#assassin's fate spoilers ahead

[fairweathermyth]

ROBIN HOBB'S REALM OF THE ELDERLINGS >> postcards from the realm

[la-cinephile]

Adar's fate in TROP 02x08 !SPOILERS!

! Spoilers ahead !

I will never get over that scene. It was so brutal. Adar being betrayed by his children is one of the most painful and heartbreaking scene in the whole series.

Also, it obviously echoes the first sequence in 02x01 but this scene reminds me of the Assassination of Julius Caesar too in a way.

RIP Lord-Father, you'll be missed

[velvees-archive]

Making my case for ManoSouta, Ace Attorney’s token doomed yaoi

Bronco knew, and still he told nobody.

Ace Attorney Investigations 2 full game spoilers ahead!

Chalk it up to lucky guesswork or my expertly honed writer’s intuition (sarcasm), but so rarely do I latch onto side ships that when I found myself gravitating towards Bronco (Manosuke Naito) x Simeon (Souta Sarushiro, hence ManoSouta) simply because of this line, I knew something was up…

…and boy was I right.

Simeon Saint’s fall from grace was a direct consequence of subjection to a corrupt justice system and equally as corrupted individuals. There was his father, who saw Simeon’s existence as a means to an end (the end being a pharmaceutical “recipe” book that could cure Gusto’s affliction and a shiny world class confectioner title), his best friend, who kidnapped him and almost killed him on his dad’s orders, and—if that wasn’t enough to destroy someone’s psyche—there was the presidential assassination trio, who tormented, interrogated, and dangled their judicial and executive power over him like a special-brand curse.

This is a character who hit rock bottom so long ago he believes nothing is left of him except agony, paranoia, and anger. He crafts an intricate revenge plot that dishes Simeon-esque justice to everyone who wronged him. The acts are performed mercilessly, too, no hesitation, regret, or unnecessary feelings involved in the flawless execution of his plan.

Well, almost.

There was one person in the same boat—no family, no longstanding companionship (barring each other)—who set Simeon’s descent in motion. Ironically, it is also through this person that we’re shown what remains of his humanity.

For me to talk about Simeon’s feelings as shown before we found out he was the mastermind, though, we have to see how he reacted after the big reveal. Upon being fingered as the villain, Simeon makes it clear he does not feel remorse towards any of the people “he” killed. After all, they drew first blood; Simeon firmly believes retaliation was warranted.

That is, until Miles clarifies the following points surrounding Simeon’s kidnapping, his memory loss, and the fate of his and Bronco’s fathers:

The reason Simeon was kidnapped wasn’t so Bronco’s dad could kill Simeon’s; Bronco was only meant to stall Simeon so he couldn’t help his dad win the confectionary competition finale

When a murder did occur, the victim of the murder was not Simeon’s dad, but Bronco’s.

This is how Simeon responds:

“He deserved to die!…Didn’t he?”

This line, in conjunction with the contemplative flashback shown in the video, conveys Simeon’s uncertainty/regret about inciting Knight’s murder, though one could argue this is only in reaction to the revelation rather than a lingering attachment to Knight, who he “stopped thinking” was his friend 18 years ago.

But then he follows it up with this.

“Then what was all this…for…!?”

At this point, you have to ask yourself why Simeon is questioning his entire plan (keyword in the quote is all, not just Bronco’s death) because he realized whose father actually died. Technically speaking, Bronco did still kidnap him. On top of that, everyone else Simeon exacted revenge on still wronged him, so it makes no sense to say this unless Bronco’s supposed role in “Simeon’s” father’s death was pivotal in Simeon’s decision to proceed with his whole plot. In other words, the reason Simeon questions his plot after Miles’ clarification is because this fundamental misunderstanding was what pushed him to take revenge on everyone in the first place. Bronco’s betrayal weighed so heavily on him that Simeon had no choice but to kill him in line with his principles, but he didn’t actually want to.

I’m not saying he wanted to spare Bronco because of the power of friendship or some misplaced sentimentality. It was inevitable that Bronco would die by Simeon’s hand because Simeon vowed to get his revenge on everyone who hurt him. What I am saying is that Simeon’s resolve is clearly shaken once Bronco’s role in his suffering is cleared up. As soon as Simeon realized Bronco’s dad didn’t murder his dad, he regretted killing his only friend. This is the only time Simeon shows remorse.

You might think Simeon’s hatred for Bronco stems from his kidnapping and its consequences, aka setting off the chain of events that would ruin Simeon’s life outside of “his” dad dying. However, Simeon doesn’t hold a grudge over Bronco for anything other than the kidnapping. The statement, “If you hadn’t detained me 18 years ago…it wouldn’t have had to…end like this” is vastly different from “If you hadn’t detained me 18 years ago, none of this would have happened.” His “hatred” for Bronco was a personal grudge he had against his best friend, who also happened to be the son of his dad’s killer. Bronco was on Simeon’s list because his betrayal stung Simeon most. “What was all of this for” really meant, “I wouldn’t have gone through with any of this if I knew you weren’t involved.”

Had Simeon truly hated him, it’d be difficult to justify why he snuck away from his carnival preparations to talk to Bronco. Why did he pay such an incriminating visit when he’d already delivered Bronco’s chess set during visiting hours? And why did he tell Bronco he snuck something into it, leaving him vulnerable to counterattack should Bronco tattle?

Why did he bother saying goodbye?

Simeon’s actions betray logic because try as he might to hate Bronco with all his heart, he cared. Bronco Knight’s betrayal was the straw that broke the camel’s back, but imagine if the misunderstanding had been sorted from the start. Simeon's reaction to wrongfully killing Bronco was a stellar portrayal of his desire for genuine companionship, and a peek into what remained of his humanity before he was unmasked. He really was all alone.

If you’re still not sold on them being the doomed yaoi representatives of Ace Attorney, if a misplaced desire for revenge cutting their time short doesn’t make this tragic enough, then consider this: Bronco legitimately cared for and trusted Simeon, but unlike Simeon, he was left completely in the dark.

He’s legitimately excited to see Simeon’s performance. He happily awaited Simeon’s chess correspondences because he just likes being around him!!

Perhaps the biggest sticking point in all of this is that Simeon admitted he put something in his chess set, Bronco definitely opened his chess set, and yet when it came time for Fifi Laguarde to interrogate him (aka when she discovers the chisel), Bronco does not tell her he doesn’t own it, he does not tell her he’s been set up, and he does not tell her his best friend—who the precinct knows visited him—is the one who put it there. Why didn’t Bronco tell her?

That’s the greatest pull of their dynamic: we don’t know. Maybe everything happened too fast. Maybe he did try to protest. Maybe he ratted Simeon out but Laguarde was already in hysterics. Maybe Bronco didn’t understand why the chisel frenzied the warden so, and paid the ultimate price for it.

Or maybe, just maybe, Bronco already knew the moment he saw the chisel. Maybe he died a knowing victim of Simeon’s retribution. Maybe he thought it better that the knowledge of their past—Paul Halique’s ring and Simeon’s secret hatred— dissolve with his last breath.

Worse yet, maybe he couldn’t believe Simeon would do something like this. Maybe he continued to have blind faith in him despite the damning evidence. Maybe he believed in him.

[the-daiz]

Flashy flash (and sonic's) emotional depth

idk what to call this. It’s a character analysis ig?🤷 Anyway, I was thinking about this and wanted to talk about it. Excuse me if I sound stupid or something, I don't do this often. spoilers for the manga and webcomic (ninja arc) Long post ahead

I was thinking, as one does, about the ideal romantic partner for Flashy flash. This is all of course very fanon based because realistically most opm cast are not even semi-datable or fit to be in a healthy, fulfilling relationship (who cares about realistic here though, this is a fanfic blog), but it made me start wondering about Flashy flash's complexity and the possibly suppressed psychological affects the ninja village had/has on him, and how isolation, deprivation and abandonment at a young age probably affected him.

When Flashy flash is first introduced in the series, he shows few emotions/expressions, just the same stoic face with a fitting, confidently arrogant attitude. Even as the story progresses and we see him interact with other characters, such as fellow heroes and even Saitama, while, yes, there is a greater depth to his character now, he's still rather self-pretentious.

I'm not trying to say that there is nothing to him but his stuck-up-ness, but that the most we've seen of him thus far is him being, to simply put it, self-absorbed.

It's only in the Ninjas arc, where the fated reunion between him and Sonic finally occurs, that a more complex version of him is finally brought to light. In my perspective, at the very least.

in the webcomic, it’s revealed that Flashy flash wiped out his entire ninja class, including sonic, but instead of murdering him brutally head-on, he decided to poison him out of mercy. That obviously didn’t work.

his motive behind killing his class was to rid evil from this world, starting with his origins, or the origins of his darkness.

After that, he left the village and lived a life of honor and pride as a hero, and in doing so, removing himself from his past and (almost) completely forgetting about the village.

until he stood face-to-face with Sonic, his old comrade and his failed assassination , after 9 years.

flash forward a bit to the fight between empty void and Sonic + flashy flash. Flashy flash almost gets tricked by “god” via a vision of younger Sonic telling younger flash that they’re going to finally build the ideal ninja village they used to talk about.

Flashy flash’s swift willingness and lack of skepticism makes me believe that he had truly never removed himself from his past.

That all those years he ‘forgot’ about those precious memories, was just him suppressing his regret.

I don’t believe flash regretted wiping out his clan, but I do believe he always (in the far far farrr depths of his mind) longed for a different outcome, where he could’ve built that village with Sonic, and gave orphans the freedom to become strong on their own conditions and have their own goals and dreams. But that’s pretty telling from the vision the cube made for him.

Anyhow, his past never passed, it was just suppressed. He, as an individual now, is still shrouded by those hidden affects of his upbringing.

And it manifests in parts of his character, like his need to be recognized and in the spotlight (noting how irked he got when Saitama kept forgetting his name), his pride, and his drive for power (but that’s pretty lowkey).

That being said, he is emotionally unstable, but anyone can figure that much out.

Why can’t I confidently say the same things about Sonic, though? He was also brought up in the ninja village, alongside flashy flash no less.

While Flashy flash lacks emotional intelligence, Sonic excels in it to a surprising degree, considering his similarly dull past.

This can be seen in the ‘One punch man special 3: A ninja who’s too complicated’ where the viewer gets to witness a more meaningful side of Sonic and his average daily life, as well as watching him form decent emotional bonds. Like with the tiny wild boar “Ino” and the hunter “Frank” in the forest.

On to my main point: in the OVA, he navigates his emotions regarding Saitama, including the fear he felt in regards of facing him again. While training, he recognizes these feelings and where they stem from, and works to improve not only his physical capabilities but also his mental clarity in order to overcome those fears and have the will power to face his destined nemesis once more. While it’s true that at first he was denying his fear, he still managed to accept and harness it by the end of his training.

And he successfully does. Even after being defeated time and time again by Saitama, he uses it as another lesson, a sign that he’s still capable of getting stronger.

that’s another thing, while Sonic accepted the fact the Saitama was stronger than him, and even way above his league, Flashy flash denied it despite witnessing Sai’s strength first hand and even experiencing the overwhelming fear of ‘death’.

I should preface this by saying that Sonic definitely isn’t crazy emotionally intelligent or anything, he’s still our insane, menacing and a little manic ninja. He’s definitely no where near ‘mentally/emotionally perfect’, but between the two, Sonic is significantly more stable than Flashy flash.

Why is that? Sonic moves on. He doesn’t forget or look away or ‘remove himself from his past’. He moves on. He’s always been future oriented, while allowing his past to exist and his present to shape him. Even as a child, that’s what grounded him in contrast with all the other ninjas there, including flashy flash. In a sense, Sonic, with his spirit, personality and ambitions, is the one that guided Flash into that ‘righteous’ mindset, the one that grounded him in that miserable place, too. if it wasn’t for Sonic, Flash would’ve ended up like any other ninja assassin: dull, boring and vacant inside.

Like he said, Sonic was born with a ‘powerful soul’, full of life and rejecting submission. His spirit and inwardly strength since birth had always been resilient. Perhaps that’s the difference between Flashy flash and Sonic,

But we also need to account for the fact that Flashy flash was abandoned and sold off to the village by his parents when he was 5, while Sonic was born there. It’s safe to say that Flash probably doesn’t remember anything from before he entered the village, however, that doesn’t mean it didn’t have some kind of influence on him,

I believe it was his personal experience from the outside before he was sent to the village that also helped in growing the “righteousness” mindset. Along with the fact that they both have their own different personality and mind, their goals could’ve also played a part in how they moved forward with their life. Flashy Flash wanted a fresh slate, to be born anew. A hero that eradicated evil. But if he came from that dreaded place, killed many in cold blood, isn’t he also considered an ‘evil’? Pretending that part of his life didn’t mean anything, or no longer existed all together, perhaps reassured him that he was the pure ‘good’. Maybe it was the only way he thought he could achieve his ambition.

With Sonic, I’d imagine after the massacre of his class and his escape, he was merely focused on survival. He simply didn’t care at the time. And even when he had the time to think about his goal, which I believe he still always planned to build that ideal village even if it was on his own, the whole goal revolves AROUND his past, his life since he was born trapped inside the ninja village. And besides, he truly just didn’t care for all that complicated stuff about erasing the past and whatnot. ‘What happened, happened 🤷’

Now onto the more hidden influences of the ninja village upbringing: Isolation and deprivation of parental affection

In the case of isolation, Flashy flash and Sonic interacted quite often so we’ll just cross that one out for now.

Deprivation of parental affection, or even any type of caregiver, is terrible for any child. And in Flashy Flash’s case, not only was he deprived of that approval and love for years, but he probably had something akin to it before being abandoned. Maybe he didn’t too, and whoever was taking care of him at that time wasn’t kind, but that sense of abandonment and being carelessly tossed into an environment predictably ten times worse than whatever he lived in before then, intensified any sense of deprivation originally brought on by the absence of parental involvement. This could be the reason why he wants and/or needs to be popular and well known, and dislikes being overshadowed by others.

but frankly, that’s a pretty weak point, i feel like I’m just yapping here.

After all this blabbering, I’m finally going back to the whole point of this analysis, or rather the reason that made me start thinking about this topic: ‘a romantic partner’.

If, by some miracle, Flashy Flash managed to land himself in a romantic relationship with someone, how would that play out? the simple answer to this is: not well. Definitely not well. Of course, he’s going to act drastically different from his exterior persona with said significant other, and I believe the way he would act is a problem all by itself.

Going back to my ‘deprivation of parental affection’ point from earlier, he would seek out that attention, love and security in his partner, which in of itself isn’t bad, its the intensity of it that would point to a clear instability in him. I think he would seek validation and attention constantly, to an overbearing extent, if I may. Always calling and texting his partner, getting agitated when they don’t respond at least within 30 minutes, even if they’re busy.

For all his devotion to his work as a hero, his partner would consume a big portion of his thoughts, perhaps even when he’s on missions. And he’d assume his significant other should be as reliant on their relationship as he is. His interactions with them even through the phone would possibly determine his overall mood for that day. That’s far from how any sort of healthy relationship should work.

Aside from all of this, as I mentioned in the beginning of the post, Flashy flash is still self-absorbed. He’d want to be above his partner in many aspects, especially strength and intelligence. He would want to feel superior in a relationship. Overall, his mindset in a relationship would likely be very unhealthy. He’d probably think that his partner is lucky to have him, even if he feels grateful for having them, he would expect them to be grateful for him by ten folds. Not because he’s the ideal romantic partner (from everyones point of view except his), but because he’s the embodiment of perfection. He’s clean, handsome, powerful, rich, smart, devoted. Who would want anything else? He can’t differentiate between those attributes and what it takes for you to be a good spouse.

This point is demonstrated by his acute possessiveness and well-veiled but intense jealousy. If his partner planned to go out with some friends while he so happened to be free at that time, he wouldn’t understand why they wouldn’t bail on their friends to hangout with him instead; his utterly glorious and charming self, their enchanting partner who’s better than everyone else.

I’m assuming this would lead to many arguments. In his head, he would criticize all their friends or colleagues, mentally comparing them to him.

He would grow obsessively attached to his partner. He would constantly yearn for all their love, attention and praise. Subconsciously, his mind is trying to use his partner to fill in the missing gaps left by his childhood, while also accounting for his need for support as an adult. All things considered, he needs way too much. He also tries to give way too much, which for some people could be overwhelming.

With all those issues and toxicity in the relationship, naturally the partner would eventually try to breakup with flashy flash. This is where I believe his abandonment issues would finally show. He wouldn’t accept the breakup, and would deny or try to excuse their reasoning. If that doesn’t work, he’d start growing desperate.

He’s revolved his life and schedule around this person ever since their relationship started, every waking step he takes he’s thinking about them in any sense, they’d seen so much vulnerability and need in him, how could they just leave? He’d grow proper desperate, doing anything, even if it may be seen as pathetic (which is surprising coming from someone who cares a lot about how he’s perceived), to get them to stay.

‘He would never do that, that is so out of character for him.’, and I agree, it IS out of character of him, but I think people tend to underestimate the sheer intensity of limerence and attachment when someone hasn’t received that crucial part of development growing up. Think about it, he had probably been deprived of that sense of safety and gentleness for around 20-25 years of his life, and when he finally gets it and is intoxicated by it, his entire existence is coiled around it. Wouldn’t losing that shred of touch he needed for years send him into mental distress?

that being said, you don’t need to take anything I say seriously, I’m mostly just overthinking and spilling my maladaptive daydreaming thoughts into this post.

IN CONLUSION:

Flashy flash is still held up by his past (to an extent)

Flashy Flash would probably have preoccupied anxious attachment style

He needs some intense therapy

THEN AGAIN, this whole post could just be a huge miss on my part 💥

exhales deeply. Siri, play ‘Crack baby' by mitski. *takes in a big puff from my hookah* Man.

[the-remote-viewers-division]

I have an alternate pale theory…

Consider this like a ‘Pale-AU’ (i.e. I know it is probably not supported by canon, and certainly not supported by some other works like Joshua Jenkins designs, for example… also I haven’t finished reading PJÕL, so maybe my ideas will change after that) but I started thinking about it as a “what-if” situation: If there were to be a direct sequel to Disco Elysium :insert prayer hands:, how could we reconcile the multitude of different Harrys the player could create? What about the fates of other characters? Some change due to our influence, some die. How could a sequel storyline somehow accept all those possible variances? Introducing my almost-certainly not-correct pale theory!TM using a little bit of in-game info, some real-life stuff, and a sprinkle of imagination!

Caution: Many spoilers ahead.

So what is Pale -- just the past?

After you talk to the Phasmid you’re given the impression that humans/people created the pale accidentally (with thinking and memory and ideas and invention?); and after talking to Joyce you learn that some think the pale is “rarified past.” It’s all pretty nebulous, but I think that the pale being a product (or a by-product) of the human mind/memory is close to what could be accepted as the canon origin of the pale:

INSULINDIAN PHASMID - The pale, too, came with you. No one remembers it before you. The cnidarians do not, the radially symmetricals do not. There is an almost unanimous agreement between the birds and the plants that you are going to destroy us all. YOU - Wait, the pale is human made? INSULINDIAN PHASMID - It is a nervous shadow cast into the world by you, eating away at reality. A great, unnatural territory. Its advent coincides with the arrival of the human mind. YOU - I don't have that kind of power. INSULINDIAN PHASMID - You are a violent and irrepressible miracle. The vacuum of cosmos and the stars burning in it are afraid of you. Given enough time you would wipe us all out and replace us with nothing -- just by accident. YOU - ...how? INSULINDIAN PHASMID - We suspect it will be something like the oxygen holocaust that wiped out anaerobic life 2.6 billion years ago -- when organisms first started breathing. Only much worse. CONCEPTUALIZATION - Instead of air, you exhale thoughts. There are no trees that eat thoughts.

JOYCE MESSIER – "Some say the damage stems from extreme sensory deprivation. Others argue that pale somehow *consists* of past information, that's degrading. That it's rarefied past, not rarefied matter." JOYCE MESSIER – "They call it *the blend-over of the self*. The pale does not only suspend the laws of physics, but also the laws of psychology, maybe History, even... The human mind becomes over-radiated by past." YOU – "Who says and who argues?" JOYCE MESSIER – "The logical positivists say -- the dialectical materialists argue."

An effect of the Pale is “entroponetical crosstalk" which you can experience when you use the doorbell intercom outside the whirling and hear the woman speaking from Tricentennial Electrics a long time ago, and additionally the old pale driver also talks to you about how she’s experienced the past in the pale, like the assassination of Dolores Dei. Both are snippets of human past:

KIM KITSURAGI - "It was a recording trapped in the circuitry. From some ancient tenant. This sometimes happens. Shall we conclude here? We have other mysteries to solve." YOU - "I do have one mystery that still needs solving... the radio ghost in the Doomed Commercial Area's electronic doorbell." SOONA, THE PROGRAMMER - "The creepy woman!" She slaps her forehead. "We were wondering about that when we worked there... but I had completely forgotten about it ever since!" SOONA, THE PROGRAMMER - "It must be entroponetic crosstalk. The one you get in radios and long-distance calls... Now it makes sense, with the pale right on the doorstep." KIM KITSURAGI - "Incredible..." the lieutenant murmurs. "This would also explain why we get it on the police radio all the time." YOU - "Entroponetic crosstalk?" SOONA, THE PROGRAMMER - "It's quite common actually. When the signal gets routed through pale, all kinds of irregularities take place. You may hear snippets of someone else's conversation, or the voice of your former lover, or an echo of an event that took place 100 years ago." SOONA, THE PROGRAMMER - "Pale is a shroud of memories and it doesn't really distinguish to whom those memories belong to. You could hear anything."

PALEDRIVER - "You don't need to turn back time. The pale is already churning with it. As the tide of pale rises, so does the past. Someday both will cover the whole world. That's it. That's the story." PALEDRIVER - "They say there is a point -- one that *I* have not crossed -- in the pale superdeep. If you stray too far off course on the U41-A, or in Lomonossov's Land... where every step you take is one step further from home, no matter the direction." PALEDRIVER - "It's a point you cannot come back from. Your mind becomes so radiant with the past -- there is a flip." She flicks the ash from her cigarette. "Instead of writing, it erases memory. Nearing some kind of..." She shakes her head. "Indescribable *finale*." PALEDRIVER - "Like Gabriel Buenguerro in 'Segure-me, Paraíso'..." She nods and smiles, unkindly. "You're the opposite of me then. I remember everything -- even the things I never knew." YOU - "Things you never knew?" PALEDRIVER - "The smell of liquor on Gabriel's lips after the shoot. In the motor park. The roses on the day of Franconegro's coronation. On the grand stairs of Raehl. The smoke from the fowling piece, when Dolores Dei was shot..." PALEDRIVER - "The look on her face -- like an orgasm. The wound in her chest. My hand in my father's hand..." She closes her eyes, her eyelids trembling. "Except I never had a father. And I never shot Her Innocence Dolores Dei." .. PALEDRIVER - "Thought insertion? *Dithering*? The Graad-Katla Magistral?" She savours the lungful. "It's more than dangerous -- it's *sad*. But... at first I had to make a living. Now..."

So you’d think Joyce’s theory checks out, it’s all history/memory---BUT! I did the moralist political quest my first play thru, and when you are trying to contact the airship you also get radio crosstalk from the pale.

KIM KITSURAGI - "It's cold now..." SHIVERS - A slight frisson at the point where your neck meets your spine. Something about the lieutenant's words, directed at you, but not *you*... YOU - "It's really coming down, now that you mention it." KIM KITSURAGI - "Mention what?" YOU - "It's cold, like you just said." KIM KITSURAGI - "I didn't say anything, detective." KIM KITSURAGI - "...someone has been maintaining it. The wiring has been repaired..." HORSEBACK ANTENNA - An uncomfortable silence falls over the connection. KIM KITSURAGI - "... It's been a long winter... Long and cold..." YOU - "Are you going to tell me you didn't say *that*, either?" KIM KITSURAGI - "I promise you, I didn't, even though it certainly *sounds* like me..." The lieutenant seems to wince at the sound of his own voice. YOU - "It must be entroponetic crosstalk. It's the only explanation." NOID - "So your partner's haunting himself. Trying to warn him off his current path, most like." KIM KITSURAGI - "It's eerie, for certain, but also harmless. I just wish I could remember what I was talking about..." ESPRIT DE CORPS - Something here is eating at the lieutenant, as much as he would like to move past it.

You can even hear it if Kim is not with you:

KIM KITSURAGI - "It's cold now..." SHIVERS - A slight frisson at the point where your neck meets your spine. You can *feel* the lieutenant's presence, even though he's nowhere to be found... YOU - "Kim? How did you get on my connection?" NOID - "Whoa, the cop's *own partner* is a radio-spooker. That's some *other core* business right there..." HORSEBACK ANTENNA - ... KIM KITSURAGI - "...someone has been maintaining it. The wiring has been repaired..." YOU - "Kim! Answer me." NOID - "No use, man. Don't think he can hear you." YOU - "I've encountered this before. It's entroponetic crosstalk. This is a piece of the past mixing in with our signal." NOID - "What..." KIM KITSURAGI - "It's been a long winter... Long and cold." NOID - "What have you gotten us into, lawman?" HALF LIGHT - Just *run*. Unplug that headset and get as far away as you can.

YOU - "Kim? How did you get on my connection?" … YOU - "What is he talking about?"’ SOONA, THE PROGRAMMER - "I believe you mean, what *was* he talking about." YOU - "Wait, what are *you* talking about?" KIM KITSURAGI - "It's been a long winter... Long and cold." SOONA, THE PROGRAMMER - "It sounds very much like entroponetic crosstalk. It happens sometimes when sending transmissions across long stretches of pale..."

Except IT'S NOT FROM THE PAST. It is Kim talking from the future, from the fort on the island. Which hasn’t happened yet.

And it can possibly NOT HAPPEN.

You hear Kim say this stuff even if he gets shot and doesn’t come with you to the island.

During gameplay they kind of just go “huh, how strange and spooky...” and don’t really delve into it.

But that completely changes the pale right? It’s not just past, it’s also future, and not just the ONLY future, POSSIBLE future.

So, my theory is that the pale is multiverse colliding: the near pale is the places where these universes begin to overlap, and deep pale is where universes overlap to such a degree they are cancelling themselves out into nothing.

Fungal communication – mycorrhizal network

When Joyce talks to you, she talks about a fungus growing at the edge of the porch collapse. I think this fungus could be acting like a mycorrhizal network, which in our world are an underground networks connecting fungi and plants allowing them to communicate or share information. I think the fungi/spores in Elysium pop up at origin points and thrive along the porch collapse and are allowing the universes to “talk” to each other.

SOONA, THE PROGRAMMER - "I understand..." She closes her eyes. "A theory of the pale where instead of an *outer ocean* it metastasises -- like a cancer or a mould -- erupting in points *inside* the world."

JOYCE MESSIER - "An uproar of matter, darling, *rising* into the pale. Rolling. Evaporating even, a great vision. The area of transition between the world and the pale is called *porch collapse*." JOYCE MESSIER - "Imagine a grey coronal mist, cold vapour, marked by spores of an opportunistic microorganism -- a mould that's adapted to grow at the edge of the unrest. It's..." JOYCE MESSIER - She closes her eyes and breathes out heavily: "... the most *disco* thing you will ever see.

INLAND EMPIRE - The white noise turns into a wall of mist and grey mould, bubbling, sweeping over the city... it tears up buildings and raises sidewalks into the sky. It's Revachol -- at the end of the world. INLAND EMPIRE - ...and it hasn't even really started yet.

Destructive interference – “le gris”

When Lena tells you about the cryptid the Col Do Ma Ma Da Qua, you learn that they are nearly extinct because the scientists played back their own calls and since they are creatures made of sound, the recordings cancelled out the birds. They died because the signals matched and cancelled each other out.

LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST'S WIFE - "It's the *Col Do Ma Ma Daqua*," the woman corrects her glasses. "Its name means 'thin whisper of sound'. And that's *precisely* what it is -- self-replicating sound waves, invisible and intangible! The Col Do Ma Ma is very afraid of us, which makes it incredibly difficult to track..." YOU - "Why is the Ma Ma Daqua so afraid of us?" LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST'S WIFE - "That is a sad story." She frowns. "A group of university students assisting with the field work, in their enthusiasm for the project and, no doubt, because they were preoccupied with impressing their professors, nearly drove it to *extinction*." YOU - "Extinction?" LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST'S WIFE - She nods gravely. "They tried to communicate with it, and had no other means but sound. So they started sending out sound waves at frequencies they thought might match the Ma Ma Daqua's. And what happens when a sound wave meets another sound wave of the same frequency, dear?" YOU - "They cancel each other out."

So... admittedly this doesn’t directly connect to the pale, but it’s illustrating the concept of signals cancelling each other out and, I'm going to say, indicates that this concept is possible in Elysium. The pale is destruction, the overlap between universes causes matter, physics, and even numbers to dissolve. The more complete the overlap, the more complete the destruction.

In conclusion...

According to my theory, the pale is the areas of the world that are affected by these fungal organisms that allow very similar, but different universes to communicate with each other, and since their 'signals' are so alike, they are being cancelled out.

So why did I force myself to jump thru these mental hoops? I think having a multiverse like this would make a sequel more possible since there are so many ways the game can be played. Any possible playthrough would be its own universe. Having a multiverse like this acknowledges and validates any play thru as 'canon,' no player will feel that they somehow played the game “wrong.”  Whatever Harry appearing in the sequel is one of the possible Harrys even if he wasn’t “your” Harry. If a character died, they died only in some of the universes, not all. Whatever world the sequel would take place in is just one of the many possibilities.

Anyway, I thought WAYYYY too much about this and now you can too. Sorry!

[elfieafterdark]

I was devastated at the end of Gideon the 9th, and I was prepared to hate the second book. So devastated was I that I looked up Gideon's fate.

SPOILERS AND UNHINGED, UNORGANIZED RANTING AHEAD

Just enough to know if she'd be back.

I hesitated to start Harrow the Ninth.

And let me just say that I have no regrets. The book is so odd, I think odd is the correct word for what the book is. The pacing is like a chopped up corpse, sometimes so much will happen in two pages and sometimes it'll take 50.

The plot hasn't... How do I describe this? Nothing has happened yet plot wise, yet everything has happened.

We've learned so much with virtually nothing happening. Like we're 30 chapters in and all Harrow has done is throw up, bleed a lot, hallucinate, murder planets as a chore, and survive several assassination attempts.

Yet despite the fact that all we've done is chill on the arabis and then chill on the station that I can't remember the name of right now...

We've learned that the body has been haunting Harrow for possibly her entire life, we've learned that the surviving Saints aren't all they're cracked up to be, we begin to suspect that God is full of shit, and we've experienced a completely alternate series of events surrounding Canaan house and the first book.

So far it's been a dizzying array of nonsense, fearful hallucination, agonizingly tempting mystery.

I miss Gideon. I know the twist. I know she's the one narrating, but I miss her for an entirely different reason.

I miss her because I'm afraid, for Harrow, for the universe, for the other Lyctors.

I know Gideon is just some herbo with a sword, but I'd feel safer knowing she's there physically.

So yeah great book.

[project-zorthania]

I read your post that is about what if Basim names his eagle companion "little eagle" and I want this so much! 😭 I was going to reply to the post but saw that someone had dropped the name there and didn't want to accidentally make you see that so that's why I messages. I apologise if that's like a too private thing to do

Not to worry at all love <3 It was very thoughtful of you honestly, considering the game hadn’t come out yet at the time that I’d made the post! And you coming to my ask box gives me the perfect excuse to gush about things I’ve been holding in for a while now.

Spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn't played the game yet! For everyone else, please bear with my rambles.

While my desire for an Arabic variant of “little eagle” to be used has been debunked since release, I have to say that the canon name for Basim’s eagle is 20x better than anything I could've imagined for several reasons.

The most prominent is the direct correlation between Gilgamesh, the hero from the Mesopotamian mythos “The Epic of Gilgamesh”, and Basim. The very mythos that Enkidu derives from.

For those of you who don’t already know, the epic describes the relationship between Gilgamesh, the great powerful ruler of Uruk, and Enkidu, a male created by the gods to divert Gilgamesh from wreaking havoc in the world. 

Gilgamesh and Enkidu become comrades, friends, and probably lovers before Enkidu dies at the hands of fate. Prior to his death, Enkidu’s ability to humanize and soften Gilgamesh’s heart through friendship was what inevitably saved the people of Uruk from his tyranny. And, upon Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh struggles with his grief so much that he starts to deny his own mortality and goes in search of everlasting life.

Basim’s story parallels the Epic of Gilgamesh so intimately that it’s uncanny.

As a street thief, Basim inflicts his “tyranny” over the people of Baghdad by assassinating the Caliph al-Mutawwakil in 861, which in turn marks the beginning of the extreme internal instability of Baghdad for 9 years.

Once partnered with Enkidu, Basim is seen as a more well-rounded and balanced person who recovers from what he inflicted on the people of Baghdad (in no small part thanks to his training with the Hidden Ones, but I digress).

Enkidu abandons Basim once he is fully merged with Loki, fully revoking him as his master as a changed man with ambitions to seek immortality.

Now, this might be a stretch, but allow me to be utterly self-indulgent through the bytham lens.

Originally, in the novel "The Golden City", Hytham was appointed to Basim's command by their Masters to spy on him and ensure that he did not stray from the ideologies and goals of the Hidden One's (not dissimilar to how the gods created Enkidu to reign back Gilgamesh's wrath).

As a result, Basim’s fate becomes so closely interwoven with Hytham’s that they become practically inseparable throughout their years working together. Wherever Basim went, Hytham dutifully stood right by his side, despite the implied dangers of his ulterior ambitions.

Hytham complicates Basim’s mission to find the Norsemen that would eventually lead him to Norway to grasp the immortality waiting for him in the ancient Isu structures hiding in the depths of Hordafylke. Whether Basim had wanted it or not, he canonically comes to care for Hytham so much more than he ever wanted to, and in turn, Hytham becomes "closer to him than anyone still living."

Basim is humanized once more and gains another Enkidu, a young eagle no less.

And it is only once Hytham sustains a debilitating injury in his battle against Kjotve and forced to abandon Basim's side, that Basim finally slips away and redoubles his efforts in search for immortality.

So yeah, plain and simple. I adore the name Enkidu for Basim’s eagle companion. It’s the gift that keeps on giving :)

[apamates]

wait. rote isn't canonically lgbtq?

spoilers ahead

i'm on Assassin's Quest (book 3) and while i've read some people who have finished the entire series say the author calls Fitz straight (i don't follow her on socials so i couldn't know myself), I just don't see him being anything other than bi based on the books. Fitz talks about Molly (childhood sweetheart) and The Fool (childhood friend then revealed fated soul partner) with similar tender descriptions so...

I do think it is lgbt+ though, The Fool openly said he'd never be interested in being physically with Starling (a woman) and repeatedly confesses to Fitz, Fitz is just too traumatized to accept someone loving him without wanting to use him as a tool (imo so far, i've seen things get even wilder in later books).

There are other nebulous things going on with Burrich, Chivalry and Patience but Fitz refuses to reflect too much on the weird feelings triangle his parent figures had lmao

[vanhelsingapologist]

question, what happened with Demetria at Castle Ravenloft cause I remember awhile back something with her being kidnapped if I remember that correctly

You do remember correctly!

Massive spoilers ahead

So the first time around, Volenta had intercepted our party about halfway to Vallaki. Demetria ended up being nearly killed and then dragged away, but our barbarian (rip) saved her life by holding off Volenta’s attention. This gave us just enough time for Strahd to arrive, who absconded with Dima’s barely conscious form.

They ended up keeping her in Ravenloft to ‘heal.’ This was three days of in-game time that consisted of Strahd subtly manipulating, gaslighting, and trying to coax Tatyana out of Demetria. He’s told her that they were meant to be married, that she was killed escaping an assassination attempt, and that the positive surges of emotion she feels he uses (read: strahd’s charm) are her true feelings emerging. I think he believes the last one wholeheartedly. In the meantime, I got to play my backup, a half dusk-elf named Emilia.

Demetria returned to the party after the St. Andral Debacle, and Emilia was written out.

She’s back in Ravenloft NOW because Strahd came to the Abbey of St. Markovia to check up on Vasilka and to retrieve an old enemy that we had brought back to life. Our Bloodhunter tried to stop him and he bemusedly went to kill him for interfering.

There was some bargaining on the behalf of the party, but the Bloodhunter was defiant one last time so Strahd killed him in two turns, stating he regretted that it had to happen. We also found out that our Warlock’s children were being held captive in Ravenloft in exchange for manipulating the party to Ravenloft’s ends.

Terrified for the fate of the party, our Druid (who is also spying for Strahd) pulled Dima aside and proposed a plan to keep Strahd off the party’s back, as we’d just gotten the tome and the sunsword: go to Ravenloft. The Warlock told Dima to pretend to be falling in love with him to keep his children alive. It’s all so, so bad.

Between the two of them, they convinced Dima to go for another three days, leading to Ravenloft Imprisonment: Electric Boogaloo. Only the Druid is there too, seeing what betraying the party could potentially win them in terms of safety. So the party has like a couple days of breathing room, but Dima’s being mentally fucked with 24/7.

Currently, Strahd has succeeded on biting Demetria once and believes he’s succeeding in seducing her. He is not. Dima’s stay is drawing to a close, and Strahd has already started fucking with the party again via Rahadin, so it didn’t even work the way we wanted it to. I think he knows we have the tome, and if he does, we CANNOT pull the ‘Dima go back’ card again. We’ve used that up, and my DM will thwart us.

Also, I’ll mention that my DM is pretty much superhuman at making sure everyone has time in the spotlight. I don’t always mention everyone else’s plot lines because my writing’s already so fuck-off long, but our Warlock is super tied to Strahd, our Bloodhunter is/was VR’s second, less impressive apprentice, our Druid is the chosen of the Fanes + a double agent, and our Cleric has a big Mother Night/Lycanthrope plotline.

[webbywatcheshorror]

Webby Reviews Horror: Mad God (2021)

Mad God. How can you even summarize this movie? It’s an 82 minute long stop motion animation film that takes you on one hell of a journey down, down, down, until there is nowhere left to go. And you can’t go back. This movie is an experience, and unless your friends are awesome, probably not one you just pop on for a relaxing Friday evening.

I took two entire pages of notes for this review, front and back on each. (For comparison, usually I get one front and half a back.) There is so much to unpack and talk about, but I don’t really intend to bog this review down with too much detail, so I’ll try to keep it as brief as I can.

Review under the cut, beasties and ghouls, and as always, SPOILERS ahead!

Mad God is incredibly surreal. It’s like talking a stroll through the uncanny valley- most things are identifiable or comparable enough to familiar things, but taken one step to the left, metaphorically speaking. Things look like you should know what they are, or what they’re doing, but there’s an element of Wrongness to them that keeps you just a little weirded out, sometimes a little (or more) disgusted.

The movie starts with the destruction of the Tower of Babel, and a scroll with the Bible verses of Leviticus 26:27-35, which talk about the retribution mankind can expect should they turn from God. After that, we start our descent, along with a figure I shall be referring to as the Little Assassin, or LA for short. (Originally I had taken to calling them the Little Explorer, but their role is a bit more proactive than that. Another note- they’re not actually little per se, but compared to many of the environments they traverse and creatures they encounter, they look small. When we see where they began, however, they’re quite large compared to the only other living being we see.)

LA’s gender is neither relevant nor identifiable. They descend through layer after layer of bizarre dreamlike worlds, if your dreams are sticky looking and warped. The music is melancholy, despondent, even. This is a one way trip for both us and the Little Assassin. This movie is not one you forget, whether you like it or not.

Death is prominent is every layer, every new place we journey through, as pointless as it is ceaseless. Small creatures are trampled underfoot, hungry creatures devour others, several monsters are seen killing, apparently, just for the hell of it. In one layer, there is an assembly line of featureless workers, endlessly toiling to create something they will never understand. Many of them just straight up die, crushed and run over and burned, with the world around them taking no notice whatsoever. It feels hopeless. 

When LA arrives at their destination, they find an enormous pile of briefcases like the one they carry. LA is not the first sent down. There have been countless others before them. Like the others, LA is unsuccessful in their mission- the bomb they brought never detonates, the the Little Assassin is snatched up by yet another incomprehensible creature.

LA’s fate is just as miserable as their journey has been. Violated, ripped apart, even their memories are displayed for the ‘medical staff (played by real people)’ to see, all while still alive and conscious. The cross section of the facility shows that they are far from the first to be treated this way- it’s possible that every other Assassin sent down has met the same end. 

There is a brief moment, in which a screaming ‘baby’ is taken from their body, that feels like hope. That there is life that came from this gruesome brutality. But like all the other creatures and beings we see before it, the worm shaped infant creature is killed to create something else new. (In this case, it appears to be an entirely new universe??? Or the Alchemist is just hallucinating very vividly.)

The flashback sequence shows us that, far above, a man with the longest acrylics and a yarmulke has seen the vile world(s?) beneath, and he intends to destroy it. This man is also an actual actor, not animated, which feels so off-putting, but it works. It is implied that this is the titular Mad God, though which definition of ‘mad’ we’re using isn’t clear, and really it could be either, or both. He begins to send down Assassins. When we return to the present, and just before the credits roll, he sends down the next one. It all begins anew.

The overall feeling I get from Mad God is that the cycle of life and death is neverending, and you may never see the end result of all your struggles. Death happens, and the world keeps going. You work and work, all for a goal which you do not see and will never know. Even that which you are called to do can be as futile as everything else. The cycle is endless, cruel and indiscriminate. It’s bleak, honestly.

Mad God is a fever dream. It’s a nightmare you’re having while awake. It’s chaos. It’s disturbing. It’s haunting. It’s fucking AMAZING, whether or not you enjoy the movie. However, this is not a movie for everyone. There is violence, endless death, a non-zero amount of sexual content, not to mention how fucking disgusting so much of it looks. But it’s unlike anything else I’ve ever watched. Somehow, Phil Tippett took a dream sequence and made it visible. On the surface, all these different layers and events seem disconnected, but the way they flow into each other just feels natural.

This one gets ten ghosts outta ten. I’ve only seen it twice, but it has left such a mark on me. I don’t know if I could ever translate that into something I could share, but there’s something different about the person I became after experiencing Mad God. The set design, the environments, the fucking SOUND design, they are all incredible to behold. I doubt there will be another like this one anytime soon, and maybe that’s for the best.

[coffee-with-mint-syrup]

So I've just finished reading Assassin's fate. I have only one single question - SPOILERS AHEAD

Said question being - how the fuck did I not know how it all ends?!

I know, I know - I tried to avoid spoilers. But I searched for fan art, I've seen some memes! Sometimes I searched something like "fitz chivalry farseer" or "fitzloved" on tumblr and tiktok! Fuck, I tried to avoid spoilers, but I did not isolate myself from fandom!

So how on earth did I not know that's THAT how it gonna end?

I wish I was emotionally prepared.

Not gonna lie, this pain I felt - it was good pain, but at the same time it was absolute agony! I wept through last chapters like I'm ten and watching Titanic for the first time, but I'm actually 25 and I've been through some tragedy fiction in my life! I thought I was ready for the most grim scenarios, but I wasn't the slightest!

Fuck it's so personal now. Like yeah, being with his fool at last, it kinda made it better, but no one, no one deserves do die (or to go) that way! I'm so angry. Fitz became so much more than just a character to me, and his departure was so painful, so ugly at his last moments, he couldn't even hug his family and friends. He couldn't even tell them he loved them with all his heart - not with what's left of him and his memories. Why couldn't they let him know that they love him with him being able to fully perceive that? Fuck, he was being eaten alive! It's so, so unfair.

I wish he had just few more happy moments with his family. Wish Dutiful knew that Fitz is his biological father. Wish Bee communicated with him without her walls (and before you say she did, remember Verity in his last days. It was Verity, but it wasn't fully him. So did Fitz in his last chapters wasn't fully himself.) Wish Kettricken said that she loved him and him to realize what she actually meant. Wish Fitz was Fitz Chivalry Farseer for a little bit more and saw that his people he protected actually love him. Wish he spent more time with Motley and let himself to have another pet in lis life - not as a replacement for Nighteyes, but as friend.

"But Fitz was with his whole family and he didn't actually die, and he became one being with the Fool and Nighteye like they always were!"

Oh shut up! He was being eaten alive! Worms crawled out of his face! With his memories in the Wolf! His small daughter he could never spent some quality time with or present her some gifts or introduce her to his friends watched him slowly dying! Coughing blood! Worms in his mouth! Not purposefully doing this to save his country but because he had no fucking choice - yet fucking again!

Fitz Chivalry Farseer deserved so much more happiness in his life.

So yeah, it's 4 a.m., I'm ugly crying, my heart is broken.

It's not bittersweet ending, it's so fucking bitter, with just a little bit sweet piece, so small you barely feel it.

[imjusthereforyj]

YJ Season 4 Arc Rankings Part 1

Since it’s almost been a year since Phantoms ended here’s my personal ranking of the arcs for that season

 spoilers ahead

 #6- Kaldur‘s  Arc

To me this arc just felt kinda slow and not very necessary as it didn’t tie in with the over all plot of the season. It felt like it’s job was to just justify the extra history lesson we got on Vandal Savage on how he’s also the father to Atlanteans and the whole story with King Arion. The story was slow because it took unit the third ep for them to actually go on a mission to find the lost crown and that felt kinda basic of mission with the only real threat that they faced was a giant fish. I think most things just solved themselves and there wasn’t a lot of big change that happen that would impact the rest of the season. I don’t think much will change with Mera being the new king of Atlantis I think she will have similar policy's as her husband did.I did like how they brought up wealth inequality in the different kingdoms of Atlantis and getting to see La’gaan family as well as seeing him show regret over Conor’s death. We love a fish boy that can show growth yayy.😊 And our boy Kaldur finally learned to take a break and sit at home with his boyfriend.

Kalder gets a 4/10

#5-Zatanna’s Arc

Zantanna definitely had a lot more going on with her arc with two chaos lords fighting, another Vandal Savage history lesson, and the origins of the magic school bus. To me the story of Klarion and Vandal meeting was so funny, like Klarion just killed him over and over for a year until Valdal said “wait, I think we can be business partners”. I understand why Nabu hates his dad when he completely ignored his advice not to work with the kid that sunk a continent and killed millions the last time they hung out.😒 I was pretty hyped to see the phantom Stanger and everyone favorite rhyming demon Etrigan but Etrigan only got to be in one fight and he was just used as a distraction. I felt like Zantanna also had one too many apprentices, just along with the other magic users we met it felt a little crowded. I thought it was intreating how they brought religion into it with Kahlid trying to find the balance between magic, medicine, and his Islamic faith. Giovanni being the Italian man that he is held strong to his Catholic faith but idk if he should of did the Lord’s prayer in found of Nabu who was born in 1,836 BCE. I like that the fight between child and Klarion was so big that other heroes had to come to pick up the pieces and now we got 4 new doctor fates on ration and Zantanna can finally hug her dad again. RIP to Teekl #1 long live Teekl #2

Zantanna gets a 6/10

 #4 -Artemis’s Arc

This was really close between Artemis’s Arc and Zantanna Arc but I’m getting the high ranking to Artemis. This arc had hard act to follow with Conor dying in just the ep before. I think this arc did really good with showing how Artemis was dealing with the grief of losing another team member and how she copes by helping others. But girl idk if you can get away with saying that Conor was like a brother to you when everyone on the mind link heard you checking him out. 🙁 I also really like how we got to look at Jade and Artemis relationship and their childhood together and we see more of how Jade really did care for Artemis. We also see Jade struggle with wanting to be a good mom and being an assassin. But she ain’t the only ninja mom as we see Lady Shiva try to get her daughter back and I really need a season 5 so I can see Talia al Ghul eat her words about not giving up Damian. I don’t have much of an option on them changing Barbara Gordon story on how she end up in a wheelchair. I did like how they brought back Cassandra Savage and I was really questioning if she was gonna turn on her dad or not. Onyx was just kinda there but it was good to have her there to question if Cassandra was legit or not. I do wish they would of just let Jada go back to Will and Lian instead of going to therapy island with Jason Todd and Onyx. I think it would just clean up the loose ends of her story more and it would feel more complete for her to find peace with her family. Also finding out that Artemis’s new boyfriend is 31 is kinda a trip when you realize he was 21 when she was 15 in season 1.

Artemis gets a 6.5/10

[flowersdaggersviolasandblood]

Assassin with a Heart of Gold

Name: Admaer Daeneiros (He/Him)

Race: High Elf

Class: Rogue (Assassin)

Background: Criminal

WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD

Picking up where we left off, we're still on side quest lane as we go to "rescue" the Gnome on the windmill. Due to Wyll's whole story having changed, this no longer involves Wyll having an outburst of anger meeting one of the Goblins and wanting information about the whereabouts of someone they knew. Now, it's just Goblins bullying and tormenting a Gnome for the fun of it. To admit, I kinda miss Wyll having that outburst of anger. But don't worry, there's a cool thing about Wyll that we'll get into later :D.

We also convinced the Ogres to fight for us against the Goblins. In-character, Admaer would most likely do this when his heart and mind is dedicated to helping the Tieflings, but my metamind wanted to get that out of the way before leaving for the Creche. The whole Bugbear & Ogre sex scene was also changed. Now, it's no longer a conscious choice to interrupt them, it's played up as if we accidentally ran into them. Also, you don't get Astarion points for running into them. Not that it's a bad thing, just something to note.

While saving the Gnome, Shadowhearts' injury glowed again as we approached a broken statue of Selune.

When Admaer asked about the injury again, now knowing what the wound is all about, Shadowheart reminded him that she's unsure of its origin and why it reacts the way it does.

Finally, we make it to the Mountain Pass, but we first gotta decide Karlach's fate. Admaer and the gang stumbled across her and the tension was high.

With the parasite within her head, Admaer was able to see and realize that Karlach isn't some rampaging devil, but a Tiefling that was forcefully enlisted into Zariel's army and she was trying to escape when the nautiloid ship arrived in Avernus. Now, considering that Admaer became a bit more forgiving of Astarion and his situation with Cazador, it was only nature that he would extend an olive branch to Karlach (I was kinda hoping Admaer would join Wyll and simply kill her, but then she pulled the "but I was a slave ;A;" card on him)

With that song and dance, the moment the gang went back to camp to rest, Wyll's patron, Mizora, decided to pay us a visit. Because Wyll didn't kill Karlach or sent her back to the Hells, Wyll was forcibly changed to look more devilish.

Admaer, rightfully, got on his ass about his pact with Mizora, especially since Wyll went on a whole tangent about not accepting a bribe from Raphael. Unfortunately, through contract, Wyll cannot express what brought him into this deal with Mizora, but he swears on his life that he never regretted his decsion and his power was always for the good of the people. We'll get back to him another time.

As for Karlach, Admaer agreed to kill the so called "Paladins of Tyr" so that they would get off her back.

Also, love the new animation for the Hold Person spell, homie got caught lackin

With that song & dance dealt with, we finally went to the Mountain Pass proper to meet with the Githyanki. While there, we ran into a Tiefling who was watching the commotion between what seemed to be Flaming Fists and Githyanki.

Upon meeting Lae'zel's people, Admaer already had a bad feeling, especially when they realize that the weapon that they were looking for, and apparently even the Goblins are looking for, involves the mysterious artifact that they carry with them. Admaer signals for Lae'zel to delay telling the truth so that they may bypass the Gith and go to the mountain pass. As they are about to venture there, they are struck with a powerful force, much like how when the tadpole would invade ones mind, but it was much stronger. A voice from on high informing Admaer and his gang that three individuals are their champions and that they want the weapon sent to them. If this is done, they will have a seat in their ranks.

In that same scene, Shadowheart whips out the artifact and it dispels the magic and the powerful influence from them. It is now that we discover that this artifact is of Githyanki origins and Shadowheart had a mission to possess this item and bring it back to someone in Baldur's Gate. But she still refuses to tell the gang her mission, who this contact in Baldur's Gate is, and literally anything that would essentially help them in the long run.

While Admaer is getting fed up with this "just trust me, ok" talk, he unfortunately is too deep in this mess to just let Shadowheart go. Who knows what will happen if she and that artifact are alone as she makes the trek to Baldur's Gate. At least she and the item has the security of safety in numbers. Admaer agrees to let Shadowheart hold on to the artifact and they embark on their journey to the Gith Creche.

...Is what I would say if I wasn't then hit with a "Are you sure you want to leave? Make sure you tie up any loose ends before going" message lmao! So it looks like I'm gonna stay here for a minute!

I still believe Admaer would somewhat want to help the tieflings, but I want there to be a in-world reason for him to do so as he's not the most altruistic person around. I might hang around the Emerald Grove and chat with Karlach for a moment and see if that can spark a bit of "shit, I guess I give a shit" within Admaer.

Before we end this chapter with Admaer, I want to talk about some cute Astarion & Karlach moments.

Admaer had a cute moment with Astarion where Admaer gives his "soon-to-be-lover" a glimpse of what he looks like now.

With Karlach, Admaer sent her over to Dammon after discovering a piece of Infernal Iron. Karlach's Infernal Engine is running hot and there's a chance it will not only harm those around her, but herself as well. While Tieflings are typically resistant to fire, Hells fire can and will prove to be too much. Thankfully, they were able to upgrade her engine so that she might not have to rely on Soul Coins for too long, but the heat is still a major problem. when we find Dammon in Baldur's Gate, perhaps he'll have a solution in mind.

Also, god fucking damnit Larian, they made Dammon just too damn hot in this full release XD

Also, now Admaer & Astarion are matching :D

[kudosmyhero]

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home #7: Oracle

Read Date: June 05, 2023 Cover Date: December 2010 ● Writer: Marc Andreyko ● Penciler: Agustin Padilla ● Inker: Agustin Padilla ● Colorist: Brian Buccellato ● Letterer: Dave Sharpe ● Editor: Mike Marts ◦ Janelle Asselin ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● Vicki Vale is somehow both quite intelligent and an insufferable idiot

● 👏👏👏👏

Synopsis: Barbara Gordon is in a panic - she has discovered that Ra's al Ghul has summoned the Seven Men of Death to move out against Vicki Vale, making her realize that he was the one who put out a bounty on her head. She hacks into the Insider's comm-link, much to his surprise, and lets him know that it's Ra's who is the mastermind behind it all. After confirming he has Vicki with him, he's quick to pull her away from a window, telling her that one misstep would mean the end for all of them. As he heads out, he asks for some of Barbara's "birds" to help distract the Seven Men - she chooses her back-ups: Batgirl, Man-Bat, Ragman, Manhunter, Hawk and Dove. As she does, she wonders if the Insider truly is Bruce, then reminisces to the time after she was paralyzed by the Joker. When Bruce came to see her, she attempted to drive him away with her self-wallowing. Instead Bruce tells her not to let this tragedy shape her life like his did. After months of training, she shows off her Watchtower.

Her thoughts are interrupted when Batgirl, Hawk and Dove contact her. Through simple hacking, she's able to lure the Seven Men of Death to the Birds' location, allowing Insider to escape with Vicki. However, one of them is able to attack them and, injured, Insider is forced to make Vicki run. The Birds take down the assassins while the Insider defeats his attacker, learning that Ra's wants Vicki dead because he doesn't want Batman's legacy tainted by her reveal. Hearing that, Oracle lets slip that she's figured out the Insider is actually Bruce. She asks if Dick and Damian know, but he reveals they don't at the moment, and that now isn't the time.

Elsewhere, Vicki smashes her cell phone, realizing she might be traced. She finds a working pay phone and calls Alfred for help, only to be captured by the White Ghost, leaving Alfred to worry about her fate.

(https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Bruce_Wayne:_The_Road_Home:_Oracle_Vol_1_1)

Fan Art: Oracle/Barbara Gordon by sentryJ

Accompanying Podcast: ● Batgirl to Oracle - episode 14

[sebeth]

All-Star Squadron #7

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

“Carnage For Christmas” by Roy Thomas, Adrian Gonzales, and Jerry Ordway.

The December 22, 1941 edition of the Washington World’s headline states “JSA Disbands”, “Decision Rumored Since Dec. 9 Confirmed”, and “Statement Reveals Eight Current Members Have Enlisted In Armed Services Under Real Names!”

Private Al Pratt (Atom) strolls the streets of Washington DC and bumps into a giant of a man.  Al goes his own way as we follow the giant.  The giant’s revealed to be Baron Blitzkrieg. The Baron and his henchmen plan to assassinate Winston Churchill, scheduled to visit the United States, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Blitzkrieg first debuted in World’s Finest Comics #246, published in 1977.

Al is suspicious of the rude foreigner but puts them aside as he doesn’t want to be like “the paranoids who’re finding Axis spies under every bed, since Pearl Harbor”.

Al, now dressed in his Atom costume, visits FDR at the White House.  FDR asks about the other members of the Justice Society. 

“I’m in training to be a tank-corpsman myself, stationed in Virginia but then, you already know that, don’t you, or else Pvt. Al Pratt wouldn’t have gotten a special leave to report here tonight.  Hawkman’s a Tyro – a ‘Dodo” I think they call ‘em in the Army Air Force on the west coast while Sandman’s looking forward to handling the 37-mm. anti-aircraft cannon. And Dr. Fate, who’s spanned the gaps between the worlds, will soon be practicing to be a parachute trooper. Though he’s technically blind…in a way…Dr. Mid-Nite’s alter ego has been commissioned a captain in the medical corps. He and his assistant Myra are in the Pacific war zone right not, working on a crash cure for tropical fever.  Starman’s other self is in flight training, too…at Fort Randolph, near San Antonio, while Johnny Thunder’s joined the Navy, heaven help it!  The Spectre’s keeping busy here at home but the last I heard, even Green Lantern had enlisted!  I’m not sure about our other honorary JSA’ers…”

Props to Myra for following Dr. Mid-Nite into the war.  That is love and loyalty.  If you’ve read Geoff John’s JSA, you know that poor Myra suffers a violent end. Yes, it’s due to her association with Dr. Mid-Nite.  People theorize that Charles was gay and if so, I feel sorry for Myra.  Charles would have loved her but not in the romantic sense. I feel Myra would have been willing to be his “beard” in the less enlightened times of the mid-20th century.  It’s surprising the duo never married – as romantic partners or platonic partners.  Neither Charles or Myra married anyone else.  Of course, Wesley Dodds and Dian Belmont never married.  The Justice Society was filled with individuals rebelling against society’s expectations!

The Flash and Hourman are the members of the JSA not mentioned by the Atom. Unbeknown to the JSA or the Squadron, Hourman is a prisoner of war in Japan but the Flash’s whereabouts are a mystery.

The honorary members are Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, possibly Robin?  Ma Hunkel, the original Red Tornado, was later revealed to be an honorary member.

Ma Hunkel wouldn’t have been active.  I haven’t read much Golden Age Wonder Woman but I assume Diana was involved with the U.S. army in some capacity given her connection to Steve Trevor and Etta Candy.

Superman wouldn’t join the military as he needs to stay far away from the Spear of Destiny’s influence.

Robin is underage so he wouldn’t be eligible for the military.  Batman is a surprise.  The rest of the non-superhuman members joined the various military branches but Bruce decided staying home and punching robbers in the face was more important. Maybe he felt he was needed at home to run Wayne Enterprises?  Of course, Green Lantern runs his own company, and it didn’t stop him from enlisting.

FDR ushers the Atom into the next room where Hawkgirl, Liberty Belle, Johnny Quick, Robotman, Firebrand II and the Shining Knight are waiting.

Atom questions FDR: “But what about Plastic Man?  If it’s old home week, shouldn’t our FBI liaison be here?”

FDR informs the Atom that Plastic Man is “on special assignment, alas…but he sends his regards.”

FDR tells the heroes about a suspected plot to assassinate Winston Churchill.  FRD orders the heroes to escort Churchill to the White House.

Hawkgirl, Liberty Belle, and Sir Justin patrol the sky.  Liberty hitches a ride on Winged Victory.  Hawkgirl complains about the cold.  Well, you are the one wearing a bikini top in December.

Firebrand and Johnny Quick patrol the roads.  Johnny reveals he’s bought a Christmas gift for Liberty Belle.

Robotman and the Atom are at the piers waiting for Churchill’s ship.  Robotman and Atom continue their mutual admiration-inferiority contest. Atom wishes he was built like a tank and Robotman would love to be human.

The ship arrives at the pier but is bombarded by German torpedos.  The All-Stars work together to save the ship and crew.  They also capture the German U-boat.  Baron Blitzkrieg switches out the real Churchill with a robot duplicate during the chaos.

Liberty Belle realizes Churchill isn’t the real one when he doesn’t recognize her despite meeting her months ago.  Churchill approaches FDR and explodes!  Everything’s okay as FDR was Plastic Man in disguise: “The FBI – and the Secret Service, natch – were afraid something like this might happen so I took his place.”

The All-Stars rescue Churchill but Baron Blitzkrieg escapes.

The issue ends with Churchill and FDR addressing the crowds on Christmas Eve.

An average issue. Most Nazi comic book villains are boring and one-dimensional to me – Red Skull, Baron Blitzkrieg, etc. In real life, Nazis are terrifying and repulsive. In comics, they’re boring. Highlights of the issue were the Libby-Johnny romance and the Atom-Robotman mutual inferiority-admiration society.