but my memory is a little screwy)

5. What system did you grow up with? / 6. Which system do you play now?

i learned on and currently play dnd 5e. I don’t really know anything else, but I’m debating checking out Vampire of the Masquerade.

7. Longest campaign you’ve run or played in?

That would be my Tal’Dorei campaign group, aka The Fatefallen! Started in the Fall of 2019 and still going to this day, just played our 45th session last week. I play Ilia Liadon, the drow grave cleric, and the only member of our party who has been there for every single session since the beginning.

8. Where did you meet your current gaming group?

...well first I feel the need to mention that I have 3 different groups (2 of them are on hiatus now for pandemic related reasons but! we’re still groups). My first group (with Aisling) was formed slowly over time as friends adopted friends into the group, I think it started as a school club? but that didn’t last long. The other two started from a different school club as well, though one has since branched out into other people as well.

9. Strategic combat or dramatic plotlines?

I am a roleplayer first and a gamer second. Give me all of the backstories and dramatic plotlines. Don’t get me wrong, I still like combat, but story takes precedent for me.

10. Favorite RPG genre?

I don’t tend to define myself by genre? But I tend to fall into more of a fantasy, at most arcanapunk style. Give me all of the magic, and magic powered tech.

11. Your first character.

I got into her a little bit earlier, but my first character was Aisling, aka Calypso Kai. She was a homebrew subclass bard with a criminal background, who honestly? should’ve been a rogue. I’ve since rebuilt her into an Assassin Rogue/College of Eloguence Bard multiclasser, but this iteration was like. Baby her, baby me new to dnd, I did not know what I was doing. She tried to be edgy, but my mom energy came through HARD and she just. Never really had a set characterization. She deserves better and I plan on playing her better sometime in the future.

12. Your favorite character.

You are making me choose between my children. BUT, if I had to pick, either Ilia Liadon, or! Ashe Wednesday, a protector aasimar drunken master monk and my profile picture. Ashe also deserved a lot better from their campaign, so I have a massive soft spot for them, they were made during a really tough time in my life (as was Ilia) and was going through an equally rough time in-game, since I made them for a Curse of Strahd campaign without understanding what I was getting into. They’re my little rebellious asshole and I love them dearly, someone get this kid therapy. Ilia, on the other hand, is just... she’s a comfort character for me at this point. mostly soft edges, such a mom- while Ashe was me yelling “come at me” at the world while crying, Ilia was just... embracing it. Making it better. basically, if they actually existed, I would die for both of them.

13. Your most ridiculous character.

I don’t usually play super ridiculous characters, but! I would say Keothi “Bookfinder” Vaimeil counts. She was basically me looking all of the goliath barbarian stereotypes in the eye, and going “nah. she’s a nerd.” She’s literally a massive puppy dog, just the sweetest big old thing, sitting in her house and reading all the books she can get her hands on in order to make up for her amnesia. Oh, and did I mention that she’s a zombie? ...yea. She’s wacky, but I love her.

14. The best in-character line you’ve ever had.

“I need sleep. I don’t even sleep and I need sleep.”

~Ilia, after a particularly tough fight and an emotionally draining day

15. Your most epic death.

Ok so... none of my characters in game have ever actually died during the storyline? Keothi obviously has in her backstory, and Ilia might have in hers as well, it was never explicitly stated, but during the game? Nope. Ashe got stupid close, but nope. Since Keothi is my only death period, and her death was pretty epic, I’m just gonna describe that. Her parents and siblings in her Goliath tribe had all fallen ill, so she decided to go searching for a possible cure, and ended up getting conned into helping this cult, since they said they would cure her family. Turns out, yea, they were lying, they just needed a goliath willing to sacrifice themselves with a cursed sword. They made the mistake of revealing this before Keothi was actually dead, so as she was dying, she brought the entire goddamn cultist temple down to the bottom of the sea and took the cultists with her. The sword was why she was undead, in the Shadowfell, and couldn’t remember anything.

16. Your most disappointing death.

As mentioned, I’ve never died in campaign, but I feel like I have to mention this one that happened to our party in Curse of Strahd. We were in the death house, all 5 of us, still level 1, and our barbarian falls into a pit trap with spikes. None of us realize she’s actually dead, so we send out paladin down to get her... with the monk, the bard, and the warlock holding the rope. ....yea both of them died.

17. Something that shouldn’t have worked, but it did.

I’m stuck between two options for this one. First one was the time our water genasi paladin/rogue bloodbended our gnome cleric into a bridge to keep her from falling all the way down a ravine. The second time was when our party managed to defend a small seaside town from a pirate raid with just an NPC with Control Water, a ballista, ourselves, and some explosives. Neither should’ve worked, but both did. Having a triton in your party can really come in clutch in a seaside campaign.

18. Something that went hilariously awry.

I have one that’s hilarious and one that’s horrifying. Hilarious one: in my first ever campaign, someone from Aisling’s backstory popped up and our sorcerer went “that’s shady” (to be fair, he was) and then went to investigate BY HIMSELF. He obviously got kidnapped by the mafia, and then we went all stealth mission to break him out. Stealth was immediately abandoned after our other bard used a SCREAMING SWORD to break open the locks, then we proceeded to go out the way we came, setting everything on fire on the way out, and with our bard lying their way out the front door (with the rest of us in tow as “prisoners”) by pretending to be a fellow mafia member. It was great. Horrifying one: Ilia tries to Send to a member of the party who left in order to let him know that a fellow party member had died. Forgot that he left bc his mind was invaded by a previously dead, very evil old god, and ends up trapped there with him for a while. Ended up with all of our main spellcasters trapped in their own heads while the barbarian paced around worriedly and the rogue decided he was going to get smashed instead of worrying himself silly.

19. Your most memorable in-character moment.

There are a LOT in Ilia’s campaign, but! If I had to pick one, it would actually be a pretty recent one involving Ilia and our party’s wizard, Liara. They’re basically the embodiment of head vs heart? Anyway, Liara is currently suffering from something called magic corruption, though idk if suffering is the right word. Anyway! It basically resulted in her getting... possessed? by her own magic during the night during Ilia’s watch, and they had a really, really interesting conversation regarding guilt, death, and grief, and yea basically I love them. Honorable mention to our druid’s death (he’s back and better now, but that was my first long-time death in a game, we didn’t know he was coming back) and also the moment that Ilia realized that her childhood bff/crush had been revived in a new body and that this NPC was her best friend. That was a trip.

20. The coolest item you ever got and how you came to possess it.

I got this item in the revamp of my first ever campaign and nothing has topped it since which is Sad but hey. Anyway! I got this really cool, possibly cursed dagger after I threw a knife at an absolutely eldritch being and it got stuck in him as he transformed. It looked really badass, and allowed me to cast Inflict Wounds on occasion when I stabbed someone with it. So yea, we love that. Honorable mention to my paladin/bloodhunter’s Helm of the Aberrant Gladiator which allows you to basically do a bunch of fear based affects and psychic stuff.

Numbers 21 through 30 don’t apply to me but. yea. enjoy this summary of my dnd history I guess

#dnd #dungeons and dragons #d&d #d&d 5e #dnd meme #i would like to apologize to Vail and Zohros #they deserved better than to be briefly mentioned but their campaigns are also on hiatus #so they're not overly relevant rn #vail is the paladin/bloodhunter #zohros is the triton #he's a rogue

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theseerasures · 4 years ago

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Conspicuous Media Consumption, 2020

it’s that time of year again! *saddest toot from the party horn*

for those of you just joining us: it’s a “consume a different content every week for 48 weeks of the year” challenge. for a longer explanation, check out last year’s write-up here, and as always, feel free to pop in and ask questions about any and all of this content.

(same disclaimer as last year too: content for this project ONLY here, and not certain...*looks at my billion Sad Cop Lady posts*...hyperfixations.)

(man remember when i was big into X-Men comics earlier this year? better times than these, if only because no one's discoursing about Emma Frost’s woobie/war criminal ratio anymore--her w/w, if you will)

(...i swear at one point i didn’t exclusively like platinum blondes but alas)

Bitter Root (comic, 1 issue finished 1/1/2020): still very cool on a basic concept level, but runs into the Image Comics problem of just not having enough content to keep my interest beyond that. part of that is on me, for picking it up again BEFORE the second arc rolled out, but the first five issues didn’t really follow (or resolve) any cohesive story either, so...meh.

Immortal Hulk (comic, 3 trades finished 1/17/2020): still not gonna be something i care deeply about (maybe one of Bruce’s Hulksonas dyed his hair???), but i do want to give kudos to Al Ewing for sheer consistency in terms of sustaining this level of quality storytelling month by month for more than two years now. working with the dense archive of the Hulk mythos and managing to make it interesting and thoughtful is impressive even if i personally would not expend the same effort.

Disco Elysium (game, finished 1/18/2020): honestly i should have twigged onto what this year was gonna be like when the third thing i drew from the barrel was pure uncut Eastern European flavored depression. i faintly recall people ragging on it for being pretentiously cynical, but i actually thought its core slid more towards idealism than people give it credit for. also gratified that i haven’t heard anything about Robert Kurvitz using slave labor to finish it, which is a thing we have to say about our video games now!!! fun.

Watchmen (TV, 7 episodes finished 1/27/2020): i am a fool who wants to believe in Damon Lindelof and I WAS RIGHT!!! honestly still cannot believe that he pulled off this highwire act with such deft aplomb. might be my favorite TV this year, which is a pretty high bar given how much TV i ended up watching.

On a Sunbeam (comic, finished 2/1/2020): Tillie Walden rightly deserves all the praise for inventive queer storytelling, but i will say that on reread--since i first read this as a webcomic--there ARE some issues with pacing here that clearly come from the foibles of its original intended medium. still just excellent, even if after some plot significant haircuts i was having trouble telling a few folks apart.

Lazarus (comic, 1 trade finished 2/8/2020): it’s so good and i want moooooorrrreee--though obviously Rucka and Lark have the right to take all the time they need. the newer longer issues work really well with the epic prestige drama vibes of the story! i’m into it.

The Good Place (TV, 4 seasons finished 2/18/2020): i’m gonna be super honest: i actually wasn’t a big fan of the finale, nor the last season as a whole. it felt like all of Eleanor’s flaws vanished for a majority of the season, and the Chidi-centric episode where they tried to give a legible justification for why he’s Like This was...i didn’t care for it. still, it’s so good and unique on the WHOLE that we’ll literally never get anything like this ever again, and that counts for a lot.

The Old Republic (game, finished 2/21/2020): it’s an MMO so it will never actually Be Finished so long as the servers aren’t shut down, but i caught up on the content i’d missed in the intervening months. Onslaught thus far has mostly been...kinda bland tbh; going back to Imps vs. Rebs after all the shakeups in the previous expansions feels like a waste.

High Road (album, finished 2/22/2020): someone should tell Kesha not to say that word!! otherwise i was very happy with this album, and happy FOR her even though we don’t know each other. being able to find joy again in the same genre of music you made while you were being horrifically exploited is very cool.

Young Justice (TV, 13 episodes finished 2/28/2020): given how much the middle stuff dragged--STOP KILLING YOUR HIJABI CHARACTER IN HORRIFIC WAYS--i was...actually kinda mad by how the end managed to stick the landing anyway. the day being saved by Vic’s self-acceptance and Violet’s sublime compassion was A+, and even the Brion/Tara switchup was a pleasant surprise, though it relied on me caring about Brion MUCH MORE than i actually did.

Manic (album, finished 2/29/2020): do people still care for/about Halsey? i feel like even That One Song that was on every tumblr gifset ever has kinda faded into obscurity at this point. this album was...okay. i feel like people give Halsey a pass for extremely obvious lyrical turns that they wouldn’t for other folks because of her subject material--which is fine. not really my cup of tea, but i also listened to lots of Relient K this year, so that’s probably a good thing.

Jade Empire (game, 3/10/2020): the only 3D-era Bioware game that didn’t franchise out, and for good fucking reason!!! the Orientalism and appropriation really haven’t aged well, and even beyond that the story was...standard Bioware faire. even my usual “my wife’s a bitch i love her” Bioware type didn’t do it for me, and i just ended up romancing no one. it did make me think a lot about what level of cultural borrowing is accepted nowadays, and why: people still look fondly at Avatar and talk about how ~accurate and respectful it was, for example, despite it being staffed almost entirely by white folks, and the Orientalism ALL OVER the monk class in DND is still fine for some reason.

Alif the Unseen (book, finished 3/31/2020): interesting to have read this AFTER reading The Bird King last year, because it highlights how the intervening years have shifted G. Willow Wilson’s thematic interest and improved her craft. i’m actually quite fond of how her characterization work is rougher here--Alif is extremely flawed to the point of being insufferable, but it makes his development by the end more satisfying. Dina is also just good and i love her

Baldur’s Gate (2 games, finished 5/31/2020): well, having finally finished the series i’m happy to say that it...still doesn’t really do it for me, sorry. any awesome story moments were overshadowed by the EXCRUCIATING inventory management system and the combat (i still don’t know what a THAC0 is and at this point i’m afraid to find out). these games crucially lack the Home Base that later Bioware games were so good about, and that (coupled with the huge cast of characters you can drop off and never see again) really hurts the intimacy for me. by the time we finally did get one it was the Hell Dimension in Throne of Bhaal, and i was just...trying to get through it. (yes, i did just say that about one of the most beloved expansions ever to one of the most beloved games ever.) THIS particular iteration of “my wife’s a bitch i love her” was very good, but the game wouldn’t let me romance her :(

The Underground Railroad (book, finished 6/19/2020): honestly what is there even left to say at this point! it was exactly as good as every critic on the planet said it was, even with my usual aversion to hype. draining and horrifying in turns but still insistent upon a future for Black folks.

Steven Universe (6 seasons and a mooooooviiieeee, finished 7/11/2020): yes, i DID finish the show and almost immediately begin a rewatch. this series is now one of my top five most formative things, and the amount of love and respect i have for it is incalculable. that said: i once again did not love how the central conflict of Future was resolved (just the resolution--i loved the finale just fine). for all of Steven’s breakdown was built up, resolving it with “EVERYONE HUG HIM UNTIL HE CRIES” felt...cheap, especially since up until this point the show had been so good about treating trauma and mental illness with the respect and nuance it deserves. it made me wish some of the earlier, less substantial episodes had been cut so we could spend more time at the end.

What It Is (comic, finished 8/19/2020): y’all i love Lynda Barry SO MUCH. for the longest time i was worried that One Hundred Demons was more a lightning in a bottle situation but every book of hers i pick up makes me feel obscure emotions i didn’t even realize existed. the compassionate way she’s able to describe her child self and how weird and fucked up she was (and still is) is honestly aspirational.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (TV, 5 seasons finished 9/26/2020): so here’s a reversal of what i’ve been complaining about with other shows: i was mostly lukewarm-to-warm about She-Ra, but the later seasons and the finale made me much more into it as a whole. more shows should improve in stakes and overall quality as they age tbh!! i still don’t actively love Catradora (my sole quibble with season 5 actually has to do with the way Adora kept backsliding as a character to make certain Plot/Relationship things happen), but i’m very happy for them nonetheless. i can certainly appreciate a show that will go for High Feeling over tight plot. dark horse standout moments: trees growing everywhere proving that Perfuma Was Right, and Hordak and Adora seeing each other--that weirdly intimate moment of recognition.

Fetch the Bolt Cutters (album, finished 10/7/2020): again i find myself not having much to say that no one else has said. it’s good! once again love it when an artist reclaims something they’d attached with negative affect (anxiety, depression, disordered eating) for better and brighter things.

Solutions and Other Problems (comic, finished 10/25/2020): i was very into Allie Brosh’s ambition with this book, which feels weird to say but i stand by it. it’s cool to see an artist try to make a new medium work for them instead of just sticking to what already works. not all the experimentation was 100% effective, but it was still delightful and occasionally devastating to read, so.

Legend of Zelda (3 games: Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Link Between Worlds, finished 11/1/2020): this was the third time i’d played Ocarina of Time, which made it the nice, comforting groove i settled into before Majora’s Mask blatted me in the face. i’m not usually a completionist Zelda person because...the gameplay in Zelda is bad, do not at me it just is, but i really felt like i HAD to be one for Majora’s Mask since the whole point is to get attached to the banalities of the town. i’m sure nobody’s surprised that i loved it, even if it gave me an existential crisis about how life goes on in the game for NPCs when you’re not there to save them from it, and there’s not enough time to save them all all the time (also not a surprise to anyone: Romani and Cremia gave Personal Feelings). Link Between Worlds...bad. not like in a “this is a bad story by every measurable gauge” way, but i was already struggling with the 2D playstyle shift enough that for the whole story to end with some “yes it’s v sad that Lorule is Like This but trying to steal Hyrule’s privilege is Even Worse Actually” noblesse oblige bullshit left a VERY poor taste in my mouth, this year of all years. i did audibly gasp when Ravio took off his mask, though. i’m currently playing Breath of the Wild in cautious increments; it’s the first time i’ve enjoyed early Zelda gameplay, but if they wanted fully voiced cutscenes i wish they got voice actors who...knew what words sound like.

folklore (album, finished 11/6/2020): my belief that Taylor Swift is Just Fine continues, i’m afraid. i LIKED this album, don’t get me wrong, and respect her constant drive to innovate, but i didn’t love it substantially more or less than any other Taylor Swift album. mostly i’m just tickled by how she thinks leaning into the indie aesthetic means borrowing Vita Sackville-West’s entire wardrobe, though i will admit to feeling Something when she swore in a song. i think it was like. savage vindication?? you go ahead and swear, Taylor Swift. you deserve it.

Shore (album, finished 11/19/2020): do people still care about the Fleet Foxes? i think there was some Drama with Josh Tillman a while back but i don’t remember where the discourse landed with who was being more problematic. it was nostalgic for me to listen to their new album--made me remember being an undergrad who exclusively listened to men who mumbled and played acoustic guitar all over again.

Star Wars (3 movies: original trilogy, finished 11/27/2020): there is So Much bad Star Wars these days that every time i rewatch the original trilogy i’m afraid that they will suddenly be bad, but guess what! they’re not. i love these children and their hot mess stories, i love that Lando doesn’t know how to say his best friend’s name. what stood out to me this time was the way Obi-Wan described the Force in A New Hope, which strongly implied that ANYONE can be Force Sensitive; that obviously faded with each subsequent movie, but part of me does wish they’d kept it.

X of Swords (comics, 22 issues finished 12/5/2020): i am enjoying Hickman’s X-lines!!! not so much here for the Grand Conspiracy or whatever, but the character work and highkey weirdness is fabulous--they FEEL like X-Men, despite all the shakeups in-universe. this crossover is a nice microcosm of all that: grandiloquently all over the place, but still full of cool standout moments and genuine hilarity. ILLYANA DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO SPELL MAGIC.

Fire Emblem (4 games: Sacred Stones, Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn, Awakening, finished 12/14/2020): this was the thing that i was closest to giving up early on, but i ended up hyperfixating on it instead. that’s a credit to what the gameplay does to my lizard brain more than anything else, because the story and character writing is...insipid. it was very bizarre to witness this franchise blunder around with its animal-people racism allegory around the same time i was getting back into RWBY, and ITS animal-people racism allegory blunders. Awakening was the first time i felt anything for the franchise beyond “teehee red units disappear make exp bar go up and brain go ding,” so i’m excited for more mature storytelling in subsequent games (they MUST get better. they MUST). the child husbandry thing is...very bad tho, and Apotheosis being “challenging” entirely through the game changing all the rules is also bad.

once again no vidya games that came out this year--i’ll probably pick up Spiritfarer or Hades after the New Year, though (or maybe TLOU II! but probably not. sry Laura and Ashley). more TV and franchises this year, which made me feel In Touch with the Children but was also kinda exhausting. nothing was so egregiously terrible i dropped it without finishing! in a year like this that feels almost like an accomplishment

#conspicuous media consumption

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neshabeingchildish · 5 years ago

Text

League of Extraordinary Geniuses || Chapter 2

Not gonna lie, this chapter is dialogue heavy and a little rushed. Something was going on with my device where I couldn’t quite get the formatting correct and I grew impatient because this is currently the only thing I’m getting feedback on from people other than Lil’ Dynamite and so I wanted to push it out anyway, regardless of errors. I’ll probably go back and change those later. Patience isn’t my ministry. So, whatever. Thanks. Enjoy and sorry. All the platitudes you require, I give. Tagging @kiddangers @just-a-j-reallly and @sunbeameyes (Please lemme know if you wanna be taken off while you do all the stuff you’ve got going on). TW: for alcohol drinking. Idk. Sometimes, that bothers people, even if nobody’s drunk or abusing it.

I Didn’t Say Overthrow the Government

Charlotte gave the twins hugs and kisses before sending them off with their caregiver. It was just something about having access to these children that she couldn’t see them as experiments or projects, even if that was in essence what they were. And the caregiver would definitely have to shapeshift into her at times in order to calm them down, because they were extremely attached to their “mother.”

Charlotte had a work program for bionics and supers that didn’t want to be heroes. She felt like it was unfair to presume or worse, force people into positions where they had to risk themselves for the rest of the world. She knew that her previous boss had that type of childhood and he never grew up past that of a superpowered 8 year old, then he simply continued to repeat that cycle by inducting underage sidekicks and even opening a school to keep that process going.

She knew that Chase might have wanted to be something else had he not been raised and forced to be a protector. He mentioned, in passing, as though it was completely ridiculous, that when he was younger, he wanted to be an astronaut/lawyer. He laughed at his expense, until Charlotte wondered, “Why didn’t you do it?” He stared at her as though the question was ludicrous, so she had to tack on, “I have the credentials to be quite a few things that some might laugh at, and you definitely are more than qualified to be an astronaut lawyer, if that’s what you want.” He gave a little chuckle and moved on with the subject.

That was actually the thing that compelled her towards a new project. She loved new projects, because even though it kept her busy, it opened up her brain for new opportunities to touch the world in an impactful way. She went live on her page the next day and asked supers and bionics, “If you could do ANYTHING ELSE in the world, right now, what would it be? I know that some of you have certain abilities that have made it to where you have focused in on using that gift to help the world, but… What if you had the means and the opportunity to do something else? What would you do?” She read all of the comments and in the same conversation made a decision, “You know what… I feel very moved by a lot of these testimonies. So, this is what I’m going to do…” She created an email address and shared it with the viewers and posted it to her website, “I am going to have everyone who is interested in transitioning from an imposed future that revolves around your ability to a career or even just a hobby that you would love to get into to email me so that I can try to figure out how to make a some of these things happen.”

The number of “I STAN!” comments she received were nothing in comparison to the amount of mail that she got. She had a guy named Bob that she heard went to the academy on Bionic Island who had super strength, but was very gentle and hated having to fight. That was exactly the type of person she was trying to seek out. She had Chase introduce her to this guy… he was sweet, but by God, he was not bright. Sort of reminded her of her best friend, Jasper, in that regard. And it hit her! Jasper! “Hey, Jasp… I’ve got this bionic guy named Bob. He doesn’t want to have to be out on missions. He doesn’t like fighting. He’s very nice, but not that smart and he really doesn’t have a lot of skills beyond mission training and superstrength.”

“We ABSOLUTELY could use someone with super strength around here. I can teach him some maintenance stuff to help out around the lair and the shelter while he finds himself and figures out what he wants to do. Henry’s been enrolling in adult classes at the Vision Institute. Bob could maybe do that?” Jasper said.

“Yes, I’m definitely getting him in touch with an advisor, but I was more like checking to see if you had an empty room to put the guy up in and also if you could maybe mentor him a little along the way, since you have a lot in common?” Charlotte said. Jasper gave her ideas that she was already in the process of setting up, but a support system would be a huge part in these transitions. A lot of people who went to the Vision Institute went for the reason it was created - to figure out exactly what they wanted to do with their life now that their brains were fully formed and they were adults who realized that they had spent all of their lives going in directions that they were pulled in, instead of where their minds led them.

NOW, she had to try to get a more nuanced system in place for those bionics and supers who suffered the same existential crisis, but with the added pressure that they HAD to do whatever direction they were pulled in because, “the world depended on them.” Know who else the world depended on? Caretakers and caregivers, and Charlotte found a perfect shape shifting one who just wanted to be able to look after kids and stuff. She was bionic, so she definitely had been trained and conditioned to fight and protect, but now she was able to play with a couple of adorable babies who turned into adorable puppies AND, she would be able to help them hone their shifting, whenever they were ready for it! Charlotte loved that for her. She loved that Bob might be able to live out his dreams. She loved that she put things in motion to help people be happier and more successful and safe.

The twins were gone to the cottage, which was where they generally stayed, since the castle was fairly new and Charlotte wasn’t even there a lot of the time. With having the guys there, it would be easier anyway.

She came back inside to Max coming from his guest quarters and almost immediately asking, “Do bionics have twin powers?” She froze and folded her arms, thinking. She didn’t know and he didn’t either, so they both rushed to her desk to work on figuring out if they could figure that out.

Chase surfaced later, and found the two of them walking around one in one of Charlotte's famous theory rooms, which was a room with the walls covered in notes and models hanging from the ceiling, and spots where it was clear that experiments were done. It was sort of like if a lab didn’t have everything that was needed to do the work, but had everything that was needed to get to the work. Chase had seen the one that she had in her Dystopia home and the one in the Defender Dome, but this one was bigger, but less used. She and Max went to hover above a model with little figures of people and the scene of what looked like Centium City. “Good afternoon. I made a late start. I think that something is wrong with the guest capsule,” Chase said.

“Do you feel rested and like you’ve had the best sleep ever?” Charlotte wondered.

“As a matter of fact, yes!”

“Then, how could there be something wrong with it?” She asked, rhetorically, not turning her attention away from the model.

Max asked, “Hey, Bionic Boy, do bionic twins have the ability to tap into twin powers?”

Charlotte gasped and said, “I didn’t even THINK about just asking Chase, and we went through that whole thing earlier only to come out as inconclusive.”

“What are twin powers?” Chase asked. Now, Charlotte and Max looked up from the current tangent/theories that they were mulling through to stare at Chase. He smiled awkwardly. “You know what, I’ll just look it up,” he said and touched his finger to the side of his face. “Okay… um.. No, I don’t think so. It would most likely have to be programmed into the coding for their chips. Kind of like my override, but like… something mutual that becomes something else.”

“The mystery kinda dies with that, doesn’t it?” Max asked Charlotte, disappointed. “Well, at any rate… Definitely gonna work on twin powers for the Swagger Twins,’ Max said, into his phone, recording.

Charlotte added in a smol voice, “They is good boys and they deserve!” Max looked at her, absolutely smitten and smiled.

Chase watched with some judgment. He knew that Charlotte frequently switched up for who she needed to be, whenever she needed to be it. The Charlotte that she was with her best friends, the professional in a business meeting, the one that had to deal with Mr. Davenport, and so on. This one was new to him, and if he didn’t know any better… he’d say that this one was into Max. There was obviously some type of inside joke there with the strange voice and the grammatically incorrect phrasing, but the smile that Max gave her made him… irritable. “Are we doing some work today? Anything that I can latch on to?”

“Oh! Yes… We were actually just having a discussion about roleplaying, chess, and boardgames,” Charlotte counted off on her fingers. “We’ve been determining - out of the bionics worlds and the supers worlds, which heroes would be which characters or pieces.”

“We keep on switching and changing between chess and DND, because neither of us is making a list. Making a list might cut into the creative juices and this is all for fun…” Max added on. Chase knew all about chess and Dungeons and Dragons, though that was because Mr. Davenport had casually mentioned it one day and of course, it only took him a few moments to research and memorize it all, but he still hadn’t had the chance to ever play it. Charlotte and Max were talking about this current train of thought, until Chase projected a hologram for them, with a chess board and a diagram that he was creating in progress, split screen with the chess board as he explained, and went through all of the bionic people he knew from the database, where they would be on a chess board and why.

He blinked it away when he was done and offered, “I’m not as hip to DND, but I have some ideas…”

“Um, no… Let’s discuss whatever that set up was!” Max said, practically cheering. “You can do cool shit like that, and you… just don’t? You could be fanboy famous with that gift!” Chase blushed a little and Charlotte smiled at this and at Max’s enthusiasm for that display. “You honestly should take that online.”

“But, it doesn’t fit the Chase Davenport brand that Mr. Davenport approved,” Chase said, coming closer into the room.

“Who is Mr. Davenport?” Max asked, looking between the two of them, then gasped and asked, “Wait, is that what you call your Dad? Uncle? Dude?” Max started laughing and shook his head, “You’re ONLY supposed to do that when you’re a corny dude at a fancy meeting and you say the cliche phrase, “Mr. Davenport is my father.”

“Well… that’s what we call him,” Chase said, annoyed, again. Max backed off and went back to their current mind game…

There was definitely still tension, and Max and Chase were being cordial, but it was clear that they still weren’t sold on one another, so Charlotte decided that maybe after a good day of mental stimulation, a few small experiments, a nice meal and some fine drinks, she could talk to them about the future.

So, after all of that, they retired to the lounge, and she poured wine, lit candles and played easy listening music overlayed on nature sounds. Chase smiled, comfortably and announced, “This is a very satisfying lounge.” Honestly, she was setting it more for him than for Max, so that was good feedback for her.

“I was thinking about something,” she said and picked up her wine glass. “I was thinking about a couple of years ago whenever I started trying to open doors for people who didn’t want to be reduced to their bionics or superpowers. People who just wanted to be people and enjoy their lives whether or not they could fly or breathe underwater… I couldn’t help but to think about it today and the fact that neither of you ever really said anything about wanting to do something else besides be heroes.”

Max narrowed his eyes suspiciously and took a drink of wine. “Gross. I’m raiding your liquor cabinet,” he said, put down his wine and telekinetically collected a few bottles of brown liquor and three shot glasses to himself.

“Well, I can’t speak for Max, but there really isn’t another option for me,” Chase smelled the wine and took a sip. It was good. How could Max not enjoy it? It was a very excellent year and a perfect aroma…

“But, there ARE though. Today alone, you proved that you could, if you wanted to, create an online presence for fandoms - which don’t give me that look could be extremely successful! - make exciting and fun games, excel in theoretical physics, improve mission suits and super suits, recreate the Internet with better accessibility and less monopolizing, if you wanted to, and like.. Several other things, and that was just today!” She insisted.

Max took a shot of whiskey and poured another, “You want one?” He asked Chase, knowing that whatever Charlotte was about to say, this uptight Chase dude was gonna feel some type of way about it.

“I’ve never had it before…” Chase said, a little leery. Max floated over the shot glass and Chase received it, smelled it and winced. To Charlotte, he said, “Yeah, I enjoyed doing all of that stuff in the theory room, but in real life, I have commitments and obligations…”

“That The Dom forced upon you,” she mentioned, taking a sip of her wine.

“That! That’s what I know that dude as.” He snickered under his breath and mumbled, “Mr. Davenport.”

Chase threw him a short glare, took a sip of the whiskey and groaned, then dropped the shot glass, but Max caught it and floated it back up. “That’s disgusting! Get it away from me! People DRINK this? On purpose??”

“You’re supposed to shoot it, Dude. Like this,” Max demonstrated, blew out a deep breath and nodded, “Then, give it a moment, and it runs through you and feels warm and good.”

“It feels like poison,” Chase said, grabbing the floating shot glass. But, Charlotte had it in her home and Max had just had two, so maybe it wasn’t as bad as the initial taste. He shot it like Max did and slammed the shot glass down, breathing hard and shaking his head, “I’ve decided that I am not a whiskey man.”

“Fair enough,” Max said, smirking.

Chase used his own molecular kinesis to put the shot glass away, then told Charlotte, “I thought that you had accepted that I’ve accepted that this is what I’m doing with my life…”

She furrowed her eyebrows and wondered, “Why did you think that? Chase, you were my motivation to start liberating supers and bionic people from destinies written out for them, so I don’t accept you accepting that, unless you’re accepting it because it’s what you want and not what you believe you should be doing!”

“What’s wrong with keeping a purpose that you’ve already been given?” Chase asked her, looking at her extremely hard and starting to kinda feel what Max was talking about, with the whiskey.

“Nothing… Unless… The person that gave it to you wasn’t qualified to create it for you. Davenport is a genius. We can’t take that away from him. But, he’s not a god and he isn’t infallible. His purpose for you makes A LOT of sense and helps a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean that it’s perfect or shouldn’t be challenged.”

“No, but me trying to do something just to be happy whenever what I do now actually saves lives… I mean… You’re a utilitarian, Charlotte. Does that seem like a better world to you? One where I’m creating games or… Or… being an Internet personality or whatever?”

“She didn’t say that you couldn’t still save the world, Man. I think she’s more like, thinking about the fact that you spend all of you life and make all of your decisions within those confines that Davenport put on you and nothing else. You could have been enjoying things like you did today, instead you’re like… such a Davensnore when you come out of the mission suit. You can save the world and still be your own human,” Max said. Then chuckled again and repeated, “Davensnore. Put it on the books, Folks. That’s his name now.”

“That’s not his name!” Charlotte said, but chuckling at little. “But, he’s right about everything else. IF you accept that what you want is to be a bionic savior and do that, then of course, I support that. But, you seemed so lighthearted and fulfilled today, exercising your smarts for fun and also coming up with very great ideas too, and maybe you’re meant to be a different kind of hero. I feel like I’m a hero and I definitely rarely hit a battlefield personally.”

“You DO! But… You’re not like me,” Chase said.

“What’s THAT supposed to mean?” Max asked, sitting up straight

“Just that she was able to grow up with the mentality that you can be what you want to be and do what you want to do and everyone will support it and motivate you, instead of put you in a box.”

“I WHAT?” Charlotte asked, putting her glass down.

“Now, you’re in trouble,” Max said, with a smile.

Chase’s eyes were wide with apprehension of whatever Charlotte was going to say next, but instead of saying anything, she just stared at him, in disappointment. God. That HAD to be worse than whatever he thought she was going to say. She looked so betrayed and let down and he wished that she would just tell him where he messed up at so that he could bring about a solution. Instead, she simply stared at him and thought her explosion inside of her mind...

“I know that you grew up in a basement, so normally, I’d let you slide on that, but you have learned too much history, have read too many books, and have an entire two black female humans in your immediate family and one male counterpart, as well. You have to know on some type of level that that statement you just made is NOT true at all and even now, today, with the things that both of us have accomplished in our own ways, IF you had accomplished the things that I have accomplished, do you know how much more well received and adored that you would be? Have you SEEN some of the criticisms against me and compared and contrasted it with what you get? Have you done the same with the compliments? I’m in your corner, Dude. Don’t… downplay my stuff because you don’t like what I’m saying. If that’s how it’s gonna be, forget that I asked you to venture into this with me.”

“Well,” she said after five full minutes, Chase noted almost right on the dot. He had upset her SO MUCH, that she just “took a five” and used it to stare at him in upset. It kinda made him miserable. He NEEDED her to say something to him about it. Even now, she didn’t. She picked her wine glass up, shot the rest and pointed at Max, “The scotch, please.”

“Coming right up,” he said, telekinetically pouring the shot and sent it to her. "By the way, what's this venture you and me are doin'? You still hadn't said."

Chase was quiet, mulling over the things that were unsaid while the other two talked.

Charlotte was a little flustered, but brightened up as soon as Max asked her about her idea. "I want to find and collect people like us, those who can and could change the world if only they didn't have significant barriers to doing so. I want to find and gather as many of us as I can, help to guide them in the right direction and with all of our combined intelligence, hard work and determination, we can undo our current, flawed system and rebuild a new and improved one that will benefit everybody."

"You… want to overthrow the government?" Chase tried to clarify.

"I want the government to be changed into something that makes sense and is run by smart and capable representatives, and works for the people in it."Chase looked really bothered and so she explained, "For far too long, the system has been slanted.. it was created by men who were all in the same type of station, with the same interests and they made a system that has been benefiting them and almost exclusively them for so long that it is DEBATABLE for anyone else to have a fair shake. I think, if we really want to change the world and save some lives, we've gotta change the foundation. Just like with Dystopia, but like… farther and wider."

”You had me at “overthrow the government.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You… did. You just used way too many words when you said it.”“Well, I meant enhance life for the people.”

Chase interjected, unsure if she knew what she was suggesting here, “You CAN’T without overthrowing the government!!”

“That sounds like the government’s problem,” Max said, taking his last shot of the night. (He knew his limit).

Charlotte now got up to sit next to Chase and look right at him, the most serious and concerned look on her face that he had ever seen before and he knew that this meant a lot to her and that she needed it to mean something to him too. Something good. He wasn’t FEELING that this could actually lead to something good, but he WANTED to feel what she seemed to want him to feel as she spoke, “Don’t you hate the fact that this country, this WORLD is constantly at war, people are always going without, someone is always oppressed, and almost everybody doesn’t have what they need not just to be happy, but to survive? And who is to blame for it? It shouldn’t be us, but it usually is. Scientists need to find a way. Doctors still haven’t found a cure, etc, so on and so forth. When people like us work beside or even worse BENEATH clueless ingrates who see us as their smart… equipment. And you two understand this more than my previous team. The world does read you a certain way, but also, when they know what you are, they let their biases slip in. They don’t trust bionic humans any more than they do androids. And supers? Not if they don’t know every single solitary fact about that individual and still, they keep them at bay. I don’t feel like I should have to speak about or make a list of my struggles with this place. It. Has. To. Change. We have to try to change it. We’re qualified to and if that isn’t being a hero and saving the world, I guess I just don’t know what is. I don’t want the future to be as oppressive as the present. The world isn’t in God’s hands. It’s in the hands of the smart and the brave.”

Chase nodded his head, “I... have to think about it. I mean.. How would it work? Are you just compiling a genius database and visiting them like some type of secret society and just inducting them and giving them this speech, or...?”

“Pretty much just like that, Sir,” she said, with a little shrug of her shoulders.”But, do think about it.” She stood up and Max stood up as well. “See you tomorrow,” she said. “I’m going to go unwind.” Max stretched and grabbed the bottles from the table to move to sit closer to Chase, who looked confused as to why Max was moving next to him. Charlotte went through the corridor that passed through her courtyard to go inward to her quarters.

“Sure you don’t want anymore?” Max asked.

Chase furrowed his eyebrows and wondered, “You said that I was in trouble... What is it that you know that I don’t about what I said?”

Max scoffed out a little laugh and shook his head, “Have you never read one book about racial injustice or the lingering effects of chattel slavery in America?”

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with - Ohhhhhhhhhhh.”

“You basically just told one of the most historically subjugated and mistreated persons in the nation that she had more privilege than you and the unspoken presumption, that her privilege was why she wanted to take this on.”

“Do you think she’s mad at me for it?”

“I think you hurt her feelings,” Max said. “A genuine apology goes a long way, though.”

“I’ll talk too her tomorrow.” They were quiet for a while, then Chase wondered, “Are you really on board with this? You’re answer is undoubtedly yes, to this idea of hers?”

“Yeah. Not like she asked me to rip out my own heart and throw it at a politician. She’s talking about moving silently to help fix things that a lot of powerful people are often loud and wrong about and STILL gain support. Whatever side of history Charlotte is ever on, I’ll always know its the right side.” He shrugged his shoulders. “But, you’ve gotta do what makes Chase Davensbore happy.”

“I thought it was Davensnore?” Chase said.

Max shrugged his shoulders. “It’s both, Bionic Boy. You’re super bland.”

“Your ego is unwavering.”

“I talk like this ‘cause I can back it up,” Max said.

“I can too, and I don’t act like this!”

Max furrowed his eyebrows and wondered, “You don’t know Beyonce song references when you hear them?” He suddenly sat upright and looked right at Chase, like he had something very urgent that just happened. Chase sat up, equally as urgently, in reflex alone, only to have Max ask, “You do know who Beyonce is, right?”

Chase sank back into the seat and sighed, “Ugh. Of course I do... I just don’t know her catalog that well...”

“Just as shameful. I’m going to bed. You’d better apologize to Charlotte.”

“Of course, I will!” Chase snapped and whenever Max was gone, he got up and went to find her. Things were easier to communicate between them without “her other friend,” around. He was convinced that there never would have been any weird miscommunication without Max there, but it didn’t matter now. He was big enough to admit when he was wrong, and even if he wasn’t, in his mind... Charlotte was worth putting himself aside for a moment. Was she worth taking on the world, though? The status quo? He found her on the terrace, wind blowing through her curls. Her silhouette doing nothing more than watching the moon shine down on her and still looking like music. Is she worth it? Yes. Yes, she is.

#Henry Danger #Lab Rats #The Thundermans #Chasing Thunderbolts Fic #League of Extraordinary Geniuses #LOEG Update #Nesha Fics #Multiverse Fics

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cockbiteproductions · 4 years ago

Note

all prime numbers in the Misc section and all multiples of 10 in the other sections

we shall go backwards as the question list was posted backwards...... (and also why i rbed it.... why is it backwards? i dont know but i love it. edit: now that ive seen question 1 it looks to me like one of those forum profile copy pastes where you fill out the entire thing and put it in your profile.)

200: My crush’s name is: hmm...... well. i would rather not say!!!! they could see this post!!!!!!! and we do not want that happening.......

190: My 1st job was: lifeguard in the summer after 9th or 10th grade i think? it was decently fun. i grew up swimming competitively so the swimming part was a breeze. the remembering what to do if someone is drowning part? a bit harder. memory bad. what to do if someone has a potential broken spine/head injury when they’re in deep water? i don’t know bud. but it involves 3 whole people to get them out. 2 in the water, one person at all times holding their head in line with the rest of their body, the other one strapping them to the board (these two people in the water switch off, too) and then one person standing on the side of the pool looking very concerned. also don’t tell anyone but sometimes if i had like a 6 am shift i would get really groggy and almost fall asleep on the stand.

180: Marriage is: whatever people make of it but unfortunately bogged down with like a lot of societal expectations. to me it just sounds like hanging with your “best” friend until you die but a lot of other people interpret it differently.

170: What did you do yesterday? LOL wouldn’t it be nice if i remembered. wait no i do remember. i woke up “early” and watched a dnd livestream and struggled through buffering from my shit wifi. then i took a nap. then i had a chipotle burrito that was way too spicy. and i played a lot of minecraft. and i wrote a bit. and i also did like another 2-3 pages of the codecademy html intro course im working on.

160: Soul mates: nope. [taylor mason voice] i don’t believe in the concept of a soul. you are compatible with some people more than others and that’s based on your values and interests and personality. nothing Soul about it. it’s fun in fanfic and fiction though, but that’s because it’s fiction.

150: Blondes or Brunettes: brunettes..... i like brown hair! but blonde is nice too.

140: Mac or PC: clown face emoji. mac. It’s A Unix System. more convenient for me. my current mac is a giant piece of shit though. though i think that’s my own fault for keeping all my old files from my old mac. shoulda started over. i think i might try to get this one factory reset or something.

130: Wal-Mart or Target: idk walmart. i go there a lot during college. walmart just has a larger selection. i used to go to target a lot as a kid though because my mom liked it more. i think it’s like slightly more bougie?

120: Gay Marriage: fuckin go for it pals. sad that it took as long as it did to become legal.

110: My Neighbors: they are nice i think. the ones to the right are teachers or something. the ones to the left are.... idk. their kids were like maybe 5 years older than me and my brother when we were growing up though and sometimes they would indulge in us tiny annoying kids and hang with us

100: Cried in front of someone: when the finale of the clone wars came out a few months ago and i was sobbing and i ran into the living room to tell my roommate and friend that i was sobbing. i was sobbing. i also recorded myself watching the entire eps and i Sure Was Sobbing.

90: Texted: actual sms text, yesterday in response to a friend who texted me a tik tok. instant messaging like 20 minutes ago to milo. i havent responded yet because im answering this and i cant multitask for shit.

89: Who makes you laugh the most: me obviously. i think i’m fucking hilarious. me aside, @redvsblue is the funniest person on this planet. also my friend holly irl who shares my incredibly dumb sense of humor. also you!

83: The most difficult thing to do is: hmm........ in general or for me personally? idk..... a lot? i am not a very courageous person. so i guess being brave.

79: First time you had a crush: >:( not appreciating this line of questioning that lines up with the prime numbers/mult of 10. i will not be saying as they ALSO follow me on tumblr. though they don’t use it often. shout out to middle school.......

73: Tomorrow: hopefully wake up around 1 pm at the latest. make a plum smoothie. play some more minecraft and get more netherite (new update slaps). do more coding tutorials. get some writing done. the same ol same ol.

71: Next Summer: hopefully i will have a job lined up for the fall and the pandemic is Over. i would like to just [do nothing] for the last summer Ever before job starts. if i don’t have a job then it’s Job Hunting Time.

67: The person that makes me cry the most is: what the fuck...... like in a bad way? good way? cry of laughter? sadness? me, probably. my own damn brain be like “well it’s time to think about Yourself and be sad!” i know. very narcissistic of me. also dave filoni (director, producer, writer on clone wars).

61: My Car: not really mine. i just use it. beige 201? toyota camery. my brother tried to convince my dad he needed it more than i did last school year. my brother, who lived on campus in boston and flies to school from nc when he goes there, needs the car more than me, who lived off campus and drove to and from school to get back to nc, thinks he needed the car more than me. what a guy.

59: The movie I cried at was: last movie huh......... when was the last time i saw a movie? idk probably the rise of skywalker when leia died. i don’t know. i sure as hell didn’t cry at cats.

53: How do you like your steak cooked: i am vegetarian.

47: Who’s your best friend: @worthyghouls i guess. but also concept of “best friend” is so weird. No Best Friends. just lots of people i am good friends with. feels weird to all my other friends to pick One of them and be like “well i like you more than everyone else” :)

43: Do you have a 5 year plan: only in the vaguest vaguest vaguest sense. i would like to graduate with my bs degree. i would like to live in a city (doesn’t have to be a super big one. where im at rn is fine). i would like to have my first or second job i feel comfortable doing related to the degree i am getting. i would like to live in my own apartment (with roommates)/not with my parents. i would like to not be rent burdened. i would like my roommate to know how to take care of a cat or be okay with helping me learn how to take care of one. i would like to have a cat with said roommate. and that’s about it tbh. not very ambitious, i know. i just want a simple life......

41: Have you pre-named your children: bold of you to assume i will have children. no. if i ended up with child it would be like that tag on ao3 called “accidental baby acquisition” and i would name it on the spot.

30: Actress: hmm..... lauren marcus. lauren lopez. does fiona nova count if she’s going to be in rvb zero? also lindsay jones. aubrey plaza. idk. not many actresses i follow from project to project. it’s more i will see them in something and appreciate them in that role immensely.

20: Holiday: halloween is pretty chill. just getting candy from strangers? dope. scary aesthetic? amazing. i also like christmas just for the sole fact that i get time off from [life].

10: Restaurant: a favorite restaurant??? who has one of those???? i sure don’t. and i’m not gonna say something cringey like olive garden or mcdonalds. i simply do not have one.

#not rt #teresa answers stuff #tyty for sending in #soph with the primes as always...#nothingunrealistic1

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spidermilkshake · 5 years ago

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A Flood of Characters--ADOM

These are characters in a casual story I’m writing. The story is set in Ancardia, which is the setting of ADOM, but I have expanded it a bit and changed it so much that it's no longer the same thing. The biggest change is that "Always Chaotic Evil" and "Always Lawful Good", as well as the automatic association of darkness with evil and light with good, is bunk and there is a far more nuanced and realistic system of cultures and morality goin' about. XD Something kind of rare in any of the DnD-derivative fantasy type stuff.

1, “The Honored”, Ravys E’Helemas. probably the oldest of the major characters. He's a Zundweragh ("Light Dwarf") Paladin of the god Morodwyn (super important to the dwarves, but also to lots of other cultures). I have his name here in the title but he mostly goes by the title "The Honored", as all of the highest ranked dwarvish paladins of Morodwyn (and Dhamsar) do.

2, Linduri Enanturiye, resident High Elf Mage. Really the only high elven character of note in the whole thing, since the majority of the story doesn't take place anywhere near the high elves' borders. She also happens to be an extremely high elf, as in literally at about 6'2". Despite being the wizard-y type one of the bunch she towers over just about every other character.

3, Broudan Gulde, Hurthling merchant. This be Brou, short for Broudan, who is a main character in an Ancardia based thingie I'm doin'. He's a hurthling (aka, them legally-distinct hobbits XD). As with almost all settings belonging to the genre basically invented by Tolkien, there's a little folk main character. Though, tellingly, I abide by the Our [fantasy species] Are Different type tropes, so they won't be hobbit-y quite. Hurthlings are similar sized to hobbits but are notable for their unusual strength for their size. And their feet aren't furry!

4, Vunoc Kil’shol, Dark Elven Cleric of Night. These Dark Elves are notably not an “evil race”. That’s kind of a warped concept in its own--probably ultimately down to the fact Tolkein was hella racist and super-racist implications were just laced through everything he touched. This fella though is literally the most patient, lovely guy living in a giant underground cave system possible. He’s a subterranean cinnamon bun, delivered to you still warm in a spider-silk napkin. XD

5, Jassol of Ninoorah, Human warrior. Here's a human. He's not from the "Heartland", that low-lying giant valley surrounded by the Drakalor Chain, so he still comes off as a bit atypical by the local yokels. He's a Sostunian human, meaning he's from a country quite close to the South Pole of Ancardia. He also happens to be a quite badass mercenary (working for the protagonists, so not a default baddie like a lot of mercenary characters turn out XD). Every scar or inch of bicep may as well be a level.

6, Aumora E’Delawian, Dwarven Artificer. Ohh lordy, here's a character I am excite about. She's not a Light Dwarf like the old paladin fella, but what are sort of slangishly called Hill Dwarves. Which are dwarfy dwarves, basically. And while she may be on the weedy side for a dwarf, she's still a touch buffer than me. Needs that buff to make her some medieval-steampunk-style robots.

7, Ren Yrma, Gnome Rogue. Ex-thief to be exact. Definitely ex-thief. Super not breaking of the law anymore. Good guy. Okay, well, maybe a few whoopses here and there, but nothing felonious. XD Ren Yrma--basically a petty criminal who took a plea deal to do Ancardian adventure things instead of Gnome prison. Seriously, though, he’s actually a swell fella.

So there is the main cast. :D I love all their faces!

#adom #fantasy #character art #characters #elf #dark elf #dwarf #gnome #human #hurthling #legally distinct hobbit #ancardia

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crowsister-archive · 5 years ago

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Whatever you haven't answered out of 1-10, 16-19 for Kyra off the sidestep ask meme?

Questions here (x)

1. what is their secret identity? do they have any nicknames? what is the meaning behind them?

Kyra Kithairon, also known fondly as “Bitch” (Jed @smuteczekbiczo) and Ky-a-Bye. She gets “Bitch” from Jed for being a bit of one (“The world’s a bitch and now so am I” “For once, in your life, try to win a conversation by not quoting Catwoman”), since they aren’t initially on good terms (this is what happens when you try to declaw a cat, Jedrick). Ky-a-bye she gets from Julia, for always vanishing and for the most common word out of Kyra’s mouth being “bye” before Julia got her to sit still long enough for longer conversation.

2. what is their sexual/romantic orientation and gender?

Kyra’s bisexual and a demigirl! Kyra’s got a lot of issues revolving around her gender, having been pressured into traditional feminine imaging for manipulation purposes. She’s been figuring out what of it she likes and what of it makes her skin crawl since, piecing together her gender. It makes her feel better to label herself as a demigirl for that reason, giving herself an opening to communicate that sort of feeling better right off the bat.

3. what is their villain name? why did they choose it?

Kyra’s villain name is Macavity, chosen for the TS Eliot poem! She chose it because she was angling to be a cat burglar from the get go and thought it was very fitting that she declare that openly via the usage of Macavity.

4. what does their villain armor look like? what is their typical style of dress?

The way I’ve been describing the Macavity suit is “the result of Catwoman blackmailing Tony Stark for a personalized Iron Woman suit”.

It’s matte black, with gentle charcoal low-lights and electric lavender highlights. The eyes glow purple softly, like cat eyes reflecting light in darkness. There are retracting claws in the gloves, though the left glove is bigger and bulkier due to the nanovores.

Dr. Mortum talked Kyra into adding a cape, which goes just down to under Kyra’s ass in the suit (not a full cape, but something of a half-cape. Something akin to this look x). It’s the same matte black as the suit and adds a softer appearance to Macavity. The suit has telepathic boosters, part of which is housed within cat-ear like apparatuses on the helmet (they also house part of the secure com units in the helmet). There’s also the jump-jets, which Macavity uses when speeding along rooftops around the city. But when she’s dealing with verticality in spaces she has to be silent, I headcanon that there’s an extensive grapnel system in the armor that’s similar to Black Cat’s from Marvel’s Spider-Man. Said grapnel system can sometimes double as a whip.

Kyra’s typical style of dress is that “she was born in leather jackets, she’ll die in leather jackets (probably, maybe)”. This is from the first gift she was ever given was one of Julia’s old leather jackets (which Kyra lightly swam in, being a lanky fuck, with Julia being a beefcake). Kyra typically wears a brown leather jacket, a long sleeve t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and black ankle boots with low heels.

5. what is their zodiac sign?

Kyra’s self-assigned birthday is June 22nd, because she’s such a bleeding heart Cancer that I couldn’t not give her my own birthday.

6. what is their mbti type?

INFJ who tries really hard (too hard) to be INTJ.

7. what is their dnd alignment?

Flips between Lawful Good and Chaotic Good like nobody’s business. Like, normally has Resting Chaotic Good Face, but there’s moments where she springs right past Neutral Good right into Lawful Good (especially when civilians are in the picture).

8. are they more calculating or more sincere in their interactions with others?

Kyra hates how sincere she is in interactions with others. It’s unsafe, but she just cannot help herself in how sincere she is. But she’d hate herself more if she was more manipulative.

9. how honest are they?

Kyra’s as honest as she feels safe being. If she feels safe with a person, like one hundred percent safe, she’s an open book with very few secrets. But if she doesn’t feel safe with you for reasons (Julia: bad Re-Gene opinions and difficulty not charging into things, Chen: doesn’t know where he rests on the Lawful Good-Lawful Stupid line, Herald: unsure if he’s in love with her-her or an idea of her, Argent: “what even is your deal???”, Dr. Mortum: “you’re definitely lusting after Bruce, you’re a mad scientist for hire, I don’t even know how I can begin to trust you with more than I have”, Mia: “...my story would make you pretty famous if it didn’t make you super disappeared”, Anathema: didn’t have enough time to figure out how true the cheerful/joking mask was), she’s gonna keep some secrets.

10. are they a leader or a follower?

Kyra’s a cat, is how I’d answer this one. There’s times where she leads, blazing her own path and hissing at people who tell her otherwise, metaphorically (and rarely, literally) knocking things off desks for telling her what to do. But there’s also times where she’ll step back, let someone else lead because she knows she’s out of her depth or that she’s not in any actual position to lead or just doesn’t feel like it.

16. what is their best virtue?

Kyra’s best virtue is her patience. It can sometimes manifest as an over-patience or hesitation though.

17. what is their ultimate goal?

To reveal the truth in such a way that it tears down everything that was built by those who hurt her and are hurting so many other people with their lies and their facades.

18. what is their greatest fear?

Hm. The idea that her personality, her “humanity”, the little things that make her her are fake. Pre-programmed. The like of cats, the touches of kindness, the empathy, the puns, the nicknames, petting dogs when their owners aren’t watching, the way the scar on her left hand itches whenever she’s stressed: that all of that is fake.

19. what scarred them the most about the heartbreak incident?

Remembering that she is an outsider who will truly never fully fit in. That those who know her know a constructed image of her, not dissimilar to the image built by those who hurt her for themselves. That if the people she cared about knew, that they’d leave her in an instant.

#kyra kithairon

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disasterhumans · 6 years ago

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i swear this isnt malicious, im curious. if its not okay to have a sentient species be 'evil' or 'good,' (and yeah, both are lazy at best), why is it okay for /creatures/ in DnD to be 'evil' or 'good'? why is it okay for less humanoid sentients, like dragons, to be 'chromatic is evil' and 'metallic is good'? and if we recognize traits even within species in real animals (like labradors being really mellow dogs compared to huskies being high strung) why is it awful for sentients to be different?

[Heads up to critters avoiding C1 spoilers that there is some discussion of the Chroma Conclave arc in this post. It’s not super detailed, and doesn’t spoil specific plot points; it’s mostly general analysis of the framing plot of that arc.]

I’m not sure that I do think it’s okay for sapient creatures to be “evil” or “good.” Or at the very least, I’m not sure it makes sense for sapient creatures to have ingrained moral alignments. At the same time, even just bringing it down to semantics, it’s different to have an evil “race,” versus an evil “creature.” It’s a distinction that gets wibbly, because of course Orcs are just as fictional as dragons. But where Orcs were derived from existing racial stereotypes, dragons are derived from folklore and fairy tales. Part of the point I was making in my previous post is that the moment the word “race” got involved in the project of essentializing traits in fantasy species, the concept became inextricably linked to our real world understanding of race.

“Monsters” and “creatures” are often used as allegories in the stories they appear in–this is how the Chroma Conclave works in campaign 1. Sure, Vorugal, Umbrasyl, Raishan, and Thordak all have character and personality traits. But Matt’s construction has them representing traditional “vices” (wrath, pride, greed, vanity, etc.). It doesn’t make any particular sense why a red dragon is vain, or a green dragon is deceitful, but those details are drawing from a narrative tradition of using symbolism to represent specific themes and attributes. I don’t think that having inherently evil dragons contributes to the problem of implying race has a determining factor in morality in the same way having inherently evil Orcs, Goblins, or Drow does. At the same time, I think that it’s a weak narrative tool if you’re planning on having dragons populate your world as actual characters (and not just allegorical figures).

The fact that J’Mon Sa Ord is a fully developed character with motives, beliefs, and goals, where most of the Chroma Conclave exist as caricatures* doesn’t make a whole lot of logical sense. What allows metallic dragons to be paragons of virtue and to operate within humanoid cultures, where chromatic dragons are seemingly only interested in acquiring wealth and power? What prevents J’Mon Sa Ord from being a black dragon versus a brass dragon? There may not be anything “wrong” with chromatic dragons being inherently “evil,” but what purpose is it serving? I get that when it comes to role-playing games and world-building that it’s sometimes easier to paint with a broad brush: if your hero can identify an evil dragon on sight, it makes saving the world a lot easier. That doesn’t mean those decisions don’t have broader implications.

I think this question hits at two separate–if intertwined–conversations about some of D&D’s fundamental building blocks. You’ve got the conversation about representations of “race” in the game, and the moral alignment system that makes up a large mechanical component of the game. I have a objections to D&D’s morality system that are entirely separate from my issues with how D&D canon handles race. Morality (much like racial traits) gets simplified into something that can be quantified or fixed, ignoring the ways morality actually operates in the world. I understand the way mechanizing this concept provides a foundation for entry into a complex gaming system. I even think there are creative ways to use and explore the alignment system–sometimes the constraints of a rigid system allows you to explore what happens when you push up against those very boundaries. But the alignment system often logically falls apart the longer you look at it.

As far as personality traits in other species goes: first off, I don’t think dog breeds exist as a helpful point of comparison for this conversation. I am not an animal behaviorist, nor a biologist, so I’m not going to go into the concept different dog breeds having different observed temperaments. I am also not a philosopher, so I’m not really equipped for a larger conversation about sentience vs. sapience. But, the important thing about sapience over sentience, is that sapient beings generally understand the concept of there being “right” and “wrong” actions, and make decisions accordingly. There’s a reason why beasts in D&D are unaligned: non-sapient creatures act primarily on instinct, without regard for morality.

I will also point to something I said toward the end of my earlier post–“seemingly inherent racial/species differences can be rooted in things that are legitimately value-neutral qualities of your fantasy race.” I don’t think that it’s “awful” to suggest there might be inherent differences across species. You could, for example, have one race in your world have, on average, higher levels of serotonin. That’s not going to markedly affect their actions and morals, beyond them generally having a happier disposition and better executive functioning skills, perhaps.

The idea that different races are inherently more aggressive, or virile, or “lazy,” are all based in racist and eugenicist logic. That’s without even getting into the way specific fantasy races have drawn on specific racial stereotypes. The very idea that there is some biological imperative involved in morality or behavior is specious. And, look, I get that not every sci-fi/fantasy writer has studied race, gender, and sociology. I get that these things are ingrained into our understanding of the genre. It’s easy to fall back on those narrative and world-building shortcuts when creating a story or setting. I’m not trying to make a value judgment or moral accusation against the writers at Wizards of the Coast. However, I think it’s important to point out the places where creatives are (often unintentionally) reifying negative social dynamics.

At the heart of it, I think the idea of inherent morality is limiting. It limits the stories you can tell, the types of characters and cultures that exist, and it limits an audience’s understanding of what their own world looks like. Fantasy isn’t exempt from acting as a mirror to the “real” world. Its representational work may happen on the level of metaphor and allegory more often than realistic fiction does, but it’s ultimately still exploring themes that connect to the world the audience lives in. By questioning the default assumptions we’ve come to take for granted in the genre, we open up new, and more complex stories to explore and share.

*Two things on my Chroma Conclave comments: 1) I think Raishan exists outside my framing of the Conclave as caricatures–on an allegorical level her “vice,” pretty much requires she have more dialogue. We also see Raishan interact with VM more than any of the other conclave members. At the same time, Raishan plays into a whole other narrative trope which links disease to corruption and failed morals. That’s not a conversation I really want to have right now, but I think it’s generally important to keep in mind that a lot of tropes that exist in fiction are drawn from stereotypes and prejudices aimed at various disenfranchised populations. 2) Absolute none of this was meant as a dig on Matt. I enjoyed the Chroma Conclave arc, and found the allegorical aspects of it to be intriguing.

#Anonymous #asks #critical role #cr1 #fantasy race discourse #dnd #i tried to mostly avoid using academic jargon but i know it slipped in a couple of places #sorry!

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comicteaparty · 6 years ago

Text

June 3rd-June 9th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from June 3rd, 2019 to June 9th, 2019. The chat focused on Galebound by Respheal.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Galebound by Respheal~! (http://www.galebound.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until June 9th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. Why and how do you think Conan has some of his own memories sealed? What did Altiria see that caused them such distress? How does this factor in to why Altiria thinks Din’s plans won’t pan out?

Respheal

In Altiria and Conan's defense, Din's plans fall to pieces if a butterfly crosses his path unexpectedly

RebelVampire

I accept the canon that Din can be tripped by butterflies

RebelVampire

I also accept a canon where Din starts yelling at the butterfly that it's 5 seconds too early and totally off schedule

Respheal

Yes

RebelVampire

Crack theory for #2: Conan was Felix all along. He doesn't know cause of the memories being sealed. and as Din befriends Conan, he will be torn between killing the friend hed come to love and the enemy he hates most in the world.

MJ Massey

Maybe the real Felix was inside us all along

RebelVampire

sorry Din, you've got felix germs inside you

1) the scene where Pascal shows up on the bridge to fight them. The look on everyone's faces is too priceless. And then everyone gets to have a nice chat and we get to see Pascal is just a great boy whose murder pants were a little too tight. 2) The memories are probably sealed for his own protection by someone who loves him. Cause why would anybody want to have to remember Felix? Altiria probably saw that Conan was the one true nobleman who was set to conquer them all. And that Din can't backstab conan so easily because of that.

Kabocha

MY FAVORITE SCENE! Is that one where Conan drowns after Alty tries to take him as a bri--- Wait that wasn't canon? Dammit, Conan! Realistically, though, I think it's currently the one here, starting at the end of Page 151: http://www.galebound.com/comics/2783990/151/ There's just.... a lot of weight. Pascal wakes up, and instead of really freaking out about nearly dying, he comforts his brother. You can learn a lot about Din and Pascal's relationship from these panels alone, and it's... something. (To me, it reads as Pascal being the one who buries a lot of his emotions - he never got a chance to really expect much out of life as a magician, before Din did what he did...)

Kabocha

Why does Conan have memories sealed... For... plot... reasons. You know, maybe Alty saw Conan's parents doing something. Maybe his parents are old enough to have been involved in the War of the Blind Kings--- What's that you say? No? :'D But on a serious note, one must wonder if Conan did something that necessitated his memories being sealed. A birth secret, perhaps? Maybe Conan's actually a part of the Gale that someone stole and put in a human body to learn the suffering of those under the system, to help give agency and consciousness to the arbiter of the Obligation. ...Hm. (Because right now, the Gale just... exists.) Alty, being a daemon, wouldn't like this naturally, right? If Conan's part of the Gale, she has a vested interest in making sure he returns to the cycle as he is. Anyway, Altiria's just expecting Din to get so judgemental that he misses everything going on in front of him. It nearly happened already with Pascal.... Rather than explaining things, he expected Conan to be another nobleman, and simply just hoped he could take care of things.

tl;dr: Conan ain't human, Din doesn't learn from his mistakes

Respheal

Hahaha that also addresses the question of why Alty didn't just tell Din (Communication, what's that?). Something that wild....Din wouldn't believe it even if (or perhaps especially if) Altiria just told him

Some things you gotta see for yourself xD

Or maybe they just wanna see Din faceplant

Kabocha

Well, that, and if Conan's even a fragment of the Gale, then that leaves him open to manipulation by magicians... Conan: I give command Din: I follow command.... BY USING YOU Conan: noes

Respheal

>:D(edited)

Kabocha

Also for the title, it makes sense? The Gale is bound....

Jo Michelle

Oh gosh, the end of Chap 5. YES. I was trying to figure out my favorite scene, but that would totally be it.

RebelVampire

tbf altiria could just believe both. that din wouldnt believe her and that she loves the idea of din faceplanting

Jo Michelle

Wait. If Con is Felix with the memories locked away, then, Conan's like "nice Light" in that section of Death Note SPOILERwhere he forgets about the book and is genuinely helping the police....END SPOILER ..... Oh no. Felix. What trap have you set for the world as soon as you get your memories back? This actually works well with my "Conan turns into a sociopath" theory..... jess sayin'

RebelVampire

i like this twist

that its cause felix has an awful plan in store

Kabocha

I dunno, I'm personally a fan of Conan being the Gale in human form.

Jo Michelle

Maybe he is, and he's also lost his memory of that?

RebelVampire

he can be both

Jo Michelle

He's the "power of the hurricane?"

https://genius.com/Frank-wildhorn-jack-murphy-and-ivan-menchell-hurricane-lyrics(edited)

That was a REAL reach there.... but, lyrics from the Death Note musical, sung by Light.

Don't underestimate my ability to reference three different things at once, and make a crack theory for Gb.

RebelVampire

Felix realized he was a part of the Gale but that the time was not right for the Shadowlord. So he sealed his memories, de-aged, and became Conan so that once the seal broke, it would be time to become the Shadowlord, merge with the Gale, and bring true destruction upon this land.

Kabocha

Bwahahahaha! The Dusk is an unjust land. The Gale can end it all peacefully with the power of the Shadowlord. It all comes tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down~

Respheal

To reference a crack theory from the GB server, if Din is destined to become the Shadowlord, I love the idea of Conan being the Gale

I'm a sucker for that sort of dichotomy

Kabocha

You say "Crack theory," I say "I've seen this before"

Jo Michelle

well, then, I feel obligated to copy/paste these lyrics:

I'll bring the rain

I'll bring the wind

I am the mighty hurricane

The human stains

And all their sins

Blown away

I'll bring the pain

So be afraid

I will bring the power of the hurricane

Conan's new life song?

Respheal

>:D

MJ Massey

I stan Conan as a Gale piece

MJ Massey

that would explain why he has no memories

maybe he's not Conan at all

Respheal

Okay before I gotta get to work I'll answer the questions, too because why not 1. Favorite scene....I tend to like scenes where the onion layers of a character get peeled back a bit and you get to see who they really are. For...well, kind of both Conan and Din, this is after the Pascal Incident™, when the dust is settling and the shock starts to wear off. We see Din as he is, a broken and terrified man stuck in an unfair and cruel system, backed into a corner. Conan, a young man thrown in a situation way out of his depth, but also a dutiful person willing to admit and correct his mistakes.

RebelVampire

#ConanDidNothingWrong

Respheal

http://www.galebound.com/comics/2681466/125/ http://www.galebound.com/comics/2683677/126/ <- these two pages specifically(edited)

Well not knowingly xD

......I'm going to avoid answering question 2 because my powers of bullshittery are weak and of course I know the real answer But Conan being the Gale.....well, trapping something that powerful in a human body would probably wreck havoc on that person....Wiping that person's memories as a result is plausible (edited)

RebelVampire

the real answer to number 2 is that Altiria realized that the entire comic is just a DnD campaign cause they were able to see the real life person who is controlling Conan. and they saw Conan's stat sheet, compared it to Din's, and realized Din got shitty rolls. cause Altiria is controlled by the DM.

Kabocha

But Alty's comparing a Magician to a Nobleman... Noblemen generally have a pretty good charisma modifier

RebelVampire

i feel sort of bad im the only one who picked a not super sad scene

im sorry for choosing to be happy everyone

Jo Michelle

I think you're in the wrong webcomic if you want happy....

SPOILER What did Altiria see that caused them such distress? END SPOILER

Okay. Here's what I think. Alty discovered that Conan's already signed a contract with Ursula, and they're like, mortal enemies with her.

Respheal

SURE

Jo Michelle

Instead of losing his voice, he's lost his memories until he can make Din fall in love with him.

And we all know.... that's never gonna happen.

RebelVampire

you lost be at din

this does not suit my conan/pascal ship

Jo Michelle

But, see, if he had his memories, all he'd need to do was tell Din to, since he's still got his voice.

no, see, this is why Con's doomed to fail.

Since, we all know that would never happen.

And when Ursula gave him the contract, she's like, "see, I even left you your voice to use as a Nobleman."

Respheal

> Contract Confirmed, Conan is a Warlock

.....or a Magical Girl

Jo Michelle

A MG who's doomed to fail.

Because, of course he is.

Kabocha

...Conan is Homura?

Jo Michelle

That doesn't feel quite right as a fit.....

Okay, but which ever one he is, his transformation into the Gale or Shadowlord will be when he gives into despair, and realizes his hopes were doomed from the beginning.

MJ Massey

why not both a warlock AND a magical girl. two times the tragedy

Respheal

>:D

I am okay with this

Kabocha

Everyone is doomed

Sarai

ok there have been a lot of great scenes in Galebound so far, but i think the one that always jumps out to me is where I first jumped into the comic, when Pascal snuck into the Inn during the dark hour

For me, that scene is what shifted my opinion from "oh this is neat i wonder what happens next" to "DANG SON THIS AUTHOR MEANS BUSINESS"

MJ Massey

I think that's my favorite scene too

Sarai

also i think i found it on a thursday or something, because by the time i caught up there was a new page Din in all his yellow magician-y glory, and Pascal in the middle of a swear XD

Jo Michelle

"You kiss your momma with that mouth?" Oh, yeah. She's dead. Never mind.

Respheal

That wouldn't stop Din from threatening Pascal with soap

MJ Massey

it's more like "would you kiss ME with that mouth? how dare...!"

Jo Michelle

oh that's just weird.

MJ Massey

that Din expects brother kisses?

Jo Michelle

I feel like Din is definitely one of those "do as I say not as I do" parenting styles.

RebelVampire

Din: Don't sell out magician children to the Nobleman. Pascal: But- Din: Do as I say, not as I do!

Kabocha

"You can't seize the means of production without being NEAR the means of production!"

Sarai

oh shoot i realized i never answered the second question

as far as theories go, i don't really have any I haven't been given enough information to really form an idea other than conan's dad leaving, him getting sick, and then his memories disappearing, are all connected somehow

OTHER THAN THAT i'm just along for the ride

Jo Michelle

Oh, they're connected. Felix definitely poisoned him.

A side affect was losing his memory.(edited)

Sarai

o-oh.....ok

But why tho

Jo Michelle

Does Felix need a reason? Other than he's Felix?

Sarai

you got me there

I was thinking it was something magic-related, not necessarily a mundane childhood illness or someone else's doing

Jo Michelle

He used a magical potion.

Sarai

but really, all i know for sure is that i'm young, dumb, and a complete sucker for sick fics

Jo Michelle

A memory destroying potion. Getting sick was the side affect.

Sarai

or sick cannon, as it be

Jo Michelle

He needed to destroy his memory, since Conan knew ...... something.....

give me a minute.

Sarai

he walked in on felix SPOILER getting pollinated by a flower daemon END SPOILER

HE SAW TOO MUCH

Jo Michelle

That'll give anyone an automatic sickness and memory loss.

Sarai

maybe that's why altiria was so mad

Jo Michelle

But, for real..... I think Conan knew something about a BIG baddie's plan, and Felix gave him a memory blocking potion.

Note, for real should have been written "for real" ..... since I know things. :puffer:

Sarai

oh yeah, i forgot you weren't a lowly pleb like me XD

Jo Michelle

:puffer:

Sarai

you patreon people with your fancy spoiler privileges and early scripts

Jo Michelle

For real though, I actually don't know why or exactly how he lost his memory. I have guesses, but nothing's confirmed.

So I'm going with memory potion.

And he knows SOMETHING big. I'll bet that's why Alty freaked out too.

HE KNOWS A THING THAT MUST NOT BE SHARED.

Respheal

This is true, even patrons don't have the exact details yet

Muahahahaha >:3c

Jo Michelle

I'll bet it's the secret to bringing down the Gale, but that would also destroy the world.

And Alty's like "nope. No way."

"Your memory's a ticking time bomb."

Sarai

I'm assuming.....we'll be revisiting that moment from childhood at some point, right?

Respheal

I do sometimes describe Conan as SPOILER a time bomb END SPOILER ....

Uhhhhhhh

Probably not in full flashback form unfortunately

Jo Michelle

I'm RIGHT. My theory is now confirmed.

Conan has a secret hidden in his childhood memories that could destroy the world. And Alty figured it was better to make sure it's never revealed.

Respheal

"Not again"

Is a thing Alty yelled

Jo Michelle

Wait. WHAT?

Mahotou

http://www.galebound.com/comics/2529569/086/(edited)

Jo Michelle

.........

Mahotou

Jo Michelle

I have no idea what to make of this.

Mahotou

i have fears

Respheal

:3c

Mahotou

c,:

Jo Michelle

Well. I'm just gonna assume Felix managed to do something REALLY horrible to the dang ocean and Conan knows how he did it, if he'd only remember.

When in doubt, I always blame Felix.

It's worked so far.

Respheal

That's fair

Sarai

one fear

Jo Michelle

To be fair, if something destroyed the ocean, that would definitely hurt the Dusk, sooooooo RIP Conan. The world needs its ocean more than another Nobleman. Sorry. No hard feelings?

AND. Felix, after nearly destroying the ocean went off to face the Gale, and ....... well...... he's had a bit of a revolving life ever since.... :puffer:

I lied. Felix didn't administer the memory potion. It was Conan's mom. To protect the world.

Felix was happy to have his son learn how to wreck havoc and destruction on the planet.

Sarai

i know we've slandered her before but it always feels so wrong

Jo Michelle

I'm not slandering Conan's mom. Just saying she made a hard choice between her son's memory, and the world.

Felix is the one who made her have to make such a choice.

Still totally his fault. He just left her to deal with the aftermath when he left to take on the Gale.

Kabocha

You know how I said Conan is the Gale? Maybe people tried this before. What could a lone nobleman with a daemon fragment inside him do... ...enrage Alty, that's what.

Jo Michelle

WAIT. Was that what happened when he got sick?

Felix was inserting a daemon into him?

Respheal

Having a literal hurricane stuffed into a child's body would probably have that effect(edited)

Jo Michelle

In the eye of a hurricane

There is quiet

For just a moment

A yellow sky

I was twelve when my mother died

She was holding me

We were sick and she was holding me

I couldn’t seem to die

I couldn't resist

Kabocha

What daemon hell has Felix wrought...?!

Respheal

Oh that song

Mahotou

Is felix systematically destroying the world one element at a time? Ocean, Gale, .. what next. Fire?(edited)

Respheal

Oh shit Conan was twelve at the time(edited)

Kabocha

I mean

Jo Michelle

Wait. WHAT?

I thought he was like, 7 or 8

Respheal

No that's when Felix left xD(edited)

Kabocha

@Mahotou if he's taking the elements... ...then. that explains where his heart went

Is he trying to make captain planet

Mahotou

negative captain planet

reverse captain planet

Kabocha

He wants to start dusk on a rotation

Mahotou

If i change the gale, i can get the world spinning

Kabocha

He's getting captain planet to make all of dusk habitable

Although everyone will freak out at their newfound nights...

Mahotou

#SAVETHEPLANET

D:!?

WHAT A TWIST

FELIX IS UPSETTING THE WORLD TO SAVE IT

Respheal

Irony (edited)

Kabocha

Gotta crack some eggs to make a cake

Jo Michelle

Eh. That's just cause his mom told him one time that he couldn't live in the Shadow or the Galelands.

And he doesn't like being told "no"

Mahotou

aaaand we're back to the normal slander. ;D

Kabocha

No, Felix's DAD told him no

Jo Michelle

Sure.

Kabocha

Felix has daddy issues, because his dad disappeared for years....

Mahotou

we haven't talked much about Conan's grandparents. makes me think about them now lol

Jo Michelle

It's a whole legacy of being horrible fathers.

I mean, they ARE Noblemen.

Mahotou

and then what of the mom's side. how was she raised?

Kabocha

His father had a reason though: international business

Jo Michelle

Oh. I see. One of those guys who destroy some other country for cheap labor. Yep. Sounds like a Nobleman.(edited)

Kabocha

She was arranged in that marriage

Jo Michelle

Oh, yeah. She didn't have a choice.

Sarai

heck even in non magical families abuse gets handed down through the generations - i wouldn't be surprised if Felix had an equally bad relationship with one or both of his parents

Kabocha

Oh, she might have had a choice

Jo Michelle

What, you think anyone would choose to marry Felix?

Kabocha

It might have been to improve her own circumstances... Or because Evenheim was closer to Cymaria... Or.... [Makes up bullshit about Felix's parents]

Oh, I was talking about Felix's mom

Not his wife

Jo Michelle

Oh, I thought we were talking about Conan's mom.

Mahotou

@Jo Michelle only if he's ... some how... not Felix?

OH me too i thought we were talking about conan's mom too(edited)

Jo Michelle

I stand by the "some parent or person forced her to marry Felix" theory.

Kabocha

But what if she LIKED Felix

Respheal

gasp

Jo Michelle

What, LIKE Felix?!?

Mahotou

SLANDER?

Kabocha

Alternatively, she could be like... Charlotte Lucas, who married, but arranged Mr. Collins' day so he was out of the way...

Jo Michelle

You realize that if she actually cared about Felix, him leaving would be even more painful. I prefer to think of it as a relief to her.

She got a happy few years with her son and no Felix.

Kabocha

Maybe she liked the idea of Felix, but he was actually really annoying and overbearing

Felix wanted a life in the clergy

Jo Michelle

Oh, I'm sure he was super annoying and overbearing.

Sarai

don't forget neurotic

Everything had to be done just so

Jo Michelle

Oh yeah. She had to do it exactly the way he said.

Sarai

"no conan, you can't plant the lettuce 2 inches apart they must be 2 1/2"

Jo Michelle

"yes papa."

-Get's measuring tape from house to make sure-

See? Why would anyone marry that out of choice?

Definitely an arranged marriage. Or something like it.

Sarai

wait res, how many years ago did felix and celia get married

Kabocha

I hope we don't run into anyone worse than Felix

Respheal

Uhhhhhhh

24 I think

Yeah

Sarai

ok so not marriage of convenience then

Jo Michelle

:puffer:

Sarai

just running through all our options here

Kabocha

In this week's chat: All the Felix hate

Jo Michelle

And @RebelVampire isn't even here to defend the jerk.

Mahotou

There s so much slander happening lol

Respheal

Mostly about Felix xD Which is....fair....Based on what we know so far of him, surely he isn't up to anything good

Darkhalo4321

Hey

Felix is a good dad deep down i am sure...

i refuse to believe otherwise

Jo Michelle

Oh, yeah. Leave his kid to plant and morn his mom alone. But he's a good dad deep down, so it's all good. It's all good.

Kabocha

He had neighbors

Darkhalo4321

He was in good hands.

Sometimes a good dad lets better people raise their kids.

keii4ii

I'm walking in and am somewhat confused by the whole room just BURNIN' with Felix hate

insert 'pizza guy walks into a room on fire' gif

Respheal

Keiiii

Felix is just a very polarizing character.....for someone who hasn't actually shown up yet lol

keii4ii

Dedicating the following emoji to Felix tonight:

keii4ii

I bet some of the characters would approve of the Felix hate though

RebelVampire

Felix is gonna turn out to be a great dude and @Jo Michelle is gonna eat a hat out of frustration when that happens

im saving all my felix propaganda for the felix question thats later in the week O_O

Kabocha

Hahaha!

The basis of Felix hate really hinges on two pages

http://www.galebound.com/comics/2432399/059/ And http://www.galebound.com/comics/2674968/123/

http://www.galebound.com/comics/2683677/126/ this page also maybe helps, but I don't trust Din to see things well under duress

keii4ii

^ Same (No offense, Din.)

RebelVampire

you couldve left that at "I don't trust Din"

that's all that needs to be said

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. What do you think will happen once Din and Conan reach Cymaria? Will Din’s plans unravel, or will the two manage to slay the queen? What will be the consequences of either path?

RebelVampire

3) Felix who is the best character who is trying to save the world. It's definitely not Pascal. It's not like Pascal is the best dresser and basically is the dude that gets the short end of the stick throughout the comic. Not to mention Pascal definitely isn't just adorable or anything. Plus, Pascal isn't even the most reasonable of the characters who is filled with surprises yet just wants everone to be alive and happy for his parties. 4) Everyone will sit down for tea. Realistically? Din's plans will fall apart because of whatever reasons Alty knows. Plus, I think Din overestimates his skills as a magician and underestimates the difficulty in killing a monarch, not to mention a nobleman. and thus Conan and Din will be in jail or wanted men or something. And then Pascal will become an accomplice and they'll all flee Cymaria trying to outrun their wanted posters and searching for Felix to punch him in the face. So ya know, Galebound will just be the most epic fantasy road trip, maybe with bank robberies. Honestly, does anyone actually think Din is going to succeed? I feel there isn't anyone who has faith in him.

Jo Michelle

I was called OUT last night.(edited)

Fave Character? Definitely Pascal. Most intriguing character, as in, onion layers of emotion I'm anticipating seeing stripped away? Din.

Reach Cymaria? Oooohhh, that's a good question. I think the queen is secretly super evil, and actually working for scary grin lady in the prologue. But she's also super smooth talking and smart, and will trick Conan into listening to her, poor sap that he is, and get him to turn on Din. MAYBE, Conan will even start to think he's falling in love with her – but then find out she's been using him, and make him even more upset, when he realizes he almost cheated on Lucie for this person.

RebelVampire

Lucie couldve been Conan's mistress at least.

Jo Michelle

OH no. I don't see her being okay with such an arrangement.

RebelVampire

tbf we havent met the real lucie yet. maybe shes secretly a gold digger who knew conan was a prince all along and just wanted that sweet evenheim gold

Jo Michelle

Hum. That's a good point.

And I already said what I think of Conan's judgment with women, so I guess I can't fall back on "but Conan wouldn't have loved her if she wasn't good."

Okay. Point made. Fine.

RebelVampire

the one good thing din did for conan

saved him from proposing to the wrong girl

Jo Michelle

Re: Felix is a Good Dude: I'm just using the Sirius test:

Sirius shook his head and said, “She’s got the measure of Crouch better than you have, Ron. If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

.... You want to know the measure of a Nobleman? Ask a Magician.(edited)

There's no reason to hide your true nature from a person who has to do literally whatever you tell them to.

RebelVampire

but the only magician we can ask is din and din is a biased source who is basing his hatred on info that is years out of date

Jo Michelle

Eh. How an adult treated you as a child is not a bad estimate either.

I'm not saying he couldn't have changed. Just that I'm gonna have to see some darn good evidence of that change.

In Din's case, he was in the inferior position as both a Magician and a child.

To be fair, full disclosure – I don't think Felix is the worst person ever. Heck, he might be pretty typical of Noblemen. I mean, his treatment of Din could be totally normal. But that doesn't make it any better, or excuse him one bit.(edited)

RebelVampire

thats fair. i more think its better to assume neutrality and give benefit of the doubt that he isnt the same person. which gives room also for him to be far worse too, but hey gives him a chance

i will point out though that conan barely didnt anything wrong on purpose and din hated him on principle

din is himself not the best person XD

Jo Michelle

Din is what Felix made him.

Felix, and others.

Din was a lost, confused, hurting, traumatized boy.

But let's not forget who, at least, contributed to that.(edited)

RebelVampire

Din is also an adult now and in charge of his own choices though. And his adult choices are garbage. If Felix had been abused and locked in a closet, would that excuse the choices he made? XD

Jo Michelle

Oh, I'm not excusing Din now. That's the problem with pain and trauma – the way it spreads.(edited)

BUT, the person with power here is still Felix.

Even if Din is responding totally wrong, the people with the power are still the Noblemen, so the greater responsibility for ending the violence still rests on them.

It's like the moral equivalency fallacy of [spoiler blocked for those who don't want to think about politics] SPOILER of white supremacists and anti-racism bombings, such as in South Africa. No, killing innocent people isn't right and will just produce more pain and suffering, but the two aren't equivalent, because of power. END SPOILER This is why I judge Felix more harshly than Din.

RebelVampire

That's fair.

I can't take the same path cause I don't think all the evidence is in order. Cause we haven't met Felix, don't actually have a factual account of what he even did to Din, and so forth. So while I can agree that Felix can be judged more harshly via power in certain contexts, I think its unfair to cast judgement at the moment.

Kabocha

Question: How do we know that whatever Felix and Din's interaction was, that it wasn't like... Self defense?

It was clearly BAD, but Din was a child

Jo Michelle

That's also fair. But, for me, the burden of proof will be on Felix.

RebelVampire

yeah thats another reason i dont trust Din's account of everything and label him a biased source. Cause he was a child at the time of whatever happened just by the context clues

cause kids dont generally have all the info to a situation.

cause adults dont tell

also cause they have kid brains

not to mention were expecting din's account to even be accurate after years

and memories are faulty

even when trauma is involved

which again

Felix may be the most awful person in the world

I just pass no judgement based on Din's account

as far as im concerned, din is no better than the boy who cried wolf right now

which acually is a better analogy then i intended. cause his hatred of conan really damages his case against felix.

which inevitably makes me sorry for Din if Felix is as awful as he thinks

Din is undoing his own case

Jo Michelle

No, Din is just proving my point about power and Noblemen in general. I recently heard and wrote down a great definition of racism: Prejudice + Power to enforce your Prejudice = Racism That's why oppressed people can be prejudice, but not racist. So, sure, Din is prejudiced against Noblemen in general, and Felix in particular, but that's mostly from experience. Conan seems to be his first encounter with a Nobleman that didn't confirm his expectations.

RebelVampire

i think this convo is going a bit too political at this point so im gonna reign it in

Jo Michelle

Okay, sorry.

RebelVampire

no its fine. im just reigning it in before it goes too far to real world.

cause at this point were touching on a very sensitive, relevant real world topic.

and thats inviting chaos

Jo Michelle

Should I spoiler hide that last comment?

RebelVampire

nah cause when i archive it, itll be visible anyway.

Jo Michelle

ah.

Really?

good to know.

RebelVampire

yeah. someday i will address that if i get a real website for CTP, but right now things are just archived as plain text.

At least we can agree that Pascal is the best

I mean umm...Felix. Yes. Definitely not Pascal.

Pascal the angel

Respheal

The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power

Not gonna lie, I didn't expect this story to touch on some real world problems when I first started writing it x'D this was just going to be a road trip(edited)

RebelVampire

tbf you overthink anything too much and you can put real life themes on it.

which is whats supposed to happen

it is the mark of good fiction

Respheal

Yeah, and it...worked? x'D but I do realize that because these Very Real Themes are a part of it now, I have to be able to handle those themes respectfully.(edited)

I will answer question 3 in a bit and make you all mad that the answer is Felix (edited)

....actually nvm I should answer based only on the current canon ahahaha

RebelVampire

yes pick Felix O_O

i cant pick felix cause hes not in the story yet

maybe someday

Respheal

Felix actually is my fave, but yeah he's not in the story yet. Although he has clearly had a huge impact on it so far. He's like a massive object and every other character is sucked into his gravity well

If I had to pick from current canon (which is like the boys and Altiria).....that's a tough call

RebelVampire

obviously altiria since they can just drown everyone

Respheal

You're right. The only sensible choice

I am actually struggling to pick so let's go with that

Kabocha

3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor? Altiria! I'm sorry, Alty's natrually quite salty. It just flows out of them seamlessly... Altiria seas and knows all in the world, for Altiria is all water... Water we waiting for, we should all cheer for our water god! 4. What do you think will happen once Din and Conan reach Cymaria? Will Din’s plans unravel, or will the two manage to slay the queen? What will be the consequences of either path? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Conan's gon' die. Unless they opt for an infiltration - Din only has to bring Conan to Cymaria... Right? I guess it depends on how that command's interpreted

RebelVampire

maybe they never make it to court. maybe they stop at burger king on the way but pascal wont let them leave until he gets all the toys from the kids meal

and nobody told him you didnt have to buy the meal to get the toy

MJ Massey

4. What do you think will happen once Din and Conan reach Cymaria? Will Din’s plans unravel, or will the two manage to slay the queen? What will be the consequences of either path?

I think they'll intend to slay the queen but then find out she's not the true villain. She's actually pretty cool, but it's the royal vizier/high priest/magician who's the REAL villain. They'll team up to try to stop them, but the queen will inadvertently die in the process and it turns out SPOILER she was Felix the whole time END SPOILER

Jo Michelle

SPOILER Not gonna lie, I didn't expect this story to touch on some real world problems when I first started writing it x'D this was just going to be a road trip END SPOILER

I thought the same thing, friend. We all did, I think.

Respheal

As for question 4......well, we're not even all the way through act 1 so of course things are gonna hit the fan

RebelVampire

the bigger question is how can galebound end happily

Jo Michelle

Things, huh? :cornytea:

Kabocha

The bigger question is: CAN it end happily

Respheal

That is actually a good question

Kabocha

I posit the following: No.

MJ Massey

I agree

no way Res is gonna let the cast off that easy

RebelVampire

everything will turn out fine. then a rogue meteor will come and crash into the planet, pushing it out of orbit

Jo Michelle

I'm trusting in Res's enjoyment of the end of "Speak".... it's literally the only evidence I've got going for my hope in a "happy" ending...(edited)

Kabocha

@RebelVampire This isn't Final Fantasy!!

RebelVampire

thats just what res wants us to think

felix is the meteor

Respheal

A sufficiently large meteor might kick the planet out of its tidal locking therefore eliminating the extreme focused heat that fuels the Gale

RebelVampire

ya know i was mostly just joking, but then res came in and said that

i think this is as good as canon

Kabocha

ominous chanting

Respheal

If this were Final Fantasy the eclipse planet would come crashing down but right before it hits--surprise it was a giant dragon's prison all along so it's death by dragon instead of by meteor

RebelVampire

and felix was the imprisoned dragon?

which is where hes been all this time

Respheal

Yes

Kabocha

...So it's not Final Fantasy, it's Fire Emblem

RebelVampire

Fire Fantasy

well just combine them

Mahotou

Final Emblem

RebelVampire

Fire Fantasy V: The Final Emblem

Jo Michelle

Felix is a dragon. I can live with that.

RebelVampire

ok so its been approved. Felix is a dragon canon is a go.

can sleep on his pile of gold and kidnap princesses

and eat them

Jo Michelle

Like Conan's mom. She was a kidnapped princess.

Respheal

......So Conan's part dragon now?

RebelVampire

yes

see

Jo Michelle

Confirmed.

RebelVampire

this canon gets better and better

conan is gonna wake up one morning and wonder why he can breathe fire

Jo Michelle

That literally happened in a kids book I read once.

Kabocha

reads chat

...So Conan is a Manakete, which explains why Dusk time seems so weird to him if their solar cycle is............ rapid

It's not that dusk is fast, it's that Conan is old

WAIT CONAN IS GRIMA

Respheal

You caught me

Jo Michelle

I need to see a Conan art with dragon fire or wings now.

Sarai

There was a story I read where dragons took human form and could only access their dragon form through a magic device passed down through their family

I'm not saying conan's pocketwatch lets him turn into a dragon but

Mahotou

Are these hypothetical dragons... daemons?

Respheal

They probably would be

Mahotou

xD more Conan Hybrid Theory

Sarai

But important to note, in that story only full-blooded dragons could transform

Half-dragons ended up with horns and tails and lizard-like ear flaps

RebelVampire

conan hasnt hit dragon puberty yet. din is in for a nasty surprise

Sarai

BUT since we're talking about Conan, I'm gonna say he's my favorite right now, in an answer to question 3

I'm in love with Pascal and the sun shines a little brighter every time I see him, but Conan is one of the few characters I can point to and say "hey, he thinks like me!"

Mahotou

#relatable

Sarai

We have a strikingly similar way of processing things and making decisions, and I don't see that a lot in fiction

Especially fantasy

Jo Michelle

Good job Res!

Sarai

That's why I couldnt get mad at him for the Pascal Incident™

Its exactly what I would have done

Jo Michelle

That's fair. .....

Kabocha

(guys I think the inside jokes are escaping)

Jo Michelle

which ones?

I mean, other than Shadowlord.

Felix is the worst

Kabocha

The SHADOWLORD CANNOT BE CONTAINED

hybrid theory

conan is secretly going to end the world... etc

................... Carry on

Jo Michelle

Okay, I see your point.

RebelVampire

oh man if were basing fave character on who we relate to the most, idk who to pick

maybe lucie for me cause shes the character who is just back at home not getting involved with all the adventures

Respheal

yet

Mahotou

what's lucy going to do when she finds her best bud is missing? for two/three dark hours(edited)

Kabocha

Rebel, how do you handle spoiler tags in archives?

Jo Michelle

Well, that would be Checkers.

RebelVampire

they are visible as plain text

Respheal

I'm okay with that being visible, I'm half saying it out of humor xD

RebelVampire

cause there just isnt a good way to do them in regards to tumblr's setup

@Mahotou im gonna repeat a thing i said on the server for in regards to what lucie will do: just assume he went and pulled a felix and get herself a new boyfriend

Mahotou

OH NO

looking at the questions, I don't know who's my fav as a character. but I like Pascal as a person c:

sweet boy cant catch a break

that's like his description too or something

Respheal

It is xD

Mahotou

too good for this world. cant catch a break

oh and for question 4. What if! Conan got kidnapped by the Cymaria Court and he gets a WHOLE OTHER view of this situation? they try to convince him of their side away from Din.

Mahotou

I think i got this idea from Fire Emblem. Birthright/Conquest

two sides of one situation O: dun dun dunnnnn

Jo Michelle

Ooohhhh

That would be a twist.

Mahotou

# NOW who's the bad guy? Conan technically has limited information but he DOES have experience with the magic and obligation on magicians. and the weird amulet

but what if truths are twisted? Who should he side with O: dun dun dunnnnn

... he'd prolly wanna go home to his Lucie and forget this lol(edited)

RebelVampire

semi off topic, but arcein. arcein is the bad guy.

if they talk like a villain, smile like a villain, and do creepy vague shit like villains, theyre probably a villain

Mahotou

/subvert expectations OH LETS MAKE HER THE GOOD GUY XD

300 year old spirit thing with creepy grin in an amulet. was trapped like a Genie when she tried to do a good but it did a bad/

Wish we knew more about her in canon. She could be a fav character O:

Kabocha

gotta wonder how many people in galebound are actually good guys

and Din's just the one who wants to burn the world

Sarai

conan is a goode boye

and so is pascal

he tried to be mean once boy nearly put himself into an angst coma

enshogirl

The Good: Artemis (#1 good), Pascal, Conan The Bad: Din, Felix, Altiria and The Ugly: Arcein, King Cymaria

Respheal

Altiria as bad? xD

RebelVampire

i mean

i dont think you can say altiria is good either

Respheal

I guess for the most part I consider daemons to be neutral(edited)

RebelVampire

thats fair although from a story perspective she has attempted murder of conan on her book

Respheal

Truuuuuue

enshogirl

I don’t trust her

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. How do you think Pascal will adjust to being both deaf and cut off from magic? How will he wind up helping or hurting Din and Conan? Ultimately, do you think Pascal’s life will be better or worse for what happened?

Kabocha

For question 5... http://www.galebound.com/comics/2449333/064/ THIS PANEL Holy shit Res really pulled off magic with this one!! I just love the energy and the sense of Din's sheer power here. In retrospect, you have to wonder if it was amplified because he was really following two commands at once? As far as Pascal goes... I think Pascal's honestly going to adjust. He's adaptable, and strikes me as the type of person who takes life as it comes. So this sort of outcome might actually be a bit freeing in some respects... ...Although in the meantime, I'm sure there'll be lots of worrying about what he's good for, what'll happen to him, and such... He's no longer useful to anyone as a magician, really.

(That is to say, I'm looking forward to Pascal fostering kittens. That's clearly what he's got to do with his life after this!!)

MJ Massey

I feel like Pascal has strong strangling hands

Jo Michelle

I CAN'T choose a page! Or an illustration. But it would definitely be one of those in the end of chap 5 ... ALL THE FEELS THERE.

MJ Massey

so he's going to become a pro strangler

Jo Michelle

Although I'm kinda super partial to the illustration that's going up for today It's so heartbreaking and pretty, okay?!?

Actually, I think Pascal is going to go through a quarter life crisis, buy a muscle carstrong horse and take off on a road trip across the Dusk to "find himself."(edited)

Freedom, baby!

Jo Michelle

But I'm kinda in love with Din's half lit expression from this page: http://www.galebound.com/comics/2771099/147/(edited)

Respheal

Quarter life crisis

Jo Michelle

I mean, he's not quite at a quarter life, but..... he's getting there?

And I LOVE the body language in this one: http://www.galebound.com/comics/2780569/150/

Especially Len. My new favorite side character. The adult this problem child needs.

Kabocha

As far as head canons are concerned... All we know at the moment is she was SHOCKED that Din did what he did.

Jo Michelle

Oh, you know I can build an entire life history from a face shot and three paragraphs about Felix. I've got way more about Len here.

Kabocha

https://tenor.com/view/tea-shade-goth-halloween-gif-4637758

RebelVampire

5) For favorite illustration, I gotta go with Pascal gets his butt beat #1 http://www.galebound.com/comics/2369956/040/ The lighting on this is really great. Plus I really like the slanted angle it has going on. I think there's something about that choice that really makes you empathize with Conan. Cause much like the angle is expressing something is kind of not right in terms of the balance of the world, this is the first time extreme magic is at play. So it really puts you in Conan's shoes where you're like "Is this happening my life is a lie" 6) Deaf I think he'll go with easily cause I think for Pascal that one will be easier to roll with the punches for. Magic? That sounds harder if you've basically relied on it for most of your life. Cause at that point I'd think it'd be an instinctual thing that's gonna hurt when you try to fire blast someone but forget you cant actually do that anymore. Pascal's life will probably be better. He can chameleon into the crowd now and party all the parties. As for helping or hurting Din and Conan, I feel like hurt might be more likely. Just cause Pascal is kind of a distraction for Din. Cause Din was doing okay but everytime Pascal showed up he had to change his plans. Which I guess is me saying Pascal is Din's bad luck charm.

Jo Michelle

Oh, yeah, that's a GREAT moment. It's actually one of those that came to mind.

Respheal

I'm still really happy with Conan's expression on that page

Jo Michelle

Oh yeah. "Shi--" just hit the fan there.

RebelVampire

i think everyone's faces looks there. one of the few pages where im like "Din isn't that bad a dude" O_O

RebelVampire

overall i like any page that's a double spread for illustration. cause while mobile design is the way to go, it means theres less and less double spreads going on. so when i see them i squee

Respheal

I enjoy doing those pages, too xD Ironically they tend to be faster to make since they're just 1-2 panels, so I try to go more all out with it >:D

Mahotou

5. Favorite illustration? well i have one that got me rolling back into doing art after a huge time away from it. break-my-heart its pascal's face here (second to last panel) : http://www.galebound.com/comics/2592094/101/(edited)

my fave pics are very emotional i think

Sarai

that page also features Din angrily buttoning his waistcoat as he tries to glare his brother into silence XD

Mahotou

http://www.galebound.com/comics/2639011/115/ oh and o boy this one. the whole page.

RebelVampire

i counter your sadness with hilarious pascal http://www.galebound.com/comics/2484303/072-5/

Sarai

that one is great

Mahotou

6. How do you think Pascal will adjust to being both deaf and cut off from magic? I think, not being a Magician will be ok for Pascal. He may enjoy using magic or be good at it but he can only use it when commanded so I don't believe he'll feel totally lost without it. And maybe he can be sneaky and Queen Cymaria will attempt to command him because he's supposed to be a Court Magician but then he'd be liek nahh and she'd be surprised and TeamGrump can get the upperhand. O: but also now he has to have the amulet always with him too. He has to always be touching it or else he'll start dying again so i kinda feel like this physical object may be troublesome. (but i'm sure he'll be a smart cookie and thing of something to keep it in place.) How will he wind up helping or hurting Din and Conan? hmmm. well he's MORE of a free spirit now, as he's outside the Obligation. and he's always been a ninja (good climber --> (roof boy: http://www.galebound.com/comics/2358585/032/) so he can be helpful by going on errands. but heeeee wouldn't notice if he was being noisy... so he's losing stealth points. Deafness... he'll probably miss his hearing but I think he's a talented learner and will come up with hand signals between himself and friends/Din and also practice lip reading. @Rebel: He can chameleon into the crowd now and party all the parties. but he cant hear the music at the parties now D: i've just made myself really sad.... Ultimately, do you think Pascal’s life will be better or worse for what happened? Better because he won't have the Obligation around. ... or... or worse because he now has to have this amulet so now instead of the Obligation being a part of his life, he now has to care about this amulet for liek... the rest of his life. and he has be careful to always be touching it in some way. Maybe that's ok tho. and life will be fine and the brothers will just take care of each other.

woops that was a loaded #6.

i think i rambled but i won't edit this xD

keii4ii

@enshogirl 's listing of Artemis as #1 good does make me think, though (and I agree with the sentiment )

I like Artemis a lot, almost weirdly so, and I'm starting to see why

This is a story where you can't trust anyone -- I mean Pascal may be a good boy, but you might not be entirely safe around him. So having someone you can trust is meaningful, even if that someone isn't a human X'D

and that says a lot about the story truly being a web of schemes!

Jo Michelle

It's totally true. You really can't totally trust Magicians.....

But then, they can't even trust their own brains and motivations....

Respheal

That's a good point, @keii4ii I wish I enjoyed drawing Artemis more, because she is important to Conan as a character. She's the lodestar of stability and sanity for him in this quest into the unknown

......what are those reacts lol

I feel like you read that as me being like "it'd be a shame if something happened to her :3c"

Jo Michelle

Oh, no, I was thinking about Conan.

Respheal

Oh hahaha

Jo Michelle

How a horse is the only person he can find stability and relational safety in.

Kabocha

@Respheal don't you dare take that horse's boy away from her

Mahotou

XD Club "Keep Artemis Safe"

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. What do you think Din’s ultimate plans are? Is it killing Felix or is there a bigger story to his ambitions? How does killing the Queen of Cymaria even factor into them? What even motivated his plans in the first place?

Jo Michelle

Character interaction dynamics. Hum. I mean, we've only really seen Din, Con, Pasc, and Alty. But, I've got to say, I really like the Din/Alty dynamics. They know things about Din, and the way they tell him what's what is good.

And the Din/Pasc. The way they care about each other as brothers, but also bicker about stuff. That's fun.

Basically, I think I really like character interactions that draw out Din's emotions and force him to say and do things that reveal what's going on inside.

. Speaking of. Din's plans. I mean, he's out to kill Felix for sure. That 16YO Din wasn't acting. That was seething rage there. But I think his end game is to bring down the system somehow.

But I don't know enough about it to really say how he might be going about that.

MJ Massey

Din and Pascal have an interesting dynamic I want to see more of, both in flashbacks and in the present day

like how did Pascal get involved in everything and trying to kill Conan? Are he and Din on good terms or no?

Sarai

Pascal with anyone quite fankly

Considering the characters that have been introduced, his nature of pure sunshine conflicts so hard with everyone we've seen him talk to

But he just.....keeps on going

Respheal

Pascal's fun to write interactions with because he's good at keeping people just a little off balance--he talks fast, hops between topics, and just his overall sunshine demeanor bewilders xD I like to think Conan and Din play off each other well.....in, uh, better circumstances, maybe.

RebelVampire

7) I'm gonna go with Alty and Conan. I like how their interactions always really emphasis Alty is basically just on Alty's side. Cause they arent remorseful for trying to kill Conan, and even imply a bit they can still drown Conan at anytime. Yet at the same time Alty is also the person willing to warn Conan that Din is basically a dumbass. So whenever they interact theres always this uneasiness. I think a lot may be a change in the power dynamic cause even if Conan can command Din, theres only so much you can do to stop the ocean. 8) Din's plans are basically Step 1- Kill Felix Step 2 - ??? Step 3-Profit. Which is my way of saying i think calling what Din's "plans" plans is misleading. Rather, I think he has goals and just vague ideas of how to get to those goals. Like a kid with a treasure map who is finding the X but forgot to bring a shovel or backpack to carry back the treasure. I agree that Din probably wants to bring balance to the system. But I also think in his crazed mind he thinks that killing Felix is the way its gonna happen. I think Din gives Felix waaaaay too much credit. Although, honestly, I can't figure why he needs to kill the Queen. Like certainly this frees him from needing to be a court magician there. But unless theres a secret command from them that says "nah bro don't kill felix" i dont see how overthrowing a monarch works in Din's favor at all.

Mahotou

@jo: And the Din/Pasc. The way they care about each other as brothers, but also bicker about stuff. That's fun.

Basically, I think I really like character inte

ractions that draw out Din's emotions and force him to say and do things that reveal what's going on inside. yasss 8. Din seems like a focus one track person. He wants to kill Felix. and he's still trying to reach that even tho Cymaria has him doing other magician errands first. But sounds like he almost got the command he wanted: "Bring me the head of Evenheim's heir" http://www.galebound.com/comics/2764870/145/ but he found Conan before Felix? maybe he thinks he can work with conan to convince/trick conan into giving him commands he wants.

Kabocha

7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you? Din and Conan, honestly. I got friggin BAMBOOZLED when I started reading this. I was like, "hey they're staying in an inn, some shenanigans are gonna ensue!" AND THEN NOPE, MURDER ATTEMPT. So, what I thought was gonna be a fantasy buddy comedy turned out to be very much not that. And I kind of look forward to seeing how Din and Conan progress from snarky strangers to friends... Assuming Din doesn't get killed first.

8. What do you think Din’s ultimate plans are? Is it killing Felix or is there a bigger story to his ambitions? How does killing the Queen of Cymaria even factor into them? What even motivated his plans in the first place?

Din has a plan? Ever since Conan figured out he was able to command Din, it's kinda gone to shit, so... I think Din's ultimate plan was probably to kill the Cymarian nobility AND to kill Felix. http://www.galebound.com/comics/2332038/022/ Although I guess Conan didn't tell Din to tell him the truth, so... Din's a very angry man, probably motivated by the inherent injustice in the obligation. I think if he could have anything in life right now, it would be that he could be a normal person. He got the slightest taste of normalcy as a child, and... Well. :\

anyway I just need to say @Respheal how dare you bring us in thinking comedy and break us all like this so far

Respheal

>:D

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. Who or what is the Arcein that Conan saw? Why do you think she seemed to know Felix, and how did Arcein’s Ignorance come to be? Also, what do you think Myosotis is, and why does Arcein want it?

Jo Michelle

Q. 9: Res's foreshadowing is really great. Little details that you only notice on reread. And snatches of dialogue or character actions that suddenly are WAY different when you know what's really going on.

RebelVampire

9) The careful choices in wording because command phrases are super OP. Like I would super hate writing a main cast who are a nobleman and a magician cause one ill choice of dialogue and poof, there goes continuity. So the fact its done so well is nice. 10) I'm assuming the Arcein we saw was basically a Horcrux. I assume by the nature of being mythical, Arcein is connected to the Gale in ways we don't understand. And the Gale is like big brother and is watching everyone, especially Felix. Idk what Myosotis is, but I'm sure Arcein wants it to destroy all nobleman or something like that. If Arcein isn't the pure evil one in this comic, I will eat my hat.

Respheal

But she was so helpful in saving Pascal~ :'3

RebelVampire

for now

unless pascal is locked away in a tower guarded 24/7 but the most elite soldiers, i will never believe Pascal is completely and truly safe in that world

Jo Michelle

But that's not safety. that's isolation, which isn't safe or healthy for any human.

There is no "complete and true safety." Life is risk.

RebelVampire

well put artemis in the tower too

then they can be alone together

and safe

also i said safe, i wasnt necessarily aiming for healthy there O_O

Jo Michelle

But unhealthy isn't safe.

And humans need more relationships in our lives than just one other creature.

And relationship always brings risk.

Respheal

also the alleged horcrux is strapped to his neck

Jo Michelle

I mean, there's risk.... and then there's..... risk.

that dang price

RebelVampire

i feel like you just insulted artemis by called her a risk as a relationship

secretly artemis had like 10 sugar daddy horses back home and spent all their money

conan is also her sugar daddy

literally cause he probably gives her sugar cubes

also see, to deal with arcein you just gotta cut the tower off from the gale. make a huge bubble area of ignorance

Mahotou

9) I totally understand why Res insisted on using full color. those auras need to be noticeable and different from each other. And its really niceeeee. I love the use of double-spreads because to me it feels like the stretching of a moment aka time slows down and you can just take in the scene. <3 Also the "scene in the amulet" is really creepy and spooky and what does it all mean!? /o\ after all this time, i feel we should expect foreshadowing in almost everything. xD 10) Arcein isssss 300 years old according to Pascal so the amulet is.... HAUNTED [or Rebel's Horcrux theory]. Maybe Felix had the amulet before and maybe they spoke together/concocted a plan together. Or maybe they disagreed? I have NO idea what Myosotis is in her context. Googling it, its a forget-me-not sooooo i guess she wants to be remembered? big shrug she seems dangerous. just look at her grin.(edited)

Respheal

nyahahahaha >:D

There is a whole lot of foreshadowing, and I appreciate what Jo said about "details you only notice on reread" xD Because a lot of the foreshadowing, I'm aiming it to be like it was staring us in the face the whole tiiiiiiiiiiiiiime

Jo Michelle

That's the best kind.

Other than the Horcrux thing, I have about zero formed ideas or theories on Arcein myself. That's a whole giant ominous question mark in my mind.

Mahotou

And also the amulet is called Arcein's Ignorance. I believe it was named for how it disconnects an Obligated from The Gale (and thus be Ignorant of the commands) but... Was Arcein Ignorant about something too? I wouldn't put it past Res for double meanings. Did Arcein do something Ignorant by making this amulet?

Kabocha

People are ignorant of Arcein, therefore her price of "Forget-Me-Not" is... to make her known? Remembered? avenged?

Sarai

((Forget-me-nots also mean true love, so make of that what you will))

Jo Michelle

What if the amulet was made by a Magician and a Noble who loved each other, and wanted a way to have a relationship that was free from Obligations?

Kabocha

oh That... that could have happened in this world...

Mahotou

i like that sound O:

Sarai

As far as what the "price" is, maybe Arcien's broken the seal that's locked away conan's memories?

Not so that they'll come back all at once, but she's triggered a sort of chain reaction so that very soon, he's gonna start remembering things

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. Where has Felix been for most of Conan’s life? Why do you think he left Conan, and will Conan and Din actually be able to find him? Assuming they do find him, what do you think would even happen?

Sarai

Before I leave for vacation: 11. Worldbuilding is definitely one of Galebound's strengths. The decision to make this a tidally locked planet (and actually develop how that would impact and affect all facets of life) was a really good one, and it really adds a unique flavor to the story. From the color pallete of the outdoor scenes to the inclusion of the dark hour to the plot, it was enough to catch my eye and make me want to know more my first time reading. -bows to Res-

Respheal

:'D

will Conan and Din actually be able to find him

It's also a question of if half of that set even wants to find him

Jo Michelle

Con: he's my dad and I don't care. Din: He's my No. 1 target.

Kabocha

Galebound's strengths... Well, the sheer growth it's had from its start. Both in art and storytelling... While I know the story was prepping for its first WHAM moment, the art really caught up with it in a way that helped amplify that imo. Res has improved an incredible amount in a comparatively short amount of time

...I'm absolutely terrified to see how much the art will grow in 5 years, especially as the story intensifies. I get the feelin' a storm's brewing... And it's not the Gale.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. What aspect of the Obligation system in the story do you find the most interesting? What about it specifically interests you? Alternatively, what horrible implications are you hoping to see or not see regarding it?

RebelVampire

11) I think the strengths lie in the question and answer formula. While there are a lot of comics out there, in my experience not all of them offer good material for theorizing. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but can make for dull convos when talking about the comic elsewhere. Meanwhile, Galebound has tons of questions, tons of info spread out in various places, etc. So you get to get out the magnifying glass and look around for the answer. 12) I sincerely believe Felix left for Conan's own good to help him with something. Not that I think Felix is altruistically out to save the world or anything for sure, but I do think Felix would want to save his son. As for whether Conan and Din finding, honestly, I think it's more likely Felix will find them first XD We've established Din isn't great at the plans so Din is gonna bump into Felix when he least expects it. And be like "I'm in my underwear right now I'm not even ready for this."

keii4ii

13/14 I'm looking forward to meeting that one character SPOILER who is both a Noble and a magician, aka Person Doomed To Juggle Chainsaws For Life END SPOILER

RebelVampire

13) I am looking forward to people reading the next chapter so the galebound fandom collective can gasp in the same way that patrons get to gasp. 14) my favorite aspect of the obligation system is just the fact that it plays on language and contains loopholes. so you can constantly find new ways to use and abuse it based on how something is worded or how far you push the system. cause that gives it a good balance of being powerful but still being bounded by consistent rules.

Respheal

Oh yeah, the next chapter's gonna be all sorts of fun xD(edited)

Kabocha

The obligation system is certainly easily manipulated for anyone who might be looking For loopholes. Din is dangerous because he was taught to think >:D

RebelVampire

"Din is dangerous" is a complete sentence.

Kabocha

FAIR.

For every time Din subverts an obligation's expectations, he also manages to hurt someone he cares about.

RebelVampire

good job, din. this is why everyone loves you.

Jo Michelle

Mostly to himself and to people who care about him, I think.(edited)

Kabocha

Today I learned: Everyone in Din's life is a masochist(edited)

Respheal

For putting up with him?

Kabocha

Yeeeeeeeep.

Respheal

I almost feel like I need to come to his defense now

I certainly don't condone his actions, but......boy needs an adult

And by adult I mean therapist

Kabocha

He won't get better if nobody gives him good consequences

At the very least, the Ocean could have been like, "Oh hey, KNOCK IT OFF" and smacked him

RebelVampire

tbf even with good consequences theres no gurantee.

Kabocha

Fair! I mean, let's imagine the Galebound discord is right, and Lenora (the King's Magician) had a chance to try to set Din right. ...if he's still after his goal of revenge after some grade-A mom-ish intervention, he's not gonna be easily deterred.

And now I'm imagining Din... "My name is Dinigo Montoya... You killed my father. Prepare to die." (Only we can't be sure if Din's father died at Felix's hands....)

RebelVampire

these are excellent points.

to change din, i think he needs to wake up many days in a row and find out his entire life is a lie

Respheal

He lies to everyone else, but doesn't realize he lies to himself, too

Kabocha

I wonder how many lies we'll discover he's told himself over the years.

It's gonna suck! Din had all these good things he threw away in pursuit of revenge... He really can't figure out how to appreciate the things in front of him until they're taken from him.

RebelVampire

the biggest lie he told himself was that his name was din. really he was felix all along

Respheal

That's some next level self-hatred there

Kabocha

Oh no... So, if Din is Felix...

Respheal

I'm assuming he's also actually ten years older

Kabocha

.... ... That makes him ineligible to be the Shadowlord, sadly...

Respheal

Because otherwise.....eek

Oh?

Kabocha

Felix is the creator of the Shadowlord.

Not the Shadowlord itself.

Sarai

13) What am I looking forward to? The answer to all of these questions really XD

There's so much we don't know, and I'm really looking forward to snapping up all the information about the plot and its mysteries as it trickles in

also clawing the tragic backstories out of everyone's cold dead hands

Mahotou

13) I saw a list of character names and chapter names. I"m excited to meet EVERYONE. Get to fall in love with some and get to violently LOATH some. some sweet sweet hatred on fictional character. I agree with Rebel: Meanwhile, Galebound has tons of questions, tons of info spread out in various places, etc. So you get to get out the magnifying glass and look around for the answer. Sweet mind games and investigation. THERES SO MUCH DEPTH I CAN SWIM IN THIS LORE FOREVER. xD

14) Aspects of the Obligation system? Din's sweet mindbending/word-twisting comprehension ability of commands he received. How far can it go? How far DID it go in his loophole finding ability? But also, what can they achieve together? Conan and Din. If they can work together then there's SO MUCH possibility!

Respheal

Hehehehe I've got all the chapter names (and a lot of the character names) in the wiki :3c They are subject to change until they're actually written (I've already merged a couple chapters together), but I like having those up as sort of a teaser(edited)

As with many things, I didn't really realize I was setting up sort of a question/answer format until I got some momentum going, but I really enjoy how that's worked out xD

Mahotou

(They tease me hard)

Respheal

I am looking for a gif to use as my answer to 13 xD But no such luck

So meh I'll just go with chapters: Ch 6, Ch 14, Ch 18 Those have some of the major turning points I'm most looking forward to :3c

And for question 14.....probably one of the more interesting things, from my perspective, is how the system came into being in the first place

-runs back into the spoiler cave-

Mahotou

LORE/ORIGIN STORY

:partypascal:

Sarai

14) the thing I like about the system is how simple it seems, yet how absolutely bone-chillingly horrible it is when you give it a little thought

It really is a wolf in sheep's clothing

Sarai

Like, when it was first introduced my first thought was "wow this is really constricting and an awful lot of angst over a magic system that can't be used that much"

But those implications hit you like a narrative 2 by 4

Respheal

If I manage to get the book published, that's the sorta quote I want on the dust jacket

RebelVampire

Actually I change my answer

I'm most looking forward to Felix

so we can learn hes not awful

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Galebound this week! Please also give a special thank you to Respheal for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Galebound, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://www.galebound.com/

Respheal’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Respheal

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Respheal’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/galebound

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