#and would require a lot of disregarding canonical paths

[three-plums]

i'm not much of a sci-fi person just because i've never really found those types of questions interesting in a fictional context... if that makes sense. as far as narratives go i'm more interested in the old grrm-ism "the human heart in conflict with itself." but. the extent to which dbh pissed me off has made me start reading and watching sci-fi like a lunatic.

[thespianinthebackcorner]

yknow I complain at least once a month about not being able to find any non-toxic mephilver but maybe I should actually be yapping about that instead of complaining and doing nothing

somehow, it took me this long for my dumb ass to realise that maybe part of the reason there's none of it is because I'm either the only one or one of very few whose imagination is geared towards it right now. To that end... I should probably do some yappin' on how I see it working. (This is assuming it's reciprocated lol 😂 this ship has enough angsty writers already as im preeeetty sure I've pointed out). Anyway I'm not coherent enough to write a post so this is gonna be a little weirdly written but hey we ball.

ok, so in a story sense- at least for the games- there's two ways I see this happening. The first is a divergent 06 in which Mephiles and Silver get more time to interact and it's a tentative allies to friends to lovers situation. This kind of a route would likely have Silver figuring out what's up with Meph and the real situation behind all the fuckery everyone's pulling, and steers him off the murder path and onto a better ending that would theoretically lead to ally meph and/or a reunited Solaris. (Technically making the ship Solaris/Silver, but since Mephiles is the mind and heart, there's not much of a difference in that regard.) essentially, a canon divergence where Silver figures out Mephiles is lying, steers him onto a different path, and they friends-to-lovers their way into ship territory.

The other pathway is a little more complicated, but it's one I've been toying with. This is post-06, and deals with the idea that Silver goes back to the White Space somehow (either via the Time Stones, any leftover power from the Time Eater Eggman has, or some other way) and gets Meph out of there himself. This pathway requires Silver remembering 06, knowing Mephiles is in the White Space, and having the emotional maturity to look back on it and realise Mephiles' punishment is too harsh for his goals. Whether he knows that Iblis is (probably) sealed in Blaze is up to you, he might he might not. Regardless, this path changes Meph a bit- being sealed in the White Space for 5 years at a minimum (probably idk how the timeline works) fucks you up major, so you have a bit (a lot) of slow-burn-heal-arc shit to do before anything starts happening. From there, though, I see it as a warm slow roommates-to-lovers type beat where they're both just kinda trying to live their lives amid time being fucked up and evil and a disaster every five minutes.

Obviously you can also work with it in other AUs or just disregard story entirely and create small sweet pockets of story where they're together and fuck the logistics, which is essentially what I do 90% of the time. It works pretty well with modern AUs in my experience, and serves as a cute sister ship to Sonadow!

Dynamic-wise, which is probably what I should've led with but here we are, I like to think of a fluffy version of the ship as being very soft and comfortable with each other. They're on their guard pretty much 100% of the time, so the moments they get alone with each other are that time to drop it and relax. Between Silver having to save the future all the time and Mephiles trying to find Iblis and reunite, they're both stressed a lot, so they lean on each other. I like to think they go on adventures together...

I wrote once in a document for an au that Silver has a lot of love to give and Mephiles needs to be given a lot, which is the best way I can describe the dynamic simply. To extend on that and explain it a little more, Silver gives a lot of love obviously. He takes less than he gives, but he'll take his boyfriend's love with just as much care as he gives his own. Mephiles, on the other hand, is more subtle. He takes all the love Silver gives, but he shows reciprocation in all the small ways that are hard to notice if you're not Silver himself. He gives less than he takes by nature, but when he does give it's always exactly what Silver needs and he knows it. They're a very synergetic pair, if that makes any sense. The type to cuddle up and take naps together.

There's a lot of room for headcanon, too- I mess with the idea a lot that Mephiles radiates heat (he's still a part of the sun god) and that leads to some fun conclusions. Alternatively, there's also room for some angst (because Chaos forbid I follow my own rules on a post). Anyone else seen that dynamic of a god falling in love with a mortal and struggling with the implications and the fact that they're not supposed to fall for mortals but here they are? Yeah. That's fuckin DELICIOUS when it's applied to a split god like Mephiles who's technically supposed to be spending his time looking for Iblis and reuniting instead of falling for someone he doesn't think he deserves. Especially if you apply the idea that he's mentally assumed his life is on hold until he finds Iblis (that is not how it works) and now he's in love by accident.

Anyway yeah that's uh. That's my rambling. 👍 If anyone has other ideas for fluffy mephilver do tell

[darklordazalin]

Azalin Reviews: Darklord Meredoth

Domain: Nocturnal Sea Domain Formation: 635 BC Power Level:💀💀💀💀⚫ Sources: Domains of Dread (2e), Ship of Horrors (2e), Nocturnal Sea Gazetteer (non-canon), Sir not appearing in 5e

Meredoth is the Darklord of Nebligotode, which became the Nocturnal Sea during the Grand Conjunction in 750 BC. There were a lot of retcons and changes between his rule of Nebligotode and the Nocturnal Sea, so I will be utilizing the story after the Grand Conjunction as well as some “non-canon” material provided by the Fraternity of Shadows. There is no mention of Meredoth in 5e, but the Nocturnal Sea is briefly referenced in the write up on Darkon. Does that make me your ruler, Meredoth? That would be amusing and perhaps a reason for me to return to my dreaded prison.

Meredoth is confined to the island of Todstein, an island that is as cold and uninviting as Meredoth himself. He constantly attempts to defy the “no man is an island” saying. How exactly did he come to this realm? Let’s take a brief look at his life. Meredoth was born in the Alphatain Empire in Mystara and raised by golems. This isn’t your classic “raised by wolves because their parents died and something took pity on the child” story. This was because his parents didn’t want to bother raising him themselves. I’ve witnessed many of his little temper tantrums, so I can understand where they’re coming from. Still, one should not neglect one’s children. It never ends well.

His father’s parenting skills ended at creating a few golems to look after him and his mother preferred using Enchantments to keep him well-behaved and disciplined. In addition to his rather love-deprived upbringing, he witnessed his mother become addicted to a magical drug known as tsongha which had a relaxing, yet withering effect on the user’s mind.

The Alphatain Empire was a Magocracy, which essentially equates to those with talent in the arcane are granted high ranks in society. Though something I can respect, a dangerous prospect when one considers the effects magical experimentation can have on the mind. Meredoth met those requirements and discovered his extraordinary skills in Necromancy while studying at university. He even found himself making friends and perhaps he would have been more sympathetic to the living if one of his so called friends hadn’t just used Meredoth to steal his research and claim it for themselves. This resulted in Meredoth using tsongha on the betrayer and claiming their research in turn. A practice he repeated on many occasions.

Meredoth continued his research, conducting experiments on living animals and people he believed would not be missed. His ultimate goal was to create an intelligent servant devoid of troublesome emotions and personal ambitions. Of course, Enchantment would have been a better form of magic to achieve such things, but Meredoth’s skill in that school is wholly inadequate. Ultimately, he failed.

As his own flesh began to age, Meredoth sought out means to become immortal. He believed lichdom beneath him. I would argue that he likely does not have the talent to perform the necessary rituals seeing as some of it requires the use of Enchantment magic, which, as we know, he sorely lacks skill in, but he remains adamant that true immortality is not a state of undeath. The path to “ascension” was also dismissed as taking up too much of his time. A rather lame excuse considering if one becomes immortal through such efforts, then the time to reach one’s goal is irrelevant. In the end, he cheated and used elixirs created by someone else to maintain an age of about 60.

Meredoth became a rather formidable wizard and as such would be given a high rank within the Alphatain Empire. However, he was also not well liked and his disregard for all things living made him a very dangerous figure to be given any political power. So, they made him a Baron of a land where they hoped he could do little damage. This suited Meredoth and he established himself on a remote island and let whatever retainers he had actually run things. To say he was a neglectful ruler would be an understatement.

The first winter in his Barony was cruel and resulted in the death of many of his retainers. Meredoth thought the best solution was to raise all of these retainers as mindless undead, something his main retainer objected to. Meredoth then killed that retainer, which gave him one more zombie but also left him to deal with the day-to-day problems from his people.

Meredoth wanted nothing more than to be left alone with his research instead of tiring things such as the defense of his realm or food shortages, yet still he found himself bothered by an increasing number of retainers and immigrants. Annoyed, he came up with a solution to the food shortage and these interruptions to his research. He poisoned all of his people and made them into zombies that retained their intelligence, yet were solely loyal to their creator. Now, food wasn’t an issue and they would leave him alone.

That same evening, a storm descended upon his island and transported it and Meredoth to the Demplanes of Dread. It is always winter on Meredoth’s little island. Though living, Meredoth has the purplish complexion and icy touch of a corpse. The Dark Powers granted him a small boon and delayed his aging. Yet not a true form of immortality, age slowly creeps into his bones year after year. Just as his parents, even the Dark Powers were reluctant to accept him and it took a century of his time in the Mists before they decided to make him an official Darklord.

Meredoth still excels at Necromancy and prefers life among his zombies over the living. He has also created a number of unique spells to suit his new, wintery Domain, including snow golems and a snow to stone spell. He looks like your standard Halloween costume shop wizard, wearing tattered robes accompanied by long white hair and beard. Our tormentors granted him a number of boons, allowing him to control the waters around his island, sensing when someone visits his island, and granting him immunity to the lesser undead.

Meredoth is an accomplished Necromancer, likely one of the most powerful in the Domains of Dread. He’s also skilled in Evocation and if he had applied himself to other schools of magic, he could have been one of the most powerful Wizards to roam the Mists, but he settled on his one trick skeletal pony routine. He views the living as nothing more than experiments, not worth his time or attention unless they’re on a slab in his laboratory.

Personality wise, Meredoth is like a small child always craving attention, yet loathing it whenever he receives it (which is rare). Still, I must admit he is quite powerful and though he will never find a path to the immortality he seeks, his skills in Necromancy and to a lesser extent, Evocation, cannot be denied.

[lairofdragonagelore]

DA2: Marethari Talas

Marethari comes from the Talas family, which was founded by an Emerald Knight after the fall of the Dales. In the first Act, we meet her, letting us know several interesting things about her clan and their relationship with Flemeth / Asha'bellanar.

She knew the amulet was going to be delivered, and [according to Merril's words] she brought the clan here just because of Hawke and this amulet.

She has a debt to Asha'bellanar. In the game it is never clear what Flemeth exactly did for her.

The amulet is more than magic, it's a promise. And promises [from Asha'bellanar / Mythal] have terrible power. I like to remember this because Mythal has a revenge aspect: if she promised revenge, we know we are going to see it.

The amulet requires a rite for the departed [Merril will state it's a sort of funeral rite]. This is really interesting because Merril, when she performs it, speaks of Uthenera. Does Uthenera require a piece of the elf contained, for safety reasons, while the whole body lies lifeless elsewhere? This is the true immortality that elves had? Spreading pieces to return later? [This scene links the concept of immortality with what archdemons do, with what Corypheus does, with Flemeth’s words of “a soul cannot be forced upon the unwilling”, and with how Grey Warden can destroy this process rejecting possession. Details in Corypheus post, eventually.]

Keepers are guardians of the lost knowledge of the Dalish, yet, another thing that caught my attention after the end of the quest of Feynriel is that Marethari has no problem to give you a highly precious book of her clan to you, a shemlen. The book belonged to the last dreamer of her Clan, and it's implied it has knowledge related to dreamers [what Feynriel is and what has not been seen in quite a century so far]. Why does she get rid of this invaluable book with rare magic, so important for her people?

I thought that maybe, the canon path for Marethari is to exterminate her clan, so this attitude here would make a bit more of sense: she is giving the last treasure of her clan to you because she knows they are going to die anyway. Still, why would you give it to a shemlen instead of Merril? This is one of the many details that keeps me wondering how much of this was truly intended or it was just a mistake as a consequence of the rush in the development of this game.

I also find curious that she calls the demons as such, instead of spirits, as Merril does.

In the second Act, when Merril speaks to Marethari, the Keeper explains that she has informed the clan that Merril's potential restoration of the mirror can bring back the corruption [or something worse] from the mirror.

Once more we see Marethari disregarding ancient Dalish artefacts and, instead of keeping the Arulin'holm, she prefers to give it to Hawke. I'm so surprised of this attitude: first, Marethari gives a book about dreamers to Hawke, now she offers Hawke the Arulin'holm, trusting them that they will return it to her later [and I'm not mentioning the fact that how this may be breaking rules and causing inner frictions in the clan: something so dear to the Dalish, that belongs to all of them, is borrowed to a shemlen.]

Later we can ask for clarification about the line that Marethari said to Merril on how these mirrors belonged to another time and should be left there. We learn that, once more, Marethari is proposing to abandon ancient Dalish artefacts. It's true this mirror is dangerous to her, since it “killed” Tamlen and is corrupted, but apparently Marethari has a lot of carelessness for Dalish relics.

Here is where Marethari communicates that she released the demon, allowing him to possess her.  

Marethari informs that an Eluvian can be linked to the Fade, something that we saw in DAI happening: Kieran can go to the Fade via the mirror, implying that any mirror connects to the Fade if you are powerful enough to activate it. So, along DA2 we have seen that Marethari knows  a lot more how Dalish artefacts truly work than Merril. She knows more than your regular Dalish, is this related to her debt to Flemeth? I wonder.

Marethari explains that she could not fight this demon in the Fade, because it was trapped [in the strange idol], and could not banish it without making it stronger. So she made herself its prison. There is only one case in DA2 where we see a similar power, and it's related to Orsino's staff description: First Enchanter Casimira, the first enchanter in Kirkwall who helped to transform the Tevinter prison called Gallows into a Circle “tower”. She was taken by a demon and contained it inside her until the Templars killed her before she could endanger anyone. However, that tale shows a lot of struggle that we don't see with Marethari. Marethari has been possessed for a long time. Days, weeks, maybe even months?

It's hard to know when Marethari did it. But we could hypothesise that when Merril started to interact with the demon, she took this prevention measure. Now, does Marethari have this power?  To contain a demon alone in her own body and for so long? If she did it, it would make sense why she became so confident in giving Hawke items so dearly for the Dalish and why she seemed to act as if her clan would not matter anymore [because she was going to doom it sooner or later?].

This also make me wonder if the debt she had with Flemeth is related to this: to have the power to become the demon's prison without losing control for a decent amount of time. But this depends a lot on when she became its prison. We can assume that only when they moved to Sundermount Merril got in contact with the demon bonded to the Strange Idol, and only then Marethari turned into its prison later. The debt she has with Flemeth seems to be older than this.

Effectively, when you read the World of Thedas 2, we have a glimpse of what this debt is about: To avenge her late husband at the hands of an avvar group that killed him. Considering what Flemeth did with Maric too when she met him, and considering how Marethari was grim after meeting the witch, I think we can asume that Flemeth also gave her glimpses of the future about the clan, the demon, and the possession of Merril, so we could suppose that Marethari acted all along DA2 knowing this thanks to Asha'bellanar.

[Index page of Dragon Age Lore ]

[chalabrun]

tsunade & the medical ninjutsu system (theory)

Something I feel is never really properly established in Naruto canon is just exactly how Tsunade improved medical ninjutsu, its institutions, and to what extent. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding medical ninjutsu, let alone how the system itself came into place.

Basically, here are my thoughts as to just what Tsunade did as the world’s greatest med-nin.

The Medical System wasn’t yet established

Ch. 160

One thing that was made apparent during or before the Second Shinobi World War was the fact that, by all accounts, there was no medical system in place. While the common story is that Tsunade may have only established the new pecking order of including a medical ninja in each 4-man cell, as this proves, it likely went beyond that.

So, considering how broad medical ninjutsu really is, where would Tsunade have gotten it, and how would it have been passed on?

Medical Ninjutsu: A Senju legacy

From Naruto: Shippūden #467, the anime

As shown here, in episode 467, Kanna and Asura are two of the first named users of the Mystical Palms Technique--one of the most versatile and commonplace medical ninjutsu for med-nin to learn. In a way, it’s a bit of a Swiss army knife in what it can heal for a talented enough med-nin.

Kanna and Asura are, naturally, the ancestors of the Senju clan. Kanna being Asura’s wife and a healer like him. While Asura isn’t specifically known for being a healer, Kanna is, and this establishes a trend of medical ninjutsu among the Senju clan.

But, like their descendant, neither are classed as med-nin. Which leads to the next point.

Ch. 576

Despite how many disregard it, Hashirama--Asura’s next notable transmigrant--is also known for being gifted with medical ninjutsu despite not being classed as a med-nin. His contemporary, Madara, states that Hashirama was better than even Tsunade.

Ch. 576, during the Gokage battle against Madara.

Tsunade herself concedes to this fact.

Ch. 576

As I’ve stated in another meta, Hashirama’s regeneration and medical ninjutsu are considered two separate things. 

Ch. 578

As shown here, even Madara sees them as two distinctly different things.

Regeneration Ability entry (Source)

In fact, the Regeneration Ability that stems from Hashirama’s cells is never classed as medical ninjutsu. Especially compared to Creation Rebirth and Ninja Art: Creation Rebirth--Strength of a Hundred Technique that are. 

Creation Rebirth

(Souzou Saisei)

Ninjutsu, S-rank, Supplementary

User: Tsunade

The absolute pinnacle of medical ninjutsu~~ a forbidden regeneration technique!

Created by the greatest of medical ninja, Tsunade, this is the ultimate regeneration technique!! By releasing a large amount of chakra at once, the body’s cell division is forcibly stimulated, reconstruction all organs and all tissues making up the human body!

If this technique is used, a body whose vital organs are so gravely injured that it cannot bear it any longer will be instantly restored to its uninjured state. It’s impossible to die by any means… for the sake of continuing to protect the lives of one’s comrades. That’s the resolution hidden in this technique.

By releasing the great volume of chakra stored in her forehead, Tsunade can make her body do the work of an untold number of years in an instant.

This wound may have brought her on the verge of death, but she won’t die~~

The acceleration of cell division that allows for the complete recovery from wounds is paid for with the shortening of one’s life span.

- Second Databook, Creation Rebirth entry (Source) (Raw scan)

Ninja Art: Creation Rebirth--Strength of a Hundred Technique entry, 4th Databook (Source)

However, something I need to assert is the fact that Tsunade’s medical ninjutsu being less than Hashirama’s by no means diminishes her achievements. A point I’m trying to make here is the fact that medical ninjutsu is a legacy passed down through the generations that explains where Tsunade attained hers, and how she took that knowledge to share with the world by organizing and devising the medical ninjutsu system that no amount of prowess can supplant. 

In this respect, Tsunade absolutely surpassed Hashirama’s ability. Creating Creation Rebirth and the 100 Healings absolutely asserts this alone. She’s the greatest medical ninja in the world, that much is for certain.

Ch. 678, affirming that Hashirama wanted to leave the future to future generations, which would absolutely mean the legacy here.

Moving on...

Medical Fuuinjutsu: A possible origin & Uzumaki legacy

As shown here, one of the most mysterious applications of fuuinjutsu we see is in medical ninjutsu. Now, while it’s not known if it’s specifically fuuinjutsu or not (as the medical ninjutsu below isn’t described as it), it’s beyond coincidence that fuuinjutsu and its branches also use fuuinjutsu formula arrays, like below. 

While I’m not here to explore that too far, what I’m more interested in where it could’ve come from and how it applies to Tsunade, the one who established and revolutionized medical ninjutsu. 

Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique

(Chikatsu Saisei no Jutsu)

- Ninjutsu, A-rank, Supplementary, Close-range - Users: Medical Team

Using a special intensive care unit, this act is laid out. For this medical treatment, teamwork between similar jutsu users is most vital. Through the collection of cells from the hair, it is used as a medium. The lost part is filled up with new cells. Minute attention to detail is necessary. This treatment’s success rate is not high…

In this formation, a burning restoring of life, a wondrous medical ninjutsu!!

With part of the casualty’s body as a medium, that part’s cell ratio is changed, and the lost part is regenerated. Due to the extreme difficulty and chakra control required for matching up the cell ratio, this requires a long period of time.

Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique, Second Databook entry (Source) & (Raw Scan)

Ch. 235, where Chouji in shown in intensive care after the Sasuke Recovery Mission’s failure. 

Like the above, here we see another complex array of seals that are undeniably similar to fuuinjutsu.

Ch. 238, where Sakura is shown learning medical ninjutsu with what appears to be a fuuinjutsu. 

And, shown here, fuuinjutsu seems to have a part to play in learning medical ninjutsu, too. How the fuuin actually functions is anyone’s guess, but it’s likely that Tsunade developed it. How? Where might she have learned fuuinjutsu from?

4th Databook, Mito’s Entry (Source)

As we are well aware, Tsunade is the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki, the kyuubi jinchuuriki before Naruto or Kushina and well-known for her sealing prowess--enough that she sealed the kyuubi in herself by her own ability--it goes without saying that Mito’s own knowledge of fuuinjutsu likely passed on to her, too.

Something passed on between them is the Byakugou, a seal that originated from the Sage of Six Paths era.

Ch. 36 of Boruto where Sakura explains the Byakugou’s origins.

While it’s not known whether or not the marking on Mito’s forehead is also a Byakugou, what absolutely is is the fact that, since Tsunade’s Creation Rebirth and 100 Healings were both inspired by Hashirama, it’s likely that Tsunade’s own knowledge of fuuinjutsu and the Byakugou’s attainment came from her grandmother, Mito, and their Uzumaki heritage/Hiden. 

And since medical ninjutsu is an apparent Senju legacy, it’s extremely likely that Tsunade came to incorporate both in her medical ninjutsu and help pioneer its use that would be standard in medical ninja practice by modern times.

Now, can I prove this? No, I cannot; however, given the fact that Tsunade is reliably proven to have pioneered the medical ninja institution, it’s likely it would’ve come from her, as well.

Biomedical Advances: The Niidaime's contributions

Ch. 681

Ch. 619, where Tobirama relays the biological function behind Sharingan.

For better or ill, when it comes to medical ninjutsu's biomedical background, what scientific knowledge that Tsunade learned seems to stem from what she might have inherited from her granduncle, Tobirama Senju, who was an acclaimed innovator and scientist.

Ch. 699, where Sakura mentions Tsunade crafting whole artificial limbs from Hashirama's cells.

Ch. 545, after Sakura and Shizune--Tsunade's disciples--performed an autopsy on a White Zetsu clone.

As it would seem to have passed on, from Tobirama did Tsunade attain a biomedical background when it came to medical ninjutsu that would spread to her disciples generations later.

Medical Ninjutsu: Foiling poisons

Ch. 253, wherein Tsunade’s rival, Chiyo, recalls how Tsunade was the only person capable of foiling her poisons.

As we know, one of the greatest threats to shinobi is that of poisons. And, there is the fact that Tsunade established ways of producing and foiling them that passed on to her students.

Ch. 253, where Sakura Haruno--Tsunade’s disciple--utilized the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to remove the poison from Kakuro’s body, and synthesize an antidote. Both were things Chiyo couldn’t do.

Ch. 235, where the Nara Clan Medical Encyclopedia is being consulted by Tsunade to help her heal Chouji.

Hell, even the encyclopedia utilized here likely had a hand in Tsunade becoming such a poisons expert in the first place. Even if not, it undoubtedly had influence and a place in the medical ninja system Tsunade pioneered. 

Biomedical Advances: The Niidaime's contributions

Ch. 681

Ch. 619, where Tobirama relays the biological function behind Sharingan.

For better or ill, when it comes to medical ninjutsu's biomedical background, what scientific knowledge that Tsunade learned seems to stem from what she might have inherited from her granduncle, Tobirama Senju, who was an acclaimed innovator and scientist.

Ch. 699, where Sakura mentions Tsunade crafting whole artificial limbs from Hashirama's cells.

Ch. 545, after Sakura and Shizune--Tsunade's disciples--performed an autopsy on a White Zetsu clone.

As it would seem to have passed on, from Tobirama did Tsunade attain a biomedical background when it came to medical ninjutsu that would spread to her disciples generations later.

Medical Ninjutsu: A system to put in place

One thing that can’t overlooked is how Tsunade absolutely set rules and regulations in place that would go on to influence their rules by the modern day.

Ch. 577, where Tsunade lists the 4 rules governing medical ninja.

Ch. 632 where it’s again brought up when Tsunade trained Sakura in a flashback.

Ch. 160 where the standard to place a medical ninja in every unit of ninja is first introduced by her.

And because Tsunade was the one who established it, it’s likely it spread to other countries, as well, once it was established in Konoha. While it’s not shown, her disciple, Sakura, is shown to have inspired the medical institutions of other hidden villages through her own pioneered effort in the Konoha Children’s Mental Clinic that’s established after the war.

Pg. 24 of Sakura Hiden where the success of the Konoha Children’s Mental Clinic created waves, enough that Sunagakure began taking interest in establishing their own therapy center. (Source)

Again, while this doesn’t necessarily detail Tsunade’s own exploits with spreading medical ninjutsu and practices around the world, because the motif of the next generation improving from the former, it’s likely what happened before or even after she left Konoha.

Closing Thoughts

Again, while I can’t definitively prove as to how and what Tsunade pioneered with medical ninjutsu at home and abroad, given the hints and clues in canon, I have reason to believe that it’s much, much more extensive than what she might be given credit for. 

Regardless, always draw your own conclusions and interpret canon as you see fit, but if this inspires your own portrayal of her, I’ll consider it an honor!

[hallothere]

I broke down and wrote the essay. No, I did not and will not proofread it. I don’t waaaannaaaa

There’s Only One Winner For Isengard

In a perfect world, in a world with no meta requirements that could bend to the will of the player, we would roll up to Isengard level-capped, no debuffs, with one quest-marker on hand: Ruin Saruman’s day. But this is a pre-written sequence of events in which we are only along for the ride. We, the player, and a Ranger are shipped off to Isengard with only one conceivable goal: survive. On a meta level we know what Saruman is capable of. At level 70 or 80-something at best, even we are aware that we are no match for a wizard with a canon fate. Not to mention our Ranger companion! The Grey Company has been through enough (though we don’t know the half of it yet) and we are reasonably distraught at the possibilities.

This is why we, the player character, will lose the game of Isengard.

Beyond the meta rules of the game, where quest objectives are whatever the devs wanted them to be (looking at you, Mordrambor) the player character can not defeat Saruman in any way that’s meaningful. And (again on a meta level) in order for us to get to experience the action at Helm’s Deep and Rohan at large, we have to get out of Isengard. We’d get bored of waiting for Theoden and Co. We’d hurl insults or slap fish at Saruman and realistically incur wrath. Honestly, with the set of circumstances presented to us, who could survive imprisonment in Nan Curunir?

Only one of the Company ever could: Lothrandir of Suri Kyla. 

To begin with, none of the Rangers we have any real information on could have done it. Anyone who’s spent time in Angmar is at a disadvantage due to the prevailing dread (game mechanic or otherwise) that can be manipulated by Saruman. Any Ranger that has a major traumatic past is at a disadvantage (sorry Mincham) because if nothing else, Saruman has proven to be a master of illusion. Even Halbarad for all his leadership ability has a pretty exploitable weakness: eventually Saruman can crack the code with a vision of Aragorn’s demise, the one end Halbarad must fear above all others. Or what bond could more easily be exploited than that of a leader and his men? Lheu Brenin’s in the gang now after all. All Saruman would have to do was send for a few more incentives. 

But Lothrandir comes built with a few key advantages that make him the only Grey Company Ranger qualified to come out of this battle of wills on top. His specific strengths, mindset, and personality traits combined with the circumstances that the game sets up going into Isengard make him the clear choice of Rangers- if a Ranger you must have- to stay behind in Nan Curunir. 

Lothrandir wins because he changes the game. From ‘go’ our co-prisoner does something that either puzzles the player character or sends them into an anxious fit. Lothrandir declares himself fearless and sprints recklessly into the ring. Any way you figure it, this seems like a poorly calculated move. He doesn’t stop to survey the enemy. He doesn’t gather intel. Heck, he doesn’t even bide his time to see if he’ll be killed before he even reaches the dungeons. Lothrandir sprints right in without so much as a thought or a plan. Saruman doesn’t know it yet, but from that moment on Lothrandir has him on the back foot. 

Consider for a moment Saruman’s MO. He’s a wizard, and he uses a great deal of magic, sure, but time and time again we are reminded of the power of his voice and his words. He calls down a storm on Caradhras (in the movies for darn sure), he via-Wormtongue whispers poison into the ears of King Theoden. He doesn’t lead with any kind of grandiose display when trying to sway Gandalf. No, he leads with a persuasive argument. Later on, he nearly talks Theoden back around, after failing to wipe out all of Rohan. After killing the man’s son for goodness sakes. He nearly talks himself out of that one!

But Lothrandir has already changed this from a game of wits to a game of wills. There will be no vying for favor, or biding time, or compliance, or even giving Saruman a chance to ‘talk it over friendly’ first. He’s already spitting on the shoes of everyone he sees. The accomplishment in this is twofold, and it makes a major impact on the rest of his time in Nan Curunir. 

Firstly, by establishing a new game, Lothrandir sets Saruman up for a whole lot of assumptions. He does not display any signs of diplomatic ability, wisdom, or even common sense. He very intentionally projects an attitude of reckless disobedience. In the player’s own eyes, it seems as if he ‘doesn’t know any better’. This gives Saruman a clear path to take regarding Lothrandir. He assumes you can’t reason the typical way with someone who has shown zero inclination for listening. The player character demonstrates that the Grey Company (or least their associates) are capable of compliance. For all intents and purposes, this Lothrandir doesn’t appear to be. He’s contrary, fool-hardy, and evidently dumb enough to dive in headfirst and get himself killed. You beat that kind of guy into submission… don’t you?

But Lothrandir has changed the rules of the game. Saruman is no longer fighting with his best weapon, but with a tool to be found in any old villain’s arsenal. When he took the approach of reasoning with the player character and disregarding Lothrandir, he set the victor’s foundation on our snow-pilgrim’s greatest strength. 

Secondly, by establishing a new game, Lothrandir makes this a battle of physical endurance. Unbeknownst to Saruman, this is the one thing that makes him stand out from the rest of the Grey Company. He has walked through the frozen north lands and the fiery south lands and come out unscathed. He has mastered the unarmed combat style of the Lossoth by joining in mid-winter wrestling matches in a place that took down many Elves, Angmarim, and notably one King of Arthedain! Lothrandir has conceivably spent his entire life training for this matchup. Any endurance he has built up, any fighting he can do without access to a weapon, all are assets to the kind of game he just made Saruman play. Lothrandir is uniquely built to survive any physical torment Isengard can throw at him, or at least, better equipped than any of the others. 

To say Lothrandir is the best choice, we also have to rule out the others. Corunir was thwarted by the Rammas Deluon and for all he learned from that, it’s a weak spot in his proverbial armor. Golodir too, resisted a fair degree of torture (palantiri based, even!) in Carn Dum, but it won’t be hard for Saruman to suss that one out and make our old man’s life a living nightmare. Even Radanir, serious and seemingly unattached to any social bonds now that his good pal Elweleth has gone sailing, would be a poor choice. He is too serious, (for lack of a better term) too genre-savvy, and even if he is spitting blood and delivering a witty one-liner, that’s Saruman’s foot in the door! ‘I’ll never betray my friends and kin, you kaleidoscope hack’? You’ve just told him your weakness, Radanir! No, he can’t keep his mouth shut to save his (or Saerdan’s) life. Radanir is the wrong choice too.

We don’t know a significant amount about the others (except Ranger death would move Calenglad to tears, we can’t put him through this) in order to pinpoint their fatal flaws in the Isengard encounter. But, the game puts us in the incredible position of having seen Lothrandir’s Achilles’ heel and letting us take that disadvantage away. 

Lothrandir of Suri Kyla is uniquely equipped to survive any physical encounter that Saruman throws his way. Now, who’s to say the wizard won’t change his tune and go back to his old tricks? In an incredible twist of fate, we are. The game sets us, the player, up to play Saruman’s game from the get-go. We keep our pixelated head down, try and fly below the radar, and express just enough concern over the fate of our fool-hardy pal to get Saruman to cement his estimation of Lothrandir as a pawn in the game in stone. By making ourselves the better target for the words of a wily wizard, Saruman decides that the best way to deal with the spare prisoner is by playing right into his hands. As we all know, the player character escapes. While that might seem bad for someone who Saruman has earmarked for corporal punishment only, it covers Lothrandir’s one weakness. 

Aside from being the only significant unarmed fighter, Lothrandir is also never painted as a loner. He spends his time in Suri Kyla, hanging out with the Lossoth and sharing their campfires. In the new questline in Forochel, he jumps at the chance to make a new Dunedain friend and takes to King Arvedui like a duck to water. They’re instant best pals. It’s minutes before Lothrandir is telling him Aragorn’s life story and pledging to go with him on a buddy adventure to seek peace for a regretful shade. And if that’s not enough canon for you, Lothrandir bears the brunt of the Falcon clan aggression on the way to Isengard. He does it for you, his friend and companion in suffering. It’s a bit meta, but we have to assume in the internal universe he knows you a little. You’ve run your merry adventures to a degree where, were this not a video game, Lothrandir would at least consider you an ally if not a friend outright. 

He exposes his weakness unwittingly to the Falcon clan, but he leaves it at the gates of Isengard in an extremely well-timed move. By sprinting through the gates without a care as to what’s going on with you or anyone else, Lothrandir establishes an emotional distance between you both in the eyes of any onlookers. Whatever affection you have for him, it doesn’t seem reciprocated. This isn’t a major weakness for Saruman to exploit, then. You’re not one of his kinsmen. If he did want to pursue that line, he could always send to Tur Morva for one, right?

This is where the game comes back in to shift the tide in Lothrandir’s favor. We escape. We play the game, we nearly lose the game, and had we not been given an out the power scaling makes it difficult to conceive of an outcome where we the player can win Isengard. Sure, we’ve been released from prisons before (Delossad to name one) but this is the climax of Dunland. We make a daring escape, and move south towards the Gap of Rohan and all sorts of bad times. 

Back in Nan Curunir, Lothrandir is getting the daylights beat out of him, and taking a victory lap. He’s cemented his position as ‘the prisoner we’ll break with violence’. The uruks have seen him insubordinate and disorderly. In the Lothrandir interlude, there’s not only the canon (stated outright!) reality of past and present torture. There’s also zero hesitation in Lothrandir taking that one on the chin. There are no other objectives on his mind than making the next few minutes as miserable as possible for everyone around. He has no other goals. And he doesn’t need them. Nobody is surprised that Lothrandir is signing his death warrant within nanoseconds of being presented an offer to comply. He spits on the offer. He tips over the slop bucket. He beats bloody any orc (and gameplay purposes aside there are very few that dare come forward) that actually tries to kill him for it outright. 

He’s built up a non-rapport with Gun Ain. She talks about killing him and he doesn’t say anything. They’re all playing his game and he’s winning. In the conversation with Saruman, we’re not given the opportunity to watch Lothrandir ‘resist’ in the same fashion the player character did. We don’t need to. Saruman has bigger and better things to worry about- killing a prince, wiping out a nation- than one Ranger who he’s just going to order well-flayed again. By setting himself up as the punching bag, Lothrandir has managed to fly beneath Saruman’s priority threshold. He’s been relegated to the responsibility of Gun Ain, and still with somewhat protected status because they haven’t wormed anything useful out of him yet.

All of these moves have culminated to an impasse. Saruman is not winning points in the game like he expected. One ‘meathead Ranger’ has managed to resist all the torments of Isengard, and he’s gained nothing from this. The other prisoner escaped, word had doubtless reached him that the Tur Morva Thirty-Odd are free and raring to be a thorn in his side again. He has no external leverage to apply on Lothrandir and it’s become increasingly obvious that our Ranger friend is not engaging like the player did. But still, Saruman has his pride. It’s his downfall in the end, and it’s his downfall in his fight against the one Ranger who’s already beating him. Lothrandir can’t be killed outright because Saruman hasn’t won yet. And with that guarantee of protection, Lothrandir can coast all the way to the conquest of Isengard. 

He can keep playing the game and stalling for time. It’s morbid, but what better way to waste someone’s time and energy than convincing them slow, drawn-out torture is the way to go? A little extreme, Lothrandir, but it’s still his game to lose. He wastes Saruman’s time. If he is eventually rescued, total victory. If he’s killed in the end, he definitely didn’t give the wizard the satisfaction, so a less resounding victory but one in the win column nonetheless. 

With a little help from our usually Ranger-cidal devs, Lothrandir reprograms Saruman’s game of chess to a boxing match. He takes out all his disadvantages, gets Isengard to attack from a point of... if not weakness then at least neutral ability, and then devotes his every waking breath to violent disobedience.

Sure, you could have taken any of the Grey Company with you to Isengard. Lheu Brenin could have swapped out for Braigar or Amlan or Mithrendan or Culang- but only one of these guys has the brute strength, commitment, and sheer audacity to pull it off. 

You take Lothrandir to Orthanc. There’s a different prisoner of Nan Curunir when he leaves.

[forsakenoathkeeper]

I Am Alive (chapter 5/?)

Deviant!Connor[RK800] x (fem!)Reader Rated M(18+) for canon-typical violence and gore, medical procedures, and graphic sexual content

Synopsis: You were a mechanical engineer, now a nurse for androids, who moved back to Detroit after the revolution to offer aid. After reconciling with an old friend, you became rather acquainted with his android partner.

Please support me on AO3 & thanks for reading ♥

Connor wasn't oblivious to what he was doing.

'Rogue' was one word that came to mind; but, that was a bit extreme all things considered. He wasn't acting against the police and he didn't intend to commit any crimes, especially heinous ones.

He was hunting the android alone, without clearance, without jurisdiction.

-not like this was the first time.

He had intel that the human detectives didn't have. A good lot of them didn't respect him, some more obvious than others, and often disregarded his input on things. Of course, they were never hesitant to let him take the lead when dealing with dangerous individuals or gunfire.

Most of the time, it didn’t bother him.

Fowler saw him as a competent detective and needed the manpower, now more than ever. Hank trusted him with his life and stood up for him. That was all the recognition that Connor needed.

Having to work alone wasn’t all that terrible. He was faster, stronger, more capable of discretion... usually. He didn't have to worry about putting someone in danger or being slowed down. It also meant that he could-

-bend the rules in ways that only androids were capable of.

The other detectives were hung up on the possibility that Evelin Wheeler was murdered by someone she had crossed in her days as a lawyer. Connor had found seven cases that ended with death threats. Three of those cases, the plaintiffs or victims, were still alive and living in or near Detroit.

While other detectives were investigating those potential leads, Connor took to the streets to see if he could locate Robert. Maybe it was his programming talking; but, Connor was suspicious of the android.

Clouds were heavy and dark in the sky, the smell of approaching rain thick in the air. Connor was waiting outside of Haven in a nearby alleyway, perched up against a crate where he could duck back into hiding or lean out and see into the street.

He was standing near an abandoned warehouse that seemed to have suffered structural damage at one point, rubble having collapsed into the plot nearby. The towering structure was an eyesore and provided good cover for the detective. It was also across the street from Haven.

Connor fumbled with his coat pocket, fishing out a coin. He rolled it between his fingers as he waited.

You had been texting him, a very welcomed distraction from the monotony. Though, if Connor was being honest, waiting never bothered him. He couldn’t quite tell if it was because his android, a part of his programming, or just the way he was.

"u know u dont have to" was your latest message, popping up in the top right corner of his HUD. You had trouble getting your car started this morning and had taken a taxi to work. When Connor found out, he asked if he could give you a ride home.

"If I'm being honest, it is not just for your sake. I want to see you" he texted back.

It had been a little over week since he last saw you. Work had been hectic for you both, between countless damaged androids and Connor knee deep in multiple cases, one in particular that was rubbing him the wrong way. Even if he only got to sit in a car with you for thirty minutes, that would be good enough.

"i miss u too" your reply came in. Connor smiled at that and briefly pondered how to reply.

When people were 'an item', what did they do? Attending a restaurant together seemed to be the most common answer that came up in his searches; however, considering Connor did not require sustenance, and lacked the components to dispose of them, he couldn't eat.

Surprisingly, ‘drinking’ came up a lot, too. There was no way he was taking you to a sleazy bar. There were always clubs. Did you like that sort of thing? He didn’t want to make assumptions about your lifestyle. There was the added concern that Connor didn’t know if he could dance. He had never tried it before.

'Walks in the park' also came up in his searches; while Connor was not easily perturbed by the weather, you likely would find it far too cold outside. The local movie theatres were closed down temporarily due to the uprising, leaving that option out, as well.

He could invite you over to his apartment; but, what if you took that as an unwanted suggestion? He missed you in that manner, maybe more than he cared to admit; but, he didn't want to give the impression that it was all he cared about.

Connor's LED was blaring yellow as he internally argued with himself. He aggressively shifted his coin from one hand to the other and flung it high into the air with a flick of his thumb.

Humans did this - 'heads or tails' - so he tried it.

When it fell back down, he snatched it from the air, opened his palm and glanced down. The coin had landed on tails. Connor glared at the harmless nickel disk for not giving him the results he wanted.

Okay. Maybe he was thinking too hard.

-maybe he just needed to go for it.

"I want to treat you to something. If you would like that?" Connor messaged you.

Likely caught up in something, you didn’t reply immediately. So, Connor began rotating his coin again, rolling it between his fingers, flicking it back and forth between his palms. He had no idea where this quirk came from: if it was programmed into him or some bizarre string of code that manifested itself. He could do it without much processing power, making it rather relaxing.

"if you wanna? u dont have to do anything like that" your message popped up on his HUD some time later.

"Is it weird that I want to?" Connor messaged you back.

"not at all" you replied. He read it in your soft voice and found himself feeling bashful. He felt weird, like he wanted to do things for you - unnecessary things that you were perfectly capable of doing yourself.

"theres a park i loved as a kid. we can go when it warms up?" you offered.

"I would like that" Connor replied.

A thought came to him, something that he chided himself for: he had hoped for something he could do for you, now, not later.

But, then-

"until then i like ur apartment" immediately came in afterward.

Connor gawked at the message like an idiot for a moment or two before he snapped out of it. Maybe you had read his mind... somehow.

He had no need for a TV because he could get all the news on the interface in his processing unit. He didn't have a need for many dishes for obvious reasons and only bothered to keep the fridge plugged in in case Hank brought something over. His apartment was severely under furnished by human standards.

Suddenly, he wanted to change that.

"You are welcome anytime" he replied. "I'll make sure its warmer this time"

Your reply came fairly quickly; but, Connor didn't see it.

Movement caught his eye.

An android was approaching Haven, not that that was anything new. However, he dressed in a dirty hoodie and torn up pants, ankle-high work boots matching what Connor had seen in Evelin Wheeler's home, the correct height and stature for the model type seen in Louis’ memories.

Connor slid the coin back into his coat pocket and focused his optical sensors on the android. He couldn't get a good enough look from this angle to see into the propped up hood.

The detective waited outside while the other android crossed the threshold into Haven.

Markus wanted to do things the right way. Connor respected that.

It meant that he would inform Robert the police were looking for him and try to encourage him to speak with them. If he was innocent, that meant he had nothing to hide. But Connor knew that Robert would likely attempt to flee, even if he was innocent.

The android was inside the building for eleven minutes and some odd seconds before he stormed out the front and trotted down the street. Connor didn't waste any time taking up pursuit. The android had some haste to his steps, but wasn't running. Still, Connor knew he would lose him if he dawdled for a second.

Rain began to fall, beginning in gentle sprinkles that coated the concrete and asphalt in faint specs. Connor could feel the rain like gentle taps against his outer skin. It was useful: the noise made it harder to properly hear the sounds of their footsteps. That potentially risked the chance that Connor would lose Robert; but, it also meant he was less likely to be detected.

He needed an empty, quiet place where he could interrogate him. But, Connor also was well aware of the fact that he didn't have backup. If the android proved to be more dangerous than he anticipated, he would be alone and at great risk.

-again, this was nothing new.

Connor recognized the route Robert was taking. He was heading for the industrial district's harbor.

It wasn't abandoned. Factory work had resumed, albeit with struggles considering the android workforce had been lost. However, people were trying to return to normal life. They needed to; and so, the ports reopened and shipments starting to flow again.

The detective continued to stalk behind the android for miles, paying no mind to the fact that he was steadily growing farther and farther away from where he had parked his car, nor the fact that he was getting soaked by the rain.

When they arrived at the harbor, Robert took a path through a rundown building that was likely once a communication hub for a business that went under decades ago. It was longer than a direct route, but provided cover, less any of the human workers at the nearby plants spotted him.

In following, Connor realized that abandoned shipping containers were piled up outside. The rust and erosion patterns suggested they had been here a long time.

At the end of the row of containers, another building, a steel hub right at the edge of the water. Normally, these were open, designed to be for receiving and sending shipments, unloading. However, someone had taken the time to board it up.

Robert entered through a hastily cut out hole acting as a doorway.

Connor knew this was the end of the line. He was going to have to face Robert here.

He took one, careful step past the threshold, and realized there was an echo. That alone made it near impossible to continue sneakily. When Connor stepped forward, he felt something scan him. It was harmless, a perimeter censor: the kind of motion detector that could pick up android's serial numbers with a quick scan, and send alerts to the programmed android. It was, essentially, an intruder alert.

The detective turned his head to the adjacent wall. Sure enough, there it was, the size of a quarter, at head level, eyeing him.

He was intrigued that Robert had taken the time to setup defenses here. It wasn't particularly deterring, just a simple alarm that would prevent him from being snuck up on. Connor could hear Robert's shoes loudly squeak on the floor. He was pacing, probably deciding his next move.

Connor continued, turning down the hall and stepping into the main hull.

When Robert spotted him, he took a few steps back, maintaining distance between them. Connor took up a firm stance, feet shoulder length apart, arms crossed in front of him, hands cupped, like a soldier might stand.

"Why are you following me?" Robert called out, sounding more annoyed than anything else. The echo in the room was loud, creating an obnoxious tremor around them.

"I wanted to talk to you - ask you a few things," Connor replied calmly.

Robert was silent for a moment, eyeing Connor suspiciously. "You're the detective android," he said lowly.  "I heard stories...” Robert looked him up and down. “You're not as intimidating as I expected."

If that was intended to insult Connor, all it managed to do was make him curious. What kind of images had Robert conjured in his mind of the android detective?

"Why haven't you removed your indicator?" Robert asked in a manner that was almost taunting. "You think we're equal to humans, don't you? Why wear something that sets us apart?"

"It doesn't matter to me if people know I am an android," Connor answered, maintaining his passive tone. It wasn't entirely the truth. Sometimes, he wanted people to know he was an android. He was once frightened by the idea of deviancy; now, it felt like a badge of honor. Maybe, he was prideful: he was the first detective android to join the force, and the last and only of his model.

"You work for the humans - against us," Robert accused. “What makes you think you have any right to stand with us?”

"I don't work against androids. I work against murderers," Connor proclaimed. He could see panic flash behind Robert's eyes. But, the android was quick to compose himself. "-human or android," Connor added on.

Robert opened his mouth; but, Connor, growing tired of this pointless banter, decided to be direct.

"I'm here because I believe you killed Evelin Wheeler."

"Who?" Robert asked, his head tilting to the side. From his lack of concern, Connor couldn't quite identify if he was being sincere, or just didn't care.

"An elderly woman who was being cared for by an android," Connor elaborated robotically.

Robert shrugged. "What makes you think I did that?"

"I saw you harassing the android living with her," Connor answered, tone lowering.

Robert settled a firm glare on Connor. "Harassing? I wanted to help him be free."

Connor kept his stoic expression, eyes unyielding of his emotions, LED strong blue. "I'm glad you remember them," he replied lowly.

The detective could see some stress rise in Robert. He wasn't frightened by Connor. He was growing steadily more and more angered by him.

"Then, surely you-"

"He was delusional," Robert interrupted sharply, clearly insulted. "Called her 'family'. I had to help him. He was being controlled by that human. I set him free."

"He was free,” Connor corrected him. “You hate humans. That's what it is. It has nothing to do with justice.” He maintained his persona: a cold, calculating detective.

The other android didn't seem to like that word. "You still elevate them above us, you hypocrite!" Robert snarled. "Don't talk to me about justice."

"Human or android, you killed an innocent woman in cold blood," the detective said lowly, letting his stare darken slightly.

"Where's your proof?" Robert challenged.

"Your shoes match the impressions at the crime scene," Connor stated bluntly. "You also were seen harassing the family-" Robert twitched at the word. "-a week before the murder. That's enough circumstantial evidence to obtain a warrant for your memories for that night."

"Where's your w-warrant, huh?" Robert challenged, his voice faltering slightly. "Why am I not under arrest, yet? You have nothing!" Robert shouted, his voice echoing around the chamber.

Connor narrowed his eyes slightly. "742-11-904, you are under arrest for trespassing on private property-"

Robert suddenly shifted and charged at Connor. Being a unit designed for industry work, he was bigger than Connor, bulkier with a wider frame and greater weight capacity; but, Connor was agile, flexible, and designed for combat. He avoided his assault with ease, but wasn't able to counter. His back hit the wall and Robert continued down the hallway past him.

Connor took up pursuit, finding that Robert took a different path out. He chased him into the harbor, out in the open, where security lights shined down on them. Workers from a nearby plant were perched on a balcony on the second floor. Connor could hear their surprised murmurs, "what the hell - you see that shit?"

Chain link covered the edge of the dock to act as a barrier to prevent falls. Connor contemplated pulling his gun on Robert; however, trespassing wasn't an offense worthy of firing, and he had yet to obtain the warrant he needed for the murder case. Pulling his gun would have been a one-way ticket to suspension, or likely worse.

Robert wasn't made for this. Connor was going to catch up to him. The android likely knew this. He had to take a path that Connor wouldn’t follow. He climbed the chain link, reaching the top before Connor got to him, and dived over the edge, straight into the harbor. The splash was drowned out by the rain tapping on the metal roofs nearby.

Connor looked over the edge to where the dark waters lapped at the concrete platform. Naturally, he couldn’t see anything through the murky water. He sighed, placing one hand on the chain link to lean against it.

"Well, so much for that," he groaned to himself.

It was unlikely that Robert could stay submerged for long, even less likely that he would surface here. He wasn’t going to return to this hiding place, nor Haven. Connor would have to find him through other means.

The rain started to pick up, sprinkling morphing to heavy droplets. Connor's eyes adjusted to lighting, or lack of, naturally. He was too focused on finding Robert that he failed to realize the sun had set. The time was normally hidden on his HUD as it was intrusive, distracting. He didn't need sleep. He didn't need rest. He could theoretically go days without a break.

When he brought the time temporarily back into view briefly, he realized it was 7:17. Your shift ended at 7 tonight, and he had promised he would be there.

"Shit!" he cursed out loud, swiveling away from the fence.

As he trotted away, shoes making wet sopping noises on the concrete, Connor started a message, "I'm sorry. I'm going to be a little late".

Before he sent it, he realized that he had missed your previous message.

"hold u to eet" you had replied. It was in response to his promise that the apartment would be warmer next time. But, it also struck him as a painful reminder that you had placed trust in his ability to get you home safely, and in a timely manner.

The rain continued to pick up until it was pouring down, like tiny rocks pummeling his body. It didn't hurt, but it was exhausting. He had fucked up, twice. He failed to capture Robert and now he was delaying you.

Instead of sending that message, he decided to call.

It rang once, then twice-

"Oh - shit - are you here already?" you blurted into the phone as soon as you answered.

"N-no, I-" he stammered. "I'm going to be late. I'm sorry."

"Actually - that's fine. I got so caught up in this thirium shipment, I didn't realize what time it was," you explained, sounding out of breath. "I was afraid I was keeping you."

"I wouldn't have minded waiting," Connor replied, feeling some relief at your words.

"No - don't say that," you scolded gently. "Don't take bullshit from anyone, Connor."

"Ugh-" he stammered. Did he take bullshit from people? Maybe he did and he just didn't care most of the time. Was waiting for you bullshit, anyway? He didn’t need to sleep, afterall.

"Working late, too, huh?" you breathed into the phone.

"Field work," Connor replied lowly.

You chuckled into the phone. "You know I can take a taxi if you're-"

"No, I-" he interrupted sharply. "I want to see you. Please."

"Connor," you breathed into the phone.

His phone wasn't a handheld device. It was an interface build into his processor. He could hear you directly in his head. Even through the slight distortion created by radio signals, the sound of your voice still managed to do something to him. Maybe he underestimated how badly he missed you.

In the background, Connor could hear one of your coworkers, "ooooo - who's Connor?" teasing at you in a purposely obnoxious voice.

You laughed quietly. "My boyfriend," you answered.

My boyfriend-

For some reason, something as mundane as you telling people that, made him really happy.

There was some shuffling noises, likely you moving around and trying to balance something in one hand and your phone in the other.

"Is he cute?" a different voice asked this time.

Connor was prepared to eavesdrop on this conversation in full; but, after some loud shuffling, you came back, speaking into the phone properly. "I'm gonna let you go, now - get this finished up - oh shit it's raining - let me know when you're in the parking lot?"

"Understood," he replied automatically, a habit. Plus, if he was being honest, he was disappointed.

"-and don't stress about it, Connor-" you added on hastily.

Fuck that-

-as soon as you hung up, Connor was running to his parked car.

[mythandlaur]

Oh-- and also Klug, why not?

Send a character’s name to receive four different headcanons

Klug - Puyo Puyo

realistic: Klug doesn’t require the Record of Sealing to cast spells, but it enhances and acts as a focus for his magic, and its inhabitant’s taught him some of their magic as well; Vis Attrahendi/Gravity Strike is one of their own spells (as it’s the exact same animation as Strange Klug’s Hydrangea). Klug’s come to rely on the book as just a bit of a confidence crutch, and its inhabitant has reluctantly allowed him to use it as a grimoire where he’s copied down some of his more pertinent and complex spells (the pages of the book itself are blank, and Aya can ‘write’ in it themself and manipulate its contents. They do occasionally hide or mix up Klug’s notes to get a rise out of him).

while it may not be realistic it is hilarious: As Aya can choose who can hear them at any given time, they tend to act as Klug’s personal peanut gallery, much to Klug’s consternation--while trapped in the book, they tend to act like more of a harmless trickster and general little shit than they actually are. On days when they feel particularly chatty, Klug can often be caught getting into petty arguments with absolutely nothing--and sometimes, Aya will specifically engineer this so that someone catches him and Klug has to fumble to explain himself without revealing that the book is alive.

heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends: Well, I would say something about how he doesn’t actually know where he’s going with his life or know who he is besides ‘the best’, but according to a recent translation of his vocal theme, that’s apparently canon. Let it be known I called him being on the fast track to gifted kid burnout five months ago.

So instead...the incident with him being possessed by the Record of Sealing has affected him far more than he’s willing to tell. The experience left Klug with claustrophobia (he will have outright panic attacks in small, dark spaces, or if he’s somewhere he feels he’s trapped and can’t escape). He’s also still mad at Sig and Raffina for leaving him behind (the former moreso than the latter--Raffina was to be expected, pretty much). As much as he tries to tell himself it doesn’t matter, he’s used it as justification to push himself further away from his classmates, because they clearly don’t care about him and he doesn’t have to care about them either. Even Amitie leaves him behind on her crazy adventures--not that he wants to be a part of those or anything!

If 7 is to be believed, this all only adds to the doomed path he’s heading down leading up to the day he graduates...

unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own: Klug is autistic. He has a lot of trouble understanding how to properly “solve” social situations, which he tries to make up for with his own brashness and mainly talking about himself because he can’t possibly get that wrong; he has poor control of his volume and is unsure of what to do with his hands if he isn’t holding the Record of Sealing, which he uses as something of a stim; he has trouble understanding and empathizing with the emotions of others, or realizing when he’s said something hurtful, though he’ll pretend that that’s exactly what he meant to do; both astronomy and astrology are his special interests.

Also, he’s secretly jealous of Sig’s apparent ability to just not worry about things, because Klug worries about absolutely everything, so much, all the time.

[spacesnaill]

Holds you at gunpoint. Every question for Jupiter. (you can skip some if you want-)

i love you, you motherfucker 🔫

1. what is your character's relationship to the traveler?

jupiter is aether’s and lumine’s big sibling, so they all get along very well. i like to think aether and lumine are way more brash and “act before you think” kind of people, while jupiter usually is the one who takes lead (both because of the big sib energy and because they are way more analytical). that being said, jupiter is aware that the twins are very much capable of surviving on their own and fighting if there is any need for that, which is why even after losing touch with them in tevyat they know that the twins will manage somehow, they just need to find them

2. is your character proud of, ashamed of, or indifferent to their feelings towards members of a certain gender?

i’d like to think that the species/society the trio comes from doesnt give a fuck about gender and sexuality so jupiter would never feel ashamed or upset about their feelings towards specific genders. i dont think they would rlly label themself but they are definitely not straight. as to having feelings towards others: they are usually straight forward in their approach

3. what is your character's relationship with themselves?

jupiter knows their purpose and objective very well, but that often clouds their true desires. i like to think that they havent really been thinking for themself up until they were stranded in tevyat and had to rely on themself. they came to realize their own opinions and perspectives that they carry with themself everywhere they go. tho, their views are rather flexible, because they are very much willing to learn if an oppoturnity arises. that being said, they dont quite know themself well just yet, they are still learning after all

4. what is their favorite region? why?

with how much of the game is available rn, liyue is definitely their favorite so far. it’s culture is incredibly rich and full of fascinating stories and legends. i personally am looking forward to the release of sumeru, but what will come out of it is yet to be seen

5. what is their relationship with Zhongli? do they have one at all?

oh they very much do. while his charm and politeness are qualities that they very much enjoy, what originally drew them closer to him was his vast knowledge over liyue’s traditions and customs. at first during their stay at liyue harbor they would wait to catch him during his afternoon and evening strolls around the city to ask him things and carefully listen to everything he has to say. id like to think that zhongli appreciated having such an active listener and even a conversation partner at some point. eventually their little friendship grew into fondness for each other and they would seek each other’s company, until jupiter straight up confessed. id like to think their relationship is fairly innocent and very much founded on mutual respect and admiration. they both value honesty and communicate with each other rather well. and even though, zhongli hesitated before agreeing to travel with them, leaving liyue behind, he doesnt regret doing it

6. who is their love interest? If they do not have one, who is their closest friend?

while zhongli is both their love interest and their dear friend, venti is their first close friend. during the events of chapter I they both bonded. venti seemed like someone containing a vast amount of knowledge that jupiter was eager to discover. it quickly became apparent to them that the bard doesnt particularly like to talk about the past in detail, but venti still would surprise them with how much he knew about art and the culture surrounding it. they are both pretty light spirited so they always enjoyed each other’s company and their bond only grew stronger during their travels.

7. what do they think of Mona?

they are curious about and intrigued by her methods. they can also very much relate to her pursuit of lost/forgotten knowledge. they like to ask her about astrology and theorize with her, asking her to teach them little things for an exchange of a hot, homemade meal

8. what do they think of The Knights of Favonius?

their opinion on the knights is mixed. they can very much see that most of the people working for them are underqualified and not cut for the job or only doing it for the renown. while the idea of a city without a ruler is appealing, in practice the knights are the ones ruling over it and jupiter was left feeling sceptical when thinking about their methods and the possible future. they dont have anything against the individual people in the organization, but they do think their approach is highly flawed

9. wine is Mondstadt's most popular drink. do they drink wine?

while they do indulge in alcohol from time to time, they dont seem to be able to get drunk or even tipsy. they’ve concluded that since their body is built differently than a person of this world’s, its very probable that they dont react to certain foods and products the same way. alcohol is like any kind of a drink for them and many people are terrified when they see them consume it in large quantities

10. what do they think of Kaeya?

they like his playful nature and think he is a highly intelligent person, who doesnt show anyone what he is truly capable of. his methods, while very  cunning, seem rather brash, which somehow reminds them of their siblings. while they are very much curious about his motives and history, they dare not to pray if it isnt welcomed. during their stay in mondstadt they would often times catch kaeya lurking in the tavern and spending time with the local gangs and bandits in order to extort information from them while drunk. in the rarer occasions where he would be alone, they would sometimes keep him company, filling the night with talks about nothing in particular

11. if they were forced to make the choice between killing their love interest/friend or killing themselves, what would they choose? why?

that very much depends on when that would happen. pre-separation with their siblings, they would very much operate on the hard logic of “whoever has more information/more important information should survive”. however after spending time in tevyat and meeting its people, jupiter learns to greatly value life and their inicial stance would change to a more selfless one. the more they get to know about the world the more they are willing to put their life on the line to preserve life in it, especially if its the life of someone they hold dear

12. what do they think of Childe? 16. is there a canon character your character hates? why?

at first they were open to the idea of being childe’s friend, however with time they started noticing that something was wrong with his overt friendliness. when he revealed his true intentions, jupiter was not surprised, but learning what he had chose to do made them absolutely despise him. staying in liyue has taught them a lot and made them care about the people living in this world. however childe seemed to have no disregard to them. they will not hesitate to fight him if their paths do cross again

13. do they carry a lot of Mora?

having a large amount of mora is basically a requirement when travelling with zhongli and venti. jupiter does take on a lot of jobs and comissions, though mora is mostly a secondary issue for them. they do find themself owning quite a lot of it at times until they overspend with their companions and are forced to rely on their survival skills in order to save up enough to get a roof over their heads

14. does your character side with Kaeya, Diluc or neither?

when it comes to the family feud: neither. jupiter doesnt like to pry into family matters and they understand both kaeya and diluc never talking about their issues with one another. while they cant imagine siblings behaving like that, due to their own experience, they dont feel like its their place to judge.

when it comes to the knights of the favonius: jupiter slightly leans more on diluc’s side, recognizing the many weaknesses of the organization as it is, however they both come from different places when critiquing it.

15. what do they think of Venti?

venti has become their best friend and they value him deeply. they worry about him sometimes, aware of the origin of his appearance and the history behind it. they like how venti seems to perceive life in a very poetic way and are fascinated by it. they get along very well and venti often fill their time during their travels by his songs, both known and not yet named

17. how did they acquire their vision?

they seem to be blessed with the same ability as their siblings when it comes to being granted powers without aquiring a vision themself

18. what is your character's weakness?

their curiosity and hunger for knowledge

19. what is their strength?

they utilize the knowledge they have gathered into things they can use to their advantage be it in battle or daily life

20. what is your character's theme song?

pure gold by half·alive

21. what weather do they love the most? why?

they love when its sunny. jupiter very much enjoys the feeling of sunlight on their skin

22. what do they think of Paimon?

jupiter would be Ecstatic to get to meet paimon. her vast knowledge in all matters would make her a valuable companion. in the current story they have no idea who she is as of now though

23. what do they think of the Fatui?

while they do not approve of the fatui’s methods, they cant help but think that something much deeper must be going on. jupiter wants to believe that the tsaritsa cant be simply evil and that perhaps she has some other, hidden motivation for her actions. having spent time with and got to know the fatui in liyue, they also know that not all of them are cartoonish bad guys

24. what do they think of the archons?

overall the concept of archons seems very new and intriguing to them. they do try to get as much information about their godhood out of venti and zhongli. they wonder whether this world really needs the archons as much as it claims to

25. what is the worst thing that could happen to your oc?

either losing their siblings or losing their memory (its a great fear of theirs)

26. what does your oc want the most?

their long term dream is to write down all the knowledge they’ve gathered so far and make it accessible and understandable to anyone willing to read it

[naruto-oc-critiques]

not to be that girl lmao, but could i get some sasuke pairing advice? i really enjoyed reading the pairing advice you gave to others but i hadn’t seen one of his yet. personally, i don’t see him being the type to really fit with anyone but? yeah please and thanks!

So, a Sasuke pairing guide.

That’s no problem. I mean, why else has he been without one for so long? It’s not like he’s super difficult to write for or anything.

he is omg help me

On a serious note, Sasuke is a complex character. That said, I think what makes him most difficult to pair isn’t necessarily his personality but these two things:

His tunnel vision. Sasuke was occupied with his goals and was only interested in seeing them realized. He didn’t pay attention to people unless they could somehow help in achieving those goals (see: Team Hebi / Taka). Sasuke was never seeking an intimate relationship (whether platonic or otherwise) because it was irrelevant to what he was trying to accomplish.

The timeline. Sasuke’s personal journey is closely linked to Naruto’s main plot—he’s pretty much the main driving force of the story. He’s got a lot going on and, combined with the previous point, there’s not a lot of wiggle room to integrate an OC into his story.

Of course, there are ways of pairing Sasuke—he just requires some careful consideration if you’re sticking with canon, which is the assumption I'm going with when writing this guide.

On that note, I want to mention something: a relationship with Sasuke will likely be a slow burn, long distance one. It will include Sasuke being MIA frequently and, when he does finally return, there will likely be baggage to work through.

This, however, should be embraced, in my opinion.

The most common approach I've seen in pairing Sasuke with an OC is to have them meet in Konoha during Part I > OC follows Sasuke to Orochimaru > OC follows Sasuke by joining Team Taka / Hebi and then profit. This approach, while giving Sasuke and OC consistent exposure to one another, is one that really works against OC creators as it creates this need to justify too many story and character deviations, which causes unnecessary frustration.

My solution: don't have OC present during every step of Sasuke's journey.

Think outside the box. Have an OC that was always an affiliate of Sound and they meet when Sasuke defects. Let OC and Sasuke first meet or reconnect after the Fourth Shinobi War. Have them meet as adults during the Boruto era. Develop your OC's life outside of their interactions with Sasuke; don't force them to always be together.

or you can just do what you want also

With that little tangent out the way, let’s talk about his personality a little.

After the Uchiha Massacre, Sasuke was pretty cold. He didn't care much about relationships—or other people in general. Unless they were stronger than him, in which case, he would obsess over surpassing them. During Part I, Sasuke's capacity for empathy was a bit higher—as seen with his interactions with Team 7, among other instances—but he eventually discards this in exchange for pursuing power during Shippūden. There is a callous disregard for others during this time as well, something he doesn't begin to move past until the end of Shippūden. Following Parts I and II, Sasuke begins moving towards trying to form and strengthen connections with those around him. He's still not outwardly brimming with emotion, but he is much more capable and open to expressing those kind, caring feelings he has for others in his own way.

So, finally, onto what you probably want most: what Sasuke might like in a partner! Yay!

Someone talented and / or useful. Applicable mainly to Parts I and II Sasuke. If your OC is not as strong as or stronger than Sasuke, he's not interested, as the great Cloud Strife often puts it. OC would have to be on Neji / Gaara / Rock Lee levels of strength and notoriety to catch Sasuke's attention—everyone else is literally fodder to him. Similarly, when he's in his Team Hebi / Taka days, he's only interested in those that can help fulfill his goals. This is where issues of power level can come into play (especially during Part I), but the only advice I can really give is to just develop your OC's abilities, strengths and weaknesses.

Someone empathetic but uncompromising. Applicable mainly to post-Shippūden Sasuke. What I mean is Sasuke might want someone that understands his motives for his past actions—but would also need to see the error in them. Sasuke himself is completely ashamed of his past actions and seeks to repent for them, so I doubt he would want someone making excuses for him when he himself doesn't.

Someone steadfast in their convictions. Someone that stays on their own personal path no matter what. I think this would be appealing to Sasuke, considering how his own goals, feelings and convictions were constantly tried and tested throughout the series.

Someone accommodating. A person that understands that Sasuke won't always be there but still chooses to welcome him, maybe not with open arms, but at least with an open heart would go a long way. OC can (understandably) be upset, hurt and annoyed with him but someone that realizes Sasuke is trying in his own way to become better and is willing to work on their relationship together is cool.

Emotionally grounded and mature. I'm not saying your OC has to be without their own problems—everyone has their problems, ya know—but I think someone that is aware of their emotional needs would be able help and support Sasuke in mending his emotional needs. They'd be able to communicate and all that good jazz.

Easygoing and open. While I don't think Sasuke is bothered by loud, more rambunctious people (see: Naruto and Sakura), I do think that a calm, mellow individual could work well with him. Also someone forthright with their feelings would mesh well, in my opinion. They'd probably be the "lead dancer," if you will, when it comes to the communication aspects of their relationship—they could say the things that Sasuke might struggle to say or express without feeling the embarrassment or hesitation he might feel.

Overall, like I said, when it comes to pairing an OC with Sasuke, it's better not force things or do too many things at once. Working on a smaller scale, I think, would be ideal and more enjoyable when attempting to write a romance for Sasuke.

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend going the typical route of having an OC born and raised in Konoha jumping around the story following after Sasuke—unless, of course, you think you have good reasoning behind it. I would recommend on exploring post- Shippūden and Boruto era Sasuke, where he is more emotionally available, and there is more room for relationship building plus boruto era sasuke is pretty tasty fr fr.

But, as always, do what makes you happy and have fun with it!

- ATB

[tea-with-nyarlathotep]

Hegemony and Arthurian Myth

SSS here! I'm a big fan of old myths, and one set of myths I have a particular fondness of is Arthurian Myth! Sure, not all of it has aged well, but there's something compelling to me about its characters and their countless interpretations, from the tragedy to the glory, and I love its nature as a tale where most of the characters genuinely try their best even in a society where kings and queens exist. My personal favorite piece of Arthurian fiction is Terence Howard White's The Once and Future King. While it hasn't aged too well in places, its themes of the tragedy of grudges, destructive love, and the horrors of abuse still have a firm place in my heart. It's no surprise, then, that I'd take into account Arthurian Myth and The Once and Future King as I wrote Hegemony. So... here's the three characters that have the biggest parallels with their counterparts from Arthurian Myth.

Adora is the obvious example. He-Man, and She-Ra by extension, are by definition inspired by the tale of King Arthur. Unsurprisingly, I have a take on this as well. Adora has many similarities to the Arthur of myth in Hegemony. She goes from a commoner to a destined monarch due to her bloodline, chooses a path of bravery and heroism, and seeks to unite the world. The only thing is that... well... "uniting the world" is bad if it requires you to conquer other people, a fact Adora comes to disregard. It would be easy for a destined hero to fall apart and to turn to evil, and it should come as no surprise that Adora slowly does so. Also, they both draw a sword from a rock, so that's a parallel.

So, I know what the one person reading this is thinking... surely, Hordak parallels one of the villains, right? Perhaps the dastardly trickster and court mage Morgan Le Fay? The plotter Morgause, who overthrows the shining kingdom after her death? Or maybe the deranged Mordred, used as a weapon in a war he had no choice in?

Well, actually, he's Lancelot. Now, there's already a parallel to Lancelot in the character. Hordak is a tragic figure whose only self-worth comes from his purity and martial prowess. Taking this further, The Once and Future King has an iffy depiction of Lancelot as conventionally unattractive, and while we know Hordak is a gorgeous fellow, it's safe to say not all of Etherian society would share our views on him. Also much like Lancelot, Hordak is a being of incredible strength and power who despite everything hates himself due to feeling he is born improperly and has lost his purity. The two even engage in a romance forbidden by their "god" out of sheer love for someone else.

But also, he's a lot like Satan, because I have one trick I can do with Hordak and I really like Milton.

Lastly, we have Shadow Weaver, the character who does parallel Morgause. Admittedly, this is in no way a stretch from canon. Much like Morgause, Shadow Weaver is an abusive mother, a villainous sorcerer, and an ambitious plotter who seeks to take revenge on a kingdom for what she perceives as wrongdoing. Suffice it to say the parallels are quite obvious here, even moreso if you do as many contemporary adaptations do and merge Morgause and Morgan into one character. After all, Shadow Weaver is essentially a court mage when it comes down to it.

____________

Overall, I deliberately gave Hegemony parallels with Arthurian Myth. I don't know how well they worked. I don't really know how clever they are, nor how well-made they are, but it's a point of interest for me and I hope this interests at least a few people.

[ganymedesclock]

Hello! I just recently got HK and I wanted to pick your brain about something. The point of the Knight coming to seal the Radiance is that they're truly hollow enough to do it. That they had no will, no desires, etc. But they clearly display a will and a desire to explore and help the citizens of Hallownest. Even before they see their past and gain the voidheart. Is it just player-game dissonance or does the Knight posses a mind that's not understandable by PK, Radiance, and White Lady?

There’s, a lot of bits to this (and I am about to go to bed for the night so I don’t have time to dig them up) but my longstanding contention, put simply, has always been that PK is an unreliable narrator on the “emptiness” of vessels.

Because the character of the Abyss is not truly empty. If anything, it is abundant, overflowing.

You can, through the game, direct Ghost to behave as something who genuinely has nothing in their mind but PK’s objective. You can ignore everyone who doesn’t physically stop you, disregard anything that you can’t proceed without. There are programmed reactions to this- Elderbug trying vainly to get your attention, Hornet not opening up to you by Herrah’s bedside- and it locks you into the worst ending. You also, taking that run, are given the least information about what’s going on. You basically won’t even know the significance of what you’re doing, but you will be warned of its futility.

To get the better endings- to actually affect any sort of meaningful long-term change in the world, and specifically to better harness and wield the Abyss’s power, you have to direct Ghost to not act like a robot with no feelings. You have to poke around, you have to investigate things, you have to pry deeply into the world and the things that live there. You have to not only express curiosity about the game world, but be stubborn and aggressive about it.

This is not only conflated with more content, more lore- but this is what unlocks the Abyss and renders it onto Ghost’s use. Allegedly, the Abyss is “perfect emptiness”.

But what does that mean to be truly hollow? PK thought it meant a total absence of emotion- and I think in that sense, PK’s the last narrator we should trust. Why? Because, well, PK ruined basically everything- including himself- over his basic inability to understand emotions. PK and feelings are not on speaking terms. PK basically died because he can’t manage his emotions worth jack nor shit.

And it’s Hollow- the, arguably, “failed” vessel- who has strong themes of emotional suppression, of trying to truly Feel Nothing. Hollow, whose void-affinity is relatively weak, but, who, compared to Ghost, has a way better affinity for gleaming, silvery light as exemplified with the Pure Vessel boss fight- silvery light much like the Pale King, mister Terrible At Feelings himself. The exchange at the end of the Path of Pain, to me, is damning evidence that not only did PK know full well Hollow wasn’t emotionless, but he wasn’t emotionless himself; he thought both of them would be fine as long as they personally committed to denying their feelings. It didn’t work for either of them.

Ghost- who, the further you go into the game, is increasingly drummed as Abyss Incarnate, the Lord of Shades? Ghost has feelings. They have regrets. It’s not just player projection- the fact that Ghost produces a shade on death, that they have to grapple and contend with, is in-universe called attention to as that Ghost has regrets- intense, dark, violent regrets- that they are grappling with.

The Void Heart- mastery of the Abyss- does not destroy the Shade. It instead stabilizes the Shade. Arguably, the more “void regalia” Ghost gathers to themselves- the Shade cloak, the void-tinted spells- the more that they actually leak their shade through the controlling, fettering, “have no feelings” mask.

Getting the better endings requires awakening the Dream Nail to its full potential- which the Seer states happens because you are literally gathering others’ dreams to yourself.

I think the true nature of the Abyss’s “hollowness” is not actually lacking feelings, but accepting feelings. Because in a completionist run of the game, rather than a minimalist speed run that the game canonizes to better condemn- Ghost effectively acts as a medium to Hallownest’s restless spirits.

Throughout the game, even as you hone your strength and skills and gain power to affect more and more of the world, you are called upon to listen. To accept. To behold that which people want to show you, want to say, want to confess to someone. Even your enemies; the Failed Champion and Soul Tyrant don’t yield their crop of essence just to being defeated. Rather, you have to hear out what reads very much like their last regrets. They want to clarify themselves, they want to cry out- even into the darkness- that they were alive, that they cared, that they wanted something, that they tried.

This is not a dispassionate act. Being a confessor (and Jiji literally holds that title, being a very void-aligned individual who’s able to call your Shade to you and is very impressed by the Void Heart) is an act of active empathy.

But effective empathy does require not being preoccupied with yourself. You can’t be filled with your own thoughts and feelings if you are letting others’ flow through you cleanly.

Ghost clearly is themselves. They have a part of themselves that they don’t give to anyone, and don’t let anyone else define. Throughout the game, lots of people question Ghost- interrogate or simply remark on their silence, wonder what it’s like to be them, what they feel, what they think.

The message we get heavily throughout the dialogue is that Ghost has opinions and personality- they make decisions we as the player don’t. For example, listening to Hornet in Beast’s Den, she clearly reacts to Ghost giving her a look. 

You can talk to everyone holding a delicate flower in your inventory, but Ghost will only show it to some people, and that’s clearly not a decision based only in who asks for it, since you can offer it to people who don’t want it. It’s not player-directed either, outside of the ultimate yes/no prompt and getting the flower there in the first place.

So I think true or “perfect emptiness” in Hollow Knight isn’t the absence of emotion, but accepting it; and basically the idea of being a ‘perfect vessel’ or a true heir to the Abyss’s power is basically a question of how effective of a medium or empath you are. Because that’s not a stripe you earn by Avoiding Attachment or refusing to act in a sentimental manner to people, and actually doing that locks you out of abyssal apotheosis. Instead, the “True path” that empowers Ghost requires an amount of dawdling, poking around, investigating, and above all else engaging emotionally with people that cannot be explained in a being that doesn’t have any thought or desire of their own.

Especially since the Void Heart itself is only accessible if Ghost actually seeks out answers for their own past. White Lady doesn’t tell you that you should or that you must go seek out the place you were born- she just says it’s an option, if Ghost wills it, now that they have the Kingsoul. And while she remarks afterwards that she’s not sure if you feel anything anymore, to me, that suggests that Ghost has transcended, the way White Lady is aware of you using the Dream Nail on her and basically makes sure you don’t get at anything she doesn’t want you to. (and, it’s further confirmation that before the Void Heart, she was picking up feelings from Ghost)

TL;DR I think the Pale King is an unreliable narrator about the true nature of the Abyss because of his own issues with emotional suppression; the true nature of the Abyss is not Without Emotion as much as it is accepting and reaching a state of peace with one’s own emotions and the emotions of others. 

[uncertainlogic-a]

Hi i love your blog! I would love to know your thoughts on Sarek's experience of Vulcans (disapproval of? Dislike for?) Humans/human cultures (if you want to share about it)

[NOTE: Please do not reblog this, especially personal blogs! I know I have a few who follow me who might not be familiar with RP etiquette, but reblogging posts from RP blogs can clog up our notifications and make it difficult for us to keep track of our threads.]

Thank you!

This particular topic is a big deal to me!

I think one of the things that makes it difficult to figure out what he thinks on these topics is that his canon is spread out over so many series and films, so I'm going to cover as much of it as I can here. Another thing that makes it difficult is that he just... doesn't always say what he means, and those around him seem to misinterpret him at times, so I'll try to cover that too. Which means I'm going to do SO MUCH RAMBLING before I actually directly answer your question. Whoops. 

[A message from me in the future: This ended up being about 2,000 words, and I’m so sorry.]

In his first appearance, Journey to Babel, he doesn't say much about Spock being bullied himself, although it does come up in the intense confrontation between Spock and Amanda.

SPOCK: Mother, how can you have lived on Vulcan so long, married a Vulcan, raised a son on Vulcan, without understanding what it means to be a Vulcan?

AMANDA: If this is what it means, I don't want to know.

SPOCK: It means to adopt a philosophy, a way of life, which is logical and beneficial. We cannot disregard that philosophy merely for personal gain, no matter how important that gain might be.

AMANDA: Nothing is as important as your father's life.

SPOCK: Can you imagine what my father would say if I were to agree, if I were to give up command of this vessel, jeopardize hundreds of lives, risk interplanetary war, all for the life of one person?

AMANDA: When you were five years old and came home stiff-lipped, anguished, because the other boys tormented you saying that you weren't really Vulcan. I watched you, knowing that inside that the human part of you was crying and I cried, too. There must be some part of me in you, some part that I still can reach. If being Vulcan is more important to you, then you'll stand there speaking rules and regulations from Starfleet and Vulcan philosophy, and let your father die. And I'll hate you for the rest of my life.

This is very closely connected to a conversation in the TAS episode Yesteryear, in which we see a conversation between Sarek and Spock when Spock was seven years old. This takes place shortly after Spock was bullied by other children because his father "brought shame to Vulcan" when he married a Human.

SAREK: Spock, being Vulcan means following disciplines and philosophies that are difficult and demanding of both mind and body.

YOUNG SPOCK: Yes, father.

SAREK: You constantly display your emotions. You have even been seen fighting in the street.

YOUNG SPOCK: Yes, father.

SAREK: The time draws near when you will have to decide whether you will follow Vulcan or human philosophy. Vulcan offers much. No war, no crime. Order, logic and control in place of raw emotions and instinct. Once on the path you choose, you cannot turn back.

[...]

SAREK: Soon you will undergo your test of adulthood in the desert. To survive for ten days without food, water or weapon on Vulcan's Forge will demand more of you than anything ever has. To fail once is not a disgrace for others. If you fail, there will be those who will call you a coward all your life. I do not expect you to fail.

YOUNG SPOCK: What if I do, father?

SAREK: There is no need to ask that question. You will not disappoint me. Not if your heart and spirit are Vulcan.

We can see a few things here. First of all, Sarek doesn't seem to be forcing Spock to be fully Vulcan, but telling him that if he chooses a Vulcan philosophy, it will be difficult and demanding. I think it's important to remember that Vulcans have extremely powerful emotions which Humans have difficulty controlling. In the TNG episode Sarek, when Picard has to take on Sarek's emotions, Picard is just sobbing in total despair. When Sarek was in an emotional state, his telepathy also caused everyone on the Enterprise to have fistfights in Ten Forward (since Vulcans aren't actually just touch telepaths but let's have that conversation another time). Sarek can't know how Spock, a half-Human, will be able to deal with Vulcan emotions or if he'll be able to function around other people if he doesn't learn to suppress those emotions. Yet he does still give him that choice!

Now, that second part of the conversation does get a little harsh, and I don't think it's a Great Parenting Moment on Sarek's part. He is putting too much pressure on Spock, and Spock nearly dies because of it. However, I think where he's coming from is Spock faces constant discrimination for being half-Human, so any mistake he makes will be blamed on his Human blood instead of just... an entirely understandable childhood mistake. 

I also think that his words are simply unclear here. When he says "I do not expect you to fail" and "you will not disappoint me", Spock takes that to mean that his father will be ashamed of him if he doesn't succeed. I think Sarek's actual intention was to affirm that he has confidence in his son. Notice, he says "there will be those who will call you a coward" making it very clear that this doesn't mean Spock will actually BE a coward or that Sarek himself will think of him this way. The problem is, of course, that Spock is very young and these little nuances of speech aren't things you want to leave up in the air.

Going back to Journey to Babel, when Sarek is not speaking directly to his son, he is much more expressive about how he feels when he believes Spock is being belittled:

SAREK: You embarrassed Spock this evening. Not even a mother may do that. He is a Vulcan.

AMANDA: He's also human.

SAREK: He's a Starfleet officer.

AMANDA: I thought you didn't approve of Starfleet.

SAREK: It is not a question of approval. The fact exists. He is in Starfleet. He must command respect if he is to function.

AMANDA: Sarek, you're proud of him, aren't you? You're showing almost human pride in your son.

SAREK: It does not require pride to ask that Spock be given the respect which is his due. Not as my son, but as Spock.

I don't really know how, as an entire ass fandom we pretend this conversation didn't happen, but. This is pretty straight forward. Although he's NOT talking about how he was mistreated by other Vulcans here, it's a glimpse into how he must have reacted to Spock being bullied as a child as well. And that last bit is important, I think. Spock received a lot of bullying specifically because Sarek married a Human woman, and it's possible he would take that personally. However, it's clear here that he wants Spock to have respect for the sake of SPOCK, not because it reflects on his own reputation. That is such a big part of his characterization to me that I think gets lost...

Now, I'm going to jump over to Discovery, because there's a lot of great stuff in there. Unfortunately, I don't have as much access to transcripts and stuff, so I'll do my best.

The first thing I have to address is the argument between Sarek and Amanda in Light and Shadows, because a lot of what Amanda says gets taken at face value, and I don't think it should be. 

AMANDA: You never truly respected Humanity.

SAREK: If that were true, I would've married a Vulcan.

AMANDA: Would you have left Vulcan for me? No, you wouldn't. I sacrificed everything for our family.

I think it's really, really important to look at the context of this conversation. Spock is mentally unstable, something that Amanda says was one of her greatest fears. I think it's clear that it was also one of Sarek's greatest fears. Amanda believes that Sarek blames his weaknesses (including his dyslexia, which he inherited from her) on his Humanity, and I can see how his answer seems weak. Like, oh I married you, so I must like Humans. But I don't think that's what he's saying. I think he's saying that he married her knowing they would have a half-Human child, and if he believed Humanity would make his child weak, he wouldn't have had such a child. I think Amanda also knows that somewhere, because she changes the topic so quickly, do you see her? It goes directly from "you don't respect Humanity" to "would you have left Vulcan for me." This is great dialogue, because it's like a real argument. It's not necessarily a fair criticism; it's one you make when you're feeling vulnerable and scared.

She doesn't even wait for him to answer. Would he have said no here? It's hard to tell. Looking back at Yesteryear, it would seem perhaps he would have raised Spock on Earth if Spock would've chosen a more Human philosophy for his life. I think it would've been extremely difficult for him to leave Vulcan... Look at the room they're in. Those are the death masks of his family. This is where their katra stones are. Leaving behind Vulcan for him is more than just a simple move, it's leaving a piece of himself behind. And perhaps it is the same for Amanda, but it's hard to know. I don't think she really would have preferred to stay on Earth, if she weren't so upset in the moment, given other things she says, but I'm sure this is something in the back of her mind. Does he love her as much as she loves him? Would he make sacrifices for her? It's natural to have those questions even in a strong relationship.

ANYWAY, all of this is to say that I don't think this conversation shows that Sarek thinks Vulcan is a better place for their family or that he looks down on Humanity at all. I think it's an argument between a married couple in a very stressful situation. Like... his voice shakes in this argument because he's so worried about his children. It's a lot for both of them.

Another line that WEIRDLY gets taken at face value is from the episode Lethe.

VULCAN DIRECTOR: Upon completion, [Spock] will apply to the expeditionary group and then there will be not one but two non-Vulcans in its ranks.

SAREK: Spock is...

VULCAN DIRECTOR: Half Vulcan. Another of your experiments. The integration of Humans into our culture is an admirable goal, but it must be titrated. In honor of your position and reputation, I will accept one of your not-quite Vulcans.

SAREK: You... ask me to make an impossible choice.

VULCAN DIRECTOR: Your reaction to this is quite illogical and suggests a conclusion based on emotion.

I don't know why people think that this asshole Vulcan director's line about Spock and Michael being Sarek's experiments to integrate Humans into Vulcan culture is just the whole gospel truth, but here we are. And I wish I could make gifs on my broke ass computer so I could show the extent of Sarek's reaction to what the director said, because he is so OPENLY emotional in that moment (as the director then points out) that he must be feeling quite a lot for it to actually make it to the surface. Sarek is regularly referred to as having an incredibly disciplined mind across all the Star Trek series. The two times he falters and shows emotion in Discovery are when Amanda is questioning his devotion to Spock and when the Vulcan director forces him to choose between his children.

Some may take the fact he chose Spock as favoring the more Vulcan of his two children, but I don't think that's true at all. I don't think he considers Michael less important because she's Human; I think he thought she had a better chance to succeed off of Vulcan than Spock had. Like he said, it was an impossible choice, but he made what he thought was the best one given the circumstances.

I have so much more to say about Lethe, but this response is already getting toward 2,000 words, so I'll move on to the episode Brother.

MICHAEL: When I first came to you, I know that you considered every possible effect a Vulcan education, a Vulcan life might have on a Human child. What did you want Spock to learn from me?

SAREK: Empathy. Something he would need to understand to successfully interact with Humans.

Again, this entire conversation is HONESTLY GREAT, and I could also go on about it. BUT. For the purposes of this post, I think it's really important to note that Sarek didn't ignore Spock's Human side, and in fact nurtured it when he brought Michael into the house.

Some might take this to mean the "experiment" line was true, but that's not what's going on here. Sarek didn't seek out a Human child to bring in and teach Spock empathy. He took in Michael, and then considered how this change in his family dynamic would affect everyone. This isn't manipulative, it's an attempt to create the best possible situation.

Furthermore, it's pretty telling that both Sarek and MIchael take it for granted that Spock couldn't learn empathy from Sarek. I expect this is because Sarek suppresses his emotions, but let's think about what this conversation is about. Sarek... tried to understand how bringing Michael into his home and raising her on Vulcan would affect her and how she would affect Spock. And neither of them recognize this as empathy. Sure, it's a methodical and logical kind of empathy, but it has the same purpose and result as a natural empathy.

And I need to tie this all together before it becomes even more ridiculously long than it already is.

Sarek respects and cares for Humans as equals. He didn't marry Amanda because she's Human, he married her because he loves her. This has been supported by all versions of Sarek, even including AOS where he's barely developed. The fact that he married Amanda for love is a key aspect of his character. So, he fell in love with a Human woman, had a half-Human child, and adopted a Human child. 

He also loves Vulcan and is clearly closely tied to Vulcan society and culture. To him, these things are not in conflict with his love for his Human family. The conflict is created by this bigotry in his own culture, and he (rightfully) considers bigotry illogical. Because he believes in logic and Vulcan philosophy in general, he believes that there is a logical way to combat bigotry by showing that his children are just as capable of success as any Vulcan.

The memory that he fights Michael tooth and nail to hide isn't just about him "choosing Spock." It's about the fact he was WRONG. He was wrong about his children being accepted and he was wrong about logic winning out over bigotry. He could not shield them from society no matter how perfect they were. When we see him in Discovery, he's still in the process of coming to terms with the fact there is still discrimination on Vulcan, and that he can't solve it. 

I don't think it's a mistake that the memory that is playing over and over in his head when Michael reaches out to him in Lethe is the day she was rejected from the VSA Expedition. This came right after one of the "logic extremists" tried to kill him after saying "Your fascination with Humans can no longer be tolerated. Your obsession has blinded you to the truth--Humans are inferior. My sacrifice will be a rallying cry to those who value logic above all."

He is tormented by that memory of Michael's rejection because it was the first indication that he was wrong about his people and about the idea that logic can solve hatred.

SO YEAH, I think that pretty much sums up how I think Sarek views the way Vulcans are toward Humans. You can always rely on me to keep things short and to the point, of course.

[goblin-gardens]

@grimark replied to your post “although she is the only one who is currently a literal goblin, i think there’s actually a strong argument to be made about each member of the M9 being actually more Goblin than Nott is”

if you get the time/inclination i would Love to hear about the goblin energy of the rest of the m9

anything for u grim. and anything to tempt you further into the world of Critical Role. i see you liking my “Caduceus Clay is a twink” posts and the good good fjanart i reblog. i see you.

come. stay a while and listen! read my very long and very scientific essay! i will not be disclosing how long this took me, but there are almost 2500 words under the cut.

okay okay okay so the first thing we need to do in this very serious and scientific endeavor is separate Sam Reigel’s MASSIVE Goblin Energy from his character. that man’s Goblid Quotient is OFF THE CHARTS.

when we look at Just Nott (and Veth, which would be a whole nother section but we don’t actually know anything about her??) does she express clear Goblin Traits at a higher rate than the rest of her party? they are generally a pretty gobliny bunch, or they wouldn’t be killing strangers to take their gold, but do they have true Goblin Traits?

Some key elements of Goblinry: 1) Collection Of Crap 2) Chaos 3) Minionhood 4) Gooey Center 5) Laser Pointer Focus 6) Furious Devotion and 7) Hideous Cackling. what’s that? these seven qualities match up with the seven other members of the Mighty Nein, past and present? what a coincidence!!

1) Collection Of Crap, epitomized by: Caleb Widogast. a fairly self explanatory goblin trait. okay so yes, this is a trait Nott has in spades, and is specifically and canonically an aspect of her goblinhood. Caleb, however has chosen to Collect Crap to be a wizard, filling his pockets with spell components including, but by no means limited to, sulfur, molasses, honeycomb, bits of copper wire, and literal bat shit. it’s all just. in his pockets. being slimy. he has also been Collecting the Crap of trauma in his brain for many years, and no fantasy therapist has been around to help him KonMari some of it into healthier boxes. he has also Collected a whole new family to care about, and in many ways, he views that as kinda shitty. (runners up: Jester, with the animals and haversack of holding, Beau, with her constant wanting to know shit, Fjord, with his balls)

2) Chaos, epitomized by: Jester Lavorre. another Goblin trait Nott shares, but Nott hasn’t built a religion out of chaos. she’s not a high priestess of drawing dicks on things. her magic powers don’t some from a divine mandate to fuck shit up. honestly, i feel unconvinced by the assertion that Nott has a Chaotic alignment, while Jester’s CG status is unassailable. pets also up the chaos meter, though this Collection can be attributed to Laura Bailey and this has been taken into consideration. Jester’s childhood in the Lavish Chateau was sort of like a pandora’s jack in the box getting wound tighter and tighter and tighter past all physical comprehension, and though the lid has been lifted, the spring is only just starting to sproing. we haven’t even reached the Zenith yet! (runners up: Molly, with the egg dick incident, and Fjord, with his need to always....... touch..... things......)

3) Minionhood, epitomized by: Fjord “No-Name” Swordvjore. in CR, goblins will work together to target weaker and easy opponents, but aren’t prone to individual heroism and rarely, if ever, go out of their way to save a friend. in their villages, little value is placed on familial relationships or education, they’re not big team players, and everyone has a terrible sense of humor. what do they have in common with Fjord? NOT A WHOLE FUCKING LOT, ACTUALLY. Fjord shows the other side of the coin, like how tactics that don’t rely on using yourself as canon fodder are more successful, or like how the power of friendship and diverse skill sets makes your team stronger. though he is currently examining the negative aspects of his own Minonhood, Fjord has spent much of his life content to be a minion. on a merchant ship, climbing ropes and battening hatches as he was instructed, and now a minion of a mysterious and powerful creature. however, he’s realized this arrangement no longer suits him, and he is looking for other options (like being a paladin??) (runner up: Caduceus Clay, committed WildMinion)

4) Gooey Center, epitomized by: Yasha Nydoorin. the Gooey Center is protected by a spiky, brittle, intimidating, crunchy, and/or off putting exterior.  Yasha is our big, scary, tenderhearted wlw. our giant soft-hearted, angelic, full-of-boiling-murderous-rage, lightning-punching, funeral-not-having runaway who loves her wife and makes us cry. she shaves her arms with her sword. she uses books in non-traditional ways. she vanishes into the night sometimes in a very mysterious and tragic manner. she is our most Romantic player character, and she is super ripped and super queer, which are all aspirational goblin qualities. in practice, most goblins connect with their gooey center by being squished by someone like Yasha, maybe with a giant hammer. (runners up: Caleb, known glass canon with a very crunchy exterior, Beau, puncher of feelings, and Molly, who rudely showed us just how how close that center can be to the surface)

5) Laser Pointer Focus, epitomized by: Caduceus Clay. related to Minionhood, this is the aspect of Goblinry that the leader uses to achieve goals. the dogged focus of a True Goblin is powerful and direct, but can be redirected with the proper pressure or leadership, or lost when a cause or leader is not compelling enough or doesn’t provide adequate payment. the Laser Pointer Focus has an investigatory aspect as well, gathering little bits of info from every which way in moments, though the information gathered is rarely put to use immediately. Caduceus, who sees all but doesn’t always act on it, and is content to support the Nein and follow their meandering path to his goal, checks many of these boxes. (runners up: Fjord, spiritually chasing a laser pointer at all times, Jester, whose laser pointer always points at chaos, and Caleb, a cat)

6) Furious Devotion, epitomized by Beauregard Lionett. also going hand in hand with Minionhood, this is the trait that makes goblins actually willing to die in battle against adventurers and town guards and shit. but it doesn’t require any comfort with or willingness to follow authority, it’s the more feral side of love that is reigned in by Minionhood in true Goblins. this is the part of the Goblin that drive the Collecting of Crap because it genuinely loves all the shit it finds. Beau is a prime example of this trait, especially because as she gets more and more invested in a person or ideal, her willingness to let go, even in the face of likely death, decreases dramatically. see episode 55 for reference, among others. she also has a rather Goblinish inability to effectively communicate the depths of her feelings, though this is sort of an aspect of her defense of her Gooey Center and something she’s actively working on. (runners up: Yasha, very good at using the Fury to pursue the Devotion, and Caleb, even less able to discuss his feelings than Beau)

and finally 7) Hideous Cackling, epitomized by Mollymauk Tealeaf. this is what a Goblin does when surveying their Collection of Crap and the Chaos they have caused. this is how they communicate with fellow Minions in the know, how they react to seeing someone else’s Gooey Center, to catching the Laser Pointer. this is the easiest way to express their feelings of Devotion. the Hideous Cackle of a True Goblin is un-selfconscious and entirely for the benefit of the Cackler. Cackling Hideously is an act of self love. you can find your goblin group by listening to the Discordant Chorus made by Cackling together, and when you’re all reveling in the cacophony, there you are. it’s a little hedonistic and a little punk and a little queer, disregarding conventional expectations of beauty or family or polite behavior, and all about diving deep into the things that you are and the things that make you happy. an extremely Molly philosophy, truth be told. (runner up: Jester, gleeful agent of chaos)

Now lets use a quantifiable rubric to measure these attributes in each member of the M9. these will be X out of 11 because 77 is more of a Goblin Number than 70.

Nott The Brave Collection of Crap-- extremely.  9/11 Chaos-- FLUFFERNUTTERRRRRRRRRR!  8/11 Minionhood-- not really! her love of Caleb is much more protective (of him and his future abilities) than anything else.  3/11 Gooey Center-- ehhh she’s secretive, but her tender spots are other people, not actually her.  5/11 Laser Pointer Focus--  her main goals are all inwardly motivated and have not changed during the campaign.  2/11 Furious Devotion-- her love is extremely powerful.  10/11 Hideous Cackling-- a surprisingly low score due to her great potential for growth in the self-love department.  3/11 total score: 40/77. not a bad score, but not Extremely Goblin!

how does that stack up against every one else?

Caleb Collection of Crap-- keeps everything in his pockets except for his cat, which is in his heart.  11/11 Chaos-- absolutely creates it, but lacks proper conviction and glee.  3/11 Minionhood-- while formerly a Minion, he has developed his own purpose, and is no longer eager to follow authority.  1/11 Gooey Center-- easily smashed by any large or medium-sized hammer, but maintains staunch denial of inner Gooeyness.  8/11 Laser Pointer Focus-- has goal, will travel. difficult to redirect.  5/11 Furious Devotion-- literally willing to break the world for people he loves.  10/11 Hideous Cackling-- this man has not once consensually Cackled in his  whole life.  -4/11 total score: 34/77. Not Especially Goblin!

Yasha Collection of Crap-- does have a whole book of pressed flowers! Collected Molly and then stuck with the Nein out serendipity/stubbornness.  6/11 Chaos-- she doesn’t really revel in it :/.  5/11 Minionhood-- serves a higher power and follows along the decisions of others in the group, even when not super enthused about them, like going to Xhorhas.  8/11 Gooey Center-- all the Gooeyer for being well protected, and though her emotional walls are not the most formidable in the party, the amount of protected feeling was unexpected  11/11 Laser Pointer Focus-- loyal to two guides, the Stormlord and the M9, though the Stormlord can pull her easily away from the group.  9/11 Furious Devotion-- very very angry.  10/11 Hideous Cackling-- could stand to be a bit more open about it.  4/11 Total score: 53/77 Actually Pretty Gobliny!

Fjord Collection of Crap-- collection is limited in scope and volume, but high in Strangeness.  8/11 Chaos-- a troublemaker, for sure and certain.  7/11 Minionhood-- Literally A Minion right now, summons demonic minions on occasion.  11/11 Gooey Center-- he is a twunk and he is mad about it.  6/11 Laser Pointer Focus-- this man cannot resist pushing buttons, be they physical, emotional, or likely to end the word.  9/11 Furious Devotion-- still figuring out where his passions lie, but he cares a lot about his friends.  5/11 Hideous Cackling-- too self conscious! loosen up! needs to Cackle in his own voice.  3/11 total score: 49/77 a respectable Goblin showing.

Beau Collection of Crap-- wants to know everything, is building a family. some points lost for minimalist monk aesthetic.  9/11 Chaos-- aspiring member of Nott the Best Detective Agency, punches people to learn about them.  8/11 Minionhood-- would destroy me for even suggesting it.  -6/11 Gooey Center-- just! wants! everyone! to! get! along!  7/11 Laser Pointer Focus-- has no clearcut Mission To Complete, tries to be a voice of reason.  2/11 Furious Devotion-- JUST! WANTS! EVERYONE! TO! GET! ALONG!  11/11 Hideous Cackling-- doesn’t give a fuck what anybody thinks, but is still learning to give a fuck about what she thinks.  5/11 total score: 36/77 second-least Goblin!

Molly Collection of Crap-- behold the coat. 8/11 Chaos-- he has that certain je ne se quois.  10/11 Minionhood-- the Moonweaver in not a fan of her followers following anyone’s orders. also he has his own minions and doesn’t want them  3/11 Gooey Center-- loves openly and without reservation. and also……………………  8/11 Laser Pointer Focus-- Molly’s focus is loving his friends and knowing fuck all.  5/11 Furious Devotion-- found a tall sad lady and made his circus adopt her. gives money to orphans.  7/11 Hideous Cackling-- genuinely personified this action for two years.  11/11 total score: 52/77 not too shabby!

Jester Collection of Crap-- while most of her random shit has potential uses, it’s also a whole lot of random shit. some of its weasels.  10/11 Chaos-- spreading discord is a religious mandate for her. Her powers come from chaos.  11/11 Minionhood-- has limits in what she will support, but is pretty devoted to her friends! easily swept up in other people’s excitement.  8/11 Gooey Center-- physically well-defended, she has the luxury of wearing her heart on her sleeve. 6/11 Laser Pointer Focus-- it might seem like she’s easily distracted, but that’s actually because her surface level attention is secondary. her primary goal is actually Fucking Shit Up.  7/11 Furious Devotion-- gets attached and does. not. let. go.  10/11 Hideous Cackling-- the end goal of everything Jester does is Cackling With The Traveler, and she often succeeds.  10/11 total score: 62/77 Pretty Fucking Goblin!

Caduceus: Collection of Crap-- dude has a swarm of bugs living in his staff.  8/11 Chaos-- NOT a fan of stuff that disrupts the proper order of nature.  4/11 Minionhood-- of all the M9, the one with the guiding principles most defined by another being. a bit of a zealot, by word of Taliesin.  9/11 Gooey Center-- encourages everyone else to talk about their feelings, yet doesn’t talk about his own in the same way. very fragile. please protect this firbolg.  10/11 Laser Pointer Focus-- has a well-defined goal, but not a well defined path. constantly looking for the answers. 11/11 Hideous Cackling-- Cackling is a more intense action than thinking something is nice, but he’s on the right track. 5/11 total score: 47/77 more than a little Goblin!

final ranking (out of 77) 34, Caleb 🐱 36, Beau 👊 40, Nott 🏹 47, Caduceus 🐞 49, Fjord 🗡️ 52, Molly 🎴 53, Yasha ⚡ 62, Jester 🦄

now, 40/77 is by no means a LOW Goblin Quotient, but this single, not peer reviewed study shows that Nott is not, in fact, the ultimate Goblin of the M9. as a goblin of science myself, i absolutely invite further discussion and welcome any additional research into this matter. who do you think is the most Goblin?

happy goblining, friends! it’s thursday!

[argentdandelion]

Cross-Fandom Analysis: Lord Shen and W.D. Gaster

Introduction

On Easter 2018, I watched Kung Fu Panda 2. It was on this watching that I felt bad for Lord Shen, the villain of the film. I think I felt bad for him on this viewing, and not when I originally watched it in a theater in 2011, due to greater experience in analyzing characters' motives, greater empathy for (well-written) villainous characters, and, perhaps, realizing I admired him (or, rather, parts of him) beyond just being a "cool villain".

(The analysis below is 1,264 words. If the reader is already very familiar with Kung Fu Panda 2 and Handplates, the reader may want to skip to "Paralells Between the Two".)

Lord Shen Description W.D. Gaster Description Parallels Between the Two Doomed to be Unhappy (and Maybe Dead)

Lord Shen and Gaster Descriptions

Lord Shen Description

As a child, Lord Shen turned his parents' joyous invention of fireworks into something terrible: gunpowder. His parents, terrified by his invention's destructive potential and Shen's ambition, consulted a soothsayer. The soothsayer said that, if Shen continued on an evil path, he would be stopped by "a warrior of black and white".

Overhearing this, Shen figured this meant a panda would stop him, and set out to kill all the pandas. He later returns, believing himself successful in his goal. He tells his parents what he has done, expecting them to be proud of him. Understandably, they were instead horrified. They sent Shen into exile, though it broke their hearts to do so, and it's suggested this was their cause of death.

Years later, he returns to his home city with a cannon: a refinement of his invention and a superweapon in an era of kung fu. He kills a kung fu master his parents put in charge and takes over the city. He even replaces the throne, which he once played next to as a child, with one of his prized cannons.

Over the course of the movie, Po (a panda that had survived Shen’s extermination attempt as a baby) journeys to the city to stop Shen’s plot. When Shen commands his forces to attack Po with cannons in the film's climax, Po deflects the cannonballs back at the attackers with a sort of mystical aikido.

Afterward, Shen, apparently projecting his own issues onto Po, asks how he could deal with the emotional scarring of not having (loving) parents. In the end, Shen doesn't reform. Instead, he seems to conclude he can never be happy: when one of his cannons is set to fall onto and crush him, he doesn’t evade it (despite being quite capable of it) and closes his eyes, as if accepting his fate.

W.D. Gaster Description (Minor details of the Undertale backstory are clarified in accordance with *Handplates canon)*

When a child, W.D. Gaster's family had been all killed by humans in the first war of humans and monsters. While he had Asgore and Toriel as parental figures afterward, his family's fate (and the culpability he believed he had in it) weighed heavily on his psyche.

Humans sealed the few surviving monsters underground with a magic spell. This spell, the Barrier, was so strong it required a power equivalent to seven human SOULs to break. After his son was killed by humans, Asgore declared war on humanity in revenge, stating that all humans who fall underground would be killed. However, he soon came to deeply regret it. Though he breaks his heart to kill the humans that fall into the Underground, he believes he cannot take back his declaration of war.

Gaster, hoping to soothe Asgore's suffering somehow, aimed to create "living tools" by cutting out chunks of bone from his hands with a laser. (a very painful process) With these "living tools", he would perform basic research needed to figure out how to break or bypass the Barrier.

Unexpectedly, these "living tools" grew into sentient skeleton children: Sans (or as he calls him, 1-S) and Papyrus (2-P). Though no sadist, Gaster believed "foolish sentimentality gets people killed", and he felt he had no choice but to continue with his original plans of potentially very painful experiments on his "living tools".

Much of Handplates focuses on the resulting suffering and trauma of the "mad science torture dungeon" of Gaster's lab. Though Gaster's mental (and even physical) health deteriorates because of his single-minded focus on the often torturous experiments, he believes he has no choice but to continue.

In the end, he dies something like Shen: aimless, very alone, and laid low by an inability to progress on his goals. Sans, seeking to kill Gaster for all his cruelty, pushes him into the magical vortex of the CORE, a magical geothermal power plant and his invention. He is consequently lost, erased from reality and forgotten by all, with reality itself filling in the gaps.

Parallels Between the Two

While the motives of Gaster and Shen aren't quite the same, they have similar personalities. Their ambition is not, in itself, evil, but their drive to do something great (Shen and his gunpowder, Gaster and bypassing the barrier) motivated them to disregard things that got in the way---and sometimes, those things were morals.

Neither one, in the end, are killed by the hero, but instead by their own creation. Shen’s cannon falls on him. Gaster is pushed into the CORE, something he made, by Sans, also something he made, and this is a fate that could have been averted had he bothered to have safety rails installed.

The motives of both seem linked to their childhood experiences, and need for parental love and approval.

Shen's desire for his parents to be proud of him shows they're important to him, but they also don't seem to care that much for him. Though exiling their son was the most merciful thing they could do after he tried to kill off all pandas, had they done something to make him feel loved and show they were proud of him before then, he would have no motive to do it.

Similarly, Gaster clearly cares a lot about his original skeleton family, though from what little is shown they seemed neglectful and emotionally unavailable. He tortures Sans and Papyrus in his mad-science torture dungeon at least originally in the hope of helping all monsterkind, but mostly for the sake of a parental figure, Asgore.

Doomed to be Unhappy (and Maybe Dead)

There are parts of their characters that I pity, and parts I even admire.

Shen’s desire for greatness, ability to act upon it, and persistence are things I like. He is also an expert in tactics, and good at improvising when the heroes don’t act according to plan.

Gaster’s drive----one could even say it’s single-minded---to bypass the barrier, even though he knows it’s difficult and has no clue how to do it, is something I admire. I admire his great intelligence (as arrogant as he is about it), even though it doesn't seem to help him bypass the barrier, as he never gets closer to his goal.

These good things---virtues, one could say---are unfortunately misapplied in such a way it only makes those around them (and themselves!) miserable.

Though I feel bad for both Shen and Gaster, the two are essentially doomed to be, at best, unhappy.

Shen will never get his parents’ approval, as they are dead by the beginning of the movie. As the Soothsayer asks: when will he be happy? When he conquers all of China?

As much as he likes to act otherwise, his torture of sentient beings and the ethical scrutiny of said beings has an emotional toll on Gaster, so severe it even affects his physical health. If Gaster goes the “Dadster” route, he’ll still be unhappy because he’ll hate himself for his “cowardice”, the barrier is no closer to being broken, and a human might still come down and kill them all anyway.

Both Gaster and Shen had many choices to stop; for the former, it is especially obvious because of little sub-AUs and the recurring theme of Undertale of different “timelines” splitting off from one’s actions. Yet neither took those chances.

I feel bad for them, for all their suffering and helplessness, and yet...their villainy was no accident. They deserve their fates, not just morally but as a direct consequence of their actions.

[barbrafarleigh8-blog]

Diverse Uses For Metal Yard Trellis Through Joe Goertz In Horticulture At Isnare.com Free Contents.

There are actually different crucial solutions you can expect from an excellent tree company Buda, TX service provider; when this concerns taking care of your landscape, they are highly experienced in taking care of plants plus all factors related to all of them. Because of the attempts of Howard Garrett, the Dust Physician, organic gardeners have additional techniques to create their backyard develop typically. I learned that a raised bed backyard http://dongk897947415.wgz.cz/blog/canine-rear-Positions-as-well-as is one of the very best options on call to grow a big amount of veggies in a tiny area. Lots of yards additionally have a fountain, birdbath, and also Grecian style urns or various other garden sculpture. If your ground is uneven, and also you would like to plant in rows, the rows should bump into the pitch rather than back and forth, to prevent the ground coming from being actually removed when the yard is watered.

Birds are actually drawn in to all of them and birds may help with any type of flying bug troubles in my landscape. And also right here is a plant that I saved coming from a flower borderline beside the garden. Jam Imani Rad forked out over ₤ 5,000 on the area yard job in order that his neighbours can appreciate some vegetation outside their homes. Ginger this is actually an additional great plant full of advantages for our health, often phoned the vacationer medicine since this assists with the majority of indigestion troubles, nausea or vomiting, puking, looseness of the bowels. Self-directing canon - they often remain still and also eat bypassing insects, however if needed they will stray the backyard. The longer you continue this procedure the more weeds you are doing away with coming from your garden. Taking a trip backyard sprinklers are actually self-propelled to deal with sizable, uneven places. Matching the correct fencing to a yard is actually an important action to creating that garden complete. After developing your yard concept, checklist the resources as well as products that are needed to generate your masterwork. Visit your regional house and also garden facility for ways to clear your yard of these creatures. In some cases, one can easily make such a brought up bed by accumulating top quality dirt in a cushion-like overdo top of the existing layer from soil in the yard. Fox Mowing NSW is actually a lawn and also backyard care specialist in Australia that deals with all your gardening needs to have including lawn care, fertilising, weed management, backyard care, bush maintenance, landscape design and lawn cleansing. I know along with planting marigolds around a veggie garden to maintain infections coming from consuming every little thing yet certainly not the other florals you've listed. While utilizing an increase lighting for an indoor vegetable landscape is actually definitely second option after the sun, in some condos using an increase illumination is actually the only probability.

Right now make certain if you are actually growing a Garden that you operate poultry cable along the garden, given that pesky varments like racoons, and bunnies will believe it's a buffea otherwise. Visit a complete landscape facility and also find the tips of a trained professional to select the pre-emergent herbicide that will certainly absolute best meet your requirements. Generally a backyard features vegetations, flowers, water fountains, long strong winding paths, fish ponds and not to neglect eco-friendly yard. I will definitely be actually publishing traits presenting folks off all over the world that are actually creating a variation in other people's lifestyle by means of the present of growing kindly acts. The master bedroom disregards the picturesque backyard as well as the pool and possesses a nearby bathroom. Wonderful suggestions as well as I think about if a number of these tips may be downsized for my better half which is about to plunge into our very first landscape in our new home!