#fade's personal rambles

[fadebolt]

I'm about to get a bit inactive again due to some tough exams coming up, and me wanting to spend most of my break time between study sessions, playing the new Arena gamemode of League with my dad.

I honestly wish I'd have enough time to comfortably do everything I want, but that would mean that each day would be over a hundred hours long.

I'm also just extraordinarily slow/bad at studying, and the next exam is one that requires all the material from this entire semester, where the professor is also straight up letting us to bring a Pen Drive that we're allowed to put anything onto... so to say that this sounds a bit intimidating would be an enormous understatement. I guess it's at least nice to know that I can't be completely screwed over by forgetting just one random codeword, which could easily happen in one of these html/css/php exams. But it's still probably best if I practice as much as I reasonably can, cus if I'll have to look at my notes for every line, then we're gonna have some major difficulties finishing everything in time.

Sorry for going on such an overly long tangent, but college exams are pretty rough, and I feel like it kind of helps when I put stuff that's happening into words. It acts as a small motivator, which I most certainly need. But don't worry - I'll absolutely not be doing this on literally every exam, ofc xd

[aingeal98]

More Jason and Cass thoughts (sorry but also not sorry) but if I was magically given full control over DC and could write what I'd want obviously I'd make Cass Batman but I've been thinking of what sort of reaction and role Jason would have in response. I think I'd write his version of "Congrats on the new job!" as a test, involving the Joker and civilians and gangs and Red Hood and a ton of explosives. Bruce failed me, and now he's given up. You're his successor, let's see how you handle this dilemma that freaked him out so badly he threw a batarang into my throat rather than let me avenge my own death in front of him.

So obviously Cass will overcome the traps and the puzzles. That's the fun part to show how competent both of them are and sprinkle in little character moments as we go. But then we reach the emotional crux of the matter, probably laid out as some sort of saw trap because it's Jason. Here I am, a victim of murder. You say nobody dies tonight but I did, and I want the man who did it dead. Not only did Batman fail to avenge me but he failed to stop the Joker from going on to create even more victims. What right do you have to stop me from getting justice for myself? What right does this man have to life after what he's taken from me and from countless others? I'm not trying to kill a random stranger, I'm specifically demanding justice for my own death that I never got while I was gone.

There are two ways this could go. The straightforward route if I knew my time on this run was limited would probably be a pyrrhic victory like the ones Cass's og series was so fond of. Just like Bruce in utrh, she acts on instinct and saves the Joker (and Jason this time) . A win technically, but she fails the test. Jason is once again vindicated but with nothing to show for it. The story ends with Cass sending the Joker back to jail and going back to the batcave, where the old Robin costume looms judgementally, highlighting her failure. It would be the most fitting end given their character molds, all tragedy and conviction and unstoppable force meets immovable object etc.

However... I think the option I prefer would be a little different. Cass levelling with Jason, a killer talking to a murder victim. She has no right to stop Jason from getting justice, she has no love for the Joker but she knows any death she allows to happen like this would devastate her, just like that death row inmate long ago she tried to break out but ended up letting go once the family of the victim talked to her and demanded justice. I think... In this specific situation, she'd just be honest. Morally she has no right sure. Personally she just really really doesn't want anyone to die. Give her one chance, please. Let her try it her way. Not demanding, not lecturing or insisting, just... Please. Don't do this. Let me try another way.

And then what? Jason asks.

In the end a deal is struck. Cass will take the Joker and lock him up, ensuring he never harms anyone again while also trying to rehabilitate him. But the second she fails and he gets free, Jason kills him and she won't stand in his way. It's the kind of deal that leaves both of them mildly disgusted and dissatisfied with themselves, neither of them naturally creatures of compromise when it comes to this specific topic. But Cass is willing to do anything to avoid death and Jason did not expect the new Bat to be so... Flexible? Kind of? Of course maybe she won't actually hold up her end of the deal and when the Joker gets loose she'll try and stop Jason from killing him and he'll get his miserable vindication, but right now this is something strange and new and he's mildly confused and curious about where it will go. He doesn't believe in her ability to contain the Joker forever but he's willing to let her try because her reaction to that future failure interests him. She's given him a sword of damocles to hang above her head and he didn't ask for it or expect it. It's the type of power he never thought the Bat would just... Hand to him.

The conflict ends with neither of them fully winning or losing. They both don't really know what to feel about this.

The thing is, the second Cass let's Jason kill the Joker she's hanging up the mantle. She's staking the Bat on this, because it's always go big or go home with her when it comes to saving others, even someone like the Joker. In this magical universe where I have unlimited power, Cass would lock the Joker in a secret bunker and have Leslie Thompkins talk to him daily, mostly because I think her pacifism speeches and debates in the comics would make a fun contrast to the Joker's evil sadism. (But what about his rights? Doesn't he deserve a trial and to be held in a regular prison? I'm going to be honest I think Cass would be very comfortable bending the rules on this specific situation. Morally questionable but I'd have fun with it. She's going to let Leslie treat Joker like her personal pet project to save his soul because yes she wants him to change but also she's got a city to save every night so go crazy Leslie, have fun.)

And the Batman series would continue with Cass as the lead, new challenges and new antagonists and every twenty issues or so for the first hundred we'll cut back to the Joker briefly if his chats with Leslie can help highlight some thematic element of the current arc. But bit by bit he'd slowly fade away onto oblivion, maybe getting referenced every hundred issues or so until eventually no one remembers or cares about him because there's so much else going on. Meanwhile Jason's got a good thing going as Red Hood, primarily based in Park Row and a tentative ally on the occasion when their vigilante work aligns. Unlike Joker he's a much more frequent character in the comics, and after say 10 years (this is my magical fantasy universe Cass's batman run is going to last for a very long time alright) when people think of DC characters they think of Red Hood long before they think of the Joker.

Is any of this realistic? Right now of course not. It's why I'd go with the pyrrhic victory if I actually got the chance, because it would be the best way to tell the story in the larger context of the Bat narrative. But it's my fantasy DC editor and writer daydream and I'm going to dream big. They're never going to be normal happy siblings, their personal demons will never fully let them be free and the looming possibility of losing everything they currently have narrative wise if Bruce comes back as Batman will always be there. But it's maybe the closest to peace they'll ever get. Unsatisfying and tame compromise that probably violates several laws and ethical codes but whatever. Cass has never read the Geneva convention and Jason's not going to shed tears over the Joker. Let him die relevancy wise if not physically.

[fadebolt]

Quick update on this - I did actually figure out who started this, and from the looks of things, they deleted everything and seem to be genuinely regretful about all this. They also seem to be rather young, so I'd say we should probably give them a pass at this point.

This definitely hits hard for me, knowing the awful crap I was doing at that age myself. A lot of people are simply not prepared to step into the open world alone when they're that young, which results in some horrible mistakes that end up getting them into situations they never ever wanted to be in.

I feel nothing but immense gratefulness for all my old friends who are still willing to look past all the unpleasant memories caused by lapses in my judgement, and remain my friends to this day. This is an immense favour that I hope I can also offer to others in similar situations (like this one), and I encourage every single one of you to do the same... even if I completely understand why you wouldn't want to.

Nobody is ever obligated to forgive, but it is one of the greatest gifts you can give. And the more you give, the more you get back.

Honestly really confused about the shipping drama (should I call it that?) that’s been going around recently.

Neither Survivor nor Monk are canonically minors- in fact, not a single slugcat has a canon age. Depending on your interpretation, any slugcat could be a minor or an adult. Saying that shipping Surv or Monk with somebody is pedophilia is blatantly wrong and those who say it are just treating their headcanons as truth.

If you can link me to a tweet or something the developers made saying otherwise, please do. Unless it is confirmed that Surv and Monk are minors, claiming people are proshippers or are disgusting is just straight up wrong.

[madame-mongoose]

Something so romantic about bleeding out and dying in the arms of a stranger okay

[imakemywings]

On a personal level, it was a dick move and it's not invalid of Rook to be unhappy about it, but in the practical scheme of things, its very easy to see why Solas deceived them about Varric's death. Cruel to Rook, of course, but with Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain loose in the world, ready to blight Thedas to regain their power, and Solas trapped in the Fade where he can't effectively combat them, and this one random mortal who barely grasps the situation being the only one standing against them...I see why his calculus landed on the side of deeply hurting this one person in order to better prevent the destruction of the world and its subjugation to god-like tyrants he barely defeated last go around.

[softhairedhotch]

aaron feels so, so real to me... like, maybe i'm just delusional and silly but when i imagine scenarios, i can see him so perfectly and i really do feel like he's here with me. i can imagine being with him in almost every scenario and even when i'm thinking of something else, it feels like he's always beside me. maybe i'm a lil crazy, maybe i'm a lil cuckoo, but one thing i know for sure is that aaron hotchner makes me so inexplicably happy and i am so glad i found him. hopefully in another universe i truly do have him by my side <3

[averlym]

ghostwriter (their grandma would tell them she'd lose half her soul)

[lesbiansanemi]

It was like my roommate needed to do one last thing to utterly baffle me and piss me off apparently last night she brought this girl over late after I’d already gone to bed and around four in the morning said girl came into my room??? And obviously that woke me up and I had no idea who this person was but right before I fell asleep I’d heard my roommate talking with another person so I assumed it was a friend of hers even though I obviously was like??? What the fuck are you doing in my room. And she comes over and starts pulling the blankets off my bed and shoving her hands underneath my sheets and keeps saying “I’m looking for my vape” and I was like “okay well it’s not here” but she just ignores me and keeps doing it before ultimately CLIMBING INTO MY BED AND LAYING DOWN LIKE SHE WAS GONNA GO TO SLEEP? And I was like “um who the fuck are you” and she looks at me like I’m fucking stupid but starts to close her eyes like she’s going to sleep and I was like “hell no seriously who are you” and at this point she has like two seconds to actually respond before I push this person I have literally never fucking seen before out of my bed in the middle of the night and she goes “come on Ellie” (my roommate’s name) and I was like uh yeah are you looking for her cuz I’m her fucking roommate and atp my roommate opens the door and is like whispering urgently as if I’m not already sitting up and pissed off and weirded the fuck out “hey I think you went in the wrong room” and the girl looks back and forth between the two of us super confused before her eyes widen and she scrambles up and scurries off and then they slam the door with neither of them apologizing and this morning I’m still like what the actual FUCK was that

[mystxmomo]

One of the things I've noticed people are iffy on is lolth-sworn markings, and I think it does fall into the same issue that DND was originally trying to avoid with drow. (That being, you shouldn't be able to separate "Good Drow" from "Bad Drow" at a glance. Come on now)

But unlike the eye thing, I think there's potential with this one that I'm personally going to enjoy playing into.

Context pulled from this reddit post

Lolth is the corruptor and her markings, Lolth’s Embrace, are visual evidence of that corruption. And not every drow has them. Lolth cult members are ‘gifted’ those markings as a result of their connection to the deity. It was an opportunity to introduce more of the spider theme in a visual way.” “Any Drow that has Lolth’s favor gets these markings that creep up over the skin. The more you embrace her teachings, the more pronounced those markings become. But if you fall out of favor, they start to fade,” Daniel adds, revealing that only Lolth’s personal connection can add the marks. “You’ll see Malice Do’Urden has very pronounced markings but it’s not a family trait because her son Drizzt is seen without them.”

My conditions for liking Lolth-sworn markings are as follows:

= Not every lolth-sworn drow (Or even drow that entirely have her favor) has them.

I know they already mention this as a condition, but I think there should be further nuance to it. I think that it's a very specific status symbol for a very specific rank. I think some drow that have her favor just never get the markings (Especially because of HOW revealing they are of their allegiance to her. Why would she give them to. Say. Spies on the surface.)

But I think they become something coveted specifically by priestesses in high positions of power, and a reflection of her approval of them in that position of power.

(Secondary to this point... Do the markings actually mean all of that? Or is that just what the priestesses are saying to better ensure the power they have? Potential for even more cultural cannibalization, and more intrigue.)

But also, DnD has already given avenues for Lolth doing this directly, even outside of the markings. Widow of Arach-Tinilith Lolth Sworn you're next on my creation list.

= Originally I was gonna tag ramble about this part, but I think I have enough thoughts on it to make it it's own little bullet point. I think that it shouldn't be retconned in to pre-existing characters within the narrative. I think this could be interested to be interpreted as a response from Lolth. As time is going on in the forgotten realms, Drow are becoming more accepted on the surface (Still plenty feared, of course. But becoming juuuust accepted enough to be a threat to her control over them).

Her marking them, especially the ones she really likes, like one would make a favorite toy with their name completely makes sense to me.

Which comes to the final point.

= I think they should be permanent, my brother. I don't think they should fade like is mentioned here as her favor leaves - Even aside from the fact that there should still be a bit of political intrigue as to who truly has her favor, I sort of like it as a metaphor. Even if you leave her, you'll still be forever physically marked by the fact you were with her and seen by her. Her presence in your life shaped you, and that history is going to be with you forever.

And it shows on your skin.

(It's another thing that makes it harder to leave her service. If people see you marked by her, and they know you served her well enough that she's marked you as hers, doesn't that still make you dangerous? Nevermind if it's been a century. Two centuries. Those marks are still there.)

[fadebolt]

I'm not sure how folks in Tumblr tend to respond to this stuff, but seeing this really put a smile on my face.

I always had a fascination for long analyses about the media that I enjoy, and it's something I (obviously) really enjoy doing myself. But I did kind of notice that a lot of people don't share this sentiment, and just prefer shorter, meme-ier and more 'to the point' stuff that doesn't have too much substance, as represented by most of the popular posts, comments and videos on different websites (and TikTok's... well, existence).

I don't want to scold people for that, as you can all enjoy yourself on the internet in whatever way you want to, and I don't want to act as a fun police. But at times, this does give me this feeling of being unwanted, ignored or looked down upon (though thankfully, this hasn't happened a lot in the RW community, as I haven't seen a lot of extreme nitpicking, complaints about length, or judging based on wrong conclusions drawn from superficial stuff).

So seeing people say stuff like this always makes me incredibly happy. I really appreciate everyone who encourages others to share personal thoughts in lengthy formats, and acts respectful and nice even if they find the material to be questionable in some way.

You guys are the absolute GOATs :)

[muttmedley]

man i miss my eyebrow piercing so much but that shit would not heal :/

[meowmedusa]

looking at the clock and going "oh. i didn't. even realize it was past 8pm." and its not funny or cool its just unbelievably concerning

[bittersweetbeet]

Headcanon that victim is gray because he's transparent/hollow! like a ghost!

he's a LITERALLY hollow head lmao

[jce93]

thry have the perfect sun/moon dynamic but u guys arent ready to hear that js yet 🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫

[technikki]

i will literally never understand when a character gets hate for being ‘overdramatic’ or highly emotional because like. i live for that shit. i fucking love when a character has a strong emotional response to a relatively ‘minor’ thing i love when characters cry easily and frequently i love when characters are loud and ‘annoying’ i live for drama. if a character is frequently hated on by fans for being annoying there is a 9/10 chance that character is one of my faves. no i dont think my neurodivergence has anything to do with this

[blightbear]

gonna go insane thinking about the final fight against corypheus and how Mo still wanted Solas to be there. He broke it off, she was bitter and angry and confused, yet she wanted him there. If she were to die she’d want him to be there at the end.