#but her role was pivotal lmao

[danggirlronpa]

i like your interesting take on tsumugi as a protagonist. i don't hear tsumugi a lot in terms of meta reasons and appreciation and i'd like to hear your though about tsumugi being a main protagonist please. :)

I'd LOVE to. Protagonist Tsumugi is something I really do think fondly of and often wish for.

Firstly, I think Tsumugi is really the only mastermind who you feasibly could play in a perspective of without making them forget they're the mastermind (a la Izuru). So much of V3 is either pre-planned or run by others on Team Danganronpa that her actual involvement as a mastermind is essentially nil - she's just doing damage control. It would be very easy to foreshadow the reveal without outright revealing that she's involved, the same way as with Kaede in the first trial.

Tsumugi is also the V3 character who has the most vested interest in keeping the trials going and making sure they get solved, because if the trial ends there, then there's no show. I could absolutely see Tsumugi's protagonist interventions ("No, that's wrong!") as being subtle interventions to make sure that the group is on the right track, but justified in her not quite knowing the answers because she isn't an ace detective, she's just a cosplayer with a mic in her ear to tell her when she needs to get everyone back on track.

I also think that playing as Tsumugi would play into V3's greater theme of culpability and the control of the audience. By playing as the mastermind, you are directing the killing game. Within the fiction, you, the player, are personally responsible for what happens here. Again, Kaede plays into this in a lot of ways as well (I think a version of the game where you still play as Kaede at first would serve this AU best), but the slow burn of it all makes the realization that much more horrifying, in the same way as the realization that everyone is Remnants at the end of SDR2. Kiibo as protagonist could also accomplish this, since you'd be more connected to the in-universe audience, but I think Tsumugi would provide an interesting take unique to her where the player is really taking on the role of Team Danganronpa itself.

There's an overarching theme that Tsumugi fits into with previous protagonists, too; Komaru had no connection to the mastermind, Makoto was friends with the mastermind once, Kaede and Hajime were accomplices to the mastermind once, and Tsumugi is the mastermind/accomplice to the masterminds. You get the final entry into this sort of sliding scale of connection to the villain, which in current DR is kind of dangling open-ended.

And she's also the only character in V3 who really plays into Danganronpa's overarching theme of the imposter complex ("plain, plain, plain")! I think it'd be so cool to have a take on the I'm Just Some Guy nature of DR's protagonists that is actually very talented, but still has this low self esteem because of the way they think about their talent. They tried to do this with Shuichi a little bit, but imo it wasn't very effective, because it never really came up; Shuichi's arc wasn't about learning that he is actually a good detective, it was about overcoming trauma. A Tsumugi arc where she learns that her talent is valuable, that she can have an impact on the things and people she cares about - especially when we, as the audience, think she's talking about supporting the other players, but in reality she's talking about supporting the killing game? Oh. Ooooooooh. I love that shit.

I do generally think that they should have done a lot more with Tsumugi's character. And, in fairness to them, there are reasons for Tsumugi being just a quiet background character without much impact - it's the big startling counterpoint that she's secretly the mastermind, compared to the more traditional tropes of the rest of the game; Tsumugi's reveal is what really blows the game wide open and makes you rethink the entire story thus far. I just personally think that there are ways they could've done it more effectively, to really give it that oomph.

[nipuni]

We are all caught up with Doctor Who!!! We were five episodes behind with all the travelling and family visiting but we did a DW marathon and MAN WHAT WAS THAT!!! We were not expecting that finale at all LMAO going to share our thoughts about it under the cut for spoilers at the end of the post!

In other news my family flew back to Argentina a couple of days ago so we are back to normal schedule, meaning I have a lot of art to post and a lot of games to play, and by that I mean mostly Clair Obscur!! Been dying to start it, I've heard so many great things about it and I feel I'm going to love it so I'm excited!!

Now DW thoughts!

My favorite episodes this season were "The Well" and "The Story & the Engine" Even though I don't think The Well needed to be a Midnight sequel and could have stood on it's own I'm not too bothered and I'm a big fan of cosmic horror and sci-fi episodes so I'm biased. And the Story and the Engine, absolutely gorgeous visuals and themes, the characters too just consistent and great all around. Joy the the world was also fun, I love the concept of the Time Hotel. I miss the monster of the week self contained episodes I think we need more of those!!! As for the other episodes I think some were fun to watch and aesthetically so impressive but I kept getting distracted by the convoluted and questionable politics, what in the Kerblam was going on with the messaging lmao!! what's with the protester turns terrorist villain theme? the conservative podcaster arc? the Eurovision power of song fixes racism and genocide? I'm trying so hard not to read much into it because it's infuriating I'm going to bite someone. I also don't like the portrayal of UNIT in these seasons, or UNIT in general tbh but that aside, what are we doinggggg 😭

Now for the final episodes I have so many thoughts. The Belinda character assassination was so rough and unnecessary, every Ruby appearance and role in this season could have been Belinda's I really don't know why we needed to bring Ruby back so soon if at all? The ending felt and was confirmed by RTD to be very last minute and you can tell the exact point at which they knew that Ncuti had to leave and pivoted the narrative but I still feel it could have been done so much better. Did we really need to give Belinda a motherhood plot one episode after we established this as a nightmare scenario in a 1984-esque world, and put her in a box for the entire episode hello? Now this is very personal and not an objective critique of the plot but I really dislike stories about babies to an irrational degree so I was not very happy about that whole debacle in the end and so much of 15th's run having something to do with babies and family aaaaaa But!! I also have a feeling that there is something bigger going on with this recurring theme that has yet to be resolved, and it probably leads to Susan so I'll wait it out.

That reveal in the end!! 15th deserved a 3rd season, the seasons are already so short now there is not enough time for full character arcs please!! I understand that Ncuti had to leave for work reasons apparently? but this felt so sudden and jarring!! and listen I don't think Billie is going to be the 16th doctor, she was not introduced as such in the credits and her posts about it on social media are also very vague so I'm pretty sure she's some version of Rose / Bad Wolf and she is going to be only in the specials acting as a sort of in between like the 14th doctor for another arc of closure (I also feel David and Billie are Russel's panic button when something goes awry in production and they need someone to step in to fill in the gaps lmao )

ALSO!! I think reality is still altered for a reason that we will eventually find out once we deal with the whole Pantheon. Maybe I'm being too hopeful lmao but I think those little changes left like the color Teal, the border between Sweden and Norway (Bad Wolf bay?), Mavity, the Poppy focus and flower motif, Ruby's memory and overall mystery, Susan's messages and the focus on family and The Doctor's lineage. I don't know it all feels like it's wanting to go somewhere and I'm hoping it does and Russel can land it better this time along with The Boss and the remaining Rani (speaking of her, why didn't Omega eat the other half instead!!! I wanted to see more of Archie Panjabi come on!!! she was so good) and uuhh Rogue in superhell or whatever. But also I tend to read too much into things and trust the writing promises and then get disappointed so we will see uughh 😭🤞

That being said!! BILLIE BILLIE BILLIE BILLEIIEIFJIEIGHAIOFH MY GIRL MY GIRL AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HELLOOOOO ❤️❤️❤️ I'm playing with 14th and whoever Billie is now like dolls in my mind, I can't wait to see where this goes. I'm here for it!!! I'd be fine with her being 16th too honestly!! I don't care!!! nostalgia bait fan service perhaps but I'm the fan being serviced baby let's goooo

[queen-of-hawkins-why-ler]

Why I believe that Milkvan will actually be going strong at the beginning of s5

Don’t let the title scare you lmao it’ll be good by the end. 😭 So I know that a lot of ppl are convinced that Milkvan will be bones right at the beginning of s5, but I have reason to believe that this will not be the case and that Mike and El will actually seem to be doing surprisingly well. Key word: SEEM.

The first reason I think this is because Mike Wheeler’s struggle against internalized homophobia and following social norms is not quite over, and where his character ends up in s4 alludes to that. The van scene lead us to believe that maybe Mike really was picking up what Will was laying down in terms of realizing the potential of a romantic connection, but by the end of the season, this hope has been crushed. He took Will’s “don’t stop, you’re the heart” to mean that Will doesn’t actually want him the way Mike hoped he would (romantically). And ultimately, however unhappy it may make him, Mike MAKES THE CHOICE to conform and to choose what people expect from him, which is to save El and be her romantic partner. In the same way that Will “ripped off the bandaid” in the van scene, Mike also ripped off the bandaid by giving in and confessing his love to El. That was him closing the door on the possibility of getting to be with Will. It was all just wishful thinking. Plus, Mike definitely has a complex about needing to be who the people in his life need him to be. His love confession to El was him choosing to conform and choosing to accept that THIS is who he needs to be, even if it doesn’t feel right.

Sure, Mike may know that he loves Will, but by the end of s4 he has already made a choice: the safe choice. The choice to be who people need him to be. He has accepted his place of being by El’s side as a sort of duty. It’s what he MUST do even if it doesn’t make him happy. And I believe that this is the conclusion he came to by the end of s4. Think of the scene of him holding El at the hospital but practically twitching just trying to keep from grabbing hold of Will’s hand. This scene very heavily mirrors the scene in s1 where Steve and Nancy are cuddling, but Nancy is clearly thinking about Jonathan.

Milkvan going strong at the beginning of s5 also makes sense for Will and El’s characters: it’s because Milkvan breaking up and Byler getting together are pivotal pieces of all three characters’ arcs. This story is about El realizing that she doesn’t need Mike, Mike realizing that he doesn’t have to be El’s knight in shining armor and that he can be that for Will, and Will realizing that he can have reciprocal romantic love from the boy he loves. But because the breakup hasn’t happened yet, these three characters still have a ways to go before any of them realize the truth (that Mike and El don’t belong together but that Mike and Will do).

Mike, Will, and El are all complacent in the roles where they see themselves by the end of s4. Mike has decided to dutifully accept his place of standing by El’s side. Will has accepted that “the bandaid has been ripped off” and that Mike and El will be together while he’ll be alone. El came close to realizing that she is able to save herself, but she ends the season comfortable and complacent in the role of being Mike’s girlfriend.

Mike loves El. It’s platonic love, and us Bylers will be able to recognize that right away, but the rest of the GA won’t. I believe that the beginning of s5 will lead us to believe that Mike and El are actually doing quite well in their relationship, because both characters have chosen to close the window and “not look at what lies beneath the curtains.” There is a sense of knightly satisfaction Mike probably gets from being by El’s side, and this will most likely only be propagated by Mike’s parents and his own friends reaffirming for him that he’s good at this role. Saying things like “Good job, Mike.” All of this just reinforces for Mike that this is where he needs to be. It’s not where he wants to be. It’s certainly not what he wants the most, but it’s what he’s the most good at, so he should keep doing it.

So he takes care of El. He consoles her, supports her, probably hugs and kisses her and all that and people will be like, “SEEEE??? I TOLD YOU MIKE AND EL WERE ENDGAME” but the thing is, it’s only a matter of time until someone (say, Vecna *cough cough*) pokes a hole in this illusion and shows Mike that he’s just kidding himself. “I know your secret, Mike Wheeler. Everybody thinks you’re the perfect boyfriend and the perfect son, but that couldn’t be further from the truth, could it?”

Something has to come crashing down; there has to be a moment where Mike is slapped in the face with the reality that he’s a fraud to the people in his life and that he’s lying to everyone. But this is a realization I believe he has to have DURING season 5 and not before, which is why I think Milkvan will “appear” to be going strong initially. Because Mike is, we won’t say happy, but “content” to fulfill the role that the people in his life and society have placed onto him. He has accepted who he must be for El, and I believe he’s going to do everything in his power to do a good job at it.

For comparison’s sake, think of Zuko from ATLA’s character arc. By the end of s2, it seems like he’s had a lot of growth and that he’s starting to deconstruct his views and join the gaang, but he takes a hard left and ends up joining his sister and father instead, not necessarily because it’s what he wants, but because it’s what’s expected of him. And it’s because he takes the hard left that his ultimate redemption is SO satisfying. Mike hasn’t had his last rodeo with conformity and internalized homophobia LOL. He’s got another round to go of being the person people want him to be and actively fighting against himself. This will make the payoff of Byler so much more satisfying, because we’re actually going to see Mike choosing Will and choosing to be himself despite the odds and despite the pressure he feels to conform.

But yeah. Basically, Mike isn’t done being a conformist and denying himself, which is why he will be The Good Boyfriend TM to El at the beginning of the season. I wouldn’t be surprised if we even got a couple’s montage of them going on dates and such. They’re both just so… comfortable. And complacent, being who they are “supposed” to be. I need that illusion ripped out of Mike Wheeler’s hands and stomped on the ground in front of him.

[soclearlytosee]

I am certainly not the only person to have this thought, but this frame of the teaser is interesting in light of how much we know the Duffers were enamored with/have and are pulling from The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time. (h/t to @/conflictofthemind’s post here which was what first tipped me off to that connection)

In that book, there is a point when the narrator realizes that radio frequency at a certain frequency jams the powers of the psychics he’s working with.

considering that in this teaser shot Hopper does not seem to hear whatever it is that is causing El so much distress, it is definitely possible the new Dr. Kay-headed military lab has rigged up a defense system that involves emitting whatever the ST-version of “the frequency that neutralizes psionic energy”

which is interesting in light of this insight from Dustin last season…

Utilizing this idea against Vecna is obviously trickier for the extended Party than the military since that also takes what would seem like their strongest chess piece (El) off the board.

But…thinking on it, so many of the obvious supernatural action adventure coming of age references end with a plot mechanic that means the villain isn’t defeated with a final violent “killing blow” but with a more character-driven act of sacrifice or mercy.

I won't go into how each of these ends to respect spoiler warnings for decades old ST reference texts of various levels of clear homaging, but iykyk

I don’t have a strong idea yet about what that "act of sacrifice/mercy(/or mystery third thing)" would be in a ST context (I think it probably will involve El and/or Will and/or Joyce having a ROTJ Luke-Vader moment with Henry in some capacity but again what that means exactly I’m not sure). but whatever that looks like, El being neutralized might even be part of the narrative intention if something happens like a) El and Hopper encounter the idea of "psionic jamming via radio frequency" via the military using it against her, b) this is traumatic but processed and shared with the larger group (in particular one of our usual strategists), and c) they use it against Vecna in the final battle in some capacity

This also could have implications for El’s trajectory and coming-of-age actualization. Most recently, her seasons have trended: El loses her powers, and experiences a significant loss/failure (s3) -> El regains her powers, but still experiences a significant loss/failure (s4), so maybe the next step is -> El has her powers, is stronger than ever before, but successfully defeating Vecna will involve accepting help, working with her larger team, and enacting a plan that necessitates her powers are switched off for at least a key stage (s5).

plus Will will obviously play a pivotal role in all this

also they have access to huge-ass radio transmitter lmao

s5's WSQK / WPTF, the irl radio transmitter building in North Carolina of which it is almost an exact replica and whose big ol' antenna will certainly be cgi'ed on its onscreen manifestation

[sapphicscholar]

Hacks 4.07 Thoughts

As always, thoughts below the cut to hide any spoilers!

Centering the episode around questions of faith and ritual on the one hand felt a little tonally odd, but also let the show to do a different kind of character exploration and communicate some things quietly for those in the know. For the non-Catholics, baptism is the first sacrament (a sacrament of initiation), and it represents both a rebirth (the cleansing away of original sin) and an entry into a new community/new structure of familial ties. Obviously those Catholic elements aren’t named explicitly in the episode, and the extent to which they register depends upon the familiarity of viewers with the Catholic tradition, but it was a nice way to quietly mark the watery rebirth of Deborah and Ava’s relationship—itself a cleansing (albeit, less wholly) of the wrongs that have been calcifying between them—as well as a way for the episode to talk about what it means for DJ to want something different for her child. We see her stand up for herself in a major way, and even though it becomes clear that it’s profit not faith that’s driving her (much more in character let’s be honest), I think there is something to what she sees in Aiden’s family. It’s not the Catholicism of it all (I PROMISE YOU THAT lmao), but it is a way of orienting themselves around each other that leaves DJ wanting more and better for her son than what she feels she got. And I think the choice of Ava as a godmother (even tho the Church would absolutely not have allowed it as a spur of the moment thing—you gotta prove you’re a practicing Catholic and all!) was a really lovely moment of growth and maturity from DJ.

As an outsider, DJ knows that there’s this version of her mother that Ava has drawn out from the soft, hopeful places Deborah walled off right around the time DJ would have been forming deep memories, but DJ also knows she’ll never be able to give that version of Deborah to AJ because it’s a version she knows of without knowing herself – a very faithful kind of believing without seeing, if you will. And much as she’s willing to wrench Deborah into the sanctuary and threaten to go low or no contact if she ruins something for AJ—an act of harshness born of love—she’s also willing to gift her son a version of her mother that she herself can’t quite access (at least not yet, maybe not ever). Ava can’t give AJ math lessons, let alone the intended role of spiritual guidance, but she can give him the version of Deborah at her best—the version she might have been had Frank and Kathy not done what they did.

Anyway, pivoting away from the Catholic of it all (a sentence I never thought I’d type in a Hacks recap!), the car conversation was obviously beautiful on its own terms, but it was also a nice way to get Deborah thinking about legacy, about belief, about what it is and was (bc it surely wasn’t faith in any higher power) that gave Deborah the strength to keep going—and how she’s going to make her show, her legacy, into the kind of thing that actually reflects who she is and what she values. Because we know that’s going to be what finally lets them succeed.

A couple quick delights: the stairwell scene, my beloved – we’ve been waiting for this, and it’s just as fun and sweet (without being saccharine) as I had hoped it would be <3

Even thought it was brief, I loved seeing Marcus - he seems so happy, and that's everything I wanted for him

Ava's book present is 100% the vibe I bring to the function (the function being all children's birthday parties)

But ya know I can't end without some kind of more critical note: I know a lot of the cast and creators talked about Julianne Nicholson as their favorite character this season, but I’m growing tired fast – don’t get me wrong, she can be fun to see, but at this point, it’s pretty clear she’s just here to give Jimmy and Kayla more to do on screen to justify the shift in narrative focus to include them as more major players (more on that in my ep. 8 notes), and it’s just…falling flat. Were this a 22-episode season kind of show, it might be different, but even with the slight increase to 10 episodes, this is a tight ship to run if you want believable character arcs scaled to the point JPL seem to want to exist at, and stuff like Dance Mom makes it baggy while taking away room for what we need to see

[elainsgirl]

Lol your previous anon is completely unaware of how gwynriels like to romanticize every single thing gwyn does and what happened to her.

Their side literally make fanarts of Azriel craddling a traumatized gwyn (theres one fanart where she was still in her torn up clothes half naked and looked comfortable leaning into Azriel WHAT THE F*CK). Yeah completely scratched canon where its actually Mor who carried gwyn lmao Azriel only covered her w a cloak.

Not to mention how they made the cutting ribbon scene about Gwynriel Lmao. Elriels actually respect Gwyn's character more than gwynriels. We elriels acknowledge that the cutting ribbon scene is a pivotal scene to show the valkyries friendship and growth, how they surpassed the challenge and NOT about a freaking man.

Somehow gwynriels made it seemed as a foreshadowing where gwyn n az would cut the ribbon during their mating scene.

Alrighty then. Tell me why we never saw any official illustrations of ribbons and truth-teller? Oh right, because theres no such thing as gwynriel. Theres only ever roses and truth-teller. Theres only ever Elriel.

Then again some claimed that Gwyn is also associated w roses based on their theory that Gwyn is from the spring court just to make the rose and truth teller abt gwynriel.

Gwynriels are on another level of delusional its sad to see it.

”whilst Gwyn was in the library after Savangh, she would think about Azriel and it would bring her some comfort 🥺”

“OMFGGGGGG Gwyn just loved challenging Az in acosf!”

I mean, this same crowd proudly reduces Gwyn to a Li and compares her role in acotar 5 to Cassians role in acosf. They do not like that woman beyond the gwynriel ship and it literally shows. They’ve changed Gwyns personality, randomly fitted her into plotpoints and want her to become something she isn’t. Want her to be with someone, she hasn’t even shown attraction too or interest in aside from his powers. What is it with that side shipping women w men they don’t want? that is so disturbing to say the least…to potray Gwyns most traumatising moment into anything romantic. The amount of gwynriels that would tell me how Az had carried and cradled gwyn too and I saw fanarts of it too that I actually believed this was the case until someone pulled up with thr quote and he just leaves her with Mor, they also romantacise the cloak Az gave Gwyn. If thats not giving desperate, Idk what else does.

Instead of celebrating Gwyns moment making it onto the brackets, what did her “stans” do? Try to twist it as some foreshadowing/hint for gwynriel. BB could have included the scene where Az looks at Gwyn w admiration, but they didn’t. Why? Because that wasn’t important nor the point. Gwyn cutting the ribbon was significant and history-changing. Im not even a Gwyn “Stan” yet it seems like elriels understand the purpose and point of that scene more then gwynriels who again, can’t seperate Gwyn from a ship they’ve literally forced her in.

Yes. Because Azriel leaving his traumatised mate alone moments after is fully giving Mate vibes. When he didnt gaf about his mate being taken into a deadly rite, I think that was the strongest play of mate instincts in action we’ve ever read about in the massiverse. I mean, Mass rlly just made it so obvious didn’t she? His mate was right there and Az was pleasuring himself to thoughts of another woman - I mean. C’mon. You cannot get more of a romantic love story then that. “Why not make them (elriel) mates?” Was obviously just there for funsies, it’s obviously not guiding you to wonder why elriel weren’t made mates nonononono its just there as a word filler, pretty decoration. What you’re meant to actually think about is the impact Gwyn squealing loudly had on Azriel who half turned at the sound. Gwyn staring down the ribbon as though it wS an enemy…no yh. Thats strong foreshadowing for how she’ll be with the mating bond ribbon.

🗣️ there is no such thing of gwynriel

Gwyn and Az are never paired together in the books. There is nothing between them. Az leaves training which makes sense because its not his official job, and thats the end of gwynriel. No matter Gwyn and Az interactions. It doesn’t disrupt the flow of the story. In fact, it affects nothing. Thats how stupid gwynriel as a ship is - seperate these two and nothing in the story changes, it doesn’t push the story forward. It doesn’t add or even contribute to the story.

Omfg don’t get me started on Gwynriels trying to claim roses for Gwyn. All bcs of her vague heritage. And its the SAME PEOPLE that say Elain should go to spring bcs there’s roses and flowers there, acknowledging her connections to the plants. Gwynriels are never beating the copycat allegations or the stealing content from other ship allegations either.

It was sad at first to see their level of delusion but ngl its hilarious now. Its something I look forward too bcs Ik im going to get a laugh out of it, “what stupid bs can they come up with today?” “Can it beat their last ridiculous arguements?”

[boymanmaletheshequel]

Symbolism of Melinoe

💀💭💀💭💀💭💀💭💀💭💀💭💀💭💀💭

Dark goddess of funeral, of nightmares, and of ghosts and the dead, Melinoê is the dual goddess of the light and the day, said to be charred black on one side in her chthonic nature, and bright and white as snow on the other, contrasted by her heavenly half, Melinoe is a goddess to be revered and respected, and here are some of the symbols and sacred icons you can use to do so.

———————-————————————————

•🌈 Colors:

Representative of her dualistic nature, the analogous colors of black and white are the best colors, or rather lack there-of, to iconize and represent this frightening goddess, like a black and white tintype photograph from a nostalgic, forgotten era.

•🐴 Animals:

- Ravens: the most iconic bird of the dead, a specter and epiphet of all chthonic deities, crows are the most obvious choice for an animal to represent the power and idolatry of lady Melinoe.

- Moths: an insect of the night, bound and destined to follow the white light in the dark, moths are rather reminiscent of the lost souls and ghosts guided by melinoe to those who seek them from the afterlife.

•🌸 flowers & Herbs:

- White Poppies. Long considered a symbol of ancient afterlife, and a bringer of nightmares, poppies are often considered a deeply paranormal flower, and it makes since that because of this, they are often seen as being iconic of melinoe, especially the white ones.

- Mhyrr. An incense of great respect and value, myhrr has historically been left as an offering at funerals for the dead, a sign of luck and prospect in the afterlife. This was especially common in ancient Egypt, but there’s also evidence to suggest that it was regarded in a similar way in Ancient Greece during the Hellenistic period!

•🍗 food:

- Pomegranate: as the daughter of Persephone and Hades, pomegranates played a pivotal role in the conception of lady Melinoe, and are a great food offering or libation to her, if one wants to communicate or connect to her, perhaps a good way to do so would be to snack on a palm of pomegranate seeds, or to make a tea from its rind?

•💎 crystals & gemstones:

- Ancestralite. A somewhat rare natural combination of hematite and iron, Ancestralite is considered a great gateway stone to communicating with the spirits of dead ancestors or family members, as well as a stone of protection from death itself. These qualities make it a rather great option for a stone to use in crystal work with lady Melinoe!

- Snowflake Obsidian. Obsidian, a lavic stone that has long been used in darker magic, and especially Chthonic magic, is a natural fit for iconizing Melinoe? And the stones signature black and white “snowflake” speckles are great representation of her dual nature between light and dark, though, any variety of Obsidian will work in theory!

- Jet. Often worn to funerals as intricately carved mourning brooches during the Victorian era, jet is a stone of deep Black Death, and highly representative of mourning and the afterlife, with the history to back it up. I actually own one of these antique brooches, and have found it to hold a very dark, but not evil, energy! Jet is a great, and very absorbing stone to work with in chthonic or black magic!

•�� planets:

- The moon. Like almost all chthonic deities, the moon is iconic of lady Melinoe, as the domain of nightmares and ghosts she reigns over is most active when it is at its fullest phase! Take advantage of the moon cycles if you wish to communicate with any chthonic deity, Melinoe included.

•🏅other symbols:

- Graveyard dirt. A common offering or ingredient used in black divination, spirit work, and dark magic, a jar of (ethically sourced, pls don’t dig in peoples graves lmao) graveyard dirt is a perfect offering of loyalty and reverence, or iconic symbol of respect, to the goddess Melinoe, as funerals are perhaps her most sacred event!

So there you have it, some helpful starters to begin your reverence of the symbolism and iconography of lady Melinoe of Hades, daughter of Persephone and Hades, mother of ghosts and nightmares. I hope you learned something about her, and will consider her in your future practices! Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more posts about the intriguing and powerful deities of Helen! 💙🏛️💙

@xxfox0-chillingxx

[vigilskeep]

hi! ive seen you talk about your surana a bunch but i dont know if ive seen her full story. what were some of the pivotal decisions she made? i love hearing you talk about your ocs, theyre always so in depth and thought out!

oh thank you!! :) my surana is my Eldest Daughter from my very first full playthrough of a dragon age game, so i think a lot of people newer to the blog (like... from less than a year and a half ago probably lmao) have less of the context in complete form. so i will attempt to summarise!! it may be... long...

minerva surana is a manipulative, driven elven circle mage, heart-breakingly willing to sacrifice whatever she believes is necessary for her Grand Goals, who is often so busy playing 5d chess she forgets she’s a twenty-one year old with no experience of the world outside the tower

okay it did turn out fucking long the rest is under the cut its like 9 bulky paragraphs enjoy

her family were tevinter liberati, elven slaves who had devoted themselves to buying their way out and very recently succeeded. her parents were desperate to see her and her elder sibling grow up knowing only freedom, and sent their children south with another part of the family while they remained to pay off the last of their debts. the journey was long and difficult, and they had little left when they ended up in the denerim alienage. in a twist of bitter irony, magic that might have made minerva someone of value in the imperium saw her freedom once more revoked in the south. minerva remembers nothing of tevinter, and only a few fragments of what came next: of light through the vhenadahl’s branches glinting on a templar’s blade, of her sibling fighting them and being knocked to the ground, terribly still, with blood in their hair, and of her grandmother saying what she might have said many times on that long journey south: we can survive anything, as long as we never look back. ironically, minerva often took that to heart by denying all memory prior to the circle.

young apprentice minerva was a sullen child, with few friends; karl thekla took an elder brother’s interest, and jowan clung to her talent. she only really flourished when, after her terror of her natural gift for spirit magic saw her self-hatred turn dangerous in her early teens, first enchanter irving took an interest. he was a father figure to her, and he showed her how to channel her power into control, and her distress into ambition. newfound devotion to elemental magic saw her hailed as a prodigy, and surely a future first enchanter with irving’s tutelage. (only irving considered her too headstrong for the role. he never told her, fostering the drive he had cultivated, both fearful for the state she might return to if he didn’t, and curious as to what else she might become.) she grew up arrogant and beautiful and deeply loyal to the circle, learning that it was only the weak and the defiant who would fail to thrive there, and convinced she was neither. many of her peers wanted to be her, and few of them wanted to spend much time in her company. except jowan, still the little brother hiding in her shadow, and halliserre amell, a rebellious rival with a winning smile, who made up for their lack of her discipline and raw power with sheer brilliance, and whose heated arguments eventually developed into... ah, something else heated.

not long before the start of the game, amell told her they were going to accept tranquillity. it didn’t matter how clever they were; with their weak magic, they would die in the harrowing. they’d only been so defiant of the circle before because, having accepted their fate, the risks were nothing to them. furious and unable to admit it was because she was in love, the last thing minerva ever said to them when they were whole was that they were a coward not to try. when jowan told her he feared he too would be made tranquil, minerva was still recovering from the loss, not to mention flushed with even more arrogance than normal from her own successful harrowing. she had been the perfect circle mage all her life, twice as good as everyone else to make up for every rumour about where she was from. surely she had earned one defiance. surely she could save this one thing, her oldest friend. and she is a loyal person, in her way, emotion powering her fierce drive, incapable of abandoning what she has set her heart on. irving, from whom she had learned everything, was ahead of her every step of the way. he arranged for her to be taken in by the grey wardens. she had proved herself as headstrong and unsuitable as he had feared—and she was shocked and bitterly betrayed to finally see that—but he also believed this might bring her to where she would truly belong.

as a grey warden, minerva’s highest concern is perception. when the stakes of the game are revealed, she has enough hubris to see it as a chance to not just save but change the world. defeating the archdemon isn’t enough. she needs to be seen defeating the archdemon, at the forefront, as an elven mage; she has enough idealism to believe it will really matter for her and people like her, and enough shrewd cynicism to consider what she may have to sacrifice to achieve it. mostly she approaches problems with the skill for diplomacy and management that irving taught her, with that good good Master Coercion skill. she gets many of the “better” and certainly more peaceful quest outcomes, not always motivated by altruism, but determined to be remembered well when she leaves each faction behind. her one great sacrifice of this goal to be seen as the perfect mage is when she takes up blood magic, determined after she sees its power that she alone can handle it, to get the job done and keep what’s hers alive fight after fight. but that only makes her more dedicated to her actions elsewhere

the real test and most pivotal moment of her arc is at the landsmeet. she has arranged anora’s marriage to an alistair hardened for the role (once more following irving’s example, learning to teach ambition as he had taught hers. is there love in that, or just selfishness? she doesn’t know). all that matters is that the joint rule neatly fulfils her desire for compromise to please all parties. but then she struggles between two aspects of her goal: she wants to be seen, personally, as the victor; she does not want every noble in ferelden to see her kill the hero of river dane with magic. she knows how that scene will be remembered, in the end. when riordan suggests recruiting him instead, it seems the perfect solution to everything, the salvation of the day. and then she realises she’s broken alistair’s heart, just when he’s breaking hers. she is incapable of backing down in front of them all (it’s only to alistair, her alistair, but she can’t do it—not to a human, and not to someone part of her will always see as a templar—not when everything she wants was so close.) he abandons her for the throne she taught him to want. she goes on with loghain in the party, and eventually—unable to let loghain snatch the final sacrifice from her grasp, and realising she does want to win and live, after it all—convinces him to do the dark ritual.

in terms of her most important relationships with companions: minerva traditionally romances zevran, who is in many ways uniquely her match having learned the same bitter lessons with the crows that she learned from the circle, and who is so dear to her and capable of lightening her heart when no-one else can. i’ve also experimented with the idea of her romancing alistair, to really dramatise the Landsmeet Divorce and capitalise on future political shenanigans where she could one day be his mistress, but more traditionally they are simply an extremely closely trauma-bonded pair of people who are incapable, at least that year, of really understanding each other deep down. it falls into a pattern where she loves someone with all that fierce drive, enough to die for them, but she will always prioritise what she thinks they need over what they are saying and what they want, often with misjudgements and terrible consequences for them both. it was true with amell, it’s true for many others

she has something very intense and homoerotic going on with morrigan, she has a strained relationship with leliana and wynne, and she has respect and comradeship and a fair bit of fundamental disagreement with sten and loghain. the awakening squad are the people she will consider family for life, most notably nathaniel who she started out not liking at all and is now her work wife, her right hand, can finish her sentences, etc.; anders, who remembers her as karl’s annoying teacher’s pet telltale little sister and is still sometimes baffled by who she’s become; velanna, who makes minerva her most genuine self by having regular screaming matches with her as a sign of affection; and oghren who tried to quit drinking at the same time she tried to quit blood magic, leading to many conversations that deeply baffled everyone around them.

the “current” minerva surana is a sharp-tongued leader who was born for the role of warden-commander, who loves her work and that it matters, who has a truer confidence that is less blindly arrogant and more willing to admit to mistakes, who has worked her breathless way up to h*lding h*ands in public with someone she loves, who has finally learned the hard lesson that the world needs more than an heroic example who followed all the rules to truly be bettered... and who, as rebellion brews, has never been one to sit back and watch while others changed the world

[tigsbitties]

scrumbles up to you 12 17 22 dialtown scrumbles away

(WARNING this got very long) gonna answer 22 in a different ask but

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them:

this one's kind of tricky. not because there aren't enough characters that don't get attention, but because i feel like every character that isn't randy, oliver, or norm is thoroughly lacking in fan content. It's just sort of a byproduct of having a smaller fandom. But it makes narrowing to just one kind of difficult. And if unpopular in this instance means disliked by the fandom at large, I can't rlly think of anyone? Theoroar maybe, but like i feel like thats warranted. If i ever start Theoroar posting you have to take me out back. So I don't know, I like pretty much all of Dialtown's extended cast. I know "everyone besides the male datables" (and having to lump Randy in that category is physically painful for me but it is the most popular perception of her character) is kind of a copout answer but it truly does feel that way.

I guess there's the dlc characters, who suffer the fate of "somewhat new characters in a game with a small fandom" so there's not rlly a whole lot of fanworks about them yet. which is a shame i think they're all delightful. (which by the way while typing i realized its been about 6 months since the dlc dropped good lord.) I know we don't get to see a whole lot of it, but the dynamic that everyone working at the plant has with each other is really sweet. A big stand out for me in this regard is Rebecca (who i am so glad dogman got peer pressured into adding into the route). Her relationship with Roger is especially both very sweet and also super interesting to me from the perspective of "enabling your friends because their flaws are similar to yours." I like how much the two of them being on the same wavelength is a double edged sword-- I don't think she has a single mean thing to say about him when she really should. (which, not really related to the question at hand but I do wanna mention how well Roger pulls off naivety as a character flaw. I feel like its easy to make a character like him come across as either super annoying and unreasonable or be too nice bc the author's refuses to have the character be actually flawed in a way that meaningfully effects the people around them. And he never falls into either of these traps.) I know dog's mentioned that a lot of why they get along so easily is because of their undiagnosed neurodivergencies-- which stands out to me because. yeah. yeah that's how it is so much of the time. virtually all the people closest to me are autistic and that was true long before i ever became aware of it. It's a very specific thing that means a lot to me.

And on her own I think she leaves a strong impression for her role as a really brief side character. Both in her actual scene and in Roger's description of the christmas party Like fuck man I only know so much about her but I care about her. I want her to be able to support herself and her kids-- i wanna know more about how she became a single parent in the first place. She's such a pleasant and funny character when you actually get to meet her the idea of her struggling to support her family makes me so sad. All of this without even mentioning how strong her visual design is. Even without the ascii art quirk, i think her outfit and color scheme are superrr visually appealing. And as much as im a fan of pink in a vaccum, the pivot to teal was 100% the right choice. I think if he had kept the "this character is pink because theyre the only girl" thing from dsaf i wouldve started eating my own fingers LMAO.

Umm. as for other characters that i rlly like that i think deserve more attention. I mentioned the factory workers but Fabron especially stands out to me I think he's really fucking funny. among other things. I've been on a journey with Fabron i cant detail here. much too embarrassing. Joe has also really grown on me. again super fucking funny character. why does he talk like that-- why is he the only character to comment about Gingi's lore relevant head. Love em to death. Omair is another dlc character i rlly enjoy he is disgustingly cute. The fucking heart hands sprite kills me it kills me dead. OH AND FUSCO. MAN FUSCO i dont have much to say for this one except i think he's hot. The fact no ones written about him and gingi bonking it crazy style is ridiculous. I realize i'm part of the problem but euhhh. far too much to do in busy life. Ill get around to it one day. Um who else. I'd be lying if I didnt mention Caroline but she's an offcsreen background character who me and griffin (hi griffin thank you for sending this ask) made up a bunch of shit about so it hardly feels like she counts but damn it i LIKE her. i think more people should make shit up about her and i think they gotta start having fun with it and not just kind include her vaguely in fear of having unethical yaoi. its free oc have fun! i hope dogman never thinks to come up with anything about her ever ever ever. I dont want a single appearance i dont even want one new additional character trait unless it somehow aligns with the hyper specific vision i've gotten attached to * bangs gavel*. last one MAN there needs to be more little billy. I think he was mildly funny in the base game but i wasnt really sold on him until the dlc he's so fucking funny there. One of the characters whose writing has improved the most between when the game was first written and now i think. The bit is so much better. he hacked a man.

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art:

again hard question too answer with the fandom being as small as it is. I just think it generally needs more diversity in the ecosystem-- especially in the fic department. Dialtown's ao3 tag is mostly just olandy, which like, i like olandy full stop. I dont really feel like doing the whole acting embarrassed about liking the popular fandom thing anymore. I've written about it and i will likely do so again. but I do really get burnt out from not having a lot else in the tag. which like, i will say theres been other stuff in there recently so i rlly shouldn't bitch too much. It's just a byproduct of having a slow moving tag. But i will say I'm itching for more stuff about Karen. I cant rlly complain about the fandom not drawing her enough, not bc its not a problem im just. not better. Not that i don't like her, far from it, im just AWFUL at drawing rectangles and boxes. which comprise the entirety of her head. Im sure you've noticed it by now ( every time i draw her her head is. so so crooked.) BUT i've written about her a handful of times (both in randy.mov stuff that isn't out yet and in wheel of wow.) i'm not. fully satisfied with how i write her yet? i think i struggle with her character voice some, something I think Dialtown has a really strong sense of across the board. I think i get in my own head about trying to recreate sometimes. I just think it would be nice if other ppl threw their hat in the ring more often. I wanna read about her more. which i should mention Mich's post about characterization because i think he hit the nail on the head when talking about her and things ppl tend to get wrong which i myself am not immune to.

[atopvisenyashill]

Why do you ship book theonsa? Theon/Jeyne is more likely to happen

that feels like a crazy assumption to make lmao no shade.

i think the concept of theon confronting his feelings towards being a hostage of the starks on a more intimate level + his trauma with sex AND grappling with the sexual abuse he himself has perpetuated, through a relationship with a stark, who has her own issues with sex, AND is now in a position where she has a lot of power. And that’s where it’s interesting from Sansa’s end, again you have this story of hers where she would grapple with another Not Quite A True Knight + being in the position of some power in a relationship for the first time, being that he is like, physically wrecked, and on the hook for a Lot Of Crime, plus emotionally indebted to her (bc of his guilt over sacking Winterfell).

they both have very similar arcs where they romanticize the Establishment & are a bit delusional about their own role in it & the dangers presented in it, are very violently reminded that life is not as neat as it is in a story, and experience a sort of descent into the underworld alongside a shady captor/mentor, and are reborn in new, stronger identities, while all along harboring a secret resentment and longing to be themselves again. they’re both hostages, they’re both imo on a collision course to be at or around winterfell at the same time bc they are deeply drawn to it as The Scene Of Their Childhood, they’re both unlikely heirs to a pivotal kingdom (obviously theon starts off as a slightly more typical heir given he is a man, but theon as he is now is not a seriously considered contender for iron islands), and they both have very similar ~disordered thought processes~ that i find interesting as well.

the thing about theon/jeyne is i’m not sure jeyne is getting over her sexual abuse any time soon nor do i think theon would ever feel comfortable having sex with her. they mention in theon’s chapters that the lords have started getting uncomfortable because everyone can hear ramsay make jeyne cry at night - she’s experiencing some pretty acute abuse here that i think it’s going to take her a long time to wrap her head around. she also offers to be theon’s “woman” to get away and theon rebuffs her; i think theon would be very aware of how disturbing it would be to essentially take her up on the offer now. whereas there’d be more of a willingness to have sex with someone else down the road, because they weren’t literally in the room being sexually abused right along with theon, ya know. which isn’t to say that i don’t get the appeal here, but i think realistically, theon would be too preoccupied with feeling like he’s taking advantage of jeyne and i think jeyne would feel like she “owes” sex to theon in this scenario. even if theon doesn’t eventually go “maybe this is a line i shouldn’t be crossing” i can’t imagine the two of them like, with any group who wouldn’t go “theon what the fuck is your PROBLEM” if they found out he was fucking jeyne lmao. like asha alysane sansa jon snow etc i think they’d find it inappropriate. which isn’t to say that like jon snow of all people wouldn’t find theon & sansa fucking to be wildly inappropriate but what authority does jon snoe have over sansa lol, while jeyne poole is very low born & very easily bossed around by just about anyone, social status speaking.

[mrfartpowered]

Hey! Just wanted to ask a question because I’m bored, lol. What is your favorite RC9GN episode(s)? I’m curious to know!

HIIIII AHAHA I have been meaning to make a post abt this for a while actuallyyy so this is perfect :33

I think Shloomp! There It Is (the body swap one) is one of the best episodes in the entire show, if not THEE best. I think its jokes are unmatched, its story is soooo strong, and the crew’s passion for the show is so so visible in Shloomp!.

my number one favorite thing about this ep is the choice to let Andrew Lewis Caldwell voice Randy!Howard. in a lot of media the body swap trope tends to swap voice actors along with physical traits, and imo, that’s kind of a copout. when your voice actors are professional voice actors, not just actors who happen to land a role in animation, they go above and beyond. Caldwell’s performance as Randy!Howard speaks not only to his skill as a VA, but to the show’s atmosphere and his relationship with Ben Schwartz. Caldwell performed an arguably-flawless Randy Cunningham, from the cadence to the mannerisms to the comedic timing.

his performance is enhanced by the love and care of the animation!! obviously the Randy hair on Howard’s model, but the facial expressions, the hand motions, AAAA it shows how well the animators know their character, how consistently their protag is animated — AND that they can confidently and smoothly translate those quirks onto other models.

obviously it’s not a perfect ep — I’m a big fan of acknowledging the flaws in things u love and I even think they’re kinda fun to talk about. so I wanna take a minute and complain about the Theresa subplot. I know a monster was important to keep the plot moving, but I do not think the audience knew enough about Theresa to care about her that much. Shloomp! feels like a pivotal episode, esp cuz it’s paired w McOne Armed and Dangerous — maybe not narratively, but definitely character development-wise. and it felt…like…unearned for Theresa to get so upset when Nomirandy made a pass at Heidi. at that point, Theresa had only had that prom moment w Randy in Sorcerer in Love, he’d saved her a couple times, and then Der Monster Klub. I just didn’t feel like we’d learnt enough about her and Randy’s relationship for me to care that she was jealous and heartbroken.

THAT BEING SAID…..the heart in Shloomp! is palpable. I’ll have to make a compilation of my favorite Shloomp! moments someday ugh I have rewatched it more than any other ep. I actually watched it while I wrote this LMAO and I also shmoked a little hdngksnfk so I am.getting bored of writing now 😭😭 BUT trust that this is not the last time I’ll wax poetic abt Shloomp! There It Is

[digitalsimpsonspark]

I can imagine Legs being the more responsible out of the capos, almost being the mom-friend to Johnny and Louie; along with his soldiers as well (since you said he treats his soldiers nicely lol.) He might also risk neglecting his own mental health, and that can lead to some problems later. But for now, he’s happy helping his friends.

(Sorry if this sounds stilted I didn’t know where I was going with this. I just wanted to infodump about my analysis of Legs’ character lmao :>)

In my AU, Johnny is a bit detached from the other two - nothing happened between them or anything, he's just a bit of a stray cat type of friend, coming and going as he wants. But Legs is 100% the more responsible out of him and Louie, and he always looks out for him, which, you're right, sometimes costs him his mental health; especially since he's taken a lot of the accident the two got into onto his own conscience.

He's appropriately strict with his soldati, but he shows the most kindness and consideration out of the three. For example, a lot of people mistreat Suricato because of his skittishness and small size, but Legs always stands up for him and makes it clear that he's one of his most valued men.

Legs was also the first person in the mafia that Valentina came out to. Though he doesn't take as big of a role in guiding her transition (that's more done by Mikey), his acceptance plays a pivotal role in her story.

[greta--gill]

I have to say that I’m honestly just in disbelief that people are still NOT talking about Emily Sonnett on their post-game coverage and what she did for the team. I get it. We lost, so it’s not like that’s the first thing they’re going to say. But it’s sad to me.

oh lord, dear anon. you’ve just opened the can of worms i’ve been trying to keep shut lmao. i have a lot of feelings about this, but i’m just going to let them fly because i have to let them go.

i couldn’t agree with you more. it’s a damn shame that there’s, in some cases, a real lack of zooming out on these shows/podcasts/interviews/whatever. yes, we lost, but i think that the emphasis ive appreciated in some of the ones i’ve listened to/watched so far is that this team is going towards the future. and i think sonnett 100% deserves to be a part of that conversation. she had the absolute game of her life yesterday in terms of her national team career, and while it’ll be a difficult moment to look back on i’m sure, nobody can take that away from her. her leadership on the field - i will bang my drum talking about how you could hear her screaming on the field forever, not because of the act but because of what it means that she was calling for what needed to go down - and her ability to read that game and what had to get done deserves more praise, even though i hope to god that none of the players are on socials right now and will never hear the fresh noise, good or bad.

in my opinion, sonnett was the best centerback in the league in 2021. for the national team, she’s played almost every version of a position on the back line. she’d barely played midfield for the team before yesterday. she’s subbed in during crazy moments, good moments, terrible moments. she started in one of the biggest games for the history of the uswnt yesterday, and she did the damn thing. her career has not been easy (if you haven’t, take a look at the sam and sonnett swatch watch story, it gave me great insight into the ideas of hard work and dedication but also a really poignant (though brief) overview of what makes sonnett great, and her and sam’s friendship), nor has she gotten her flowers, nor was she set up to succeed, but like tobin said, she fucking did anyway. i hope with time things will change. i firmly believe that from what we’ve seen she’ll go down as one of the best teammates the wnt has ever seen. that list is likely neither ranked nor exclusive by any means and it’s definitely not short. but it’s still true. and honestly, i think that if julie really is retiring, sonnett may have just carved out a home for herself in the six. if we’re lucky, we may even see her and sunny in a continued double pivot role at times, depending on what a game calls for. i can only hope.

thanks for this ask, anon. i needed to get some thoughts out and i really appreciate you coming to my lil inbox to chat lmao

[dipplinduo]

Have you ever scrapped ideas for Sweet & Sour?

Yep!

My process has luckily been more of "transform an idea that doesn't fit" situation for most things, but I'm happy to talk about some of the things that didn't make the cut. Whipping out the notes page...

Lacey was actually meant to be the spotlighted E4 member that gets close to Juliana, not Drayton (hence the focus on her in Chapter 1 & 2). She was actually my favorite at first, and I envisioned her as being a positive, grounding guide for Juliana, and also somewhat of a middle ground influence for Kieran. But then I wrote my spin on the cafeteria scene, and I was like "oh my god wait, Drayton's character is so enticing and flexible, and he's especially fun to insert as an influence in the Kieran/Juliana dynamic". SOOOOOO I quickly decided to pivot and make him the spotlighted one, and have him do more of this brotherly figurer role who was very cunning and comedic. Before I even realized I got overtaken by the iconicism, and now he's just part of my brand in general. Whoops. The "Drayton Being Iconic" tag existed on this blog before this happened so I honestly should've seen it coming LMAO. I do have very important plans for the rest of the E4 and what role they're playing, though :

Don't laugh at this one - it was also early development LOL. I was going to have a party scene where Drayton convinces Juliana to pretend she got drunk (I know) as part of a roundabout and wild way to find evidence that Kieran had a soft spot for her (I KNOW). Kieran was essentially gonna waltz in (to a social event he otherwise never would make an appearance in) and he'd get all flustered as Juliana latches onto him. He would've decided to sweep her away from the party and take him back to his dorm. I ended up scrapping this entirely because while teens do party and all that...yeah, and also we pretty much got the dynamic moments I wanted to portray much better through the chapters where Juliana got sick.

Kieran/Juliana dynamic was also gonna have a moment where Kieran gets it in his head to start flirting with Juliana because he thinks that she’s flirting to get him to put his guard down. And that's where they both kinda were gonna secretly realize their feelings LOL. In hindsight lowkey fire still, but yeah, kinda just didn't have the space for it. We do have flirty Kieran era though, and that's still based.

This one is kinda known already, but originally the Applins were the only stars of the show (hence the name of the fic). I added Ribombee in early on after enough people wanted it and gave it lore/a connection to Kieran and his mother. Before Ribombee was conceptualized, I had different plans for what happened to Kieran's parents (he would still be an orphan regardless).

Briar was originally going to make a "deal" with Clavell regarding getting Juliana to come to Blueberry early, although it wouldn't be revealed until Juliana discovers this later. I scrapped this in favor of something much better because I didn't like the implications it had on Clavell's character, and honestly, only Blueberry is supposed to have the sketchy admin/systematic stuff going on anyways lol.

Kieran was meant to show more obvious signs of sleep deprivation (e.g. falling suspect to illness more frequently, slowed reactions). This idea is still good and realistic, but yeah, ended up leaning more into other symptomology that went well with the toxic chain curse (e.g. irritability, obsessive fixations, self-criticism, overworking himself, fatigue, etc.)

Ribombee was going to sleep powder both Kieran & Juliana in the cave scene of Ch 5. I decided to make it a bit more organic by having Kieran up and reflecting on everything + having Ribombee appearance in a more mystical way. Plus, I thought it would mean more if Kieran & Juliana opted to cuddle up themselves rather than being knocked out. There was a part of me that was worried the dynamic was progressing too fast this way with this change, but it seemed to have landed well! :)

This doesn't really count as a scrapped idea, but related: I 1000% retconned something with the Drayton POV chapters (if ykyk, LOL). But YEP. It's CANON. And frankly it's a decision I personally love that has implications, but also won't screw up the storytelling for where we're at now, either.

There's actually a lot more, too, but like I said: most of my ideas tend to upgrade. And lolololol OMG this is especially true for some major lore stuff. I just don't want to reveal it because I don't want to give y'all hints on where we're going!! LOL.

And also...there are cuter moments I haven't used in S&S and probably won't be able to because I account for what makes sense with the given dynamic. BUT what I do end up doing is taking those unused ideas and putting them into What-Ifs or other stories. There's one I'm particularly thinking of that I was dying to put in S&S D, but I don't think it would trip up the current Kieran as much as it would've in earlier chapters, lol. SO. It's going in The Dichotomy in Our Hearts instead! xD

This was super fun to write, hope it was enough substance for the question! <3

[zedxspacess]

Just came home after watching Queen of the Ring (that wrestling biopic about Mildred Burke) and I have spoiler thoughts under the cut. I will preface idk much about this era of wrestling nor have I read the book the movie is based off, but I'm def considering reading it, learn more about it, and watch some of the matches that were in the movie. There's also gonna be inevitable comparisons to the Iron Claw bc that movie truly set the bar for amazing wrestling biopics, but it's also not really fair imo, one had far more of a budget than the other.

In general, I would rate this a 6.5-7/10 (where 5 is an average rating).

I think ultimately, Iron Claw and Queen of the Ring, while both wrestling movies, set out to do different things. The former is about the Von Erichs and the tragedy of their family. A movie about the emotion and story of the family with backdrop of wrestling that nicks some facts and historical accuracy to make a great movie. There is a very central theme and consistent tone. Queen of the Ring is more concerned about showing the history of wrestling itself but some of the character/thematic focus as a story is sacrificed, not reaching the highs it could've reached as a movie. But as a snapshot of what the wrestling world was like back then, it arguably does a better job than the Iron Claw and the matches take center fold for me.

In-ring work and how the matches were presented stood out immediately. There's a lot more of it than the Iron Claw and several pivotal moments in the movie took place in the ring, whereas the Iron Claw was a lot more precious about them because again, that movie is more concerned about it's characters and fleshing them out. The actress who played Mildred, Emily Bett Rickards, bumped her ass off all over this movie and gave a lot of great moves, I was really surprised. Ppl were hyping up Zack Efron's wrestling, but she deserves a lot of flowers too. Helps that most of the extended wrestling sections she worked with real wrestlers in Toni Storm and Kamille who did amazing jobs.

There's a lot of not so great things you can say about Kamille, but I have to give credit where it's due and her presence as an antagonist was perfect and she gets beat up if you as a fan want catharsis. A surprise for AEW fans: Kamille is in this movie more than I expected given her lack of marketing that movie on AEW, and is a lot more important to it than Toni Storm. Toni only had about a couple lines of dialogue and two matches, but Kamille had multiple matches and was in the climax/main event. I feel like if things worked out better in the ring and with Mercedes, she would've been highlighted more on AEW with Toni to promote the movie. And speaking of not so great people making cameos, Jim Cornette was there as the NWA commissioner, tho only very briefly; just a warning so you're not jumpscared when you see him. Apparently Britt Baker was in this movie, but I didn't notice her at all until I checked the cast list which is. lmao.

But yeah I think my issue with Queen of the Ring mainly lies on how overdramatic/cartoony the dialogue and acting can be at times, and the lack of dedicated focus on a central theme or taking it seriously. Weirdly enough, I love the overdramatic dialogue when the wrestlers and promotors are working you, but their attempts at making natural sounding dialogue when they're out of character falls flat at times. Some of the southern accents can be dodgy, line delivery awkward or just straight up bad. I could not take the actor who played Billy Wolfe seriously, except when the character was hammed up/was in the scheming carny promotor mode. There's a general feminist theme, but it's not really treated with nuance, which isn't to my taste; characters talking to a mirror stating they want to be role models for women or how they're the richest female athletes, felt amateurish.

It annoys me bc I see the vision: Mildred Burke having a passion for wrestling and ends up tying herself to a carny promotor in Billy Wolfe who's twice her age, marrying him to achieve her dream, though she isn't submissive and has a lot of guts and independence. She creates the image of an honorable all american woman, making ends meet as a single mother, but subverts it for being a fighter and breadwinner. Wolfe creating a women's league in a time where it's getting outlawed, but he takes women's wrestling seriously, while also manipulating and sleeping with his wrestlers, having them work matches when they shouldn't, pitting them against each other, and controlling all of Mildred's finances despite being business partners. When they divorce and create rival promotions, it becomes a huge drama and draw when there's a match booked with both promotions involved.

I think they really should've focused hard on that specific feminist/women's history aspect of the theme. They technically do, but idk, maybe they didn't go that into depth on it for me? They don't linger on the dynamic the girls have with each other, their relationships, extended scenes of them interacting, how hard they work, the struggles they faced on a systematic level, outside of the montages--and I absolutely loved the montages. The reason why all of them are there are practically because of Mildred. It also kinda felt like they were afraid to really show Billy Wolfe being an asshole; he 100% does terrible things but at the same time, I don't feel the weight of it. We actively see him hit Mildred and his son, but for some reason, I didn't feel an emotional gut punch, whereas in the Iron Claw, we don't see Frtiz smack his kids but you feel the pain of every bad advice and fuck up he makes deep in your bones. Sure, historical facts and details about Mildred's life would've been changed or left out, but I'm willing to sacrifice that to nail that aspect of the movie perfectly; kinda in a similar vein to the Iron Claw taking liberties to service the theme of family and sacrifice to nail that point. Idk I'm kinda unsure if my critique is valid bc if I have some internalized misogyny recoiling at surface level pro feminism--if it even is that at all. Lowkey overthinking/gaslighting myself

Other minor nitpicky things: some dodgy editing during sequences/montages, but I chalk it up to budget, so it's not really fair. It only stood out to me, bc the movie had several moments where the editing was phenomenal, so the times when the graphics weren't the greatest felt weird, but I get it. Kinda distracted by some of the hairstyles, soundtrack choices, and fashion looking half time period appropriate and half modern. Idk much about historical fashion, so I can't say for sure tho, but smth about it felt off to me.

While most of this write up sounds negative, I will continue to reiterate how the wrestling segments were my favorite parts, all the women looking like stars and were fierce in the ring. It still does an amazing job portraying the wrestling world of that era, backstage and performance aspects alike. There's an amazing scene where Jack Pfefer is helping Gorgeous George and Jim "the Black Panther" Mitchell with their respective promos, working on their lines and delivery, and the editing is perfect for it. It's also def inspired me to want to learn more about the era and check the book out myself; it'll prob explore more of the womens' pov that I've been craving from the movie.

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What's your take on the Laszlo/Erzsebet/Van Buren twins dynamic? Harry is obviously a real sonofabitch but it's hard to say whether Maggie (named after her grandmother 👀) is a real ally or merely playacting genteel concern

Yooooo thank you for this question, my brain is a hearty broth of movie thoughts right now. Also yep lmao her being named after her grandmother… lot of thoughts on that imo

My read regarding Maggie is that her sympathy is genuine but her understanding (both of the two of them as people and of the situation her family is in) is really limited. She’s not as overtly a carbon-copy of her father as Harry is but the whole family is hobbled by conventionality (Harrison wants to be a modern forward-thinking man but he needs someone else telling him what Modern, Forward-Thinking Good Taste looks like… good god…) and by the corrosive effects of wealth and status. The ability to nurture others and be a good hostess and smooth over troubled situations are considered much more important skills for her as a woman than for Harry as a man, and I don’t know if I think she’s necessarily a particularly empathetic person but it does seem significant that even with a pretty built-in excuse to turn on Erzsébet (She’s rude! She’s saying these ugly, vulgar things! She’s ungrateful! She’s ruining their family get-together!) Maggie seems genuinely more taken aback at her dad and brother.

(Spoilers for The Brutalist 2024, discussion of sexual violence/rape culture)

So I do think Maggie is genuinely out of the loop regarding Harrison and Harry Lee’s sexual conduct, rather than faking surprise. Her ignorance might be due to a pretty blinkered worldview (both as a midcentury American who understands rape in very limited terms, and as a person living under rape culture where the inclination to set people one likes as beyond reproach is strong — turning a blind eye to inconvenient and unpleasant things is a time honored tactic) but she also seems to be shut out of the loop by virtue of her gender. The affinity shared by Harrison and Harry both being men (and frankly, both of them being rapists) lets them close ranks, and it felt to me like Maggie was genuinely shocked by their conduct in that moment. (That shot of Harry touching Maggie at the Christmas party and her smacking away his hand is really interesting and suggestive to me. The whole milieu of the Van Burens’ social set is filmed in an alienating and uncomfortable way, and Harry’s casual boundary crossing with his sister feels like a commentary on the theme of sexual entitlement. Idk if that would be visible to outside parties though.) In the end there’s still plenty of time for her to backpedal or regroup and align herself with the family’s narrative after that though.

I can see a few different readings of her actions in the immediate aftermath of Erzsébet's disruption of the dinner gathering — it’s plausible that she’s operating on autopilot, scrambling to identify what her role of dutiful daughter and woman of the house demands of her now, or that she’s genuinely shocked by her father and brother’s conduct (pivoting on a dime to coldly excoriating the Tóths, Harry almost immediately resorting to physical violence against a disabled woman) and by them, for whatever reason, acting guilty as fuck. I don’t think she’s actually registered much about what the accusations mean or what that will mean about her father for him to be a rapist or what it means for him to have raped this specific person. The bottom has just dropped out of her life in so many ways, and that seems like the source of her “what have you done?” outrage at Harry as much as anything.

My personal read is that she’s sympathetic to both of them but still inadvertently condescending and ultimately out of her depth. She hasn’t experienced much of anything in life, she’s been sheltered, and she’s ultimately even more dependent on Harrison than her brother is. I think she feels some degree of emotional closeness and loyalty to Erzsébet (and maybe Zsófia, but almost certainly not László, I feel like they engage with each other least of all) but she’s too bound by convention and classism to build a deeper relationship to the Tóths or a more critical understanding of her own family, at least at the point in time we see her.