#edit: odd one out in general why did i get so specific-

[madgoat212]

no matter what jay ferin is always at least a little bit aroace in my heart. before finding out any of the characters were lgbtq when the brainrot began i was like "wouldnt it be funny if the arrow ace was aroace" and ive latched onto that in my head. i heart canonically queer characters that dont have romantic or sexual relationships in the forefront of their story but some little part of my heart is always gonna interpret her as aroace spec bc

[creative-robot]

I know The Founders Cut, generally, is the edited scrubbed over version of genloss from Showfall in-universe (as well as a not-8-hour-long-three-stream-binge-night whenever we want to watch it again) but something that struck me as odd and I haven’t seen anyone mention yet, is this warning

It shows up right at the junction where the third act starts, where it appears the Hero is breaking free of Showfall thanks to Hetch. But here’s the thing, while a LOT less than the previous acts the audience still played a significant role in this act, even when really only given two audience interaction choices. Which makes me wonder, how real is this warning, and who is it for? Obviously the audience involved knows what happens past this point, but the audience is also implied to be an integral part of the Social Experiments, which is part of why things start to tweak out when the Founder removes them in the Founder Cut as the Generation Loss generation loses.

My first thought, was that obviously this is another bait and switch, a way to draw the audiences attention, seeing something that’s secret, something that’s not “meant for them”, which is a tactic I could see Showfall using in universe to keep people’s attention and add an air of mystery to their shows.

But

Showfall is doing all their experiments and these shows with a LOT of help from their censors to show it off, displaying a fun silly show that is definitely not uber fucked up and that is 100% just slime don’t worry about it, it’s kid friendly if it’s green! And I don’t think they’d want to bet all their cards on this one experiment doing well enough to their audience to not question the sudden shift in tone that follows this warning. Which makes me wonder.

They did their test, they did their experiment, and the evidence of this last act? I think it was a one time run, they don’t want anyone seeing this, it isn’t for the audience. Act three is specifically to both test and play with their Hero, Hetch’s new lines add a level to this, never once does he call the Hero by their name, just refers to Ranboo as their Role, and he’s not exactly. Nice? About literally any of Ranboos concerns, which wouldn’t really seem conductive to making an audience trust him, especially with his monologue at the end. Ranboo has escaped before, possibly right before act 1 started, they tightened the security on his mask to be unremovably part of them, Hetch doesn’t like the Hero but they’re a fan favorite so he can’t just get rid of them.

Act three is the cumulation of Ranboo being punished for things they don’t remember, for daring to break free from Showfalls control, this is Hetch taking the Hero and essentially majorly fucking and manipulating them to take his frustration out on a fan favorite they can’t otherwise get rid of or give a smaller role like Slimecicle. which is exemplified by the fact that we now know Charlie most likely was never able to actually able to fully snap out of the control, that even in act three in panic and confusion there was at least still a part of him being influenced by Showfall.

So the first two acts are the usual show, they have their posters, they have Squiggles to introduce them, they have goofs and silliness and only a couple slip ups that’re quickly dealt with, the usual rose tinted curtains. Act three?

Do not watch the following material

[inkyvendingmachine]

Moving Pieces Season 4, Episode 2

💀 Call of Cthulhu: Haunted Hijinx Masterpost 💀 Call of Cthulhu Season Four Masterpost (Coming Soon)

Warning: This campaign is an edited version of  a Call of Cthulhu scenario from the Tales of the Crescent City book. While a lot has been changed, there IS spoilers for it throughout these posts.

The boys are going through a normal one.

Can you tell I recently played Betrayal for the first time,

Art Credit: @inkdemonapologist : sketching + inking @inkyvendingmachine : concept + colouring

Joey wakes up to Sammy bursting into his office and demanding an explanation of why he didn’t come home last night. Bendy happily lets Sammy know that Joey tried to do a dream spell, which just sets him off more. They go back and forth some, Joey confirming that yes, he did that, but he was just trying to see what the general feel of Y was right now… and he doesn’t seem to be like Moonlight had been before. It seems like he’s just… doing his thing, discussing possible options with some dream-version of his sister, and not that he’s specifically scheming or anything. 

While they’re doing their usual arguing dance, Sammy is suddenly interrupted by Prophet… urging him not to submit to the call of the yellow king. This is when they both notice that Sammy had actually been going for the ink faucet in Joey's office???

Joey takes this opportunity to turn the argument around on Sammy, asking if Prophet isn’t going for the ink, then why is he being called towards it? IS THE INK GOING BAD?? DID SOMEONE MESS WITH IT AGAIN!?!??

Bendy clarifies that the ink isn’t tainted, but it does seem to be resonating with something nearby… and that Sammy is sensitive to it. Sammy calls Prophet out to confirm this, as well as confirming it’s def yellow king stuff, before fading again. With that as solved as it could be, Sammy heads to Music to catch Jack up on these developments, while Joey goes and info dumps all the same info on Henry. During this he kinda talks himself thru realizing that maybe Y’s sister is not as dead as they expected… since they don’t really know what sorts of immortal properties come from making yourself an ink body.

Joey goes back to his office and gets in contact with Peter to make sure he’s still alive, gives him a command to check in at the end of day and immediately hangs up as Peter is trying to complete a response. Sammy and Jack try to find Norman to get him up to speed, but find he's called out for the day. And of course, he gave some outlandish excuse, so nobody really knows why he’s staying home. Joey calls Norman and, surprisingly, he actually picks up?? Norman admits part of the reason he’s staying home is because he’s noticed some weird shit is happening again. Joey gives him an update, which is cut off by him asking, “So when’s the trip to New Orleans? That’s where it started, right?”

That’s… a good point. 

Joey hangs up on Norman and calls Grace Fowler. He plays off the reasoning as wanting to thank her for the holiday gift, and catch up with her daughter Estelle, who’s also interested in catching up with him.

Especially because between an odd dream Estelle had, where her father showed up and told her to both be careful and stay away from New York, and that night of yellow mist, she thinks Joey’s calling because there’s something weird happening. Joey confirms this, he’s not gonna lie to a child that he likes, and manages to learn from her that a strange man had also been asking her about odd happenings recently. Joey asks if he looks like how he remembers Avedon, and Estelle is extremely impressed that he’s exactly right. 

So maybe this is why Norman is waiting at home for a call…

Joey promises to send her a present and tells her to keep up the good detective work, along with reinforcing not to worry her mother and stay safe and all that stuff. (the present is going to be a very good quality notebook that he gets Henry’s help to doodle Bendys and Friends on the page margins throughout it, and an engraved pen to go with it.)

Their strongest lead, at least as far as Sammy's concerned, is that weird performance of Sammy's old improv last night -- so with half a day of work done, Jack, Sammy and Susie head out to one of the clubs they remember some of that band from the charity event tends to frequent. They manage to easily get in, being recognized from their speakeasy days and Jack and Susie being their usual charming, talkative selves. People probably tried to talk to Sammy too, but he’s just interested in chatting with the Jumps after their set. Until then, they get to grab some drinks, sit back and actually enjoy the music for a while. It’s actually… kind of nice? No terrible haunted songs being played, no ink spread throughout the city gnawing in the back of Sammy’s head, no gun fire.

When they do get to talk with the band after the show, it’s immediately apparent that the clarinetist from the charity event is not there. That’s… interesting, since Prophet’s prophecy mentioned a “black wood” and Jack has noted that could be slang for a clarinet instead of a forest… Jack does remember some of these fine folks though, and starts off the conversation, only for Sammy to interject during a lull and ask where they got the music from the other night.

Everyone laughs and agrees that Sammy is still Sammy - A whole hecking gunshot weird cultist nonsense goes down and Sam’s here asking about where they sourced their music. Well, to answer that question, yes it came from a guest they were playing with that night, and yes it was the guy playing a mean reed. His name is Alan Leroy, and they’ve got a lot of nice things to say about him that can also be taken in an extremely concerning way, like how he can make sounds come out of his instrument they’ve never heard before.

Yay! That’s exactly the kind of descriptions of musicians we love to hear about!!!

Jack manages to get the information for where Alan lives, along with some of his friends. Sammy is content with this and attempts to head to the door (in entirely the wrong direction) while Jack winds down the conversation… finding out that also they haven’t been able to contact Al since the other night. He’s probably at home??? But he seemed so shaken up by that guy yelling nonsense at him…

Jack and Susie catch up to Sammy to lead him to the right door, but when Sammy opens it, it… IS the right door? Susie thinks so at least, but it seems odd to Jack, who thinks that they definitely entered through a different door, and Sammy isn’t sure what to think. Things like this haven't been reliable for him for an exceedingly long time, and he can't tell if this door is any different. Something might really be wrong if Prophet’s navigational skills are working with him and not against him…………

But outside, everything seems chill. Normal… Susie even thinks this is the same door, but Jack is very sure they were not on this block earlier. And when he turns to head back to the car, he notices a certain unmoving, pale face in a different car passing down the road. And it’s looking right at him.

Joey and Henry do a tour to check in with people after work, starting with Peter. He’s gotten in contact with his old paper and confirms the weird mist was down in NOLA. He also talked with the police and got confirmation that the shot was fired by some gangster named Johnny Nero, and some places they could look into to find out more about him.

Oh and also there was this weird guy. Peter saw him across the street during lunch, unnaturally pale, dark suit… but he didn’t get to see much more before he just up and vanished. Just a wee bit odd fella, that’s all.

Neither Joey nor Henry are feeling good about this info.

Maybe it’s time to install the buddy system again.

Joey also ends up just calling Norman instead of stopping by, from Peter’s phone of course, and updating him on what’s been going on, as well as asking him if HE knows what’s Avedon up to. Norman says he hasn’t been able to get ahold of him, but it’s good to know he’s out and about. 

The other three meet up with them at Peter’s place late that night and updates are had all around. We keep splitting up so you’re gonna hear that sentence a lot this season I feel. This is what happens when our DM has given us multiple NPCs we enjoy so we keep forcing her to take them along with us. c:

Anyways, between all these comparisons, Joey is starting to think that maybe their previous experiences in Carcosa-like situations in NOLA is perhaps giving them a different view of events than say, Susie, who’s very sure that the door they left out of was the same they went in. With this information in hand and a pretty good inkling that apparently things are moving around and there’s a weird pale guy following them, the boys decide they want to go and try to talk with that Alan guy tonight.

Arriving at a pretty nice house in a pretty nice neighborhood, the boys all shuffle out of their new fancy red Mercedes to go wake Mr. Leroy up in the middle of the night. Instead they get his… butler? Who is not too happy about our middle of the night bothering. After some standard Joeying Up, he admits that Alan hasn’t been home for a few days, but also that’s not unusual. He can give us some information of friends Al usually stays with and stuff, and Joey hands over a number to be called if he returns home soon. (A number for a second phone line he got installed over the last year. It goes directly to his office and is listed under an alias, specifically for situations like this where maybe he doesn’t want to lead every gangster and cultist back to JDS right away.) 

While Joey is doing his Joey thing, the others start hearing a lady around the side of the house chatting excitedly. Perhaps in a conversation with a beloved? But it seems to be just one side of it… like, WEIRDLY seems to be just one side of a conversation.

The group heads out from the house, around the corner and finds… the car isn’t there. However, there is another Mercedes up the street. Almost the same exact car, just parked somewhere different and now a stunning new colour!

It’s brown.

(well i guess they were out of blue ones.)

After closer inspection, they confirm that it is indeed their car. This is just a wee bit disorienting, and while four boys puzzle over this, Henry tiredly notices that apparently a lady has wandered up to him in the meanwhile. She takes his arm and starts talking about how she’s looking forward to when he gets his own ship, and when they sail away to spend their life together.

Henry just mumbles back “I’m married..?”

Jack and Sammy recognize her as the lady they heard earlier. Joey feels like he’s on the edge of remembering something about her, but none of them actually know who she is so. Uh.

TIME TO LEAVE.

Everyone awkwardly shuffles into the car, since it seems about as safe as anything else around them now, and drive off as the lady continues to monologue and wave Henry into the distance. 

Joey asks Jack to drive directly away from the water, and watches the car as they move out of the mist.

It’s still brown.

(also Joey is still taking the middle seat as he usually does, he’s just leaning over Sammy to stare out the window.)

While they could head out to the other addresses in the middle of the night, it’s starting to feel not very safe to be split up and looking for clues with these sorts of changes happening. They pull over and Henry makes a phone call to Linda, telling her he’s not heading home tonight since it feels like eldritch nonsense may or may not be following them, and they’re gonna stay in the studio tonight. He also sees… a familiar pale face in a black suit… reflected in the glass of the phone booth… but of course, when he turns, it’s gone. The group makes their way to Norman’s, wanting to check on him and Susie in case they’re actually getting Carcosa’d.

When they get there though, Norman and Susie seem to be perfectly fine, and don’t understand why Joey is insisting on them looking at the car. It seems to Norman a very odd midnight activity, to have him look at their new paint job.

Susie’s confused. Paint job? It’s always been brown.

Welp. That seems to confirm the suspicions. Whatever’s going on, it seems only those who touched Carcosa in some way have been able to tell that things are different. Anyone else is seeing these changes as if that reality had been true from the start. Susie isn’t pleased about being kicked out of the Oddly Affected Club (or the Oddly Unaffected Club?), but it is nice to have someone they can get reality checks from. Joey states they’re gonna go back to the studio for the night, but Norman declines the invitation. He’s still waiting for a call.

Alrighty, good luck with that.

The group gets back to the studio and starts pulling some cots out of storage, Jack sits down with Lurks and chats some, while Joey goes and starts to prepare a dream spell. When Henry questions him on this, he talks about wanting to try and reach out to Fowler?? Like… up until now, they had been running with the idea that Fowler wasn’t able to be communicated with at all. But if he reached out to his family through their dreams… then maybe Joey can reach out to him in his?

Henry offers to help, because he’s actually had dreams and communication with Fowler in the past, and they both have a sort of understanding with each other. Joey can’t deny that it’d probably work better than him trying on his own, so he sets up the spell for Henry.

And Henry finds himself in a very misty dream. There’s really nothing to see, except three lit corridors going off in different directions… Henry calls out to Fowler, and sort of hears someone in the distance call back? So instead of walking into any of the lit areas, he follows the voice into the fog, and calls out once again, letting Fowler know it’s Henry…

And suddenly, from all around, a very loud booming voice shakes Henry to the core, telling him to get his family out of New York, before it’s too late.

Henry sits up from Joey’s lap and immediately goes for the phone, saying he’s sorry, he didn’t get much information but he needs to call Linda. Telling Joey what he heard as he dials, a freshly awoken Linda gets an exceedingly serious sounding Henry telling her to get the kids packed up and get out of New York ASAP. of course, her first question is about whether or not he’s coming too. 

“No.”

“How do you know you’re going to be safe then?”

“I’m not.”

JOEY SNATCHES THE PHONE FROM HENRY,

and gives her an actual explanation of the situation. Something’s following them, tied to Henry, they’re trying to get it untied from them but the longer Linda and the kids stay in New York the more likely they might also get wrapped up in it which will be worse for everyone, Henry included. He’s not doing any dumb sacrificial bullshit, and Joey promises he will do everything in his power to keep Henry safe.

She knows he wouldn’t let anything happen to Henry if he could prevent it.

With that all actually said, Joey hands Henry the phone back, and he’s able to apologize for being dramatic instead of informative. With a soft I love you exchange, Henry hangs up.

And he goes and gives Joey a hug.

[Next Episode] (not yet released)

[intuitive-revelations]

Some notes on Tales of the TARDIS: The Pyramids of Mars (some finale trailer spoilers included)

We don't get as much interesting stuff in the framing device here, for obvious reasons, but there's still some stuff to talk about.

Surprised they still used the stock backgroud / TARDIS cgi for this Tales of the TARDIS episode. I would have thought they would have something new/more specific to the next episode.

I'm very interested in the decision to have Fifteen and Ruby here. Out of universe I get it, what with Elisabeth Sladen being gone, and who knows if Tom would have able/willing to do something with a different actor (and who would you bring in even if he were? Luke?). But the in-universe placement is interesting. I would have assumed it was just a framing device, but we know we're going to see the Memory TARDIS in the finale. I'm guessing there will be a scene with them in the Memory TARDIS where Fifteen briefly explains what Sutekh is, and the Tales of the TARDIS bookends will basically be a deleted scene that fits into that?

There's actually some evidence for this. As we zoom in, the TARDIS doors seem to be open, which might fit with those trailer scenes of the Doctor looking out at Earth, plus the one of him screaming. However, Mel was there in the trailer, so I'm guessing we're going to be in and out of the Memory TARDIS quite a bit next episode.

I noticed those subtle camera glances from Ncuti as he's talking about Four and Sarah Jane :)

People have already commented on it, but I like the anti-colonialist reframing of the story.

As for the omnibus story itself, the editing was generally good. I don't know the original serial enough to spot everything they did, but I did kinda miss the Victoria reference at the beginning.

Interesting decision to replace the Time Corridor effects with the modern Time Vortex. Kinda makes sense in some ways, plus probably helps explain how Sutekh ends up in the Void without needing other stories. Super missed opportunity not using the graphics from the Season promo photos though, which people pointed out as being very reminiscent of the time tunnel.

As someone always eager, usually in vain, for 'canon' to fit together, I'm super intrigued by the mention of Sutekh having "evolved into a Titan" since Pyramids. (Interestingly, the iPlayer titles capitalised this. I found it a bit interesting, since in the context of gods, it immediately bring to mind Greek mythology, but that would be an odd choice to combine with the Egyptian/Christian inspired Sutekh.)

(Actually small critique of the iPlayer subtitling. I don't really need accessibility features, but had them on as I didn't want to miss anything. The new Doctor Who content has made some big bounds with accessibility, with the BSL and audio description options, but I was a bit disappointed with some of the subtitling line changes from the actual spoken words, even if I get why some lines might have been changed for clarity from Four's meandering language. It had quite a big effect on the dialogue though, in some places. I can see what people on here mean when they advocate for accurate subtitling.)

Anyway, back to the evolution thing. I hope this might be explained or eluded to next episode, given the decision to re-air an episode with such a distinctly different Sutekh.

Between the time tunnel leading to the far future, plus the fact he originates from the Dark Times, maybe the idea of him being the 'oldest one' isn't as crazy as I thought? After all, beings like the Toymaker, if they are the 'Time Lords' of the previous universe, are presumably only around 14 billion years old in the present day, if their original species had lifespans similar to the current Time Lords.

That being said, Four says he 'lived for 7000 years'. No idea if that's about his lifetime up until this point, or how long the Doctor thinks Sutekh survived in the Time Tunnel. If the prior, it's possible it doesn't include his time imprisoned. If the latter, maybe that's how long he was stuck in the tunnel before he escaped to the Void, with his disappearance causing the Doctor to assume he died?

Meanwhile, maybe the "Mother/Father/Other" thing is more about taking that kind of role in providing understanding of N-Space to the Great Old Ones, like in the Titan Comics storyline, than an actual parental connection? I don't know, that one's going to both me if we don't get more information tonight...

The only other possibility, which admittedly I kind of like, is that Sutekh is somehow an incarnation of The Beast (in the same way the Doctor might be the Other/Red Guardian), who really is old enough to be such a thing. If so, maybe he's awakened to that power/knowledge since last we saw him?

[eyedoeluhn]

I haven’t mentioned the other Celestial (x)s before, so let’s actually run through the three main ones as well as what the Celestial Forge even is. I’m not counting ones like the Celestial Bakery because that’s tiny it’s like eight perks. The CM is my favorite, the CF is…actually not that bad. The CG….

The Celestial Forge is a collection of Jumpchain perks loosely (emphasis on) based around crafting.

A jumpchain, for the uninitiated, is a story prompt game thing where you write a character (most commonly self inserts or ocs) as the ‘jumper’ someone who travels fictional universes at the behest of a random omnipotent being’s entertainment or whatnot. unsurprisingly, I’m not the fondest of them. The power system is in collections of Jumpchain documents which lay the rules ( perks, drawbacks, items, settings, etc) of each universe. These are made independently and are not explicitly balanced. This balance gets more and more wildly out of wack the more jumps you do and the explicit end point of a jumpchain is to become comparably powerful as a ROB by finding a ‘spark’ perk (used to be a specific one but now there are multiple). Sure, jumpchains can end at any point but most people enjoy numbers go-up too much. My favorite wildly unbalanced jumpchains are things like random sitcom shows because oh my god you will find the wildest powers in there. My personal favorite is a free perk that allows you to take command of a vessel and instantly everyone inside or on that vessel will do everything you command no matter what, which is honestly pretty tame but extremely funny.

The CF is a bunch of these Uber powerful perks mashed together into one document. It’s unbalanced, it’s not great for a narrative, its most popular work is BCF, it doesn’t have the greatest PR in my eyes. However I don’t think it’s completely unsalvageable. Some tweaking of points, ignoring powers that ruin your story,and an author who is discerning enough to focus on plot rather than word count could make a fine fic even if it has yet to be done. Also I would prune a lot of powers to make it an actual focus on tinkering.

also, side note, why the fuck are there so many versions on google docs? I understand Jumpchain documents are usually docs but they’re like five pages and some pictures not like eight hundred pages of text. Christ.

The Celestial Grimore is a collection of ‘magic perks’ which are so extremely unbalanced Im not sure how this would even be written. There’s a section devoted to rolling entire near universal compendiums of all knowledge of fictional universes. Basically any magic system, ki, chakra, mana, is in there and it’s terrible. Magic is already a really esoteric and broad power system to bring in OOC especially and putting basically no limits on it and ascribing a million ways to use it doesn’t help. The magic parks of the Forge are its weakest because the technobabble is at least hypothetically interesting and I have no real interest in the Grimoire. Also Got The Grimoire Now What…it did not leave a good impression on me. While at least it’s in a spreadsheet it’s not that readable and looking at it for a minute was enough for me to say it would need extreme pruning or a strong specific central narrative. This is probably the least salvageable of all of the celestials.

The Celestial Menagerie is the odd one out of the bunch. It drops the perk system entirely to be a summons based power where you primarily roll for creatures from real life or fiction. Well I wouldn’t call it perfectly balanced it is the hardest C(X) to become setting breaking imo. It’s the neatest as well, being a pretty google sheets with a built in dice roller and color coding. Well I would make some edits, generally to the powers section to preserve the squishy summoner, you start with limits on how far your summons can get away and how many you summon at once and so on. It’s also my favorite because it allows for some very funny builds, two of my own personal favorites are a guy who has no summons for several thousand words but knows a lot about farming, and on a more punishing rule set a guy who can summon one (1) flea.

The Celestial Menagerie also has the current best C(X) fic, Brocktons Zoo of Myth and Legend. My god do I love BZML. I read it in one sitting, live reacting with my Buddy and we genuinely could not guess where the plot would go next. It’s hilarious and the author makes several extremely respectable choices and values the plot over useless powerwank. It has its problems but in this genre…also most of those problems were extremely endearing anyways. I’ll probably make a post about it at some point but I would recommend reading it blind.

There’s also another c(x) that me and said friend have been playing with that’s deeply stupid on purpose but I’ll wait for some context posts before pitching it.

[localfanbaselurker]

Yall know the drill!! Let’s get it baby!!

Watching Voltron: LD for the First Time and Saying What I Think

S1-2 | S3 | S4 | S5 | S6 | you are here! | S8

upon formatting this debrief/review, I realized quite quickly that I was gonna run out of the image limit too soon, no matter how many collages I made, so some ideas are better if you specifically remember scenes. Click on images for better quality! I apologize, I only have tumblr on mobile. please enjoy this edition anyway!

Pre-Season 7 Thoughts

-> I said in my S6 post that I thought it could be a decent ending if some strings were finally tied, so hopefully this season clears those up

-> S6 was pretty intense at the end, hopefully they tone it down a notch as they go on their little earth roadtrip

-> the aftermath of Lotor dying is definitely something that will weigh on Allura. Hopefully she doesn’t get too torn up about it

-> I’m really curious as to how the new team dynamics will play out now that Kieth is back as black paladin. Will they go back to s1? s3? Will they just act like nothing??

-> really wanna scene where keith calls krolia mom for the first time

-> what is with this “game show” episode??

-> I’m curious as to how ships will play out now.. Lance seems to be okay with Allura not liking him back after s6, their talk was really nice. As much as I think they look cute together, Allura needs time to get over Lotor first, and Lance seems to be already moving on.

-> now that Kieth is back, I wonder if there was more “klance moments” for people to go crazy over

->also where has Matt been this whole time??

-> them going to earth will probably explore their families, and i really wanna see more of their lore. (Especially keith)

->Hopefully shiro finally gets a break after everything. I’m excited to see who this love interest of his is!!

Post-Season 7

-> holy fuck. yall did not lie. that was…intense.

->ultimately I did not get my pre-s7 wish then.

-> I really liked all the keith/shiro lore about their relationship. It was really sweet. Shiro was the first person (besides his dad I guess) to show him patience and kindness. That’s so heartwarming.

->added to all the motifs and references to them saving each other,,very sweet. I love found family stuff like that. so i very much liked that episode (besides the “tiny” subplot lolz)

-> Romelle (as opposed to the name I gave her: “sailor moon altean girl”) is actually so real. She and hunk have the same “only normal one” vibe and i respect that.

-> literally where was haggar/honerva this whole time. Did she take a sabbatical or something??

->this image is so chaotic…literally what are yall doing 😭

->cosmic wolf (Kosmo, apparently) dgaf I love him

-> Allura is such a cutie.. “but I’m terrible at drawing! 😔” I love her so much

->^hunk upgraded his bayard!! Yayyyyy! More character development!!!

->Axca is back! (I have since long stopped calling her “space asami girl”)

-> i think she’s a really interesting character. While the other of Lotor’s generals go for whatever seems right for them, (as you should in war) she seems to calculate things on a matter of both that and morality, while also looking at the big picture. “Well, this would save my ass, save the universe from chaos, and be morally intact…sounds good”

->^is this the klance moment? seems a little sad tbh. why Lance is like that “wait where are you going?” relax bro he’s not gonna disappear

-> they’ve been gone FOR THREE YEARS????

-> what the FREAK.

-> imagine now how their families have missed them 🙁 I’m actually so sad abt that ☹️

->the game show ep…was really funny. Idk where yall got all this angst from. New mission: write a fluff one shot post-game show.

->^i literally cannot get over this??? Like.. they could’ve really made him say anything else. “because mullet here would punch you to the end of eternity if he didn’t get out *smirk*” or something like that but no it /had/ to be that. And the others thought it was odd too, I mean look at their expressions.

->And same goes for Keith??? If you don’t wanna spend an eternity with Lance just pick yourself?? There had to be another reason. If they made all the other characters say insightful and heartfelt things about one another, why can’t Keith say anything?

-> I think because keith and Lance chose each other, making both of them say nice things would drive you guys a little crazy, so I think they tried to just “klance-proof” (like baby-proof) this season by making them barely interact unless it’s a battle or doing so in a s1/2 way

->Because otherwise keith acted…really out of character..? I think it might be to his growth on the quantum abyss trip, but it just felt so odd to watch him this season

->the “floating in space” episode was actually super interesting to watch. Going space crazy caused for their truest thoughts and desires to come out from the dark. (going to earth, what they think about each others’ actions) I thought that was really cool.

->KEITH CALLED KROLIA MOM!!! IT HAPPENED!! OMG. SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP FALLING TO MY KNEES AT WALMART!!!!!!!!🫡💪🔥🔊🗣️

->Krolia and kolivan definitely explored each other’s bodies idgaf. Kolivan is the dad that stepped up fr.

->Colleen Holt is an icon. She’s a girlboss. She’s a legend. I love her so much. Sam better watch out 🤛👊🤜

->^from “who is this divaaaa 😍😍” to “OMG GIRL LANCE??? 😮😁” to “OMG LANCE’S SISTERRRRR😆🤩”

->^is this not the “the pilot crashed!” girl from 1x01??

->tbh i literally could give less of a fuck about these people. The girls seem cool I guess. But I don’t really care about any of them.

->also no way they deadass named a dude kinkade. That was wild even for them (I’m so sorry if it’s a cultural thing)

->^I love it when they do little homage bits like referencing back s1 or 2 like this

->^screaming crying throwing up.

->^^that hug between pidge and her mom..i felt that. that shit was personal. Ya’ll see the way she held on to her? Diabolical work. (I’m tearing up as I type this)((that’s exactly how I’ve held my mom b4))

->^^^“uncle lance!” STOP. DON’T DO THIS TO ME. I CAN’T DO THISSSSSS *screams*

->HUUUNNNKKKK. MY BOYYYYY. UGHHHHHH. I’m gonna die

-> I will say this tho, I’m glad he’s getting a lot of focus and attention his way these last few seasons (6&7). Like yes!! Give the realest mf in the whole show the attention and appreciation he deserves!!!

->I was so happy when he got his parents back like I genuinely did a little celebratory dance (jumping up and down and going “yes!yes!yesyesyesyes! yeeeessssssss!” while doing exaggerated hand gestures)

->Adam fucking died.

->not even one scene showing his and shiro’s positive interactions. or them being romantic. one and a half scenes. And then he’s gone.

-> while, for the most part, I try to understand the writers faults further than just face level, (ie netflix or dreamworks just didn’t let them explicitly put anything there) idk I just. I feel like they could’ve at least played it off as them being “good friends” or something. But to kill him off is just…it feels wrong.

->and it feels like a wrong for shiro too. He finally gets to be on earth after everything that’s happened to him, and the one thing he’d been hoping to finally see,,is gone.

->I just feel like they did shiro dirty. they can never give that poor man a break.

->^I was right! Keith is definitely acting different because of his growth on the quantum abyss (or “space whale” as people seem to call it). It’s nice to know he’s matured and stuff, and can actually say what he feels and such, be a good team member/leader. I just wish it wasn’t all off-screen. (and while I’m happy for him..I do miss his more broody early-season self a bit)

->as much as I think allurance is cute, I feel like they’re kinda rushing it. Like. by the time they got to Earth it had barely been a month of being stuck in space post-s6. Maximum it’s been 3 months by the time of the final battle. she would not be blushing. She would be mourning Lotor. They could’ve had a little subplot about that,,the crushing weight of knowing she could’ve both stopped his death and the guilty feeling of “why am i mourning him..? He was a bad person” because she still loved him!! She still loved him when they were about to leave him in the quintessence field and she felt conflicted!!

->she would’ve also not caught feelings that fast. Let’s say she somehow miraculously got over Lotor in 2 months. (minimum!) she still wouldn’t have caught feelings! Maybe she would start like. the budding processes to begin to fall for lance…but she wouldn’t be blushing and being all bashful like that.

-> basically all I’m saying is I really hope they don’t rush this. It would feel unfair to both her and Lance. Allura literally was like “oh..😕 he said that..☹️?” In s6 when the mice told her about Lance’s feelings because she felt bad about breaking his heart.

->and Lance has literally been after her for a really long time,, so it’d be unfair to pair him with someone who only started liking him like a week ago.

->I also hate the “guy pines after girl, girl doesn’t reciprocate and turns him down a lot, guy almost gives up, girl starts falling for him just as the show ends after not showing any interest previously” trope. (I am aware Allura and Lance do share some more sweet and romantic scenes/moments in s4-6, but you catch my drift, right?)

-> I really hope they put it well in s8.

->^I got to that Lance scene I’ve seen everywhere and just. Wow. it was so intense. I actually got chills. Amazing work from the animation crew yet again.

-> the final battle was sooo amazing and so beautiful.

->the atlas stuff kinda threw me off tho.

->that admiral sanda girl was a bitch (i do not use that term lightly, especially for female characters) and not to sound like a maniac im glad she died ngl. She was stupid as hell if she thought her plan would work.

->also if the galra can invent something that can easily overpower Voltron, then why don’t they just take over the universe themselves?? They clearly have the resources to.

->seriously the atlas’s stuff was insane. Fym it’s a ship that makes a bigger, cooler, grizzled Voltron??(yes I will forever use that joke)

->^because like. Then what do you need Voltron for??

->like the pacing and plot twists and shit felt so off and out of nowhere this season.

->and the real kicker was the altean chick controlling that giant monster thang. literally what the freak. where the cameras at I know I’m getting pranked right now. they were just pulling shit out of their asses by then.

->again, need to say, if it weren’t for that altean chick, this could’ve also been a good ending?? like after reading the Wikipedia page I found out they had a 72 episode contract, so they need to get those last episodes out, (76 total, I did the math) but if anything I think it would be best if it was just a little anthology sort of thing. Like them defeating the rest of the galra left out, freeing planets, and focusing on their own lives and relationships (during and after). That would be probably the best course of action for s8.

->but apparently it has a “bad ending” (which I’m pretty sure is just ship stuff and people exaggerating)

->erm yeah that’s pretty much it. I think. Yay!

These are thoughts I compile over time. I finished Season 7 on 10/12/24. I apologize for my delay on posting this, I was meant to post it last week. I will now finally start what you have probably all been waiting for: Season 8.

Remember, my ask box is always open!! Feel free to ask anything on my opinions and such!!

[ghostinthegallery]

Okay so about Orikan and Imotekh!

Yup, I continue to be the most hinged person on the planet when it comes to imaginary ancient Egyptian themed space robots.

But anyway, Orikan is canonically a member of Imotekh's court, and Imotekh might be one of the only people in the universe Orikan actually respects (or fears? It's 40k, close enough). Which is interesting because Orikan is An Intellectual with a healthy disdain for the military (probably some family issues there, he did come from a military family then ran away to go to star college). So why serve a soldier? I mean yes, Imotekh is one scary dude, but that's a boring answer. Naturally they've never had a scene together because GW hates me specifically.

Which leaves me to wildly speculate, and I think these two have some key things in common that really get to the heart of issues with necron/necrontyr society...

Because the thing is, necron(tyr) society might be one of the most highly stratified cultures in all of 40k. So much so that it was baked into their physical being after biotransference. The higher their social status, the better the living metal body they got. The more mental capacity they got. The more *free will* they got. We see in a Twice Dead King flashback that members of the nobility could and did kill anyone without consequence. Life was so cheap to the necrontyr that it didn't matter. Class mobility was and is not a thing.

Enter Imotekh, who started as a soldier and became a general and then a *phaeron*. He did the thing no one is supposed to be able to do by being just *that* competent and terrifying. Remember, Imotekh woke from hibernation because some Sautekh noble wanted to *use* him to get one up on their rivals in a dynastic power struggle. This guy really thought Imotekh the Gods Damn Stormlord would be so grateful that he'd just help this clown take over the dynasty? Yeah no, Imotekh offed that guy and anyone who wasn't going to vote Stormlord 4 Phaeron.

Which must have been pretty mind blowing for Orikan to see. After all, Orikan may be important, but (as Trazyn loves reminding him) he isn't nobility. A fact that matters in a society where status directly correlates to how much of a person people think you are. Other necron lords "use" Orikan all the time. For his predictions, during battles (seriously check the wiki, feels like the poor guy gets dragged out for like every necron campaign). Orikan may manipulate those nobles on a regular basis (aka "strategically editing" his prophecies) but he won't straight up oppose them. At least not without invoking Imotekh's name, as he does during the Court Scene of TI&TD.

Again, I don't think the two have ever interacted in the canon, but Imotekh respects Orikan's work enough to base battle strategies on his divinations (which is huge, as being a master strategist is the basis of his power). And Orikan doesn't bullshit Imotekh the way he does other phaerons who ask for his counsel. Is Orikan scared of Imotekh? Of course he is. Trazyn calls him out on this during War in the Museum. But I think it's interesting that these two characters are trapped in a cruel society determined to use them up and spit them out, and both of them have found ways to resist that. Ways that could set them at odds with each other (nerd v. jock false dichotomy) but don't.

I do wish there was more canon material to work with, because I am filling in a ton of blanks with my own interpretations. But hey, speculation is fun!

And if you want to see these two in a room together read my necron longfic on AO3 here (heck yeah shameless self promotion!)

[whumpster-fire]

Wings of Fire thoughts continued: Talons Of Power Edition

I've heard that Arc 3 has Animus magic get totally shut down for everyone and I can kind of see why? I think giving it basically no limits on its functionality other than "If you use it too much you might go crazy but we're not sure" and who gets their cheesy counteraction spell on another animus off first was probably a mistake, as was the "Actually you can totally just directly put a spell on another dragon" thing. I think the general idea of a magic system where everything has to work off an object is a good idea, but I'd like to see things like Darkstalker needing to social-engineer his way into getting other dragons to accept items that have Trojan Spells and doing obnoxious things like enchanting items to be invisible while worn so everyone has a headache trying to figure out how he's doing it. Make him a threat because his prophecy makes him really good at anticipating the countermeasures to his magic, not just "I have a blanket Charm spell up at all times."

I'm also not a huge fan of the "Turtle made Anemone an Animus" thing. I think it's more impactful if he can never know the truth. Also cool: if Turtle was sure it was his fault she was an Animus for a while because "What are the odds that after centuries of zero Seawing animus dragons, suddenly TWO dragons turn out to have the power?" and then after everyone found out Orca was also an Animus it was like, if there were two there's no reason why there couldn't be three.

...Anemone is certainly a case study in why encouraging 2-year-old dragonets to use magic is a bad idea. Poor kid's going through it. I think her having a Villain Arc out of pure intoxication-of-power plus thinking it's inevitable and deciding to kill her whole family is one of the less interesting things that could've been done with the premise, though. I would have rather seen her cause serious damage with a well-intentioned spell because she worded it wrong or didn't think through what it would do, or Darkstalker fed her phrasing that would make her spell do something horrible, and then Turtle was forced to out himself as an Animus to stop her / tell her how to deactivate a spell, and Anemone lost it at him and him specifically, because she realized that her entire life her older brother could have prevented so much of what she went through, or done something about so many of her unborn sisters being murdered, but chose not to.

Horrible fucked up thought: imagine if Darkstalker tricked Anemone into casting his Icewing Genocide Plague spell for him because he foresaw that if he cast it himself it would be countered pretty quickly. Like what if he gave her instructions for a spell to make "All those who are sworn enemies of the Nightwing Tribe" sick as a "practical joke" and a "test of her powers," and worded it in a way that she didn't have the medical knowledge to know the symptoms he described could be fatal or made her word the spell to replicate some disease she hadn't heard of? And this eventually still fails because Darkstalker forgot Anemone existed so he couldn't anticipate a future where she turned it off. He did detect her casting the counterspell but he knew that some random Sandwing showed up for about a second when he cast the "Summon every animus dragon" spell so he was like "well I caught the missing rogue Animus (Turtle), I bet I scared that random sandwing so much she put up a protection spell, which is a problem for later."

[apostateoverrubies]

Are there any resources for Pentecostals to deconstruct?

I don't know anything about Pentecostalism deconstruction specifically but if I do find the resources, I will make a post about them. Personally, I watch content from various deconverted Christians or just apostates in general, probably because there is a lot of overlap with other sects like Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism for example, though this could just be my personal experience. So for now, I will recommend most of the channels I watch on my deconstruction journey. Also, YouTube is my main resource for this stuff so... yeah.

Also I want my Pentecostal deconstruction stuff to come from apostates specifically and so far, a lot of the resources are still religious.

Friendly Atheist - While he does all sorts of content, I highly recommend his Everything Wrong series where he picks apart every verse in the Bible. If you want to get through the Bible but can't bring yourself to read it, this is a must watch!

MythVision Podcast - A podcast channel focusing on various kinds of mythology though they also do stuff like interview ex-religious people about their experiences and why they left. There is one podcast focused on an Ex Pentecostal Pastor that I recommend.

Holy Koolaid - This one I thought was only a YouTube channel but it turns out he also has a website with various resources for its own to check out. I've yet to see them myself at the moment. He was a missionary kid and his content focuses on Christianity mainly though you can find other stuff as well.

DarkMatter2525 - An animation parody channel focused on religion, specifically Christianity. There is the occasional odd video where he expresses his thoughts on things like one he did recently on The Red Pill. His video analyzing whether society is falling apart is nice if you've been fed the idea that everything is going to shit without religion.

Darth Magog - A channel focused on deconstructing Jehovah's Witness specifically. I still watch it since quite a bit of the stuff JWs believe in are stuff a lot of Christians also believe in whether they want to admit it or not. And while I'm not into Star Wars, I love the channel being themed that way. It's awesome!

Ex-Fundie Diaries - This channel focuses on their experience growing up in a Christian Fundamentalist environment, trauma recovery and faith deconstruction. Once again, find this content very relatable due to overlap with beliefs.

That's all I'll put for now but I will try to make various edits to add more stuff, especially since I need to go searching for resources myself. I also highly recommend that people add any good resources they've found as well.

[pebiejeebies]

Soo I wanna talk about my (possibly) chronic illness, because I’m so tired of this.

My reason to self diagnose: I have to self diagnose, my dad doesn’t believe in “disorders and disabilities (specifically ones like chronic illness, he normalized it in such a horrific way, it made me feel like I was an odd one out when I realized how healthy everyone else is)” *please don’t hate him, we don’t have money for much things anyways, it’s fine*

If you hate self diagnosis, just leave and spare both of us,

For now I wanna talk about what makes me feel like I have chronic illness, and that is literally being sick, I’ll be generally talking about everything painful/tiring that has been affecting me for over a year now..

TW: Mentions self harm/hate, gore, of gag/spit/vomit, dizziness, unease, etc. if you are sensitive to this topic please read at your own risk,,

Let’s start, so lately ive been accidentally swallowing mucus, all day, all night, to the point I have to breathe from my mouth, which COMPLETELY destroys my smell and taste. Especially when I get the common cold..

Barely any mucus comes from my nose, it’s almost ALWAYS my throat and saliva, to the point I started to think my saliva and mucus have been completely combined now. Like.. literally.

my breath always stinks, minty tastes really sucks and I hate toothpaste, I hate the mint and the texture, I’ve tried some things like these little bottles of meds for the cold, but they NEVER worked.

I almost always have a headache, my heartbeat has went from my normal 60/70bpm to 90/120 min/max.. and I always get voice changes, sometimes too deep, sometimes too high, and sometimes I lose my voice.

AND YOU KNOW WHATS FUNNY?! I LOVE SINGING. ITS LITERALLY MY SPECIALTY, MY ONLY TALENT THAT I CAN DO WITHOUT ABANDONING IT LIKE THE REST OF MY FAILED TALENTS, AND IT FUCKING SUCKS SO MUCH WHEN MY VOICE CHANGES.

I’m sorry.

back to my point, when I cry, I feel like my mucus explodes from everywhere, my throat, nose, eyes, and when I blow my nose too hard it hurts my ears for a while.

I’m so tired, I can barely run, I don’t wanna say I have asthma, but maybe I’m just not energetic and lazy.. or something.. and I CANT. I repeat.. I CANT. SLEEP.

It’s almost physically impossible (unless I stay up for too long to the point I slowly faint to sleep, which has been normal now for me)

did I mention my constipation? (Maybe this isn’t related, I’m just curious what makes someone chronically ill, especially since I’ve had constipation for around a year now)

I can’t sleep, smell, sing, cry (I hate crying so much, it’s become so terrifying and horrible) laugh, (cause all the mucus chokes me and makes me gag and almost vomit.

oh how I wish I could just rip out my throat and replace my nose and throat for a working one. How I wish I could breathe normally, to smell, to sing properly, to walk properly without my legs hurting or straining, to laugh and cry without choking and gagging, spitting mucus in the bathroom for what seems like 30 minutes, to think properly without a headache, to feel NORMAL again. It’s been a year or two now. Cant I just feel like a normal person again?

God why do I turn everything into a fucking vent.

Edit: does this mean I am chronically ill?

[gaywatch]

Hi Brittany!

I’ve got an organizational question about the second season of Good Omens. Maybe you can help?

I kinda wish amazon had released the new season one episode per week. And I still hope they change the way they release this particular show until (hopefully) season 3 airs.

Tbh I’m a bit confused why they dropped all episodes at once in the first place. When it comes to their own tv shows, amazon generally does release the episodes weekly or they drop 2 or 3 episodes at once and then continue with a weekly release schedule. Maybe there aren’t enough episodes in a Good Omens season to take this approach? However they did this with Rings of Power, which had only two more episodes than Good Omens. Although RoP should have been their big flagship, so it’s a given that they wanted to spread the release. But saying this, I always got the impression Good Omens was rather successful as well?? Maybe?? So why not keep GO2 a bit longer in the spotlight by releasing it one episode per week?

Of course I could have restrained myself from watching Good Omens 2 over that one weekend (I was already very proud of myself for not bingewatching it on one day.), but especially with regards to the ending we got, it would have been nearly impossible to avoid spoilers.

Idk, over the last couple of years I started to dislike bingewatching or rather the procedure of dropping multi-part content at once more and more.

I hope I could make myself understood. English is not my first language.🫣

My semi-educated guess would be similar to yours, in that dragging out Rings of Power gave it more time in the spotlight and the benefit of suspense. I assume ROP is more complex than Good Omens 2 as well (not a dig, just a narrative observation), which may have been a factor in not wanting to bombard people with too much dense material.

In GO2's specific case, I can see why they would drop it all at once. The vibe and pacing is VERY different from season one, it's much more like a slice-of-life/slow burn than the previous multiple-threads-meeting-for-the-highest-stakes-possible. If it was dropped once a week, the odds of casual viewers turning it off halflway through because "nothing is happening" is much greater, whereas when you have all the episodes at your disposal you're more inclined to finish it because it's there and not that long in the first place. So despite Good Omens' huge popularity, a big drop could be beneficial.

I definitely agree about bingewatching fatigue, though. Sometimes it's great because I'm a very excitable ADD person who wants all of it NOW with no waiting, and I've always loved a good marathon. But when it's practically ubiquitous and there's always something dropping, it can get overwhelming pretty quickly. Plus there are times when it makes more sense to tease out the story anyway.

(And as a Youtuber, season drops like this are murder. It's a several day frenzy of watching the thing as fast as possible, editing as fast as possible, and posting as fast as possible because the interest drop off is incredibly fast. Not quite as fast as music releases, but still a major ticking clock. Once or twice a week episodes are heavenly by comparison.)

[max-nexus]

KGTAC PGS 2080-2082 ANALYSIS (Ft. Home-Skillet page 4 and 17)

The first two pages (Naming gag) have no notable story differences outside of minor art improvements (so i technically lied) BUT 4th page of ACT 2 (5.gif instead of of 4.gif, i guess there was a page in-between the two) has some MASSIVE differences. I'd recommend reading my first Analysis HERE as i will be referencing the one thing that was proven right.

KGTAC Page 2082

Home-Skillet page 4

As you can see there are many notable differences. But before i go on about said differences I'd like to point out that in my previous post, i noted there is no computer on screen on the desk, Which made be state "Which leads me wondering if a computer is even there, Since why else would it be off the panel." And i was right, there was no computer. I'd also like to note that the Page was edited so that the desk is no longer so huge, Fred is still a bit short As can be noted by comparing page 2082 with 2079 (look at the windows) but its a small issue. And if he we're any bigger then the pool would be obscured which would be much worse!

KGTAC PAGE 2079 (NOW)

Now onto the differences, first I'd like to bring up the Narration differences between the two, Specifically anything unique they list for the character

KGTAC: Package for computer, he has tools to get the computer working, He is a Nintendo fanboy, and likes some musicians

Home-Skillet: Room is relatively tidy, a gamer who's very picky, and has an interest in fixing electronics, despite this fact he can't code

In Home-Skillet, he already had a computer, he had tools though that's in the art, not mentioned in narration. He might no longer have an interest in fixing electronics but its just a guess, it might just be unimportant to mention. Art Stuff: On the bottom right corner we now have the FLOPPY-DECK, which used to be inside the closet that we can no longer see in the image, the closet itself might not exist as we can't visually confirm it's existence, We now have a bigger window on the side as i don't remember that window existing from my reading of Home-Skillet. For some odd reason the Hotplate is now on the bottom left corner of the panel instead of the desk which it was on (disgusting, not a hint of tidiness). I'm guessing its so the reader can easily see the objects. Here's a nice closeup shot of the Floppy-Deck, man i love this thing, its such a cool concept.

Home-Skillet Page 17 (FLOPPY-DECK MY BELOVED)

The Section with Genuine Speculation: There is now a shelf and window, though I'm uncertain of how they'll be important at the moment. My feelings with them are the same as with the pool. There's not much to speculate on story wise as of now. But i can assume it won't follow the same path as Home-Skillet, or if it does, it merely follows it in general rather than any specifics.

The Section with Hopes & Dreams: With some of these changes, i hope for the possibility that Fred won't get a sylladex for a while, Like you're telling me you can't trust him with a computer until he's 13 but you can trust him with an item which can launch anything at a force strong enough to break a window? It would also mean the Floppy-Deck as gimmicky as it is will be important for Fred, Especially if he doesn't figure out how to get more sylladex cards (Due to the fact you can merge items into 1 sylladex card) The Floppy Deck could be used as a safe way to get multiple items into a single card. Hell, In theory you could do && with the Floppy-Deck, its only meant to hold 1 item at a time, so if Fred is still interested in Electronic Tinkering, he could try and force it to take multiple items at once and since he's not very good at it, it instead causes the items to merge like in alchemization. It's starting to get a bit silly with my "theorizing" here but i really did like the Floppy-Deck and i felt it was somewhat underutilized. Sure its gimmicky, but Stack modus is gimmicky, hell most modi are gimmicky due to stupid rules, the only reasonable ones are like Array and Wallet modus. In theory the Floppy-Deck is like a bulkier version of the wallet modus, and i just really want to see it used to an extreme. In Conclusion, I will keep analyzing KGTAC with Home-Skillet as no one else seems to be doing it, and i will keep forgetting to join the KGTAC Discord. Also because i pick up on more things when i do this plus it's helpful to anyone looking for an analysis. Next Analysis

[stillness-in-green]

Chapter Thoughts — Chapter 380: A Skosh

It's a critical week in here, gang. Odd, because I largely enjoyed the chapter on a casual first read. I had the usual reaction of throwing my hands in the air when AFO told us about his plans, but I like all the Shiketsu kids and enjoyed the hit of LB and Gentle content. But then I went back for the closer read, and good god, I swear there's not a single major beat this week that didn't have some howling hole right through the middle of it that the series did not appear to have noticed. Do hit the jump.

On the Business Kids and La Brava’s Live Feed

O  Man.  Swirlyhair here talks about how the business course should have been on-hand to document the war arc, and this would have prevented the collapse of the relationship between heroes and the public.  But like—the whole point of the raids in the war arc was to carry out a quick, tidy roundup of villains[1] in a way that would cause minimal danger and disruption to society.  It was hidden from the public by design.

A bunch of UA business course kids would never have been allowed to come along to document the raids because that is just not how the HPSC was running them—nor, indeed, how they operated in general—and I wonder how aware this kid is of that fact.

Anyway, what would a camera on-scene for Twice’s death have told the public?  What about one filming Shigaraki’s manifesto?  How about footage of heroes attacking the brave citizens of Deika, mere months after they were tragically attacked by villains and were still struggling to recover?  Heck, let’s move it forward some: what if there’d been a camera on-scene when Lady Nagant revealed the truth of the murder that got her thrown in prison?  What if that bombshell didn't get absorbed by Deku, the Oblivious Boy Wonder, and then die there?

That’s all to say, this scene has a really bizarre pro-propaganda vibe going on.  Sure, the heroes nominally suffered a lot because they lost control of the narrative, but given what heroes and especially the HPSC were doing with control over the narrative, it’s utterly wild to see BNHA put forward this heartfelt, “If only people could have seen how hard the heroes were working (at concealing the truth of their decades-long pattern of failure from the general public), the link between heroes and society would never have been broken!” thesis.

O  The business kids may be incredibly invested in restoring the fuck out the heroes’ public image, but thankfully, La Brava has no such motivations.  All she wants is for the highest number of people possible to appreciate Gentle Criminal, to which I say, “Damn straight.”  While I suspect she has somewhat missed her best window on that, I look forward to anything else interesting that she catches on tape and projects out to the entire world long before the Propaganda Class gets a chance to take all that footage to the editing room.  Maximum erosion of the status quo, please and thanks; AFO should take this opportunity to show up in his still-rewinding body and the whole world can see Midoriya Izuku punch out a six-year-old.

   

On AFO’s Possession Plan Still Being Stupid Retconned Bullshit

O  WHY.

O  IF AFO NEEDS SHIGARAKI’S STRONG WILL IN ORDER TO TAKE OFA.

O  WHY.

O  WAS THE ORIGINAL PLAN FOR SHIGARAKI TO BECOME AFO ENTIRELY.

O  Ahem. 

O  As discussed previously by the Top Three, and also Ujiko, AFO himself lacks the force of will to steal One For All.  The implication has been that AFO raised Shigaraki the way he did so that Shigaraki would have both the inclination and the force of will to surpass Sensei in this specific regard.  If AFO meant to possess him entirely, what good would that force of will have done?  If Shigaraki’s will were weak enough to be sublimated by AFO’s, Shigaraki would then de facto be weaker than AFO, and therefore also weaker than OFA, and therefore no more capable of stealing OFA than AFO himself is!

Did he think the strong will would just magically linger, even as he took Shigaraki’s mind over completely?  Is it not the strong will that matters at all, but only a strong “impulse for destruction”?  But wouldn’t an AFO that maintained Shigaraki’s impulse for destruction still have been a hybrid, exactly what AFO says was not his intention?

Further, why does he think shoving his quirk (factor) into Shigaraki will make a difference?  Shigaraki already has[2] the original All For One quirk.  If it doesn’t matter who has the original quirk and who has the copy made by Ujiko, then why give Tomura the original to begin with?  If Tomura has already shaken off the real vestige’s influence, why would he be incapable of doing the same with a copy? Or is there something different at play here?  AFO didn’t technically say he wants to give Shigaraki his (copied) quirk, after all; he said he wants to give Shigaraki his quirk factor.  But why doesn’t Shigaraki have that already?  A quirk factor includes, after all, not just the quirk itself, but also the biological infrastructure that allows the quirk to function.  Probably the most visible expression of this with AFO is the holes in his palms—which Shigaraki already has.  Surely the All For One quirk takes the quirk factor when it’s used, not just the quirk itself?  Otherwise, AFO could wind up with quirks he doesn’t have the capability to use.

For example, what if he took Endeavor’s fire quirk but didn’t get the heat-resistant body to go with it?  What if he took Hawks’ Fierce Wings and it turned out to be totally useless to him because all he got was the ability to control his feathers—feathers he doesn’t have because he didn’t get the wings in the transfer, only the wing control?

And so on.  And like, look, I know I’m asking a lot of questions that it’s possible that Horikoshi intends to answer in due time.  Maybe AFO normally can take a person’s entire quirk factor, but Ujiko’s method of quirk storage could only handle the quirk itself, not the quirk factor’s additional infrastructure.  Maybe that’s part of the reason Shigaraki needed four months of surgery: he needed augmentations to be able to use AFO at all.

But if that’s the case, and bringing Shigaraki completely to heel is just a matter of giving him the remaining biological components Ujiko couldn’t store, why didn’t AFO do that in the cave they were living in for weeks?  Hell, as I’ve been wondering for years, if all AFO ever wanted was a new body, why not jam his quirk into Shimura Tenko at the ripe age of five?

I’d been lately willing to concede that AFO needing Shigaraki’s will, not just a new body, addressed, if not all, then at least a lot of what I saw as inconsistencies between early AFO and AFO now. Then here comes this chapter to tell us, no, Shigaraki’s mentality is entirely immaterial.  Again, maybe there’s some huge missing puzzle piece Horikoshi’s sitting on that will explain all of this and I’ll be eating my words by the end of the story.

But good god, if that’s the case, I wish Horikoshi would just get on with it.  The AFO we have now is an incomprehensible scrawl of, “Whatever kind of evil he needs to be to make this week’s chapter work,” and I am so very tired of trying to make him make sense.

(I will write the full AFO Retcon Theory essay one of these days, but consider this a taste of my kvetching about all the scattered elements across the whole of the series that just refuse to add up to anything coherent.)

   

On the Fake-Out

O  I enjoyed it on a first read—I like Camie and I’m getting enough tired_of_this_guy_dartboard.meme about AFO that I enjoyed seeing him get completely clowned on—but on a more careful pass, I do have a few issues.

There’s another case in here of Horikoshi using the reader’s expectations of the medium’s structure to blatantly lie to us.[3]  We saw this before with the traitor plot line, when Chapter 335 ended on a staggeringly bad faith cliffhanger by overlapping AFO talking about his “friends” with the viewpoint zooming to UA and landing on Hagakure.[4]  Here, we have Hawks’s internal narration, the bit that runs, “Our future’s on the line!  For the kids’ sake!!  To go further beyond toward a future so bright they can’t help but smile!!”     To see the problem, consider this: Who is delivering those lines?  Hawks is way down near the ground staring at Shishikura, who just blocked him from taking to the sky, with a shocked expression, so it couldn’t have been him.  Camie’s illusion!Hawks presumably can’t think for itself like Twice’s clones, so not it.  It obviously wasn’t Camie herself, given that it sounds absolutely nothing like her established character voice.  So who?  We’re led to believe that we’re seeing Hawks because of that dramatic narration about the future, but while Hawks might have started in on that line of thought just before Shiketsu intervened, it would make no sense for him to go on thinking that way while watching an illusion of himself get torn apart.     It would be closer to working if Camie were capable of hiding people with her illusions; she could have just hidden Hawks at the last second with an illusion of empty sky and replaced him with an illusion version of himself. However, I have my doubts that there’d be an opening for her to do that when Hawks is right up in AFO’s face.  Someone would have needed to push him out of the way, into her Empty Space glamour, and again, when we see the real Hawks, he’s down on the ground, the wall of finger positioned in front of him, like it prevented him from taking off to begin with, not above him like it just got done pushing him very rapidly out of the sky.  No sign that he’s shaking off Invisibility Mist, either.     So what we have is dramatic monologue that don’t seem to make any sense coming from any involved party.  I.e. Horikoshi is lying to the reader about the stakes for a measly single page of drama and a good reaction panel.  And all he would have had to do to fix that specific problem is just not provide that internal monologue!  Just present the action as-is and it would have been fine!     ...Well, mostly fine.    

The other issue is that, based on AFO’s capabilities as they’ve been presented to us, this never should have worked to begin with.  Set aside the issue of whether Camie has any way to reasonably predict (and therefore make her illusion perform accordingly) the effect AFO was expecting when he reached towards Hawks and twisted his hand—she doesn’t, but it only needed to be a moment’s distraction.  Getting AFO to waste time on it means it’s already served its purpose. Also, since her illusions are formed of mist, they might have enough substance to be affected by such force, even if she could just reform them afterward like Geten can reform his ice.     No, the bigger problem is that AFO should have seen through it immediately thanks to all those extrasensory quirks we know good and well he has.  Empathy?  Vibration sense?[5]  Search?  Infrared?  Every single one of those should have revealed that this was a farce, especially the infrared one.  I suppose there’s the possibility that he’s lost those quirks as part of his rewinding—there’s a reasonable chance he only gained most of them after getting his face splunched by All Might in the backstory, with Search coming circa the training camp attack—but if he’s losing quirks to the rewind process, that certainly isn’t something he’s seen fit to tells us about so far.  I notice he doesn’t seem concerned about a timer on his flight quirk, for example.     It’s also possible that he’s just not using those quirks at the moment, seeing as he has his eyes back; we don’t actually know what the requirements for those quirks are—who knows; maybe Infrared only works if he closes his eyes or something.  All in all, this objection is easier to rationalize than the inner monologue one, but it’s still pretty glaring in terms of the narrative just outright ignoring AFO’s previously stated capabilities.     Chalk this up, I guess, as another case of I Want To Like This But You Are Making It Harder Than It Needs To Be.

   

On Shiketsu’s Arrival

O  I like all of them, so I can’t complain too much about their presence, but also I really have to question the decision-making that they’re citing here.  Shishikura tells us that Shiketsu was designated non-aggressive and intended to receive refugees, but the refugees hadn’t arrived.  So their response was to—gather up their school’s entire hero course and deploy them to go help in battle?  Instead of, say, gathering their hero course and going to help the refugees?

Okay, Shiketsu has no way to know that Skeptic was interfering with the refugee transport, nor that AFO has spies among the refugees.  But, what, did they just assume, “Well, the refugees never showed up, so I guess that means we’re free to do whatever!”  Did they not ask why the refugees never showed up?  Did they try to get in touch with UA about it?  Did they send anyone into the underground tunnels to see if something had happened to the transport?  Why was the apparent first response to totally waive their responsibility to the civilians they’d been assigned to protect and rush off to the battlefields instead?

I only skimmed the leaks last night, so perhaps there’ll be more to say about this next week,[6] but wow, what the fuck?  Was it intentional to make these guys look so interested in fighting villains that they just wrote off the civilians completely?  Did they judge that if something happened to the civilians it was probably too late to help them, and thought it best to go join the battle in hopes of turning the tides against the villains instead?  A greater good/losing the battle but winning the war situation?

In any case, fingers crossed that this turns into a situation similar to the heroes leaving Central Hospital wildly under defended and losing Kurogiri for it.  Sure, the students being here probably saved Hawks’ life, but what did they abandon in making that choice?  If UA is busy fighting Shigaraki and a wave of Twices, and Shiketsu bailed on their responsibility to the civilians, then who exactly is left to do anything about whatever situation Midoriya Inko and company have found themselves in?

If it’s only civilians down there, will they have to step up and save themselves?  Will anyone bring up the story of the citizens of Deika?  How will the narrative frame this?  Will civilians saving themselves be a thing that we should expect to see continue, or will it be a one-off miracle and afterward everyone will be expected to go back to depending on heroes again?  Even though the heroes that were supposed to be protecting them left them to the wolves to go fight villains instead?

Or will it turn out that there are a bunch of yet-unseen heroes already tasked with protecting/finding the civilians and all of this will be a complete nothing-burger that gets resolved as soon as it gets directly addressed?  Probably that, but allow me to imagine otherwise for a little while, at least.

   

Stray Notes

O  I can’t believe Gentle is getting the Amecomi hero moment before Deku smfh.  What is even the point of Black Whip as a Spider-Man homage if Deku’s never going to have to plant himself in front of a monorail train or similar and look like he’s going to burst a blood vessel with the strain it takes to make it stop before it plunges off a destroyed rail and kills everyone onboard?

O  Gentle Criminal is so funny.  He’ll do all this without the camera and audience, but, you know, that’s not to say that having a camera and an audience doesn’t still make his heart skip a beat.

O  All the Himijins offing themselves en masse by swan-diving off the platform just so they can take some heroes with them over the edge is a hell of a thing.  It says quite a bit about Toga’s mental state, since Twice clones are not historically in a huge hurry to die.  They will, certainly, especially copies of Jin who share his dedication to the League, but they will complain about it first.  The Himijins don’t even hesitate.

O  I notice AFO’s spiraling gesture used to shred “Hawks” is basically identical to the one Robot (the helm-headed High End) used to tear Mirko’s arm off back in 262.  It’s a neat point of continuity, and I always enjoy seeing quirks the Noumu use turn up in other places, or quirks we’ve seen elsewhere turn up in Noumu, as with Mocha having Double and Hood-chan having Muscular’s quirk.  I also suspect that John-chan’s Warp is a component part of Kurogiri’s Warp Gate, though I don’t think that’s ever been confirmed anywhere.

Of course, Robot’s move was noted to be long-range, which kind of begs the question of why AFO hasn’t used it on anyone else up to this point, but I suppose when you have as many quirks as AFO does, you get used to using whatever seems fun at the time, rather than the most slavishly optimum tactical choice.  It may also not be tremendously accurate at long range, given that Robot only gets Mirko’s arm with it.

O  Inasa swooping up the whole army of Himijins is very, “God forbid a villain do anything,” but I will forgive it if it means Ochaco has to, in the next few chapters, rescue Toga from falling sixteen stories to a messy doom in a viciously karmic echo of Curious’s death.

------------------ FOOTNOTES ------------------ 1:  One hundred thousand people, lest I ever forget to harp on that number.

2:  And he may have just destroyed it, too, but the concrete effects of horrifically rending a quirk vestige limb from phantasmal limb remain ambiguous.

3: Which would be fine if the narrative were being unreliable as a result of faulty memory, intentional fabrication, psychosis, dreamlike surrealism, and so on. Lying to the audience has a rich and valid history as a narrative device! But there needs to be a reason you're lying to the audience, not just that you're stringing them along like someone leaving a fake hundred dollar bill on the table as a tip and hoping the server don't notice the counterfeit.

4:  I’d also point to some peoples’ ongoing confusion with the matter of Re-Destro’s lineage, which I think stems from the expectations set up by the narration talking about Yotsubashi Chikara having a child out in the world while the images pointedly hang over the just-introduced CEO of Detnerat.  Still, at least there, a detail-oriented reader could look to the series’ broadly established timeline to figure that a man younger than All Might is probably not the direct son of a man who got his start circa the legal establishment of professional heroism.

5:  This one’s a bit unclear.  In the same chapter he mentions the empathy and infrared, Chapter 94, he talks about sensing vibrations in the air, but the phrasing is such that he might just mean he senses those the way any normal person could.  Sound is a vibration in the air, after all.

6:  Also up for discussion next week: Shishikura being in the same scene as the man who murdered his father.

[mcalhenwrites]

I went from being on anon and not sharing that I was posting Seasons to being openly proud that I wrote it. Before I posted the first chapter back in October, I had finally gotten to a point where I was confident in my writing abilities. It took far too long to get here. I'd convinced myself that I deserved nothing but criticism and ought to be embarrassed by everything I wrote. Plenty of people validated that feeling, so I took that as confirmation. Surprisingly, my being anon had nothing to do with that. After making my writing private or deleting it entirely, I had a chance to really think about my relationship to sharing. (Which still needs work, as I'm about to go into.) It's a vulnerable process, but ultimately, I still want to do it. I love writing, but it's hard to find an audience, and did I actually deserve one? It was nice to write without thinking about the perfectionism. That's likely what struck me: I always enjoy creating stories, but I get caught up in cycles of editing (still do) where I nitpick out of fear that nothing I create is good enough. I looked at my writing and realized, no, I've been so hard on myself. This is good. These are interesting stories to me, and surely other people will find them interesting as well! I slowly took a few stories out of the private collection months later. But then there was Seasons. :') I was afraid that I'd be condemned for the content in Seasons. Every single story I create is self-indulgent in different ways. Some show an obvious love of steampunk, others show I like dragons, some are kinky af, others are introspective to the moon and back. They're not for everyone. They're for me. But I want them to be for other people, too, and that's okay! Still, Seasons is indulgent in its vulnerablity and rawness. I have a bad relationship with my own trauma and how I have to live with it in the world being what it is, for one. I didn't know if many other people would read it. I knew it was the kind of thing that likely wouldn't get published. It doesn't work for traditional publishing, and self-publishing can be specific about what's allowed. (Especially given the popularity of book banning in my country.) That's why it's up on AO3. I'd like it to remain there, free to read for those that might need the catharsis. Anyway, people did read it. A lot of them have. I got asks about it on another tumblr account I created just to stay anon, and while those have since died down, and I do think the story has some weaker parts that might be the reason I've scared off a handful of writers, it does seem to get a lot of hits each time I update. People who don't usually comment sometimes pop in suddenly to say they've been reading a while or still are reading. It's really touching. I don't need to to validate my relationship with my writing, but it does validate my relationship with sharing. Perhaps that is what made it easier to feel comfortable with coming off anon in baby steps. I'm anxious to finish Seasons and start sharing more of my other works! (And getting back to writing a few of them.) I'm proud of those novels too! :D Oh, and an odd side effect, but my pride in Seaons has made me love my other works like Rascal and The Dragons' Cosmos even more. It's not Seasons, per se, just a general... feeling that the more I love one story, the good I see in others, and it keeps going. Honestly, I know it's hard to believe people when they say it's worth being confident and saying positive things, that you should accept compliments, et cetera. Especially if you've ever been in any writing groups or fandoms where your work is the centerpiece for anyone's jokes. It gets reallllly fucking hard to overcome that. So I'm not going to say, "Oh hey, here's advice!" I know from experience no one is going to take it. But I will say this: when I was active on twitter, I saw a lot of fairly well-known authors talking about imposter syndrome and a lack of confidence, as well as the humiliation they've gone through before and while in the industry.

To conclude: all that advice was right, is what I'm saying! XD

(please just let me post my lazy conclusion, tumblr, I beg of you)

[adultswim2021]

Robot Chicken: “Robot Chicken: Star Wars” | June 17, 2007 - 10:00PM | Special

You know what? Sometimes you just start a write-up and hope for the best. It’s a shame I don’t like this show, because I feel like an enthusiastic fan of it would really make a meal out of pointing out the various parodies and references and inside jokes and stuff. The fact of the matter is, I mostly detest this show. I’m sorry. I’m not the man for this particular job. Were I offered to participate in the writing of an episode-by-episode guide to Adult Swim (ahem), the publisher would be wise to get somebody else to write the Robot Chicken episodes. But I’m doing it here anyway, as a way to mark the fact that yes, I did indeed watch this.

I’ve actually sat through this before. I don’t remember why or how I saw this the first time around. BUT: I remember I did make a point to copy the official retail DVD of this special for my archives, back when the notion of having every Adult Swim show, no matter how bad or unmemorable, on DVD, in a case, sometimes with printed-out artwork to go with it, sitting on my shelf next to other Adult Swim shows of varying quality and legality, among my greater home video collection, was important to me.

For some reason I decided to watch this one, even though combining Robot Chicken with Star Wars would be like combining dog shit with human shit. I think I was so perturbed by the idea that a single 22-minute long special getting its own DVD release with it’s own inflated MSRP that it sent shivers down my spine. I thought, huh, maybe the extras make it all worth it? In fact, I remember watching this with VIDEO COMMENTARY. I was just that morbidly curious. I don’t have that DVD(-R copy) at my disposal anymore. I have HBOMax, though, so I decided to watch it on there.

So… these Star Wars specific parody specials all sure seemed to pop up around the same time, huh? What was the deal with that? Shortly after this there were the Family Guy ones. Okay, so I’m regurgitating stuff RedLetterMedia videos have already beaten into the ground, so sue me. But it’s sorta no secret that stuff like the Star Wars trilogy Special Editions being released in the mid-90s were part of a shrewd business move to not only keep the trilogy relevant, but also go generate income for LucasFilm, which is basically a one-trick space pony. It’s also the reason the prequels exist, and it’s the reason, I gather, these exist. But with these specials George Lucas doesn’t have to make a new movie or sit around approving a new sound mix for a home video re-release. He just asks these hip shows that his son likes (probably) to make extended-length Star Wars specials, perhaps take a cut, and then rest easy that that the trilogy is probably going to sell 20% more copies on blu-ray because stoners were reminded they existed over and over again.

I can’t find proof of this, but: It is my personal theory that George Lucas asked the producers of Robot Chicken and Family Guy to make these specials. When you read the wiki about the background of this special, it seems to indicate that Lucas called the Robot Chicken boys in for a meeting, and that they were “granted permission” to so a special. This is usually described with a story where the creators in question are genuinely nervous that the reason they are being called into this meeting is to get yelled at for the show’s previous Star Wars spoofs and goofs. But to their surprise and elation: turns out George really likes them! WOW!

That sequence of events as described seems odd. Seth MacFarlane’s story comes off a tad false, completely ignoring the precedence set by Robot Chicken, also with the same feigning that they were nervous that their previous jokes about Star Wars may have stepped on LucasFIlm’s toes. Also LucasFilm must’ve had a relationship with Cartoon Network, since they produced both Clone Wars series for Cartoon Network. Also: George Lucas is IN this fucking thing! 

Okay, fuck it: I am barely going to talk about the content of this episode. Because I don’t really care. How much can you say about a comedy special that focuses on one topic, and it’s one topic you don’t really like that much, and none of the sketches make you laugh? I’ll give you some basic information: Most of the episode is new material. Most of it is pretty well done, actually, as far as animation and design and stuff goes. I sense a slightly higher production value, but maybe I’m imagining things, or was seduced by the letterbox bars present in some sketches (but not others [!]). But lord, nothing made me laugh. This just isn’t for me. 

Pretend I did an “Ephemera Corner” for this: when the special aired, it actually aired a few times throughout the night sandwiched between regular episodes of Robot Chicken, and included little video segments of the Robot Chicken boys hosting it all. I sorta remember them over-bullying Matthew Senreich with  horseplay. He probably deserves it! He is almost 50 years old! He disgusts me!

[kaija-rayne-author]

It's late where I am, so apologies if this isn't as well written or thought out. I'm pretty tired.

I agree. I mean, as an author there can be some closure, almost, to kill off a beloved character, so I wouldn't consider it impossible for any decent author to do it. As we've discussed, Weekes is far, far, and away beyond just decent. It would hurt them to do it, but it’s still a possibility. And honestly, if there's going to be a negative outcome option, Weekes pretty much has to kill Solas. Or otherwise beat him.

That doesn't negate the possibility of a happy ending though, it's just a thing they're going to have to write.

BUT also, GRRM has utterly infected an era of writing/writers with meaningless deaths. Under my editing hat, I've had to explain to so many writers why we don't do what GRRM did.

(I mean, firstly we do a tad bit of research on actual history if we're going to write a series based on the War of the Roses, but with dragons.)

To kill off a character who has a name and dialogue, you have to do it right or your reader is likely to be unhappy with it. (Like the end of Dark Fortress, which I just finished reading and hated the ending for because of this exact reason.)

A named/speaking character's death needs to propel the plot or otherwise support the actual story. Anything less is cheap theatrics, death for shock value.

Did GRRMs death for shock value method work for him? Sure. He'd tried just about everything else at that point to hit it big. But shock value is a very easily overused tool. The result is that GRRM has also killed off most of his interesting characters, the ones who he hasn't aren't really fun to me. He's written himself into a corner and has no idea where to go with it now. He's publicly said he doesn't want to finish the book series. Which basically tells the people who've been his readers for a long time to go fuck themselves.

I say all that as someone who's been a fan of his work since the early '90s. (But isn't anymore.) One of my fav short stories is still his. BUT when it comes to the underpinnings of how we write and why? GRRM has used up an entire generation of writer shock value death. There's no value to it anymore.

I digress 😅.

You're right that the overall theme of Dragon Age is definitely, hero wins against the odds, found family (which they need to do better with damnit), and queer people just saving the world and it's no big deal for queers to save the world and have stories that aren't about being queer.

Even though DA has some really dark shit in it, the overarching message has always been one of hope against the dark. So I think there will definitely be a potential positive ending. DA loves to do the dichotomy of what choices result in which path. Which indicates (along with the last scene in Trespasser) that there would have to be a path to both positive and negative results.

As for what happily ever after means, that's very character specific. For me, Inky and Solas wandering off into the sunset with the goal of continuing to fix the world, just together IS a happily ever after. Because they'd both be miserable if they just did the settle down stuff.

One of the things I love most about Weekes' writing and Solas in particular is the growth arcs. Solas isn't the same person he was at the end of Inquisition as he was at the beginning. I dearly hope we get more growth from him, which would probably make a positive Solavellan outcome more possible and believable.

Solas wouldn't need to 'shrug off his past' being with Inky, no matter what they chose to do, because Inky, and to a lesser extent, his friends, are the only people to have ever seen Solas as 'a person' (that we know of, anyway).

Inky gets it, and him. So to me, them just being together at the end of DW wouldn't be off for me. It would be a happily ever after.

Would I want more than that? Of course, I'm unapologetically greedy for more Solas/Inky content. But even if we get just the minimum, it'll be okay. I trust Weekes to write a Solas story that won't disappoint me.

I just don't trust any corporation to value their writers enough to negate what GRRM has done to fiction. So, it's gonna have to be a wait and see.

Ugh I can’t not theorize. I’ve been at it non stop. Once a story catches my interest my brain just going into hyper speed trying to figure out how the writers (if they do a good job) will bring all of their themes, hints, etc to fruition. All I’m missing is a cork board, pins, and miles of red string.

What’s super exciting this time is I’m actually dealing with a property where the writers are….good? I’m so used to being disappointed when fan theories (often my own) turn out to be much better than the canon, but I don’t see that happening here. Weekes is clearly a masterful writer and knows how to build up to a satisfying twist.

Because you just know another twist is coming. Solas, despite everything, is just too soft hearted to make a convincing final boss. It couldn’t be more obvious that being The Dreadwolf and putting aside his own conscience takes every ounce of energy he has. Eventually he’ll have his breaking point and that’s when we’ll find out who our true villain is.

It’s Mythal. I’ll eat my damn hat if it isn’t. She’s either not the person Solas remembers, or maybe she never was. In either case, there’s been plenty of clues both in DAI and in subsequent materials (specifically Tevinter Knights) to imply that there’s something else going on here.

We keep seeing imagery of the Dreadwolf as a mutant abomination that is part wolf and part dragon. It’s easy to point to the end credit scene of DAI and say “well yeah he fused with Mythal who is a dragon” and sure it looked that way…but is that actually what happened?

We saw Flemeth part with some form of magical energy before Solas arrived. We also know that she’d taken the soul of Uthemiel from Kieran. Uthemiel happens to be a dragon, or was until he was tainted and became an Archdemon.

Archdemons can control Darkspawn. And taking a Darkspawn army past the Veil to enact vengeance upon the Evanuris sees like something Flemeth would do. But that doesn’t seem like something Solas would want. His agenda has always been to fix his past mistakes and tear down the Veil for the greater good. He doesn’t seem that fond of Darkspawn, in fact he was pretty pissed at the Wardens for screwing around with them.

Where I’m going with this, is I think it’s entirely possible Solas is being used. He may have unwittingly fused himself with an Archdemon, assuming it was the essence of Mythal. The real plan, now that plan A failed, might be turning him into an Archdemon so Flemeth/Mythal can use him to start another blight and wield the darkspawn. Corypheus managed to mind control an Archdemon, so clearly it can be done.

And if that’s the case, then ooooooh boy.

Poor Solas.

OMG. I missed this one and I'm so glad I finally found it!

What a fascinating idea. Holy shitballs.

Okay, so I just restarted DAO, I'll be on the lookout through these playthroughs (I'm doing DA2 next, then probably DAI again, because I'm an utter sucker for lore) for hints about all that!

I thought the whole point of the dark ritual w/Morrigan was to purify Urthemiel's 'soul' through being born as an innocent child. But what if that didn't work?

But then, wouldn't Kieran have shown signs of taint? Hmmm. Maybe not, given it's just the soul?

I'm still not convinced that Flemythal parted with any kind of energy in that scene. BUT if she did... well, she's pulled the whole 'soul piece recovery schtick' before. So if it was energy or a soul, it could've been hers. Leaving just Urthemiel. Which would very possibly warp Solas into a dragon/wolf thing. And Mythal is very used to Solas going along with what she wants. So it feels like something she wouldn't think twice about. She uses Morrigan too, and Kieran, so it’s definitely something she's used to doing.

I have a strong feeling Solas is indeed being used. And has been since he was 'born' from the fade. There's a lot of hints to his resignation, nay, even belief that it's right that Mythal used him. (This is... common, in abuse survivors, FWIW.)

But I believe it's canon that his forehead scar came from when he burnt off Mythal's Vallaslin? I have to see if I can find that again. I can't remember where I read it.

I think Mythal will be rather unpleasantly surprised in the spine Solas has developed since her 'murder'. He doesn't seem at all likely to me to be all 'hey! My enslaver is back! Let me just get my slave brands again'. Now, if he were still truly alone, he might just cave into it because man, does Solas have some pretty massive Mythal issues. Not sure if he regards her as his mom or something else or a mix of things, urk.

BUT he's not actually truly alone anymore is he? No matter how hard he tries to be. A Romanced Lavellan can tell him "Var lath vir suledin" which translates sorta, into "Our - love - way/path - endure/strength to withstand loss."

So he knows he's not alone. That inky will absolutely go to the mat for him. He has actual friends, too. He said Bull has him, if you don't betray Bull w/the Chargers. Solas doesn't strike me as someone to say that lightly.

So, he also knows he has friends, too.

I think, if Mythal actually is the big bad (kinda hoping for this tbh) she's gonna have a rather rude awakening when it comes to Solas. Who, from all I can tell, has always willingly served her whims. Because she was 'the best of them' doesn't mean she was actually good.

I talked about how he's heavily neurodivergent coded before, and we're generally loyal to a fault, which Solas very much shows.

But we do also often, eventually, reach a 'no more' point. After which, we'll absolutely close all those doors we'd previously left open.

If Solas acts the way I suspect he might, he'd then use everything he knows about Mythal and the Evanuris to help the game protag (I still wish I could just carry my inky over) defeat the buggers.

But what would it take for him to finally reach that point with Mythal? Mommy issues are soooo hard to deal with in therapy because it's so damned easy to backslide.

Hurting Inky? Doing something that will destroy the fade (like marching a darkspawn army into it)? Making him betray all of his followers who truly believe in him and his goals of freeing enslaved elves?

Solas deeply believes that slavery is wrong. In a way that makes me think he was actually enslaved at one point. Obviously to Mythal.

Oh, fuck me. What an amazing story they could tell about the whole 'but there were good slave owners' bullshit nonsense some people like to spout.

Of course, I still really wish Bioware would tell a story with a disabled protag. Which the end of Inquisition really would set up nicely. But given their shit disability rep, I know not to hold my breath over that.