#but the overall theory i dunno about

[imdead770]

anything for Luke and a daughter of hecate, ANYTHING FOR THEM......

had to do my research for this one

for context Hecate is the goddess of witchcraft, magic, ghosts, stuff like that. There's probably more but that's what I got from my one minute google search

I kept this kind of fluffy because I wanted to switch it up, I hope that's okay! If you want smut feel free to request again 🩷

Enjoy!

Luke didn't known much about your mother, most people didn't. She was one of the smaller goddesses. Well, not small, she just wasn't as well known as Athena or Aphrodite. He had heard her name a few times around camp, not thinking much of it. He didn't pay much attention to the name until he realized your own name was associated with it. Whenever you came to camp, eventually getting claimed by Hecate, he started to do his research. He started listening if one of the counselors talked about her or reading more thoroughly if he saw her name in a book. He wanted to learn more about her for one reason; to get closer to you.

Once he learned more about her, he started seeing the resemblances between the two of you. Your long, silky dark hair was exactly how some book described your mother, as well as your overall beauty. If Hecate hadn't of claimed you, it probably would have been Aphrodite. It also made sense why you and some of the Hades' kids were close, you were all connected to the dead. Another thing that made you alike, you were magical. Something about you almost made him feel as if he was put under some sort of spell. Every time you walked into a room, smiling and laughing, it was as if you enchanted him. Every time he was the cause of your laughter, he would melt, almost as if you had cursed him to fall in love with you.

He didn't know how, but your godly parent eventually came up in a conversation. And God's had he prepared for this moment.

"Yeah, she can control ghosts and magic n' all that, right?"

All of that research was worth it. The way you looked at him, your face holding one of your signature, beautiful smiles.

"Yeah... she can. How'd you know that?"

"Uh... I dunno, I've just always found her interesting."

He managed to get out that excuse, you seemed to believe it. Your smile only grew, sending butterflies into his stomach again.

As the two of you kept talking, your mother fading away and the conversation becoming more natural, he was all smiles. He was smiling for a few reasons. One being that he was proud of himself for being productive and learning about your mother. The main reason, though, was you. How your lips moved when you talked, your sing-songy voice leaving them as you joked around with him. He hadn't realized he was starring until you pointed it out.

"Luke? Are you okay? You're like zoning out or something."

"Hm?"

He forced himself to look away from your gorgeous smile, meeting your eyes. They looked stunning. The light hit them perfectly, giving them a magical glow as if your mother was casting a spell from Olympus. As if she and Aphrodite were cursing him to fall head over heels in love and not have a single say in it. Once again he was zoning out, gazing into your eyes like a lovestruck fool. He could've mustered up another excuse if he kept his mouth shut. That only confirmed his theory of being cursed.

"You have really pretty eyes, yknow.."

Shit. He didn't even mean to say that, the words just left his lips. Your mother must've hated him. He wanted to go and dive off the dock and never come back up for air. He was about to go do so until you spoke again.

"Yeah..?"

Since he had been looking down like a flustered idiot, he hadn't noticed the way your smile grew after his words. He hadn't noticed the way your eyes lit up, nor the way you were blushing yourself. Not as badly as him, but you were still blushing.

"..Yeah."

He looked back up to meet your eyes again, finally noticing how your smile became a grin. He couldn't help but mimic the expression, it was infectious.

He didn't notice how you had scooted closer, bit he did notice how you leaned in. He noticed how your beautiful eyes softly closed, and he especially noticed how your lips met his. It all happened so fast, but Gods.. it was magical.

[nautilusopus]

okay FIIIIIINE i'll throw my hat into the Goncharov ring

Been a while i've done a proper movie breakdown, may as well be this one.

Rather surprisingly (but perhaps not too surprisingly given the unexpected renaissance of things like the original Dracula and Breaking Bad on this website out of seemingly nowhere and with very little prompting), I'm seeing a lot of new people suddenly interested in Martin Scorsese's seminal film classic Goncharov, originally released in 1973. Obviously a movie like that doesn't make it coming up on 50 years without generating a lot of discussion about the different ways the movie resonates and why, but coming into it in 2022 there's been so much cultural cruft that's collected around Goncharov that (similar to stories like Fight Club and Scarface) it's a little hard to parse what it's actually about with all the mythologising that's gone on around the characters.

Those movies, in one way or another, are about portraying the downfall of their protagonists -- Fight Club's after ironically creating another system of control and dehumanisation and becoming what he sought to destroy, Scarface's after being consumed by the wealth and power he's amassed. A lot of people assume it's that kind of story, because aren't most well-loved movies? However, I think this is ironically an assumption made because of the genre of film it is. All the people that aren't going, "OMG Goncharov is so cool and badass and fucks bitches," are going, "WOW I can't believe Goncharov is a cautionary tale about power corrupting," and in the process people miss that Goncharov is first and foremost about loss, in all its different forms.

I'm both kind of surprised and frustrated people miss this, given how utterly pervasive the movie is with its clock symbolism -- it's the one thing everyone remembers about it, it was in all the tie-ins. I dunno, maybe that got funneled back into the theory where they're meant to reinforce how Goncharov is just a mortal man at the end of the day, which is fine I guess, but the movie overall becomes a lot clearer when you interpret it through the lens of, "These things are gone and you can never get them back; clocks don't go backwards."

One of the most fascinating things about the movie is how every character embodies a different kind of loss. I'm gonna ease into this and start not with Goncharov but with:

Rybak, who is usually associated with loss as we typically think of it, i.e. the loss of loved ones via death. This comes up all the time, either in his trust issues (why he's being such a prick at the wedding), in the card game (he never bothers to bet much money, knowing he's bad at poker, and still loses all the same). Rybak is terrified of loss, cannot manage it, and ultimately is punished by losing what few people he had left and then being spared by Lorenzo who deems him punished enough, and is forced to survive, to grapple with what his life is now without them.

Goncharov's is actually more subtle, and it's loss of small, insignificant things as a result of the larger losses he believes he's processed. This is something that's frequently contrasted against Rybak. The pawn shop going under is actually a microcosm of this whole thing. Goncharov anticipates that this is obviously going to lead to financial issues for him, plans accordingly to deal with this, and... it works! He's saved! Except that means card games can't be hosted at his place anymore, given it's burned to the ground. Does this matter, in the grand scheme of his life? No, of course not. Poker night still gets had all the same. But it is different now, and always will be. Little things like this continue to add up, until something as insignificant as a towel -- a towel that never should have been in his room, but Sofia is no longer there to drop off his laundry and chat with him -- is ultimately the final nail in a coffin built of insignificant splinters, each one an imperceptible change underneath the much more larger, noticeable story beats of things like grief.

Otto is the big obvious one I'm not gonna linger on: loss of his youth, moments in the past that he wants to redo but can't. Most people at least seem to have gotten this one.

(This is also what the clocks get associated with a lot, which again, doesn't NOT make sense but also if it were just for this one character that, while thematically important, was honestly just a side character with limited screentime and only two scenes, would they really be all over the movie before Otto's name is even mentioned?)

Sofia's a bit abstract, and is the loss of self -- of the familiar anchors we have to who we are, what we think our core principles are, our place in society, who we want to be to our loved ones -- and by the time she dies she is rendered utterly unrecognisable to herself, and is horrified by it. She grieves herself the same way Rybak grieves his wife (even gets a direct visual callback via the way her face is lit when she's burning Lorenzo's check). You see echoes of this in Goncharov as well, but while Sofia is grieving the person she used to be, Goncharov is grieving the world around him (even though really, it's the same world it always was -- time keeps ticking on, one second per second, and neither one of them can ever un-fire that gun).

Lorenzo, tragically, gradually loses his freedom (and maybe in a parallel world would actually be the protagonist of a movie where he chokes on his own hubris like everyone seems to think Goncharov is GRUMBLE GRUMBLE). As he comes into his own more and more by his family's legacy, he is afforded fewer and fewer options about what decisions he can even make. Arguably he was doomed from the start, but the further he clings to power as a means to freedom, the more it drives him to destroying everything he ever (thought he) cared about. The tragedy of his character, and what makes him a good villain, is that he can clearly see what he is doing to himself and he absolutely hates it (his walking out early at the wedding is a tacit admission of this), but his absolute refusal to accept loss, to accept grief and pain and all the awful shit that comes with the human condition, is what causes him to toss aside every out he has because if he has enough CONTROL over his situation, surely he will never have to lose anything ever again. But, really, he already has.

I dunno. Goncharov is one of those movies that is great, and everyone seems to realise it's great, but nobody ever really puts into words why, and that's how you get Fight Club fans lmao. And it sucks because the actual discussion around the movie beyond "it's another hubris story but REALLY GOOD guys" is so much more fascinating and a much more earnest emotional truth that just never gets talked about.

[artmunstudios]

Lies of P Character Analysis: P and Carlo

Spoilers for the ending of the game lie ahead under the cut!

I have been seeing a lot of people refer to P as Carlo, specifically in the Rise of P ending, and I think it is very important to think about this fact, because it kind of goes hand in hand with the themes of the game overall. And on top of that, it's important for when making theories too!

P isn’t Carlo—he never was, and won’t ever be no matter what ending you get. Not even the Nameless Puppet is really Carlo. (His corpse maybe which is,,,,, so fucked)

I'm kinda driving this home, because I think it is really important to understand the difference between P and Carlo, because despite Geppetto claiming that P inherited his personality instead of the memories, they clearly are very different people, and that is solely because of their environments.

He’s much more like a reflection of Carlo, if he was raised in a more loving/nurturing environment. P is a Carlo that isn’t solely filled with nothing but spite and anger towards his father that literally abandoned and clearly even resented him. Compare this to the people around P at the home he knew, Hotel Krat.

Sofia— Never once really says a bad word to P. Not even in the bad ending. She is that gentle guide that, despite claiming to have awakened P for selfish reasons, acts entirely selfless and is willing for her freedom to be put on hold to help P in aiding in lessening the damage in Krat. She compliments him, gives encouraging words, and I would even dare to say she teaches P the value of life.

Antonia— Grandma. Of. The Year. Can we please give this classy lady of all sass and glory more than a peaceful death? Like???? I dunno, sneak her a bottle of that good wine, Tipple Lady seemed to really dig it. If she wasn't so sick I am more than certain that she would have been doting on P more than just verbally. I'm talking that kind of grandma, and you know exactly what I mean. This lady would somehow find a way for there to be ingredients for cookies because goddammit, she may be classy but I bet you any money she makes the best goddamn peanut butter cookies and YOU CANNOT TELL ME OTHERWISE. Every time P would come back all dirty, he would get the scolding of a lifetime because how many times does she have to tell him to leave that dirty coat and boots at the entry and let Polendina get them for a wash— And finally, if she were well enough you know damn well P would have been even more classy than he already was with those outfits. She would spend an entire day going through wardrobes and having P try each outfit on to see what looks good, because no grandson of hers is going out in drabs she will not have it— Ahem. Er. ANywayyy...that grandma. she would be that grandma. And still kind of is, she just couldn't do much being so ill. And, kind of on the flipside, I think Antonia in a way taught P the importance of death, and how it can be drawing near, but you can still be full of hope like she was.

Polendina and Pulcinella — These two taught P a very important lesson, and even taught it to him fairly early on! Puppets are not inherently evil; in fact, they can be just as alive as any human. They both love the ones they take care of, and provide that sense of kinship that P really needed. In a way, P is biracial (racial....or...????bispecies???? I????? I don't know what to call it?????) so seeing both sides of each half in him is such a great influence, and helps him realize that he may be different to both, he can belong in both worlds.

Eugenie— Sweetie. Babygirl. Bestie. She was thrown into the position of big sister so fast she didn't even realize it until like. The end of the game, I think. That conversation about her big brother seemed to make her realize that she was a big sister to P in a way, I think. Which is why the realization about her own older sibling made things much harder, I think.

Lorenzini— An eccentric, but genuinely kind hearted man. A human, that despite everything, still treats the puppets as family. Hell, he doesn't even convinced that they are the villains, and he is the one to actually initiate the whole path to when the group discovers that Geppetto is the one behind the frenzy. 1000/10, coolest uncle; he probably will buy P so many ridiculous things the moment things have calmed down in Krat. What's that? Oh, yes you need a place to stay--HAVE A HOUSE. DO YOU WANT THE BLOCK I CAN BUY YOU A BLOCK-- (Pulcinella has to withhold finances because Lorenzini will NOT stop buying P shit, and the poor lad doesn't really have a concept of money so of course he's gonna accept it all and just say yes!) .... (The realization of P not really having a concept of currency suddenly startles me. WHAT IS HE GONNA DO WHEN KRAT IS RESTORED??? POLENDINA WHY DID YOU RESET HE NEEDS FUCKIN HELP— )

Geppetto— Ah. Yes. Rat bastard (derogatory). Deadbeat dad. Control freak. YOU. I will. Give him this, and I do genuinely mean this; despite everything he has done, and how manipulative he is, he, ironically, gave P exactly what he needed from a father in some ways. Specifically, Geppetto always reminded P that he was precious and important to him, and that he genuinely did not like sending him out into dangerous situations. Even though, it was for different reasons, and the majority of us were suspicious from the start, we have to think about it from P's perspective. Think about all the things he said to him, until the end at least. P had legitimately no reason to suspect Geppetto. In many ways, as far as P could tell, he was perfect. Encouraging, gentle, he made sure P was always in tip-top shape, and he told him that he was proud to see him fight the King of Puppets (yes it's fucked up knowing it was Romeo, Carlo's possible only friend, but again, P doesn't know that until the very end). In a way, he taught P his own worth, to the point that he valued his own individuality, and refused to give up his sense of self. And in the very end, I think Geppetto realized that P was not Carlo, but he loved him like a father, despite everything.

Gemini (I FORGOT GEMINI AND HAD TO EDIT TO ADD HIM IN CAST ME INTO THE FUCKIN FIRE I AM A FAKE PINOCCHIO LORE FANATIC) - Gemini, in my opinion, in this iteration is less of a conscious and more of a??? He's kinda like Romeo's replacement, in a way; he's P's best friend. He kinda also teaches P humor as well, which is honestly a take on the talking Cricket that is so unique. He's like that awkward teacher that is young but still a little out of touch with the generation he's teaching that it's like the equivalent of hearing your 30 something professor tell a fucking dad pun. Speaking of teaching, he teaches P a lot! Especially history, and cultural stuff for Krat; and I think that's also really important for development! And it is really sweet how he still, despite Krat being in disarray, tries to kinda give the city that sense of wonder and joy for P that maybe other tourists would have.

Now, contrast that with Carlo's life:

His father drops him off randomly at a place he doesn't know (a fucking orphanage dude, you couldn't even be fucked to ship him to a proper private school at least Geppetto?) at we can assume age 10-12, without even bothering to tell him when or if he would come back, based on that first memory we see. How many more sleeps until daddy comes back? Geppetto couldn't even be bothered to see his graduation, and he claims that he would not care if he just dropped over dead. And, I'm gonna be real, just based on the line delivery, as well as some personal experiences (get into that a little later with some dissection) I fully believe he means it. I'm gonna be real, the people who say stuff like that, specifically older kids edging adulthood, most of the time they really mean that shit. And, to make matters worse, it's not even just Geppetto that brushes him off, even people that you could argue are supposed to be mentor figures, brush him off. But we don't know enough yet about the Stalker Woman, so I won't go too deep into that. Right to his death (which we have to assume was homicide) it seemed like the entire world, but Romeo, rejected him.

In a way, it makes sense that the Nameless Puppet is just a rage-filled, calculating, killing machine when it gets P's heart. It doesn't inherit the personality, just the memories. And that, with the kind of life Carlo lived, makes for a very dangerous being.

Let's also think about what Giangio said, too. He calls P a new kind of human. P doesn't just magically get human guts and whatnot. He's not human, he's a cyborg, I suppose, but even that doesn't seem entirely right. It's just kinda as Giangio calls him; a new kind of human. I guess, if we want to get cheeky, P is a Legion Human. Carlo was human, and that's just how it was. Carlo never comes back, but the memory of him does seem to live on in P. He's like??? He starts off as a reflection, and ends up becoming a legacy to Carlo, in a way.

But there is one huge indicator yet that shows that P and Carlo are separate people.

I'm gonna be honest, and say potentially a bold take, but I genuinely don't think Carlo would have cried if he were there when Geppetto dies, I really don't. Just speaking from personal experience (yet again), I have an absentee parent that, the older I get, I kind of realized was never really in my life. Similar to Geppetto in a way, too, in the concept of wanting more of a concept rather than actually being a parent. So, just speaking from that perspective, if my absentee father who never bothered to get to know me or even cared about who I was as a person died in such a way (lowkey from his own hubris) I can't say it's realistic to think that someone with that kind of relationship would cry for that parent. Feel sad? Absolutely, it's not like you are heartless and just lose all sense of apathy for that person. But it's hard to really mourn for a stranger at worst, and a associate at best.

However, P does cry. More than that, when you see him curl over Geppetto's body in the true end, that right there, is fucking despair. Again, just kind of speaking from experience, your body does some weird shit to cope when you are upset over a death. You kinda revert back to that state of being a kid, wanting to coddle your precious thing because when you were at that age, you believed that things could be fixed with stuff like a hug, or cradling, etc. It's not a conscious thought, but that is part of the reflex. P holds Geppetto, the man that he genuinely sees as his father, close; because it's the only thing he knows what to do in that moment. If we think about Carlo and Geppetto's relationship, can we really see Carlo holding his father close like that?

TLDR: P and Carlo are two entirely different people; and it is almost solely because of the environments they were in.

[dreemurr-skelememer]

Consider this--

Dream and Nightmare are trans NOT because they were '''sex-less''' fire blobs thingys but because Nim created them from her own body, and since she's female, she would've just be able to produce XX chromosomes for them, so that would be that they're afab.

But this is just a therory, and gender theory (don't take this seriously lol, i'm aware that they're skeletons)

Anyways, as a trans person myself, i don't like much the idea of them being trans/agender due to them being genderless when born. Maybe it's just me but i don't like when a explanation for a character being genderqueer is something *super* 'unatural' or cosmic in nature. I dunno mannn,, Me craves for more characters in the fandom that are just gender nonconfroming because *they want and feel like it* man,,,,

dawg im gonna be so real with you, i see what you mean, but as a trans person: uhmm i dont mind???? them being just being genderqueer because theyre not natural and i dont think it's a bad thing whatsoever???????

you didnt say anything about it being bad at all but youre really wording it like its an iffy thing? 😭

i personally write them as non-binary because of the . same exact reason you wrote so this overall just feels like a bit of a weird thing to say LMAO i quite. like. the aspect that they're not cis because they're literally genderless blobs. it's really that simple. sometimes we don't need to overcomplicate it..............is all. gender identity can just exist and doesn't need an overarching reason to be. some people (including me) headcanon their gender that way because its just....gender! sometimes we don't need or want to think about it that much

enjoy your headcanon and theories!!! i appreciate it but word it a bit less...side-eye-y towards other headcanons.....??????????????????

[lyss-sketchbox]

(To start, I've been enjoying reading your and folks' various perspectives on Natlan, it's interesting to see different breakdowns/thoughts)

I do have a theory on the flippancy though, and I may very well be horribly wrong, but I suspect it's intentional. The whole nation is being taught, more or less, that this war they're fighting is a game. It's fine if you die, we'll bring you back. It's fine if you fight the Abyss, we do it all the time. And yet. We see that folks' Ancient Names can be lost and not recovered, that you can't fully recover from Abyssal corrosion, and that hey, actually, Kachina is a terrified kid when we see that projection of her. It may even be part of why the nation is struggling so much with creating their Contending Fire. I also think Mavuika plays into this narrative.

Primarily, I think (or maybe just hope) her overconfidence is going to be her hubris. Traveller expresses concern about the time she has to gather the warriors and she's non-plussed, "eh, I trust the Wyob". She's got A Plan and it's going to work, according to her. But I dunno about that ma'am. She also says weirdly definitive statements that I don't think are fully accurate like "humans can't know their fate" and "the only thing that unites the Fatui are collecting the gnoses" that lead me to believe she puts full stock in her conclusions as soon as she feels she has an answer and doesn't exactly question any further.

Honestly? It would be nice if they set up this whole thing of the nation being so casual and Traveler buying into it only to tear it, crashing down, around everyone. How long can the nation avoid taking things seriously before everything comes to a head? (Perhaps why Capitano isn't interested in brute-forcing things overall? Or maybe I'm giving him too much credit, lol)

What an interesting take, genuinely

So Mavuika

It would definitely play the part of being a pyro archon and how pyro vision holders are often extremely confident and high spirited. It would make sense if the pyro archon embodies that kind of value.

This also lines up with what the previous anon said about how she wanted to be reincarnated because its HER plan and she wanted to see it through even if it means offing herself early.

(I dont remember the ending dialogue was i did it all at like 4 am so yeah please fight me on my takes)

She also seems very quick to make MASSIVE decisions like using a good chunk of her power to keep the Contending Flame alive right then and there even with the concerns of some people. Then she was just as quick to burn all the mementos gathered for centuries when the group sent to find Kachina didnt make it.

I feel like maybe she couldve waited before keeping the Contending Flame alive. And while the Contending Flame IS more importang than a single girl, based on the time we spent in the Night Kingdom. It doesnt... feel all that long. She couldve waited. Use her power to save us. Rest for a while then fan the Contending Flame. Saving us from the Night Kingdom didnt feel like a permanent loss of power while keeping the Contending Flame alive does.

To be honest, she IS human, WAS human before archonhood. Shes been human TWICE now due to her reincarnation. I can understand humans wanting to prove to higher powers and beings such as fate that they CAN hold power over themselves. But being human, being NATLANIAN means she has worshipped to Wayob as well at some point. Hence putting her faith more into them and their ancient names.

The Plot of Natlan

I will admit here that i am biased and there is only 2 acts so far. For all i know theyre still setting up the chekovs guns and they may pop oh so beautifully in late acts and i am too harsh on the set up acts.

But i can understand if the people of natlan has been trained their entire life to numb themselves of the true horrors of war. Because they live constantly in it, if they are in constant fear, it is not good for morales or the ancient name holders either.

And if they were written to be so chill so that hoyoverse can pull the rug under us even harder then well good on them because i will be COMPLETELY honest.

I cannot see them pulling this without making it cliche or shallow.

Because we all already know SOMETHING is gonna go wrong. The abyss will reach natlan. The contending flame will die. The 6 heroes will reawaken and help Mavuika fight off the abyss for good. We know it will happen. The only issue is how to get there and how to not make it cliche as fuck.

Because for one they pulled the anime training montage for Kachina where we get told she is actually really good, she has been training so hard with Mualani but we literally dont get to see or feel it. But oop she defeated mualani.

They pulled the power of friendship when Mualani talked back to lector in the night kingdom.

They already spoiled how Ororon was the traitor because HE WAS STANDING NEXT TO CAPITANO IN THE TRAILER.

It feels way too messy for me, way too unserious and uncoordinated both in game and advertisement materials. I almost feel like capitano, 1st of the fatui harbinger, probably shouldnt have been responsible for natlan because dude can out espionage them (or maybe natlan and capitano are both as equally uncoordinated who knows).

Well for NOW i think they have a generic base plot. I would be very willing to declare how wrong i was about natlan if act 3-5 managed to fucking mindblow me. But yeah as you can see i am not hopeful that hyv have half the brain you have about the plot.

[noemitenshi]

You mentioned before you had a theory Troy is a virgin. Why is that?

Hi nonny :) I gotta be honest with you, it's pure vibes 😂😂😂

Ok, let my try a more serious answer... So, there's not a lot of textual evidence either way… however. Fromt what we are shown of Troy in s3, he seems very much to be an all or nothing guy. Means, at least for me, that I can't see him having had casual sex. If he did have sex I think he had to be deeply in love with this person(s). But since he makes no reference to love lost or anything like that, not even once, not even a little, I don't think he'd been in love before. Additionally, consider his dating pool; I think it is rather small. Sure there are other people on the ranch he could've dated but again nothing like that is shown in canon (like what I could believe is that he had something going on with Mike… or well, I could understand if people thought that haha). But overall he doesn't seem interested in anyone on the ranch in that way. Then there's of course the nearest town (where he presumably went to school, and then later on where just Jake went to school)… I think his bad reputation probably made the rounds there, too, so it's not like people were lining up to meet him… And I don't think that Troy sought out social situations like, dunno, going out partying or whatever. Later on hanging out in a bar.. can't see that either honestly. He doesn't seem interested in "frivolous" things like this. Then there's Jake's friends, as potential partners. Though I think Jake warned everyone he brought around off Troy. I also believe that he didn't really bring people over often - ashamed of his family, his drunk parents, his out of control brother… So even if Troy tried to hang out with them I think Jake made sure he didn't feel welcome (I think he may have humiliated him… Troy's not easy to scare off but humiliation from his family (=ppl he cares about) might work. I base this on his reaction when Madison went "wanna be a mama's boy?" and all that). So yeah, I get the sense that Troy hasn't experienced love yet (and thus no sex) which is why he's so responsive to Madison and later on Nick - though I think in both cases this isn't a romantic love - if you favor another HC that's valid too :) Just not my cup of tea. In either case he's been starved for love/affection all his life, is my point.

(Also personally, I just love writing Troy as a virgin, experiencing his first time late in life, every touch felt so strongly, the way he'll get overwhelmed so quickly from almost innocent touches, a few kisses… the wide-eyed, trembling expression he's sure to make at his s.o. as if they are his world, his lifeline… It's a lot of fun)

Thank you so much for the ask and have a great day 🧡

[bluedeedeedoop]

My Thoughts on Tales of the Empire; mostly Barriss (spoilers ahead!)

Ah hello all, i have had some days or so to think since watching the show and to say it has completely wiped me of my life force would be... pretty accurate tbh. BUT I HAVE FINALLY DECIDED TO POST MY THOUGHTS. will this cover my entire though process that im sTill working through? PROBABLY NOT! my thoughts are very unorganized and very unstable! ANYWAAAAYS.

Now I just gotta say overall, the show itself definitely passed the test. To be completely honest, i wasn't really paying attention to the Morgan parts as i was the Barriss parts, since it was literally what I was looking forward to this entire time.

Though I will say that the first Morgan episode was pretty neat! it was crazy seeing that perspective of the Nightsisters again and god did they make Grievous fucking terrifying. Honestly, bravo to them, it was amazing. I diiiiid end up just.. kinda spacing out the rest of it tho unfortunately cuz i just wanted to see barriss..

Visuals 10000/10. stunning, amazing, phenomenal, gahdamn. the animation was so smooth and fluid and uGHH it was amazing throughout the entire show. Acting amazing as always. BUT GOD I CANT GET OVER HOW AMAZING THE ANIMATION WAS.

NOW.

In my opinion, they got her character pretty on the dot. I am SO glad they did. I was rlly rlly worried they were totally butcher her character and make her unrecognizable to all of us but oml they didn't completely disappoint us, she has her morals, SHES STILL A HEALER! Im so happy from that.

Now although i did enjoy it, i do have my own little complaints.

Now okay one i noticed since the trailer and has REALLY been bugging me; where are her hand tattoos??? idk i guess i just wasn't expecting them to just be gone?? they couldn't have just forgotten them.. right? I dunno, but unless someone has a genuine answer for that, imma just keep drawing them on her in the future.

??????

Alright another thing i've been seeing ppl post about is how come she looked so old at the end? I am also confused on that and i've seen multiple theories. She should only be like 30-35 max right?? Because i'm assuming the last episode took place a the time in Rebels where the inquisitors were after the force sensitive children, and Ahsoka was around that age a the time, so why is Barriss any different?

I suppose the one i think makes the most sense is the force healing? I guess it could take a toll on her over the years causing her to look more aged, but still, i'd really prefer an explanation. Also what happened to her hair coverings?? Is that not her culture?? I dunno, again, i really need an explanation. I suppose that maybe her perspective has changed since trying to come to terms with her new life, and her ditching the coverings is a way to free herself from her past? Honestly i have no clue but i just need a lot of things answered.

That's mostly my complaints on it! I just felt things weren't explained enough but to be fair, they only gave her like 3 15-ish min episodes?? I really think they got some explaining to do. Which brings me to my next points.

I'm like... 98% sure that the "old friend" is Ahsoka that she was talking about. Who else would it be?? Like cmon. And if it is Ahsoka, why did we not get to see anything about the moment of confrontation? or at least more of a mention? I guess they wouldn't rlly wanna rush that scene, and tbh, im glad they didn't. It's not some "we talk for 5 min and everything is fine" type of situation. it'll take time. time to rebuild that trust. time to discuss. YEAH. I've heard many people state how it would be more likely and realistic to see a novelization of that and i agree. I would want it to take time, showing the build of the relationship over time, going on further into the story as we watch their strong bond mend from the trauma it's faced. I'm not saying this as a crazed Barrissoka shipper, i mean it that I would genuinely want to see how that confrontation is handled, as do many others and not just as a ship!! It's been a decade! the fans wanna know!

And my last point.

I.believe.Barriss.is.alive.

The more i rewatch it, the more i believe it. the first time around i had my doubts, but something tells me they are NOT done with her character. At least before the stabbing scene anyway. There's too much stuff that's left unanswered for it to just end that way! I dunno man, but Lyn's "i'm going to get you out of here" sounded way too determined for a "im going to move your body out of here" type of thing yk? maybe she could sense she was still alive, just barely hanging in there? I don't think they are done with Barriss Offee, and I wont think so unless we see her corpse being fucking BURIED. Not to mention the UNGODLY amount of parallels of that scene along with them exiting the cave. I've already seen so many point it out. Post-Vader and Ahsoka fight on Malachor?? Back when we all thought Ahsoka may or may not be dead?? sounds familiar hello?? Also a parallel from earlier in the show itself when Barriss saves that unnamed jedi! she HEALS them when they were going to be left there. Something tells me the same fate may happen to Barriss. Idk call me crazy but i will say it again, i don't think they are done with her story.

Thank you for reading my very unorganized thoughts! this has taken me longer to write than expected because i did not predict this to make me have to step away from making SEVERAL times- but yeah! lmk what yall think! and yes you can be expecting some art here and there! i know i've been slacking- Also lmk if u want me to post my crazed Barrissoka thoughts! because aHa i have them. i have them a lot. send help.

ALSO KEVIN KINER I GOT MY EYE ON YOU. BRO NEEDS TO RELEASE THE SOUNDTRACK BEFORE I DIE.

[deusvervewrites]

I think you're right with Bakugo losing his quirk being something interesting for the series. I get that the intended reading (or at least a rather common interpretation in the fandom) of his character is supposed to be that he's generally completed his redemption, but to me it feels like its still got a lot to cover, mostly because I don't think that it dug that deep into his mindset or really made him actually reevaluate Why he wanted to be a hero.

I'm not saying he didn't have a character arc, its just that what arc was there was very slow paced, and kinda makes it look painfully slower when you compare it to the constant escalation of the rest of the plot. In theory its an interesting look into how changing as a person comes slowly, but in practice there's really only so long I can stand watching some little dick waffle about on whether or not he should treat people with basic human decency when he's looking to take on a position of power.

Like yeah he starts to respect his classmates, but to me it feels more like that respect came solely from recognizing their power rather than realizing that everyone deserves respect. It would be a solid start to an improvement arc! But no, its at what a lot of people think to be is the peak of Bakugo's redemption.

Especially in regards to Midoriya. Everyone cheers on the fact that he now sees him as a rival and even finds joy in their competition, but it currently falls flat to me because. its just validating Bakugo's power-based worldview now that Midoriya has a quirk. like sure he respects his heroic skills but does he respect him as a person?

But now, if he's lost his quirk... He's going to have to fully confront How Exactly He Fucked Up. No rationalizing that someone deserves his respect because they're as powerful as him and can compete against him in a game he's gonna win! Its either he rethinks his entire worldview or he wallows in his own misery at being quirkless, and there's no way that the story will go the second route, especially if Midoriya's own quirklessness sticks.

And honestly? that would be the most fulfilling ending to his character to me. Bakugo not being a hero would probably piss a rather vocal portion of the fanbase off, especially if Midoriya pulls off becoming a quirkless hero, but it would be very satisfying to me in particular, so. Yeah.

(OOPS this got long. My bad. I just started typing and it just spilled out)

I mean. I wrote a 1300 word essay on the problems I have with Bakugou's character arc. And like I said, his dialogue is worded once again to place value in Midoriya's Quirk over him. Personally I was hoping that Bakugou would be the Quirkless Hero because it would be a poetic inversion of how the series started while also showing a mindset that doesn't put that kind of value into Quirks.

Bakugou has some really good moments. The Final War has done a lot of good with him and addressed most of the issues I've had with his character overall. But with Bakugou you never know when you're gonna get a moment where he, I dunno, spitballing here, overhears that Midoriya lost his Quirk and starts crying because they can't compete anymore. Or physically attacks Midoriya for slapstick comedy. Wouldn't that be a weird writing decision? Making a joke about how Bakugou still attacks Midoriya? Over 250 chapters in? That'd be fucking weird.

[dalesramblingsblog]

In honour of an episode that seems consciously about the construction of narratives around fundamentally meaningless aspects of the universe, a Twitter conversation with one of my last remaining mutuals to survive the Muskening, lightly repurposed to serve as a singular, narrativised Tumblr post in a way it was never designed for.

Who says art is dead?

73 Yards was strange and haunting and not entirely comprehensible in a way that Doctor Who seldom manages.

I suspect it's one where personal tolerance for that sort of thing will make or break the episode, but I certainly think that, knowing this was Gibson's first filmed episode, she did a phenomenal job.

It was also, for me at least, a more generally successful invocation of the kind of eldritch horror implied by the Toymaker or the Maestro, largely by virtue of it giving itself room to be ambiguous.

I've seen the complaints about stuff like the PM being a blank slate, but I do rather feel like that might be the point. It's an episode all about perception and projection and narrativisation of a universe that can be cold and hostile and incomprehensible.

(And frankly, I'm starting to suspect that the whole of RTD2 might be about that on some level. "We see something incomprehensible and invent the rules to make it work" and all that. It's audacious and bold in a way that Doctor Who hasn't been in half a decade.)

And as someone for whom those themes really hit home a lot of the time, yeah, I loved it. I know I probably sound like a broken record but I am genuinely just having a blast with this latest series.

The worst thing Doctor Who can ever feel like for me is an obligation that I only keep up with out of a need to stay relatively current in writing about it, and that was what the Chibnall Era often boiled down to for me.

Part of the reason, in hindsight, I poured so much of myself into my book reviews was that the show itself was simply failing to excite me with the level of regularity necessary to keep me engaged.

Knowing that I can put on Doctor Who on a Saturday night and be reasonably well-entertained and intrigued is, frankly, enough for me, but I do think there are enough aspects of genuine quality that I'm not just blindly worshipping at the altar of a false idol or w/e.

I dunno, I think at the end of the day I'm just a big sucker for TV that makes sense to me on an emotional rather than logical level. It's why I'm a big fan of Twin Peaks, or the second season of Millennium, or hell even Masks over on TNG.

The episode had the general feel of one that will be quite important to the overall themes of the season, so I can't imagine it will linger in *complete* ambiguity forever (though honestly if it did I would kind of love that).

Like I wouldn't be surprised if we're building up to a similar time loop reveal wrt Ruby's general existence. The fact that we've now got at least three instances of her timeline being haunted by mysterious old women cannot possibly be coincidence.

(Well, it can be, but that way lies goblins, as we know.)

IDK, there's a strangeness to Davies' acknowledgments of mediality here that goes even beyond Moffat's usual tricks. Casting a recurring actress by the name of Susan Twist while conspicuously mentioning Susan for the first time in forever feels so on the nose that while I initially suspected we might be building to the return of Susan, I now feel like we're instead headed for something much weirder.

There is so much going on and so much to unpack and frankly I don't have any idea how it could possibly tie together but I'm fascinated.

And again, the fact that this episode was almost explicitly about the process of fans theorising as to what the hell is going on with the season makes me further suspect a rebuttal of theory-focused cult fandom is in the offing.

When I first watched Once, Upon Time in 2021, I commented that it felt like Chris Chibnall's attempt to do a big, bold, incomprehensible piece of television, something almost in the vein of Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 8 but for Doctor Who.

But it's revealing that the only thing he could really think to do was dump a bunch of Doctor Who lore and simply edit things out. He's a mystery writer in the most tediously literal sense of the phrase, creating gaps that feel like they were made with a hacksaw rather than feeling like any sort of deliberate lacuna.

And I'm sorry Chibnall fans, there are some Thirteen episodes that I do like, but when I look at an episode like 73 Yards... whatever its faults may be, and I'm pretty confident I don't actually believe it to be perfect, it is bolder and weirder than anything Chibnall ever wrote. This is the kind of television I want to watch, and I make no apologies for that.

It's a rare piece of Doctor Who which comes close to capturing that sheer, terrible splendour I felt watching a slow zoom into an atom bomb explosion while being serenaded by the Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. And sure, it's still very far out from being quite that strange, but it retains a curious power nevertheless.

What a show.

[zabo-writes]

Bad Boys Fae Bakery Part 1

Tango was feeling tired and sluggish and overall terrible. He was far due for some caffeine. After all, it was only 10 AM. He’d been up all night doing redstone, and he couldn’t very well stop when he was on a roll! This seemed like a good time to check out that cafe Etho was always going on about…

What was it he had said again? “It’s a pretty good cafe, but watch out for those baristas! There’s something going on with them, if you know what I mean.”

Tango nodded solemnly at the cheeky vision of Etho that appeared in his brain.

The “Bad Boys Bakery and Cafe” was quite a sight. The sign appeared to be hand-painted. In a rush. By a blindfolded second grader. Respectfully. The inside was warm and inviting, decorated with some nice lanterns. It seemed nice ish. Tango wasn’t really a decorations type of guy. There was an Etho seated in the corner, Tango gave him a wave.

“Welcome to the Bad Boys Bakery! We’re the Bad Boys, and we make a mean cup of coffee, or whatever you fancy!”

The barista at the counter had fluffy blonde hair and big brown puppy dog eyes. He wore a black leather jacket and dark sunglasses — that was certainly a choice, but Tango thought he pulled it off pretty well. He was pretty cute. Maybe that’s what Etho had been talking about, the thing going on with the baristas. Too charming for their own good.

“Hey there! I’d like whatever has the most caffeine, please and thank you.”

The barista— “Jimmy” according to his name tag— laughed and pulled out a cup and a sharpie. “Okay, okay! I’m picking up what you’re putting down. How’s an iced coffee?”

Tango pretended to think for a second, “Hmmm, I suppose! You’re the expert.”

Jimmy gave him a shy smile. Now, maybe it was the 18 hour fugue state talking, but Tango was starting to think this guy was into him.

“You got it, boss! And can I get your name?”

Already on a name basis? Total score! Or not. Maybe that’s just how coffee shops worked. “The name’s Tango!” He paused, winked, and continued, “of the ‘Tek’ variety.”

The barista looked far too ecstatic for someone taking a name for a coffee order. “TangoTek? Is your name TangoTek?!”

Tango laughed. Maybe his sleep-deprived charms were more effective than he’d thought. “You got it, buddy!”

“Oh my god. Yes! Okay! Thank you. Thank you so much, you have no idea. Uh, your coffee will be right out.” The barista practically ran into the back of the cafe shouting, “JOEL, GRIAN!! You aren’t going to believe this, but it WORKED!”

Tango shook his head fondly, and walked over to sit across from Etho.

“Did you see that, dude? That barista was totally into me.”

Etho peeked an eye out from between his fingers— his face had been buried in his hands for some reason. “I dunno Tango, but I think you’ve definitely made his day.” Etho responded, holding back breathy laughter.

“What? What do you mean? Why are you laughing at me, huh?!”

Etho smiled his stupid smug grin that he did when he knows something you don’t. Jerk. “Oh nothing, nothing! You’ve just given me some… interesting data for a theory I’m testing.”

Tango groaned, “Ugh, fine, fine, spare me! ! I can barely understand your wack job social experiments when my brain isn’t spaghetti.”

After a few minutes, Jimmy called his name at the counter.

“There you go! Uh, just a sec though, I have a bit of a request for you Mr. Tan-go-tek, is that okay?” Jimmy seemed nervous. No clue why, though. Also, Tango liked the way he said his name. Made him feel like he’d do anything in the world for this guy he just met.

“For you? Anything. What’s up?”

Jimmy looked at him intently, “when you come back some time, do you think you bring some wheat seeds? I know it’s a bit of weird ask, but it would help me out enormously.”

Tango grinned reassuringly. Wheat seeds. That was easy! He could do that next time he stopped by, no problem. “You got it! A stack of wheat seeds, coming right up.”

He tried to wave at Etho as he left, but Etho was currently shaking from a fit of uncontrollable laughter. What a weirdo. Tango picked up some wheat seeds on the way home.

[gancegancerevo]

Arknights Hortus de Escapismo Thoughts

An aspect about the story that I found interesting is how it shed light on the fact that Laterano and the Sankta have a stake in both the fate of the Sarkaz and the Church of the Deep. This can kinda be extended to the conflicts around the Seaborne and the Demons (but not as much for the Demons [haven't played that stupid Minecraft gamemode so I wouldn't know]). Laterano seems to be on the verge of a change and while we have an idea of who might be involved, what that change will bring remains to be seen.

I feel Stefano's ending captures the ideas they wanted to express with Andoain way better then he ever did.

Firstly, the age of Stefano gives his grievances a gravity that is lacking with Andoain. This applies both to the era of Stefano's life and how many years he's actually lived. Stefano has lived so long and that gives off the feeling that he knows what he's talking about when he speaks of his trials.

Secondly, Stefano's pain is much more palpable. Andoain advocates for outsiders but he doesn't give off the vibe of an outsider. He feels like a Laterano Sankta who just so happens to differ on this one issue. Stefano on the other hand, is a member of the abbey first. He is unsure of the Lateran Sankta even though they should have empathy to connect them. He fights for the Sarkaz because his principles built on experience cannot deny their humanity even when it's the best course to let them go.

Finally, Andoain just isn't rooted in this conflict. His inciting incident is wanting Lock and Key and breaking his team apart because of it. He leaves, starts a sort of cult, and just stops by because he can. Stefano on the other hand has to grapple with questions about Paradise because that is where both his faith and troubles lie. What is Paradise? Is it worth to enter a Paradise that runs counter to your principles? What does it mean to believe when your faith mandates some inhumanity? All these questions and more define the abbey's choice of going to Laterano but they plague Stefano most because he's their religious leader. And he used (and bent) religion as he saw fit because his principles, though rooted in faith, come first. Stefano (and Hortus de Escapismo as well) embodies this conflict is a much more depressing way than Guiding Ahead because they actually gave thought to what value Paradise holds when you have to watch it turn people away.

It's the difference between theory and practice in a sense. Andoain v. Yvangelista XI was a lot more talking and philosophizing. Stefano and all the rest of them have to actually grapple with the choice before them. Because they are actively being separated from family by seemingly nonsense rules. The higher-ups can wonder why the rules are unreasonable but they're not the one who have to slice their own heads off because their kin might be massacred based on their past crimes.

All this is to say that I am kinda disappointed that everything can be traced back to Arturia and her Arts. It makes an interesting series of events built on the divisive nature of Laterano seem hollower than it is. Like, oh if only Arturia's ride got here on time maybe Fortuna wouldn't be Fallen and Gerald wouldn't have killed himself (but Oren still had the troops so I dunno)

As much as the ideas explored were interesting, the Laterans themselves didn't see much development aside from Executor and even he went from brick to pondering brick. I don't know how good of a story this was overall; maybe a 6 out of ten because I do like it, just not as much as others of its type. Hopefully Viviana's event would give the Giallo siblings a better showing but whatever.

[a-student-out-of-time]

Hey there! How are you?

I dunno if you heard, but Danganronpa Mauve Chapter 1 has been traduced recently, the Free Time Events are currently being published as well.

If you've watched it, what were your thoughts about the plot and characters (victim and culprit especially) ?

//Hey there! I've been meaning to get to this, and now that Zeph has finally posted the FTEs of the key characters in question, I can share.

//See, I never like viewing character behaviors and actions in isolation within the within the killing game and especially not in the trials themselves.

//Now that we've got some context, let's analyze:

//I'm once again annoyed that we're going through Hope's Peak Academy for like the fifth or sixth time, because I'm tired of this damn place and the people running it. That's really more of a me thing than a problem with people who make these games, of course, since it's already an established setting.

//More to the point, I like that Mauve is actually doing somethings differently. For starters, we actually got to switch POVs permanently this time, where our original protag was replaced partway in. Even then, Hiruto and Nozomi both had chances to not only have their own characters, but interact as well.

//I like this cast overall, and nobody annoys or infuriates me as badly as some others I could name : P

//I hesitate to give my opinions on a fangan before Chapter 1 is complete, hence why it took me so long, but I think it was pretty solid, if a bit derivative in its setup. Not bad overall.

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

//However, props for actually killing a protagonist and doing so in a method nobody's done before, using the morning announcement's bell as a cover. That was a twist I genuinely didn't see coming.

//The game did so much to build up Misaki's character, and if you're a long-term fan like me, you're aware that can be a bad sign. I was so certain that she'd be killed or get got in a technicality, but no, she actually had nothing to do with this.

//Also, in kind of a hilarious experience, I used to make some jokes about Hitomi being blind since I thought her eyes being closed was more of an aesthetic thing like with Brock from Pokemon. Meanwhile, I made a prediction that nobody in the group setting up her concert would be the killer, since that felt too obvious to me.

//In the end, my theory was wrong but my jokes were accurate. Hitomi actually IS blind and our culprit was a member of that group.

//Specifically, none other than Kotori, who i never would've thought at first. And yeah, the elephant in the room here is not only her method of killing but also how utterly nasty and elitist she acts at the end of the trial. Something that really cemented the fandom's view o her as a terrible person.

//However, I wanted to see her FTEs before I rendered my judgement, because those are often the best sources of context for behaviors and attitudes among the cast.

//Sure enough, there was a lot to learn from them. Now, I can completely understand why people don't like her- frankly, her attitude does get pretty grating- but it's also kind of hilarious how her character conflict boils down to her feeling unsure about her relationship with her teacher now that she's surpassed his skills.

//Kotori Fukuoka, Suffering From Success.

//More to the point, watching her FTEs really does clear some things up:

Kotori's attitude and open insistence that she's a narcissist, always talking about great she is and how full of herself she is, actually leads me to believe the exact opposite. She doesn't think much of herself and is trying to prop herself up through that attitude.

Watching her FTEs, she never says anything half as elitist and nasty as she did in the post-trial. She never insults Hiruto or Nozomi or anyone else, never implies untalented people don't belong in Hope's Peak and actually apologies at the end. Compare that to someone like Byakuya, who can't shut up about how much he looks down on everyone. I agree with the idea she only said this stuff at the end to retroactively justify the killing to herself.

Her backstory is actually pretty credible, where her sensei- a friend of her parents- was the one who invested so much into her at a young age and wanted to show her what baking is like, even naming a bakery after her. It was thanks to that, and him offering to let her study abroad in France, that she got to make it into the franchise it is by the time Mauve takes place. But now she has no idea what to think, since she's surpassed him as her teacher, and it's clear she views him like a second father. These are the kinds of things that also drove others to become the Blackened.

She says that baking is the only thing she's actually good at. Once again a fine example of how being an Ultimate stunts and limits what people can do, and when that's gone, they feel like they have nothing else.

//So no, I don't see Kotori as just an inherently bad person. She's an arrogant little snot who needs her ego deflated, but she's nothing like some of the nastier characters we've seen out there, who trample over others without a second thought. We need to consider that the Killing Game often brings out the best and worst in people, especially when they're driven to murder.

//People don't reveal who they "really are" at the end, they say and do all kinds of crazy shit because they're afraid of dying. People reveal who they really are when they're most comfortable, like they often are at the ends of their FTEs.

//Overall, I'm really looking forward to Chapter 2 and where we go from here.

[khalewren]

Sonic character music HCs

 I’ve been obsessed with both the Sonic the hedgehog series and Music in general for over a year now, so i figured i could combine those interests in a fun way. I’m gonna describe what kind of music i personally think the characters would like/listen to. And just so you know, this is just my thoughts on it, i’m not saying im right or anything. And while i am trying to match these genuinely, it’s also not something i’m taking fully seriously. I’m just doin this for fun :)

I also suggest looking up some of the terms/artists/genres i use here if you’re not already familiar with them! Might help you understand my reasoning a bit more, and who knows, you might even find a new favourite artist 👀

Oh, and one more thing. While i am of course going to go off of music i’m familiar with, i’ll try to avoid assigning characters music that i like just because its music that i like. That being said, i will of course, be just a tad bit biased. Anyways, time to start with the blue boy himself!!

Sonic

Sonic is somewhat easy. Seeing as how his main thing is standing up against tyranny, i imagine he’d definitely be a fan of punk. At first i thought of pop punk specifically, due to its high energy, but i feel like Sonic would find it a bit too commercial. Same thing with skate punk. I feel like anarcho-punk could be a little more up his alley? Maybe something like chumbawumba.

Oh, and personal bias time: I think he would like King gizzard and the Lizard wizard due to the themes of enviromentalism.

Example of Sonic’s music taste

Tails

Now, i’m completely split between two different paths here. The first option is EDM. Just overall music that sounds electronic, maybe dance, i dunno. The second option however, is one that i personally prefer: Just like, music with weirdass time signatures and polyrhythms n shit. Math rock, Prog, that kinda stuff. Specific bands i’m thinking about is Tool, King crimson, Black midi, maybe even KGLW (again, personal bias). Tails would think music theory is fucking dope and would be OBSESSED with this kinda music lmao.

Example of Tails’ music taste

Knuckles

Now, this is the rare instance that i feel justified in being biased, because his level themes in sa2 make me believe that knuckles is a hiphop head. Specifically, instrumental hip hop. I think he’d be a big fan of J Dilla’s style of hip hop production in general, with the soft fuzzy feel of songs like The light. Otherwise i feel like he likes some boom bap, like Illmatic.

Example of Knuckles’ music taste

Amy

I honestly feel like Amy is the kinda person who enjoys like, any type of music? Like this gal will listen to some chill folk music and then go directly to hardcore industrial rock lmao. I think her favourite genre is pop though. First artist that pops into mind is Carly rae jepsen, not only because she makes great pop music, but also since her songs are often about love, which i feel fits Amy pretty well. She’d probably like something more off-kilter like art pop too. She LOVES Björk, i feel confident in saying that.

Example of Amy’s music taste

Shadow

I’ve noticed that this one is quite varied (and if you’re curious, i don’t really mind the whole taylor swift thing, but i also don’t really care for it either), but i want to bring up a genre that i haven’t seen anyone else suggest Shadow being a fan of: Shoegaze. I think he would find the whole noisy, dreamlike, nearly overwhelming feeling of shoegaze calming. I don’t know, there’s just something about Shoegaze that makes me feel like it fits shadow perfectly. Only bands i really know are Slowdive and My bloody valentine, but i still feel confident in my opinion.

I also feel like the idea of him enjoying indie folk (something like the mountain goats) but would not be caught DEAD listening to it is really funny. The day that rouge finds out will not be a happy day for anyone in a ten mile radius.

Example of Shadow’s music taste

Rouge

Now, there’s a very easy answer here. Jazz. But i feel like rouge would also enjoy stuff like Soul and funk. She’d also check out music Shadow listens to, both to annoy him and out of genuine interest. Not much else i have to say here tbh.

Example of Rouge’s music taste

Omega

Harsh noise.

Silver

Similarly to Amy, i think Silver enjoys practically anything and everything, and is also super open to trying new stuff. If he has a preference though, i think he enjoys dance music? Or just electronic stuff in general. Daft punk comes to mind, specifically Discovery.

Example of Silver’s music taste

Blaze

I feel like Blaze is someone who simply hasn’t been able to listen to a lot of music yet? Her friends (particularly Silver and Amy) have given her a bunch of recommendations, and while she doesn’t have a preference yet, she has enjoyed some of the stuff that they have played.

Vector

On the complete contrary to Blaze, Vector is a supreme Music nerd. You name an artist or album, he is at the very least aware of them. He’s the kinda guy who will talk about some super obscure folk album from the 70′s and refer to it as if its some kind of holy grail. It’s great. He would have a vinyl collection, but due to the chaotix’s financial situation, he settles for CDs instead. Again, he enjoys practically anything, but i feel like his favourite genre is progrock. He also remixes music for fun.

And thats it!! I’ll try to think of more that i can add in a reblog, but for now, this is all that i can think of. Again, this is just my opinion, but i’d love to hear some of yalls thoughts!! why you think im correct or wrong or however!!

[cherry-dr0p]

I WISH TO RAMBLE!! IM NOT GONNA INCLUDE IMAGES BECAUSE I DONT WANNA BUT HERE WE GO

HUGE TWF4 SPOILERS

I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY!!!

Im not gonna lie, the start kinda had me like "This is what I waited ages for?" But then when the animatronic testing came around, thats when my interest truly started to pick up.

First of all, WHY WOULD YOU TGINK THAT FACIAL RECOGNITION FOR ANIMATRONICS IS A GOOD IDEA??? GENUINELY DID NO ONE HAVE THE COMMON SEMSE TO GO "HM, THIS MAY END NOT GOOD". Like I kind of understand the appeal for it because they may want the kids to feel,, more connected to the animatronics?? I dunno. But like?? I can understand for that time period the desire to have the animatronics interact with the audience (Not saying its a good idea but at least I can understand with this one why they may think it is in my head), but cmon..

Then from what I remember, the sprites came. And Good god did they creep me out slightly when I first saw them, especially Edd and Molly. I dunno, there was something extra creepy in my eyes seeing kids' faces messed up like that. Crazy. I also screamed when I finally saw "Bon" because Ive been keeping up with the Twitter TWF community somewhat, which means I already technically knew about "Bon". It was pretty cool to have him finally introduced in the actual story himself. Also Charles and Susan talking about Felix's addiction and if they should tell Rosemary and Jack(?) is crazy.

Aaaahhh but then the scene with Jack came around. Was rooting for him ngl. I honestly thought he died at the well scene but I dont see any correlation to that quite yet,, mayhaps. Felix almost jumping did make me feel a tiny bit bad for him bit like,, still. Fuck you Felix. I still hate him and 100% think hes getting what hes deserving. He feels guilty? Good. He should.

I cant remember if the Susan scene comes after this or not but I erm uh,,, That was VERY well done!! It gave me chills how you could still hear her breathe. Genuinely. The blood as well and Rocket closing their eyes?? Crazy. The jittery animation drove me insane, it was such an amazing detail that made things far more uncomfortable.

I cant remember where abouts the other Felix scene came but,, HE DOESNT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH ROCKET. I DUNNO,, DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN TAKE IT WITH YOU?? PUT IT IN YOUR HOME OR RESTAURANT?? WHY DID YOU THINK THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA. I SWEAR, MY GUY HAS NEGATIVE BRAINCELLS... But I also think we all know why he's so attached,, him getting haunted by the kids is wild.

The last scene very much makes me think "Bon" is Jack. I unno, very much could be wrong but just the way he talks and is dressed makes me think he is. The fact that he knows so well of what hes talking about and the voice,, maybe the general face shape too. Me thinks its either Brian(Ive saw that theory floating around) or Jack, but Im more leaning towards Jack. It also freaked me out slightly the way Susan came on all deformed too, that was freaky. The voices of all the characters in this new afterlife were very VERY cool too. And the whole mask being given and "Bon" talking about making her "beautiful" too? That was cool. The scene with Edd and Molly debating whether to save Susan too filled my heart with a weird sort of awe. They have a great relationship as siblings together imo, I do very much love their dynamic.

It'd be cool to see the other two episodes for the finale which I think are coming out very soon!! Which is very exciting!! I 100% reccomend TWF4, it's phenomenal and the wait was 200% worth it in my eyes. You can definitely see the developers heart and soul being put into this project, which is very nice to see. In my eyes, you dont see it often. I dunno if I missed out a scene or two from my rant but overall? I adored watching this (Ive already told some of my friends to watch it >:3).

Rant over anyways, buh bye for now :3

[narwhalandchill]

also finished the 4.7 AQ and like . well firstly rip to all the sinner theories where it was like could it be nibelung or someone else and all like that was a bit tragic but thats the nature of theories i suppose. i do think it makes sense that the bigger players arent just all going to be figures we Already know of but yea.

overall i think it was like. quite good but also kinda suffers from the way these quests just Have to be an annual thing especially with how short it was? i saw a comment being like this feels like it shouldve been the epilogue to caribert and i kinda agree . also as much as it is appreciated that we Do get some direct answers to big lore questions in the quest was kind of a exposition dump in that sense . fade to black w the abyss sib and dain duel was certainly a Choice 💀

caribert truly is a sweetheart man i didnt expect him to pop up but i feel so bad for him now. except for the loomzoning atossa thing i get that he had no choice on the matter but that was rough for ur girl 😭😭

iiiiiii dunno how to feel about the whole we forget all about the reunion anyway when traveler Remembering as a descender has been established as such a core thing like it kinda feels like a copout im ngl . guess we are just now . aware of information as players that the traveler is not privy to . considering im already more than a little wary towards the general concept of like. memory erasure slash irminsul stuff when it comes to genshins writing im definitely feeling conflicted w this . also applies to the loom of fate editing reality thing . like okay on some level yes it is cool to include such prevalent elements of like. uncertainty and unreliable narration but in worst case those concepts are also v easy for a careless writing team to just. run off w and end up w a convoluted mess so i rly rly hope that wont end up the case

anyway. so the sinners are the big deal this time around i suppose and like. not that i wasnt necessarily expecting surtalogi to indeed be khaenriahn but the confirmation is certainly here now. no particular feelings on this from me im afraid bc like. Highly unpopular lore thing from me but both khaenriah n hexenzirkel (the latter more so than former) are kinda these. big lore topics and entities that i logically Do know and acknowledge as the massive deals they are to the story. but they just arent sth i have so far gotten that invested in altho khaenriah i have somewhat warmed up to . hexenzirkel still feels too much like an unnecessary presence to me lmao i might be missing out on stuff but if the abyss order arguably has a lack of story presence issue then the witches have it like 5 times worse 💀 But point being surtalogi being part of this whole crew of transcendent beings from khaenriah that became sinners is like . okay then isiskskskdk its not that big a deal for me

i think the most meaningful implications from that (in terms of My personal lore fixations at least *cough*) just have to do w like . sth id already been thinking about even before we got the confirmation of the visionary as the sinner that clothar found (which was a big theory anyway that i did personally find very compelling and well its canon now). and that is just the way that like . when skirk compared surtalogi as one in pursuit of "perfection" and brought up the visionary and rhinedottir as two ppl akin to him. that and the narzissenkreuz note about primordial human essentially being the synonym for descenders . & how rhines magnum opus was the primordial human PROJECT aka in light of this note. Very likely to be an attempt at Creating a descender . and how the sinners and abyss orders loom of fate is obviously just another pathway into accessing some sorta will or way to rival the world and defy the heavenly principles . became this thing where i was like 90% convinced and now 100% convinced that if the "perfection" both gold and the visionary pursue is indeed a descenders will in one form or another . then surtalogis aims Must involve the same fucking thing

which naturally gets us back to the insane ajax theory territory bc . if what connects those 3 (and post 4.7 more like. All the transcendent sinners from khaenriah) is getting to that world rivaling will. Then it sure fucking makes Everything surtalogi is doing and planning w both the narwhal and ajax Very Interesting . like it sure is curious that These would be the things surtalogi is occupying himself with if its indeed a descender he seeks . so like . Yeah we dont need to get into 3rd descender stuff but one thing i sure do think is becoming less and less like crackpot speculation and more and more and explicitly foreshadowed future direction for childes arc is that. one way or another. he is going to be involved with the subject of becoming a descender . bc like. if gold tried creating one w alchemy. and if the visionary is Literally creating a loom of fate to serve as the machine capable of weaving a worlds worth of leylines and destiny aka just a descender equivalent machine . then it sure wouldnt make sense for surtalogi to be putting all this heavy effort and resources (as skirk commented on) towards acquiring and possibly subduing an interstellar voyager like the narwhal and getting his student to look for and train the weird kid with a possibly innate connection w it. Without that serving a role in His brand of descender equivalency that hes seeking as a sinner. So yeah childe long term relevance stocks are definitely up w this one guys Trust

but yea thats on surtalogi for me . Point being its not rly a New suspicion for me (like ever since primordial human project started sounding like DIY descender lab project i was thinking this) but i think its been absolutely further affirmed by directly linking surtalogi to the sinners of khaenriah that more likely than not seem like theyre All going to be ppl who used the abyss to seek the power of a descender in a variety of ways???? so thats very neat . wonder who the other 2 will turn out to be then .

another thing to do w the sinners is also like. the way that if we do count dainsleif among them just as one that Didnt jusr abandon the ppl during the cataclysm . there is obviously that doomed number of Six there . so like pygmy theories have been going wild already in the few days it took me to catch up w the AQ but im just kinda . i Still think pale princess is most likely to be about an irminsuled event and be about sth far further back into the timeline than khaenriah and the cataclysm . theres things like rhe night mother specifically talking abt Thousands of years passing before the new hero (= 4th descender aka us most likely) appears to challenge her and also just the general way i still think pale princess aligns too much w the story of the seelie ancestor and her lover Not to be a story about that time period . so as much as the 5+1 sinners of khaenriah being the pygmies is like. Yes the numbers would finally add up clearly with no mental backflips needed unlike w the archons . but like all things considered im still a bit unconvinced. we shall see . that book is a menace anyway so its always gonna be a hot topic lmao like what is Up with it 💀

[cboffshore]

Both Djinn and Oni are seen as evil in the show but they don’t necessarily have to be. I wonder if there’s a Dragon-adjacent species in the Realms? If I squint, you can put Arin who’s Oni-coded with Lloyd’s old helmet or whatever with Nya and Sora with…whoever. But she’s Dragon-coded, AND Creation coded to Arin’s hypothetical Destruction. If I squint really hard I swear you can give Arin a character arc with Nya there’s gotta be more than just them not having any real powers at the start of the show.

I feel like my certified big brain bestie @nyaskitten would also enjoy this ask (and probably with WAY more coherence than me) so I'm inviting them to the party as well.

Before Raine shows up, here's my handful of assorted thoughts about this ask (under the cut for DRS1 spoilers:)

Regarding the Oni-Djinn-Dragon spectrum you imply and that I am about to run away with: what if the djinn are actually the MIDPOINT of that hypothetical range? I'm suggesting this because our sample size for djinn is so small right now (in order of appearance we ONLY have Jackass Supreme, Mr. Expo-Dump-And-Die, and Arrakore (who I do not yet have a funny summarizing nickname for because he's got like ten minutes of screentime under his belt), which isn't enough for me to extrapolate from) and we really don't have a TON of information to suggest that they lean one way or another as a collective. (Obviously if we get a montage of a bunch of resurrected djinn proving that Arrakore is the outlier by, I dunno, committing grand tax fraud or something, THEN we can make an overall assumption.) They do, however, display visual indicators of both Oni and Dragon - Nadakhan's finale evil magic ball things are destruction purple and Arrakore's magic manifests as bright creation gold - and generally otherworldly powers, although we don't know how universal they are. Nadakhan is the only one we ever see using most of the non wish-granting abilities like shapeshifting and teleportation (that reminds me, I still need to get that magic gatekeeping theory out!), but I'd assume that that early Skybound line where all Kai knows of djinn is that they're "sneaky and have great power" probably means this isn't a one-off thing. Anyway, back on track - I do agree that the djinn lean towards the Oni side given what little we've seen so far, but that evidence field is so small that any hint of Dragon coding in there could tip it. And Arrakore might not have done much yet, but I do think he's contributing to the Dragon side and dragging their alignment closer to the middle of the scale.

Regarding the Arin thing: I fully agree that Arin could have a killer connection with Nya right now, but I actually like that his arc is a bit disconnected from the rest of the team at the moment! Ninjago has always had a funky problem of shoving protagonists into relationships straight off the bat, whether that be romantic or not, so it's interesting that Arin's a bit emotionally isolated. He's very much trying to sort himself out, which isn't something I really remember getting in the first fifteen seasons. I feel like that's going to be a huge part of season 2 and I'm really curious to see how it's handled! Too curious to speculate, really, but that might change later, and I do love what you're going for here.

That was kind of a mess, but I hope it made some sense! Thanks for the ask!