#but when the God Of actual DEATH is involved it's kinda hard not to be so casual about the topic of the afterlife.

[spacebubblehomebase]

RADIOAPPLE COTL AU!

"What do you do when a mere scapegoat becomes so enamored with the God Of Death that they actually look forward to dying again and again just to see Him?"

"What do you do when said God Of Death yearns for the sacrificial lamb's PERMANENT DEATH and this very thought is actually the reason He smiles at them?"

"But it's only because He wants to own them FOREVER the only way He knows how??? ...For His Vessel's soul to be HIS to keep."

Basically, this is my COTL Radioapple AU idea! (NOTE: Read it all over again! This time, just the yellow highlighted words for a different experience and perspective on things! 😉 Trust me on this.) -Bubbly💙

[alexwilltellyouthings]

Ok I have so many thoughts about painland ending up canon or not and I. Just.

Listen I AGREE that their bond goes beyond being romantic or not. It's obvious, it's beautiful, I love it and I love them and their friendship and I truly do think it is important that media has this kind of relationship portrayed.

But.

But.

I would be lying if I said I wouldn't be disappointed if it doesn't turn romantic. It involves a lot of things.

1: I want Edwin to have that. He'll still be happy without it, yes, but god can't he have that? He's been through so much. He had a speedrun through his sexuality issues and confessed in hell. Like wtf. Can't he have that???

2. Bisexual Charles would actually be so important to me. And yeah he can be bi and not in love with Edwin but come on lol. The thing is, there's not many bi men in media. Even less bi men figuring out their bisexuality. Even less bi men figuring out their sexuality when they were raised in the 80s and knowing their best friend is in love. Do you see how many layers exist here? How amazing his story could be? Charles has so much we still don't know about him. And yes, I would like that one of those things could be something I relate to. Besides trauma. Call me selfish. And like he's so bisexual coded it would be offensive for him to be straight I'm sorry.

3. They exist in other universes. Let them be platonic there. Let them be romantic this one time.

4. I know falling in love with a straight person is a very common story and I don't think it's wrong for it to happen in a show, but honestly, it's not what I sign up for when I'm watching queer stuff. Think Our Flag Means Death. It probably changed my brain chemistry because anything less than that gets really hard to swallow. I know, we all have queerbaiting trauma, and I know this wouldn't be the case, and it never claimed to be something as queer as OFMD. But I got so attached that... Well, I wouldn't stop watching if this happens, but it wouldn't sit well with me. It's a bitter feeling, you know?

5. They didn't have anything be explicit, but come on, they did set us up. Charles got jealous at Monty, and only Monty, for that matter. I wouldn't say his thing with the Cat King is necessarily jealousy, more like protectiveness, but that can be disputable. And both George and Jayden said more than once that Charles' response to the confession let things open. So I mean if that door wasn't closed, then please don't close it now! The road until things happen can be long, dramatic, tortuous, whatever, there's many ways to tell a love story. But if I'm sitting for it, then I don't want to get shot in the face later on (unless it's for plot reasons which ok).

6. Have I mentioned that bisexual Charles

Anyway I feel kinda bad for wishing so much they get romantic because I see and agree with the whole platonic discourse. But yeah those are all the reasons why I can't stop myself. Have a good day everyone

[neousfics]

Somewhere In Time is Literally Edwin/Charles, and here's why:

Just rewatched the movie Somewhere In Time because I thought it might work for a Paynland fic and holy fucking shit you guys it's perfect in every way. Charles is so Richard Collier coded and Edwin is so Elise McKenna coded it's not even funny. And the time periods are perfect???? Collier is literally from the late 70s/80s and time travels back to 1912???

Also William Robinson as the Cat King? Be still my beating heart.

(Spoilers for a movie from the 80s ig)

If you're unfamiliar with the plot, Somewhere In Time is about a playwright, Richard Collier, who, after being given a pocket watch by an old lady on the day of her death, begins to suspect that not only is it possibly to travel back in time, but he has already done it. He learns that the old lady used to be a beautiful young actress named Elise McKenna. He eventually manages to travel back in time, they fall in love only for him to accidentally get yanked back to the future just as they've begun to plan their life together. He dies from grief a week later and the two reunite in the afterlife.

Here are some scenes/dialogue that I think are so Edwin/Charles coded it hurts:

Collier (AKA Charles) decides to literally abandon his life and timeline after literally one (1) interaction with this lady + a pretty picture of her he saw in the museum section of a hotel and Charles would absolutely (and kinda did) do the same

McKenna (AKA Edwin) spent the rest of her life never giving up on finding Collier even though they were only together for a couple days. In her youth she's described as "quick and bright, fun, strong, and willful" but after he disappears she is described as "kind and thoughtful but too much within herself, like she was empty somehow" and you CANNOT tell me that does not sound like our favorite Edwardian boy

When Collier prepares to go to the past he picks out a time-appropriate suit, but when he gets there everyone keeps telling him its hella out of fashion and he is so offended 10/10, very Charles

I can practically hear Paynland saying this dialogue:

"Your occupation?"

“I’m a playwright.”

“A playwright.” (mad bitchiness in this line delivery)

“No, no I’m not here because of that!”

“Hm. And you say you know everything about me?”

“Well, yes.”

“Which is patently absurd. You couldn’t possibly know everything about me. We’ve never met. You’re a complete stranger to me.

“But then why did you ask, 'Is it you?'” (she asked this when they met the first time)

“I don’t have to answer that.”

“I know you don’t. I wish you would, though.”

When Collier asks McKenna to call him by his first name she hits him with the "Why should I?" and this doe-eyed fool says "I don't know. I just hoped you would."

Collier is terrified of the idea that McKenna would be afraid of him which is just so Charles like damn

When Collier tries to shave his face with the old-fashioned razor he does an absolutely terrible job, gets a bunch of cuts, and leaves shaving cream on his face and McKenna takes one look at him and decides this idiot is the man she's going to love forever

Their first kiss is actually the sexiest shit ever in this show like damn why they pulling up so hard in some random movie 40 years ago. ANYway when Collier touches McKenna's face and slowly leans in to kiss her she says in this breathy, barely heard whisper "Oh my God. I don't know what's happening." Which is very Edwin to me

When McKenna's manager gets too pushy about her romantic decisions she says "I am involved with you as an actress, Mr. Robinson. Not a doormat. Do not attempt to wipe your boots on me." okay Edwin

When McKenna is performing in the play (which is a comedy) she goes off script and starts dramatically monologuing all her inner thoughts about loving Collier while looking at him in the audience which Mr. "I know were in hell but I need to tell you I'm in love with you" Payne would definitely do

This is the monologue btw:

“The man of my dreams is almost faded now. The one I have created in my mind. The sort of man each woman dreams of in the deepest most secret reaches of her heart. I can almost see him now before me. What would I say to him if he were really here? Forgive me. I’ve never known this feeling. I’ve lived without it all my life. Is it any wonder that I failed to recognize you? You brought it to me for the first time. Is there any way that I can tell you how my life has changed? Any way at all to let you know the sweetness you have given me? There is so much to say. I cannot find the words except for these: I love you.”

"Are you alright?" "Yes" "I thought I lost you." "Never. Never, never, never."

The morning after they have sex she hits him with the "You will marry me, won't you?" And makes him choke on his food then immediately goes "You won't?!?!" without even waiting for him to respond

"I want to be everything to you." "You are."

This dialogue:

“The first thing I intend to do for you–”

“You’ve already done.”

“Well, the second thing.”

“What?”

“Buy you a new suit.”

“I don’t understand. Nobody seems to like my suit.”

“Oh can you blame them?”

“I think my suit is terrific. So what if it’s 10 years old?”

“At least 15.”

Collier just up and dying as soon as he gets back because he's so distressed at the thought of living without her he goes into a dissociative fit and doesn't eat for a weak is so Charles

If you made it this far, I commend you because I'm pretty sure I sound like an insane person and I don't even know if any of you have seen this movie but for the love of God I had to tell someone

Who knows, maybe I'll write a Somewhere In Time AU Paynland fic, or perhaps I'll just sit here and desperately hope that someone else will do it

[lych33dragoncookie]

Ok so about yesterday's post, I'm rly rly grateful for all the attention n feedback, I'm glad ppl resonate with my analysis stuff and that they're happy to find someone who understands the characters, buuuuut Since it's my most critical post till now it's garnered a few counterpoints that I kinda wanna address.

The first one, and the one that I understand the most; the people that were telling me to not lose hope and that they could do something more with this.

I... Appreciate the optimism! I really do, and if you believe this then obviously I hold no ill will towards you and if you can keep looking on the bright side then more power to you, but... Really, I think the moment and the chance have already passed, unfortunately.

Yes, I am genuinely saying that, unless they pull a miracle, whatever they do next is just... Not going to land. Definitely not as well as it would have to have a better ending to the story we got.

Here's the main thing, really. For one... What is Burning Spice even gonna do to get one over Golden Cheese again? He's already just about entirely outmatched, and so anything they do next is just gonna feel like a repeat of what they already did in this update. Though more importantly, I'm concerned with the fact that they can't really do this again, we just saw Golden Cheese at her lowest point, actually on the brink of death, more heavily damaged than we've ever seen anyone in this entire franchise, we got extra development for both her and Smoked Cheese, and the Spice Army is kind of just... Not there anymore. No one other than Nutmeg Tiger really has any faith in Burning Spice anymore. The setting, the stakes, the characters, everything that made this story hold up (until its god awful ending) isn't repeatable, not without making it feel like we're just doing the same thing again. They can't match the sheer level of visceral brutality either, not only because again the setting is gone but also because it really won't hit anywhere near as hard the second time around, and even they have limits for how far they're willing to go with it.

That's just kind of the thing. The one thing that makes me so mad about how much this ending sucked. This entire story is one of a kind, you can't do this again, because if you try, then it's not gonna hit anywhere near as hard the second time around. Hell, it'd be the third time we've seen Golden Cheese in a low spot that she ends up pulling through and recovering from, and the second time (with Burning Spice) was so much more extreme than the first one which is part of what made it work, you can't do that again.

The framing isn't replicable. The active contrast between the two primary characters, the brutality and viscerality of it all, the active rejection of Burning Spice's ideals in a golden blaze of glory, the reinforcement of Golden Cheese's will through an adversary completely opposite to her, it can't happen again. This is why you don't fumble a story like this, because once you've shot the round, it's spent. There's no getting it back. If you miss the shot, no matter how potent the weapon, it won't do anything, and there's no getting that shot back. Specially because, like... Are we forgetting that we're not done with Golden Cheese here? Why waste more time on retreading ground that we already covered with her encounter against Burning Spice, when instead it would be much better spent later on focusing on her relationship with White Lily, and how she handles the whole Dark Enchantress situation? Sure, I have no doubt all the beasts are gonna come back, but I really, really don't see them getting entire stories dedicated to each and every single one again, specially involving their respective ancients, because... They've. Already lost. And if you try to set up the same matchups, it's just gonna feel like doing the same thing all over again. If/when they come back, it's most likely gonna be more short-form, akin more to a boss rush, I'd imagine, because the alternative is... What, exactly? Just doing their chapters again? A second time? For each one? It just feels really weird to think about, honestly.

Just... Everything here. Every bit of it. Every bit of narrative paralleling with Golden Cheese, Smoked Cheese, Nutmeg Tiger, Burning Spice and both of the respective kingdoms/armies, it was all contained in this arc, and you can't just do the same thing all over again, specially when the thing you've got set up next for Golden Cheese is a meeting with White Lily. Unless you plan to have Silent Salt and Burning Spice team up for a 2v2 against White Lily and Golden Cheese or... Something..? Completely taking away from the 1v1 fated duel kinda thing they've had going on this entire time..? I dunno, man. I don't see how they could salvage this. They had their chance, and they wasted it. Like sand, slipping through their fingertips.

Alright, that's the big one out of the way. I saw the comments and RBs bring up a few other points, so I'll address those now.

The first one, with someone posing the idea that she did take Burning Spice's Soul Jam, and that's why hers' changed color.

... What?

That's... That's not shown. Ever. Sure, you have an animation of her soul jam going over Spice's and eclipsing it, but... That's. Kind of it? It's never implied at all, and worse yet, it's directly contradicted by the fact Spice still has his Soul Jam. Like. It's right there. You can see it.

You could say maybe it's just a case of reusing assets, that they wouldn't make a whole new asset just for this one cutscene, but, uh... ... They did. It's this one.

It shows up in absolutely no other cutscene, only the one where he's about to get smacked by Golden Cheese. If his soul jam was taken not only would we have seen it (like we did both times it's happened to the Ancients), not only would he have probably noticed because that is very much a material object, but we would have seen it, like we do when both GC and Dark Cacao's soul jams are gone. So, no, he absolutely still has it. Undeniably so. You can't take someone's soul jam power without physically taking it, at least not that we've seen.

Secondly, a few comments/tags saying that it makes sense for Nutmeg Tiger to go back to Burning Spice after his defeat.

... I mean... Yeah, I guess? Technically?

It's... Not out of character. She is obsessive, absolutely to a fault, and she is incredibly stubborn. My main complain isn't that it makes no sense, and more that it's a bit of a wasted opportunity. More specifically, the fact that she went back to him with nothing about either of them having changed at all. It would have been super interesting to see how she'd react to seeing her god rendered powerless, to have him lash out at her despite her loyalty to him, to have Burning Spice's hostility and complete lack of care catch up to him and end up isolating him from absolutely everyone who served under him. To have her conversation with Smoked Cheese to be proven tangibly true, proving that yes, he would just discard her the moment she stops being useful. And, the best part? You get to keep her alive to have her process everything that just happened! Because, guess what, Burning Spice lacks basically all his power now, meaning he can't just kill her on the spot! Hell, if you really, really wanted to have a villain for a followup update, it could be Nutmeg Tiger, disillusioned with her former god's promises, deciding she'd find a way to become the next great destroyer, or something like that. Maybe she'd try to find someone else to serve instead to give her life some sort of purpose? Who knows! There's so many options you could go with, rather than just... Resetting everything back to where we started.

Really, this part of the whole thing is the least of my concerns. She's not the biggest player in this update, but I think she would have benefited heavily from the "Burning Spice gets his Soul Jam taken away" route in terms of potential development. Alas... There's a good chance we'll never get to know what that would have even looked like.

Thirdly and lastly;

The argument that it wouldn't be in character for Golden Cheese to give Burning Spice another chance.

Okay, this is somewhat minor. I need to emphasize; when I gave that hypothetical scenario at the end of the last post, I meant it as like... A long term thing. Not something to happen within the chapter itself. Besides, it's just one of many paths you could go with a jamless Spice.

... I'm still holding my ground on it, though.

See... We've got to remember here: Burning Spice's immortality is the exact thing that got him here. Take that away, and what do you get? A large man with anger issues and no special powers; and absolutely no one to cover for the newfound weaknesses of a mortal, since he's alienated and wronged absolutely everyone loyal to him. Not the Kulfis, or Nutmeg Tiger, or any of the spicelings would be left to help him. He'd be on his own, entirely. Why would Golden Cheese ever even consider helping him in any way, you may ask? After all he did, after all the bloodshed, physical pain induced, and complete lack of remorse for any of his actions?

Simple. For the same reasons she gave Smoked Cheese and White Lily another chance.

The latter specially! At the end of the latest Beast Yeast chapter, Golden Cheese decided she's ready to talk to White Lily. White Lily, who, as far as she and everyone else is aware, is pretty much responsible for her kingdom being reduced to nothing but ash and crumbs. Of course, on an objective level, White Lily is much more understandable, specially since she now exists as a separate person from Dark Enchantress, but... In the end, does it matter? Are the actions themselves any different? No, not really. The level of destruction and decay are still the exact same.

The main difference is, while White Lily would at most be hesitant to accept forgiveness and feel really really bad (like mortifyingly bad) about what Dark Enchantress did, Burning Spice wouldn't be interested in such a thing.

And, honestly? I feel like Golden Cheese would know this. And, at first, she'd have absolutely no interest in actually helping him. To me, she'd occasionally visit to see how he's faring, how this oh-so-powerful god of destruction is doing now that he's just a powerless little commoner, a mortal like all the rest, teasing him, finding entertainment in his position, while he can't do anything about it. She gave him the mercy of life, but that doesn't mean she's not gonna be a little shit about it and have her fun. And he can't do anything about it, either! Truly, eternal torture. Powerless, mocked by your enemy, made to feel small, denied the satisfaction of a proper fight or a warrior's death... Lol, get fucked idiot.

Eventually, it would probably turn into teasing him about how her kingdom is shaping up quite nicely, how happy everyone there is, how it's such a shame that his short-sighted and hostile nature prevented him from ever knowing such comfort and luxury, how instead he's here fighting for his life in the land that he once ruled.

And then idk he almost gets himself killed in the middle of a spice storm or something and she refuses to give him the satisfaction of a quick death so she drags his sorry ass off to safety much to his absolute livid rage and idk you know where this kinda thing goes. Both parties here hate each other. But I feel like sooner or later, it could grow into a very begrudging living agreement where he works for her, day in and day out, to make up for everything he did, and as payment for being given somewhere to stay. A destroyer, helping to rebuild and elevate a civilization he was so intent on destroying, how ironic is that?

And then yuri or something idk. That part is optional I just like the idea.

... Can you tell I'm a Dragon Ball fan? I'm all too used to absurdly evil villains getting another chance and becoming either significantly less dangerous or outright good.

Yes, I'm looking at you, Vegeta. You may not have killed a single earthling, but you did almost directly cause the death of 4. And then over time, through many, many humiliations, and finding yourself a woman who can somehow handle how much of an arrogant cocky bastard you are, with a temper matching or surpassing your own, you settled down and built something infinitely better than what you had when you exerted your power over those under you. Seriously, watch Dragon Ball Z, it's really good. It somehow makes a redemption arc for a guy who's blown up planets feel genuinely believable and engaging.

... Right, Cookie Run.

Yeah, I think it would be perfectly in character for GC to refuse Burning Spice the warrior's death he so desperately wanted (you know finding something that can destroy him), take his soul jam, and after a good while of having fun with watching him flounder about as a mortal, drag his ass over to her kingdom to work for her to compensate for all the shit he's done. And it would be infinitely more interesting than what they actually ended up doing.

And... I think that's it!

I think that covers everything I wanted to say regarding my last post on the update. This is probably the last I'll have to say about it of my own accord, though you can definitely continue the conversation through asks (Always open!). I'm still really mad at how bad they fumbled, but...

Hey, that's what fan-fixing is for, isn't it? This ending may have sucked, but don't let that prevent you from making a better one yourself, through whatever your medium of preference is. Go ham. Because there's a good chance whatever you have in mind is infinitely better than whatever the hell they're planning to do next with Burning Spice.

Go absolutely nuts. I'll be watching on, and potentially participating, if writing motivation ever strikes.

Cya'll.

[zedleaked]

What is your opinion on drv3 chapter 2... or just kirumi and ryoma's story/dynamic?

[Lyrics from: 'Julie vs. Robot Julie' by ARTHUR]

I'm probably biased but OUGHGHFGH CHAPTER 2........

It's a running thing with me but I tend to really like the chapter 2s in each game,,, probably cause they involve characters I like [i.e: Mondo, Chihiro, Fuyuhiko, Ryoma, etc.]

[read more if you want to read my rant bc I wrote more than I usually do]

From the very start Ryoma was really interesting to me, especially in chapter one when he offered himself as a sacrifice to stop the time limit,, It was nice to see him slowly get better and try to find a reason to live... but uh... we eventually get to see what happens...

Kirumi on the other hand didn't really catch my eye as much, well I mean her design goes hard but for me, she faded into the background a lot...

Also holy shit this chapter probably has one of the best body discoveries in the series. The chill I felt when Ryoma's body just fucking appeared in the piranha tank and seeing it shortly get torn apart really made an impression on me. It was obvious that something was going to go wrong during the magic show but that was still so shocking to me. Out of all the games, V3 is definitely the one that made me audibly go: "NO!💥💥💥!!!!!" the most

It kinda makes me wish that Himiko and Ryoma had more of a connection before his death or at least had Himiko acknowledge his death more... not only did someone die in her show that was supposed to distract everyone from the killing,, but it was someone who was actually pretty nice to her... But also to be fair Himiko represses her grief a lot, only really letting it out during chapter 3. I dunno I just want the depressed mage and the depressed tennis pro to be besties, is that too much to wish for? <//3

The trial was pretty alright,, to be honest, I was a little annoyed at Himiko for still sticking to her magic shtick even after someone fucking died but I think that was made up for when Kirumi got accused. Oh boy, I said Kirumi didn't catch my attention earlier but this trial made me like her so much. The manipulative shit she says during the trial activated my brain cells, she was willing to deceive the people she'd been surviving with to try and essentially save the country...

It feels like a more personal version of the trolley cart problem: Would you fight alongside these 13 people you've gotten to know and survive with, with the slim chance that you might escape? Or would you take the risk and purposely kill all of them to fulfill your duty and save a whole country? It's debatable if what Kirumi did was really 'selfless' or not. It made her really interesting to me.

And finally... oh my god, Ryoma, man.... The reveal that his motive video was empty and that he had no one to live for broke my heart so badly <//3 poor guy has gone through too much. The fact that he gave up like that, offering himself up to Kirumi is so... RGHARGHR!!!! 💥💥💥,, PLEASE.........

Even though I really wanted Ryoma to survive, I thought that chapter 2 was a depressing but fitting end for him. Like it really sucks bad that he wasn't able to find a reason to live but not everyone can have a good ending unfortunately... I just want to grab him and shake him around GRUGAHRGHH 💥💥💥

so uh in short: me likey chapter 2 I go insane every time I think about it.................

[sapphia]

limited life was the best roleplay series for me by far. everyone was just so good at playing into people's bits. the improvised nature of it made it so fun, and barring the odd moment, it truly didn't feel like people were starting much drama for drama's sake.

the best of the rp was fairly spontaneous--scar didn't go into a series planning to become cleo's favourite son, but they just had such a good time being around each other and leaned into the dynamic and extrapolated their rp from how they were around each other. and it really payed off. i'm sooo glad cleo embraced it even though she was reluctant at first. i love how scar and bdubs supported her into her own amazing interpretation of arguably a not-so-fun role. i'm stunned at how into the rp etho got. he absolutely suffered for this rp and it was incredible. all those deaths. his destroyed reputation! but it worked so well.

and the bad boys! sure, joel came in with his predetermined character, but his flexibility in bringing people onto his team, into incorporating jimmy and grian and even offering to rename the bit for pearl if she'd joined--that was what really allowed it to be good. leaning into the ironic bad boys who aren't actually bad (at anything but minecraft) was delightful. bread bridge was wonderful. seeing all the players just get to be so very themselves and enjoy themselves and work as a team while having so much fun with the rp aspect made this team so good.

i loved that we didn't get solo players this season, that martyn and scott teamed up even when they didn't interact much in episode one. coral kids and TIES really felt like everyone was playing not just with their friends, but with the people who played the game in the same way they did. i can't put my finger on what made martyn and scott a good fit together but they are, and ties were the perfect little "nerds" (as scar called them) with so much heart, while etho still got to do his weird thing with bdubs and roleplay with the clockers. and the tension between all these groups! scott and cleo's hard alliance and the rest of the clockers just following along because mom. ties animosity with the clockers despite whatever it was etho was doing. they just let bdubs tag along for the day! etho had a take his kids to work day and it was hilarious! and martyn sticking to scott but also kinda being sketchy in the background with everyone, showing a pleasant face but clearly not being quite as invested in all the relationships as everyone else, which then played into the ending where he betrayed his partner in the series where team bonds were never broken--

and while i wish pearl and bigb had got to be a bit more involved in the storylines and they were a little sidelined from some of the best action, by god they played their nosey neighbour role well. the tension with the clockers, the feud with jimmy, stealing the enchanting table, finding themselves so isolated and alone because they're just neighbours and they built a wall between them and the server. perfection.

so yeah. loved how everyone was enjoying themselves. loved how rp got to flourish in the peaceful periods and how the high death limit played into the drama. loved that everyone mostly just went with the flow and the narratives became so fun because of it. *chefs kiss*

[tarre-was-right]

ROUND ONE: MATCH-UP THREE

Remember, this is NOT about who would win in a fight. This is about who makes the best leader for Mandalore as a whole.

To be fair, I think we know who's going to win this one, lmao. That said! Go read the Tor propaganda, we got a silly amount of it. Actually we got an insane amount of propaganda for both of them overall.

Explanation post

Seeding

Propaganda below the cut! You can submit more on this post and I will reblog it back to here!

Bo-Katan Kryze

Anon: Bo-Katan propaganda: she babysat a Jedi child without the child dying or killing anyone and leading a planet is basically just babysitting a child on a big scale right

Anon: Bo-Katan spent like three years as a terrorist but she also spent 30 years rebelling against fascists so idk I'm willing to hear her out on this. Welcome back Princess Leia 👏

Anon: as Satine's sister, she would have received much the same early training and education in how to rule their Duchy on Kalevala, as she alluded to in her comments in The Mandalorian - while her involvement in Death Watch is perhaps not a mark in her favor, she did seemingly have many years of experience working as Pre Vizsla's lieutenant, and earned the trust of many of his followers who defected to follow her following Pre's death and Maul's claiming of the Darksaber and throne of Mandalore, forming the bulk of her fighting force during her efforts to reclaim that throne during the Siege of Mandalore - during the Rebels timeline, she has lost the throne once again due to an Imperial-backed coup, but seems to have been working to resist the Empire's rule; during this time, she is chosen to be the figurehead and rallying point of that apparently unsuccessful effort - finally, during the time of The Mandalorian, she has been rallying the surviving clans to reclaim the Darksaber as a stepping stone for reuniting their people; after her work with Din Djarin and the Armorer, she once again is selected by her people to be their leader as they work to rebuild their reclaimed home planet

Anon: Bo-Katan should be the Mando'alor because, while having done a LOT of shit, she tried her best to free Mandalore from the Empire and to give her people the safety they lost when the New Mandalorian Government fell - She worked to redeem herself, and she got back up every time she fell. She united the people of Mandalore from every aspect and kept the warrior traditions alive

@lightsaberwieldingdalek: Literally the only reason I can think of for bo katan to rule is that she’s stubborn. She doesn’t stop trying to get mandalorians organised and on their homeworld. Kinda a Robert the Bruce and a spider in a cave style parable, except instead of the English she’s trying to fight her own bad actions/behaviour towards others

Anon: Bo-Katan propaganda: you know that quote about "It's hard for a good man to be king?" Well considering she's a terrible person she'd actually be pretty good at ruling Mandalore.

Tor Vizsla

Anon: god. ugh. can't believe I'm writing this. but. - he was backed by a not-insignificant number of clans, including those of good reknown such as Clan Wren, apparently spurred by the common sentiment that Mereel's Supercommando Codex was an affront to their sense of honor by extending the definition of honorable professions for the warrior class to bounty hunting and mercenary work (which was an attempt to avert some of the expansionist tendencies of previous generations of Mandalorian warriors)

@lightsaberwieldingdalek: Okay so. Tor Visla. - This is a franchise called Star Wars. There has not been a generation without interplanetary conflict happening somewhere. Mandalore has an imperialist history which left it with a lot of people with grudges against it, and in living/near living memory their homeworld was bombed by the largest government around to the point of having to live in environment domes. The giant war across the galaxy at the moment has one side being almost completely fought by clones of a self-exiled prince of your people, they wear armor clearly based on your cultural touchstone armor and marked with your cultures symbols and speaking at least some of your language. - In that situation, you could see why someone would think its not a great idea to be led by an ardent pacifist and demilitarise to the point of making the people who refused to stop carrying weapons leave the planet. - Of course, what Tor decided to do with that set up is really terrible, he probably should have lead a militia group to kneecap anything that went for Mandalore if he decided Mandalore was weak and defenseless, not start bombing public works and being a domestic terrorist, but I'm just laying out the intentions/set up here. - Now. What he did and what he thought he was doing are different things, of course. - But you can sort of argue that what Tor's little terrorist group actually did kinda helped Mandalore. In an assbackwards, unintentional way, of course. And yet. - Mandalore was divided, and Satine Kryze was doing her best to improve standards of living, but her political views could mean causing more fractures and splits in the society. However. Give people an enemy, an opposing side, and make them so heinous and undefendable that only the most fanatic, the most violent and hateful, will join them, and everyone else will stop bickering over religio-cultural doctrine and band together against the violent fantatics who just bombed a school group. By being an opposition that no one but the people who were never going to help would join, Tor helped keep Mandalorian society together and strong. Like a supporting joint pushing against the wall. - And in the aftermath of the Empire, the experience with urban warfare and terrorist groups meant that Mandalore was more prepared to survive when they scattered across the galaxy to hide. - In conclusion. Tor Visla. Understandable starting point. Unforgivable follow through. Unmistakable impact.

Anon: "He will make Mandalore great again. And don't believe Jaster lie, he isn't a speciesist. He has a Java friend. With him, Mandalorian will do a raid on this weak core world everyday. The galaxy will be their playground and twi'lek girl will fall for them. Alcool will flow every night."

Anon: Tor would be good for gathering people for his cause, and he’d keep the dependent load small. He would also probably have easily accessible supplies (ie food, weapons, medicine, etc).

Anon: Propaganda for Tor Vizsla: Mandalorian

[rei-ismyname]

A few days late; but the Black Womb Project creates a context where Xavier spent the first decade or so of his life, raised by humans working for the U.S government, who knew about his mutation and saw it for its potential to help humankind. Which has fascinating implications for the school and the X-Men project, that have never really been dug into. Even the X-Men's early FBI liaison turned out to be the liaison to the project.

That's a good point. My God, there's been so many backstory additions over the years that it's hard to keep them straight.

If I recall correctly, Xavier didn't learn about Sinister co-opting Black Womb until later in life. Being that close to the government in his formative years with both his father and stepfather involved had to have an effect on young Xavier. Cain, too. You'd think being experimented on by your parents and Sinister as a child would be a huge turnoff, but he probably felt special. I don't recall how much Chuck actually remembered about the whole thing. He had memory issues for other reasons during the Carter Rykling incident. Maybe he blocked it out.

That extensive history doesn't really come through at all in Xavier and Fred Duncan's early dealings, though he did give him a lot of latitude when looking for Cyclops and Xavier certainly had a close working relationship with him. The amount of information shared about the then secret X-Men is proof of that, with the team even briefly disbanding on his orders.

I think there's something to be said about generational attitudes towards the government, especially the intelligence sector. The Comics Code prevented negative portrayals of law enforcement, there was usually just one bad actor pushing a hostile agenda, as opposed to institutional corruption and treatment of minorities.

Duncan seemed to have unusually good intentions towards the X-Men and mutants in general. There's his brief association with project Wideawake, though he refused to help Gyrich after the X-Men raided and destroyed the records on mutants. AFAIK he went private after that and was an ally before his death. Carl Denti is another story. I'm kinda rambling here but you're absolutely right - the implications are fascinating. Definitely something I'll revisit once I've refamiliarised myself. His early access to and collaboration with the government feels like a marker of privilege, along with his wealth and general respectability, but I daresay there's more to it.

Thanks!

[yanderes-galore]

Hi I was wondering if you could do yandere Chemach from Cult Of The Lamb

Y'know, I never actually knew about her until my second COTL playthrough since I stopped playing my first one before the relics update. This may not be long but I'll cover what I can!

Yandere! Chemach Concept

(Short Thoughts - Devs I beg you for more lore-)

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Delusional behavior, Body horror, Kidnapping (kinda), Manipulation, Murder, Death/Corpse mention, Dark themes, Dubious companionship/relationship.

Obviously what we can tell from meeting Chemach is she's... insane.

It's implied in dialogue, from what I remember, that her relics are made from gods who have died long ago.

The crown on her head most likely doesn't help her sanity.

She seems to see herself as better than her siblings, often ranting about the relics she sells to the point it's... hard to understand what she means at times.

Not much is known about her, from what I can tell at least.

She's a NPC meant to aid The Lamb on their quest.

Although, she does mention having "followers" and using pieces of The Lamb to make relics.

Her followers just seem to be corpses... so we can also assume Chemach is delusional in her insanity.

Your fate with her is unpredictable for the most part... although eventually you can guess what it will be.

Perhaps you were a vessel for the Red Crown before The Lamb.

Or maybe even a lesser god/powerful being.

Fascinated by power, Chemach grows infatuated.

She wishes to support you in exchange for eager chats.

Her words never seem to make sense, but it's clear she's drawn to you.

Her siblings, two fellow birds, warn you not to get too close to their sister.

She is insane, enraptured by the artifacts she creates.

She'll simply manipulate you closer... and closer... and closer...

For the most part, her actions a erratic and cryptic.

But in the end she knows what she wants from you.

Companionship is what it starts as... power is what her obsession ends with.

Based on her canon behavior and the limited lore we have on her... we can assume she's make her obsession into a relic.

She becomes so obsessive about you... she wishes to keep you beside her.

What better way than imbuing your power into a relic?

She will not give you to anyone, though... not even The Lamb.

She lures you in with promises of more power... only to slaughter you and make part of you a relic for her to keep.

Perhaps she'll make your heart a relic?

Your adoration, love, and heart is what she's wanted all along... but getting it involves a rather twisted way in her mind it seems.

She tells you not to worry when you visit her.

It will only hurt for a little while...

Yet she'll take care of you... your heart hidden away for only her to see.

[the-suns-temple]

Pspspsps!! It's muaaaa again! 🐢 Anon

I actually have another question!!! This one is kinda for you personally!

What are your favorite myths that include Helios, Apollo and Eos? And any other deity that you worship and wish to share!!

PS: do you have any ideas on what i can offer to Lady Eos? 👀

Hello!

Hmm.. My favorite myth involving Lord Helios is not about him, but his son. Phaethon, son of Helios, one day did what most children tend to do, and he secretly took Helios's sun chariot on a ride. On this joy ride, he scorched the Earth and, as punishment, was ultimately killed. It is very symbolic of hubris, of obedience to the parents, and of the damage behind secrets and lack of transparency.

My favorite myth of Lord Apollo is undoubtedly the story of him and Hyacinthus. It is tragic, it is tender, and it is one of the first myths I learned about when I began working with him at the start of my practice. Lord Apollo falls in love with mortal Hyacinthus, and they begin spending time together. They play sports, they hold each other, they admire one another. One day while playing discus, one of two things could have happened, depending on the translation and interpretation. Either A: Lord Apollo threw the discus too hard and it looped back around, hitting Hyacinthus in the head and ultimately killing him. Or B: Zephyrus, God of the West Winds, was envious of their partnership and when the discus was thrown by Lord Apollo, he sent a gust of wind, sending the discus hurling back towards Hyacinthus, hitting him in the head and ultimately killing him. Lord Apollo mourned his death, and his tears turned Hyacinthus into the Hyacinth flower that we know today.

Now, unfortunately, I don't know much about Lady Eos. I am not very well educated on what offerings she accepts, or her mythos. But based solely on the fact that she is capable of providing love easily, I would suggest self love and care. You could run a bubble bath, or develop a skin care routine. If you have a partner, prioritize telling them how much you love them, or perform rituals and give offerings with your partner if they are open to the craft. It is entirely up to you. She is also a goddess of dawn, you can watch the sun rise and take pictures of it, and carry it with you in your wallet or post them above your altarspace. - I am not yet very educated on Lady Eos, unfortunately. Meaning, I do not have a favorite myth of hers.

Best wishes, and Blessed Be, from Rafael.

Khaire.

[zabala0z]

Hi I listened to six episodes of S3 and I’m back. I have nothing to do and school starts on Monday so lemme give my thoughts 🗣️

MAG 81: A Guest For Mr. Spider

Happy that Jon’s safe and in hiding! I remember Georgie was mentioned in Melanie Kings first statement so I guess she counts as a friend. Another spider theme. There’s so many spiders and I’m wondering what entity that could like fall under. I’m curious on “The Eye” because it hasn’t done anything, it just watched. Which makes sense. But Michael mentioned before that Jon being protected by it so is it like…chill????

MAG 82: The Eyewitnesses

Oh I hate Elias that little bitch I swear to god. Also the fact that the recorder didn’t turn off when they tried during Tims statement was interesting. Is The Eye doing that?? I don’t know maybe it’s just going weird.

Feeling bad for Daisy. Like she’s a murderer yeah but I like her ☹️ and I hate Elias. Super curious on his backstory though

MAG 83: Drawing a Blank

Auughhegughf I hate mannequins. Especially in games when you look away and they’re like getting closer. I’m wondering what the hell the deal was with this. Cause sometimes you can kinda gauge a motivation but this mannequin kinda just did a lot of stuff. Although the circus theme kinda reminded me of that one circus mentioned before. Maybe it’s like an element of The Stranger. Cause like mannequins are faceless and kinda take on different identities everytime you dress them y’know?? Lana was found partially skinned. Maybe the mannequin wanted that. Now that I know about these entities, I’m totally gonna search for links with them. I’m a sucker for cool horrors of humanity.

Also Breekon and Hopes deliveries mention!! I’m thinking they replaced the OG mannequin.

MAG 84: Possessive

Kind of another disease/gross shit theme in here? Also chills when they said “Gordie’s Dump” like eugh that got me. I’m still trying to understand what Maggie was doing. Like the boy saw Gordon’s face out of newspaper in the mud but Gordon was also in the house, Maggie smoothing paper over his face. Is she making like clones out of paper. Is she paper machéing clones???? They said whenever Gordon came to school, he had dirt under his fingernails so I’m thinking like every day he’s like replaced or something and then Maggie buried him??? I think.

MAG 85: Upon the Stair

This one was a lil hard because it’s a very strangely narrated statement but I managed! It made me think of Cheating Death where someone will replace the other person in whatever (someone replacing death after beating them in a game-someone replacing the stair figure after calling for them)

Jon did mention this but might as well say it; very Michael-esque. Somehow I don’t think he’s involved though 💀 I don’t know who is sending the statements to Jon. My first thought is Elias since he actually knows where Jon is and who he is with. Or so he says. Also the comment on like people becoming warped creatures is so true now that I think about it. I don’t want Jon to be a warped creature he’s too boring for that guys

Also Georgie is real. Go get that Hungarian dinner girl

MAG 86: Tucked In

Eughhhh it moves when you look. I hate that even more then when it moves when you DONT look 😭Also Tim has some problems he probably needs to work through. I feel like he knows more than he lets on. Like he did say to Martin that something worse is happening to the institute than it being haunted. Also, love Melanie King 🫶 it’s funny she doesn’t know what Og Sasha looked like since she knows she looks different then Not! Sasha. She just doesn’t know how.

Scary ass episode. I’m wondering if the creature in this and the one in A Fathers Love and Exceptional Risk are like…cousins or something because the one in this left behind “a small patch of foul smelling water” and in the other ones, brackish water would come out taps when I think it’s like close I think? Bit a stretch but maybe they belong under the same entity. Like darkness I dunno

Okay that’s everything! So far season 3 is super good. I love hearing the stuff outside the statements, it’s super interesting and I’m excited to see what happens next

[kevindavidday]

tell me about rikoseth 👀👀👀

ah yes...the curse i have been blessed with as of late...kevin's 'its not a major loss' (seth) and neil's 'its not a major loss' (riko) this got looooong so i will put a pause for those of y'all who do not fucks with this

i can't remember any scenes of them actually interacting with each other but i do know riko's canonically responsible for seth's death and idk which one of you from the gremlin trio (you, adler and gia) made the post about how riko could never kill a man directly? and its been rotating in my head like a rotisserie chicken im ngl i know he wasn't there when seth actually died and idk if he'd ever be able to kill him directly. dare i say, riko has less blood on his hands than neil does (oompho how dare i) but still, guys, calm down, he's still an asshole i don't like him in canon, except...and this is gonna sound crazy to some of y'all but he IS a nuanced character (gasps) (much like thea muldani (more gasps) but that's a topic for another time)

i do like seth, however, i like him very much because of the potential he has as a character and because of the rage that was just brimming in him from the core, man. i think that's beautiful.

but back to the main point, rikoseth...the ship is like highly dependent on the setting for DAAHF because kayleigh is alive in this and i think that has had an affect on rikos psyche for the better. not by much, he is still very much a cunt but this time he's like. less annoying about it. (spoilers now) and as you know DAAHF starts off with kevin rejecting riko's proposal because neil called dibs (on god he has not seen that man in YEARS and he's still hung up) and riko is kind of in a need to get over kevin phase. and i think yk how dans plan will go so...seth being assigned to riko is a very deliberate choice. seth kinda has the same level of bitchiness kevin does but he's actually giving riko attention? who does that ? what are the ulterior motives? why is riko leaning hard towards borderline stalkerish behavior? why is seth intriguing to him - is it just that he's attracted to assholes or is it something about him? obviously he can't figure it out so, seth has to die about it (haha jk...unless 👉🏻👈🏻)

i also just kinda wanna see what happens when you mix two assholes tgt like this is fully a chem lab experiment for me, i'm cooking rn (they should chase each other with knives i think they'd enjoy that very thrilling experience) (also, there was originally gonna be kevseth in DAAFH btww ik ik tragic loss but the kevneil was too good to pass up)

they're both extremely angry characters and in the situation i put them in they're both older, they're both different, they're extremely bound by the situation and the loneliness that comes with knowing that you won't be missed when you're gone.

arson is involved.

hallelujah :3

[ipatrichor]

dead boy detectives episode three thoughts

NIKO MY GIRL NIKO. i love her so much holy shit. she's just so effortlessly charming and so deeply, sincerely kind 😭 i would kill for her good lord the scene after they leave the devlin house? she was so scared for completely understandable reasons (i would not want to go to a house with an axe murderer ghost either, and she almost just died like the day before on top of that!) but she suits up and braves a Goddamn Coastal Storm (seriously, it was dark when she left and light when she found them meaning she was out there alone in the dark storm for a little while Minimum) to help her friends!! it's like. yeah she's pretty naive and easily scared (again, Reasonably so), but also she cares so goddamn much about her friends. im gonna cry dude

also this episode really is giving me everything i asked for huh. i asked for niko joining the gang and changing their dynamics, and we got that incredibly sweet scene with edwin at the library. i asked for the bickering to stay while dynamics grow and evolve, and edwin & crystal have a scene where they still snipe at each other while working well together to rescue charles and appreciating each other's skills and knowledge. i asked for charles backstory, and holy shit. this show really does have it all huh

okay speaking of charles. i love love love what we got this episode. i mean yeah i kinda guessed his dad wasn't great from what he'd said before, but i was also second-guessing myself a little because well, if he was that bad charles probably wouldn't be checking on him to make sure he's okay, right? and then we get that reveal, and damn. god it was so cool to see something actually really hit charles, because he's mostly a chill guy! sure, he's gotten annoyed and stuff, but it never seems to last long and i've been really looking forward to seeing what'll break that composure. this episode did not disappoint holy shit

speaking of which. idk if it was just the dad's abuse that was affecting him so much... this is an odd theory, but hear me out. it's making me kind of wonder if the reason he was so deeply affected was because his dad was involved with his death somehow. iirc his cause of death was drowning or something? hypothermia maybe i do not remember but i remember something about injuries like broken ribs or something. and i dunno i'm starting to wonder if those injuries were from his dad and they contributed to his death. or maybe im completely wrong and it hit him so hard to see a man kill his wife and daughters because he's spent the decades since his death afraid his dad will do that to his mom! who knows! only time will tell, but i am so intrigued

also i actually really love that him repressing so much doesn't get resolved. like yes girl keep deflecting from your trauma until you get overwhelmed and have a messy breakdown where everything explodes. and like yeah his friends know he's keeping shit to himself now, but that's. really not something it's easy to bring up so really the most they can do is let him know they're there for him and keep an eye out. which is probably harder to do with So Many Goddamn Enemies.

like okay let's count we've got esther + monty, crystal's demon ex, death's scottish secretary (idk her name or job sorry. the lady who played the witch mom on supernatural. rowena??? girl idk i didn't finish s5), the cat king (not necessarily evil but he is literally keeping them trapped so), miscellaneous enemies/villains each episode like the sprites or the misery wraith (terrifying btw! i Do Not like that thing on a personal level but i appreciate it thematically 👍), and ALSO Literal Death is basically looming over them as an existential and also very literal threat. girl this is crazy there is So Much going on how the fuck is this show only 8 episodes

crystal's memories... i actually really like that she might've been an asshole. like yeah you could argue her ex was influencing her (either supernaturally or just like peer pressure) but i actually think it's more interesting if he wasn't and she was just willing to be an asshole. and also maybe endanger people's lives?? idk what was up with dropping a large rock on moving cars but it didn't seem like anyone died bc he would for sure have leveraged that against her so. but i just think it's more interesting and compelling if she has to deal with like... yeah she was an asshole. what now? she can't change it, she's just got to live with it and choose to do better

also back to charles bc that scene will not stay out of my head. his actor is so good... the subtle emotional nuance in his facial expressions... i may need to rewatch the episode everything about his acting is so good. also charles getting stuck in the loop was fucking chilling- i didn't expect hitting the dad to work really, I thought it'd do nothing or go through him, but when he caught the cricket bat and hit charles with the axe i actually gasped. and then just sitting there unmoving and unseeing until the loop restarts and he vanishes... girl that was terrifying. like would they kill off charles like that? no I don't believe so, not in episode 3 of 8. however it was genuinely scary i didn't know if something fucked up would happen that he'd need a while to recover from or something. im glad he's okay physically at least, even if mentally is debatable :')

monty... what do i say about monty. he's cute and so awkwardly charming- if we hadn't seen that he's esther's familiar i would've been rooting for him to be a side character who shows up every now and then, kinda like jenny y'know? but because we know he's part of her revenge, i'm spending his scenes side-eyeing him like hey. the hell is that about. however i will say it's better knowing so we can stress about what his plan is instead of having him introduced as just a guy and then being a traitor or something. idk i like the dread and suspicion! it's a quality writing choice

i will say though, there's one thing about him that's making me side-eye him even harder. why did he antagonize charles? if he's trying to ingratiate himself with the boys + crystal and earn their trust, being a dick to one of them won't help. does esther's plan rely on isolating edwin? why? and if it's not her plan, why is he singling out edwin specifically? idk many questions lots to consider!!

in conclusion, this is such a good show and each episode just keeps getting better. i'm jumping right into episode four, i just wanted to organize my thoughts here first haha

[therealeagal]

Hades

You know, I've mentioned before that I don't care for certain genres of video games. It's because I'm a scrub who hates losing and a fake gamer who likes games that are easy, and in neither case have I the patience to Git Gud.

On the other hand, I've also mentioned that I am endlessly fascinated by Greek mythology because I'm a nerd. It's always interesting, if a bit over-exposed. How about a game about mythology other than the bloody Greeks and the Norse? I'm lookin' at you, Kratos.

I guess there was that one Hinduism game some years ago. What was it again? The dude with the multiple arms and the giant planet sized dude who tries to crush the hero with his finger. I think it started with an N...ok I found it. Asura's Wrath. I was way off.

Didn't get enough credit if you ask me.

If one were to make a game based on mythology, perhaps there's something from Africa that would make for an interesting concept. I don't know, I'm just spitballing. Preferably one that doesn't involve freaking Anansi, because he's overexposed too.

ANYWAY.

So I picked up Hades on the strength of being a nerd, not because I had a sudden change of heart viz a viz rogue-likes.

Cast in the role of protagonist, one Zagreus, son of Hades and (so he formerly believed) Nyx, respectively the god of the Underworld and the goddess of the night.

But some how that I forget, young Zaggy discovered that Nyx is not truly his mother. His true mother is actually named Persephone and that's a whole thing, but suffice it to say, she left the underworld at some point because reasons and hasn't been seen since.

Anyway, so then young Zaggy must fight his way out of the underworld in search of his mother. Along the way, he receives help from several of the gods who reside upon Mount Olympus, who are his uncles and assorted cousins as well as his grandmother (who doesn't know she's his grandmother. It's a very top secret hush hush sort of thing), Demeter.

Then middle middle middle, everyone lives happily ever after. Except not really because they're doing a sequel, but I'm sure that game will have everyone living happily ever after. Except for the Titans, I guess, but fuck them anyway.

====

So anyway, as to the gameplay, I was prepared for a slog, and mightily did I toil until - while searching the settings for the volume controls (it's a very loud game) I discovered a nifty little option in the settings menu called God Mode. Fake gamer that I am, I naturally took the opportunity to activate it, providing 20% damage reduction, which reduction would grow incrementally 'pon my inevitable death, capped at 80% and rarely did I turn it back off.

It really does make a world of difference. What once promised to be an unbearable slog was now instead an enjoyable game.

The deaths I still suffer on occasion (on account of being a fake gamer) still manage to advance the story 9 times out of 10, and always manage to entertain and at no point do I feel overwhelmed or frustrated by needless difficulty that the devs refuse to accomodate. Well, except when using the bow. I know it's supposed to be the strongest weapon, but I'm more of a button mash kinda gamer. Perils of being a filthy casual, I guess. Gimme Excalibur any day of the week.

The only thing missing is a sword beam and a Japanese highschooler who wants to be a hero.

That's a reference by the way. It shows that I am very clever. But it's an anime reference, which cancels out the cleverness and instead shows that I'm a jackass.

P.S. If you are offended by my use of God Mode, which invalidates everything that you - as a REAL gamer - went through to Git Gud, then please remember that I warned you several times throughout this post that I am both a filthy casual and a fake gamer, so... well, I won't tell you to eat all of the shit and then die, because I am a nice person, but I will think it. Really hard.

P.P.S. This is totally unrelated, but WHY DID THEY CHANGE THE WAY THAT POSTS ARE MADE? I HATE THIS FORMAT (is that the right word?). WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE OLD WAY!? NEW IS BAD! CHANGE IS SCARY! ARGNOEHAOAFEHJKHSGDGSHGJKDHGJKDGHDK!

[typingatlightspeed]

i'm curious: what all inspired you to make the mercs what supernatural beings they are in monsterous intent?

Originally it was just gonna be Demo the werewolf and that's it, but eventually the idea to make it into a whole-ass AU happened, and it kinda got silly from there. For Scout I'll be honest it was largely because I freakin' love fauns and satyrs. Always have. And modern deer-style fauns are absolutely adorable, and I really like the combination of cute, horny, and impulse-driven, which is very Scout. Plus a monster form that messes with his legs seemed Right for the guy whose job is Runs Fast. I also project onto him a little bit let us be honest with ourselves here. (I also cannot shut up clearly have adhd and am the littlest sibling who constantly feels inadequate and like I gotta prove myself.)

With Soldier, it's the whole yelling at severed heads on a fence thing from Meet the Soldier. What if the reason he had those severed heads wasn't just to fake an audience, but because he collects them? Dullahans and headless, what if he uses those heads to disguise himself? I read up on the actual folklore and then played with it A Lot, plus Cephalophores (depictions of beheaded saints carrying their own heads in their hands) are really cool imagery, so I went with it. Plus while in actual Irish folklore Dullahans are Faeries, they're also very death-focused, and you'll see them depicted as undead in media a lot, and with Merasmus being the guy he is, the connection just Worked. Basically canon gave me a really easy lay-up of a monster type for Soldier, lol. And Silas Mann jokes as a bonus. Gods help us if Soldier ever gets a horse. (I totally wanna give him a whip made of a human spine eventually.)

Pyro took a while to figure out. I knew I wanted him to be something that couldn't disguise himself easily, hence always being in the gasmask, but I hemmed and hawwed a lot. Someone (I wish I remembered who) pointed me to djinn and how they're made of "smokeless flame" in myth, so I did a bunch of reading and, again, kind of made my version for this AU. I try to make sure to put a lot of the actual real-world folklore and myth in, but also give stuff its own fun little spin, too. :3

Demo being a werewolf was the whole point, tbh. When I first wrote Predation, it was because there was a little bit of werewolf smut in the fandom, but all of it made Sniper the werewolf. I get the vibes, but Demo actually had a wolfman cosmetic set for Halloween! It only made sense he'd get to be the werewolf! Since Sniper had the monster (vampire) hunter costume, he got to be the guy "hunting" werewolf!Demo, and that was how it all got started.

For Engie I couldn't think of a monstrous transformation that would feel right, and since he was the skeptic in Predation, it only made sense that he'd be very unknowledgable and uninvested in the supernatural (at least until he had to be involved with it lol) so instead I just leaned into the transhumanist vibe that Engie sometimes has and went hard on him slowly fashioning himself into a cyborg. Pyro's apprehensions vs. Engie's views mirror the way I in real life am of two minds about properly advanced cybernetics vs. removing healthy body parts.

Heavy was the first after Demo, with Sniper pointing out he was half-jotun in The Good Folk. I knew I wanted him to be a giant of some sort, and with his Siberian background and cold and ice vibes, being part frost giant just seemed right, yanno? Plus the eventual opportunity for big size difference play was something I couldn't resist. Giant man, giant everything. owo

Medic was a tough one for a while, too. Him taking up magic was directly because of his line from the Merasmus boss fight event, where he goes "I must learn this black magic!" and generally being hype about all the magic bullshit lol. Him being a garuda was harder. I knew I wanted to give him wings; that was never a doubt lbr I am a SUCKER for winged humanoids and doubly so winged Medic. Finding the right monster was the hard part. I didn't wanna go harpy simply because Scout was already a Roman monster and got turned by a Greek one, and I didn't wanna double-dip in those mythological waters. And in Buddhist traditions, Garuda are a type of inhuman creature that appear either as giant birds or anthropomorphic birds. My first exposure to the name was as random bird monsters in Final Fantasy games, lol. So I figured Medic going for that and still kinda fucking it up (being a dove rather than a brahminy kite) would be a fun way to make him a bird man off the beaten path.

Sniper being a monsterfucking human, as mentioned above, was inspired by his vampire hunter halloween costume, lol. Also because lbr out of all of them he seems most like the kind of guy who would do a stakeout to get railed by a werewolf.

Spy needed to be a trickster. That was imperative. Ideally a shapeshifter. Nothing from French folklore jumped out at me enough that I wanted to use it, and finally I gave in and went with one of my favourite monsters: kitsune. Plus it gave me an excuse to be a weeb and my god I look for any excuse there. (I'm not a huge anime/manga weeb I'm a huge language/culture/food weeb lol) It ended up working in my favour too since him not even actually being a human French dude but a Japanese fox who cannot create human children means that the Spy Is Scout's Dad reveal in 2017 didn't hit MI nearly as hard as it could have, lol. Thank fuck, really. Also instead it lead to a hilariously squicky misunderstanding on RED Demo's part lol.

Spy's a monster but he's not a monster, Tav, jeez.

Also: Miss P as a human diviner just makes sense. In addition to her being a mage fitting in the world and giving Medic another, better role model than just Merasmus, it makes sense what with half of her job being surveillance of and managing the teams!

[sealer-of-wenkamui]

7 once again highlights the idea of ignorance is bliss, and once you know the truth, there’s no going back…

First a few things I’m recognizing on another rewatch- Re-l heals abnormally fast, is this because she’s an imperfect Monad clone? Proxies are very hard to kill thanks to the Amrita cells, so even an imperfect clone may at least have accelerated healing. Also this fact may serve as a small hint that she’s not actually dead at the end of the episode

And the other thing, when Raul is told that the proxy has left Romdo, it’s less about Monad being dead and more that Vince is gone, the second proxy (though they don’t know it’s Vince specifically)

Even Re-l now realizes the truth to Daedalus’ words, that the truth wouldn’t necessarily make her happy… and now she’s even poking around the research facility he works at and ends up realizing how deeply he’s involved. But it’s too late to go back.

I love the scene in the WombSys room, it feels like Daedalus is trying to make a last ditch effort to keep Re-l with him, stressing the importance of this controlled system maintaining life in the dome. But she just ends up questioning if that’s really true since she’s seen life outside now, and he doesn’t even have a good response, only regrets about letting her see outside in the first place (which sure enough it was him, and outside the authority of the security bureau, and nearly losing her does seem to be the first push towards losing himself in his obsession…)

Love the way he’s absolutely speaking from personal experience when he agrees to Re-l saying “once you know the truth, there’s no escaping it.”… he knows so much and is probably more miserable for it, like by the end he’s very resigned to his fate as long as he has his Real and believes we can’t do anything a fight against “gods”

She brings up their promise, so him investigating Monad’s corpse and telling her about it, but i feel like there’s an unspoken layer to it as well- that she will be pursuing the truth and he’s willing to help her (which he must have been the one to help her leave the dome after her “death” and we see he gave her two of his FP rounds, which take a huge amount of energy to produce and can kill a proxy. It’s something that would take preparation so he knew it was likely coming to this…The proxy has left so they’re only gonna be needed outside)

He is trying to make efforts to keep her there, but he too knows it’s unlikely she will, but since he desires her love and for her to rely on him and be able to trust him, he won’t force her to stay or do anything to shake that trust… so he can at least have an agreement for her to go out then come back. Like later on he seems to really enjoy their discussions on the proxies and being the one person she can talk openly to.

I think at this point he recognizes he really might lose her though and has started making preparations for Real. (He does fiddle with something while in the WombSys room, I wonder if she’s already starting to be made or if it’s after episode 10…?) When Re-l “dies” at the end, we also see a shadow of an A where the dash is, and sure enough, “Re-l” is dead to him by the time she comes back, replaced by Real (or so he’s trying to convince himself) And when he’s talking about the potential of Amrita cells later in the lab, it kinda sounds like he’s aiming for cloning a proxy…?

On Raul’s side, he’s set on pursuing the proxy (or really, Vince) outside of the Dome, and the invasion of Mosk is first brought up… (still seems unaware of Monad, but he doesn’t really care about her lol) and he’s openly speaking of the Regent’s declining health and a new age in Romdo

Come to think of it, did Proxy One also leave with Vince…? He’s briefly seen at the beginning, but he’s definitely in Mosk before Vince arrives

So Daedalus really didn’t know why Monad was kept asleep but he was absolutely lying earlier about not knowing her purpose, cause he’s able to explain to Re-l how the proxy supports the dome, and is essentially a god to it. (Also we get some time frame, Mosk had already been invaded and Monad brought there by the time he was assigned to her, which makes sense knowing his purpose is for her and Re-l)

I do find it interesting that Daedalus also says he’s like her in that he desires to know things (it’s not making him happy, but he still pursues knowledge), which yeah, we can see the way he evades surveillance and does a bunch of stuff on his own (like with Monad’s corpse). Also the conversation here where he questions how she knew the word proxy still has me thinking he intentionally left his desk, he knew her nature well and that she would not be able to resist.

After the last episode it’s no wonder Daedalus mistakenly believes Raul is behind the attempt on Re-l’s life, not only was he saying those that leave the dome should be punished, he’s also pursuing the proxy, and likely pissed off at Daedalus… and he’s a very emotional man… he seems especially shocked at weaponized cogito with how little is know about it… but it’s later confirmed it was her grandfather, which Daedalus did have her meet with him before fulfilling his end of the promise (claiming it was so he could save face) but… she ended up questioning why he was hiding the outside world and probably then considered a threat

I love that we canonically know what his signature looks like! Its very funny that they keep you hanging on her fate until episode 10 too lol

This is the Daedalus and Raul write up so I don’t have as much to say about episode 8 but this time around I got why Vince couldn’t help but fight and kill Senex, the pulse of awakening signals the end of the proxy project, and proxies aren’t going to be needed in this “new world” when the original humans come back… I do wonder why Mayahuel could sense the pulse, was she some sort of incomplete proxy clone too…?