#for the plot to make sense. to make sure i actually include all the context required for everything to make sense

[elftwink]

started working on an older unfinished project today which necessitated me trying to decipher my notes and plot outline from 4+ years ago (an outline that was actually already fucked anyway because I accidentally fucked up the chronology when I was actively writing it and never bothered to fix my notes) and can I just say. what in the shit does half of this mean

[edwin-paynes-bowtie]

Did I have a really bad night last night in no small part because of a s2 spoiler? Yes. Did I have a Payneland Meltdown? Sure.

But this morning I have gained clarity, and a couple of things have made me feel better about some of the spoilers. I'm going to share them with you in hopes that it will quell some anxiety.

George and Jayden seem extremely excited about the season 2 that they read. It appears super genuine in the new Gameodens, and even if you wanted to argue that it was For the Hype, George also seemed really pumped about them before the show was canceled. They don't seem like performative people regardless, but past behavior also indicates that, yes, the excitement is real.

Both Jayden and George expressed that Charles and Edwin are soulmates. They have read all of the available scripts, and they are still expressing that (very true) sentiment.

They also explicitly said that Edwin and Charles are basically married anyway and that "dating" would be a "step down" for them.

Re: the "fight" that triggered my Episode last night: there is genuinely no way that the boys would have fought for an entire season, let alone forever. It wouldn't make sense and would be antithetical to the entire point of the show. Not to mention George and Jayden having professed them soulmates! "Tense for a lot of it" could mean many things, including that things were tense for a lot of the fight (rather than the season) and got less tense as the fight progressed. "A lot of it" could also just mean 1-2 episodes since they don't really fight.

George and Jayden also explicitly said that disagreements could be healthy, so I'm going to believe that they meant they came out stronger on the other side.

Also, as a kind soul in my comments last night said, there's really nothing for them to fight over besides each other. It probably would have been out of love anyway.

Re: the Catwin sex. Disclaimer is that I don't mind this because I've always thought it would be an interesting plot point. BUT, as a hardcore Payneland shipper myself,I understand why people might not like it. Please remember that it's part of a story! It's the middle of a story, not the ending! Catwin is likely, as I hoped for, a step on the journey toward Edwin figuring out that he only wants these experiences with Charles. Every road leads back to them.

I actually think that Jayden and George might have said that all roads lead to them as well in one of the Gameodens, but I don't know where. Maybe I dreamed it.

We are getting tiny little snippets of 8 hours worth of television. We have maybe a collective 150-character Tweet and 1.5 minutes of out-of-context video spoilers. Catastrophizing doesn't make any logical sense. (I'm not talking down to anyone here, I promise. I'm repeating the mantra I told myself for like an hour last night.)

Season 2 was also not intended to be the last season! They wanted 6! This is Act 2 of 6. It's not even the middle of the story!

[demon-country]

One thing I think people tend to forget is that, due to how short the episodes are and how few there have been despite the large time frame that's been covered so far, we know very little about the lives of any of the characters. Including Blitz, who is the main character. We've only seen a handful of interactions between Stolas and Blitz and even fewer solo scenes regarding how they feel about their relationship, and they're all important because they set up future plot points, but they're not in depth and thus are functionally taken out of context. We can only speculate about stuff like some of the memory fragments in All 2 U or the exact content of the many phone calls between Blitz and Stolas, using deductive reasoning to figure out what makes the most sense given the clues we have.

There's so much that the writers are forced to only drop hints and subtext about, because they simply do not have the time to explore things more if they don't want to drag the show out forever, so people who don't pay close enough attention or who don't want to acknowledge the romantic feelings between Blitz and Stolas end up saying that things went too fast. It's like, guys, you know they've been interacting for over 20 months, right? Surely you can't think the few minutes of them we've seen on screen is indicative of their entire relationship, right??? It only seems fast now because it was really important to show the rapid paradigm shift that happened as a result of the crystal exchange.

And while we're at it, this is what bothers me so much when people say Stolas probably doesn't know Moxxie and Millie's names. Stolas has, by Blitz's own admission in Oops, been interacting with him on social media and calling Blitz on the regular to ask about his day for about a year and a half, if we don't count the months where they didn't talk after Ozzie's. And note that even though this is part of his rant about how Stolas is only using him for sex, Blitz doesn't mention phone sex, he only says that Stolas calls to ask about his day - meaning that they must actually end up talking about what Blitz has been up to fairly often. When put into that context, do you honestly think that Blitz has somehow never once mentioned Moxxie and Millie by name?

Moxxie, Millie, and especially Loona are very important to Blitz and Stolas would undoubtedly remember their names for that reason alone, but they're also a huge part of his everyday life so they're gonna come up in conversation pretty often, both on social media and anytime Blitz indulged Stolas and talked about his day. Blitz has probably ranted about something Moxxie did fairly often during his phone calls with Stolas, and where Moxxie is mentioned so too will Millie inevitably be brought up. And you know Blitz wouldn't miss an opportunity to gush about how perfect and amazing Loona is. All of which we can infer due to the fact that Blitz does all of those things many times in a variety of settings over the course of the series.

The assumption that he doesn't know their names is ultimately based solely on the belief that, because Stolas has certain unconscious racial and class biases, he must not care about any imp other than Blitz, to the point where he'd have had to intentionally ignore and forget every mention of their names to not know them by this point. Stolas has a lot of shit he needs to unlearn and has said/done a number of harmful, demeaning things to imps (including to Moxxie and Millie in Loo Loo Land), but this is not one of them.

[guiltycorp]

Damn i really want to know tf happened in the writing room of arcane s2. Some of the downgrades were inevitable due to the show's corporate limitations (not being able to progress the class war story in a meaningful way, having to tie things back to league of legends in terms of making playable characters more appealing to well, play... rip Mel and Viktor in particular), sure. But i still feel like it's even worse than that? There are so many bad decisions that i couldn't even start listing them all... the characters, plot, pacing, themes, it's just such a mess? Even the dialogue writing, it feels much more mm Marvel at its worst i suppose. What i am most bothered by is probably just the straight up harmful messaging so um... Cycles of violence and abuse can be broken by individual decisions to become a better person! Got nothing to do with systemic oppression, living conditions, mental health issues, you can just conveniently ignore aaall the social context, live laugh love and then things get better automatically yep, oppressors famously stop oppressing you when you show them that you're harmless and won't put up a fight anymore. Literally three out of three suicidal characters dying to redeem themselves? Not even in a tragic/cathartic way but in a bittersweet 'they finally atoned for their mistakes' way? Groundbreaking lmao. Romantic relationship between Vi and Caitlyn including no communication about their biggest fight, just conveniently skipping to sex and getting back together - would have loved that if it was framed as the unhealthy fucked up thing that it is, skipping over Vi's hurt and her background to once again become a cop, her girlfriend's direct underling at that (!) due to her not having any other support systems... But nope that was our cute lesbian romance wrapped up, a good thing all around, not concerning at all. Jayce telling Viktor that what he 'always admired about him' was his disability and his deadly disease (??? from a character who spent the whole s1 and first act of s2 desperately trying to help Viktor find a cure? sure) and that those imperfections don't need fixing, just wtf truly. Magic bullshit was also weird, some implications of 'natural magic is ok, but achieving that power through other means corrupts you into a crazy robot bitch or just wilts your trees i guess', but tbh it was written in such a weird and inconsistent way that we can skip this one... Yeah actually a lot of things were just such a mess that I feel silly pointing to specific moments or lines I didn't like, I mean duh, it barely makes sense as a story at all... I am happy we have s1 which comparatively was a masterpiece, and i also really enjoyed s2 act1, i truly believed it would lead somewhere good at the time, my mind still kind of cuts off the story at that point when i think about it, that WAS the open ending of the show to me (is it possible that there were rewrites? targeting act 2 and 3? idk, wishful thinking perhaps). Despite my extremely negative feelings about this season's conclusion i remain glad that so many people appreciate the show regardless, it is clear that there was STILL a lot of love in the process of its creation (although i'd argue that even some of the visual aspects of the show suffered in quality, once again i have to wonder about behind the scenes mood of it all) and i get very upset when i see creatives online despairing over reception of their projects even when i'm absolutely in the disgruntled crowd hahaha... ...however yeah, this wasn't great In a world that increasingly grows more and more right-wing politically... we really needed something different i think.

[cripplecharacters]

Hey this ask might be a bit vague but I wanted some input on a character of mine who has a facial difference due to a tragic accident which I’m aware is a trope in media that is commonly used very badly. The characters facial difference is not whatsoever the centre of the tragedy and it is treated as a simple inevitably due to the extreme nature of the accident. He is also not the only character w/ a facial difference and the other characters treat it as a completely normal thing. I’m hoping that within the context of the story the character doesn’t appear as a bad trope but I’m also not the right person to make that judgment so I was wondering what your thoughts would be on how I could improve the character if I am in fact falling into the trope trap. Essentially, is my character too much of a trope?

Hey!

Based on what's included in this ask, I'd say it's not a problem. I'm personally tired of the ever-present tragedy associated with facial differences in every imaginable context, but I can't say that they aren't ever caused by events that could be considered tragic or traumatic - some of them very much are; the problem lies in the oversaturation of it when compared to other reasons people get facial differences which are more common in real life.

You're doing a lot of things right with not having him be the only character with a facial difference. People with FDs are diverse by definition, so I'm glad to actually see that shown. If there is another character that has a progressive or congenital facial difference that is just a part of them then you're basically already getting that trope away from your writing. "All visibly disabled people get their disability from [most traumatic scenario ever]" is a boring trope, "some disabled people get their disability from a traumatic event that they might consider tragic" is literally just real life.

Another thing I had mentioned before is to show the mundane things of whatever injury the character gets. Whether that'd be (e.g.) physical therapy, trying out different pain medications, dealing with actual symptoms of PTSD, having to buy a shower chair that actually fits in their bathroom, or just simply taking their time to learn how to function with their new ability level - all these things ground the experience as something that's actually real and not just a plot point for angst.

However, the best piece of advice I can give is to consult a sensitivity reader who has personal experience with this kind of facial difference. This is the most accurate and sure way to figure out if your character needs to be tweaked a bit or if what you already do is fine. Try to talk to people with a similar kind of experience to your character or read what they have written about it (which will inevitably restrict you to people willing to talk about it, but there's not much you can do). As always I recommend Face Equality International (the website) and SBSK (the youtube channel). If your character is a burn survivor I'd also recommend Phoenix Society (also website).

It is much, much harder to do a trope when you actually know people from the group the stereotype affects - not impossible, but harder. Seeing Hollywood Trope XYZ feels ridiculous when you're aware of how people that it's based on actually are, while allowing you to pick up the bits of truth that can be there. Most people don't recognize that the burn survivor character is evil for the millionth time because they don't know any burn survivors and don't have the knowledge to make this observation from. But when you do listen, a lot of the tropes out there will be jarring because they are just inaccurate. And with this you can basically check yourself - does the XYZ I worry about in this character make sense in his situation, or should it be toned down or changed a bit? - and if it feels wrong when compared to what you hear, it might be time to switch things up. When in doubt or if you want to be very sure, consult someone with the relevant knowledge and give them the necessary context around what worries you. Based on the info in this ask everything here seems completely fine, but context and fine details can matter in determining if something ultimately works or not.

Sorry for the long reply but I hope this helps,

mod Sasza

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hi and thanks so much for answering my last ask, don't mean to spam! but i have some follow up questions based on your answer, so is the audience generally meant to operate like the majority of season 1 and 2 was false?

What i mean is if none of the most "incriminating" for a lack of a better word scenes never get revisited, drop scene, train scene, murder scene tower scene, trial, even antoinette with the finger thing, which I think unlikely surely we will receive some additional information for maybe a couple of these, but if we don't, the audience should still not take the events of season 1 and 2 at full face value? Doesn't that sort of invalidate the story itself? If it can all be questioned and disputed the impact for the watcher who was invested time and feelings for two seasons sort of becomes less? If that makes sense ?

And it would sort of be a cop out, for me personally I think either the series has taken a huge gamble taking 6 years to show the audience the complete story and it must land to pay off or it may remain with answers left unanswered and plot holes up to questioning in perpetuity and up to everyone's interpretation for better (or if you go on Twitter 😬) for worse?

Sorry for talking your ear off about this, promise I won't bother you anymore with this, thanks for reading 😊 😀!

Oh, bother away :)

The thing is... this is how the books are as well.

And so I do NOT see this as a "cop out", I do NOT see it as something out of the... let's say ordinary.

The Vampire Chronicles are a series of books written by vampires. Most of them by Lestat, some by Louis, Armand, Marius, and others.

They are their stories.

These stories are written for an effect, for a reason. Louis' told his to Daniel after Claudia's death, still angry and yet still numb, mourning. Lestat wrote his in an answer to Louis'. Queen of the Damned is a collection of stories of various characters but written down by Lestat. And so on.

This format includes in and by itself and per default a point of view. And an intention.

Of course these characters hide some of the truth within the narrative. Of course Armand tries to soften the blow of what he did with Claudia in his own recount of the tale. For example. Of course of course of course :)

The show does the same, in its own way.

They have Louis tell the story to Daniel, and he does it again, for a reason. Daniel has been called Louis' lifeline for the second interview, meaning Louis tried to break himself free with it. Because Louis knew deep down that some things were not true. But Louis also presents Lestat as a monster because he's angry.

I said it before, I expect the end of 1x05 to be revisited, quite often, actually, and expanded with more context. Not "just" the drop, but the dragging and spoken parts as well - and the aftermath. None of that fits with what we saw in the revisit after all, and Sam's words and the "possessed" comment in 1x06 rang all the bells in my head wrt Amel.

The train scene cannot have happened as shown, they don't need to revisit that, they gave us all the clues already.

The hotel scene and Antoinette's finger cannot have happened as shown either, there, too, the clues are all there.

Murder night... well, we have the not-fitting diary already as a clue - the only other person who can give account of that - and, more importantly maybe, DOES so in his own book - will have his say in season 3. There I do expect a revisit, yes. Maybe only a short one. But I BET Lestat has a thing to say about that.

The trial will be revisited in some kind of way as well - Sam already mentioned that he has the "original" of that scene/script, and there was an extra back then, who mentioned they filmed more than made it into the season. There, too, I expect Lestat, the only other participant still living after all, to have a word to say about it. Again, which he also does in his book.

IWTV seasons one and two... are a tale. An influenced tale.

The discrepancies are riddled through it everywhere - all the dates are off(!), the stab wounds in Lestat's back in 1x01 disappear, Lestat cannot have talked to Louis' mind directly in 1x02, and I seriously doubt that he would have let his brand new fledgling run out into the sun. Seriously doubt it.

And so on.

They put clues in - like the hair styles, imho.

So no, you can not, in fact, take the story at face value.

But... forgive me, but that is the nature of a tale, isn't it?! Louis urges Daniel in 1x01: "Let the tale seduce you." He spins a tale, with what he knows and wants to tell. Louis does not lie per intention, not really, though he, too, lies ((Jacob literally says “not everything Louis says is a lie“ in this video)) ... but more to himself - and to shield Claudia... and to downplay his part in it. He literally says that in episode 2x07, that he "played down his role in it" (Claudia's turning)... he shields himself from the ugly truth and regret and pain, and that is... all too understandable I think.

This is not a "normal show", where you can take what you see as the absolute truth. For one - what exactly did we see? Louis' imagined scenes? Or Daniel's?? Probably Louis', but you get what I mean, right? Because it was a mix of memories and edited tale, not a neutral retelling! We do NOT have a neutral camera! We have a tale within a tale, and "supposedly" only the reunion scene had a neutral camera, according to Rolin!

For ME that is part of the attraction - and frustration :) - of the show.

Because I get what you mean, but it is a HUGE puzzle also, and we will never get a "this was the truth" mock-up.

All we will get are point of views and more tales, documentaries, and, if we're lucky, neutral cameras in the "present time". And hints.

Lots and lots of hints.

And, tbh, this is very much in line with the books, to come back to the beginning.

Lestat, in his book, literally says it to the "reader": "Read between the lines."

You have to.

You have to look at what's unsaid, and what does not fit. You have to note what is out of place, or what has reasons that character does not want to talk about. This holds for all of the chronicles.

And this plays into this vexing, ingenious and frustrating show :)

I ... feel quite confident though promising that the eventual rewatch value will probably be immense. :)))

Because if they continue like this????

Show of the fucking decade.

[jyae23]

Dark Rise Chapter 21 Crack Impressions/Assumptions

When the guy you had forced on the ground is now penetrating your tied up and sweaty body in front of a crowd AND your [Redacted] (Everyone including your [Redacted] is demanding him to thrust deeper into you.)

I redacted James's father because their relationship is a big spoiler methinks. I think enough of these out of context posts would convert one of my followers to pick up this series and I wouldn't want to ruin it for them should they decide to read Dark Rise. If they choose to read more, then that's on them y'know? Wait, fuck, it wouldn't matter anyways because I'm gonna draw my faves immediately afterwards, huh.

Omg I just realized that they both had their hands stained by each other's blood and it happens on the same day too! They're practically married now <3

"Hello, Father." (Pacat 257)

FATHER? JAMES IS YOUR SON???? The plot is plotting so hard. WAIT A MIN THE PROLOGUE IS MAKING SENSE NOW "If you felt anything for me" "If you felt anything for us" no gay just on same side. He was training like a good Steward like the rest of them :(

"Catamite"

Pause. I have never heard of that word before. The High Janissary said that with his full chest too. Omg new vocab word of the day?! Lemme look it up before listening any further— 😦

Okay, sorry, I'm slow, but I always thought that they called James "Simon's prize" because of the strength he possessed and ties to the Dark King. I didn't know that there was another meaning behind it.

James was denying those "rumors" when Marcus brought it up.

Simon's followers circle that name/title around.

The High Janissary spews some more shit about it and James refutes. It's kinda fucked up for him to say all of that about his child. I think in this moment James is 17?

James further denies being Simon's lover when Will meets him in the cell.

I feel like I'm being weird about this, but they bring it up a lot and I'm only now putting two and two together as I type this. Man, why they gotta poke the Catamite (allegedly)?

"First son died six years ago" So, James would be 11 or 12 when he became the Betrayer? He was a kid and ultimately a victim. Am I feeling bad the enemy? YEahh and it's because we got to see more of him on a deeper level than just being beautiful, strong, and cunning. (Jyae discovers empathy????)

"No one could look at him and not want to posses him." (Pacat 261).

The first time around I thought ooo JAMES YOU SHOW THEM, but on the second and third time rereading this chapter, I don't think that line was all good as I thought it was. (I still love the line, but I feel like it has more of a negative implication that a positive one?) I feel like I'm reaching, but I'm actually gonna reach more when we get to the aftercare scene (yes, I'm calling it the aftercare scene) and I dunno it feels like he's being objectified at this point. The objectification of James St. Clair. (Wow, what a sentence.) All this talk about his appearance and how people on BOTH sides throw names at him and now this idea of possessing him just make feel things.

"Not someone who holds a grudge against him in their heart." (Pacat 260).

Oh yea, because Will is the most neutral in this Hall. Taking in their previous encounters, Will has something more intense going on in that heart of his for James. It may not be a grudge, but it's something alright. The book made that fucking clear for sure.

They got me with the cup thing too. Honestly assumed it'd be something with cannibalism the way it was a secret and all. James turning the tables and playing everyone like a fiddle is so funny. Even when he's tied up and in pain, he has everyone playing his little games.

I don't think I can fully capture what I felt when Will was thrusting that stick into James's arm. Overall, I had a euphoric bookgasm for the poking. Nothing could have prepared me for that and the scene afterwards. I really hope someone went ahead and illustrated these scenes somewhere (I'm a visually learner wink wonk.)

I think it's too early for me to think about fanfics for this, especially when book three isn't even announced, but I can see a lot of fics utilizing the Horn of Truth for many reasons...

AFTERCARE

I thought Will being forced on all fours by James's magical hands wouldn't be topped, but then the public unicorn pegging scene dropped and I thought nothing could top that... AFTERCARE IN MY CELL????? I didn't ask for that nor did I think I needed that, but holy shit and what the fuck and thank you????

I live for the innuendos "You're the center of attention again. But I suppose you're used to that." (Pacat 268). "You can stick it in again." (Pacat 268).

"Unlace my shirt." (Pacat 269). James... *unlaces shirt* WILL!!! These two are always surprising me I cannot catch a break. I'm deadass because why the fuck is Will getting ANGRY for James in the next few lines??? Will treats James tenderly as if James doesn't have a high body count (KILLS).

"How many times did he try to brand you?" (Pacat 270). Will, what are you gonna do if James had an exact number? You can't even move a candle flame yet.

I was doing mental gymnastics on ways to redeem or justify James slaughtering xx amount of Stewards, but I think Will handles that well for me:

"I think what people were is less important than what they are. And what people are is less important than what they could be." (Pacat 271).

Not gonna lie, I had to reread that a few times, but I get it.

Everyone is saying the Dark King is coming. How many more times will he come? STOP COMING- Sorry. I like the eerie build up they're setting and having James, an almost unstoppable force, speak about what's about to come makes the weight of everything more dire.

James is a reborn and Will is a descendant. They're acting really suspicious together despite being on opposite sides. Pulling more shit out of my ass. Are they like previous lovers in the past or something? Wait but the High Janissary said James was was the Dark King's lover in the past, so that'd mean Will would have to be the Dark King. But how the fuck would that work? But also, didn't the Elder say something about the Lady being in love with the Dark King? Dark Rise, Dark King, Dark... Will... Unless she had a child with someone else. Or wait was that Simon who is a Descendant of the Dark King? I CAN'T REMEMBER AND I JUST WANNA READ MORE RATHER THAN LOOK BACK. SOMETHING FISHY IS GOING ON AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I usually raw-dog these posts, but I had to bust out my laptop just to gather my thoughts, and even then this post is super unorganized. I thought chapter 20 was a lot, but chapter 21 is a gift that keeps giving. I keep breaking the 4th wall, turning my head to the invisible nonexistent camera to check if the invisible nonexistent audience heard what I'm hearing and saw what I'm reading. I don't know how much more gasps I can gusp. Every time I thought they couldn't go any deeper, they went deeper (and so did the horn.)

[1moreff-creator]

Now that you've had some time to cool down from the Fuckfest of Friday Night, I'm a little curious on what you think of MonoTV's whole deal, because I haven't seen anyone actually talk about it much and that makes me so upset because wow Dev somehow managed to get me to care about this piece of steel

Spoilers up to the end of CH2

Hey! Yeah, MonoTV, huh? With everything else going on, this thing kinda got pushed aside, but there's been some really interesting developments indeed. I agree though, it's genuinely pretty incredible dev managed to get me to care about what up to this point had been nothing but a device for plot and humor.

You know, I originally wanted to keep this brief to give my full thoughts on the full part 2 analysis I'm working on, but maybe it's better if I just talk about it in full here and just link to this post from that one. Let me start by the theory side, because that's easier for me to write about :v

While MonoTV's creation being connected to XF-Ture Tech was always a very real possibility, the confirmation that at least its personality drivers come from them is nice. And there doesn't seem to be any type of repurposing going on:

MonoTV: Whenever I make a decision, ultimately, I must make the choice that fulfills my purpose [to run the killing game until the death of every participant]. After all, that was why I was created.

While we don't fully understand how this all fits together yet, I'm glad XF is being brought up because that might mean Min content in the future? For me, please? :,D

Anyways. Having a clearly stated goal for the killing game (killing all the participants) is also pretty useful for theory-crafting purposes, so look forward to seeing that line referenced in mastermind discussions moving forward. Not to mention, the secondary purpose of MonoTV playing the villain, with the reasoning:

MonoTV: This so-called TV show is more about appearances than you'd think.

So... ignoring the weird phrasing of "so-called TV show" as opposed to just "TV show," because I will go crazy if I look too deep into that, the confirmation that the appearances of the killing game are important seem to confirm a suspicion Teruko had back in CH2 Ep2.

Teruko: And also, [MonoTV is designed the way it is] as a way to reference that "past killing game," right?

Assuming via context that she's talking about THH, MonoTV being specifically created and programmed to look and act sorta like Monokuma could have some interesting implications moving forward, especially given things like Duke Spurling being alive to see the Tragedy and maybe wanting a recreation of the THH killing game. Thankfully there's no character with a talent for recreating things, such as art, an art forger of some kind, because if there was this could realistically point to them as the mastermind. :)

Final note about theories: I... called it? Sort of?

[Extract from Vivisection of the David MV] What I think is the best idea [regarding the multi-colored "original"] is that all the characters [which includes MonoTV] got the word. [...] I think it makes more sense to relate them to the meaning of "original style" under my interpretation, where "original style" means a change of heart.

Well, MonoTV sure had a change of personality, albeit briefly, now didn't it? (Please ignore the fact that I dismissed the possibility of MonoTV changing in the lines following that one :p) Admittedly "characters in DRDT will have character development" is possibly my least wild theory ever, but a W is a W (?).

Alright but screw theorizing that's for insane people. Let's go for character analysis, because the fact that MonoTV has become a genuinely interesting creature to study is possibly even wilder than the XF-Ture Tech name drop.

Now, a lot of what we hear character wise is similar to stuff we heard in MonoTV's previous character building moment; CH2 EP3.

MonoTV: Does a toaster know why it toasts? Does a calculator know why it adds and subtracts? They are simply machines that do their job without needing to understand why. To that end, I don't know who made this TV show and why. All I do is carry out the directives programmed into me.

MonoTV: I have no conscience, no sense of morality, no will at all. I am merely a robot, subject to the laws of my code. I have no choice but to perform the actions that my creator dictated I must. [...] All the decisions I make were already decided by whatever entity created me, because I am a robot.

It's stated in a much more melancholic tone, given the music in the background, the sprite pose, and the generally less silly "default personality," but it's nothing really new. MonoTV is a machine, it follows programming.

Except.

MonoTV: Even if I feel pain or guilt, I cannot stop. That is the fate that I have, to make others suffer. And there is no diverging from that fate.

Hey MonoTV what the fuck does this mean.

"Even if I feel pain or guilt"? Instead of "I can't feel pain or guilt"? The choice of wording here is very interesting, because it seems to imply that MonoTV does feel pain and guilt over the killing game, regardless of how impossible that should be. The "fate" drop is pretty huge for thematic reasons, as I'm sure you're aware; Teruko explains her own feelings about it in the rest of the scene, there's Xander's speech to Teruko before he attempted to stab her, Ace talking about how he was too much of a coward to fight his fate, Arei actually defying a similar fate in a way, David with the LGI lyrics, Whit and J and Rose and so many other people, all interconnected by this damn concept. I think it'd be fine if this is all we hear about MonoTV in relation to it, but there's definitely fun parallels to explore regardless.

Given how little we have of these particular character details so far, there's not much I can say about it other than I love the concept of an AI being forced to do something it doesn't "want" to because of code, and I'm interested to see if MonoTV will act differently in the future. It's supposed to reset to its previous personality in the full reset, I imagine, but it's not like we can just ignore all the shit it said here. I'm very curious to see where dev takes this.

That said, I also wanted to point out how this vague allusion to feeling pain and guilt and possibly hopelessness against fate aren't the only feelings MonoTV exhibits. Because for some unfathomable reason, it seems to care about Teruko to an extent?

MonoTV: Is something the matter, Teruko? Everyone else has already left.

Like, maybe I'm misreading because the personality change is fucking with me, but this feels like a concern more genuine than I would expect from pre-2-16 MonoTV. And...

MonoTV: You have to decide the answer for yourself.

This, along with the little speech about Teruko's humanity that precedes it, again comes off as MonoTV genuinely trying to help her through her emotions. I don't see how this correlates with its purpose, unless it somehow "believes" that giving Teruko advice on this will somehow lead to Teruko killing someone or something to that effect, which makes no sense.

If it doesn't help kill the participants, isn't necessary for the killing game, and doesn't make MonoTV seem like a villain, then it's not related to any of its purposes. It isn't code making MonoTV say this things. It's MonoTV's... consciousness? I guess? It's very, very interesting.

I am genuinely super interested in where dev is taking MonoTV, and if you told me that was a sentence I would unironically type before this episode, I would have called you insane. The writing in this series is genuinely immaculate, I can't believe we're getting genuine basis for MonoTV angst and it's compelling. Dev does it again!

Thanks for the ask, this was fun to ramble about!

[incorrectmahabharatquotes]

On Mahabharat and the Agency of Women in the epic

If you saw me post the actual reply to this, no, you didn't. I'm so sorry, anon. I accidentally posted the unfinished draft. I will correct my mistake here. I am prefacing all the following words with: That's Just My Opinion, You're Allowed To Have Your Own Opinions.

There's a short answer and a long answer to this ask.

The short answer is: in my opinion, women didn't have a lot of agency. But they were still significant, in the sense that they are so central to the plot that the epic would not exist without the roles they play. If you take any one of them away, the story would be changed inexorably.

The long answer depends on what you would consider as "agency" and what version specifically you are thinking of.

I can talk about Sanskrit text that we have access to and is generally considered as the Original and True version(I don't agree with this and can go on a great big rant about this. In a different post, maybe.)

To lay the groundwork for my explanation, you have to remember how the current Sanskrit text came into being. Originally, the Mahabharat was part of the oral stories told by suta bards(who used to accompany kings into battles as their charioteers and after the battles, would recount the battle and tell glorified and embellished stories about it). It was only written down MUCH later(multiple centuries later) by some brahmins roughly around the time the Yajur Veda were being composed. The oral versions were only one quarter of the length of the written version. So during the writing portion we can assume they added a lot more stuff (which tracks because when you read it, you can clearly see the difference between the story plot beats and the brahminical morality propaganda bits) This context is important. Please keep this in mind.

The mahabharat is a historical document but not in the sense some people would have you believe. It's a document of SOCIAL history at the time it was composed.  It reflects the norms, laws and morality of the culture that they were composed and codified in.

As such, you have a story that is conflicted about how it feels about certain topics. Polyandry being one of them. It was probably a more common occurrence back in the ye old oral storytelling years. We see a lot of instances of women having multiple partners. And these instances are so intrinsically linked to the essence of the story that it's hard to get rid of them. Now we move forward to the time when it was being written down, where polyandry is frowned upon, if not outright forbidden, but you have the issue of Draupadi having five husbands being integral to the story. Hence, you have MULTIPLE attempts to reason it away. The incarnation reason, the five blessings reasons, the regenerating "virginity" etc. Those guys(the aforementioned Brahmin writers) were struggling to present her as a unique situation and make sure that we know that polyandry is NOT acceptable but in this one case, because of Special Divine Reasons, we have to let it slide.

Now we come to the "agency" part. That's a little more difficult because everyone has different mileage of what they consider to be as an active character.

What I can tell you is that we barely get any internality from the female characters in the Sanskrit text. There are a few scenes thrown in sporadically but they have an extreme case of "the writer doesn't view women as actual people". There's also the Stree Parva which, on paper, is all about the women and their grief after the war but even that sort of focuses all the attention on the men, both dead and alive(including their unborn male fetuses).

What matters when it comes to women, according to the epic, are their bodies. Both in the sexual and reproductive contexts. Women are always described by their external appearance(mostly their hips and thighs) and by extensions, their sexuality. (I've lost count of how many times a mysterious wind will strip a woman completely naked so that a bunch of men can stare at her or worse, EJACULATE upon seeing her. They even did that shit to Ganga and she's GANGA. Divine river goddesses are not immune to this shit trope.) Women will often be abducted for marriage and it's just considered as a kshatriya norm of the time. There are multiple instances of being compared to empty containers(bags or fields) for a man's seed(semen). And ironically, they consider the children as copies of the father alone and that there is nothing of the mother in the said children. (This obviously reflects how society at the time was obsessed with the patrilineal lines of succession to maintain patriarchy and control over land and wealth.)

Most of the rare instances of women having some power and agency in the epic come from these two contexts, i.e. having some control over the sexual access of men over their bodies OR having control over their children.

Women didn't typically have rights to succession to the land, wealth and property of their family. In fact, in Chitrangada's case, who does succeed the kingdom after her father this is considered a rare and unique case worthy of note.

This is not to say that the female characters of the Mahabharat aren't interesting or strong. I'm merely telling you how the Sanskrit text narrative treats these characters because of the writers' own biases and viewpoints.

Beyond the Sanskrit text, you have many other versions who will often expand upon the roles of the women. Some regional Mahabharats delete or add scenes according to their own norma. A lot of folk stories breathe life and dimensionality to these women by giving them more to say. Multiple famous plays over the year have given a more gentle and kind touch to the female characters of the cast of this epic.

In the modern contemporary context, everyone is obsessed with writing a feminist retelling(the success of just how feminist said retellings are is a different matter entirely).

If you do find any fault in how active the characters are, the blame often lies at the hand of the storyteller rather than the character themselves.

(P.S. Before anyone gets furious and starts typing an angry anon about how women were "considered goddesses and therefore it means that they had a lot of power", I want to remind everyone that deification often reduces the figure into an inhuman entity and isn't as far from objectification as you would like to think.)

-Mod S

[vvanillavveins]

On the WTNV finale:

Look, i like Brinknor. They helped me fall back in love with Night Vale when i was feeling particularly uninspired. It's hard to put it into words; i have adhd & i struggle to remember big intricate plots unless something reoccurring has really grabbed hold of my attention, and before Brinknor, i was struggling to sink my teeth into anything attention-holding, so to speak. I guess i was becoming less enthusiastic in Night Vale's storyline as time went on, even though i couldn't really work out why. I just couldn't stop tuning out. But, with Brinknor, there came a bunch of shiny new plotpoints- at a faster pace. The show could actually hold my focus properly, and my wtnv fixation was suddenly up & running again.

All this is to say that i know it's just my impatience talking when i say that i wish that the loose ends of those new, interesting plotpoints had been tied up a little more by episode 250. I adore the way they write about Cecil's childhood and his family, and i want Kevin & The Boy's arc to be given the same amount of love, and attention, and time that the Palmer siblings' arc got. The same goes for Tamika. And Carlos. And Lauren, actually. Yes, i know she was a central figure in the last 2 episodes, and i loved that because she's one of my favourite characters. I fucking adore eldritch Mother Lauren. But still, it was all too vague to really learn anything new about her or the desert otherworld. And, above all else, i can't help but think of how wonderful it would've been if Charles and Donovan were included in the finale- especially Donovan.

When Kevin first came back in 2023, one of my silly little hcs as to why he was apparently in the Smiling God's bad books (and why he didn't mention Charles or Donovan) was that because Charles & Donovan aren't from Desert Bluffs they haven't devoted themselves to the Smiling God like the rest of the townsfolk. They wouldn't "smile" properly. One of my darker ideas at the time was the possibility of Kevin having to choose between making them part of his faith, i.e., making them "smile" like the rest of Desert Bluffs (which i doubt he'd go through with after his mudstone abyss arc), or having Charles & Donovan leave town (which i doubt they'd go through with), or, doing neither & keeping quiet about his life with them to avoid drawing attention. If he chose the latter and then got found out, it would make sense that he'd stop being the Smiling God's favourite. Obviously, i never thought any of that was correct- i was just having fun- and i was excited to find out the real story further down the line.

But that didn't happen, and we still don't really have many answers. Everything to do with Kevin, and Lauren, and The Boy got wrapped up in about 10 minutes flat. We've already had an emotional Fatherhood themed episode with Cecil & Abby; we didn't need another one just for the sake of it.

With the context of what we already know about Kevin's father, the ending of episode 250 was just uncomfortable. Sure, Kevin's talked about his father positively before, but that's always been in contrast with the actual content of his memories. It's always been made clear that the script/the writers disagree with Kevin's sunny outlook, and therefore the listeners should too. Those moments are there to demonstrate just how fucked up Kevin really is, and that his positivity is just a coping mechanism. But this time Cecil spoke for him, so we didn't get Kevin's usual sing-song rambling. It was calm, and collected, and matter-of-factly. And this time there were no sugar-coated descriptions of abuse, only genuine praise. We were actually supposed to agree with him this time, and it made the whole speech (and ending) sound hollow and forced.

I really didn't like this episode. It felt rushed. It tried to cover far too much far too quickly, and it failed. But, despite all that, i am hoping that future episodes will bring some sort of clarity about what happened. And hopefully some closure about Kevin and his family, too. I want loose ends to get tied up properly and i believe that maybe, with time, the important ones will be. Slow burning subplots are kinda quintessential to Night Vale's writing at this point anyway. Brinknor definitely missed the mark with this one, but they're still incredibly talented writers and i'm not ready to give up on them like some of the other fans on here.

Besides, i think that some of Night Vale's worst episodes are still incredible pieces of writing in their own right. The bad episodes are only bad in comparison to the dozens upon dozens of absolutely phenomenal episodes that make up the rest of a show that is, for the most part, a joy to listen to. So, here's to some hopefully better episodes in the future, i guess.

[milky-rozen]

Hello 🤗, I’ve kind been following your project for months now and I have to say I’m glad people are still acknowledging Egyptian Mythology. I know it doesn’t really have all the drama and pizzaz I suppose Greek or Roman mythos does which is why people like it more, however I find your work refreshing because it seems like you actually care about Egyptian Mythos. I’ve been obsessed with it for years and I’ve even done my own research over the years myself and could never fully understood why people didn’t care for it as much. Even after watching Hollywood Blockbuster films like “Gods of Egypt” the movie frustrated me in so many ways but the biggest one being that it felt like a knockoff of Clash of the Titans. So I’m done with my little rant but I was curious on what sparked your interest in making this project? How often are you taking creative liberties with your story? Also how do you come up with such creative designs for your characters will also keeping the historical consistency of Ancient Egypt?

P.S. Hope this all made sense 😀

Heya!

So, first of all, thank you so much for your kind words, they really made my day!

Second of all, let me reply to all of your questions in order so I don't forget anything lol

Ok so, as for what sparked my interest in making this project, It all started with me playing a mythology-themed video game called Dislyte. I've always been into Egyptian Mythology since I can remember, but when I was a kid, things were a bit different from now and I didn't have access to the Internet as I have now as my father would set up a limited screen time for me and my sister on the computer, and also at that time, I just didn't know how to research things properly lol. So, nostalgia led me to explore new and old media about Egyptian mythology and do some proper academic research to get to know the main and minor myths better. During this "research phase" I discovered the Korean manhwa Ennead, which inspired me and my character designs a lot. Afterwards, as I realized how little material exists about this mythology in particular, I decided to create something myself that could help fill that gap, something that could bring people together and spark their interest so that I could have someone to talk to about Egyptian Mythology lmaooo. But also, I always wanted to work on an original comic series and so I thought that this could have been the best time to start! And so, House of the Sun was born!

Now, talking about artistic liberty, it really depends on the comic we're talking about. In Thoth's Library, I try to be as accurate as possible to the actual myths, only taking some artistic liberty when I need to link some facts that would otherwise sound a bit random and incohesive to the narration, adding some motivations and sub-plots to link all the stories together while trying to stay true to the original sources. Although, this might change in some future arcs. In Young Horus, although some connections are accurate, I decided to fill all the gaps I could with an original coming-of-age story for Horus the Younger to create something new and have fun with it, so the majority of the things happening in the comic are purely fictional. Of course, I always make sure to put a disclaimer for that in every episode just in case ahahah

As for the inspiration behind the character designs, I wanted to create something very personal and somewhat accurate in terms of clothing and overall presentation without including those classic elements we all know, like the animal heads or masks we often see in other media. I was especially inspired by something I noticed in Ancient Egyptian art, like the fact that some gods like Ra have both a human and animal form, and so I was like, you know what? I'm leaving the animal iconography to other contexts, I'm going full human this time lmao. Well, kind of, since I still wanted to include some animal traits that are very iconic to Egyptian art, like the tails (often used in classic Egyptian iconography to depict power and royalty), the ears and sometimes the paws too because, why not? 😂

Man, this was a very long reply lol I tried to be as brief as possible but I'm not good at it honestly ahah soooo, thanks for sticking with me so far! 😂 and, oh! Before I forget , Happy New Year!

[st-just]

Okay I think I've pretty much finished Act 1 of Veilguard? Just have one more companion to recruit anyway.

The Good

The companion banter experience has improved immeasurably now that I've just stopped including Harding and Belara whenever I'm not forced to

The whole On Dragon's Wings sequence was great, and seems to have actually caused some branching consequences! Losing Lucanis for the time being really hurts (see above, not including Harding so now rogueless) and the damage to Treviso seems like it actually matters.

Compared to my memories of DA2 and Inquisition the flirt options I've taken have all actually made sense in context and even seemed relatively graceful. Good job, Bioware. (Shame on your for giving me hope I'd get DA2-style gift conversations and not just a thank you and a handshake though)

Now that I've started playing around with elemental vulnerabilities and detonations not noticing combat dragging anywhere near like what people were complaining about (still have no idea how to make arcane bombs work though)

Unironically I wish I could romance Solas as Rook despite never having once gotten the appeal in Inquisition.

The Bad

What the fuck is this Lords of Fortune shit. 'We're not thieves', 'we return cultural artifacts', 'we only sell things that aren't dangerous'. #NotMyIsabela (also, another woman who does not seem to have aged a day in the last 20 years. Outfit's appropriately stupid though).

Okay actually, honest question - is Tash literally, actually 16. Her mother is giving her social studies homework and she talks like a sullen teenager trying to be badass.

They sure are introducing a lot of personal nemeses and plot villains before giving any of them a hint of, like, personality.

[alpaca-clouds]

The Thing About Solarpunk Romance

Something that is quite interesting to me is a certain dualogy within the few novels that have been released for the genre is that there are basically two different kinds of novels there - and then there is Fox Hunt, but let me first talk about the novels there are.

Now, mind you. This list involves only novels that according to my information were written to be Solarpunk Fiction, rather than novels written at times before the invention of Solarpunk, that the label was later applied to. And these novels are:

The Biodome Chronicles by Jesikah Sundin (a Solarpunk vs Cyberpunk story)

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson (Solarpunk YA)

Foxhunt by Rem Wigmore (a Solarpunk action novel)

Seeds of the Swarm by Sim Kern (a story focusing on establishing Utopia)

Another Life by Sarena Ulibarri (kinda an anthology in a meta narrative and with a heavy philosophical focus)

When We Hold Each Other Up by Phoebe Wagner (a story about a Solarpunk society emerging after ecocide)

Now, it might be that I am overlooking some books here, especially as most Solarpunk publishing is happening within the context of Indie publishing and self publishing. So, if I do not hear about it through social media, I will probably not hear about it at all. And sure, I can go through Amazon and look at books tagged as "Solarpunk", but I am just guessing.

Outside of that, there is only the many, many anthologies that have been released, but I will not generally talk about them right now.

Now, I generally have the feeling that a lot of Solarpunk writers are like me: Oh, I have a story idea for a Solarpunk novel, but... I am not quite motivated to write it. Pretty much all writers I have been in contact with who were at some point writing a Solarpunk novel have put that project on pause to write something else. (Which is probably an issue for another day.)

But no, what I wanted to talk about is: Of those six books above I have read three so far. The first three. The first two I would actually categorize as romances. While both Biodome and Summer Prince involve of course the dystopia/utopia connundrum happening, they both have very much the same feel I would argue a lot of the dystopian YA novels that were released around the same time as those two novels (earlier half of the 2010s) had to me. Sure, there is a story, but in the end the books have a strong core in the main relationships.

Foxhunt also had a romance, but it really felt more tertiary to the plot and was not a focus of the story for the most part.

As I said, I have not read the other three novels yet. But yeah, this is what I can say about it. And I do wonder...

I am honestly not quite sure whether those first two novels were written as Solarpunk. I know that at the very least The Summer Prince was marketed under the tag, but that is pretty much where my knowledge ends.

It makes sense though, that those books came out at the time they did. They were just riding the dystopia high related by the Hunger Games, nothing else. And because of that there are the romance subparts there.

But here is the thing: In some way romance is a strange viability marker. No matter what kind of base idea exists, there is a romance subgenre that deals with it. Because no matter how much pretty much everyone derides the romance genre, it is actually the best selling genre of literature there is. If you look at the fiction genres, there is romance (including smut), then there is mystery/crime, then there is nothing, and then there is everything else in terms of both sales and the number of stories there is. Romance sells more books than fantasy or scifi can dream off. But at the same time Romance has crossover with pretty much every other genre, because Romance can happen in any genre.

Let's face it, the different between most superhero movies and a romance is the central focus of the story. You absolutely could restructure the Iron Man movies in a way to make them romance movies that happen to also feature one of the main couple to be a superhero.

And yes, there is a ton of superhero romance out there in the book market. Because no matter what concept there is: There is romance of it.

Now, I will openly admit: Cyberpunk is also a genre where at least the English and German market does not have a whole lot of romance. Sure, there is some, but not a whole lot. (Japanese Cyberpunk ironically has spawned a whole lot more romance - but again, a topic for a later date.)

But it is interesting to me. Romance is fairly accessible in terms of the SP market, and I note that it is interesting how there is little in terms of Solarpunk romance out there. Now there is the question: Is this because the main audience for Romance does not know much about Solarpunk - or because they don't gel with it.

I don't have the answer for this. But I cannot keep but wondering.

What do you think?

[dr-futbol-blog]

Critical Mass, Pt. 2

Next we get to see one of those rare private moments between Sheppard and McKay, only this one is taking place out in the open so it shows us how they are when they are just the two of them doing every day things on Atlantis. This too we have never gotten to see before, only having joined them at the tail-end of them walking into places together. Now we catch them seemingly mid-walk, mid-conversation and while there are several scenes with plot exposition between the previous scene and this (the Goa'uld have hidden a bomb -- actually they have rigged the ZPM to explode taking the planet with it -- on Atlantis), the audience is led to connect this to their previous scene with Weir and Ronon, as though this was taking place just after the meeting with the two of them having left it together.

However, that is not what has happened because McKay is telling Sheppard something that he had learned from Weir that Sheppard had not been around to hear since the meeting, he is filling Sheppard in. Note also that they are shot from very far away, the lighting is dark, and we have to work to see them behind several obstacles, things blocking our view.

McKay: Elizabeth's including intel about the in-fighting amongst the wraith in today's status report. Sheppard: Let's hope that trend continues. If the wraith keep fighting like this, might be able to take the weekend off.

So, this is just another day at the office, two pals talking shop. McKay is giving us more exposition, Sheppard is making a quip, wisecracking about the enemy because he is cool like that. Because the lighting in the scene is so dark, it is difficult to see the fact that Sheppard is leaning against the stairway at the start of the scene, as though he had specifically been waiting for McKay to join him there. The fact that they had apparently planned to meet here in advance of this is also obscured by the way McKay launches into telling Sheppard about what he had learned from Weir without any preamble, continuing that never-ending conversation of theirs that had only been paused while they were away from each other. It seems like we are jumping in mid-conversation when we actually see them rejoin each other here at the top of the stairs, and then take off together like they had plans to go somewhere together. Sheppard is also wearing his tac vest, which he was not wearing previously at the meeting, but it is hanging open indicating that what ever reason he had put it on, he was now either finished or on a break from that. Off the clock, so to say.

Also note the extremely ambiguous way Sheppard delivers the line about the weekend here. Even if they were buddy pals, he might have said "We might be able" because they are team mates. They are on the same team. If the team leader decides it is time to take the weekend off, they are all going to take the weekend off. But they leave it purposefully ambiguous here whether he is saying "I might" or "we might." He is using the "we" form at the start of his response, so it would make sense for him to have meant "Let us hope that trend continues. If the wraith keep fighting like this, we might be able to take the weekend off." And by we, he means the two of them. The only reason to make this so ambiguous is that he meant the two of them, together. In the context of their relationship, Sheppard might have been ambiguous in character because is feeling insecure about it, not sure if McKay would want to spend the weekend with him. McKay's response to him is just a soft chuckle which suggests that he is not opposed to the idea.

For obvious reasons we never get to see them enjoy a weekend together. The only weekend we see on the series (Sunday, S03E17) takes place almost immediately following their break-up and it mainly deals with the aftermath of that. I will get into more detail later but it very much seems as though Sheppard is using Ronon to distract himself, and as he basically forces Ronon to do things with him that he usually does on a day off but that he is clearly doing for the first time with Ronon, we learn about his routines. Through this, we actually get some insight into what such weekends, of which there must have been many, had been like for him before that. Only, he had not been alone. Although he was with Ronon, this was the first time he was alone, and he could not bear it.

We get confirmation of this in The Shrine (S05E04), where Sheppard grabs a couple of beers from his fridge and, since McKay is losing his memories, reminds him about the fact that they have done that a lot together. They have had beers alone together many times. That is what they used to do on the weekends: beers, popcorn, tunes, lazing in bed arguing about movies and sharing thoughts, memories from their past lives, Sheppard thumbing through some magazine or comic book. It was not through playing "the game" that the two of them got to know each other so intimately as they clearly do, it was through things like this. And here they are, chatting about it seeming completely at ease in each other's presence, a glimpse into their private world that we get to see only in pieces over the seasons. That we only get to see if we are able to remove the obstacles purposefully put in front of our eyes, able to fill in the gaps between moments we see and moments obscured to us.

The thing is, the blue hues of the corridor (most Atlantis corridors are reddish in colour, there is more light) and the presence of Cadman, who they are about to run into here, who had been with McKay the previous time we had seen Sheppard and McKay together in this part of the city in Duet (S02E04), tells us that they are either coming from or going to McKay's quarters, and given that Sheppard seemed to be waiting for McKay and McKay seemed to be coming from a meeting with Weir, the latter is infinitely more likely. So they are going to McKay's quarters, the two of them together. We may recall that the last time that we had seen Sheppard here with McKay, his intention seemed to be to... come calling. To see whether McKay was alone or she was still with him. By his room. Late at night. Just checking, looking out for a friend in need.

Cadman's presence here contextualizes this scene as connected to that one. What is interesting is that we are given a time frame of 2 hours 46 minutes (those curious pockets of time) between this scene and when next we find McKay in the control room about to send in the data burst to Earth. It is doubtful it took him nearly three hours to compress the data, so this leaves them ample time for all kinds of activities, especially to pass short but intense energy bursts between them. What I am saying is that it is not an accident they run into Cadman here, and it is not random that they are in the blue-hued corridor. And they did not need to compose the scene like this. This is all intentional. Of course, although it is a very obvious retcon, you are free to interpret this as Sheppard and McKay as being on their way to play "the game," since this is definitely the kind of pocket of time that the game was meant to explain away. The whole point of "the game" was to give those parts of the audience that needs the subtext explained away a chance to see something else here. But really.

And so they come across Lt. Laura Cadman, bomb expert extraordinaire. The reason she is acting shifty is because this is a "Whodunnit" episode, everyone is suspect to build suspense. But the reason they have McKay and Sheppard run into her, and to run into her specifically here, and specifically as they are on their way to fool around for an hour (I mean, if you want to interpret them as going to lunch or to play "the game" or what ever, that's your prerogative, there is just about as much evidence for any of those activities; the facts are that Sheppard had been waiting for McKay by the stairs and that we will not see McKay again for 2h46) is to establish a connection between this episode and Duet, just as re-introducing the character of Kavanagh is meant to connect this episode to Letters from Pegasus (S02E17), and to lesser extent to 38 Minutes (S01E04). Although the charming smile Sheppard greets her with here is not unlike the smile he gave the nurse then, trying as he was his damnedest to push McKay away, as performative then as it is now. Sheppard even does the same head-tilt as then as they stop to engage Cadman. He is definitely trying to seem charming.

But even if Sheppard was not on his way to have sex with a man as he gives her this undeniably charming smile, let us just review the fact that she is not only rather young, she is a young woman under his command that he would never even think about in that context. This is to say that even though some people take scenes such as this as evidence that Sheppard is a ladies' man who is interested in every beautiful woman that comes in his line of sight (and how ironic is it that the actual reason for the smile here seems to be to try to disguise the fact that these two men are very much on their way to fuck), that is not actually even in the top 10 of the reasons why he uses his charming smile on women. He is being polite but noncommittal here, acting in a way that does not rouse any suspicion.

McKay: Cadman? What are you doing here? Cadman: Well, it's good to see you too, Rodney.

McKay seems unpleasantly surprised to not just find Cadman still on Atlantis, apparently having been under the impression she was shipping away, but actually near his own quarters where Cadman had first taken possession of his body. We do not know if Cadman was leaving for good or only having shore leave on Earth because we were told that she had a date with Beckett in the previous episode, which must have happened by now and, although we know that their relationship fizzles out before too long, we do still see them together at the end of the episode (and as an aside, Katie Brown is not even hinted at because McKay has given her literally not one thought since escaping the date from hell). The status of Cadman and Beckett's relationship at this time is uncertain, and this is possibly be design, leaving it as ambiguous as the other major relationship in the episode.

But note that although Cadman assumes McKay was asking what she is still doing on Atlantis, "What are you doing here?" might just as well have referred to the corridor near his quarters. That seems to be real busy. Forcing McKay and Sheppard to walk real close, bumping into each other as they try to avoid running into people. Not because they want to walk in each other's space. They just constantly seem to run into too little space for them to walk like straight dudes. It's a problem.

McKay: No, I thought you were leaving on the Daedalus. Cadman: Yeah, I was, but something came up. I asked Colonel Sheppard if I could stay around a little while longer. McKay: Oh, well, that's fine. Cadman: You OK with that? McKay: Yeah, course it is, why wouldn't it be?

McKay does not mince words, and although he is trying to be civil toward her, it is easy to see how displeased he is to see her. This is obvious not just to her but also to Sheppard who, apparently and perhaps to spare McKay's feelings, had left untold to him the fact that she was sticking around for a bit longer. It is obvious to him that McKay sees this lack of information as a betrayal, and hence while he does not say anything, we see Sheppard turn toward McKay and drawing his lips back as though he is smiling deeper when he is not really smiling at all. This is a fake smile, the kind that does not reach the eyes. And turning to McKay with this smile is one of two things: it is either an "Uh oh, I am in trouble now for not having told you, aren't I" smile or "I am totally messing with you but it is for your own good" smile. Regardless, Sheppard very obviously turns the smile to McKay.

What is interesting about this exchange is that McKay does not actually respond to her question. Cadman asks "Are you OK with that?" McKay responds "Yes, of course it is [OK], why wouldn't it be?" He is not saying whether he is OK or not, it is as though he is answering a completely different question to the tune of "Is it OK with you?" And this is not the first time this has happened, only in the previous episode we saw him answer a question neither Teyla nor Ronon had asked. And what is more curious is that he turns his head toward Sheppard as he starts responding, like he was speaking to him. Now, this could just be a syntax error either by the writer or the actor but let us presume it was said on purpose. It is more than peculiar that this keeps happening. And we know that when McKay's full genetic potential is unleashed later on in Tao of Rodney (S03E14), telepathy is one of his first and strongest gifts, he actually has to start blocking people out. That these two would occasionally respond to the other's thought rather than their words and never even notice they are doing it, having the "unsettling" ability to sense each other's thoughts by looking at the other's face, is really not the strangest thing on this show. It could also be that he is just so flustered and uncomfortable about the situation that he does not even know what he is saying but as mentioned, this is far from the only time we see this happen.

Cadman: Colonel. Sheppard: Lieutenant. I would think after all this time, you'd stop being creeped out by her. McKay: She just has a way of getting under my skin. Sheppard: Literally.

Cadman leaves and we may note that she boldly walks in between them which is not something that these men enjoy given how many people they avoid by pushing themselves closer to the other. We may note that Sheppard only says one word to her, basically acknowledging her salute which is something that he is supposed to do as a superior officer. But otherwise it very much seemed like he did not want to be in the discussion, he would rather they had not even stopped to talk to her. It is possible Sheppard had other, more pressing things in mind.

Now, Sheppard smiles politely at her and keeps eye contact with her almost the entire time they are with her, and she seems kind of flirty as she takes off, likely just to tease McKay for old time's sake. And it would be so easy to read something into it, like there was something there, an unspoken attraction when we know that she is presumably with Beckett, Sheppard clearly did not want to be in that conversation and was waiting for it to be over which we can tell by how he picks up their discussion just as soon as she is gone, and they both also start walking to where ever they were going, clearly having a shared destination because these two men are on the way to have sex with each other. That is the kind of misdirection that allowed them to do this. When there is a beautiful woman in the foreground, the audience is completely blinded to what happens in the background.

But let us just note that the face McKay pulls as she leaves and the wide breadth he gives to the woman that almost walks into him, clearly not wanting to brush up against her even by accident. McKay may get "all the women," but he sure does not seem to want any. Like, at all. Let us also note the fact that Sheppard expresses concern for McKay's well-being here, and it is not in the capacity of a team leader. He is concerned because he cares. It also shows us that Sheppard understands what McKay is feeling, knows him well enough to know what he is thinking, and he wants McKay to put it past him for his own sake. It also tells us that the two of them do talk about personal things with each other, they have intimate conversations. McKay's response also lets us know that they share things with each other, they do not keep secrets. They seem to know each other on a level that no one else even could know them. This is a wonderful scene, a masterclass in layered storytelling.

Continued in Pt. 3

[not-poignant]

I really love the way you write and all of your characters but I still can’t bring myself to read your work because I don’t know where to start😭 I know you added a reading order but it mainly talks about standalones and works that don’t require you to know about the original universe. However I want to know EVERYTHING about the fae tales universe and Im alright with anything kink and trauma wise and I don’t wanna read a story and get confused about certain events or characters that I should already know about. Is there a reading order you could give that follows the stories chronologically? SORRY IF THIS IS LONG I just need a new obsession im quite new to this fandom xx Thank u xx

Hi anon,

The true reading order in terms of the chronology of me writing it includes fanfiction and it goes like this:

From the Darkness We Rise (fanfic) Into Shadows We Fall (fanfic) Game Theory The Nightingale and Terho the Mouse-Lad The Court of Five Thrones Deeper into the Woods (technically you should start reading this like halfway through your reading of The Court of Five Thrones because they overlapped) Take a year off to do what you like, like I did asldfjas The Ice Plague 1-3 All That We Were, All That We Will Ever Be

The fanfiction introduces Gwyn and Augus, and Game Theory followed on directly from that fanfic as an original story and makes much more sense when it's actually read that way.

The Court of Five Thrones then retcons some of the fanfic to make it truly original, which is why there's a tiny little short story between GT and COFT (the Nightingale).

Deeper Into the Woods was never intended to be a prequel, it was mostly there to explain something that happens in COFT to Gwyn re: heartsongs. So that also often makes more sense within context.

All the other canon side stories, if they're relevant to the plot, are recommended in the author's notes of the chapter where they are relevant, so if you see a 'folks might like to read this story for context' - please read that story then!

And then beyond that just do what you like re: the AUs or you can come back and I can give you a fresh chronological reading order, but a warning, most of those stories heavily overlap with each other, there is no true 'one after the other' reading order for most of what I've written. Like if someone wanted the chronological reading order for Underline the Rainbow they'd have to be reading a lot of stories at the same time sldakjfas

I hope that helps! It's confusing because it was all done very confusingly, but the canon was written in a sort of order and that's the order above. Most people don't want to start with fanfic anymore which is why it's omitted but honestly? I do think it's still the best way to get into the stories and I think the fanfic reads easily enough for folks who have no experience with the movie (or books) that you'll have no trouble. :)

I'm pretty sure this reading order actually is around the place, somewhere, anon. But there's so many now based off how folks want to get into things. Since so many folks don't want fanfic, it's made a confusing thing even more confusing.

[the-boney-rolls]

The Great Covid Beatles Binge, Day 2: Give My Regards to Broad Street

Hoo boy, here we go!

OK so we open with a stern/bored looking Paul stuck in traffic in the rain and it looks like he's spacing out... hey, Paul, are you starting to daydream? Paul? Is this whole movie about to be a dream, Paul? Oh god

This silly little car! The computer, the carpet, the pool ball gear shift. It's giving the 80's car version of the Beatles house in Help! It's also giving hyper-masculine in a way that is, I'm sorry, not convincing.

This plot is already deeply inscrutable. Something about some missing tapes, a reformed criminal that Paul knows somehow and trusts for some reason, and some ominous business men. Something bad will happen at midnight if the tapes aren't found. OK!

Ringo looks so cool and hot! That vest over that sick as hell dragon shirt. Yes. This scene is genuinely funny, too -- Ringo spends the entirety of "Here, There and Everywhere" and "Yesterday" searching through his mountains of drum equipment looking for brushes, only to find them too late. Apparently, the reason for this scene is that Ringo just didn't want to re-record old Beatles songs!

And now we have Paul, Ringo, George Martin and Geoff Emerick all together in a scene! Makes me think about how George Harrison apparently was a little miffed Paul didn't just call him to ask for filmmaking advice since it was something he had experience with. What could have been!

“Wanderlust” is such a great song, actually, damn.

“I’m not a bad boy, really. I’m just — er, manipulated” John??

Now this is more like it! Surprise Linda in drag, hell yes!

I don't know why this scene is happening? It's a rehearsal for... something? But I'll take it. I love "Ballroom Dancing" and I love vaudeville Paul.

I'm starting to feel like Paul's grandpa in AHDN, "so far, I've been in a train and a room, and a car and a room, and a room and a room." Did Paul's experience on that set define what a movie is to him? "Ah yes, a movie must include lots of transportation from one location to another and then some musical scenes." But dear, it worked because there were jokes! And all four of you to play off each other.

I.......... what

This is Silly Love Songs, of all things!

Again, I don't know why this scene is happening in the context of the movie. Is it another rehearsal for something? A music video? Television special? Who knows, Yoko! But OK here we go, I sure am having fun! Linda is extremely into it. That slap bass kills. There's a Michael Jackson impersonator for some reason? Sure! It makes no sense but I love this man and his bizarre beautiful mind.

So now we're doing band rehearsal in some kind of barn? Or abandoned warehouse? Or something? All of the plot of this movie seems to happen in dialog in cars en route to some ambiguous musical engagement.

“Do you think we can get some heat in here or are we practicing to be Canadians?” God bless you, Ringo.

“Should we try Not Such a Bad Boy” “Do we have to?” “Yeah” Bossy Paul bosses around a Beatle, we love to see it.

Is this song about him or John? 

The French horn player coming in late to record "For No One," inexplicably in a bright red motorcycle helmet, so late that he’s preparing up until right before the solo starts. Reminds me of that story of Ringo recording Hey Jude. But it also feels very symbolic of something. There are so many odd inscrutable details in this movie, it could almost be Lynchian in someone else's hands.

“We’re running, and running out of time too” It feels meaningful but I don't know how.

Hello Mr. Darcy! Wow, can I have an entire movie that’s just this Victorian dream sequence? Can we go back in time and do a Beatles movie period piece, please??

The strings in this which are inspired by but are not quite "Eleanor Rigby" are lovely. Apparently this whole sequence is called "Eleanor's Dream," which implies that Paul is Eleanor. Make of that what you will, I suppose.

I like that Linda is a pants-wearing photographer in this period scene. Linda's gotta Linda.

This strikes me as very Evil Beatles. Again, make of that what you will.

Barbara and Linda are acting the HELL out of this going over the waterfall scene damn.

I don't know, I could screen grab this entire segment, it's amazing, it's insane.

But I can't gloss over Paul being horny for Ghost Horse Girl Linda. Incredible.

"That’s it you’re finished. What are you gonna do now?" Well ok at least this one is pretty obviously a reference to the critical reception of his career after the Beatles and again after John.

"Uncle Jim" Ok so I guess this is supposed to be his dad, but what is the point of this scene? And why the monkey? The further I get into this film the more I feel like I am looking deep into this man's psyche but through the murkiest of windows. I'm here for the weird dream symbolism, Paul, but if you're gonna go that route, again go full Lynch and get even weirder.

Just the straight up original recording of "Band on the Run" feels out of place with all these re-records. I wonder why that choice.

His car license plate is "PM 1" That's right, baby, you're number 1.

Another little cute but inconsequential day dream (presumably within the dream that is this entire movie). He looks like Roy Orbison here.

Oh ok Harry was just locked in a cupboard this whole time. So the whole "plot" was pointless. Cool cool cool.

Paul and Harry being giddy and laughing together is cute though, and it makes me wish that that relationship was fleshed out more. Who are they to each other, exactly??

Yup it was all a dream. Love it, love that for us. Thanks, Paul.

OK so this was definitely barely a movie. There could have been something here, but I'll go back to what I said above -- I wish he'd gone weirder with the whole thing! And I wish Paul himself had been weirder. The character Paul is kind of a dud, just plodding along from place to place and only coming alive when he performs. It's like that Hawaiian shirt is supposed to be a stand in for characterization. But worth it for the music video scenes and for getting a tiny glimpse into Paul's psyche.