#but i may add to my rules at some point in case people were wanting me to be speedier!

[rottenache]

i feel like i should put a disclaimer that on weekends i usually try to not be here, and spend my free time after the workweek to just get my apartment in order, get super zooted, and use the time to get back into my other hobbies like pottery, sewing, etc!

[justiceiscalling]

so i wanna get into batfam cause it seems fun. my introduction to this family is through some dceu movies and titans (show) only. is there any introductory ff or something? (don't wanna do comics idkw)

dude the way those were my introductions too (plus young justice)!!! i also refused comics in the beginning lol. first, disregard titans as a whole. i loved the show when i knew nothing of the batfam and dc in general but now that i do, i remember how wrong it was on so many parts.

i'm just going to do fic recs that i read and that i think helped me better understand some characters and then at the end i will add a 'quick' background on the 'lesser known' bats (duke, cass, and steph).

(nine fics plus an additional two crossovers)

here we go:

Worlds Saddest Breakfast Club by motelyfam

Summary:

Following a couple of Very Bad Weeks™ (which may or may not have involved being kidnapped and mildly tortured), Jason decides the best way to cheer himself up is to break into the Manor for a 3 a.m. snack. Turns out he isn’t the only one awake.

my opinion: okay i love love love this one. it includes every 'major' batfam member save for barbara gordon (so really just the one's considered bruces kids + steph). i think this one has extremely accurate characterization, it’s jason todd-centric but includes a good amount of everyone else.

greatest of ease by ijustwanttodestroy (ONGOING)

Summary:

The times people meet Dick Grayson. Not Robin, not Nightwing — just Dick. (Or: Dick Grayson is a hero, has always been and will always be, no matter what name he takes.)

my opinion: i actually just read this during the 12 hour tik tok ban and this is so good. it's dick centric and is just how random people who've met him in passing perceive him. i love it so much. there's still one chapter left to be written, but since the last time it was updated was 2019, i don't think it'll be updated lol. but, i think the last chapter isn't really needed

A Mediation on Railroading by eggmacguffin

Summary:

When he ends up ditched in Atlanta after a fight with his dad, Tim decides to do the only sensible thing: Tell no one and make the 800 mile journey back to Gotham on his own. Because the "call Batman when you're in trouble" rule only applies when he's Robin, right?

my opinion: okay, honestly i haven't rad this in forever--a reread is long overdo--but i remember enjoying this. this one is on the longer side, nearly 25k words. i feel like a majority of people in this fandom have read this, in 2023 i could not go anywhere without being recommended this. i'm pretty sure this started me into my jason and tim as a duo spiral, which i have since left because i now really believe that tim and jason would lowkey be beefing non-stop but like in a brotherly way? which most fics surrounding them don't quite capture in the way i want, idk i'm picky lol.

but yeah. this fic=good for new fandom people.

though your eyes will need some time to adjust by popsunner

Summary:

“I think…” Stephanie takes a deep breath, “I think I’m bad.” “I don’t.” “So what, I’m just supposed to believe you?” “I am Batman.” Stephanie snorts, “Yeah, you are… but what if I’m still bad?” “Then I forgive you.” _______ Or: Stephanie and Bruce, figuring it out

my opinion: i actually haven't seen a lot of steph and bruce bonding fics that i like but i really enjoyed this one. i read this a year or two ago, forgot about it and reread it today. steph and bruces relationship is complicated and i like how this captures them.

dick grayson: a case study by writersagainstwritersblock

Summary:

Dick rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’m mostly used to sparring with my little brothers, it’s kind of just habit, and I was having fun. I didn’t want the match to be over too quick.” “Too quick?” Derek asked, eyebrows raised. “I’m twice your size, kid.” Dick shrugged. “So’s Bruce and we’re pretty much tied at this point, or at least according to the score board the kids started to keep for Saturday spars.” “Saturday spars?” Derek repeated, following him towards the locker room. Dick flashed him a smile. “What? Don’t have any weird family traditions?” “Not ones that include hitting each other,” Derek said   OR The BAU gets a probationary profiler who is a little more than he appears at first glance. Or second. Or third. Just how many secrets can Dick Grayson be hiding from a team full of profilers?

my opinion: this one's a crossover but i love how it shows dicks relationship with his siblings, wally, and bruce. slades in here and so because of that theres implied sexual assault. the author has warnings on every chapter. i wouldn't read if you're not familiar with criminal minds though, it'll be really confusing

The Robin Generation by waterunderthebridge12

Summary:

"It's the dodging emotional conversations for me," Duke said. "Take the L." "Stop being such a cringefail edgelord," Tim said. "It's giving emotionally stunted," said Damian. "It's giving big yikes delulu."   In his ongoing search for better ways to fight crime, Tim comes up with a brand new method: bombarding bad guys with Gen Alpha slang. Recruiting Gen Alpha cusper Duke and full Gen Alpha Damian, shenanigans, chaos, and bonding ensue.

my opinion: i recommend this entire series, omg it's so unbelievably funny and good. great duke and damian bonding, great duke representation overall, and it also introduced me to the idea of duke hating dick and cass and jason just straight up beefing all the time which makes so much fucking sense. if you read anything on this list PLEASE read this.

Life Happens by Cdelphiki

Summary:

While walking home from an event at Wayne Enterprises, Tim and Damian are kidnapped and sent to an alternate dimension. In a world where superheroes are merely comic book characters and the idea of the multiverse is only a theory found within the pages of science fiction, how are Tim and Damian going to return home? How long will they be stranded on this strange Earth? And will the boys murder each other before they figure it out?

my opinion: by far one of the best tim and damian bonding things i read. it's 176k words so it doesn't make them bonding so straight forward, yk? not the usual 'they're both secretly jealous of each other' thing (which i lowkey love like i eat that shit up ngl), it's more complex. more 'i love you cause you're my brother, but i don't like you' which evolves into 'you're the only one around for me now' which turns into 'you're my favorite, please don't leave me.' i sob every time i read this story, it's so fucking heartbreaking. the other works in the exiled robins series are good but not needed to understand life happens.

All the Roofs of Uncertainty by Kieron_Duibhir

Summary:

For all the blood on his hands, Red Hood was never just a villain. And Nightwing never gives up on family, not for good. (Or: The one where Dick bleeds a lot and Jason argues with everybody.)

my opinion: i remember vaguely reading this when i first joined the fandom and loving it so much, it was my first introduction to jason and dick's relationship as brother that i thought actually made sense. if you like this one, check out Kieron_Duibhir's account, they're a really good author.

Martry Unmade by Here_we_go

Summary:

Jason Todd was loved best dead. Dead he was a saint. A martyr. Nothing was more sacred in the Church of Batman than martyrdom. - No one ever said that coming back from the dead was easy, not for the one who died and not for the people they left behind.

my opinion: catholic jason todd, my love. i'm always searching for catholic jason todd fics. i stumbled upon this a couple months ago and loved the fuck out of it. catholic jason is just so incredible to me, for some reason.

the entombment of idolization by make_your_own_world

Summary:

It turns out that growing up in the League of Assassins complicates your definition of self-worth. Or: Damian’s Saturday nights did not typically involve an underground sequence of caverns, a drugged brother, and a bloodthirsty monster snapping at their heels, but he was nothing if not adaptable. Or: If I am all you want to be, and you are all I want to be, why together are we not enough? (Can be read as a standalone)

my opinion: i did not read the other works in this series and i understood everything. this has tim and damian bonding which i will always look for, i'm pretty sure i stumbled upon this christmas of 2023 and i have loved it ever since.

okay that's it for the recs. if you want more heres the link to my bookmarks.

some have OC's or x readers, and i think theres one or two non batfam in there. still, feel free to look if you want. i also have some tim and damian bonding ones posted (Keep hanging on, Praise from a mother, Trust from a bother, the graves i dig series, and Growing apart), i don't think any of my other works will be of any use if you're just trying to get into the batfam because the rest are x readers or x OC's, save for one which is on a HEAVY hiatus lol.

quick background (as promised):

since your introduction was through DCEU and titans, im assuming you have no clue who duke thomas, cassandra cain, and stephanie brown are. duke is bruce’s latest foster kid, he’s black, his parents were rendered insane because of joker, he’s the vigilante signal, and he’s often forgotten by lots of the fandom. cassandra is one of bruce’s adopted kids (i believe) she came after tim but she’s jason’s age. she’s the daughter of lady shiva and david cain. typically she’s depicted as mute in fanon, but in comics she can speak her english is just very broken. depending on the fic, cass will be either one of those three vigilantes: batgirl, black bat, or orphan. stephanie isn’t bruce’s kid, she’s kind of an honorary kid though. she used to date tim but they’ve broken up in comics (tim is bi and dating bernard, as seen in the titans show), many people have her date cassandra. it’s a VERY popular ship in the batfam fandom, i think. stephanie is the vigilante spoiler though she was previously the vigilante batgirl and the only girl robin.

batgirl and robin are passed down. all the (main) robins in order are: dick, jason, tim, stephanie, then back to tim, and then damian (im pretty sure tim is robin in comics rn alongside damian but most fics have him as red robin). some people include maps in that but i normally don’t. batgirl has only three: barbara gordon, cassandra cain, and stephanie brown. then there’s also tiffany fox, who im pretty sure is said to be batgirl in the future? i’ve yet to see her in many fics and i think i read one comic that had her but that was forever ago.

[crowdusk]

One Piece Chapters 1134 + 1135

SUMMARY (I simply cannot be concise so I thought I'd add summary points for anyone who doesn't want to read a whole long piece. Clown music though because even the summary is long. I can't help it.)

Also you can find previous Elbaph thoughts/predictions here.

I believe Elbaph’s current culture of peace and absolute non-violence came from Harald (who was probably an idealist) and Mother Carmel, who was – and is still – seen as a holy woman and saint by the giants. Her rhetoric was all about ‘everyone living together in peace’ in a superficial, unrealistic and one-dimensional way that hid and enabled a lot of violence. Including, of course, her literal job providing military assets to the World Government in the form of orphaned children to be made into spies and soldiers. 

Mother Carmel’s infiltration may have led to Harald developing a relationship with the World Government (which he probably wanted Elbaph to become a part of), while we know that the Five Elders are wary of giants and have always sought to co-opt their strength. This might explain how the two Holy Knights looking for Loki were able to teleport into the castle (I believe there must be physical rules/limitations to the magic circle transport, e.g. some kind of physical anchor to the place you’re going).

This arc is going to look at and explore questions around peace and violence. Peace by and for whom? For example, ‘peace’ can look like the people at the center of society living without disturbance or discomfort while those on the margins suffer and are silenced (neoliberalism). Peace as defined by the absence of overt conflict doesn’t mean there is no harm or violence – it can be repression, manufactured consent, etc. True peace cannot be imposed from the top, it must be collectively built. And so forth. Conversely, violence and conflict are sometimes necessary to protect what you care about (your treasures), as we see with the Strawhats. Creating a peaceful and knowledge-centric society doesn’t have to be at odds with warrior culture, since being willing to put your life on the line is important in some instances. What will happen if external factors threaten Elbaph’s treasures? 

Last review, I talked about how I think one of this arc’s central themes will be the juxtaposition of reality and fiction, truth and lies, stories and lived experiences. Illusions will shatter and false gods/idols will fall – I think the giants’ idolisation of Mother Carmel and Harald will end, one way or another. For the latter, I don’t necessarily think he was evil. More so that he was just one person who made mistakes and had flaws, rather than a perfect king who only ever brought wonderful changes to Elbaph. On the other hand, Loki may not be a god but he could have the powers of one, and I think the first impressions we got of him will be changed and shown to be misinformation to recast him in a more positive light. I think he had a good reason to kill his father, and that the events of Harald’s death are another false story that must be clarified. Oda loves a good character twist. (Honestly if Harald turns out evil, I’m here for it). 

I also said in my last piece that I thought there would be internal divisions, and I still think this is going to be the case. For example, we don’t know why Hajrudin initially left Elbaph – could part of it have been feeling stifled by the loss of warrior traditions? This would make sense, since he wanted to follow in Dorry and Brogy’s footsteps. However, I think we might just see more of a spectrum of positions, rather than, say, two clear factions. Nevertheless, I still think the Strawhats will have to bring a lot of people together to fight a bigger antagonist, maybe even including Loki (as the potential king??) – but they’re pretty good at that. 

Last time I wrote about 1132, I was still a little unsure about Loki’s vibe, but I didn’t think he would be the big villain. This is now pretty much confirmed for me and I think will become even clearer once we get the truth of his backstory. The more we see of him, the more we see a silly side – one that hides genuine care for people under a violent and fearsome facade. I think he’ll probably end up as an ally (even if he’s still morally ambiguous). Classic case of Luffy’s gut being right once again. I am particularly interested, though, in what this means about Loki’s proclamation that he’s the sun god who will destroy the world. Is it metaphor? Does he want to declare war on the WG? Is he still going to do some fucked up things? Unclear. But I still think divinity, myth and belief are key to Loki’s character and his juxtaposition with Luffy, and I’m interested to see exactly how.

I wrote about strength after chapter 1132, and I still think it’s going to be an important theme. What I’d like to add is that I think it will be specifically about strength in relation to pride, and warrior culture in general. Essentially, it will be about why people fight. Why people want to be strong, and why they take pride in it. The Strawhats fight for what they care about, especially people. This also includes things that carry the wills of people who have died, like the books of Ohara, or even the concept of people’s dreams. This arc will look at warrior culture, and the difference between a warrior society and an oppressive/hegemonic society which uses violence (fear and the threat of death) for extraction and control. Fundamentally, all these themes are about power in relation to collective freedom, and what it means to live a good life. There is rightful pride in being able to fight from a place of knowledge and connection, to fight for what you love and believe in (including people’s freedom) as opposed to the soulless genocide and extraction from those considered less deserving of life. 

I think the declaration of the warriors at the feast might also be a foreshadowing of exactly what the Strawhats will do in Elbaph. Understanding and protecting their ancestral pride as warriors, and helping them reconnect to it as a country. Freeing them from ignorance (revealing the truth of what really happened with Carmel, Harald, and Loki). And saving them from being destroyed (this one’s pretty self-explanatory, but I believe it will be to do with Yggdrasil).

Ok if you’re here for the full whammy, yay! SO MUCH HAPPENED IN TWO CHAPTERS. GAH. Let’s just get straight into it. 

So, in chapter 1134, we open with the strawhats meeting Saul outside the library. I don’t have much to say about this part thematically (same with the previous chapter) because I think it’s pretty straightforward. I’ll summarise: I loved it, Luffy poorly copying Jinbe was extremely funny, the reunion did actually make me cry, and I am forever crying over Robin just – being happy now. Being relaxed, content, smiling more, bonding with Bonney. My heart, my heart. 

We also see Lilith introduce herself to Saul as Vegapunk, and explain to him (and us, for the first time!) that she has brought a “perfect re-creation” clone of Vegapunk with her. She plans to settle down in Elbaph and build a new lab. Ok, cool. Honestly, I’m a little eh about a Stella comeback (because I think it’s more interesting for him to be embodied by just his satellites) but just because that’s the plan doesn’t mean it’ll go smoothly, or happen for sure. On the other hand, I’m genuinely pleased that there’s a potential to bring Kuma back, not that he was ever never actually dead. We’ve had so many hints that there’s hope for him. Plus, he’s one of the characters that truly just went through the worst of the worst over and over for the sake of liberation and his loved ones, holding onto faith throughout. I think he deserves to be a father and be happy, I don’t care if that’s cheesy. But again, no guarantee that will actually happen. 

Love and Light Only 

We then see the Walrus School where the children are educated and hear that it was founded 20 years ago by Saul, at the behest of the former king, Harald. Once again, huge huge kudos to the assistants because wow. I want to live there. What follows is Luffy’s encounter with some of said children, who turn out to be, well, absolute wimps. They don’t use ‘bad’ or potentially insulting words, and they’re not going to be setting out to sea to fight ruffians when they’re older. They’re learning in school, rather than being trained to be warriors. In fact, as their teacher Ripley tells us, being a warrior nowadays isn’t fashionable, because “insults, violence, pillaging, war” are just “not the world we live in anymore”. [Side note: the number of beautiful giant women Oda is giving us??? It's tough out here for a gay]. Absolutely nothing even close to violence or antagonism are allowed, not even petty insults, specifically by the children, which tells us this is very much the way they’re being raised and taught. It’s giving weird, cloying, toxic positivity. I was even going to say there is no war in Ba Sing Se, but I don’t think we’re dealing with brainwashing here – just insularity and idealism. 

We see this reinforced by the repeated mentions that Elbaph has very little connection to the outside world – they don’t pay attention to it, they don’t get news coos, they just mind their own business. Interestingly, we also know that any “intruders” immediately get captured (presumably to be vetted and potentially kept out if they risk disturbing the peace). I honestly can’t remember if the news coo thing has come up before in the context of non-WG countries, but I don’t think so? Anyways, that’s pretty bad. Like, if a country isn’t in the World Government (which, remember, requires paying literal tribute to the Celestial Dragons) they just don’t get information about what’s happening in the world? Wild stuff. In some ways maybe that’s protective, but in other ways, extremely dangerous. 

On the topic of language, we also immediately see ways in which these cultural rules are being broken. The way Ripley speaks is rougher, as she herself calls the kids brats and says she teaches by “negative example” (do as I say not as I do). So we’re seeing a clear generational rift in culture between what Ripley later says is the “last generation of warriors” (presumably she’s around the same age as Hajrudin, Loki, Rodo, Gerd etc) and the current children. When we meet Collun, we also immediately see that the way the other children treat him isn’t exactly kind. Despite strictly following rules around things like name-calling, they outright say they hate him. He replies in kind, but it’s not hypocritical of Collun in the way it is for the other children. He’s clearly the rough “wild child” who’s following the older warrior culture, whereas the ways in which the educational system is teaching ‘non-violence’ clearly doesn’t preclude them from excluding or being rude to a kid who’s different from them. In fact, they’re just following the rules and it’s ok to be mean to him because he’s always causing trouble and not following the rules, so he deserves it. They even basically imply why are you here. I think this kind of petty behaviour isn’t abnormal or horrendous for kids, but it does highlight to me that the kind of ‘peaceful’ culture Elbaph is aspiring to feels extremely one-dimensional, oversimplified, and somewhat superficial. Even the way Ripley talks about it feels so smoothed out and idealistic, which is strange coming from the mouth of someone who still looks and behaves like a warrior. What happened from one generation to the next?

Ripley goes on to say Harald’s policy was “don’t fight other countries – trade with them!” Sound familiar? Yeah. Those were exactly Mother Carmel’s ideas for the giants a hundred years ago, when she lived on Elbaph. This was following the dissolution of the Giant Warrior Pirates because Dorry and Brogy had started their century-long duel on Little Garden, when she appeared as a “wandering holy woman” and ‘saved’ some of their crew from execution by beseeching the marines for forgiveness and an end to violence. The giants understandably see her as a saviour and saint who performed a miracle. We only learn later that this was a stunt pulled in collaboration with the marines and the World Government, which allowed her to gain the trust of the giants and infiltrate Elbaph as a child trafficker.

Now, I’m not saying Harald was aware of Carmel’s true nature, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was inspired by/agreed with what she was saying, thus starting Elbaph’s current era of ‘peace’ with the Giant Warrior Pirates out of the way. Carmel was a perfect human link to the WG who could help Harald carry out his ideas, while her saviour position in the eyes of other giants helped him convince his people. This is important, because that means this peace was potentially built with a foundation of deceit tied to military strategy. Carmel wasn’t operating alone – she was specifically selling orphaned children to the WG to be marines, spies and agents. We see her talking to and dealing with CP0, who work directly under the Celestial Dragons and the Five Elders. Mother Carmel was a morally putrid money-hungry old hag, yes, but she was also an instrument of the WG. We also know that the WG has long been interested in harnessing and controlling the power of giants (from Carmel talking about getting giant children into the navy, like John Giant, to MADS’ and later Caesar’s gigantification experiments). In a world based on power inequality, oppression and authoritarian domination, the giants are military assets – if only they can be assimilated into the system. And who is easier to indoctrinate and control than children? 

To be clear, I think peace with a focus on education and knowledge is great! I would love for the world to be that way. And I definitely don’t think the “goal” of this arc should be to renounce those ideals or simply go back to being a completely war-based culture. Knowledge is extremely important in One Piece – that’s quite literally a central theme of the whole series. And of course, we are shown time and time again how horrific and devastating war is. However, history – why and how things come to be is crucial. Is something coming from people’s informed collective desires, or is it coming from the decision of one person/a few people? Is it something that benefits everyone? Is it growth from a place of understanding, or historical amnesia and bypassing material reality? The truth is that right now, the One Piece world isn’t past “violence, insults, pillaging, war”. It’s very much full of those things, specifically because it is rife with inequality. Elbaph so far has been sheltered from these problems, but what happens if the problems come to them? 

This is one of the central questions I believe Elbaph is going to grapple with. What is peace, and what is violence? How can true peace be created? Can violence truly be eradicated from the world? What different kinds of violence are there? 

I think the books from Ohara, the Owl Library and Yggdrasil are going to be of crucial importance to these questions. We know that Yggdrasil is extremely important to Elbaph, and we also know that accumulated collective knowledge and education – as represented by the books – are beyond precious. So, the giants have something to protect that isn’t just their own lives: they have a collective treasure. I wouldn’t be surprised if threats to these treasures are the catalyst for the giants’ reconnection to their warrior natures. Pillaging and engaging in violence just for the sake of it or for sadistic pleasure is unnecessary and cruel, but being a fighter and a warrior in order to protect what one cares about – one’s treasure – is important. All the warrior cultures we’ve seen so far in One Piece have shared this reason for their strength, from the Shandorans protecting their sacred ancestral lands and history, to Wano with Pluton, and the Minks with their poneglyph and Zunesha. 

Elbaph can be a peaceful nation that focuses on education and knowledge, and still be able to protect that knowledge if necessary through maintaining relationship to the core aspects of their warrior culture: honour, courage, strength, skill, freedom, etc. I think that’s also where pride can sit, in the space of being strong enough to do what’s needed to protect life, dreams, love, and what we care about. This is, after all, what we see time and time again in pirates like Luffy and the Strawhats – that fighting and strength are absolutely not everything, and look different for everyone, but are ultimately important to protecting what’s important to us. There is pride in embracing one’s dreams, taking action, resisting oppression and injustice, and having a strong relationship to life and death as warriors do. As an aside, I do think Usopp will be a key person who inspires this shift and re-invigorates the giants’ pride (big speech time!). 

Ideals and Idols

Two things jumped out at me in this section of the chapter. The first is that multiple people have referred to Harald as a “great king”, or something along the lines of ‘beloved by everyone’. Now, that’s not so strange. He could’ve just been a really caring or charismatic leader. But the emphasis makes me a little suspicious about what was going on behind the scenes, especially since we know what Mother Carmel was really doing, but the giants still don’t know the truth. They still see her as a holy figure and miracle worker who saved them and even cared about Linlin, a “god of disaster”. I think it’s no coincidence that the figures of Harald and Carmel have been set up as key figures of this hundred-year period who are idolised by the giants, and the illusion is going to crumble at some point. I believe the truth about Carmel being the epitome of ‘peace and love’ hypocrisy will come out, and so will whatever truth about Harald. Again, to be clear, I’m not saying I think Harald was evil or had bad intentions – it’s more likely that he was tricked and manipulated by Carmel and the WG because of his idealism. I think he probably wanted to make Elbaph part of the WG (in order to pursue his goals of peace and trade), he wanted Elbaph to open up to the world, and he wanted ‘peace’ in the sense of blanket non-violence. 

That last part we already saw expressed with terrifying clarity in a child Linlin, when she locked a bear and a wolf in a cage to stop them fighting because “fighting is bad”. I won’t get into analysing that metaphor right here (I think I’ll make a separate post) but it is so on the nose – forced peace and non-violence is itself violent and creates more violence, especially because it requires imposing your will on other beings and taking away their freedom. Peace for whom? And by whom? I believe the truth of Harald’s engagement with the WG, and either his collaboration with them or his mistakes in dealing with them will come to light, and I’m sure Loki’s reasons for killing him are related.

In this way, Harald opened Elbaph up to infiltration and engagement from the WG, who I’m sure were only waiting for an opportunity to gather intelligence and start undermining the giants’ power or bend it to their use. Like I said previously, I strongly believe that the Warland giants had ties to the Ancient Kingdom and the events of the Void Century. It would absolutely be in the WG’s interest to bring them over to their side and disconnect them from any remaining traces of that history. In fact, Mother Carmel’s House of Lambs also centered around the idea of ‘reforming’ children and helping them leave their ‘problematic’ past behind. This same idea of reform has been used to describe Elbaph itself. This treats history as something to bury and leave behind – something shameful, rather than something to acknowledge properly, learn and grow from. And of course if we know anything about One Piece at all, we know that forgetting or erasing history is literally one of the most central problems/mistakes/evils of the series. We see this further shown in the fact that Ripley is the one to bring up Nika to Luffy, and that she specifies she’s from the last generation of warriors tells us that the children might not even know about him. Why would they, if he’s a warrior god and they’re actively being taught to be anything but warriors? It gave me chills, no joke.

So the ‘peace’ in Elbaph feels especially uneasy right now, despite Ripley’s words. There are antagonists working for Garling/Imu on the island. There is what seems like a red herring of an antagonist (Loki). There is misdirection and mystery galore. So many illusions and false stories to be shattered. False idols to be toppled. Funnily enough, the one story we know is real right now is a literal living myth (Luffy’s Nika form), who is also just a guy. Ideals and idols need to be brought down to earth for real living people to connect with materially, instead of being held aloft and out of reach. What did the arc open with? Rodo pretending to be a god. We’ve also had another character claim to be a god in Loki, meanwhile we know Celestial Dragons (including the Holy Knights) pretty much believe themselves to be gods. Yeah, I’m reiterating my point that ideas of faith and divinity are going to be crucial in Elbaph. In fact, I will put it out here right now that we’re going to get more information about the Lunarians, who were also called gods (I have a whole theory about that). 

Updated Loki thoughts 

The last thing I wanted to talk about is some updated thoughts on Loki. Basically, he’s a tsundere?? Love to see it. It seems that at least part of the unhinged and violent temperament we’ve seen from him so far is a facade, since his long-term friend ‘Shaggy’ says “I’ve realized recently that those fearsome words of yours hide your kindness”. We see that Loki has a friend he’s never met or seen, but known for a long time through den den mushi conversations. He empathises with said friend’s recent traumatic experience, saying it hurts him to hear it, while overreacting when they call him kind. Typical bluster, which seems to compensate for what is a sense of compassion and understanding. Not a heartless villain, then. This of course consolidates the idea that he isn’t how he appears on the surface and how he was first introduced, and that Luffy’s instincts were right. This does make me feel much better about their ‘promise’, even if it will still probably end up causing chaos. On top of that, it reinforces my feeling that he reminds me of Law, and will probably end up as an ally to the Strawhats in some way. Maybe by the end of the arc he will even be restored as the king of Elbaph, potentially alongside Hajrudin. Speaking of which, I went back to the previous chapter where the Giant Warrior Pirates were talking about Loki and Hajrudin, and the description of Loki as “another official child” of Harald makes me think Hajrudin is probably his illegitimate half-brother. But we’ll see. 

All of this has me thinking about the other giants calling him the “shame of Elbaph”. Initially I thought this might be because his actions are considered dishonourable, and I still think that’s probably the case. But having had the developments about Elbaph’s cultural shift, I wonder if part of the dishonour is just doing any kind of violent acts in Elbaph at this point. Thinking about how the other children treated Collun, and talked about insults, is there a sense that anything ‘barbaric’ on the island is shameful? Have they maybe even been taught to be ashamed of their violent past as Warland? I wouldn’t be surprised. And if so, that makes me even more worried about how that happened and the consequences of such revisionism and reform. As I said earlier, it’s one thing to want to change and improve, to move forward collectively for everyone’s good. It’s another to completely reject the past and bury it. Shame can be an important part of reflection and acknowledgment, when deserved, but it can also prevent real growth. I worry that Harald and Carmel’s approach was just to give Elbaph a PR-style culture change that has left them with a flimsy and fragmented social structure. One that is particularly vulnerable to hegemonic influence and external danger. 

Speaking of which, my thoughts on the two strangers (I’m going to call them Holy Knights because I��m pretty sure they are) looking for Loki are that they are either here to kill him, or to influence/recruit him somehow. I’m sure they’ve had intel on the situation in Elbaph, including the fact that there is no king since Loki didn’t ascend to the throne. Given that it seems Harald wasn’t a threat to the WG, I assume they know that Loki is different somehow. We also know that the Holy Knights are essentially the military special forces unit of the Five Elders/Imu, so I don’t think they’re there for a tea party. Even if their mission involves diplomacy, I think violence and threats are probably part of the plan. Hence, persuading him of something (with force if necessary) or assassinating him. We saw Loki has a “special” bounty, probably because he killed his father and/or has a legendary devil fruit, so it makes more sense to me that the knights are there to take him out. Plus, from a narrative point of view, if Loki is a rebel compared to his father, and is likely to ally with the Strawhats, he’s probably a character that is going to be set in opposition to the World Government. 

I don’t have much to add to what everyone’s already saying about the Shanks lookalike Danks, other than I agree it’s not Shanks and is either a relative or a clone, especially with the way clones keep being brought up. They’re clearly very powerful if the bandage person is anything to go by (bandage-bandage fruit?? the way they used it to break the guy’s bones was something), and I’m hyped for more. I’ve been waiting to see the Holy Knights since we got the God Valley flashback. I’m so ready for new villains. I'm also pretty scared, since we're getting a feast at the beginning of an arc. That doesn't bode well for the ending to me...but let's enjoy the good vibes while they last.

Honestly it feels like these last two chapters just left us with more questions than answers, and knowing Oda, we might not get those answers for a while! But let’s see. The opening parts of an arc are always the most fun to me because of that.

Bonus favourite bits:

Saul asking why Vegapunk's a woman and Lilith being like "who gaf"

Robin being happy always

Chopper and Robin library time I cry

Ripley being excited to see Nika Luffy, and Luffy's response

BIG ANCIENT OWL!!!!!!!! I LOVE

Bonney, Chopper and Robin on giant books

Luffy's interaction with Collun - truly big brother

the way Stephen Paul translated the kids' speech (vylence, vishus)

the new outfits, very cute (especially love Jinbe's)

the Jarul gag????? unserious

[thehyperfixationspeedrunner]

The Batfam Case

Sooo, I started watching batfam posts on tiktok, decided for funsis to try to understand the lore. It's been two days, I'm too invested I'm about to infodump you what I know and I may pass from tiktok to tumblr.

RULES:

I cannot search any question that I have, everything has to come naturally on my fyp

Non of y'all can say anything, if I say the wrongest shit ever you're not correcting me

DISCLAMER:

I don't know shit about DC. I watched a single movie and that is lego batman. No series, no comics, nada and I will not be watching until I crack this shit, so yeah, my facts may be super wrong.

I will start with characters analysis in this structure: name - vigilante persona(s) - age - personality/ general backstory - love interest(s). This will be followed by the events that I know of in chronological order (years will not be included, I'm not that much of a mad woman, instead they will be put in different Robin eras).

Ed3: I've decided that at the end of each day I will edit the original post with the mark: Ed(day number), I will not erase anything but I will scratch. I will also be adding parentage as a category in the characters (that goes from biological to emotional and their life status)

Ed4: don't know where else to put this but DC apparently stands for Detective Comics and Batman is considered the best detective of his time.

Ed6: I'm going to put a separator here because this post is getting toooo long. Also I feel like I should add, the villains have an habit of calling the Robins "little bird".

Ed15: Last update people, I'm gonna start actually getting into this (if you can give me recomendations for what to watch that would be awesome)

CHARACTERS:

Bruce Wayne

Vigilante persona: Batman

Age: DILF

General background: apparently has two personalities, I thought he was just Broody all the time, but apparently, he is also a nonalcoholic version of Tony Stark (at least I'm pretty sure he's not an alcoholic) (Ed15: he isn't, he doesn't drink so he can be alert), genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist and all of that jazz (Ed4: has been a victim of the so called "toxic comic bros" who just want him to beat people up, because he's batman and he has a deep voice and he doesn't show emotion, when in reality he's really family orientated and would literally do anything for his kids and he learned how to show it verbally/physically throughout the years of robins, thanks for coming to my ted talk) (Ed15: there is also "Brucie", who is his persona to the public that is just fucking flirty and bold)

Love interests: Damian's mom? Idk apparently he has game (another thing I was not expecting of batman) (Ed3: superman, those two have definitely fucked, I saw a scene of an animated series that had batman on top of superman and it was raining and superman had the most bedroom eyes I have ever seen) (Ed15: the current one seems to be a Selins, which now that I think about it, isn't she one of Jason's many mother figures)

Parentage: Biologically, don't know their names, they were rich, they are dead (and maybe involved in an organised crime? Still have to fact check this one). Emotionally, Alfred

Richard Grayson

Vigilante personas: OG Robin/nightwing

Age: grown ass man

General background: sunshine incarnation, smiling while threatening someone to kill their entire family kinda person, hot as fuck, flexible as shit (advantages of having gymnasts parents), oh yeah, grew up in a circus, dead parents (oopsie daisy, the trauma needed to start somewhere I guess), also his nickname is Dick? Who chooses that nickname? (Ed4: very overlooked trauma, mainly because of the sunshine energy, oldest sibling syndrome, probably had some kind of burnout at the age of 15/16) (Ed15: I think he got amnesia at some point? And he's Romani, cool)

Love interest(s): someone named starfire (?) (Ed3: I now know who starfire is and apparently their those annoying couples that are always breaking up and coming back together), also there's this red head that is connected to flash because his suit is an ugly version of flash's, I think (Ed3) his name is Wally?, idk if he's a friend or something else (or he could be starfire, who knows) (Ed3: his name is indeed Wally and he was a childhood friend and maybe a bit more but it doesn't matter because he's dead and their last conversation was a fight. ✨️Trauma and Drama✨️) (Ed4: There's also Barbara apparently (the only thing in my mind is the audio "name a more inconic duo that a twink and a red head") and a girl named Zatanna)

Parentage: Biologically, they were acrobatics and acrobated to their deaths (this word is going to be common in this section). Emotionally, Bruce and Alfred. Legally, maybe Bruce, I mean the kid was a child when he became Robin, who was his legal guardian? (Ed4: apparently Dick was just Bruce's ward :(, he never adopted him)

Jason Todd

Vigilante personas: ex-Robin/Redhood (Ed3: maybe phoenix, still trying to decide if that's true or not)

Age: another grown ass man

General background: happy, naive and cute when young (Ed15: and apparently a street kid) /instead of unplugging and plugging his life back in he decides to do a whole factory reset/ basically batman's personality but without the morals part, also hot as fuck (jesus christ, how can a drawing be so hot), from what I understand, he's the fandom's sad little meow meow (Ed6: he wears a mask under his helmet. I feel like that's important information and he's the only one who can cook (besides Alfred))

Love interest: Roy (Green lantern's kid, who is apparently named Oliver (Ed6: apparently there is another green lantern named Hal???? That is not important to the batfam but i feel like I should mention it) and is also a billionaire. The more you know) and they have a child! I don't their name or gender but batman's a grandpa! (Ed4: Her name is Lain :D)(Ed3: Honorary mention to the girl who he said he had to go to a funeral to escape a date) (Ed15: someone named Artemis, that (and this is a big shot in the dark) is a bow and arrow kinda hero)

Parentage: Biologically, no fucking idea (Ed4: I think Jason had a semi-decent relationship with his father. Also I'm pretty sure that Talia is(Ed6) his mom and she sold him to Joker, which draaammmaa (Ed6: pretty sure that title actually goes to Shelia)) (Ed15: his fahter is named Willis and he was arrested at some point). Emotionally, Bruce, Alfred and apparently he has like 5 mother figures including Damian's mom (Ed6: one of them is named Selina (she's nice 👍) and there's a Shelia who I'm not sure is biologically his momEd15 and a Catherine (she's also nice) and a Nocturna (not sure if this is just the vigilante name of one I've mentioned before)). Legally, again who was his legal guardian if not Bruce? (Ed4: I'm pretty convinced that he was adopted by him) (Ed6: his step mom died of overdose, which damn)

Barbara (Ed3: Gordon)

Vigilante personas: bat girl/Oracle????????? (Ed3: my questions have been answered, she is the Oracle)

Age: pretty sure she's around the same age as Jason (Ed4: considering recent developments, I'm going to believe she's around Dick's age)

General background: I barely know shit about her, I know she's a hacker and I think she has some kind of motor disability (this is a big shot in the dark) (Ed3: but a fucking correct one, I was right bitches) (Ed4: she seems like the one holding the brain cell 90% of the time and I know she's ti-red of this train wreck of a family. Gonna say it here because I have no idea when it happens but I have this theory that she was batgirl until she suffered an accident(in or out of the job) that affected her legs, amking the vigilante shit hard, so she decides to go behind the scenes and becomes Oracle)

Love interest: no idea, but if she's free I don't mind stepping in (Ed4: this people love incest bc her and Dick were a thing) (Ed6: apparently my baby has no other love interest besides Dick 😔✊️ (Ed15: lies there is someone called Kory))

Parentage: Biologically, no idea. Emotionally: Bruce, Alfred and that's all I know (there are very few people talking about my girl, seriously people step up)

Tim Drake

Vigilante personas: ex-Robin/Red Robin

Age: late teen/young adult (Ed15: forever 17 )

General background: literal physcopath, too smart for his trembling morals, literal gremlin, a little shit, Tired all the fucking time, already a child of rich people before becoming another one of Bruce's children, I'm pretty sure his parents were alive when he became Robin (they didn't stay alive for long, but it's progress) (Ed4: I think at some point he may have been Joker Jr??? Wtf???(Ed6: I'm super confused because one video said it wasn't cannon and the next one used it as if it was))

Love interest: I don't know if my boy has time for them (Ed3: a superboy I forgot his name, I'll have to go through my reblogs for info (update I was thinking of the wrong Wayne-Kent relationship, I have no idea this guy's name), also apparently he had a thing with Stephanie? Incest, much) (Ed4: apparently he's in a poly ship because, besides the Kent kid (whose name is Kon btw) he also has a thing with some kid named Bernard)

Parentage: Biologically, they're rich and were killed by Boomerang. Emotionally, Bruce, Alfred. Legally, I will ask the same question once again WHO THE FUCK IS THIS KID'S LEGAL GUARDIAN?? (Ed4: I'm almost certain that Bruce adopts him)

Stephanie (Ed3: Brown)

Vigilante personas: ex-Robin(hilarious)/Spoiler (what kind of name is this)

Age: probably not much younger than Tim

General background: no fucking idea, (Ed4) I just need to point out how fucking hilarious it is that the other Robins were all young boys with black hair and then a blonde girl just shows up one day with the costum and everyone rolls with it (Ed4: she's another gremlin together with Tim and I know if those two are left alone for five minutes they will start world domination. Also she starts drama for the hell of it.)

Love interest: she gives me bi vibes, idk what else to tell you (Ed3: I'll repeat the incest with Tim) (Ed4: Cass :D, I love that for them (Steph, is your kink incest?))

Parentage: I don't know and I'm getting ultraged by the lack of content the girls have, seriously people (Ed15: her dad was an acoholic super villain who wanted Steph to follow his footsteps, but she said no and became Spoiler to stop him, you go queen.)

Damien Wayne(?) (Ed3)

Vigilante persona: Robin

Age: tween (Ed15: technically he's 14)

General background: he has a sword? I need to start with this, a trained assassin (I'll repeat he is a tween (I think)), the child of the family, has everyone wrapped around his little finger, Bruce's bio child (Ed3: the one who is most likely to kill someone, a wild fact considering he's the youngest one, also he has fangs???? For some reason? And people call him hell spawn so there is some history here, also he has a bunch of animals and I just love that) (Ed4: was a prince before he came here, that's all I have to add)

Love interest: he's a child (Ed3: another superkid, the Waynes have a type, his name is Jon)

Parentage: Biologically, Bruce and this Talia woman (and they are both alive, shocker I know) (Ed15: also his grandfather is a super villain named "Ra's" that uses the Lazarus pit to be imortal. Fun.). Emotionally, Alfred.

Cass(andra?(Ed3)) Last Name Unknown (Ed3: Cain)

Vigilante persona: still looking for it (Ed3: black bat) (Ed15: and orphan... wow)

Age: teen, I think (Ed3)

General background: another one I barely know shit about, she's deaf, she gives me sassy little girl vibes (Ed3: she is some kind of Michael from the Naturals (where are my 3 the natural fans at?)) (Ed4: she's a sneaky little bitch who need no weapon, just her two fists, super quiet, but super deadly) (Ed15: she was homeless at some point, which for some point it is not a knew trope here. Also, is she really deaf or not, because I saw a cannon vs fannon video about her and the fannon signed, but the cannon spoke clearly, was she born deaf or a result of an accident? Is she even completely deaf?)

Love interest: no fucking idea man (Ed4: Steph :D, idk why but I love this idea so much I don't even care if it's not canon, it's canon to me)

Parentage: speaking again about the lack of content about women (Ed4: still less close, just know that she has mommy and daddy issues, so they're probably not great) (Ed6: her mother (Ed15: and her name is Shiva) sold her to someone who made her into a killing machine. Tense.)

(Ed3: the whole duke section is new, my bad I knew nothing about him)

Duke Thomas

Vigilante persona: signal

Age: teen

General background: he seems like a genuine calm nice guy, it's a contrast from the rest of the family (Ed15: apparently he's insanely smart and good with riddles and so fucking cool. Also he has the power to manipulate light, which is so fucking cool)

Love interest: not that I know of (Ed15: I'm pretty sure that he has a girlfriend, but her name is unknown)

Parentage: Biologically, I'm pretty sure they're dead but that's not new (Ed15: they're not dead. They are however in a asylum with their minds fucked up because of whatever "joker toxin" is, idk what's worse honestly). Emotionally, Bruce and Alfred. Legally, I have given up on the question by this point (Ed4: also pretty sure Bruce adopts him)

Alfred (Ed4: Pennyworth)

Vigilante persona: I don't think he has one, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did

Age: old

General background: incarnation of "terrifying calmness", I don't think there's much more to say really, excellent cook, insaaaannnneeee lore (Ed15: apparently he's not a good person in cannon??? He has a daughter but abandons her to take care of Bruce, convinces the Robins to become vigilantes while Bruce just wants for them to have a normal childhood, was the one who made the "good soldier" memorial (yes, I know about that, so much known lore, I'm practically a master) and Bruce actually wanted it taken down)

Love interest: THE QUEEN OF ENGLAN?????? FOR SOME GOD FORSAKEN REASON

Parentage: he had a sister (or daughter) and her name is Julia but they don't have the best relationship

Shout out to the guy in a yellow bat suit, I just saw you in pictures, but I will find out your name. Also there's a kid named Duke, I think he is gonna be Damien's replacement

(Ed3: lmao who's tell past me, also gonna add the name Domino here, I saw it somewhere I'm not even sure if it's a super hero or a villain name)

(Ed4: adding another name to the "I heard this once but I feel like they're important" pool: Ortiz, they're the love interest of someone, I feel like is Duke but there were no context clues; Kate Kane, aka Batwoman, will make a character analysis when I have more information than name/vigilante name)

(Ed6: another one to the pool. His name is Terry and he is barely mentioned in the fandom. Also Slade, he's a villain and has beef with every single Robin. And a guy named Lex that every single one of the batfam hates, he has the opposite company of WI and he may or may not be a supervillain. Someone help me there are three batgirls. And I saw a post where Jason called Cass his "big sister". I'm gonna cry)

(Ed15: Thee is more. :D Her name is Helena and I'm pretty sure she's Bruce and Selina's bio!daughter and her super hero name is huntress. I would like to also add Jarro. Jarro is a Robin. Jarro is also a starfish. Live laugh love Jarro.)

EVENTS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

Pre-Robin

Dick living happily with his parents in a circus at the age of 8

Parents die in front of him (and Burce, I think)

Picks up a costum and start beating criminals twice his size

Dick Robin era

Batman's like "someone needs to put that kid under control. No one volunteers? Okay, I'll do it. No, there's no need to insist I'll do it." That or they keep having encounters until Batman gets attached. (Ed3)

Mentor/mentee shenanigans

Boom Dick's too old, no idea if he just leaves the title, gives it up to Jason or Bruce just says he likes them young (Ed3: the most hilarious option won)

(Ed6:Jason is homeless because his step mom died of and overdose)

Also no idea how Jason got himself in the middle of this mess. (Ed3: why the hell am I still clueless about this?) (Ed4: apparently he tried to steal the tires of a batmobile and that's how they met? Amazing I love it) Anyways,

Jason Robin era

Somewhere in the middle of all of this Dick becomes nightwing

More mentor/mentee shenanigans

(Ed4: Dick goes to space on a mission)

(Ed3: Jason decides to go rogue and look for his mother, which, somehow, leads to:)

Jason dies (like really dies, he got buried and everything) by the hands of Joker (Ed3: with a crowbar, very important information, but seriously, that's violent as fuck) D: (Ed4: because Jason's mother (that may or may not be Talia) (Ed15) sells him out)

Batman almost kills Joker :D

Superman stops him D:

Anyways, Batman goes batshit crazy

(Ed4: Dick comes back from space to a dead brother, an angered dad and a random stalker (read Tim) asking him to come back as Robin)

Tim - superhero stalker - notices and becomes the Robin that steps up 💪 (by this I mean he blackmails Bruce into becoming Robin)

Tim Robin era

(Ed3: Tim and Dick have hallucinations of Jason? For some reason?)

(Ed4: Joker decides that it is a good idea to taunt Nightwing with Jason's death. He was wrong, Nightwing beats him to death, as he should)

Jason comes back from the dead, because... of an act of God? Idk, (Ed4) but guess who's back, back again (Ed4: apparently there's something called "Lazarus Pit", that's what he uses, whatever the fuck that is, wasn't Lazarus the friend of Jesus that he literally ressure- oh wait I'm seeing a pattern here. Who knew that knowing the bible was gonna be useful here)

Jason is used as a weapon against batman (still trying to verify the truth of this one)

Jason becomes a crime lord that takes down other crime lords aka Redhood

(Ed3: Jason beats the shit out of Tim in a Robin costume to prove that he's the better Robin and when he asks half-dead-Tim about it he just says no? Wild shit and I love this)

Even more mentor/mentee shenanigans

Batman dies???????

Tim tries to bring him back (intrepert that however you want) (Ed15: and that interpretation is that Batman is lost in the "timestream". Whatever the fuck that means (Actually I'm very curious, I love different takes on how time works in different universes))

(Ed15: in this time he also fucks with the League of assassins (super villain league lead by Ra's Al Ghaul (aka Damian's grandpa)) and they fuck back because apparently that man sends a woman to rape Tim so he can have a new heir because Damian was not on their side anymore??? wtf????, also they took his spleen, somehow, I need to say this arc seems very concerning)

Tim gets replaced by Damien who just shows up at their doorstep one day I guess (Ed3: somehow Stephanie Robin era happens between this two but I'm still trying to figure out how when where or why) (Ed4: still not sure how it happens but I now know it lasted a week)

Damien Robin era

Tim manages to bring batman back (seriously, was it a "he's not really dead kinda situation", did he perform some satanic ritual, what happened?) (Ed15) But not his position, hey yo!

Tim gets promoted to red Robin, which from what I understood is basically Dick's Robin (which is cute, full circle moment)

Father/son bonding time through fighting crime

(Ed3: Jason retires from Redhood? Not sure how true this is)

(Ed3: Also, gotta mention this incidents even though I have no idea when they are

STEPHANIE, DAMIEN AND TIM ALL DIE AT SOME POINT? WHAT IS IT WITH THIS FAMILY AND DYING)

Where is Stephanie's era you may ask? Idk I know she's on the younger side so she couldn't have been Dick's replacement and I am pretty sure about the other changes of Robins and I think she's older than Damien so she couldn't have been his replacement. (Ed3: still very unsure on this part) (Ed4)

Will keep you guys updated

Ed3: I feel like the more information I have the more confusing it gets

Ed4: I swear I must sound like this in this post:

[mcflymemes]

PROMPTS FROM HITMAN: WORLD OF ASSASSINATION *  assorted dialogue from the video game, adjust as necessary

majestic, isn't it?

someone knows about us.

we received your message. loud and clear, might i add.

i dare say the possibilities are endless.

the situation... it's complicated.

this could be dangerous, and i thought you deserved to know. so... now you know.

in his own special way, he cares about you... and vice versa.

i didn't catch your name.

that's for you. keep it on you at all times.

i have seen the consequences. i have felt the cost. that's what defines me.

none of you are safe anymore.

someone's been meddling in our affairs.

that's why we're hiring you to take him down.

if it seems like a conspiracy, it probably isn't.

i hope you know what you just did.

does it matter? i was told there'd be no second chances.

anyone can kill.

get out of my sight.

they sent me here to spy on him.

don't believe everything you hear.

very well. it's your show.

look, i'm not an asshole. of course i'm concerned.

so what happens now?

you do catch on fast.

i want us to meet. your room.

all right. consider it done.

i think technology hates me.

you can't be trusted.

i have found that whoever wields the sword decides who holds the pen.

smile, [name]. your reputation is safe.

there are no second chances. not here.

maybe i'm not the only one being tested.

i read your case file. impressive work.

do you realize what kind of world you've been shaping?

i'm [name], i'll take you to your quarters.

someone likes to keep secrets.

they kept you alive because they needed you and now they don't.

that part is my job.

when we need you, we will contact you.

i don't care which of you does it. it's mandatory.

he did not, however, factor me into the equation.

you're not a superhero. they don't exist.

for sure. i'll keep an eye out.

you did well, [name], i'm proud of you.

i followed you from italy.

that... is your target.

powerful men have fallen by your hand. but by the same token, others have risen.

knowing your enemy is only half the victory.

secrets are our stock-in-trade.

shit. still no answer.

i think we could help each other.

i think i'm in. but i want to be clear on a few details.

from what i hear, you have a few of your own.

i'm not like you, in case you're wondering.

if they can bend the rules, then so can i.

that's not a name.

you know the expression "know your enemy?"

tell me. what did it feel like, taking lives?

is that why you came here? why you let us test you?

i should leave you to prepare.

are you sure about this?

i don't believe it. i took every precaution.

all agents have weak spots.

give me a chance, [name].

our team found no records of any kind. no name, nothing.

are you still determined?

may i inquire why?

at first glance, an impossible task. then again, i do know how you love a challenge.

we will be watching.

how is this our problem?

i wish i had been informed.

people die, [name]. it happens all the time, even to us.

there is no sign of forced entry. no alarms. nothing.

in the meantime, keep him under close watch.

perhaps i see possibility where others see limitation.

now you will do the same.

i play dirty. that's how you defeat a stronger opponent. you strike from behind.

well, this is just fabulous, isn't it?

good. i'll be upstairs.

this was no coincidence.

i should tell you, the trail went dead after romania.

you're making us look bad.

this is the universe's way of telling you to quit, to get out of the game while you still can.

can i offer you a drink?

i thought they were a myth.

someone's playing a game, [name]. the question is... against whom?

we can't allow ourselves to be manipulated.

so... what are we actually doing here?

i just pulled some strings.

i thought that was the point?

i will take full responsibility.

vary your strategy. improvise.

i can't believe we beat him at his own game.

his death will not be investigated.

i know you don't care about politics.

i guess when you're invisible, you stop looking over your shoulder.

[coinfight]

finally looked at the feedback and I appreciate all of them!! I'll comment my thought process on the common complaints publicly before talking with the current other mod

the +2 for non-gender was added with me thinking it will encourage people to coin stuff other than genders, which there is already a near endless amount of in the community, but it seems it was taken advantage of, unfortunately. Im planning to either only make it +1, make it so vague terms fall under 'gender' in this case (such as, a term related to x, rather than a y term related to x), or remove this system altogether.

the revenge mechanic was introduced mostly with me thinking people will be encouraged to attack more knowing they'll be likely to get something back as revenge, but I didnt anticipate it getting this out of hand to the point people were getting 20 points with 1 attack :'3. the revenge chain seems to be confusing for some anyway. this system worked better on art fight, where the points were counted automatically, and art that took more time got more points so it felt more balanced. Im planning the either cap it somewhere (maybe only 1 revenge gets counted ever and gets +2?), or remove it altogether

we most definitely both need more mods and better communication, this was a problem not once, but twice during the event. I can excuse this for now because we were mostly in a rush to get things ready and I did not get to flesh out the rules to the other mod before it started, but I do not want this to be a continued issue for next year.

the rush to start to event also caused for a lack of preparations and promotions for the event, so we let people join within the week the event was going on to make up for it. this eventually gave one team an unfair advantage. this will not be occurring next year, hopefully, as the team picking will be done a week prior and the reblogs will be locked once the 2nd day of the event comes around.

Ive seen a few comment about how there being a lack of prizes means a lack of insentive to participate, which I understand completely, but I cannot give a voucher to everyone in one team, that would take a lot out of me when the event already did so anyway, but we may work on graphics for the winners! just a lil trophy for them to share their pride through.

there not being a set time zone seems to have been an issue, especially at the end of the event. for next year Im going to try to base the beginning and end of the event through the central time zone, with daily submission limits still being through the participant's own time zone.

all of these worked fine for last year, because it was a small event meant to celebrate a milestone I got with something a little different than the usual 'coining event'. it was between internet friends, and so the air was a lot less competitive. this is no longer the case as coinfight grew twice as big since then, with a wider range of participants, both familiar and unfamiliar to me. I am grateful for this, however that means it is also harder to keep track of, and rely on participant integrity.

one thing I do NOT remember last year having is a 3 submissions per day rule, I cant tell if I just forgot I had that rule up or the other mod decided it would be appropriate, which it was! we could hardly keep up with 3 submissions per day by every participant, and I even gave up a little by the end. I do not think we will be changing this, except the ability to make up for lost days. this would, however, add another thing for us to keep track of.

I will forward all your complaints to the other mod (bc I used a personal email to make the survey like a dummy) and hear what she has to say.

do not be sad that you've upset us or anything, you havent! we asked for feedback for a reason, and will be using it to make next year better than ever!

with love to the entire mogai community, -🫀

[ratinasuitproductions]

#006: The most magical time of the year: the VOID

We are currently in that void that sits between Christmas and the start of the new year. I have been taking this time to relax and eat and drink a bit too much after a busy year. I have written over 10 TTRPG-based things, watched a bunch of films, and read some books. Though now as I look ahead to the next year, I mustn't forget to look back over the last month. Especially as I have this newsletter to write. 

What have I been creating?

Over the last month, I released the starter set for my game “Land in the Mist.” As part of the starter set, I made a simplified character creation system and fixed several issues with the rules. It makes for a good introduction to the system and provides a good entry point to the systems and themes. 

As part of that project, I made a new introductory adventure, “Of Pagans and Reindeer”. I am especially proud of the weird reindeer creature that is featured in the adventure. You can get the starter set here.

What have I been consuming?

Over the festive season, I have managed to get back into reading and have slowly been finishing my book of short stories by Poe. The arbitrary goal for next year is to read 12 books. Though judging by previous attempts at setting arbitrary goals for myself, we will see how it goes. 

I also was given these pretty dice. 

Aside from dice and books I also watched a bunch of films over the holiday period. The highlights were Bullet Train and The Italian Job. Also, my family continued our Christmas Eve tradition of watching the most Christmassy film of all, Dirty Harry. Nothing says “festive cheer” quite like Clint Eastwood chasing down/torturing a baddy. 

What is to come? 

So I have lots of ideas for projects to do in the next year. Some I have started, and some are just a sentence in a document. 

Expanding Lands In the Mist

I want to make a new rule book with revised rules and character creation. I am definitely going to bring back the year-by-year character creation system that I enjoyed before the first edition. 

The Trains of the Glorious Republics of the People

I want to improve the layout of the rulebook. Eg, adding more images and improving it with all the other techniques I have learnt over the last few months. On top of this, I want to make a campaign for the system. As part of the campaign, I want to add a legacy system to the game to enable players to “level up” their carriages. 

Case Files

For the longest time, I have had a setting guide to this system written. I should, over the next couple of months, finish editing and creating a layout for it. I also have a new case I want to write/run for this system so that may work its way out of my brain as well at some point. 

a New Sci-Fi TTRPG

Finally, I have an idea for a sci-fi TTRPG. All I know so far is that I want a traditional “go adventure then rest in town” style game. 

What to conclude?

So that brings a year to an end. It's been a wild year, but I am glad we all saw it through. In the coming weeks, I plan to do a proper post-mortem of the year, taking a closer look at how the TTRPGs I created performed. 

Until then, enjoy this time in the void, and I hope 2024 has treated you well.

[matan4il]

Good morning Alice!! If you don't mind, may I add something to the topic of antisemitism? Because in the last year, I had 2 things happen in my personal life that made it blaring to me how much subconsciously for some antisemitism was back on the rise. I am not Jewish, although I am luckily enough to be surrounded by many different Jewish communities and families. In turn, I also live in a progressive city and have always felt I am surrounded by tolerant open-minded people.

But first it was a brunch I was at with some friends. Someone I have known since high school was complaining about a bonus she got and said something like, "Dude, the owners are acting like such Jews." I was taken aback and like what did you just say?? She seemed surprised and was like well that's how people in the office describe them. I mean, I watched Schindlers List with this girl in high school, and I reminded her of everything we learned. The thing is, I know her and her family and have never heard them speak this way. So it's horrible to think she subconsciously always felt that way, or maybe never has, but the term has become mainstream enough again that people felt comfortable using it to describe owners of their company.

The second time was a movie someone recommended to me. Based on what I do for a living, they were being friendly and thought I would enjoy it. I will be sort of vague here so as not to give away spoilers and / or open up the politics of the person involved in the scene. The movie is called "You People". Let's just say I found the movie a bit off putting to start, but then came a scene where someone was bragging about Farrakhan to a Jewish couple. I almost dropped my wine and turned off the movie. In my opinion, the Jewish couple were written kind of as clueless in this scene and the people praising Farrakhan as smart. I only finished the movie because I was waiting for this attitude to be corrected or changed. I was disappointed that it never was. The Jewish couple "learned a lesson." I, of course, messaged the person back and told them what I found problematic about the movie, and again, the person was bemused by my disdain. For me, though, I was just shocked this perspective was able to make it through production. I mean, everyone involved in this movie was never like, maybe this is a bridge to far??

My major point here is that it's scary all this has again become a mainstream thought process. People seem not to notice the repeat of history. I talk to a lot of families all over from very diverse Jewish families. So maybe I am a bit more biased because I hear stories of families in New York that have to hire security to take their children to school because the hate crimes are so bad. However, you never read about it in the media.

My rule now is to not assume anyone is not hearing these things and somehow absorbing it and inadvertently pushing it on. Always be ready to correct or remind someone that yes, they are being hateful. Sorry for the essay I just wanted to point out how people can notice it even from people they least expect it from. Please feel free to correct any POV I presented. You know I always wish to learn!!

As always, stay safe, and I hope you are feeling ok. xoxo

Also, don't feel bad if you don't post this because you don't want to get political on here. I would completely understand

My darling, it is so good to hear from you, no matter what, but especially on such an important topic as antisemitism that is NOT talked about enough.

Thank you for sharing both of these incidents. The first one is just so blatant... I mean, it's clear "Jews" is being used in a negative manner, so how can there be ANY confusion about it being an antisemitic way of expressing oneself? You don't even have to know the specific bloody, hateful history of this particular antisemitic stereotype that links Jews to money hoarding to get that it's a hateful thing to say. And in the case of this stereotype, it really isn't in the past. Just the other day, I reblogged a post about Ilan Halimi, who in 2006 was kidnapped, tortured, mutilated and burned alive because of this antisemitic notion, before he passed away. I'm shocked that in her office, it's an okay thing for anyone to say, but I can't help thinking... this girl can't be stupid, right? So even if she heard it from countless people, there should have been something in her telling her that using the word "Jews" like that is antisemitic and wrong.

As for the movie You People... *sighs* I have it downloaded and waiting for me to watch it. I've tried watching it twice now, and twice I couldn't get past the second scene (when the first one is "just" the movie's opening). So I haven't gotten yet to the part you're describing, but I have no doubt you're spot on in your assessment of it, and honestly... For those who don't know, Farrakhan is a raging antisemite, and praising him to Jews would be akin to the Jewish family praising David Duke (a notorious anti-black White Supremacist) to the black family, and no one pointing out why that's wrong and offensive.

There are several American movies I'm aware of that are based on the concept of "black vs white families who would normally dislike each other have to overcome their differences because their kids wanna get married". This is a concept that works based on the tension between those whose ancestors suffered from slavery in the United States and those whose ancestors were responsible for it. The most basic issue I have with You People is that the white family from the original concept has been replaced with a Jewish one. Since presumably this is meant to work on the same kind of tension, that already implies Jews were responsible for the enslavement of black people in the US. This is not true and has even been recently addressed with historical research on this precisely due to this new antisemitic lie spreading and putting Jewish lives in danger.

I guess that brings me to an issue that's a continuation of something I brought up in my Jewish representation post: American movies and shows hardly ever show us any kind of antisemitism except for the "classic" type trafficked by the Nazis. And the problem with that is that there are so many other kinds, too! We don't represent them in our media, so people don't know to recognize them. And we are not giving young Jewish people and allies of the Jewish community the tools to identify these forms of antisemitism and the weapons to fight back against them.

At some point, I might be able to stomach getting through the movie to detail everything I think is wrong with it, because from what I've heard from you and from @geekgirl101, there's gonna be a lot I would have to rant about. But for now, maybe I'll just mention that the movie has been pretty universally rejected and condemned by the mainstream Jewish community and its allies. Here are just some of the many scathing articles criticizing it:

Critics pan ‘painful’ portrayal of Jews in race relations rom-com ‘You People’

The woke antisemitism of Netflix's 'You People' - opinion

You People's Outrageous Antisemitism

Jew People

Instead of giving us a contemporary Black Jewish story, Netflix’s ‘You People’ erases Jews of color

Netflix’s You People has a problem with Jew people

Netflix Hit 'You People' Branded 'Horribly Damaging' to Jewish People

Thank you for this ask and for caring! Thank you for helping me to still have faith in humanity. Sending you all the love! As always, here's my ask tag. xoxox

[moonchild033]

Hi,

Thank you so much for informing me that I can send a question here in your asks.

I still consider myself a newbie when it comes to vedic astrology so I just wanted to know your general opinion about my placements(if you can throw in some career suggestions, that would be greatly appreciated):

Anuradha Scorpio Sun 1st house 10°

Ashlesha Moon 9th house 18°

Jyeshta Scorpio Rising 23°

Uttara Phalguni Leo Midheaven 27°

Should I put the lowest degree and highest degree planet fpr funsies?

Lowest : Mercury Moola Sagittarius 0° 2nd

Highest : Venus Chitra Virgo 25° 11th

When i read about about Ashlesha moon, it answered all of the questions that my Leo moon western astrology couldn't answer.

I hope my question is okay(?)

Thank you for letting me ask.

Hey boo! ❤💫

It's gonna be a long post :)

Let's explore ur placements one at a time-

Scorpio rising (Jyeshta, 23°):

Scorpio rising kids would've been born to their parents when they were going through a comparatively rough phase. As a jyeshta rising, u will be calculative and have a way with your words as jyeshta star is ruled by mercury. People will admire you for the choice of your words and the politeness in your tone. Ur degree placement is in Aquarius which makes u look pretty intelligent to the world. Simply put, sign ruler (mars) will make you determined and passionate, star ruler (jyeshta) will make u strategic and clever, degree (23°) will give u out of the box thinking and the trait to form good interpersonal relationships. These combinations can also end up in over confidence or disregard people who are not up to the scale of intelligence u have (Be conscious about this boo if it's relatable in ur case)

Scorpio sun (Anuradha, 10°):

Your 10H ruler is in first house which can make you daydream about being a boss. You are career oriented and don't like to climb the ladder, you would dream about being on the top as soon as you enter into professional life. Scorpio sun in 1H can also give u bit of headweight and know it all attitude, even though you don't propaganda it openly, it can sometimes show up in your behavior, you should be conscious about that. Your sun in anuradha star shows that u possess good leadership qualities and the perseverance to put in consistent hardwork. You're a diplomatic person, it can be affected by your overwhelming emotions at times but your external demeanor will manage it very well . You also have Capricorn degrees, which adds more to your goal oriented and bossy qualities. Overall it seems like your sun placement is THAT pack, creating the burning desire of success inside you.

Cancer moon (Ashlesha, 18°):

You have moon in it's own house, 9H moon is also a lucky placement. You may have strong orthodox religious beliefs and enjoy reading/experiencing spirituality.You may travel for gaining wisdom on spiritual endeavors. You're an emotional person but your ashlesha star gives you a control over it, u know when to strike and when not to. As a mercury ruled star, ashlesha will develop your curiosity on knowing yourselves and decoding your own self. You can be creative and imaginative, particularly talented in writing (maybe poems?!). You could have had a secret diary which u might have hidden or threw away, getting scared of people reading it (The point is you might have written your emotions, that could've been your major outlet). You have 18°, which can make you more introverted and patient.

I tried to cover up as much as I could but it would be better if you can split up questions in the ask.

I didn't touch anything career related as I need more information (whole chart) and time (at least a week) to sit and process. I hope you understand and thank you for your ask.😇

Feel free to ask any more queries or give feedback! I'm open to constructive criticisms bcoz that's the only way we grow.💕

Let's learn and grow together! 🤗💋

With Love-Yashi ❤⚡

[my2phetaliaheadcanons]

Unasked for Questions/Opinions About A Random Thing: Hybrids

I struggled with some motivation this week, and I wanted to post something...

So we have this thing.

This may or may not become a series in which, as the title says, I share opinions and questions about things that no one asked for. But only when I have no motivation to answer asks or work on other projects. These aren't meant to be any kind of attack or judgement, its all in good fun. And I don't expect much to come from it..

Anyways on to the backstory for the topic of Hybrids!

This all started because my motivation was in the dirt and I was tired of seeing all the Chat-Ai bot commercials. So, I did what anyone would do, I go two of the apps and played around to see if it could motivate me, and it did. Just to play around more.

Looking through as I played around, I tried a few different ones, and even made my own, but the hybrid models left me with questions and opinions that caused me to reflect on the character type/trope/what ever other thing it can be classified as.

And to be honest, I have read quite a few hybrid fanfics and original stories so I wasn't going in blind, but just realize some things.

And if you have any feed back or things to add, feel free to. I would like to see where this goes or if it gives people ideas.

Of if you have any works that could fit/answer these questions please send them my way. I would love to read them.

Why aren't there groomers? Like the hybrid equivalent of dog groomers, I get if they society has hybrids as equals to people, but in the case they are pets, it should be something to include. Especially if the hair on their head is fur. It acts different and different species have different needs. Like if its a GSD, you're gonna want him to be deshed. Because your poor shower drain if you don't. Or it's a cute set up for a meet-cute. Either way.

Services, a lot of stories take place at home, a shelter, a zoo/aquarium, labs or in the wild. Where's the daycare equivalent, like you could do a basic kennel situation with some playrooms or go EXTREME! By having a large center that's like an amusement park style daycare with different areas for different things; hunting, playing, sleeping, eating, mating if your feeling spicy. Then make them as fancy as you want. What is they also were boarding facilities too and the hybrids/owners could customize their experience to what the animal side required? What if it was ran by a hybrid in secret, one that didn't like humans and all the employees were instructed that there was a 100% owner compliance rule. That once the human owner was behind a certain point anything their hybrid said went? And what about pet sitting, training? How does those come into play? I know many stories do mating as their own industry, but what other type of ways can it be done?

Are they treated by a vet? But branched like exotic animals where it is considered a specialty, with some vets having no training to help them? Or is it a human doctor with some veterinary training? Do they go to the Human ER or Vet ER? What about dental care, if we worry about wisdom teeth, what about them?

How are they categorized? Like at what point is a hybrid considered livestock animal, work animal, a pet/companion, an exotic or wild life? Is it the animal side of them or is it their personality? Do you need any type of license for specific groups? What about owning the more wild ones? Where is the law in this?

Why do we write hybrids as those that enjoy being pets? I get some would, but like, personally, I would struggle with someone else having that level of control over me, even if I did have animal like tendencies and instincts. There has to be one, where the hybrid is grumpy and over being seen as a pet, even if their human sees them as a mate or friend. Like what if he tries to flip the script and make his owner/human the pet and take care of them? What if there was a law to allow them to present in court that they deserve to be seen as a person? What happens if granted and what happens to the human they leave behind? And what happens if they flip the script of authority legally rather than just forcing submission and house arrest?

Can they be service animals? If so, do they get fancy vests and badges? More freedom to act and even speak for their owner if they are seen as a pet in their society. Or is seen as equal in the work of fiction, is it like a different type of nurse? Like a job only they can fill and work in shifts? What if a blind person has a hybrid as their guide, do they switch every 8-12 hours? Just emailing where the blind person is and hand off the person like a clock in ticket?

Would they have to segregate places? Because imagine you have an cat allergy and a hybrid feline sits by you. Then the MC has an allergic reaction of varying degrees, wouldn't it be safer if your separate? What happens if a hybrid is allergic to a human? Or are they hypoallergenic?

So, if a hybrid is mixed with livestock. Are they gonna be eaten!? Like if its a pig-girl or cow-boy are they being fatten up and turned to steak? Or is it other things they are used for? Like cows for milk, pigs for truffle hunting and garden care (not gonna lie, I had to google for the pigs.)?

That's all I have. I would be curious to see the answers, but no pressure.

I may or may not use these for projects latter on (I can already see where I can use these with my characters). But it was fun to write these out.

Feel free to reblog, add thoughts, use for ideas and whatever.

Have fun!

Thanks for reading my madness of questions no one asked for.

[maryholmes94]

‘Sherlock’ Out Of Fandom. Essay №1

For several years I’ve been writing about ‘Sherlock’ and its actors, Sherlock Holmes and his various adaptations, and a couple of weeks ago I’ve decided: why not to write about it in English on Tumblr? As some of you pointed out, it is not that easy to find any analysis of this show, which is not johnlock-related (at least on the English-speaking websites). So I’ve decided to express my thinking in writing, hoping that it could be useful not just for me, but for somebody else. I have no idea how many essays I’m going to write, but I want to unite them under the title “‘Sherlock’ Out Of Fandom”. And by that I mean that I’m not going to give any attention to the theories and speculations which were based on the incorrect interpretation of the original source (which in this case is the ‘Sherlock’ TV-series itself). So I’m not going to talk about the so called “Johnlock Conspiracy”, or about “season 4 is not real” theories, or about any other fantasies this fandom is so full of. Furthermore – I’m not going to be involved in the discussions which are concerning such theories, so I warn you in advance: if you want to talk about ‘Sherlock’, please be kind enough to talk about the actual show. The show that was actually released on television and not on AO3 in some fics you like so much. That would be a different topic and I’m not interested in discussing it.

Since we established this simple but important rule, I think we can move to the first essay in this series, which is titled

Three things that make ‘Sherlock’ special

The viewers may like ‘Sherlock’ or hate it, but whatever their personal opinions on this show are, they can’t deny that it is indeed very special. And not just because of the unique place it occupies in the ‘multiverse’ of interpretations of the original stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. And even not because it helped to speed up the revolution that changed the whole TV industry and our perception of it. What makes ‘Sherlock’ really special is its authors’ innovative attitude towards the old narrative. It was a radical break from traditions, which, surprisingly, is still unnoticed – maybe because other subjects interest people more, but maybe because, however radical this break was, it looked so natural that people simply didn’t realize its significance.

This innovation is visible through the entire series, but there are three milestones, which are the fundament for the whole narrative and story-telling of ‘Sherlock’, so let’s have a look at each of them.

The analytical approach to the original material

The fans of Conan Doyle’s stories know that there are basically two ways of bringing them to the screen. The first one is the good old ‘filmization’ – or, to put it simpler, the film adaptation, when the creators take the original story and adapt it to the screen. That was the path taken by the famous ‘Granada’ TV-series, the Wilmer-Cushing series from the 1960s and the Soviet version from the 1980s. The second way is the good old ‘based on the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’, when the creators write a new story and add here and there some ‘easter-eggs’ and references to the original source. The best examples here are Rathbone-Bruce movies from the 1940s, the Guy Ritchie’s movies, and all these young sherlock holmeses, extremely old sherlock holmeses, enola holmeses etc. Which way have Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat chosen? Some may say – both, but the more correct answer would be – none. What they did is what every true scientist is doing when he or she needs to analyze their sources: they’ve read them all, they’ve singled out the essentials and they’ve drawn the balance – which at the end became the carcass of their story. So therefore each episode of their show is not just an adaptation of the original story, and not something new that they invented – it is a profound analysis of the Conan Doyle’s stories which is put under the lens of their own perception. And that makes ‘Sherlock’ not just an adaptation, but a philosophical research both of Sherlock Holmes as a cultural phenomenon and of the world Gatiss and Moffat – and their audience – are living in.

Which brings us to the second point.

2. ‘Sherlock’ tells the story of its own time

Again, the fans of Conan Doyle’s Holmes certainly read many books and articles about the famous writer and his attitude towards his creation, about the origins of his ideas, and about many other things, but what sometimes is overlooked is the fact that all the stories about Holmes written by Conan Doyle are a huge source of historical material. His stories present a chronic of his own time – yes, it has its flaws and it is far from complete, but nonetheless, if the reader wants to know something about the late Victorian and Edwardian era, Conan Doyle’s books are a rich source of knowledge on the subject. And ‘Sherlock’ is the first interpretation of it which is also a chronic of its time. Yes, there were other movies before that which were set in the contemporary era, but how much can a viewer find out about the 1940s from the Rathbone-Bruce movies? Yes, there was a war, and people wore certain clothes and travelled by trains, but who were these people? What a world they were living in? The information on this subject is scarce and hides behind the human drama and detective plots. ‘Sherlock’, on the other hand, is rooted in the time it speaks about – just like the original material it is based on. That’s why Conan Doyle’s stories were so popular, and that’s why ‘Sherlock’ is so popular too. People see in it the world that surrounds them, they know it and understand it, and understanding brings interest and a sense of belonging – the key to any TV-show’s success.

3. As its title says, ‘Sherlock’ has only one main character

The third milestone of ‘Sherlock’ narrative seems at first sight to be more concrete, but it is closely tied to the other two. A long history of bringing to the screen the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle accustomed the viewer to a certain paradigm. Sherlock Holmes is always accompanied by Dr. Watson, and sometimes (though in fact very rarely) they are joined by other characters, such as DI Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson (more often) and Mary Morsten or Mycroft Holmes (more rare). And here ‘Sherlock’ broke the tradition again: not only did Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat give the supporting characters important roles, but at the same time they also made Sherlock Holmes a little bit lonelier than he already was by putting his personality at the center of their attention. In the end, it’s all about Sherlock and the circumstances which made him a man he is. Yes, his interactions with other characters are part and parcel of the story, but the fact that Dr. Watson doesn’t have the “exclusive access” to him anymore enriches the narrative and enables the writers to show all sorts of Sherlock’s personality. Suddenly he takes a whole number of roles nobody before thought him capable of taken: he is a son, he is a Godfather, he is the best man at the wedding, he is a close friend of Mary Morsten, a defender of Mrs. Hudson, a sarcastic, but caring younger brother and a tender forgiving older brother. And the main subject of the show is the moral and internal evolution of this extraordinary man. Sherlock Holmes written by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat and played by Benedict Cumberbatch is not a legend and not a monument: he is a man of flesh and blood, and it is his extraordinary inner world and not his deduction skills that makes him so unique – and special.  

These are the three major things that in my opinion make ‘Sherlock’ a special adaptation of the original Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories. It presents an analytical take of the original source, it perfectly depicts its own time (and its main problems), and it brings Sherlock Holmes at the center of the narrative, making him not just a hero of his time, but a man who has a story all of us can understand, and some – even relate to. In the end, ‘Sherlock’ is not just another adaptation – ‘Sherlock’ is an original story everyone can take to heart without even knowing about its source.

@rey-jake-therapist - tagging you in case you find it interesting

[french-teapot]

Hey all!

I really wanted to sit down and write this out, just in case it might help anyone. Since so many people were so kind to help with suggestions when I was suffering with that UTI, I found a couple of other options that may be beneficial to some people.

It might be a little long, so I'll put it under a read more.

I'm still not 100% back to normal, but I've done repeated urine tests at the doctor, and there isn't even an infection anymore. It seems to just be a really stubborn inflammation, and it was recently getting to a point where I was really just mentally and emotionally wiped from it. It was never super bad, but obviously if you feel uncomfortable non-stop for weeks it really gets to you eventually, and last Saturday I was in tears again just from the frustration, especially since we're due to go away in a few weeks and I just want it to be gone. Nothing I got from the pharmacy did anything.

Now, my boyfriend's mother, while not a doctor or anything, is very good with researching natural remedies due to her own ongoing ailments and reluctance to rely too much on medications. A lot of what she knows is very 'old-wives-tale' style knowledge, but especially when it comes to more natural options, she knows a lot about the history of the plant and how old cultures would have used them.

Please keep in mind that everything I'm suggesting may not suit you. These have helped me immensely in the last couple of days, but they certainly haven't cured me. They may also be things you're allergic to, or if you take medications, may react with them. So please take everything I say with a pinch of salt, and common sense.

So these are what she suggested:

The three main things I've been taking are dandelion (flower and leaves), plantain herb (leaves) and nettle (I just bought this in tea bags).

I brew a tea mixture from them, and they've helped so much already. Apparently they're all diuretics, and help with urinary support and health. But they've given me a lot of relief considering they're all just plants you probably already have everywhere in your garden.

Both dandelion and nettle can be bought as regular tea bags, so that might be easier, especially since there's special preparation for nettles due to their sting.

This might be more common knowledge that I think, but it's certainly something I didn't know about, and I definitely didn't realise how potent they are. And since the majority of plant-related uti advice I think most people hear about it 'drink cranberry stuff', there's not as much emphasis on these.

ALSO. I just started this today as well, but this is something I did know about - eating raw garlic. I've just been chopping a few cloves on some buttered bread, and it's delicious. Garlic is also pretty brilliant for a lot of things, so even just in general I would recommend eating it like that. Or with some honey, whatever gets it down for you if you're able to eat it.

I'd really really recommend if anyone suffers from bladder issues at all, please do some research on this, because even in a matter of like, two days, it's really boosted my mood and general wellbeing.

Obviously I'm still going to the doctor. That's not ruled out, and I'd never tell anyone to rely only on plant remedies when medication could do more. But these have just helped a lot in the meantime.

Thanks to all of you who helped me before, I just wanted to add something back! c:

[gracehosborn]

I would love to hear why you didn't necessarily like My Dear Hamilton!

Hi! Thank you for the ask! So so sorry it took me forever to answer this!

A disclaimer before I explain things: this isn’t an attack on the authors, I wish them the best, but rather this is just me discussing their novel as a piece of literature. It has also been awhile since I read this novel, so my memory may be fuzzy. I also have no ill-will against anyone who enjoys this novel—if it makes you happy, I am glad—these are just my personal opinions as a result of my experience reading the novel.

TL;DR is that I believe the authors poorly handled Eliza’s POV, Hamilton’s characterization, and the overall narrative per the story they set out to tell. A longer explanation of these issues is under the cut.

As I am a writer and aspiring author myself, I will be looking at this from that perspective.

My Dear Hamilton is framed as Elizabeth Hamilton meeting with James Monroe in her old age, and beginning to discuss forgiveness in relation to the Reynolds affair, whereupon the narrative shifts to give us the context of Eliza’s life from her childhood up until this point, then it shifts once more to conclude this moment. This itself is an interesting framework: telling the story through a lens of reflection by the protagonist, however there are pitfalls with this framing that this novel unfortunately falls into. Namely, (and at least in my opinion) there is an excess of telling the reader what is happening, rather than having the reader experience Eliza’s life alongside her. This isn’t to say that we should have to be shown every aspect of the story, but rather there should have been a better blend of these. To add to this, the past tense of this novel led to some very poorly done foreshadowing of events to come, and these moments felt very jarring and at times pulled me out of the story, or took away from the reaction that those later events had intended for me to have as a reader.

I would not have minded this excess if not for a stark fact that I realized while reading: Eliza isn’t the main character of her own story. That would be her husband, Alexander, as the book title itself implies. This arrangement is an interesting device, however it only works well if the protagonist (the person who you are experiencing the story from—in this case being Eliza) is directly beside the MC throughout the main character’s journey. Due to societal rules, Elizabeth did not get to experience what Alexander did right alongside him, therefore leaving the reader to be told again and again what was happening with Alexander (or people and things connected to him that Eliza couldn’t herself experience or talk to) as Eliza reacted—which isn’t super interesting in my opinion. And to this point, Eliza never established a goal for herself throughout the story that did not have some connection back to her husband, creating a narrative that was befallen by lots of repetition and telling versus showing. This in my opinion led to Eliza not feeling like her own character, and rather a vehicle for the audience to read second-hand what was going on in this world. There was nothing particular that stood out to me and made me want to care about Eliza, and I became more interested in what Alexander was doing off-page as the story went on.

A large focus of the book was of course the romance between Elizabeth and Alexander, and this in it of itself was alright, however I feel like the authors relied too much on physical aspects (notably adding a ton of sex scenes), and not giving a proper balance to our characters getting to know one another in conversation.

This was not helped by the fact that strangely, I hardly remeber there being any arguments between Alexander and Eliza. The only two that I remeber taking up a large portion of the story were in the aftermath of Alexander stepping down from the office of Treasury and challenging the entire Republican Party to a duel, and of course the “Reynolds Pamphlet”. When in reality, they very well may have had arguments and disagreements over all sorts of things—as this is only natural, and would have helped to make this romance more believable. For instance, they likely would have argued over the fact that upon the capital city being moved to Philadelphia, they would have to pack up their family of seven (Eliza and Alexander, plus their four biological children and Fraunces Antil, the little girl they took in) and move from New York City—their home of eight years. Furthermore, when we consider this from Eliza’s perspective, her biological family were only a few day’s travel away for that time. Having to move further away from them due to her husband’s work must have been hard on her, and could have certainly led to some anger. However, this is not acknowledged within the novel.

All of this isn’t to say that I think giving focus towards the experiences of women during historical time periods is bad. I actually think this should be done more, as we cannot fully understand a time period without understanding the perspectives and roles of every person involved. This said, the largest pitfall of My Dear Hamilton is that I belive the novel was set too early and therefore did not accomplish the goal the authors had set out. The large majority of the novel takes its time following the love story and marriage of Eliza and Alexander, and only the last hundred pages or so are truly focused on Eliza as the central figure—as these are set after Alexander’s duel with Aaron Burr. Having thought long and hard about this, I feel like there would be three ways to better tell Elizabeth’s story in this format:

Easy (for what is here):

Split this book into three sections. Take the romance (the current main plot as the novel is based around Eliza recalling her life with Alexander) and replace that status with something more internal to Eliza's character. Section one is a few chapters diving into her childhood, section two dealing with her relationship with Alexander, and section three is post duel.

Moderately Difficult:

Take this main plot and replace it with Eliza in her older age hunting down Hamilton's papers for publication. You can save all of these romantic moments in the form of relevant flashbacks. Side plots include: orphanage/other charity work, the actual writing of Hamilton's biography (Eliza struggling to keep lo one on the job, and she and her son John Church Hamilton, according to John’s daughter, had frequent fights due to creative differences).

Difficult:

Rewrite the current book from Alexander's perspective, since much of the novel is focused on him anyway. But really due to the fact that, in terms of character, he's more active whereas Eliza has done little in this regard and the plot is just falling in her lap. No timeline changes needed. You can still have the romance be the main plot, but it's helped by the fact that Alexander actively made later decisions in what he did within the fields of law and politics which would add both more depth and some subplots to the narrative.

The second option would in my opinion be best suited for telling Eliza’s story as relates to her impact on history. For without her efforts, we wouldn’t have such an interest in her husband’s historical impact or person. I would love to see a novel like that idea someday. I feel like it would be a very compelling narrative and with lots of care could provide us with a proper and in-depth look at Elizabeth which she deserves.

This got much longer than I thought it would, but I hope it is at least enjoyable to read. As I said at the tip of this post, you’re welcome of course to like or even love My Dear Hamilton, but these are just my personal thoughts from my own experience of reading the novel.

[analogplaysgamessometimes]

Yume Nikki (2004)

Publisher: Kikiyama (pre-2018), PLAYISM (post-2018)

Developer: Kikiyama

Genres: Exploration, adventure

Platform: PC (Steam)

Medium: Digital

4 Hours 54 Minutes

7.8/10

Yume Nikki is a game that until recently I assumed required no further introduction. However, after talking to some folks in my personal life, I've learned that this is apparently not the case. In the years since my youth it would appear that Yume Nikki and its legacy have faded into obscurity. I by no means think I have a platform sufficient for hoisting it back into the lime light. I do, however, have this little pen light here and I'm gonna let it shine and do my small part in telling people about this unique and important title.

If you were a terminally online weirdo who hung out in gaming circles back in the 2010s (like me), you may remember that there was something of an RPG Maker game renaissance. Titles like Mad Father, Ao Oni, To The Moon, The Witch's House, Ib, Corpse Party, and OFF were everywhere. Among them, standing towards the top of the pile, was Yume Nikki. Considered to be one of the first of, if not the inspiration for, this wave of indie games, Yume Nikki saw an initial release in 2004 and a final, finished release in 2011. It rapidly gained a cult classic status, it's surreal imagery and off putting, twisting settings set it apart as something special and drew players in. In Yume Nikki, you play as a young girl, Madotsuki, and explore through her surreal and often unnerving dreamscapes.

There is little point to the game beyond exploring. While there is an end goal, a way to "beat" the game, the point is the journey.

Honestly? What a journey it is. I will Firstly admit that I don't always love games this open. I don't want my hand being held but at least being pointed in the right direction is helpful sometimes. Yume Nikki was one such game where perhaps a little direction would have been nice, but I recognize that it fundamentally goes against everything the game is built on. The praise I have to give is the same praise people have been giving this game since 2004: the visuals are striking, unnerving, and make for a game world unlike any other I've seen. The way the game builds on and uses dream logic to set its rules, boundaries, and layouts makes it feel like there's always something more to find and like you never fully have a grasp on the situation. This lends itself to the atmosphere strongly, creating a well curated air of disorientation. The music is beautiful, haunting and serves as amazing backing for the visuals as well as wonderful homage to the games that inspired Kikiyama.

I would additionally like to add that the ending, while not the point of the game, may very well be my favorite part of it. It suddenly takes the strange, surreal, and occasionally light hearted things you've been seeing throughout your playthrough and juxtaposes them against grim, harsh reality. Everything the game had showed me up until that point became so much more meaningful when painted in such a serious light. I was forced to confront that none of it was actually real, and the things that maybe did represent reality were bleak and scary. It was a somber, bitter, and brutal ending but it truly made the game for me.

With that being said, Yume Nikki falls a tad short in terms of the modern games market. While it's a classic, the origin of a whole boom of indie games, and an important cultural touch stone in the history of modern games, I'm unsure how well it holds up. I think if you should want games where the ending isn't the point, where exploring and doing things in the world are the primary focus, there are now more options for that than ever across a myriad genres. While it's true there's only one Yume Nikki, and I will maintain it is unique, I simply don't believe there is enough readily accessible content to keep the attention of a modern player for very long. While there is a vast and expansive dreamscape to explore, after a while it can begin to feel samey. I felt like I'd seen all some worlds really had to offer after only a few minutes and was ready to just move on to the next thing. While I concede that perhaps this says more about me than it does the game, I feel it is still valid criticism.

Yume Nikki deserves its spot in the gaming pantheon as a cornerstone of independent game development and a truly unique piece of art. It masterfully creates and maintains its atmosphere while providing genuinely unique visuals and a beautiful, albeit short, soundtrack. However, it can't coast off these and these alone. It may be best to leave Yume Nikke in the past, a historical art piece to be visited by those like myself with a reverence for said history, lending instead our collective attention to the games it pathed the way for.

[garden-bug]

Let's fix Star Wars!!

(I said at the start of the summer and wrote nearly 100k.) (It needed a lot of fixing ok.)

Here is a fix-it fanfic but it's for three series and the entire sequel trilogy. I will be posting about this more because I am determined to finish it soon (and then redraft it wooo!).

Description:

Somehow, Darth Maul returns. (As a force ghost.) (Somewhere Ahsoka thinks is probably the living Force.)

This changes everything.

In other words: The Mandalorian S3 but make it Din/Luke; the Ahsoka series but make it EZRA AND THRAWN SPACE ADVENTURES; and ‘somehow Palpatine returns’ is ripped to shreds because I connect plot points and add new characters.

Chapter excerpts below!

Chapter 1 excerpt:

“Not as far as I remember. Oh, wait! I wanted to rule the galaxy… shame.” He rolls his shoulders again. “Can’t do much about that now. Being dead is quite demotivating.” “I’m sorry for your lack of motivation.” “Don’t make fun, Lady Tano. Have sympathy for this poor, dead, ex-Sith.” “I guess 'dead' is your only personality trait now.” “You preferred me before?” Ahsoka grimaces. She can’t argue with that. “No, sorry." “I will be honest,” Maul says, “I haven’t felt this peaceful since before I lost the lower half of my body.” Ahsoka fixes him with a reproving look. "You were Palpatine's apprentice then." “Yes.” Maul sighs wistfully, chin sinking into his hand. Ahsoka rubs her eyes. Maul has already given her a headache and they've only been talking for a minute. There is still nothing but darkness and flickering light, and Maul’s steady, yellow eyes. “Do you know where you are?” Ahsoka asks. “Why should I help you figure this out? You didn’t help me once. Also, in case I haven’t made it abundantly clear, I’m dead, so I don’t care what happens to you or anyone else who is still alive. Some of us aren’t so lucky, you know?” "If we figure this out, maybe I'll get peace. I really don't want you as a voice in my head." Maul grimaces. “B’ahor,” he mutters. “In the Al'har system?” "There is a dark power on that planet… I sense evil, but also… something else." His eyes burn. "Perhaps you will go there and die. That would solve this problem quickly."

Chapter 2 excerpt:

“What was that?” Mayan asks as they hurry towards the mountain. “That feeling… the…” “The Force,” says Ahsoka. “The Force exists all around us. It is created by all living things, it moves through them, and it binds the whole galaxy together.” “How do you know about it?” “I was trained as a Jedi.” Ahsoka is surprised when her face remains impassive. There is no flicker of recognition, no spark of awe in her eyes. She just nods. “In my village, people like that are called world breakers.” “There are more of you?” “There were.” Mayan looks away. “The legends say that world breakers can take a planet in their hand and shatter it.” “That's... impossible,” Ahsoka says. She wonders why she had never considered that remote planets may have different legends about the Force. “According to the stories, we are children of the Great Universe. If we follow its will, it will guide us... That's how it used to be.” Ahsoka means to ask if there is more to these legends, but Mayan comes to a halt suddenly and points to the rock face in front of them. “This is where the curse is,” says the girl. “Yes.” Ahsoka can sense it too. This is where the Force has been leading them. It reeks of Sith and of evil. Something terrible must have happened here.

Chapter 4 excerpt:

Fleeing vehicles kick up a cloud of dust, and Luke jumps up onto the roof of the adjacent building, crouching close in preparation to drop down. Sweat licks the back of his neck. For a stupid moment he thinks how this is the complete wrong time of day to be out, when both suns are high in the sky. Then he leaps. There isn’t even time to be annoyed as the roller-wheeler careers around the corner. “Peli, I told you to keep him inside!” “He wanted to see his dad!” Peli screams. Luke sends Grogu a withering look. The little guy sticks his tongue out from where he is held securely in the Mandalorian’s arms. “I am so sorry,” says the Mandalorian. Luke doesn’t even know where to start. “It’s alright, can you hang on to him?” The roller-wheeler jolts suddenly, and Grogu squeals in what’s probably excitement. “Yeah, but you can’t get through their shield with your lightsaber. I tried with mine.” “Ok.” Luke tugs the vehicle slightly to adjust its course. “We’re gonna have to talk about why you have a lightsaber later.” He senses annoyance from the helmet. “Did you kill a Jedi?” “Won it from Moff Gideon.” “You defeated Moff Gideon?” “Watch it.” The Mandalorian blasts a Pyke who was aiming for Luke from the top of a building. “Good shot.” The Mandalorian nods. Next thing they know, a Pyke has taken out the droid, and Luke somersaults off the roller-wheeler before it flips. He plants his feet in the ground and catches the vehicles momentum that everyone lands relatively unscathed. The Mandalorian caught Grogu immediately, so Luke draws them towards him, until his hand meets bescar. “Nice catch,” says the Mandalorian. Luke grins. “Is Grogu ok?” Grogu pops up over the Mandalorian’s shoulder. He’s a little shaken, but a smile breaks across his face when he sees Luke. Peli spits out a tooth from where she’s lying.

Chapter 5 excerpt:

“We’re even,” Boba decides. He makes a hand gesture for the blue liquor, which Fennec tosses to him with a roll of her eyes. Boba places his helmet beside him on the seat and takes a swing, acid-scarred face regarding him cooly. Luke bows respectfully. “Thanks a bunch.” Boba waves an arm dismissively. “Go see the little green guy.” He turns to leave, but Boba isn’t done. He comments, offhandedly, “I thought you would’ve gotten a few more scars since the last time I saw you.” Luke turns, puzzled. “Why?” “Haven’t you been Jedi-ing?” “Jedi-ing...” “Saving the galaxy.” “We... I did that.” “What about Tatooine?” Luke’s smile falters. “Tch. ∂ι’кυтℓα נєтιιѕє.” “What's that s'posed to mean?” “It means I don’t like you.” “He called the Jedi useless,” says Ahsoka. Luke meets her eyes, trying to stifle the burn in his skin. Ahsoka clears her throat. “We’ve been gone a long time.” “That’s why I want to rebuild what was lost.” Ahsoka looks at him for a long moment. “I know.”

Chapter 6 excerpt:

“σяιтѕιя!” Koska yells. “Bo-Katan Kryze!” Bo-Katan’s eyes widen, she drops her gaze and breathes softly. “Stop yelling.” “You… you…” Koska clenches her fists. “иιвяαℓ! αяυєт!” She kicks the metal desk, exclaiming incoherencies. Bo-Katan shakes her head. “What do you want me to do?” She sits back, hands out. “I don’t have any way to unite our people, and Mandalore is inhabited by a clan of psychos.” Koska’s lip trembles, but she bites it down. “We were going to follow you. We were going to get our home back,” her voice cracks. “Don’t tell me it’s all over now. After everything we’ve been through to get here.” “Mandalore, and my legacy, is dead,” Bo-Katan seethes. “Even with the darksaber, would we be able to subdue, or, live alongside that… Clan куяαу¢, knowing what they did to Mandalore?” “Just get the darksaber from him!” Koska says. “If you get it our clan will stop kriffing falling apart and we can take them down.” Bo-Katan slumps into her hand. “This is why we fell apart in the first place. We fought each other instead of the Empire. It’s not a path I am willing to go down.” “The others are,” Koska states. Bo-Katan looks up. “And they will,” Koska continues, eyes hard. “That’s why you need to decide what to do now before they decide for you, and we end up going down a path of self-destruction. While they’ll still listen to you, choose.”

Chapter 8 excerpt:

Ahsoka clenches her jaw. “Maul,” she grits out, “what did you do?” “Em, an… indoctrination ceremony? It was mostly just for fun,” he assures her. “Ezra thought it would be fun.” “You indoctrinated him into your clan?” “That’s…” Maul blinks. “Yes. He could be considered a son of Dathomir.” “And that’s why the night sister magic took him to Dathomir.” Ahsoka groans. “Well, this was a complete waste of time! Now I have to deal with Thrawn and get out of here somehow.” Maul nods, as though that had been his plan all along. “How long has it been since they returned from the unknown regions?” he asks. “I don’t know.” “Find out,” insists Maul. “Spending too long on Dathomir with the spirits of the night sisters… would not be advisable.” Ahsoka narrows her eyes. “How so?” “They will attempt to resurrect, using whatever means they can get their hands on. I wouldn’t be surprised if they sacrifice his mortal body to gain strength to cross back over into the physical world.” “Are they immortal?” “They are… like Force ghosts that can absorb energy. With enough energy, they can reconstruct themselves, piece by piece, until all they are lacking is a physical body. They will need many sacrifices to resurrect fully.” “Hold on… could you resurrect?” “I would prefer not to,” Maul says simply. Ahsoka’s eyes widen. “Okay… why?” “Haven’t you asked enough personal questions?” he snaps. “Leave. I’m busy trying to wallow in misery.” “Sure, okay.” Ahsoka shrugs. “But if you want to talk about it—” “I said go,” Maul hisses.

Chapter 9 excerpt:

The smaller tunnel winds further down, deeper into the centre of the planet. There’s the slightest movement in the air, vibration, and Luke recognises the energy of life forces and stops walking suddenly. “There are… people down here,” he says. Din casts him a dubious helmet tilt, and they continue until it is unmistakable. Voices echo through the tunnels, many, it seems, perhaps a covert worth. “Do you wanna go say hello?” Luke asks. “Perhaps they can help us find the living waters.” The tunnel breaks off into several other small passageways. This close, Luke can pick out the soft glow of light, and he gestures for Din to switch his torch off. When he does, they are plunged into darkness, but gradually, Luke’s eyes adjust to the light, and he leads Din by the arm towards the light and the voices. The voices hush suddenly. Luke pauses, he wonders if they should stop, go back, maybe confront these people somewhere they have more of an advantage. But Din steps past him, leaving Grogu in Luke’s arms. “тισи’¢υу?” “иι αℓιιт мαи∂σ.” “иυ тισи’αℓιιт ѕσℓυѕ?” “иαу¢… αѕн’α∂.” “к’σℓαя.” Din steps into the room. Luke follows after him. Inside the large cave, is a group of Mandalorians. One of them stands abruptly, blaster raised. “тισи’ѕσℓєт?” he barks. “єни,” Din responds. “тισи’ναιι?” Din reaches for Grogu, and takes him into his arms. “иєя ιк’αα∂. иι куя'тαуℓ gαι ѕα’α∂,” he says. The Mandalorian stares at them for a moment, then sighs raggedly, and sinks back onto the rock. The others in his group relax, but keep their eyes fixed on the newcomers. Their armour is in a state of disrepair, some of it clearly salvaged from the ruins. Some wear their helmets while others do not. The faces that Luke can see are pale and gaunt, as though they haven’t seen the sunlight in a long time and their torn clothes hang off their body in a way that makes Luke think of skeletons. “Do you speak basic?” Din asks. “We haven’t,” the Mandalorian says harshly, “since a long time.” His eyes are dark, hooded, his hair matted and entirely grey. “We are looking for the living waters,” Din explains. “Do you know how to get there?”

Chapter 10 excerpt:

Mayan has gotten better at interpreting binary speech, but she’s not quite there yet. It takes her a moment to figure out what the little beeps mean as she stuffs some out-of-date rations into a makeshift pack. “Um… we’re going to rescue Ahsoka.” R2 spins excitedly. Then he stops and says, “…. --- .--?" “I don’t know how.” Mayan ties her boots. “By now, the blue man will think we’ve gone, so we can surprise him, right?” R2 whistles uncertainly. “Well… there’s no other choice.” Mayan grips the lightsaber in her hand. “You said Luke can’t come… so…” R2 bumps into her as she walks towards the ladder. “Ow, that was my toe.” Mayan groans. “What is it?” “-.. .- -. --. . .-. --- ..- …!” “I know it’s dangerous. You didn’t want Luke to come because he’s an important Jedi, right?” Mayan squeezes past him. “If the blue man finds him it’d be bad, so it’s better if I rescue her.” R2 whistles a sad note again. Mayan clambers up the ladder one-armed, her other arm tucked into a sling under her cloak. It’s completely useless. She doesn’t know how bad the break was, but since it happened, the skin has gone from red to purple — the edges faintly green. If she tries to use it, a sharp pain stabs through her. The town is quiet this early — even the fruit vendors haven’t opened their stalls yet. Mayan sneaks around the side of the blown-up house, pulling her cloak over her feathered hair. She gestures for R2 to follow. She thinks if she can get to the mountain again, she can… well, she doesn’t really know. Mayan has always been good at getting out of dangerous situations, not getting into them. Maybe R2 can come up with a plan. “This is hopeless,” Mayan decides. They sit within viewing distance of the tall mountain base, hidden in a valley of rocks. “--. --- ……. -… .- -.-. -.-?” R2 suggests. Mayan rubs the wrinkly skin of her fingers. “I don’t want to give up, but I don’t know how to get in, or where she is. I’ve never even seen a prison before.” She pulls her knees up to her chest. “I don’t know why Ahsoka even believes in me at all.” “… -.- -.-- ……. .. … ……. .- -- .- --.. .. -. —.!” Mayan smiles a little. 'Sky is amazing,' R2 said. It’s nice that he gave her a nickname after she said she wanted one like Ahsoka had as a padawan.

Chapter 11 excerpt:

Their arrival must have caused a minor uproar. A dozen Mandalorians watch from every hallway Luke glances down. They are all blue, presumably Bo-Katan’s people, and they don’t seem happy. They are brought into a large hall, where spear-shaped windows bite into the ceiling, and white crystal casts a steady light over the room. A long carpet leads to a throne that resembles a hardened splash of lava, and on it, sits Bo-Katan. She’s really got the throne thing down, maybe even as much as Boba Fett. Luke would not mess with either of them unless absolutely necessary purely based on their throne demeanour. “What the kirff are you doing,” Bo-Katan says. She doesn’t yell, just sounds exasperated, maybe even exhausted. “I’m taking you up on the offer to join you.” Bo-Katan looks at him. Her amber eyes narrow, and she gets up, and makes her way towards them. “You’re too late now,” she says. Her expression touches on cold rage. “I’m barely holding this together as it is. With the arrival of your covert, things have only gotten worse.” “Mandalore is habitable,” Din says. “There are other Mandalorians already living there.” “The clans on Mandalore are belligerent and mad,” Bo-Katan snaps. “And the Empire has eyes on the planet. With the numbers we have, staging anything with only attract attention and get us all killed.”

Chapter 12 excerpt:

“You have redeemed yourself?” asks the Armourer. “I have,” says Din. The intense blue of the forge reflects off both of their helmets and the heat dusts Luke’s cheeks with warmth. “And you have acquired another foundling…” The Armourer’s tone shifts to something decidedly less serious and more akin to amusement. “What is the name of this child?” “Kymir,” Din says. “Kymir, do you wish to join our covert?” the Armourer asks the boy. Kymir looks from Din to the Armourer, brows furrowing. “He doesn’t speak basic,” Din says. “Kymir, тιαи’¢σρααиιя тσ αℓιιт?” he translates. Kymir bites his lip. “иαу¢,” he says. Luke infers that his answer is no. Din looks at the Armourer. “He has had a bad experience with his covert. He will not trust easily.” “Without a covert, he will have no protection.” “I will watch over him.” “At this time, you are also in need of protection,” says the Armourer, lightly. “You were almost killed this morning.”

Chapter 13 excerpt:

“Ahsoka? Ahsoka!” Mayan shakes Ahsoka’s shoulders, but her master doesn’t stir. She holds her face and tries to somehow will her awake with the force, but nothing seems to work. Her eyes remain closed, eyelids twitching minutely every few seconds. “Is she alright?” Leia asks, crouching by the broken tree Ahsoka rests against. “I think so… she goes into deep sleeps sometimes. I don’t really know what…” Mayan hugs her arms. “Um, is the Falcon okay?” “Ships fine,” Han says, an edge of annoyance in his tone, as he walks over to them. “But Ahsoka better wake up soon so I can ask her what in the hell just happened.” “We went through a portal,” Mayan says. Han squints. “How d’you know that?” “I’m a Jedi padawan…” Han throws his hands in the air. “Not another one! Come on, Chewy,” he says, “let’s go help Sabine get the engine started like normal people. Damn Jedi…force portals…” he mutters. R2 beeps in a pattern that Mayan recognises as a laugh as Han stalks off. “I hope Ahsoka wakes up soon…” Mayan says, mostly to herself, though Leia is still beside her. “Yes, well,” Leia starts, “we need to get back home. This was meant to be a drop-off, not another adventure.”

Chapter 16 excerpt:

“Come with me to Mandalore,” Din says. “But I don’t think I’m supposed to do that.” “Do you want to?” “Yes.” Luke glances at him from over his shoulder. “But I can’t,” he says. “I’m a Jedi, I have to follow the will of the force.” Din is silent for a long time, and Luke wonders if the conversation is over. But finally, he speaks. “I understand.” Luke huffs dubiously. “Really?” “Yes,” Din says. “I know what it’s like to be told that something that feels right is somehow wrong.” Luke’s stomach twists. Nothing feels right. Nothing. He let the force guide him here and now the force is telling him it’s time to leave. What if Din and Grogu still need him? He’s almost certain they do. But the galaxy needs him too. Perhaps his responsibilities lie elsewhere, maybe he got caught up in his emotions and mistook this for being the right thing. The problem is, Luke doesn’t know. The uncertainty makes him afraid. (Jedi should not be afraid.) He remembers his vision in the mythosaur lair and his throat tightens until he can barely speak. (Fear clouds one’s judgement.) “I can’t choose you,” Luke whispers, and a laugh catches in his through. “I can never choose you. Can you really tell me you understand that?” Din brings a hand up to his helmet. “I don’t know.” Luke stands up and catches his wrist. “Don’t,” he says. “I can’t let you give up your creed for me when I wouldn’t do the same for you.” Din’s hand falls. Luke stares into the dark visor, feeling further from his eyes than ever. The words of Obi-Wan’s Force-ghost echo in his head. “Had she said the word, I would have left the Jedi Order to be by her side.” “I’m sorry,” Luke says and lets go of his wrist. He steps back, gaze falling to the floor. If he wasn’t among the last Jedi… if the fate of the galaxy didn’t rest on his shoulders… But the Jedi are gone. Palpatine and Vader made sure of that. And now Luke has to spend his life paying for his father’s mistakes.

Chapter 18 excerpt:

“Leia, I don’t like this.” Luke tries not to squirm in his seat. If he had no appetite for the fancy Coruscant food before he certainly doesn’t now. “A Moff, after a force-sensitive child, working with a cloner? What the kriff were they doing?” “He might just have been after him because he was force sensitive and you know how the Empire felt about the Jedi.” “I wish I’d asked Din about this! I’m such an idiot.” “Who’s Din?” “Never mind. Okay, I’ve got to find out what Pershing was doing for Moff Gideon. I have a seriously bad feeling —” “Okay,” Leia says. “I trust your judgement. Are you finished? Let’s go speak to them.” Luke’s stomach swoops. “What?” “Sorry, farm-boy. Sneaking around isn’t how we learn things on Coruscant. You’ve got to play the game.” “What game?” “Politics, Luke.” “Oh great.”

Chapter 19 excerpt

“Good. I’m going down. Kymir and I can reach them fastest. Once we know where the creature lives we can go with a small group and rescue Ragnar.” Bo-Katan narrows her eyes, searching his visor for something to reassure herself. Din’s stomach drops when he realises that she’s desperately searching for his eyes. He touches her shoulder instead. “Keep them together,” he says, nodding in the direction of the others who are still reeling from the shock of the attack, some badly wounded. Bo-Katan sighs. “That’s what I’ve been doing for years, Din.” She shakes her head. “Let me wrap your arm. Take some more painkillers or you won’t be able to think when you’re down there. You might still lose the arm the way it is now.” Din stares at her. “Yeah, okay,” he says. “Okay?” Bo-Katan squints, winding the bandage around his arm which is thoroughly smothered in bacta. “I think you mean fuck.” “Fuck,” Din says. “It’s fine. I still have another arm.”

“∂ιи ∂נαяιи נσя иєя’вυιя נιι.” Din Djarin is… my… Din grabs a wall to steady himself. The words bounce around his helmet and his ears ache. He shuts his eyes, tries to focus on the words through the pain. They’re the important thing. “σяι’νσ∂ вυяк’у¢. ναιι’уαιм ∂яαgσи?” My friend is in danger. Where is the dragon’s home? “куяαмℓα.” He’s dead. “иυ ∂яααя!” Not never! “кумιя, уαιм’σℓ.” Kymir, come home. Din steps out to stand beside him. He tries to stand straight. He pulls out the darksaber with his good hand. “gαα’тαуℓιя,” he says, and ignites the blade. Help me. For a moment, nobody moves. Then, somebody asks, “ιвι¢… иι ¢єтα?” Will this… redeem us? Din looks at Kymir. Understanding wells in his eyes. "Do you forgive them?" “иααѕα∂ мι’ѕυя’нααι,” says Kymir. Not in my eyes. Din nods. Good. “мєн’gαα’тαуℓιя, нιвιяαя gαя иι ¢єтα.” If you help us, you may learn to forgive yourselves.

Grogu frowns in concentration. He peers out of the window, ignoring the computer completely, but his hand shifts on the stick and suddenly his eyes widen and he presses the button down. It hits the dragon and the creature screeches in agony, twisting up into the sky to escape from the onslaught. “Mu?” Grogu turns to Din. “Uh, lucky shot,” Din says. “I wouldn’t shoot without aiming first, kid. Wait, actually… can you use your Jedi stuff to aim? Is that what you’re doing?” Okay. What would Luke say? Something like… “In that case, just focus, and… listen to the — is it called the Force? Yeah, listen to the Force.” Grogu snorts. “What? Wouldn’t I make a good Jedi?” Din smiles, but Grogu can’t see it.

The guns bombard the remaining dragons with enough firepower to essentially obliterate them, and litter their scaly corpses across the ground. Boba-Fett lands his ship with a whoosh of hot air. Din stares as he lowers the landing ramp and marches towards him, Fennec following closely. “Thought you could use a hand,” says the gruff voice. Din tries to speak but his legs decide to give out. “Woah, there.” Boba keeps him upright with a firm hand on his shoulder. “Let’s get you inside, Manda’lor,” he says. “Someone oughta throw you in a bacta tank,” says Fennec. “We don’t have a bacta tank.” Bo-Katan scowls from the cave entrance. “What are you doing here, Fett?” “I heard there was a get-together on Mandalore. Someone must’ve missed my invitation.”

Chapter 20 excerpt:

The magic tethering her to Dathomir tugs sharply on her wrist as she falls again into the familiar darkness. And then stops. Ahsoka can hear her breaths this time, sharp and cutting, and she scrambles to her feet, searching for — “You…” “Get away from him,” Ahsoka snarls. Leia’s lightsaber ignites with a burst of blue. Palpatine, or whatever’s left of him, has found them. His dark cloak drowns his physical form, making him almost impossible to discern from the flickering darkness, if it wasn’t for the ghastly, misshapen white of his face. Yellow eyes melt through the darkness, and grey lips stretch in a triumphant gleam. “He is of no more importance,” Palpatine snarls. Maul’s body twitches in the air, hands grasping desperately at his throat. “Let him go,” Ahsoka says. “S-sever our dyad,” Maul gasps. “Don’t let… don’t let him…” Ahsoka rips her arm free of the green string. “No!” Maul cries. Now there is no going back. “I will not leave you with him.”

“Grand Admiral, Sir, permission to speak freely?” “Permission granted, commodore Faro. You know I always value your input.” “Well, Sir, we’re kriffed.”

Chapter 25 excerpt:

“Thrawn,” Eli starts, looking into his red eyes, “y’know I—” The security feed beeps. Eli’s eyes widen when he sees Ezra waving up at the camera from the supply room. Eli clicks the comms. “Um, Ezra, wha’d’ya think you’re doing there? Actually, how’d you even get on board?” “Space portals!” “Right. I see.” Eli rubs his forehead. This is going to be a long day. “You need anythin’?” “You won’t believe what happened down there,” Ezra practically yells. “Anyway, I need the key now because we’re locking Dathomir so this doesn’t ever happen again, then we’re all jumping through a space portal to you guys. Is that alright?” “Sure. See ya in a bit.” “Excellent,” says Thrawn. He turns to Eli. “What were you going to say?” Eli sighs. “Moment’s gone. Alright, let’s get this data ready for Ezra-kid to look at.”

[noisyballofvoidmuffin]

I just finished the second season of Good Omens and that was the most heartbreaking thing I've ever watched. That said, I must go on a rant. (/pos)

Ok, unlike the first season, I've had a couple moments where I was feeling second hand stress and had to pause before resuming my watch. Which just means it was very well written, directed, and acted out (!!!), but man 😭

Ok so spoilers ahead from now on. This rant is vaguely structured but mostly chaos bc I'm writing my thoughts as I think them. This is your last warning to avoid spoilers.

Won't check if anyone's still reading bc I'm mostly writing this for myself, so. I'm kind of like Agnes that way. I publish my thoughts just for the free copy of the book.

Anyhow, yes.

The way Aziraphale's behaviour so dramatically changes the moment he's no longer bound by heaven's rules, already seen on the bench scene at the end of season 1 is so??? Goodness, like, it becomes so obvious that Aziraphale had to control himself so many times so as to not get in trouble with heaven.

He lies, doesn't just avoid answering questions like Gabriel did. He tempts people, or perhaps it may be better said that he manages to persuade them very well, but he managed to get everyone to come to the meeting he planned. He bribes some of them, too.

I honestly don't believe any angels are going to fall. Or at least there's no plan for them to be up until now (end of s2). There's no word (in the series) of any Angels falling since the original war. So far at least. Don't think heaven wants any of their angels falling. Aziraphale would've likely fallen twice over if that were the case.

I absolutely dislike Metatron btw. Don't get me wrong, he is doing his job just fine in the narrative, more than such. But somehow during the series I had the feeling that Heaven was a greater evil/threat than Hell ever was and Metatron is just the icing on the cake.

The moment his facial expression dropped before following Aziraphale out of the bookshop just oooooh [seething, subdued adoration for how brilliant that tip off was].

Another thing I immediately had to glare at was when Aziraphale got into the elevator with him and his shoulders dropped. As if he wasn't sure Azi (getting tired of writing out his entire name :')) would get in with him. As if he was unsure.

Also, what's up with all the angels talking about the Great plan? It's not the ineffable plan, they won't call it that, their behaviour sure points towards that. The angels under Gabriel didn't seem to know the answer to Aziraphale's question about whether the two were the same thing. Metatron was much more secure in his wording. I suspect he's not actually acting out on God's will. At least not just that.

Metatron also didn't seem at all surprised at Crowley not taking up the offer to become an Angel again. He didn't react on it at all actually. And again, he said he met him. He said he remembers him and his questions. I presume he's at fault for Crowley's fall.

The angels seem to be so blindly obedient to the Metatron. So trusting.

Yes, a second Prince of Heaven falling would point out the issue in heaven. Even more so than, idk, the fact that an unknown but probably huge amount of Angels fell in the first place.

Talking of which, there was an actively decreasing amount of warrior demons. Where/Why/How was that happening? What were they dying to? If not dying, what were they doing?

Heaven is also rather empty from what it seems. Could be on purpose of course. But, egh. Logistics.

Also, Aziraphale. You lovable DUMBASS. Crowley is the one demon who likely knows best why neither Heaven nor Hell are good sides to be on.

Why did you get on that damned elevator after hearing there would be a second attempt at Armageddon???

Didn't you literally fight to stop the first one??? Okay sure, perhaps it was bc you think you can make a change but come. On.

Onto the acting, because I am not over it. Not at all.

The way the expressions and tones of voice, and the inflection, and just qjfkgkkbmamfvn

If you can't tell that kiss killed me inside. Both before and after.

Perhaps I am heavily biased towards the theories I've read before watching the series but come. ONNNN!!

Back to the series, i have seen someone point out how it seems to be from the pov of Aziraphale, as shown by the diary/journal entries we seen. I won't get too into that, but I do hope we get some of Crowley's perspective of some stuff next season.

Kind of funny how both heaven and hell seem to demand unquestioned obedience from their people. And that neither of their highest in command (God/Satan) are the ones to actually run things.

I've ran out of juice, might continue this rant another time but.. Idk

Feel free to add onto anything I might've mentioned on this. Do keep in mind to keep spoilers under a read more if you do please.