#he's in way more but these are just the most notable ones I think

[lu-is-not-ok]

So the new Vergillius announcer has personaized, specialized quote for each specific Sinner, and it's a fascinating mixture of praise and burns. In order, (so Yi Sang first and Gregor last):

"Impressive, Sinner #1. You seem to have a surprisingly high aptitude for Identity and E.G.O usage." "Ms. Faust… You knew that enemy part would eventually cause trouble, didn't you?"

"… What did Sinner #3 do this time? Haah…"

"Hm, your battle sense is just as excellent, even as a Sinner. Now, is there something you can do about your incomprehensible speech quirk, Sinner #4?"

"Excellent, Sinner #5. I hear that your quick actions have prevented many a disaster."

"… Don't think you can smooth over your terribly ineffective attack with an innocent smile, Sinner #6."

"Sinner #7. I thought you'd finally learned how to use that head of yours… It has been a while since our last consultation, hasn't it?"

"So I hear that you're the class president now, Sinner #8? Then it's time you took to the helm."

"I do appreciate how easy you are to please, Sinner #9. You may expect sweets should you perform well in this battle, of course."

"You've got blood on you again, #11. … Hm, I suppose you have indeed grown somewhat as of late. I thought you'd be bawling on your knees by now."

"What's this, miss lieutenant? How come you've let yourself be sliced to pieces like this? You're going to be the biggest burden to your Executive Manager dearest."

"This is no time for your defeatist attitude, Sinner #13. Get on your feet and soldier on. Where's your usual disposition, hm?"

I'm don't think this is a uniform scan of how Vergillius views each Sinner, but there are some fascinating nuggets-Rodion straight up getting bribed, a hint of Yi Sang having the best synchronization rates with IDs and EGO, and the possibility of Vergie knowing about Faust's psychic knowledge link deal.

It's, naturally, the Hong Lu one I'm coming to you with-I wonder if it's as innocent as it looks (Hong Lu did an ineffective attack and tried to laugh it off, Vergie Ain't Havin' It), or if Vergie can legitimately see right through Hong Lu's act (or knows his Deal all along).

Anon, you have no idea how perfect your timing is. Since I have recently done an attempt at analysis of all those lines in a random Discord server. So instead of dilly-dallying, I'm just gonna mostly repeat what I said then.

Before I do get to the Sinner-specific lines, I do want to briefly go over my thoughts about Verg's other lines, the ones directed at Dante.

Notably, a large amount of them has a much more gentle, if not downright warm tone to them. There is a level of patience, curiosity, and even sometimes concern that Verg shows towards Dante yet doesn't direct towards the rest of the Sinners.

There is very little to no condescending language directed towards them, which is in stark contrast to the vast majority of Verg's Sinner specific lines.

I wanted to point all of this out as Vergilius is a character who staunchly refuses to connect with people, and in reaction the people around him refuse to connect with him. There's very few people he actively tries to be kinder to, usually people he already knows, with it being most obvious with how he treats Charon.

Thus, the fact that Verg treats Dante with a level of kindness he doesn't extend towards the other Sinners implies a prior emotional connection we have yet to learn the specifics of.

Alright, with that little intro out of the way, here's my interpretation of each of those Sinner-specific lines one by one.

Yi Sang

One of the few positive voicelines, however the compliment Verg gives Yi Sang here can be read as somewhat backhanded due to the usage of "surprisingly", implying Verg doesn't actually hold high expectations towards him.

I also think that Verg specifically complimenting Yi Sang's usage of Identities and E.G.O could be another reflection of his not that high opinion of him. Verg is effectively complimenting not Yi Sang's own strengths, but rather his skill at borrowing power from other sources.

Faust

The only Sinner besides Dante that Verg refers to by name, showing that he holds a level of respect towards her that he doesn't for the rest of the Sinners. Considering the fact we know she's the one who hired him effectively, it might be more so a formality on his part than a reflection of any sort of closeness.

I have a couple of interpretations for what he says here, but in both of them it's clear that Verg feels a sort of exasperation towards Faust, and that he's aware of her downright supernatural levels of knowledge.

One interpretation is that he's expressing frustration, effectively accusing Faust of taking so long to act despite clearly having known ahead of time that the part would become a problem in the future. This is one of the patterns Faust shows, as she has a tendency to simply let bad things happen even when she knows they're about to, only ever doing something when she has no other choice.

The other interpretation is Verg being vexed by Faust's quick actions and efficiency, knowing that she only did so because she had the information that would tell her it had to be done. This is another pattern she exhibits, as she highly values efficiency and following the orders and information she has access to above her own opinions.

Don Quixote

Probably the most straightforward one. Verg's opinion of Don Quixote was so badly affected by how much trouble she's caused that now he's come to expect her to be the source of any potential mishaps.

There's also a notable sort of resignation to this voiceline I feel. It gives the impression that Verg has given up on trying to discipline Don Quixote, feeling like no matter what he does she's just going to keep causing issues regardless.

Ryoshu

The one line where Verg expresses both a positive and negative opinion simultaneously. Verg clearly holds a certain amount of respect towards Ryoshu, acknowledging her battle prowess even when nerfed. However, he also makes sure to undermine the compliment to make it clear he has no fondness towards her by calling out a trait of hers that he finds irritating and perhaps knows she's unlikely to change.

Interestingly enough, I feel like there's something to be said about how surface-level his jab here is. When it comes to the other Sinners he makes jabs at, he tends to target something they're a lot more sensitive about. Here however? Nothing of the sort. I think when Verg calls Ryoshu's speech quirk "incomprehensible", it reflects his opinion on Ryoshu as a whole - he finds her equally incomprehensible, unable to understand her as a person.

Meursault

Probably the only entirely positive voiceline out of the lot, neither backhanded nor condescending. Verg shows appreciation for Meursault's reliability, and might even be subtly throwing shade at the other Sinners by implying they could be the cause of the disasters in question. Not much else to say here lmao.

Hong Lu

I think this line very clearly shows Verg knows Hong Lu is full of shit. Not only does Verg call out the fact that Hong Lu is trying to get away with messing up, he also directly calls out the "innocent smile" as Hong Lu's method of doing so. He can tell Hong Lu's innocence and naivete isn't entirely genuine, but rather that it's a shield he uses to evade criticism and negative attention.

Also this is the only voiceline where Verg directly calls out a Sinner's attack as being dogshit. The others are a lot more vague about what caused Verg's reaction (except for Outis but we'll get to her), but here Verg confirms that the thing he's annoyed by is Hong Lu's offense. Considering my other analyses about Hong Lu caring more about his performance of combat rather than being actually effective at it based on his animations... no yeah, that tracks Perfectly.

Heathcliff

This is. An interesting line. I would probably need a whole separate post to get into it in detail, but to make a long story short it's pretty clear that as of the current point in story Heathcliff is the only Sinner that is actively trying to reach out to Verg and treat him like a person, and Vergilius is very much noticing that and (perhaps subconsciously) beginning to warm up to Heathcliff.

Why do I say all of that? Because I believe this line is a reflection of that relationship. See, both of the things Verg says about Heathcliff here are him noting that he thought Heathcliff was improving. That he was actually smart, that he hadn't needed any discipline in a long time. This line to me feels less like an insult or a jab, and more like an expression of disappointment.

Whether he wanted to or not, Verg was slowly starting to form a sort of bond with Heathcliff, enough to feel disappointed when Heathcliff fucks up and to try and distance himself. Mind you, he's still being an ass and vaguely threatening about it, but it's still something to note.

Ishmael

First of several voicelines where Vergilius is openly condescending towards whoever he's talking about. Calling Ishmael a class president is not only Verg acknowledging Ishmael's tendency to effectively speak for the Sinners as a whole several times, but also putting her down by effectively calling that behavior immature and something a child in school would be doing.

Then he basically goes "can you stop fucking around" by telling her to actually take charge and be responsible for once. Because despite how she presents herself, Ishmael is kinda bad at this whole personal responsibility thing.

Rodya

Similarly to Heathcliff, I think this voiceline is a reflection of Rodya's relationship with Verg as a whole. Again, to summarize, Rodya consistently puts on an overly casual and friendly act when interacting with Vergilius, despite her actual opinion on him being basically in line with the rest of the bus - she doesn't like him one fucking bit.

I think the first part of this line is Verg low-key calling her out for that, calling her "easy to please" in a very facetious way to show how see-through her act is to him. He is fully aware she does not like him but pretends to anyway.

Then there's the second part. I don't think Verg is genuinely trying to bribe Rodya. I interpret what he says here as his attempt at giving her a taste of her own medicine. Rodya regularly acts overly friendly towards him, so for a moment he acts overly familiar as well by offering sweets for a job well done. He's being an asshole and he knows it. The fact that he's effectively making a jab at Rodya's not-so-secret food insecurity only makes it more obvious that he's being an ass for the sake of being an ass.

Sinclair

Maybe the most backhanded lines of all of them if I'm honest. Verg is both acknowledging Sinclair's growth as a person while also putting him down by reminding him of the pathetic state he was at the start. Another Sinner he clearly has low expectations of.

I think this also shows Verg's tendency to underestimate the Sinners, specifically when it comes to their ability to change. I slightly alluded to it in Don Quixote's section, but Verg pretty clearly doesn't expect any of the Sinners to change for the better, and is thus surprised when he sees Sinclair prove him wrong.

Outis

If Sinclair's line is the most backhanded one, then this is the most condescending one with the most obvious animosity. Outis is the only Sinner that Verg calls something other than their number or name, instead giving her a frankly patronizing sounding nickname. He's both reminding her of her supposed role by calling her "lieutenant" while also putting her down by adding that "miss" in front.

Every single thing he says towards her is meant to put her abilities into question and make her seem incompetent. Considering that Outis regularly brags about her abilities and is the only Sinner to show she's not afraid to fight him, it's clear he's trying to take her down a peg. This shit is personal.

Him calling out her partially facetious attachment to Dante is also notable, as protecting them was the excuse Outis used when she first stood up to Verg. It's clear that moment left quite the negative impression on him.

Gregor

Last but not least. I think this line is another example of Verg seeing through a Sinner's facade, just like he did with Hong Lu and Rodya. He's calling out Gregor's go-getter facade by questioning where his "usual disposition" went and comparing it to his genuine attitude, that being the defeatism and unwillingness to participate.

There's also I think an interesting layer to this line, that being how it could be referencing back to Canto 1. Verg is effectively telling Gregor that one failure isn't a good enough reason to give up, perhaps subtly implying that he's already over Gregor's fuck up and would much rather not have to deal with what he might consider self-pitying.

[twisted-dork]

Batfam x Spider-Man Crossover But With a Twist?

OKAY, so I’ve been reading if Peter Parker was in Gotham (most notably the ones where Dick Grayson is his bio dad) and I also went to TikTok to scroll through some of the skits which are mostly him in the Lazarus Pits when it hit me

What if (MCU) May Parker was the one to come out of the Pits and is now protecting her Meta nephew or she was able to survive NWH and goes (tells Strange and Peter off for even thinking she would let Peter do this alone) with Peter to another dimension where Spider-Man doesn’t exist but she inherits Peter Spider DNA from either the transportation of going to a new dimension, Peter donating his blood to save her from dying, or simply because the universe thought that would be fun.

+Image she and Peter got de-aged to 20’s and 5-8 years old so now she is looked as a single mother

(I’m going with the second idea cause I thought of it more later on but anyway’s)

So now she’s got to take care of little Peter while also dealing with the fact that she’s now Spider-(Wo)man (and even though May Parker as Spider-Man is Spider-Ma’am I feel like she would go by Spider-Mayhem solely because Peter came up with because he never really got to choose it and he just came up with it off the top of his head and she was like okay) at least she’s not the one and only Spider-(Wo)man but now she’s got to deal with a kid crawling on walls for fun.

To make it even better can you imagine that before she made herself known as Spider-Mayhem or realizes that she now also has spider abilities Peter gets kidnapped by The Joker (cause of Parker Luck) and Aunt May (now younger but still protective) was not going to let that slide finds out where Joker and Peter are and starts beating the sh*t out of Joker with a baseball bat (that randomly got off the streets and the bat was so far the safest option that led her to question why the street filled with so many weapons?) while all the Joker’s goons do is watch because Aunt May most definitely have the Mom Glare and if the goons know one thing is if a mom cares enough about her kid to go after THE JOKER of all villains and doesn’t seem to care if she’s caught then she’s a woman they are not fighting. So Aunt May beats the Joker up until he’s immobile (paralyzed) Peter is just sitting in the chair tied up sighing as he shakes his head he did try to warn the guy because while Spider-Man doesn’t kill, Aunt May would kill for Peter especially since he’s all she has left (of Ben). When May is done with the Joker she unties her nephew and picks him up to sit on her hip before leaving she kicks Joker where the sun don’t shine and then makes her way off.

The next day she was able to go to work at Gotham’s Library which surprisingly had good pay that she hopes Peter will be able to go to school soon and maybe she might be able to get her soup kitchen running again or at least help some of these people out a bit more. As she’s stacking books back on the shelves (with little Peter holding the next book as he follows her around to help) she notices that a tall man keeps staring at her but whenever she looks back at him he looks back at his book embarrassed. She only chuckles at him before continuing her work but she was able to see the white strands of hair in front and his green eyes.

[artsyannierose]

Do you think Sonic hugging Amy back is something that developed or was done randomly? He isn't always a fan of hugs, but what do you think?

HI ANON THANKS FOR THE ASK!!

i know a lot of people think sonic has always liked amy but was just shy about it…me personally though? I kinda think that initially he was like, confused and didnt really dwell upon it

like classic sonic saved amy cause he’s a good kid he wasn’t just gonna leave her there

but then he sprinted away

“ok she’s safe…she hugs me too tight ima leave now”

likely that he was grossed out by the thought of girls romantically and wasn’t fond of getting glomped every time she showed up (it literally activates his fight or flight response its so funny 😭)

but then time went on and amy found more and more responsibilities and obligations and other non-sonic-related things that she was pretty darn busy yet was also included in more of sonic’s adventures (i’d say starting after generations?) so she kind of got used to having him around and vice versa. So she kinda started hugging him less cause she saw him so often it’s not like she could hug him every living breathing second.

For Sonic’s part, he’s never really been one for hugs, unless there’s some seriously dire circumstances (e.g. leaving Chris, reuniting with Amy, finally getting rid of the metal virus)

and in the games he like, never hugs anyone, so the fact that he hugged her back in frontiers was quite epochal considering the direction of their relationship in the idw comics

actually you know this is a trend common in most iterations of sonic (though movie sonic does like hugs):

despite prime sonic being quite the hugger, he still didn’t really hug people back when they hugged him:

he just kinda lets things happen but doesn’t particularly instigate them himself

so personally, I think that since Amy kind of toned down her affections, Sonic realized how habituated he had gotten to her attention. This is especially evident in Sonic unleashed when he showed little to no reaction to her hugging his werehog form

yet crashed out HARD when she didn’t recognize him

like bye he’s so dependent on her attention and none of us realized it until it was gone (neither did sonic so i feel better)

i think it’s after this that he started seeing her physical affection (like hugs) as less of an annoyance and more of a prerogative

but i suppose its notable that sonic never pushed amy away from him (SHUT IT ABOUT GENERATIONS THAT WAS SO OOC) just kind verbally told her to get off him

but like specifically in the idw comics he started reciprocating her physical affection after issue #2; he became way more comfortable around amy in general after that issue so that includes her physical familiarity. It was extremely pivotal because there’s a stark difference between his attitude towards her prior to that moment and after it.

Whereas in the games i believe it was more of a natural progression from distaste to discomfort to unperturbed to ambivalence to fondness to crap-i-don’t-like-not-having-this

I hope that answers your question!

i think we have yet to see sonic really, truly embrace amy back but perhaps we’ll see that in the movies…..or perhaps im just delusional

……..i love them so much ����🥹

[sloanout]

I am quite honestly obsessed with the Evanuris in regards to gender and it's performance. It's such a fascinating, under explored angle of their very existence. The Evanuris, the first of their kind who existed originally as spirits, literally pure platonic essences of ideas, inherently genderless and sexless, assumedly aromantic and asexual by the same logic. The advent of physical bodies capable of reproduction, based upon the dwarves, and all the complexity that comes with that.

Obviously, there's an overwhelming amount that comes with their conversion to physicality. They are no longer capable of being the pure beings they were before (pure here meaning undiluted and wholly embodying only one concept/feeling), they're susceptible to outside influence and complexity in a way their previous existences simply could not contain. Spirits should be understood as people in their own right, but it seems the big jump here is the formation of an ego, an identity that has more to do with "self" than "experience".

Where did it come from? Was their understanding of gender also learned from the dwarves? Did they even subscribe to the same model we, the human players, generally do? Many such questions, few answers, and the looming understanding that beyond canon there exist writers and creative voices that drive the intent here, and that while the DA team leaned towards being more in the know about gender identity and all that goes with it, they may not have been able to fully remove themselves from being humans socialized to understand gender in specific ways. We can theorize on how spirits-turned-elves would feel about their own bodies and persons, but we can never fully know.

What we do know from the text itself is that the Evanuris cast themselves in gendered roles, Elgar'nan as the father god and Mythal as the mother, and both acted out traits we would traditionally project onto those roles. Elgar'nan in particular fascinates me. His embodiment of tyranny leans so heavily into bloated, toxic masculinity (a move that works well in conveying what he's all about to the audience). He's so desperate to be the quintessential strong man, the great king, the dominating leader. Despite actively waging a war and losing ground to a crack team of mortals, he toils and frets over the size of his dragon. He thinks it needs to be bigger than his fellow gods' dragons. He thinks having the bigger dragon is a sign of his own dominance. This is not a metaphor for anything.

Speaking of which, he cannot fathom or accept the natural reality that all dragons are female. That Lusacan isn't male is an affront to him, something he has Ghilain'nan forcefully change so that his dragon can better act as an expy of himself. So it can better act as an embodiment of power and dominance. Because to Elgar'nan, power and dominance are inherently masculine. Where did this come from. How did he become so enamored with this performance of masculinity. Something something, wearing a wig to hide his male pattern baldness.

(that isn't a critique. Just more idle questions that keep me up at night. Truly what is up with Elgar'nan.)

At the same time, you have Solas and Cole, both spirits that ended up flesh and bone, and their gender is incidental at best. In stark contrast to Elgar'nan, I can't think of a single time Solas performs masculinity in any notable way. He performs as Fen'harel, but not as a man. When he's most comfortable, Solas is a sensitive aesthete who enjoys the arts and is unafraid to declare his love for his dear friend Wisdom. Of course, those aren't things inherently contrary to masculinity, but under the framework of traditional gender roles they're definitely seen as more "feminine" traits.

Then you have Cole, literally compassion incarnate. His actions and mind fit more with the idea of a caring all-mother than Mythal ever did, despite the fact that his assumed flesh and gender are male. His base traits don't change if he becomes more human - if anything, he doubles down on the empathy, now better able to understand the people he wants to help.

I don't have any uniting thesis here, just a handful of observations I've been rotating in the microwave. I suppose there is a through line in that the Evanuris were enthusiastic to assume physical forms, and thus much more interested in what the dwarves had going on. Proud as Elgar'nan and the lot are, it's easy to imagine that they took a lot of notes from how the dwarves carried themselves and socialized, and the conception of gender they ended up forming was heavily influenced by that. On the other side, you have Solas who has, at best, a contentious relationship with his own flesh and yearns for the impossible return to his spirit self, thus a more ambivalent and ambiguous gender expression. It's a person thing he doesn't want to have to grapple with, he was much more comfortable as an agender psychic worm.

Cole sits in the middle, incidental in body but not at odds with his existence as a human in Thedas - if anything, happy that he can more directly help. Cole always read as trans to me, not as a direct representation but an allegory, transgender in spirit, you might say. Hehe. I've heard some interpret him similarly, but see the spirit/human questline as a binary he's being forced to choose between. I actually think it's the opposite - not only is Cole going to be muddy and grey in his personhood no matter what, I find the human choice to be the more nonconforming of the two. A Cole that becomes human still retains so much of his spirit self, he reads to me like a synthesis of the two states rather than a full embodiment of one or the other. No wonder Solas was jealous of him.

Anyway, I just think it's crazy and delightful that elgar'nan made his sister perform gender affirming surgery on a lizard.

[tec-a0l]

personality analysis, pt.2

a continuation of this post analyzing dylan’s personality.

stating this again beforehand that these analyses are based on accounts from their friends/families and primary source documents (journals, official reports, etc), and are purely speculative as i never met them personally. with that out of the way, i now present my analyses of dylan & eric!

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part 2, eric:

eric’s personality is a little more tricky to place—he didn’t seem to have many close friends besides dylan, and his family never spoke out about him, so the information we have on him is much more sparse.

he moved around a lot, due to his father being in the military, and i think that was probably one of the biggest influences on his personality—he even stated in his diversion files after the van break-in that moving away from plattsburgh (where he lived prior to moving to littleton in 1993/7th grade) was one of the most traumatizing experiences in his life. for him, constantly being the new kid and having to leave friends behind made him feel outcasted and “othered” in a way.

he spoke about that feeling quite a bit in his journals, but the last proper entry he wrote is especially notable in my opinion:

“I hate you people for leaving me out of so many fun things, And no don’t fucking say “well that’s your fault” because it isn’t, you people had my phone #, and I asked and all, but no. no no no don’t let the weird looking Eric KID come along, ooh fucking nooo.” — eric’s journal, 4/3/99

part of what caught my attention about this entry is that it feels so honest. a lot of his journal (to me) reads like he’s writing for an audience, playing up this grandiose “godlike” persona that he wanted to be viewed as—but this specific portion just feels truthful and defeated, almost.

eric had a lot of insecurities, both physically (his pectus excavatum, having a “big head on a skinny body,” his height, etc), and socially (re: being the new kid, not having a ton of friends), which i believe also contributed to both his feelings of being “othered” and his resulting anger.

i do think his anger was two-sided, however: one side being genuine frustration with the feeling and unfairness of rejection, and the other being fronting—like if he makes himself seem tough and mean, then he can’t get hurt.

in a psych assessment found in his diversion files, he marked his frequency of feeling “mixed up or confused” as “all the time,” and while he didn’t elaborate on this feeling in the report, that answer is as clear of an indication one could get that he was experiencing a lot of turmoil within himself.

while reading interviews and testimonies of those who interacted with him, i noticed there were two main, yet conflicting, things said about him by his friends—or more precisely, dylan’s friends who he was also friends with, largely by association—and by his classmates:

1) eric was short-tempered and angry.

2) eric was polite and mostly kept to himself.

of course, these observations don’t necessarily negate each other, but they do show a clear dichotomy of the same sort of “inner/outer-self” like dylan had, though slightly more situation-dependent.

in my opinion, eric was influenced greatly by his environment—whether that be in the form of having to move around a lot, having a military-strict family, or getting outcasted and bullied at school—and everything combined into this perfect storm of turmoil he found himself in.

it’s unfortunate that there weren’t more people willing to speak on the positive aspects of who eric was. though, in a way, if there had been more people like that in his life, we very well may not have even known about him in the first place.

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this is much longer than i was expecting it to be, and there’s still so much more i could say, but i’ll end it here for now lol

dylan’s analysis/part 1 is here.

[markantonys]

something i just thought of in the "will siuan live or die in the coup" speculation: moiraine's letter that sets up her finnland rescue! this has pushed me onto the side of siuan will live, for the reasons below.

assumptions about the way the show will do things + conclusions i can draw from these assumptions:

like in the books, moiraine will not really die but will be trapped in finnland and need to be rescued by a team of people including mat (evidence: mat has gotten some Missing Eye foreshadowing in the show already)

like in the books, moiraine will give rand a letter before she "dies", which she instructs him to give to a member of the future rescue team.

the future rescue team will consist of 3 people, like in the books: 1) mat, 2) thom (book canon choice, could rescue moiraine platonically in the show) or siuan (sub in as moiraine's show love interest for a romantic rescue), and 3) noal (book canon choice) or birgitte (imo much better option for the "party member with previous experience with the tower of ghenjei due to their colorful past, who sacrifices themselves during the rescue and comes back as a hero of the horn in the last battle" slot)

like in the books, the letter will say "i'm still alive but you can't tell anyone else until and unless [x specific circumstance is met], because i saw the future and things must happen in a certain order to have a chance of success"

it would be a bad idea to give the letter to mat because if he opened it and it said "hi mat, it's moiraine, i'm actually alive but you can't tell anyone yet" he would tell everyone immediately, or even if he did manage to keep it to himself, he would constantly be in a noticeable tizzy about it for the rest of the show; therefore, the letter should go to a rescue team member who would be capable of sitting on the information and acting outwardly serene about the letters' contents until the time is right.

particularly key assumption: the audience (at least the portion who don't know book spoilers) needs to genuinely think moiraine is dead or at least feel genuinely uncertain about it, because rand's and lan's and all the characters' grief for her would be cheapened if we feel immediately certain she isn't really dead. lan struggling with the loss is a huge emotional arc for him, and rand carries her "death" as a huge burden of guilt for the rest of the series; these emotional truths for the characters would be severely undercut for the audience if we immediately know more than they do and go into s4 watching them grieve for someone we're already certain isn't actually dead, and the story would suffer for it.

therefore, moiraine giving rand a letter to give to someone else needs to seem innocuous enough that neither the audience nor rand suspects anything fishy is afoot.

therefore, siuan makes the most sense as the letter recipient because both rand and the audience know that moiraine loves siuan, so we would assume this letter is nothing more than a goodbye note to her love and we would not immediately suspect that there might be more to it. (particularly if moiraine also gives letters to lan and/or rand that ARE just goodbye letters? i think that's what happens in the book, but i don't remember. anyway, if moiraine's like "here's one letter for my wife, one letter for my warder, and one letter for my son" that truly would seem like she's just saying goodbye to her 3 closest loved ones.)

by contrast, in showverse, moiraine doesn't know thom or know that rand knows him, and so it would deeply startle both rand and the audience for her to suddenly give rand a letter to give to thom, and this would make us suspicious. same for the third rescue team member, whether it be noal or birgitte or a secret other option. heck, even mat would be a suspicious choice for moiraine to send a letter to on the eve of her death, since they are not notably close right now. i would argue that the only people show!moiraine could send a Death's Eve letter to that wouldn't strike us as odd are siuan or lan or rand, and THE letter can't go to lan or rand because their emotional arcs depend on not knowing moiraine is alive (plus they can't be rescue team members since they're busy with other plot obligations at that time).

ooooh, this way we could even get a little reversal of that book moment when they think siuan is dead and egwene's like "won't you even cry for her, moiraine? or are you completely heartless?" but this time with egwene saying that to siuan about moiraine, and siuan isn't crying because she knows moiraine might have a chance of survival!

as a side note, just thinking about thom vs. siuan as the rescue team member, with the way the show has set stuff up, it of course makes a lot more narrative and emotional sense for it to be siuan. if thom was the one, that would be a narrative choice made for *mat* and the emotional impact the rescue sequence has on him, since thom is his buddy so yeah sure makes sense for thom to be by his side for this mission, but it would have no effect on moiraine since she's never met thom in showverse. but if siuan is the one, that has an emotional impact on both moiraine AND mat, because siuan is moiraine's lover and because siuan and mat will become acquainted in the tower this season and she'll give him her book speech about heroes thinking they're only doing what they need to do (which could circle back around in an emotional way later when siuan sees mat risk his life and give up his eye to save moiraine and then claim he was only doing what he needed to do :')). likewise, the audience would be much more moved by siuan helping rescue moiraine than thom helping rescue her.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey Raven! 👋 I don't get all the vitriol about the lack of consequences of Malleus's OB. Twst has never given any serious consequences to any villain so far. Riddle, Leona, Vil and Idia have also tried to kill Ace, Ruggie, Niege and the whole world respectively. Rollo tried to wipe out all magic from the world which would kill entirety of Fae or potentially other magical species. Fellow was involved in human trafficking. None of these people faced any serious repercussions for what they did. If it was done before but not now I would understand the frustration. Among all OB boys Vil & Malleus are the only ones who apologised. Also you mentioned in your book 7 finale post that you were surprised about the lack of death and destruction because of Malleus's UM. But I'm more confused as to why you were even expecting that. Malleus's UM was never meant to cause death or destruction in fact it was precisely to avoid those sad occurrences he decided to use his UM. So it's no wonder there were no deaths or serious property damage out side of NRC. We have already seen Silver as baby sleeping for 400 years by fairy magic and being completely fine. Only danger was the loss of autonomy which thankfully was stopped. Malleus literally had a part of his body mutilated which is the most on the nose consequence we have seen. Yes it was necessary to stop him still doesn't change the fact it is mutilation. Plus I don't think post OB flashbacks were meant to shift the blame to the bv senators. Even though I don’t like them their actions in universe make sense. I think all flashbacks merely explain the OB boy's past experiences and circumstances. It doesn't justify there actions in present only provides an understanding of their motivations and character. Life doesn't exist in a vacuum. Malleus's flashbacks merely explains why he is the way he is now. It doesn't rights his wrongs. People are shaped by their experiences and circumstances. Since not many people can relate to most OB boy's circumstances it becomes hard to empathise with them. I am NOT saying people should not criticise or dislike a character. Just saying that lack of accountability & consequences isn't something unique to Malleus. Lack of control over our my life and circumstances is something I have been dealing with since i was born so I know from experience how suffocating and hopeless it feels. Even if someone understands it doesn't change of help my situation whatsoever. I relate to Malleus feelings about his own situation. It doesn't makes his decision right but I understand his thought process. People can understand other but still dislike them. Understanding does not equals to justifying. I hope I didn't offend any one. My sincere apologies if it came across as such.

Have a good day or night Raven!

Before I get to sharing my commentary, I'd like to make a quick clarification. "Vitriol" (cruel and bitter criticism or outright insulting) is a very strong word to use here. I don't doubt that some people are vitriolic about the ending. However, to label most or all critique as "vitriol" detracts from the discussion, as it paints those not happy with it as blindly hating on Malleus and ignores any plausible points they may have. Let's acknowledge the entire spectrum of reactions, including just... plain disappointment and everything in-between that disappointment and vitriol. It's not all coming from a place of blind hatred or refusing to understand him, some of that critique is very much coming from a place of understanding but still disliking the outcome.

I can't speak for everyone, but I personally haven't seen many people claiming "Malleus and ONLY Malleus should be given severe consequences." Twst has frequently been criticized for the lack of serious consequences for ALL of its OB characters (and its Halloween event characters). I particularly find Playful Land distasteful because they casually never address what happened to the non-NRC victims of the operation. And notably, Idia came close to *checks notes* oh yeah, letting monsters out of hell and causing an apocalypse. Just because Malleus is currently being discussed--as he is the most relevant--doesn't negate the fact that past OBs + Halloween characters were critiqued in a similar way. Few people are denying that the other OBs also did terrible things and only got off with a slap on the wrist. We're not conveniently ignoring past sins, it's just that we're talking about the most recent one now. (Few corrections to some points brought up on this topic though: I believe Riddle apologized as well; it's also NOT canon that wiping out magic would kill fae or other magical creatures, simply because fae are more inclined to magic doesn't mean losing that magic kills them.)

I'm aware that Malleus's intent was not to harm anyone with his UM, and that his UM only put them to sleep. However, I just cannot suspend my disbelief. Even if he didn't mean to hurt people or to cause damage, there surely were potential issues with 20,000 individuals falling asleep mid-whatever activity they were doing. The scale is large enough for there to be a non-zero chance that someone wasn't accidentally injured or even killed. Swimmers? Drivers? People cooking? What about those with preexisting health conditions like sleep apnea and diabetes? And even if we accept that Malleus magically suspended their bodies in stasis, isn't magic limited by one's imagination?? Malleus doesn't strike me as someone who understands a lot about health conditions, technology, etc. How would his magic know to stop cars (something he admits to never having ridden before in A Firelit Sky), to cease bodily demands for care, etc.? The latter (ie bodies atrophying from lack of sustenance) is even mentioned at least twice by the Shrouds as potential threats to their wellbeings. Why would they bring it up multiple times if not to insinuate a fear of consequences??? Yes, Silver was able to sleep unageing for 400 years, but we cannot be certain that magic is the exact same as whatever Malleus was using, or that their imaginations worked the same way. I would find this less surprising if they actually explained how it is that everyone was without injury, like having the Shrouds confirm that the lack of sustenance was not a real issue. Them not addressing the theory at the end only makes me suspicious. If it wasn't a problem to begin with, why even have them mention it more than once? At that point, just don't include the dialogue implying this at all.

I think to just chalk it up to "the only danger was the loss of autonomy which thankfully has stopped" is minimizing potential issues that could result from this. Realistically, it would be a huge problem that the (future) sovereign of a country took such a drastic move; this would surely affect relationships with other nations so I find it strange that this isn't really touched upon. (A similar issue was mentioned by fans with Leona's attempt on Malleus's life in book 2, but again, we're discussing Malleus here because he's most relevant; the lack of realistic consequences for the other characters is an entirely separate problem.) They did bring up Malleus's grandma apologizing and condemning her grandson's actions, but that doesn't go in enough detail--how are the other nations reacting to this??? And again, bringing back the 20,000 statistic--I also find it strange that the writing only mentioned a group of people who loved Malleus's dream magic and make zero mention of any people who were traumatized by it?? Like, you'd think at least a few people would have felt upset, violated, or even confused about the matter??? That's not even counting all the NRC students we had to shock awake, some of which cried or had emotional breakdowns over it. It's strange how the narrative ONLY focuses on reassuring us that Malleus's actions didn't actually affect anything when, given the numbers, it would have, at least emotionally/mentally/psychologically. I'm not saying I want him to have harmed anyone or to be made a public enemy; I want a more balanced understanding of the consequences of his magic. Like, why isn't there also... I don't know, mention of therapy or social support being provided for those experiencing shock after waking up from the dreams? To help them get back on their feet? I would have accepted even the off-handed mention of something like that.

Again, I'm not speaking for everyone here (I know that some people find damaging a horn to be a "good" way of regulating his unchecked magic), but personally I was pretty squicked by that. I agree that Malleus should have limits placed on his power, but I think it should have been done through some other method like... I don't know, Maleficia magically "grounding" him or something. (Like maybe we struck the horns but it didn't actually chop anything off; his grandma places a spell that limits what he can do afterwards?? Or maybe Malleus himself permanently sacrifices a ton of his magic to Lilia in order to revive him.) I wince a little whenever I see Malleus with that broken horn because I can't help but think of a real-life animal with an equivalent injury. A cat that's been declawed, a ram with a broken horn, a bird with its wings clipped or its beak blown off, etc. It makes me feel really bad for him 💦

I think a lot of people see the broken horn as being the most "severe" of consequences because a part of Malleus was essentially broken. It's visible, unlike mental or emotional scars, and the sad truth is that people are quick to condemn something that's easy to see rather than something that's not (ie potential psychological fallout or trauma). None of the other OB boys have to walk around with a physical reminder of what they did, so Malleus is perceived as being the "most hurt" in the eyes of the fandom. I'm still not entirely sure what the effects are in-universe though??? Like how does this impact his everyday life, what spells is he still able to use, does the area hurt, does it affect his balance or other aspects of his life?? He doesn't seem particularly bothered by it, but that's probably due to the time skip + for plot convenience; it would really help us better understand the fallout if the next main story update elaborated. Malleus is unique in that he was also never previously held accountable for his actions (outside of book 7). Endless Halloween Night, his general lack of genuine effort to listen to his peers when they tell him off or try to explain why he messed up, actual attempts to harm civilians or mages he knows are less powerful than him... None of it results in real consequences. At most, he gets scolded a little but doesn't truly learn from that scolding, so he's doomed to repeat the same mistakes. It feels like part of the reason why people want Malleus to "face the music" is because he never had his privilege previously challenged. People are too scared to due to his magical might and social status--and now, when he's set before the world's stage, is the most likely time when he'd actually have to look in the mirror and reflect on his past mistakes. Not only the OB, but also his hubris in general. Some people also just feel that Malleus will not grow as a character (as he has demonstrated issues with this outside of book 7) without facing the other repercussions of actions he directly took. No one's calling for Lilia to permanently die because they want to see Malleus suffer. They're saying that if Malleus ended up doing no harm to anyone or anything, if Malleus doesn't have to face Lilia's mortality (the thing he OB'd over), will he really have learned anything in the end? Is there anything pushing his current beliefs or challenging him to change? There's a difference between calling for "more punishment" (which I think is what's being conflated here) and "more accountability". I think most want the latter, NOT the former. Most of us don't want Malleus to be harmed or ostracized further--what we do want is for him to realize that he messed up and to think long and hard about what he can do to make amends. The scale of what he did was grand, so doesn't that also warrant he make up in a similar way? One party and apologizing to a fraction of the people he affected is only accounting for some of it. (For example, I would have personally wanted him to formally address everyone he impacted, not just NRC.)

Mmm... The OB flashbacks are definitely meant to explain, not excuse, the related boy's actions. If it were only Malleus's flashback in isolation, I would have perceived it as such. However, it wasn't just that flashback. It was everything else in the narrative explaining away any potential issues resulting from his magic. It wasn't a few details either, it was several. When you add them all up, it creates... this feeling that the narrative is pushing HARD for you to feel a certain way about Malleus specifically. No other past OB has had so many details thrown our way to reassure us that the OB boy actually did as little damage as possible. We weren't explicitly told the destroyed rose maze was fixed in a jiffy with magic, or that no students were injured when Riddle OB'd. We weren't explicitly told that Ruggie made a full recovery and bears no grudge against Leona, or that his victims healed very quickly. We weren't explicitly told that Azul shoving tentacles down people's throats didn't traumatize any mobs. Etc. (And to be clear, I've shared my own complaints about how easily the other OBs were forgiven too, particularly Azul with customers flocking back to his restaurant.) The opposite is true for Malleus, so that it feels a bit,.. much. We are explicitly told many things and then nudged to not worry about them.

My own issues with the flashback in part stems from worries with the fandom reaction to it. Malleus has historically been a character that the fandom is EXTREMELY protective of, so much so that people are willing to push the onus onto anyone but him. I've literally seen fans blaming Lilia for Malleus not having social skills rather than accept that Malleus being awkward is a combination of factors (factors which include Lilia's enablement but also include Malleus's own learned complacency + not understanding humans). When the flashback opens with the senators blessing Malleus, it (unintentionally) presents fans with an easy target to redirect their anger and pin the blame on. Even if the Twst universe doesn't push all the characters to hate the senators and blame them for Malleus being the way he is, the fans certainly will.

To summarize: very few people are saying "Malleus and Malleus ALONE is experiencing a lack of accountability and consequences." A lot of the current focus on Malleus is because he is the most recent OB, operates on a much larger scale than the other OBs, and has a history of not receiving consequences in other incidents. None of this negates previous critique lobbed at other characters who got off with little or no consequences.

I hope that helps you understand why some Twst fans have such different opinions regarding book 7's conclusion! I also hope that this doesn't diminish your own enjoyment of book 7 or of Malleus's character in any way, just shows you an alternative perspective. I can tell from your passionate words that his story really resonates with you (and there are many others that feel the same!), so that makes me really happy. I wish you guys nothing but the best; please give your lizard boy all the adoration!

[yan-lorkai]

Hi✨ I want to request something. What if all the main cast are yandere, except the first years and Grim? So now they have to protect their magicless friend from all the yandere boys. If it's too much, just ignore it. Thank you💕

The atmosphere in Night Raven College had become suffocating. You couldn’t quite pinpoint when things had changed, but it was undeniable. Everywhere you turned, the once-friendly interactions with your upperclassmen had taken on an unnerving intensity. Smiles lingered too long, casual touches felt possessive, and their gazes…

It was as though they were trying to burn themselves into your very soul.

You weren’t alone in noticing the shift. The first years — Ace, Deuce, Jack, Sebek, and Epel — had caught on quickly. While they were used to your popularity with the older students, the current obsession was unsettling. It wasn’t just admiration or fondness anymore. It was dangerous.

---

Ace and Deuce were the first to intervene.

"Listen," Ace said one evening as the two of you sat in Ramshackle’s lounge, his voice uncharacteristically serious. "Something’s seriously wrong with those guys. They’re all over you like... Um, like vultures."

Deuce nodded firmly, his brows furrowed. "We’re not going to let them corner you. If they try anything, we’ll deal with it. Right, Ace?"

"Obviously," Ace replied, crossing his arms. "We’re your first line of defense. No way we’re letting them take you away from us."

Their words reassured you, but the anxiety gnawed at the edges of your mind. If even your closest friends felt the need to protect you, how bad had things gotten? And why things turned out to be this way?

You weren’t sad here, by all means, even if sometimes you missed your old world, but this relentless chasing was tiring you out. Sometimes you could feel their eyes in you, as if you were a prize.

You could feel it when you were playing hide and seek with the Adeuce duo. A piercing gaze that made you shiver and tremble, as if death was upon you, as if its invisible fingers would pull you into its arms and nobody would miss you.

"Oi, nothin's gonna happen." Grim howled loud enough that your ears were ringing. But in that moment, that didn't annoyed you, not when he bumped his furry head with yours and nuzzled into your chest.

Deuce served more tea and Ace brought another loaf of bread and cheese to the table. They were silent after this.

"If those weirdoes get too close, I’ll toast ‘em!" he declared, puffing out his chest. "Yer my minion, and I ain’t sharin’ ya with nobody!"

And you too were silent, even if your head was messy with thoughts and feelings.

---

Jack was next to join the effort.

"You shouldn’t walk around campus alone," he said one day, falling into step beside you. His tail swished anxiously as he glanced around, his sharp eyes scanning for potential threats - searching for Leona, Rook or Malleus, as they were the most powerful mages in his opinion.

Or Jamil, Idia and Cater, he thought. Or Riddle, Vil and Azul, he added.

"They’ve been following you. I’ve seen it. If anything happens, just stay close to me."

His protective instincts were a relief, though you hated the idea of relying on your friends to keep you safe. Still, Jack’s presence was grounding, his silent determination giving you a sense of security, as you walked without letting your anxiety show. At least, you hoped so.

"It's a nightmare." You whisper to him. And his ears notably twitch at that. "I wanted that to end. To go back the way it was before."

"I'm sorry." It was all he could think to say. He was sorry because he couldn't help further, couldn't beat some sense into his upperclassmen, couldn't stop all of them.

He was so sorry.

---

Epel, usually shy about voicing his thoughts, surprised you with his boldness.

"Those guys are outta control," he said, frowning as he helped you carry a stack of books to the library. "They’re treating you like… I dunno, a prize or somethin’. It ain’t right. I’ll keep you safe, no matter what."

You couldn’t help but smile at his resolve, though his words only deepened your unease. Things were getting worse. Clothes went missing, door opening and closing at night, the sound of steps and whispers, a laughing.

You couldn't close your eyes the past night, waiting for something, for anything to happen. It didn't. Sometimes, it seems they were tiring you out first, waiting for the perfect moment to sweept in when you wouldn't have strength left to fight and take you.

"I hope you can punch hard enough to break some teeth." Is all you can say before you're falling asleep on his shoulders, the sun kissing you just the right way as you feel Epel wrap his arm around your shoulder to secure you won't stumble.

"Ya betcha I can."

---

Sebek, ever the loud and loyal protector, was the most vocal.

"Those fiends dare to covet you?! It’s an insult to your dignity!" he declared one evening, practically vibrating with righteous fury as he swinged his sworld around. "Fear not, human! I, Sebek Zigvolt, shall ensure no harm befalls you! My loyalty knows no bounds!"

You were grateful for his enthusiasm, but his constant yelling often attracted unwanted attention from the very people you were trying to avoid. You could feel their smiles, their eyes on you, their whispers and laughs. You hate it.

Above all, you regret being their friend.

Regret having sleepovers.

Regret having shared with them stories and songs and memes, and everything else from your world.

Regret trying to fix them, overblot after overblot.

You give Sebek a look before reaching for his hand to run from them and their stare that made you feel like prey.

---

Through it all, your first-year friends remained steadfast, their loyalty unwavering as they fought to keep you safe. It wasn’t easy, and every day felt like a battle. They accompanied you everywhere, taking turns escorting you to classes, meals, and even back to Ramshackle at night.

But as long as they were by your side, you held onto hope that you could survive the suffocating obsession of the upperclassmen — together.

[honest-moth-of-silver-grove]

What are the differences between your characterization of a dark / yandere alucard and the non yandere version?

A/N: Oooh… That’s a great question, Nonnie!

If I’m being honest, most of it is instinctual, so hmm, let me think for a moment…

So to me, Non-Yandere! Alucard at his core, is a very burdened, very conflicted person. And yet, at the same time, he is incredibly steadfast and disciplined.

I recall either watching or reading an interview with Netflix’s Alucard’s VA (James Callis) about when his mother was killed, he felt badly, but he also understood it wasn’t his fault. And while he could understand his father’s grief, he also knew it was his responsibility to stop him.

Adrian just… knew.

He knew what happened was awful and worthy of grief, but he also knew there were bigger things at stake. He compartmentalizes those feelings of loss and pain all through Seasons 1 and 2, right up until the last bit of Season 2, where he breaks down crying after the deed of stopping and killing his father is done.

This is what makes him dangerous, even outside of a dark/yandere version.

He’s deeply emotional, and because of that, he’s quite self-aware when it comes to his feelings. This introspective nature gives him an edge over his opponents because where they see him as an unstable, illogical, feeling dhampir, he’s truly rational. They underestimate him for his half-human nature, not understanding that his skill of empathy makes him a far more knowledgeable adversary.

He knows what to say to people, and how to say it, to get the response he wants. He’s emotionally intuitive and cunning. Which, on the positive side, means he’s a great listener and helper. On the negative side, it means he’s prone to manipulation, even if it is for the greater good. Hell, at some point in time, it may be unintentional manipulation on his part- he doesn’t see it that way, he could choose to simply see it as getting the stubborn humans around him to see the safer point of view.

(If you’re at all familiar with Myers-Briggs types, this all makes him an INFJ: an introverted, intuitive, Feeling, Judging person.)

So, in terms of characterization, a Yandere! Alucard is extremely similar in that he’s emotionally intuitive with strong feelings. However, the dark part of this manifests in clever, selfish influence.

He’s not saying what people need to hear in order to ultimately help them, he’s saying it to get what he wants out of their relationship. He uses his ability to read people and compartmentalize to his advantage, leaving the other person vulnerable and on unstable ground. And should any of his feelings become too big, or his thoughts too passionate, he’s smart enough to find a semi-practical way to justify them.

(So a dark version is still very much INFJ, but an evil INFJ. It’s pretty interesting if you look up famous historical INFJs. On one side you have notable leaders and peacekeepers and on the other side, you have dictators and genocidal maniacs. It just goes to show you how intuitiveness and awareness give individuals the power to wield over others.)

A/N: Hello? HELLO?! Is anybody still there? I feel like it’s been AGES since I posted something, but I’ve been busy lately. And yeah, half our house still doesn’t have electricity. I’ve officially gone full Victorian in my bedroom, writing by candlelight.

[qoldenskies]

The painting of the laundry room scene made me so emotional,, I bet ccDonnie would enjoy some art therapy. I want that turtle to be happy so bad

i think a lot about how mikey was specifically painting a sunrise,,, i was definitely trying to invoke falling skyward energy there (yes i think a lot about how in the beginning of CL when they're first cursed its notably sunset, and in falling skyward its sunrise and the chapter right after is named "the break of dawn" im sooo normal)

also the way it loops back around from in CL where it was specifically noted there was no graffiti there, and how donnie saw that as the most fitting place to die. there were no traces of his brothers, only him, this was the only room he frequented because he was the only one doing laundry back then. he was so convinced his own undoing was his fault. how now they'll do anything to say im here, even if they cant be. how they're willing to love from a distance if that will make him more comfortable, just like he spent years doing for them

also yessss he deserves some relaxing hobbies he doesn't feel like he has to excel at. his tech used to bring him comfort when he was upset and he definitely doesn't feel that way anymore after everything that happened .... let cc!donnie make some art!!!

[ooooo-mcyt]

I love reading your character analysis, thanks for putting so much out there. Wanted to talk a bit more about life!Scott.

You said you see him going to kill Joel in the wild life finale as a moment where he acts on his own wishes rather than his usual self sacrifice pattern. Do you see that as character change/growth, or do you think its more based on the unusual circumstances? At that point Impulse is dead and no one left on his team wants to win. Does Scott go after Joel because he's free from the responsibility of helping a teammate? (Be it in a positive self fulfilment way or in a negative got nothing else left to do kinda way.) Or in your view would he have acted for himself even with Impulse alive?

I think it was still a kind of sacrifice anyway, committing his final life to trying to take down the biggest threat, even if he was running out of people to do it for. And that motive would come into it more if Impulse was still alive.

Are things only even different this time because Joel has changed how he behaves, not attacking Scott like every other time, so Scott has to go to him? How much of the impetus is coming from Scott himself?

- @mossy-cobble-slab

Unfortunately, I don't think Scott is anywhere near ready to start acting out of personal desire. In Wild Life, we see the culmination of a lot of Scott's most self destructive traits- the way he's so determined to keep the team together no matter what, the way he lets two teammates get away with independently plotting against him, the way he gave up a life willingly to his team, the way he gave in during team conflicts and let the others have their way with only the flimsy stipulation that they agree not to collude against him again. I don't see Wild Life as character growth for Scott, if anything, most of Wild Life reinforced his repressive and self sacrificing behavior.

Scott probably didn't attack Joel for his own sake. I'm sure his main intention was probably to weaken one of the strongest players for the sake of his team rather than to act on any grudge he may have against Joel. (although i wouldn't write off the idea that scott did also just want to fight joel, and that this subconsciously influenced him deciding that attacking him was the 'best' course of action.)

However, while Scott probably wasn't acting solely on personal desire when he attacked Joel, I still see the moment overall as a small win. Because while it was ostensibly probably about his team, I absolutely think Scott got caught up in the fight. He was absolutely more exhilarated in the Wild Life finale than he has been in any of his more traditional sacrifices, and notably, Scott didn't mention his team in his closing statement. No "I wouldn't have it any other way" or "Sometimes you gotta take one for the band". If he did attack Joel for his team's sake (which he probably did), that motivation got lost a little bit in the moment.

That's actually one of the big reasons I love Scott and Joel's "rivalry", while Scott still always needs a way to justify fighting Joel (because scott is extremely repressed and won't let himself act on desires that aren't "good"), when Scott does engage with Joel, Joel has a way of making Scott a little bit reckless and a little bit giddy, gives Scott an excuse to give in to the exhilaration of the game for a little bit in ways Scott doesn't normally do.

So- do I think Scott was really just acting out of personal desire when he attacked Joel? No. Do I think that was a result of character progression? No. But I do think it was a small win, a moment where Scott got to think about something other than being a good sacrifice for a little bit, the kind of moment Joel is good at pulling out of Scott by giving himself an excuse to let himself act that way. That's valuable even if Scott's still not ready to actually think about his own desires or act on them without an excuse to.

[yoroshiu]

Sora: "That Dull, Ordinary Boy"

3 AM thoughts led me down to thinking about the ongoing and consistent mention of Sora being an ordinary person. In the couple of years I've been invested in KH, I think I've seen every possible opinion on this and have developed my own thoughts on it.

For me, Sora is ordinary. From a perspective of typical narrative roles characters can be, he's a supporting character turned protagonist. But the way the series goes about this aspect of him is fascinating and I haven't really seen it done in other media, at least not in this very specific way.

If you're interested in this post then know it'll be another long one, thank you in advance ^o^

(WARNING: This might be the most incoherent essay I've written yet since I'm not sure if I'm getting my thoughts across clearly. I'm just saying the obvious ngl...)

As said, Sora's a support character turned protagonist, which is something that can be agreed on by most of the community.

Within the Destiny Trio, he's the most normal one. Riku was the original chosen one, a figure that had Keyblade wielders like Terra notice his strong light and was actively chosen to go through the Bequeathing ceremony. He's also the one with the ambition and determination to leave Destiny Islands and as a young Sora mentions, Riku apparently says all sorts of weird stuff (difficult things in JPN). By KH1, he's the boy that's not like the other kids *hair flip* with the way he's able to beat the others on his own while they try to team up on him. Overall, as he goes through his arc, we see how main character he is. The way he devotes himself to protecting those he holds dear. The way he struggles with his darkness (his trauma). The protagonist energy Riku radiates is immense and he'd fit right in with Final Fantasy's lineup.

Kairi is a Princess of Heart. She came from another world, has a mysterious past that hasn't been dealt with fully, powers that are exclusive to her Princess of Heart attribute. Though a supporting character, her background alone scream special. She was led (fated in a way) to end up on Destiny Islands where a strong light was so she could be kept safe (Aqua's little spell + Terra-Nort's work). She's on an arc to become stronger and more confident in herself.

Then there's Sora. He's an outgoing and friendly boy-next-door. He's like a typical shounen anime protagonist on the most basic level but also has that comedic supportive side character energy to him. It's interesting how he notably doesn't have Riku's fascination with leaving their world and exploring. He's going along with it since Riku is (he was always following after Riku's step), and while he is curious, it's more from a childish wonder rather than the profound obsession Riku has. One of the earliest things we see of Sora's character is with the way he shirks his duties in helping build the raft. You can even see parts of it with the way he's indecisive about where to go and what to do in KH3.

(Funny trivia, Sora and Riku's JPN voice actor, Miyu Irino and Mamoru Miyano respectively, said that if the Destiny Trio were able to go on an adventure together, Riku would be the one making the decisions while Sora would just go along with him (KH3 Ultimania Interview))

If you look at the traits that make Sora the "Child of Destiny", they aren't exclusive to him (I also have a note on the whole way the Book of Prophesy works in the KH universe later). And if you look at the events that happen to him, more often than not, they're in tandem with the "special ones". Him saving Ventus back as a newborn heart is arguably not an exclusive ability. We see it in different ways and forms throughout the series, though not done with the to fix another's heart (Xehanort and Hoder, Eraqus and Terra), it's just that Sora's circumstances are a really weird exception. It's not an average Tuesday for someone's heart shattering and needing to connect with another to heal. I'd imagine that other characters have the capability of doing so.

What I'm trying to get at is that, Sora's not special by means of some exclusive ability. It's beacause of who he is, and more, who he chooses to be.

Now that isn't some big revelation. I'm pretty sure many people of are that opinion so it's like, "duh, you're writing this to say something that obvious?" and no, not entirely LOL

Sora has the Empathy but that's something that's shared with Xehanort and Baldr (and look at where that got them). Sora got the ability to wield a keyblade because it passed from Riku to Sora in a "going down the list" way, but Sora, by his strength of character (which also isn't exclusive by any means), proved himself worthy. Sora came back from becoming a heartless because of Kairi. Roxas is a special Nobody because of the manipulations of the Organization and Ventus being there (dual-wielding becomes a skill because of Ventus). He managed to escape being overtaken by Darkness because of his friends, especially Riku.

(I'll probably make a post about this later but funny of KH to present a narrative of "empathy" being a trait that brings the downfall of multiple characters. And funny that Sora also has this trait.)

The "exceptions" (in the case of KH's universe's laws) that he's involved with are due to his connections or his personality being in the "right place at the right time".

And that's where the interesting part comes in.

Sora, despite becoming the protagonist, has those shadows of "not being The One" follow him throughout the series. He's the easier one to control between him and Riku. He's the one that's the second or even third one down the list (The idea that Organization XIII needs Sora, but the power he's managed to acquire through scuffed means). Despite arguably being one of the most worthy of being a Keyblade wielder with the way he proved himself, Sora (doesn't seem to think of himself that way.

And if you take his conversation with Xigbar at the beginning of KH3 (especially in the Japanese context, you can see my translation post for that scene), he's considered to be one of those "ordinary people" compared to someone like Hercules who is a "special existence".

Sora is not "special" enough to escape from breaking nature taboos without consequence. He had to go through a timed and tedious process to do this. He can't get away with "saving everyone" and "getting a pure happy ending for himself" when he bends and breaks the universe's rules. The universe will simply erase him.

And the consequence of having those connections, the thing that he says is his power, is that they will suffer from losing him and trying to get him back. Xigbar argues that ordinary people, aka Sora, cannot self-sacrifice without cost. Those "special" connections can maybe get him out of it, but what does that really mean in the end. I think KH4 and onward will explore that.

On the topic of the Book of Prophecies, I always see points being made about Sora and how he's affected by it in a narrative role sense. I've seen people make arguments about Sora's specialness with this. But when you think about the circumstances in which it was written, MoM wrote the book while picking and choosing the events that would help him. His whole thing is about manipulating events and people to work in his favor for his greater good. I think it was his intent for future wielders (Scala ad Caelum especially) to grap those words tightly and push his plans along. Whether they tried to defy or go along with it, it would work in MoM's favor in the end. From what we know as of now, prophecies in this case aren't some "divine intervention" it's a guy actively writing things to get what he wants.

I must say that I'm aware of the wider span of the meaning of a "protagonist". There's no single way an archetype for a protagonist is written. I wrote this post with the typical heroic protagonist from a fairytale in mind. There's a lot of different interpretations of his moments and interactions (Like, why was he the one having those weird dreams in KH1's beginning). Sora was placed in very specific circumstances and just so happened to have the right heart and mentality to make the most of it. I mean, if he didn't, we wouldn't have much of a story to follow with him otherwise.

It's the way that Sora always has to work with what he has to press forward, not knowing everything, and oftentimes not getting happy endings devoid of some kind of tragedy or angst in the background (sometimes not even in the background). Not that stories are limited to "oh, the real protagonist gets a perfect happy ending" but in terms of the most typical standard fairytale story (which stands out more with the Disney connection).

It's the way that Sora being an ordinary boy is emphasized despite arguments otherwise. Nomura and other characters in the story itself insist that he is despite the special things he's done, and I think that's a fascinating part of KH's identity.

Sora's story is one of a normal boy being put in extreme circumstances. Not really by his own choice, but he moves forward out of the love he has for other people. However, while resilient, he isn't impervious and often bends and sometimes breaks. He is Kingdom Hearts's main character but he became one at a cost. There's an irony of sorts with having your actual protagonist be treated as a side character-turned-protagonist by the narrative. I find this interesting because we're actively exploring trauma this way.

Sora is special as people, as individuals, are inherently special.

Considering that he was made for players to be able to put themselves in his big ol' shoes, we are special because we are who we are. No superpowers, no connections to anyone "higher up", no book to dictate destiny.

Being the protagonist in our own lives is, obviously, no fairytale, but we can still do amazing things just by being ourselves.

Kinda cheesy, but I think that's neat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Making Kingdom Hearts Stuff Until KH4 Comes Out (Day 65)

"Yoro, you just said the most obvious things, haven't people already talked about this before?!"

I know...I just have a lot of thoughts about having characters be impacted by narrative roles in quite a literal way ToT

He is, but isn't, but is the protagonist is a fun thing to explore. Actual protagonist but treated as if he wasn't meant to be one but he is one in his own story, type beat. Some of us tend to think of life as a story, and it's interesting hear people talk about "roles". No one's ever truly set in a narrative role, and that's also one of KH's notable themes. People breaking away from what they're told, expected, to be.

I'm sorry if none of this essay made sense or was connected well enough TvT

That's enough yapping from me LOL

[positivelybeastly]

One of my bigger issues with the All-New X-Men era is how in spite of the whole time travel thing being kicked off by a Beast vs Cyclops framing, the more consistent and upfront framing was Cyclops vs Wolverine. I get Wolverine is popular. I get he had an iconic rivalry with Cyclops. But the actual buildup to revolutionary Cyclops was much more focused on Hank being the one to stand against him and have opposing ideas, and I feel like that was tossed away to boost Wolverine again. After the time travel, Hank just kinda stuck around to occasionally be yelled at but he wasn’t at the forefront of that conflict anymore. His character was a vehicle to get to the new status quo of the O5 kids being in the present.

So how would you have approached this era as a more direct continuation/exploration of Scott and Hank’s falling out? You can choose to keep or discard the time travel elements if you want.

Ahh, then you and I share a very similar outlook on one of the many reasons why All-New X-Men blows chunks!

So, yeah, this is a problem endemic to X-Men comics of the late 2000s and early 2010s, where they wanted to duplicate the success and storytelling possibilities of Civil War by manufacturing a conflict between various X-Men, and then splitting them apart.

On the face of it, it's not a bad idea, there's mileage there, and if we acknowledge the fact that the X-Men are essentially a paramilitary political activist group agitating for change, well, leftists literally can't stop fighting each other long enough to mount a proper opposition to most right wing governments, so, that's just on brand, isn't it?

Unfortunately, while I don't think stuff like Schism is quite as damaging to a lot of the X-Men characters as Civil War was to, say, Mr. Fantastic or Iron Man, it really is unfortunate that the other thing they decided to lift from Civil War was that it wasn't particularly good.

Now, as you've intimated, one of the main problems with Schism and All-New X-Men is that by this point in time in the comics, Wolverine was THE X-Man. If you've read X-Men comics from the 00s and 10s, you know that the writers did still centre other characters, most notably Cyclops, Emma Frost, a few others, but because of the nature of a lot of these characters' development paths by this point, it made way more sense for Wolverine to stick with them, and vice versa, because their moral codes were slowly drifting more and more into alignment by now.

But this presents a problem, because Wolverine is the only X-Man who you can sell as being the other side.

He was the only X-Man with a solo series that ran consistently, for years on end, and was always relaunched when it ended; he had been added to the rosters of several high profile teams, including the New Avengers; and there was a notable bump in popularity to any comic that featured him, just as a matter of course.

So, if you're going to split off the X-Men and give them two leaders, he's pretty much the only candidate, because you need to sell comics. Doesn't matter what's best for the story or the most natural choice, you need to sell comics.

Despite the fact that Beast was right there.

It makes sense for Hank to break from Scott. It's consistent with his character - not just because he's still a heavily moral character by this point, but because he has a history of breaking from the team anyway, he's done it multiple times before. He is not dependent on the X-Men to give him meaning, and he's got enough bonds with other characters in the Marvel Universe that he can go and be in whatever and it isn't weird. He went on to be on the roster for S.W.O.R.D, Secret Avengers, all kinds of fun little things.

But there are two problems with making Beast the head of the opposition. 1) He is not a leader; every attempt he's made at leading a team in 616 canon has gone merely okay to downright poorly, if he doesn't just leave the team fairly soon after its inception anyway (as with X-Club). But, more, pressingly?

2) Beast does not sell comic books. He simply doesn't. What's that, you say? He's had three solo series by this point? Well, yeah.

Except, he hasn't, really. He had a three issue series in the 90s that was more about Karma, a three issues team up series with Wonder Man, also in the 90s, and then a succession of back-up stories in other comics through the late 00s that would come to be collected as Endangered Species. Marvel knows he is not a sales magnet.

So, instead, we have Schism. Wolverine makes the decision to split the team, and Hank is pulled in on some fairly tenuous grounds.

In another world, Hank's fourth series, S.W.O.R.D, with Abigail, succeeds, All-New X-Men never happens, or at least, it happens completely differently, X-Force blips out of existence, and I spend months talking about how cool S.W.O.R.D vol. 1 #43 where they all go to the tap dancing planet is.

But, alas, this is not that world.

Hank is dragged into Wolverine and the X-Men, and it's fine to pretty good. I'm fairly happy with the Hank we get there, where he's still fairly pissed off with Scott, but it doesn't consume his life and he's happy to just exist in his corner while Scott exists in his.

Then, Avengers vs. X-Men happens.

Aaaaand then All-New X-Men happens as a direct result.

There's that Beast vs. Cyclops framing you mentioned.

But, the problem is fairly evident once you really think about that final panel.

There's no actual argument here. At least, not as Bendis can conceive it. Because there's a narrative tension here, between what X-editorial wants, and what Bendis is willing to write - what most of the X-writers are willing to write, in fact.

The X-writers are, broadly speaking, unwilling to write Cyclops out of character, and they are unwilling to write him being wrong. How is that, you say? Because everything that Cyclops is saying here is just normal X-Men stuff, and this is being treated as some kind of political treatise when it isn't. It's pure fluff.

Bendis' choice of opposing points for Beast, Storm, Wolverine and co. is: we don't like Cyclops. That is where it starts and ends. They don't have a political viewpoint, apart from, I guess, just stay in their school and keep doing what they're doing . . .

Which is normal X-Men stuff. There is very little that Cyclops and his team do in the course of Bendis' Uncanny storyline that any X-Man wouldn't do, because Bendis is unwilling to commit to Cyclops doing anything actually morally wrong.

And because he also just doesn't give a fuck about the things that Cyclops has done that are, factually, morally wrong.

Such as the use of biological weapons.

The creation of a black ops kill team known as X-Force.

And all of these things, while morally wrong, are, arguably? The correct choice, the choice that was required of him to get mutantkind through. But that doesn't absolve him of guilt, of culpability. These are actions for which he cannot blame the Phoenix Force's influences, and they are actions which are conveniently ignored, so that Scott can be the saintly revolutionary.

Now, that's an awful lot of context, but it's important to set up the conflict as I think it could have gone down.

The version I've thought about previously, the version I've written the outline I'm going to share with you now, goes broadly along the same lines as All-New X-Men up until issue #5, but, with some key differences.

For starters, you take out the stuff with Hank talking about what he's about to do, you basically start right where Ororo, Bobby, Hank and Kitty are talking at the jet, and Bobby has the idea.

Hank is visibly ill, but it's not explicit what's happening - then suddenly the O5 are on the lawn, Hank is having his heart attack . . .

And in my version of the story?

He dies.

And suddenly young Hank has to deal with the trauma of watching his eventual death, so that it isn't just a Jean Grey goes psycho story, suddenly it makes sense that the teenagers are freaking out, because what the fuck.

And Hank didn't make it clear what he was doing, you cut all the bullshit about a mutant genocide, he just kept telling them that they NEEDED to come with him, so suddenly there's a core question of, okay, why DID he think this was a good idea? And it's not like adult Hank DOES anything of value in ANXM, so making it a philosophical debate, a talk about grief, a discussion about Hank's legacy with the X-Men and his leaving them during Utopia, about the way he drifted away from Bobby . . . suddenly, this is an actual character piece.

Suddenly there is a point. Hell, you can even make it a good character piece for Scott and Emma by making it that the Phoenix's presence was what triggered Hank's failed mutation, and suddenly there's a cost to what they did, there's a cost to the mutant race coming back.

Suddenly what they did with X-Force, driving Hank away, and their gamble on the Phoenix comes back to bite them, because this is another mutant body thrown on the pile. Collateral damage.

Now it's not just a ton of faceless Skrulls.

Now it's not just Nightcrawler.

Now it's Hank, too.

Hell, teen Hank and teen Jean hooking up even makes a degree of sense now because they BOTH know they die and they're simultaneously desperate to avoid it and also to make the most of what time they do have because suddenly they became aware of ACTUAL mortality at the age of 15-17.

I'm also going to quote the inimitable @brw with whom I've talked about this concept before:

"A little more mystery, a little more complexity. I quite like the idea of this Hank almost being martyr'd? Like how Magneto and Scott was, some young mutant kids who are understandably traumatised canonize yet another flawed figure into a saint-like position. It adds another layer of grief onto many of the X-Men, particularly Bobby I imagine who gets more and more frustrated seeing the friend he grew away from being misinterpreted like that, but then has to ask himself, did he know Hank well enough in the past few years to make that claim? Did he actually make an effort to know his friend? It just adds to the different layers of the idea of Hank's legacy, what it actually was, and how the figure of him is getting pulled in all different directions to justify their own means. I wouldn't put it past that era of Scott to potentially use Hank's memory to further his own goals, too, as an opportunity to further radicalise and collect more mutant youth, which would add hopeful an actually interesting layer of the conflict between Scott/Emma/Magneto and the school. Additionally, something about young Hank especially being required to deal with all this sudden grief aimed now at him. Yes, he's not the one who died, but I imagine when the inevitable funeral happens and he ends up meeting the Avengers and Fantastic Four, a lot of those complicated, ugly feelings of mourning end up directed at him, and he doesn't even know who half of these people are."

Honestly, it just opens up so many more doors, and, like, especially knowing what happens with Hank's story after that, killing him here to maybe be resurrected in Krakoa is such a rich story to be examined, so much more interesting than pretty much anything that you have in its place.

This way, you have to actually engage with his moral position on X-Force, his hypocrisy in joining the Secret Avengers, the Ghost Box laser strike, THRENODY; suddenly, we have to engage with the stuff that isn't war crimes or obnoxious corporate pandering decisions, we have to engage in actual CHARACTER analysis.

Side note: I absolutely hated this handwave that made Hank look like the most awful hypocrite about X-Force almost as much as I did him joining the Secret Avengers, but it's canon, so, in my version of events, we engage with this double-standard and it brings texture to the point.

Because here's the thing - if someone has a moral stance, and then they go back on it, yes, that makes them a hypocrite, but it doesn't suddenly make the moral stance that they stuck to originally wrong. If Hank is, textually speaking, against Scott's X-Force, but okay with Logan's, guess what, he's a hypocrite (I hated this decision, I hated it so much, it was literally JUST done to maintain the rotation of books at the time), but that doesn't mean he was wrong to oppose the black ops kill squad in the first place!

But yeah, let's dig in! It'd be especially interesting because you have to imagine that Hank was an icon and a role model for a lot of physical mutants, people like Beak and Broo, and especially if you do this story now, before Nightcrawler comes back, you have to examine what that means, that both of the most obviously mutated X-Men are gone.

What does that say about Xavierism? What does it say about Scott that he didn't just use Xavier's name for his school to 'honour' him, but now maybe he's saying that he's doing things that Hank would've wanted, and NOW suddenly Bobby Drake has a fucking story role because he DOES NOT AGREE WITH THAT, and he's the ONE person left alive who can say that to Scott's face.

And oh my god, can you imagine the funeral? Can you imagine what it'd be like for Simon? Can you imagine what it'd be like for Hank's parents? For them to have to bury their son, and for that son to be existing, right there, probably having to hide in the Mansion, just watching them memorialise a man he doesn't recognise and doesn't understand.

The pressure of that. St. Jean, St. Hank. Suddenly it makes sense. You almost don't ever have to answer the question why Hank did it, because it almost doesn't matter, what matters is what other people's answers are.

Again, quoting brw:

"How would you deal with people your age mourning the older you, the you who was a teacher who they loved and looked up to? People you know as villains like Wanda and Pietro apparently having grown into close friends? People who you've never met in your life being almost inconsolable over the death of a stranger who happens to be you? It would also enhance young Hank going off to study magic, rather than being yet another "Because Old me sucks and I don't want to be like him" situation, it's instead "Because I can't even do this work without reminding people and myself of what they lost and I need to make something my own.""

Suddenly, this is a character piece. Suddenly, this is a storyline with a point. Suddenly, this is actually a proper continuation of the conflict we had on Utopia, AND you can still have your Logan vs. Scott confrontations because Hank isn't alive to fight that battle. Easy, donezo. Bish bash bosh, fixed your problem.

Probably not the answer you expected, for me to just say, nah, kill the fucker, but I really do think it's a much more interesting and sensical way to handle the conflict.

[merobuns]

you can never escape natsuki hanae

[danielnelsen]

so if you romance and ascend astarion you can kick him in the balls when he tries to turn you and it’s just very funny, he’s so pissy about it. so much for the most powerful vampire of all time or whatever, he stamps around like a toddler and then leaves forever

[sonknuxadow]

still wondering whos voicing black doom because i havent seen any confirmation on that but now im wondering whos voicing mephiles... surely he's gonna have at least a couple voice lines right . it would be weird if he didnt