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meomoicecr · 1 month ago

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Some Thoughts: On Maxwell's Self-Perception, His Dynamic with the Others, and the Unique Nature of His Relationship with Wilson

Still Wilson/Maxwell ship content! In this second piece, I want to discuss how the camp members view Maxwell who was a "sinner", the differences between their perspectives and Wilson's, and also examine Maxwell's attitude toward his own crimes—plus another reason why the dynamic between Wilson and Maxwell is one-of-a-kind! (Okay, honestly, there are many more reasons, but let’s tackle them one by one…)

This is a long read with heavy in-game quote references www—I’ve written a lot about my interpretation of Maxwell’s character, and this isn’t even all of it…

Now, onto the main topic! First, interactions between Don’t Starve characters are plentiful, and most of these amusing exchanges happen in their quotes—like Wigfrid hitting Wilson and Woodie with a backscratcher or the lightbulb joke between Wilson, Maxwell, and Wickerbottom.

This is also pretty adorable—Wilson handles Maxwell's shift assignments, even notifying him personally, and Maxwell still manages to get them wrong before cheekily blaming Wilson… Although Maxwell is older, Wilson talks to him like he's Maxwell's guardian, belike he's the one responsible for managing Maxwell's affairs (more on this later in the piece)."

I want to discuss how the camp members' perceptions of Maxwell have shifted—given that he was once the Shadow King, the main antagonist of the previous game / the mastermind who dragged everyone into the Constant to suffer, but is now reduced to a mortal forced to rely on them for survival. Even the narrator describes this situation as "awkward."

Although I really love Maxwell dearly, in my view—even if the reasons remain unclear (initially, it was said Maxwell dragged people in out of boredom for amusement, but later character profiles suggested he was forced, and the stage play's depiction of this was equally ambiguous; to this day, Klei hasn't filled in this plot hole)—Maxwell's act of pulling everyone into the Constant is unforgivable. This single action yanked multiple characters out of their original life trajectories, severing them from their families or careers. Not only that, it flung them from civilized society into a perilous wilderness. Any player who’s experienced the game knows just how dangerous the Constant is—clueless new players (mirroring the characters’ own first-time arrival) can only die and revive repeatedly, struggling in agony until Wilson finally ends it all.

So even if Maxwell technically fulfilled some characters’ wishes (like Wigfrid or Wendy) or provided refuge for those with no place in the real world (Willow or Webber), everyone still has every right to hate him. This is abundantly clear in the single-player game’s examination quotes for Maxwell’s statue and NPC—almost every character expresses disdain. It’s safe to say that if they aren’t seething with hatred, they at least hold deep resentment.

Examining Maxwell’s Statue ↓

Examining Maxwell NPC ↓

The unquoted examination lines are all emotionally neutral, but it’s clear most characters have nothing nice to say about him...

Here, we can also see that initially, Wilson viewed Maxwell with the same hostility and distaste as everyone else. But after the single-player campaign concluded and the timeline shifted to Don’t Starve Together, Wilson’s perception of Maxwell diverged sharply from the others’. The bond between Wilson and Maxwell is undeniably closer than Maxwell’s relationships with anyone else in camp. As the sole survivor to complete Adventure Mode (our boy did it with zero special abilities, mind you), Wilson witnessed every facet of Maxwell’s nature: the silver-tongued deceiver, the vicious tyrant, the panicked schemer, and—most terrifyingly—the merciless monster of the Darkness. Yet he also saw Maxwell at his most pitiful and broken in the Throne Room (Maxwell’s behavior in Adventure Mode is the perfect embodiment of the phrase ‘paper tiger’… all bluster and threats, but utterly powerless against his advancing pawn. )

I’ve already covered the Throne Room scene in my previous piece, so I won’t belabor it here! The key point is that after Wilson freed Maxwell from the throne and took him in, the two spent a significant period alone together—likely a long stretch, given that their first meeting was in autumn, and the finished Florid Postern features a Deerclops Eyeball. This confirms they survived at least one winter together. (Others have noted this before, but it’s crucial.) They lived, worked, and relied on each other, even defeating the seasonal boss as a team before proudly displaying its trophy as a centerpiece of their shared efforts.

And it’s worth noting that many mechanics in Don’t Starve Together—including newly added items or boss health pools—differ from Don’t Starve. Wilson was the last to arrive in the single-player timeline (evident from each character’s chronological entry) yet became the first player to conquer Adventure Mode and dethrone the former king. Meanwhile, Maxwell is the ex-King of Nightmare who created this world. Wilson’s survival skills are indisputable, and while Maxwell’s single-player examination quotes reveal this cat’s practical abilities are… lacking (to put it mildly), his theoretical knowledge of his own creations remains encyclopedic.

But in Don’t Starve Together, with Charlie now the Queen, everything changed. Wilson and Maxwell became the first duo to test multiplayer mechanics, spending at least one winter in a two-person world. This means they had to explore all the new systems and changes together: the first death, the first revival via Telltale Heart, the first death penalty, the first use of a Booster Shot to restore max health, the first discovery of revamped caves, the first realization that bosses had beefed-up health pools… The list goes on.

[Insert headcanon here] Let’s be real—the first to die was definitely Maxwell. This fragile old man has half Wilson’s health, meaning a lot of creatures can one-shot him. Early on, both would’ve been wary of each other (former enemies, after all), and Maxwell wouldn’t volunteer his vulnerabilities. So Wilson, unaware his companion’s real health, probably assumed Maxwell could tank a hit—after all, he’s survived worse—only to turn around and find the old bastard dead 🙏.

Wilson was stunned—suddenly stuck with a ghost companion while his PTSD from Maxwell’s disintegration flared, sending his sanity plummeting ↓↓↓. Maxwell’s death in the throne-room was the closest thing to true death the Constant had ever shown… Wilson had died and revived countless times . He’d watched slain Pigs respawn from houses, Spiders crawl back from nests, even seasonal bosses return year after year. In this world, nothing dies permanently—until Maxwell did.

Sure, it was terrifying, but part of Wilson must’ve assumed Maxwell would reappear too… except he didn’t. The old man was just gone, not a trace left. And he stayed dead for a while (…). Wilson remained on the throne, enduring Ragtime’s ear-grinding, then met Charlie, got dumped back into the Constant, and built a camp—all before Maxwell finally respawned. To Wilson, that interim was absolute death. He’d never seen anything like it! And that disintegration scene? Traumatically vivid, followed immediately by his own despair (throne bondage). So I think his PTSD is very justified…

In Don’t Starve, Wilson always revived via Touch Stones or Meat Effigies—or just reset the world. But with the new rules? He had no clue what death meant now. (‘What if Maxwell got yeeted to another dimension? What if I’m alone again?’) Turns out Maxwell just became a floaty ghost, watching Wilson spiral into madness while crafting a Telltale Heart (Maxwell, baffled: ‘Why’s he freaking out so hard? Since when do spider glands and blood resurrect people? Higgsbury, what kind of science is this?’).

Sanity in freefall, Wilson zombied through the steps and revived Maxwell—who, upon waking, saw Wilson fighting Shadow Creatures and assumed his ghostly presence was the cause (awkward!). Little did he know his own death was what traumatized the poor guy. Not that Wilson would ever admit it, of course.

(And this isn’t the rambling—the narrator said the same situatiion)

(Of course, we can't overlook moments like Maxwell instinctively trying to recognize a boss as "family" only to be yanked back by Wilson, or how—after dying once and becoming even frailer —Wilson invents a Rot-stuffed Booster Shot to inject him, sparking violent resistance from the old cat... All utterly adorable!)

In this environment, the two survived alone together, solving problems and relying on each other. Though their initial distrust ran deep (Maxwell, in particular, was guilt-ridden), their forced cooperation in isolation created the perfect setup for a classic enemies-to-friends(-to-lovers) arc via the good ol' suspension bridge effect. After all, in the wilderness, they were each other's only companionship—their lives literally in one another's hands... Over time, Wilson gradually realized the "evil old cat" was really just a deeply traumatized, prickly creature—not so irredeemable after all, and even growing tamer under his care...!

So by the time the portal was built and everyone gathered, the dynamic became... complicated. Wilson, as the sole Adventure Mode conqueror who'd seen Maxwell at his most broken and spent months alone with him, naturally understood him on a fundamentally different level. Meanwhile, to everyone else Maxwell remained the same smug demon who'd tricked them into this hellscape, watched them die countless times, and laughed at their suffering!! The Maxwell in Wilson's eyes and the Maxwell in theirs might as well have been two entirely different creatures!! (...)

↑This is also why examining Maxwell’s quotes reveals the pattern I mentioned earlier→ He’s visibly more relaxed around Wilson, but when he faces to others, he still reflexively puts on his "Kingly airs" or reverts to that "villainous gentleman" act from his King of Nightmare days—because he’s subconsciously performing the version of himself they expect. But Wilson? He’s seen Maxwell at his rawest: that numb, despairing, broken puppet on the throne. That was the one time Maxwell wasn’t masking himself—couldn’t mask himself—and Wilson was the sole witness. So around him, Maxwell drops the act, belike ‘You’ve already seen me at my worst—what’s the point of pretending now?’

(Yet even with Wilson, Maxwell can’t fully open up… Since his days as William Carter, he’s been the type to bury his true thoughts and circumstances—even from those closest to him, like his brother or Charlie. And this habit directly catalyzed nearly every tragedy in his life.)

Anyway, in the end, everyone still gathered together. You can bet the moment the deceived crew saw the mastermind himself standing right there, they were ready to tear Maxwell limb from limb—Maxwell himself was terrified, with only Wilson standing in the way. Neither side could understand the other, but ultimately Wilson went belike: ‘Look, regardless of anything else—this is my camp. I’m the host here. I’m providing shelter and food. I’m the one sharing my resources with all of you. So if only for my sake, let this man stay. As the one who defeated him, I’ll vouch for him now. He won’t—and can’t —hurt anyone again.’

(Okay, yes, this is peak fanfic cliché—but come on, it’s absolutely plausible, if not outright inevitable!! In Don’t Starve, everyone’s examination quotes for Maxwell’s NPC/statue drip with hatred. When reuniting in DST, they don’t get Wilson’s gradual reconciliation arc—just a group of victims suddenly face-to-face with this pathetically fragile old man…Without intervention, I genuinely can’t fathom how Maxwell wouldn’t get torn to pieces!!

Faced with this, Maxwell would of course put on his usual ‘unflappable tyrant’ act in front of the group—while internally panicking, utterly baffled by Wilson’s defense. All he can think is: ‘Another debt to him…’ (Just how many cat-rescues is this now?... Wilson’s favors are truly unrepayable!)

(And those habits they developed or experiences they shared during their time alone together—those private moments only the two of them would know, that deeper understanding of each other's quirks, flaws, routines, even preferences... A kind of irreplaceable bond forged in isolation. Solitude good! Solitude great!)

Getting back on track—compared to single-player, the group's perception of Maxwell in Don't Starve Together has shifted significantly (though Maxwell himself has also undergone major changes between versions, which is equally fascinating and deserves its own separate discussion). This contrast becomes especially clear when comparing how characters examine Maxwell's statue in single-player versus multiplayer.

Where single-player responses were overwhelmingly hostile, the Together version takes a noticeably different tone:

The tone has largely shifted to teasing and doting (…). Realistically speaking, regardless of what Maxwell might have done during this time to alter their perceptions of him, the change in everyone’s attitude toward him has improved so drastically—to the point of being almost perplexingly amicable—because, let’s not forget, his past actions did irrevocably alter all of their lives. That they could extend such forgiveness and acceptance only goes to show how extraordinarily kind-hearted and tolerant the people he’s encountered truly are. 🙏🙏🙏

(Okay, but also—let’s be real—this cat still doesn’t present himself well!! He’s daily rude, mischievous, complaining about everything, lazy, gluttonous, and just generally insufferable . Yet somehow, they all collectively picked up on his ‘tsundere’ act—that awkward, soft-hearted, easily bullied core beneath the bluster (Maxwell’s trying to play the villain, but his true nature keeps leaking through…).

And so, they genuinely dote on him now. They care for him, treat him as a friend and proper member of camp, consider his feelings, and even try to help him become better.

Even in his short anime video, when Maxwell gets knocked out avoiding the rook's attack (I can't believe it—he wasn't even hit by it, just jumped aside and fainted from the landing—how is anyone this clumsy?), not only do multiple people come looking for him, but when he wakes up, their gazes are full of relieved, warm smiles. The rook that attacked him lies shattered nearby. It's clear evidence they've genuinely come to care for him—really treating him as one of their own now.

And yet, Maxwell remains trapped in his spiral of self-loathing, seemingly oblivious to their kindness—still convinced everyone hates him, completely unaware of their doting affection.

(Examining the Glossamer Saddle ↓)

(Examining Pearl's Pearl ↓)

(Examining the Cracked Pearl ↓)

(↓Examining the Giblet. "Fowl" here is clearly a pun on "foul" - entirely derogatory in meaning.)

He only trusts himself—instinctively wary, convinced everyone around him is hostile, completely lacking any sense of security (though his behavior is understandable, it somehow makes him even more rabbit-like...)

So in truth, Maxwell acts all high-and-mighty like he looks down on everyone, but subconsciously, he places himself at the very bottom. He uses self-deprecating puns, feels utterly insecure, believes he’s unworthy of trust, and has alienated everyone he possibly could (which adds a self-destructive undercurrent to his ‘villain’ act). He reflexively assumes every glance directed his way is accusatory, leaving him no room to escape. All this proves that, in his eyes, he’s fundamentally different from the rest of the camp—while everyone else interacts as equals, he remains an outcast, a guilty aberration. To him, he’s long since forfeited any credibility or right to kindness, let alone belonging. Others’ hatred is just deserved—and the sole architect of this isolation? His own past sins. So really, he ‘deserves’ to be denied normal relationships.

(Let’s be real—the gap between Maxwell’s arrogant facade and his deeply insecure, self-loathing core is delicious … but truthfully, his psychological issues trace back to his magician days. After Charlie fled upon finding him, he’d hide in secret rooms tearing up his own posters (…). And yet, objectively speaking, everyone’s been remarkably patient and forgiving toward him! Given how unforgivable—and frankly, irreparable—his actions were, Maxwell’s guilt complex and Charlie’s outright hatred are probably the only normal reactions here!)

But Maxwell’s perspective isn’t entirely baseless. His quotes reveal a genuinely sensitive, observant side, with a thinking style skewed toward emotionality (somewhat like Wendy’s, though his niece clearly outclasses this dumb cat in both depth of thought and articulation—most of Maxwell’s reflections remain stubbornly emotional and self-centered).

He constantly anthropomorphizes animals around him, projecting his own emotions and circumstances onto all sorts of flora and fauna—seeing himself in them and spiraling into melancholy (depresso mode activated).

(The contrast with Wilson here is stark—he maintains a firm distinction between humans and animals. He might find creatures cute, but animals are animals: meant to be utilized to their fullest, alive or dead. I’d argue this stems from their professions: as a scientist, Wilson likely has medical training (he volunteered to amputate someone’s leg when he examine the Peg Leg, and his Victorian skins/Forge Mode literally depict him as a doctor) (Meaning he’d even chop off a healthy leg)).

—This inevitably made animal experimentation a routine part of his work. Even while showing them respect, daily operations involved euthanizing subjects post-experiment—to him, animals were indeed primarily utilitarian, a perspective only reinforced by survival in the Constant. Hence why this man can call a Koalefant adorable before immediately slaughtering it for meat (then praising its corpse as cute) (…) (He also called frogs cute—Wilson, what even is your aesthetic standard? Okay fine, does this mean perhaps he don't think Maxwell’s ugly?).When he examining Carrot Rats and Rabbits, he considers them lab animals (accurate given their experimental use), wants to capture the Rabbit King for experiments, gets ideas upon seeing Merms, and calls Carrot Rats 'excellent lab rats' or 'just sentient vegetables'. Meanwhile, as a magician, these small creatures were long-term companions in Maxwell’s performances, naturally fostering his habit of anthropomorphizing them. So we can see Max launches into full animal conversations, arguing with his rabbits and their 'entourage' despite their obvious incomprehension.

(Even Maxwell's quotes imply Simon the Rabbit King was a mischievous troublemaker who often ruined his performances - yet he still uses affectionate nicknames like 'scallywag'... Vibe check: that one aunt in YA novels who shrieks and tattles to parents when the protagonist's gang pranks her.)

He also constantly delivers similarly emotional, melancholic monologues—

So honestly, you can tell that compared to Wilson's mostly factual, objective expressions about his direct observations/descriptions of reality, Maxwell's thoughts are clearly more sensitive and emotionally influenced. He unconsciously projects emotional associations onto what he sees, and these reflections—colored by his own experiences and mental state—are usually negative (sigh... depresso).

Additionally, his careful use of pronouns reveals another thoughtful side of him—as others have noted, with WX-78 being a canonically genderless character, Maxwell even specifically uses "Mx." (the honorific for those who prefer not to specify gender) when addressing them. Maxwell is a man from the early 20th century. Even in that era, he still made sure to consider everyone's pronouns, ensuring they felt welcomed and unoffended—which shows that, when he wants to, he does put genuine effort into considering others (though granted, only if he feels like it... but he has done it).

But circling back—what do others really think of Maxwell? This becomes clearest in extreme scenarios, like when characters burn items/assault/kill. Below, I'll list all the reactions toward Maxwell from characters who experienced his reign—those who transitioned from DS to Together.

Honestly, it's clear everyone's being unusually lenient with Maxwell... When examining his pyromaniac version, Wickerbottom treats him like a misbehaving toddler needing placation. But their true feelings surface when checking his assault/murder variants—though usually restrained, they're no saints. None (Wilson and Webber excepted) can genuinely erase his past transgressions from memory, so some lingering tension inevitably persists. Maxwell's surely picked up on these subtle cues—that he remains the camp's perpetual outsider, that they're constantly monitoring him, gauging his threat potential, fully prepared to combine past grievances with new offenses should he misstep again (...). And considering he's still covertly exchanging messages with Charlie behind their backs... yeah, absolute forgiveness seems impossible at this point!)

Even when 'Bad Maxwell' gets examined by normally gentle souls like Wickerbottom and Warly, their verbal lashings are brutal—the fact he can provoke such ire from them is almost impressive...

Wurt's examination quotes reveal glimpses of their underlying stance:

LMAO, From the perspective of an indigenous child bystander the ultimate verbal gut-punch. Part of me pities him (well, self-inflicted misery, really).

Similarly, no one in camp would discuss Maxwell’s sins around the children, so Wurt’s remark must stem entirely from her own observations—if even a sensitive child perceives this, Maxwell himself can’t be oblivious.

From this, we derive two key points:

First, Maxwell possesses profound awareness of his past crimes and harbors genuine guilt. To him, any hatred or retaliation from the others is entirely justified. This isn’t just evident in his self-loathing quotes. During Adventure Mode’s finale in the Throne Room, if the player silences the ragtime record he’s endured for centuries, he whispers “Thank you.” But reactivating the music to torment him prompts: "I suppose I deserve that." ← This line alone crystallizes his stance. He believes he deserves retaliation, malice, false hope followed by cruelty. With the throne denying him death, the music is the sole means to inflict suffering—and he’d accept worse, internalizing it as his due. “I deserve that” fundamentally means he fully acknowledges his crimes, accepts any retribution from his victims andviews all suffering as rightful punishment.

(Thus, any act framed as “payback” would likely paralyze his resistance…)

And in the stage play, the King (Maxwell) delivers this soliloquy:

On the surface, this appears as Maxwell reflecting on his past greed, but in reality, his tragic fate wasn’t determined by ‘one more show or one less.’ Them had chosen him from the start—the moment he obtained the Codex Umbra, his destiny was sealed. Yet without it, William Carter would’ve been crushed in the train accident rather than saved by the Codex’s power—or stranded eternally in the Constant without the Throne, doomed to wander alone. Thus, his claim of ‘never sought the crown’ carries two implications: either guilt over dragging others into this mess (‘Let me suffer here alone’) or belief that his death/nonexistence from the start would’ve spared everyone.

—Hence his follow-up line: ‘What a terrible thought.’ Because it’s essentially suicidal ideation… The fact he entertained this is terrible! Maxwell’s persona radiates arrogance, selfishness, and egocentrism, yet beneath lies a man so consumed by guilt he’s imagined scenarios where the Codex never existed—or where he never existed. (Notice he fixates not on his fate without the throne, but the world’s… implying he wonders if others would’ve thrived without him.) (Seriously, Maxwell should get therapy. His psyche is uniquely catastrophic even by this camp’s standards)

Secondly, even if the other camp members still harbor resentment and distrust toward him—however well-concealed behind politeness and their own inherent kindness—Maxwell’s acute sensitivity allows him to detect the subtlest cues in their behavior. Inevitably, his mind spirals into negative interpretations, even when no malice is intended. His hyperawareness latches onto every flicker of displeasure or hostility, and like a form of self-flagellation, he obsessively dwells on them, sinking deeper into emotional turmoil. The guilt he feels toward others and the self-loathing he describes in his quotes truly leave him no escape—a phrase with dual meaning he’s forced to coexist daily with the living victims of his actions, even relying on them for survival, at the same time, he can’t evade the weight of his own culpability—these consequences are undeniably his to bear.

But Wilson is the exception. As evident from the earlier quotes, Wilson and Webber are the only two characters who transitioned from DS to Together—who lived through Maxwell’s reign yet never bring up his past misdeeds when examining ‘Antagonist Maxwell.’ Webber’s a child who doesn’t hold grudges, but Wilson’s silence is remarkable… He was one of Maxwell’s victim, enduring countless torments for no reason. Yet he’s also the one who defeated Maxwell, personally drawing a line under their feud. He’s seen Maxwell at his most broken, witnessed the shattered soul beneath that pristine suit. From the moment he handed Maxwell that meat skewer to this day, Wilson’s been consistent in his stance—as discussed last time, he refuses to dwell on the past, treating Maxwell with equality, respect, and ease. He’s the only one who’s given Maxwell a real chance to start over and interact normally. The past stays past. Even if Maxwell misbehaves now, Wilson judges each incident on its own merits—no dredging up old wounds. This attitude isn’t forgetfulness or full forgiveness, but conscious letting-go. And Wilson’s the only one positioned to do this. He defeated Maxwell, reversing their power dynamic, his ‘revenge’ was seizing control from Maxwell—suppressing him without cruelty.

Most crucially, he’s just a genuinely good man. Max suffered for decades—meeting Wilson was your one lucky break.jpg

This is why Wilson holds a unique place in Maxwell’s psyche. As noted previously, he’s the sole source of safety Maxwell’s felt in ages—the only one whose care and tolerance let him drop his guard. Like a spoiled old cat, he dares to bicker and banter freely with Wilson. In an environment where Maxwell feels trapped, Wilson’s presence alone doesn’t suffocate him. Because Wilson has moved on—even when Maxwell assaults, burns, or kills. Around him, the cat finally relaxes… and thus, dependency forms. That’s why we see Maxwell’s (seemingly prickly but actually) clingy antics: mimicking Wilson’s speaking, jumping into his conversations, obsessively name-dropping Wilson in quotes—as if proving to others, ‘See? I have someone this close too.’ (Adorable. Will analyze next time…)

To Wilson, who doesn’t overthink this It’s just: ‘Why’s my cat rubbing on me all the time? Fleas?

And let's be honest—Wilson attitude toward Maxwell is truly one-of-a-kind… Relaxed (.), or more accurately, compared to others, he doesn’t really take Maxwell all that seriously (okay fine), also remains unusually patient and tolerant with him.

First, we have to address Wilson’s examination quote for Assault Maxwell: ‘Seems you've gone from "dapper" to "slapper."’ Here, Wilson deploys a vicious pun—while ‘slap’ means to strike, ‘slapper’ as a noun is (…)

Is this teasing or flirting? And coming from someone as gentlemanly and polite as Wilson—just how close are you two behind closed doors to be tossing that word around in broad daylight?! (What’s next, Wilson whispering it during bedroom activities?? Mind the kids in camp!!)

The contrast with others’ reactions to Assault Maxwell is stark. Most tense up, expressing disappointment—‘Same old villain, what destruction will he wreak now?’ Only Wilson drops this aggressively suggestive pun (…). Even with Pyro Maxwell, he quips: ‘Maxwell's just asking to get roasted.’ Like… dude treats Maxwell’s crimes—assault, arson—as jokes (‘no big deal.jpg’). Problem is, this isn’t some random troublemaker but a felon with a rap sheet!! Why the blasé attitude?!

His Murderer Maxwell quote is eerily calm compared to others—angry yet composed. Even when faced with murder, ex-villain-boss edition, Wilson stays unshaken, fully in control… radiating absolute confidence in handling him. And why wouldn’t he? This is the man who single-handedly dethroned the Shadow King—current fragile-old-man Maxwell doesn’t stand a chance.

Compare this to how Maxwell panics when facing 'Murderous Wilson,' and invoking their truce agreement (…the fact he even remembers the truce)

↓ Maxwell’s examination quote for ‘Reviver Wilson’ is gold! This cat who’s normally too awkward to show affection—even with Wilson, whom he calls ‘acquaintance’ at most—actually mutters ‘a real pal’ here. Those ellipses… they carry the weight of genuine vulnerability…! (Alright, friendship meter: 100% unlocked)

So it all makes sense now—why Wilson handles assigning Maxwell’s tasks! He essentially functions as Maxwell’s de facto guardian in camp. During the initial gathering, Wilson was likely the one who vouched for Maxwell’s stay, so everyone naturally deferred to him, thinking, ‘If he’s willing to shield Maxwell and bear responsibility for him, let him manage the old man.’ The others don’t even know how to interact with Maxwell normally, so task delegation flows through Wilson—the only one fluent in ‘communicating with this creature.’ When Maxwell acts off, they report to Wilson first. Maxwell always claims he’s ‘built a wall between himself and the world,’ yet Wilson kicked a hole through it, dismantling their conflict while becoming Maxwell’s sole bridge to others. (Wilson’s motive for breaking in might as well have been: ‘Is this the way home? Wait, did I take a wrong turn—’)

On the other hand, Wilson can suppress Maxwell from every angle—he’s practically Maxwell’s natural counter. Even at Maxwell’s peak during his King of Nightmare era, wielding power beyond mortal comprehension, Wilson still overthrew him. Post-throne, the frail old man gets pinned to the ground without resistance. Conversely, Maxwell only feels at ease around Wilson. This cat needs Wilson’s oversight precisely because a guardian’s role is both restraint and protection.

I realize this piece has focused heavily on Maxwell—but honestly, his characterization is fascinatingly nuanced. At first glance, he appears to be that tired trope of the unlikable, stereotypical villain (an old white guy, no less), but deeper analysis reveals something far more complex. Even within DST's deliberately fragmented narrative, his backstory and in-game quotes paint him as a profoundly conflicted individual—simultaneously childish, stubborn, emotionally contradictory, and prone to melancholic spirals (...frequently, at that). Yet when contextualized with the game's lore, these traits aren't just shallow 'tsundere' quirks—they're the direct result of his traumatic experiences. That depth transforms him from a one-note antagonist into a genuinely textured character.

And so, even when we circle back to the fact that he's still ugly, still rude, and still morally dubious... it's impossible not to feel oddly fond of him. (And hey—if Higgsbury himself likely thinks the same way.)

Finally, a shoutout to my friend shippers! Many of these details emerged through collective lore-digging, which has been the real joy of analyzing this pairing. See you in the next essay!

#dst #maxwil #dst maxwell #maxwell carter #maxwell dst #dst wilson #wilson dst #wilson higgsbury

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not-handsome-enough · 1 year ago

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FLASH AND GLITCH WARNING it’s not bad by mtl standards but it hurt the hell out of my eyes when I was working on it 😭😭

There more explanation under the cut cause there’s some explaining to do.

So this is set Post AOTD and the only parts of Dick that survived are his brain and heart. His parts are discovered by Charles when he went back to Deus Keeps remains to scavenge amongst the og Army for an intact left hand that he would transplant, as well as searching for survivors in general. ( something to note is he doesn’t find a replacement and he ends up having it replaced with a golden prosthetic )

He secretly brings Dick’s remains back to Mordhaus where he begins a project to slowly regenerate Dick’s body. He doesn’t tell anyone outside of a select few klokateers and the scientists ( Brian and Jimmy ) mostly due to how unstable the execution may be. Kind of like a don’t get the boys excited cause if it doesn’t work it will be just another downer/uncertainty that they don’t need right now.

I don’t know if Charles is employed with Dethklok or if he’s there for the sake of normality. Either way the boys want him there and he wants to be with the boys.

William finds the operation by accident. He kinda went back to how he was pre-mtl albeit a bit more open with his emotions. There are periods where Dick is left alone and Willy finds him during one of those periods. By the time he finds Dick it’s been a few months since Charles has brought him back to Mordhaus, so while his body isn’t ‘online’ yet, his brain heart and eyes are.

This is kinda how Willy first finds Knubbler. He recognizes the eyes ( which aren’t meant to be yellow like they are in the image above this was made before I had a concrete timeline set up ) so he talks his way into staying as long possible without being caught. They managed to set up a basic communication system with Dick’s eyes ( like yes no maybe but with eye colour ) and that’s how Willy knows he’s not supposed to know about the project. For the first few visits it’s just Willy apologizing to Dick for killing him and just getting out everything he wanted to say and apologize for. Similar to Nate and Rebecca but Dick can yk. Talk back. To an extent.

Cause while physically Dick is in the tube his soul is free to roam around the room. So while Willy’s talking to his eyes Dick’s walking around and just making faces at him and shit.

( I don’t like the colour I went for the ghost mode for him here but idk how to do ghost so best I got I’m sorry 😭 )

Initially it was just really emotion heavy and Dick wanted to be able to hold a full on conversation with Willy about the events of the Mtl but then Willy started bringing entertainment down to the lab and it spiraled a little.

Eventually Willy mentioned how upset he was that he didn’t finish planet piss and it turned into a month and a half of planet piss production ( nothing was recorded and sessions usually ended in a Willy typical tantrum and a promise of coming back tomorrow )

Despite how much these sessions pissed off Dick, his recovery ended up speeding up quite a bit, much to the delight of Charles The Scientists and the select Klokateers. Who still don’t know about the daily visits. Whether or not it was motivation to actually talk back to Willy and shut down his more destructive ideas or to be able to help him I don’t know.

At some point during the PP production Willy starts bringing board games like scrabble and battleship. Shit that made it easy for both of them to cheat. Which they ended up doing. Every. Single. Time. It’s impressive how neither of them caught on to the other cheating. Actually it’s more impressive Dick never caught Willy cheating since Willy was usually in control of Dick’s moves.

While this is happening Dicks body continues to reconstruct itself and eventually it becomes basically back to normal except in its green gooey goop ness ( the animation is like a sped up version of what happened )

( Again his eyes are not meant to be yellow I made this before I had the timeline set )

Dick, realizing that his body is basically reconstructed, starts trying to make his physical body move / tries to reconnect his soul ghost to his body. Unknown to him by rushing the process he glitches his eyes out.

So while he thinks he’s moving his Body he’s actually moving the Wires around his tube.

He practices while Willy is gone because he wants to be able to surprise him / scare the shit out of him a little bit, but this ends up being a detriment to him because when he finally does move in front of Willy it is not his body that is moving. Most of the time if he’s practicing he’s working with The Scientists and Charles

This is where that rough animatic at the top comes in so we know that Willy freaks the fuck out, runs away, and Dick is upset. Gonna jump a lil more into that tho.

So some things to explain / note in the animatic that I just didn’t explain well.

To show that Dick was glitching while moving his eyes turn yellow. The Scientists and Charles know about this, but before trying to move for Will, they never caught that what Dick was actually moving was the wires around the tube and not his body.

Willy was not scared that Dick was moving. If it was just dicks body or even just the wires he would have freaked out a little but wouldn’t have run away. He ran away because Dicks eyes were yelllow. Like he was possessed.

This is basically what was happening

Dick never punched his way out of the tube or talked to Willy.

That being said the flashing alarm was set off by Willy. He knew that the science gang would come if he sounded the alarm. He didn’t get caught by them but he saw that they weren’t panicking like he was.

Dick had no idea why Will ran away that badly until after the science boys came in and his body was unglitched ( which is why his eyes turn green at the end of the animatic ). He thinks Willy ran away because of the wires, not his glitchy eyes.

Also small note the scientists are there when they run in I just didn’t want to draw them because I watched the liquid album episode and they annoyed me a little bit I’m sorry.

Dick’s in the tube for about another month ( where he can control his body ) but Willy doesn’t come back to see him until a week before he is taken out of the tube. They end up having a repeat of the initial cycle ( apologies planet piss and then board games ) but sped up and a little differently. Apologies only last a day, planet piss lasts an hour because Dick is not about to repeat that whole ordeal again without having his equipment around, and the board games last for the rest of the week until Dick is transferred to a private hospital room. Dick ends up actually making sure Will doesn’t cheat and they get really competitive.

Willy doesn’t know where Dicks transferred to and Dick is once again bored out of his fucking mind.

They reunite again eventually but I’m leaving that up to interpretation cause cycles need to break eventually.

I didn’t go into detail about what their talks were day by day because I cannot write dialogue well which means this can be interpreted as Platonic OR Romantic. This au was written with the intention of being romantic ( doomed in original versions ) angst but it’s vague enough where it could be platonic and either way I’m happy.

#dick knubbler #william murderface #Dickface #the guides heart #<- gonna use this tag if I ever add more to it or just yeah

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artbyblastweave · 7 months ago

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Lindelof's Watchmen?

I have very mixed feelings on it. I think it had extremely confused ideas about police and policing, power and its proper distribution, and failed to commit to its initial apparent skepticism on those topics in a satisfying way.

That said, I think that This Extraordinary Being provided an interesting and potentially very important counterweight to the original text. The superhero community in the original Watchmen was deliberately monoracial, white or white passing, because a major theme of the book is about the paradox of living out a rebellious cowboy ubermensch fantasy that's nonetheless functionally dependent on widespread tacit societal approval of your vigilante violence in order to remain sustainable. Let's run through the lineup of the Minutemen, excluding the cypher that is Hooded Justice- we've got a star athlete, a millionaire playboy, a former marine, a showgirl, a thug-turned soldier, a cop, a European heiress. The book presents superherosim as a gratuitous fantasy, carried out by people with sufficient institutional backing that they had other options.

But the thing about condemning "vigilante violence" is that sort of by definition, you can only really do so from an implicit position of faith in legitimate channels- there has to be something you can direct the would-be vigilante towards instead. Watchmen answers this by claiming it's a moot point, exclusively positioning superheroes as people integrated with and protected by the system, even if what that integration looks like in practice changes over the forty-year span of the timeline. This Extraordinary Being retorts, alright, smartass, what if you're not protected by the system, what if the system wears on its sleeve the extent to which it doesn't care about you and everyone who looks like you. You bring in a "vigilante" who's a black survivor of a race massacre in the 1930s- a man who tried to go through your legitimate channels and got stonewalled at every turn- and it suddenly becomes extremely difficult to plausibly portray the superheroic impulse as universally, irredeemably gratuitous. Very abruptly, you're brought back face to face with the actual fundamental appeal of the superhero genre- the idea of a figure who can cut the gordian knot when evil has choked out the halls of power so thoroughly that the idea of legality becomes a bad joke. Not that he really successfully cuts the knot, mind- this is still a bitter deconstruction. The scene where Will massacres the cyclops cell and burns their warehouse to the ground isn't precisely a framed as a triumphant beat. But it's an act of violence that nonetheless invites the question of what, at this point, you think that he ought to be doing in response to Cyclops, if not this.

#watchmen #ask #asks #ask game #thoughts #meta #watchmen 2019 #will reeves #hooded justice #watchmen hbo #superheroes #effortpost

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shannonsketches · 1 year ago

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I noticed that the element of the triforce that the individual characters are supposed to represent, is also their weakness. Zelda's wisdom is being stifled by doubt and lack of experience; she's eager to learn, but her zeal is not enough and relies on faith and Link to save the day. I'm not implying that wisdom and faith cannot go hand in hand, but she needs to be able to represent her element more. Maybe her wisdom is knowing when to wait and allow someone else to bear the task? But it takes away too much initiative from her. Ganon's element is power but he's the one who ends up losing almost every time. And Ganondorf on his own, isn't powerless! He's a king, he knows magic, he can wield almost any weapon, he's patient, conniving and intelligent and knows how to make best with what he has. He isn't weak! And yet, the whole split happened, because he was feeling powerless.

They locked themselves in a self-sabotaging cycle that's powered by doubt.

Yeah! So one of the reasons I really love the Triforce lore is that it’s a three-way mirror that reflects both what the user has and also what they need (very wizard of oz).

Ganondorf is a very powerful man, physically, and magically.

Politically, though, he’s next to helpless, which is an awful thing for a king to be. He’s a king of thieves in OoT, because the Gerudo are not a wealthy or thriving nation there. In-Game they don’t have a local living area like the other regions (or even a store — just one floating bombchu salesman in the middle of the desert) — they’ve got a post-war fortress full of guards, and a temple that is being used as a secret base Hylians can’t get to.

Consider also, Ganondorf is the most highly decorated of the Gerudo, and he’s not decked out in gold. He’s wearing mostly iron and topaz. Nabooru and Twinrova are the only ones who have gold fixtures/jewelry along with the higher ranked guards for their protective elements (which is why I think it could arguably be pale bronze or yellow brass, which is a common and highly durable gold alternative).

The Gerudo are implicitly just surviving in OoT, and Hyrule speaks of them like they’re monsters (except for the one guy in town who has a fetish). More than that, WW establishes that his real grief comes from the weather, which any mortal is powerless to control.

So Ganondorf is powerful as a person, but powerless as a king, which is literally the only thing he was born to be.

Be that as it may, though, he is a well-loved king, and a survivor, and a thief, so he also has to embody both wisdom and courage too!

Zelda is the most obvious mirror to Ganondorf. She is a very powerful woman politically and magically, but physically-- compared to Ganondorf -- she's terribly meek. That's the obvious read, that they're 1:1 Parallels, but her real weakness lies in her courage.

Zelda (in OoT) leans on her massive political power -- In the child timeline, she literally sees a foreign dignitary executed before he does anything wrong, based on a recurring dream she has.

Do you know how insane that is? Do you realize how powerful she is?

Ganondorf is not just some guy -- he's a foreign KING. He's a KING that a TEN YEAR OLD had EXECUTED based on VIBES.

And we think she embodies wisdom because her vibes were (as we, the audience know) correct. But it's actually because as an adult, she understands that none of it needed to happen that way. That the only reason Ganondorf was able to pull off his stunt and get the Triforce at all was because she tried to control the situation, sending Link to gather everything Ganondorf couldn't get himself and put it all precisely where Ganondorf needed it to be.

Despite being a child at the time, by the end of the story, by the time she's Sheik, Zelda is taking full responsibility for what happened, and is doing everything in her now extremely limited power to fix it. She's so sorry to need Link, and at the end of it all is desperate to give him another chance to be a kid, and to be innocent, and to be happy, because she realized so quickly that she never should've involved him, visions be damned. She knows none of it was his fault or his business, and she's mortified that she dragged him into it in her own attempt to control the weather.

These other two items shift in other games -- WW and Twilight Princess show us a Zelda with tremendous courage and very little power, physical or political. And then the Wild's era, despite removing the Triforce narrative, shows us a Zelda with immense power and terrible guilt and insecurity -- her power locked behind her fear, and she is only able to access both when she embraces courage.

Which brings us to Link.

Link, on the surface, is a third wheel in a chess game between ancients. But the reality is that he's the base of the prism. He's the foundation that reflects both of the others.

There are MANY different personalities for Link, and personally my favorite gag is that Link is simply too stupid to be scared, but that's just a gag -- because something I've come to really enjoy and respect about him is that he consistently displays fear. Link embodies courage because he is full of fear and chooses to fight anyway. Link leads a good life. He is comfortable, he has family, he has friends, he knows peace. What makes Link courageous is that he is willing to give up his access to all of that if it means that everyone else keeps theirs.

Link will lock himself in a room with the apocalypse if it means he's the only one who gets hurt, and it's not because he believes this is his sacred duty, or his life's purpose -- he'd much rather be at home chasing chickens around or riding his pony through some pretty scenic route -- it's because he is so full of love for other people that he's willing to give up anything to keep them safe.

Link's not very powerful, but he is also unburdened by any desire to be powerful. Link's not very wise, but he is unburdened by any desire to be wise. Link is content in who he is, Link is happy to keep things simple. But Link is so brave that he becomes a leader, which actually makes him the most dangerous of the three.

Courage, unburdened, is fucking terrifying. To both Wisdom and Power. Because, unlike Wisdom and Power, Courage is contagious.

Link can empower and inspire and reveal truths others might not have been able to find on their own. Link doesn't need charisma or brutality. Link can build armies just by being observed.

"But Sketches, you haven't really said anything about how Link reflects the other two." It's subtle! But he does. I see it like this:

• Ganondorf reflects Link's relentless determination, refusing to stand down in the face of impossible odds. In this way, they're connected by their power and courage. • Zelda reflects Ganondorf's burden of being born in a crown, forcing them to learn leadership, and how to use their recklessness strategically, as children. In this way, they're connected by their power and wisdom. • Link reflects Zelda's sense of love for the faceless innocent, and her dedication to protecting all who can't protect themselves. In this way, they're connected by their courage and wisdom.

Because the inherent configuration of the triforce requires those connections to be balanced -- Separately they are overwhelmed by their traits. Ganondorf is willing to sacrifice everything he is in order to reach his goals, Zelda is so pre-occupied with preventing prophecy she ends up instigating it, and Link is so ready to step in and help that he never considers the consequences.

Every single one of them, left to their own devices, would rather see themselves destroyed than fail those who may or may not be relying on their success. They're all very similar, highly reflective characters who all represent compelling foils for each other and yes, display how their unfettered strengths are also the thing that damage them most.

#i LOVE triforce plot #I will never stop loving triforce mythos #FUCK good versus evil give me people being desperate and flawed #lozhc #oot eidolon #this is a very sloppy disorganized essay but I'm done looking at it I'm setting it free laksjdla

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shadow-fell · 11 months ago

Text

On Moonrise Towers, the Thorm Family, and the Shadow Curse

Once another compilation so that I don't need to go constantly digging for things. A general timeline of events:

Reithwin town founded by the Thorm family

Moonrise Towers constructed

Melodia Thorm dies

Isobel Thorm dies

Ketheric turns to Shar

Gauntlet of Shar constructed/rebuilt; Reithwin turns to Sharran worship

Nightsong is captured by Ketheric and Balthazar

Flaming Fist sends Art Cullagh to investigate Ketheric

Harpers, Druids, and Flaming Fist team up to fight Ketheric

Mason who built Moonrise Towers + the Gauntlet of Shar makes a deal with Raphael; Yurgir kills all the Sharrans in the Gauntlet/Grymforge save one

Ketheric is killed, Shadow Curse released

Survivors of the battle flee

Ketheric resurrects, turns to Myrkul

Gortash and the Dark Urge bring Ketheric in on the Absolute plan

Ketheric resurrects Isobel (maybe before ^ but probably after)

Isobel flees to the Last Light Inn

Now, expanding on the details, sources, and adding some firmer dates? that's all going below the cut.

Construction of Moonrise Towers

The first, and as far as I know only reference to Moonrise Towers outside of BG3 is in the Code of the Harpers, where it is described as the base of the Crescent Coat, officer of the High Heralds (a group spinning out of the Harpers, referenced by Halsin in game), in 1368.

So, we know when it must be established by - but how much earlier can we go? Pretty far given that the Thorms are elven/half-elven.

Our best boundary is that we know Balduran visited Moonrise Towers before becoming an Illithid. His initial departure from Baldur's Gate and shipwreck happened around 1050 DR, at 300 years before BG1/2, so he has to come to Moonrise Towers sometime after that. FR Wiki states this is ~1150 or later, but I don't know where they're getting that from? I think that's a reasonable timeframe, though.

We know the same architect built Moonrise as the Gauntlet of Shar (from talking to him in the House of Hope), but there's no record of what race he was (only meeting him as a skeleton), and if an elf could easily still be working a few centuries after the construction.

Ketheric is a half-elf for sure, though, but he is an old one. How old exactly is hard to say. 3rd edition gave "old" at 93, with a maximum age of 130-190, while 5e just says "often exceeding 180 years". If we take that he looks the way he did in ~1370 as his death, that places his birth at a minimum of ~1170, but probably later, and the construction of Moonrise Towers ~1200 at the earliest, which is maybe a bit long for Balduran but not unreasonably so.

The other thing of note is that Moonrise Towers has a 'sister' in the Sunrise Spire, a Lathanderian Monastery destroyed in 1177 during a territorial war. Combined with the (undated) fall of Rosymorn Monastery, there is perhaps something interesting about the regional shift from Lathander to Selune, and the construction happening after the destruction further supports a date around ~1200.

Personally, I'd want to push things earlier rather than later - it wouldn't be difficult to say that Ketheric is more elven than human, pushing his age a bit further out, so somewhere between 1180-1200 fits the sweet spot. But really, all we have for sure is "before 1368"

Melodia and the Thorm Family

Melodia Thorm is a human worshipper of Selune, who married Ketheric Thorm and converted him to her worship. They had a daughter, Isobel, who was young when Melodia died (or, at least, Melodia still called her their little girl).

Ketheric is a half-elf; every other member of the Thorm family is an elf - Malus, Gerringothe, and Thisobald all have the longer ears (although the hood makes this less clear on Thisobald).

Malus refers to (presumably) Ketheric as his nephew, making him the only certain branch of the family tree. Gerringothe, we have no idea where she fits in, although as a full elf, we can assume no one is Ketheric's siblings, only parents/aunts/uncles/cousins/more distant relatives.

Thisobald...is complicated. He calls Ketheric father, however, the phrasing is ambiguous (capitalized in a religious sense) in addition to the lack of reference to him in accounts of Melodia/Isobel, and the fact he appears to be fully elven. The two possibilities is that Thisobald and Isobel are half-siblings, with Thisobald's other parent being a full elf, and this being the source of disconnect between him and Ketheric, or that Father is not literal and he is related to Ketheric another way.

We know that Malus Thorm was alive in 986, where he recorded battle casualties from a Dark Justiciar/Selunite/Druid conflict. Given that only the Dark Justiciars are named, it seems likely he was a Sharran at that time. If we take the date as legitimate and not referring to the 1370s conflict, then at least Malus worshipped Shar before Reithwin turned to Selunite worship.

Gauntlet of Shar

Around 800 years before Ketheric Thorm's turn, Grymforge was a city of Shar worshippers. He attempted to revitalize it - creating or rebuilding the Gauntlet of Shar in the process.

And, yes, these two are connected - you can see the entrance to the Gauntlet from one of the points in the lava and through the hall where Nere is trapped. There is a further section not accessible seen from where the Mimic fight is, mainly what appear to be another set of docks.

While we're told the Mason constructed the Gauntlet, given that Shadowheart has heard legends of it, the more likely option seems to be it was rebuilt, since it's quite a large place to construct in only a handful of years. Especially if Malus was a Sharran in 986, it would explain the presence of Shar worshippers before Ketheric's turn.

So, we have the initial Dark Justiciar trials around 600 DR, followed by a decline (with the Gauntlet perhaps lasting past the fall of the city, hidden under Reithwin) enough to establish a myth that can then be built on in the 1370s.

Death of Isobel

How Isobel died is an unresolved plot point, revolving around cut content, so it's hard to call anything "canonical" but the two potential paths are as follows:

In the earliest version, she was killed by Halsin, during a meeting between her (and other Reithwin locals) and the druids, before Shar's influence (and the song of the Nightsong, potentially) drove them mad, and Halsin stabbed Isobel with Sorrow, leaving it cursed). This sparked the conflict between Ketheric and the Druid-Harper alliance.

In a later version, Balthazar killed her, framing Aylin for the deed, which led to Ketheric capturing her and trapping her in the Gauntlet of Shar. Isobel was tethered to Ketheric, and needed to be separated before he was killed

Either way, Isobel has no memory of her death upon being resurrected a century later. It happened probably ~1370, triggering the conflict. While it may have happened earlier (with Ketheric keeping his Shar worship hidden) probably not earlier than 1368.

Conflict with the Harpers

Alright, so this is where we get back into figuring out hard dates. Generally, this happened a century ago - so ~1392, but any time something is that round I always assume it's off.

Again, we know things are business as usual around 1368 because of the Heralds; this means that while Ketheric may have turned to Shar, it wasn't public. However, we do have some dates related to the conflict.

The Harpers try and fail to surrender in a letter by Khelben Arunsun - he's expelled from the Harpers in 1371, founding a splinter group, and dies in 1374. That makes 1369-1370 the most likely timing.

However, the records from Moonhaven and from the Emerald Grove push it to being a later date. Uktar 1371 is the date that the Apothecary and Apprentice arrive from Thay, the start of the Apprentice's journal, which ends with the Dark Justiciars killing him. Toth's logbook is the Apothecary's account, and has a raid in late Uktar and in Nightal; this may be the same year, but more likely later. We know there was at least one failed raid on Moonhaven before it fell completely.

Uktar 1371 we also get the Logbook from the Emerald Grove - they're dealing with far more minor problems and presumably aren't yet at war with the Dark Justiciars, which further supports the idea that the raids on Moonhaven happen in 1372 or 1373.

To account for Khelben's presence, we could assume the failed surrender is from an initial conflict in 1369-1370, that ended with the Harpers retreating, but more likely, the threat Ketheric Thorm posed was enough that the Harpers and Moonstars (Khelben's splinter group) were in alliance - after all, it wasn't a clean split and there was still a great deal of overlap, and he's still the Blackstaff.

The details of the conflict are largely uncertain. We know the Dark Justiciars destroyed Moonhaven, and presumably some other villages, and that the shadow curse claimed the region around Moonrise Towers and Reithwin.

However, we do know how it ended. The Mason made a deal with Raphael to destroy the Dark Justiciar army, which brought Yurgir to the Gauntlet, where he killed all but one (hiding as a swarm of rats). While we only see Yurgir's impact in Grymforge and the Gauntlet, presumably Raphael helped with defeating the entire army.

How Ketheric died and came to be buried in the mausoleum is unclear, but in the final moments of the battle, he cursed the lands around Moonrise Towers with the Shadow Curse, killing many of the Harpers and Druid, and lasting for well over a century, until he came to be resurrected in the name of Myrkul.

My Proposed Timeline

You've read the evidence above. This is therefore a mix of canon, reasonably makes sense in canon, and completely made up headcanon

1492 - Balthazar resurrects Isobel; she flees to the Last Light Inn

???? - Balthazar resurrects Ketheric, he becomes Myrkul's chosen

1373 - Yurgir kills Dark Justiciar Army; Ketheric dies and the Shadow Curse falls

1372 - Dark Justiciars spread out and attack local villages, destroying Moonhaven. The Emerald Grove, Harpers, Moonstars, and Flaming Fist ally together

1370 - The Nightsong is captured, used as the final test for the new Dark Justiciar army Ketheric builds

1369 - Isobel killed by [Halsin/Balthazar/???]. Ketheric completes turn to Shar, forces Reithwin to convert, has the mason begin reconstructing Grymforge

1350 - Melodia dies. Ketheric's faith begins to waver.

1340 - Isobel born

1325 - Melodia and Ketheric marry

1300 - Melodia born.

1200s - Moonrise Towers constructed; Reithwin slowly builds up prominence as a trade stop amon

1170s - Ketheric Thorm born.

1150s-1250s - young Halsin grows up in the lands around Reithwin, where he befriends Thaniel.

980s - Dark Justiciar/Druid/Harper conflict, Malus Thorm attending. Sharrans in the region go further into hiding; Reithwin is known as a Selunite enclave.

600s - Grymforge is a thriving Sharran city. Dark Justiciar trials are held within the Gauntlet of Shar.

#bg3 meta #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 meta #bg3 spoilers #baldur's gate 3 spoilers #ketheric thorm #isobel thorm #moonrise towers #reithwin

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eway · 1 month ago

Text

Had this idea. For like, a Super Smash Bros. Story.

Basically, it’s Flashpoint. Sonic The Hedgehog accidentally goes back in time (via the Chaos Emeralds) to just before the events of Subspace Emissary and decides to prevent them. He goes back to the present and everything has gone to shit!

Most of the fighters are dead, along with many people from their world. As without Subspace, Ridley wasn’t defeated and Ganondorf never truced with the heroes like he did to defeat Tabuu. And of course there is Porky, who was also a Subspace boss, who isn’t defeated by Ness and Lucas. And this leads to very bad things.

First off, most of the fighters are dead. In Smash 4, Master Hand let the fighters bring in allies to help, but most of them died as well, alongside Master Hand. And then more came in Ultimate and also died. The survivors include:

Sonic (obviously)

Villager

Lucas (brainwashed and chimeric, like his brother)

F!Corrin (a.k.a Conquest Corrin) (feral)

Ivysaur (escaped when Pokémon Trainer died)

Wii Fit Trainer

Pit (held hostage)

Palutena (working for villains to keep them from killing Pit)

Kirby

Alex

Steve

Bowser

Peach (because Bowser protects her)

Bowser Jr. (plus the Koopalings)

Ganondorf

R.O.B

Shulk (I dunno much about Xenoblade but he has clairvoyance so he could survive)

Ridley

King K. Rool

Wario

That’s it. Also bosses like Porky in Subspace and some of the World Of Light bosses like Dracula and Marx are also here.

But funny thing, because Subspace didn’t happen, R.O.B is not the last of his kind. They didn’t die!

Anyway, Sonic goes and finds out that his friends from his world never came over because Sonic was invited to Brawl last minute to stop Tabuu. Sonic was never part of Smash Bros. But several of his friends, including Mario, Luigi, Lucina (pry that friendship from my cold dead hands), and Pikachu are gone. He meets with villager who tells him Palutena can help him go back in time to undo this, but they gotta save Pit first, or she won’t help. And thus begins this story.

Other things of note, after Mario and Luigi die, Bowser doesn’t kidnap Peach, but he protects her when she was about to be killed. He’s actually a twist hero, being built up to be one of the villains, but he’s not.

Corrin went feral because her siblings were killed in front of her, one by one (like, they were trying to get home, Xander dies but their forced to continue, then Camilla dies, then Leo, then Elise, just before they get there Elise dies.) The sheer anger and rage and grief causes the Dragon Stone to break. If you’ve seen my Smash Bros Corrin Supports you know I write her to view her family as the most important thing. Male Corrin dies after Sakura dies because he’s to grief stricken to do stuff

Lucas was captured just after Brawl. After all, since Porky was never beaten by Ness and Lucas, he got to watch Brawl and see how similar the two were and he wanted that (he does have a bit of a Ness obsession). And then noticed how similar Lucas is to his little monster, The Masked Man. And that’s when he puts two and two together, their related. And after taunting him with his brainwashed brother, Porky does the same to Lucas.

The heroes were winning before Pit was captured. What happened was Dark Pit was captured and the heroes demanded Pit come alone to save him and he did. They killed Dark Pit anyway. And that’s why no one knows where he’s being kept, because no one was around to see any of this happen.

Kirby immediately joins Sonic and Villager when he hears his friends can be brought back! Ivysaur too. With Ivysaur, Pokémon Trainer let his Pokémon go and told them to run when he knew they couldn’t survive. Ivysaur was the only one to obey the order.

R.O.B is initially on Sonic’s side, until Sonic mentions what happens to the other R.O.B during Subspace. And thus, R.O.B eventually betrays them.

Basically this concept is just Sonic Fucks Up The Timeline

I’m not gonna write this because I have SO many other things to write but if anyone else wants to write this lemme know so I can read it!

#Super Smash Brothers #Super Smash Bros #Super Smash Bros AU #eway talks

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jadeite-art · 4 months ago

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Shady Sands was bombed in 2283 and there is a very simple reason why this date was not included on the chalkboard in vault 4 but 2277 was.

The script for Ep1 clearly states the show is set 219 years after the Great War of 2077 so in 2296. It also states that Maximus is exactly 19 years old (there can be no mistake here, more on the subject in THIS POST) and that he was exactly 6 in his flashbacks. Based on that we can calculate Shady Sands was bombed in 2283. Except the chalkboard that Lucy finds in vault 4 states clearly: "The Fall of Shady Sands - 2277".

People who attempted to reconciliate what they perceived as contradictory information theorized that maybe the arrow after the date 2277 pointing to the bomb was supposed to mean the said bomb was dropped after 2277. Then, however, they would raise the question: why not include the exact date under the bomb picture?

Unable to find an answer, they'd conclude it was all a retcon after fans pointed out that Shady Sands couldn't be bombed in 77 cause it was still standing in 81. Except Todd Howard didn't retcon shit. He only said out loud what has always been in the script and just didn't translate on screen. The question is: why?

The year 2283 isn't directly included in the show because, contrarily to 2277, it's irrelevant to the current storyline.

If the date 2283 was written on the board, everyone would have focused on that date but it's essential that during the classroom scene Lucy - and by extensions the viewer - make a connection between the year 2277 and the bombing of Shady Sands even if said bombing happened at a later point in time.

The year 2283 holds no meaning, not to Lucy, not to a casual viewer. It could only mean something to a long-time fan of the games, NV in particular, as it would confirm that the city was destroyed after 81 thus keeping the timeline so far intact. A confirmation the show creators must have assumed was redundant as they gave us, the viewers, a bit more credit than we probably deserved.

The year 2277, on the other hand, holds specific meaning to Lucy. It's the year of the plague in which her mom presumably starved to death. A meaning of which we have been made privy a couple episodes earlier.

So at this point both her and us are meant to have the following information: in the same year that Lucy's mom died something happened in Shady Sands that led to it's destruction later on. This information will later serve to corroborate Moldaver's story about Rose and Hank.

The only question remains: why would the people in Vault 4 mark the year 2277 specifically as the year of the Fall of Shady Sands?

There are two important things we need to say about the people of vault 4 who are original to the surface and who wrote the timeline on the chalkboard: most, if not all, are survivors of the bombing of Shady Sands and they worship Moldaver whom they percieve as this semi-messianic figure.

While Moldaver might have always been somewhat prominent in Shady Sands, I think it would be safe to assume she only obtained this sort of cult following after 2283 maybe by telling the remaining survivors who'd initially gathered around her that she knew who was responsible for the bombing and that she'd avenge and then rebuild the city. She might have revealed to them that the bombs were dropped by none other than Vault-Tec in retaliation for harboring an escapee from one of their vaults, Rose MacLean, an innocent victim of one of their experiments whom they might have remembered arriving to the city in 2277 since a clean-cut lady in a blue overall would've been rather noticeable.

All that said, some of those people who had later taken residence in Vault 4 could have interpreted Rose's arrival to the city as the event that kickstarted the very fall of the city culminating in its nuclear annihilation in 2283 thus the date on the chalkboard.

You can find more theories about Moldaver and Rose in THIS POST.

#fallout prime #fallout amazon #fallout tv #fotv #fallout meta #fallout theory

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ghostytoad · 2 years ago

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* Fun n' Games *

ROTTMNT Boys x GN! Leo-esque reader who enjoys drama, making jokes, and being overall awesome

Summary: The Hamato brothers unexpectedly fall for the smug, but genuine, fun-loving reader despite their egocentric habits

Headcanons for: Casey Jones

GN! Reader; Romantic; Fluff; Mild angst || Words: 1.2k

Raph | Donnie | Leo | Mikey

Casey Jones Jr.

the moment the boy lays eyes on y/n and sees their easy-going nature, he is head over heels. the emotion practically hits him like a truck and it's all so… new?

it's something he can't initially explain and for a little while, he worries that he's dying or sick from the new york air - he will constantly check in with donnie and ask for every test under the sun to determine the cause

all he knows is that when y/n is around, his face gets hot, his knees are weak, his palms start sweating, and his heart beats wildly in his chest. being an apocalypse survivor, this adrenaline-like feeling can only be attributed to danger or shock

and as far he knows, y/n doesn't pose any danger, right? they've been like family to him and he sees so many admirable traits in them that he had once seen in his sensei (who happened to be the greatest ninja ever); he's genuinely confused by the whole thing

he might try to keep his distance until he figures out why this is happening, but he won't say no to joining y/n on little adventures. he enjoys the company and he especially appreciates how helpful they've been in getting him adjusted to life in present-day new york

"hey, why don't i come along? i'm sure you can handle yourself but i'd be happy to be there for you."

he can't help but compare a lot of what y/n does to how his sensei was in his old timeline. he doesn't mean to do it, he just misses his old mentor and y/n's presence is a familiar comfort to him. leo is great and all, but there's something special about y/n.

casey deals with some pretty major insomnia and when he finds it hard to sleep at night, the first thing he does is call up y/n. they thankfully answer every time and their voice easily manages to soothe the poor boy to sleep (he will snore LOUDLY into the phone when he falls asleep during the call)

he's constantly worried about y/n's safety and will check in on them often when they're not in the lair or at home. he's even asked donnie to make y/n their own communicator so he can keep in contact with them if they're ever in danger.

y/n is one of the first people casey jr will open up to about his rough upbringing. some things are just too painful to bring up to the hamato family, but he knows it hurts more to keep it all bottled up. he loves how accepting they are of him and how sympathetic they can be about his… shall we say, emotional fragilities.

not that he's emotionally fragile, but he sure enough has a lot to sort through and y/n gives him the courage to tackle it head-on and accept where he is and who he is now

on his first attempts at flirting with y/n, he managed to straight out admit he had a crush on them without realizing it. boy is so clueless that he doesn't realize what he's done until he sees the shock on their face

"Hey, Y/N. I, uh, have another joke for you." Casey hadn't looked up from his little joke book as he spoke, squinting as he studied the content as if he'd suddenly understand it better if he just stared at it long enough. Y/N sat lazily on a couch not too far from the boy, head buried in a copy of the latest Jupiter Jim comic book. They paused their reading only to let out a hum of acknowledgement.

"What is it this time? Chicken cross the road again or knock knock?"

"Who's there?" the boy chimed absent-mindedly.

Y/N let out a soft giggle as they set their book down.

"No, genius, you're the one that's supposed to start." They couldn't help but roll their eyes as a smirk tugged at the corner of their lips. Though progress had been slow, they'd hoped a joke book would give Casey a much needed boost considering his previous, pitiable attempts at jokes that more often than not became a moment of oversharing his tragedy. The poor boy was utterly hopeless when it came to comedy.

"Oh, right." Clearing his throat, he straightened himself as if he were getting ready to give a speech, "Okay, knock knock!"

"Who's there?"

"Candice…"

"Candice who?"

"Candice be love I'm feeling for you?"

The weight of his words were completely lost on him as Casey beamed with pride, his joke landing with no mistakes or stuttering. It was no secret that Y/N and Casey were close, but in the short period of time they'd come to know each other, Y/N had developed some deep affections for the boy. The constant struggle to keep themselves in check around him had started taking its toll. It had gotten to the point that Y/N needed to keep their yearning eyes on something- ANYTHING ELSE- when he was around to keep from visibly flustering, the ever-present blush threatening to expose their true feelings. Feigning a soft chuckle, Y/N could only hide their face deeper in the comic they were reading and hope that any flutter of emotion went totally unnoticed.

"R-Really, was that your idea of a good joke?" their attempts at a tease came off a tad more hostile than playful.

Casey responded with a chuff of his own, "Ah, yeah I guess it doesn't make sense if I already know it's true."

"Sometimes comedy takes-" the sudden impact of his words hit them all at once, caught like a deer in headlights while they froze mid-sentence. Peering over at the raven-haired boy revealed an equally shocked expression painted across his reddening face. His mouth opened only to shut itself again and again clearly trying and failing to summon the words to explain his little blunder. Y/N had him beat in regaining some semblance of composure, shaking off the bashfulness.

"Did…" their voice caught in their throat before they started again, "What exactly did you mean by… erm, by that?"

Casey's eyes darted in every direction attempting to search for an answer anywhere he could find it.

"Well, I just- It was really-" he let out a sigh and braced himself, "I'm not sure what to call this feeling but I think it's something like love. I might… maybe love you?"

"Maybe?!"

Y/N shot up from their seat, arms over their head in disbelief and their steps beginning to pace.

"Y-You can't maybe love someone! That's a pretty serious feeling!"

They stopped partway through their rapid pacing to search Casey's bewildered expression causing it to soften a bit under their close observation.

"I don't know if what I feel is exactly what you'd call love, but it... feels close enough to that. I mean... Y/N, when I look at you, my heart starts racing, my head starts spinning, everything feels light and airy. And when you're gone, all I want to do is look for you and see your smile, see the way your eyes light up, listen to your laugh."

His unfocused gaze forced itself up to meet theirs, wide with earnest affection.

"Life here's been… heh, it's confusing to say the least. And these feelings are just as confusing. And for a while I thought it was crazy. Thought I was crazy to believe I could love someone this quickly. But… It'd be so much easier for me to understand if I knew you felt the same?"

Even if this new emotion had been confusing for him, this very moment was one that made it all click in his mind. He was in love all along.

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felixcloud6288 · 2 months ago

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Dungeon Meshi Adventurer’s Bible Characters Part 2

Senshi, Izutsumi, and Falin

Senshi

Senshi's birthday is October 2. He's 112 years old. I don't remember if or where it was talked about, but I want to say dwarfs can live to around 250. Laios said they live about 2.5 times longer than Tall-men, which would put their life expectancy around 150. Either way, Senshi is an older fellow.

His int should be higher. Make it a 3. And shouldn't his stamina be lower? Dwarfs having lower stamina was a point brought up in the changeling arc.

All of Senshi's keywords stem from his first time in the dungeon. He lost his parents when he was 22, which would be the equivalent of 8. And according to his timeline, he and the rest of Gillan's team spent two years trapped in the dungeon before Senshi was the only survivor. He was 38 when Gillan died, equivalent to 15.

There's that note how Senshi didn't have the same interest in ancient technology and minerals that the other miners did. He likely joined them simply because he wanted to follow Gillan rather than due to any personal desires. Any maybe that helped contribute to why he survived both his initial encounter in the dungeon and all the years since. The dungeon never had to bear its fangs at him because he didn't want to disturb it.

Senshi's life is so heavily tied to the dungeon. His past, his motivations, his skills, and his desires are all linked to it. I imagine that if he could have any wish, it would be to try again. He was young and inexperienced when Gillan's team came to the dungeon. He couldn't fight or hunt, and all he could do was read the maps and figure out how to escape. But he only accomplished that after everyone was dead.

He probably wishes he could show Gillan that he became strong and dependable and he could be useful to a group of explorers who are lost in the dungeon with no way to escape and no supplies. Laios gave him the chance to prove it to himself, as well as help him overcome the various other concerns he had about his past.

Senshi's relationship chart includes the members of Gillan's miners. Interestingly, we have Senshi's opinions on them and their opinions on each other, but none of their opinions on Senshi. He might not have ever known what they think of him, or maybe it's because there's no point in getting the opinions of the dead.

Senshi's maxims are "Hold your spoon properly", "We were already part of the dungeon's circle", and "I've always wanted to have this soup one more time." I'd summarize it as "Respect and understand what you eat because we are all part of the environment we live in."

And Senshi's first death was indeed to the dungeon rabbits.

All the comics in the Adventurer's Bible could be safely labeled non-canon but I want to point out how I cannot find any reasonable moment in the story where Marcille, Chilchuck, and Senshi could have sat down to have this conversation.

To start, it would have to be after chapter 49 because that was when they first heard his backstory. But Marcille doesn't seem to have the bangs she has from that moment in the story.

Second, they're in their casual attire so they couldn't be on the sixth floor because it was too cold.

Finally, The layout of the brick wall behind Senshi is the pattern from the Tall-man built castle and town, not the Dwarf ruins.

Senshi said he'd only started cooking monsters about 20 years ago. Until then, maybe he got by using the golems to grow vegetables and trade with the orcs.

Marcille's father's love of history definitely rubbed off on her. Look at how interested she is in hearing Senshi talk about his experience when the dungeon was discovered.

Did Thistle flood the fourth floor in response to influx of adventurers? Or does Senshi mean that most of the more dangerous monsters in the fourth floor are recent additions?

Izutsumi

Of all the things the Adventurer's Bible could reveal about Izutsumi, I was not expecting it to reveal that she has only one pair of nipples.

Her birthday is April 21. Her name is "Unknown". I guess she was never given a name and Izutsumi is what she decided to call herself.

Appropriate stats. I would have assumed strength was a 3, but I guess you need to be physically strong to be effective with throwing weapons.

Izutsumi's beast soul is a great cat. I'm going to guess it's a leopard of some kind. Those live in Africa and Asia.

"Izutsumi thinks that both her patchwork appearance and the fact that she can't build good relationships are the fault of the monster's soul." Izutsumi, that second one is on you.

That thing @eldritchsteamhearted said about how the cat form is the base for Izutsumi really flips the script about several things about her. I think it makes more sense to assume her personality is the cat's processed through a human intellect. When they were in the Golden Castle village, Izutsumi became passive and acted more like a lazy house cat. The barrier in the village overwrites monster personalities to act more like domestic livestock. If Izutsumi's beast soul is the dominant one, then it would make sense the barrier caused a sudden shift in her personality because it rewrote how her cat brain is supposed to act.

Even though she doesn't have the dietary restrictions a cat normally would have, she'd still have a natural preference to eat what her original cat body wants.

The Adventurer's Bible notes Izutsumi was happy to eat mushrooms when she got turned into an orc. When the party got transformed the first time, they were all fully capable of using their new bodies without issue. Senshi could walk with a body with long limbs, Marcille could process everything she was hearing without being overwhelmed, and Izutsumi behaved like a kobold in battle. The brain is a part of the body so if their bodies were transformed, it would make sense their brains would be altered and their brains would just be wired to handle their new bodies.

Anyway, Izutsumi cat brain tells her to avoid mushrooms but the orc brain she got would tell her mushrooms are yummy, hence why she loved eating them when she was an orc.

Does Izutsumi have just the one kunai?

Yeah, she liked the coat and backpack Marcille and Chilchuck gave her. That's why they're her favorites.

Chilchuck is the only one in the party who doesn't see her as a cat. And it's probably because his dad-of-three-daughters instincts keep kicking in.

Izutsumi's maxims are "You've got pretty decent taste", "Come on, Bring it. I can take you all by myself!", and "I take the paths I like". I'll sum it up as "Have the strength to not need to rely on others so you can do and enjoy the things you want."

Death by shock is a rather bizarre death. And it was played for laughs when it happened.

I've seen the Izutsumi comic previously. There was a little hint of her preferring to snuggle with Chilchuck back in chapter 47 when Laios saw her sleeping on top of Chilchuck (And Chilchuck being really uncomfortable because of her weight).

That comment about Chilchuck having a higher body temperature is interesting. Do half-foots have naturally higher metabolisms than the other races? And does that contribute to them having shorter lifespans? Do dwarfs and elves have lower body temperatures?

There is a little bit of copy-pasting used to make this image. I drew a line showing roughly where the first repetition occurs. Also, notice that the little triangles are her ears.

A little bit of Izutsumi trying to share a bed with people might be her feeling lonely. She'd rather share a bed with Laios than sleep alone.

And Chilchuck went full protective-dad mode when he saw Laios petting her like she was a cat.

Falin

Falin's birthday is December 1. I don't know why, but I thought she was 24. She would have loved Senshi's Man-eating plant tart.

I have to just go with what the book says on these stats since most of what we know about Falin is from flashbacks. Full agreement on the stamina though.

The keywords section actually gives a lot of details about Falin that the story never managed to. Laios's people skill is more focused on understanding their behaviour so he becomes far more anxious when he feels like people are being hostile because he doesn't know why and assumes he did something wrong. Falin doesn't seem to register people's feelings at all unless she likes them. The book says she "senses that her father is clumsy with words, and that her mother worries a lot."

Huh. So Falin is nearsighted and that's why she's always squinty-eyed. And the chimera thing fixed her eyesight. Falin had a mark on her chin from when she was little so old injuries carried over to her new body. And she squinted her eyes throughout the final chapter and MMT14 so I'd assume she didn't keep the corrected vision.

Falin was 9 when Laios left home and a year later she went to the magic academy. She was there for 8 years and ran away the moment she reunited with Laios. We don't get any first-hand accounts about her opinions and experience at the academy, so I don't know whether or not she enjoyed her time there.

Everyone is generally positive about Falin. Senshi thinks all Tall-men look feminine, hence his comment. It's also why the fake Laios he made looked like her. Chilchuck has known her probably longer than anyone else aside from Laios. Kinda surprised he's uncomfortable around her.

Falin's maxims are "Let my brother...GO!", "I'm sorry. I'm taking him back", and "Wow! Oh wow! Wow! Wow!" I'm going to summarize hers as "Care for the living, be kind to the dead, and never stop being excited about the world."

So healing magic doesn't necessarily have to hurt. But you have to use additional magic to make it not hurt.

The only other point of reference I can find of someone using healing magic is when Mr Tansu healed Marcille in chapter 19 and Marcille didn't seem to feel any pain when he did it.

Honestly, I think Marcille just doesn't see the point in spending the extra magic to numb the pain when healing someone. She just wants to blow stuff up and commit international crimes with her magic. She only knows healing and support magic because it's a practical skill to have.

You know what else fiddle's with your sensations? Ibuprofen. And if you're in a situation where numbing your teammate's sense of pain while healing them puts them in danger, then they're probably in a situation where making them feel the pain when healing them is an even worse idea.

The second Falin comic is more of a world-building addition. It tells us what a priest does if they're not an adventurer. If Laios hadn't visited Falin, she would be working as a gravekeeper which Marcille says is a stable and respected job. I'd think Falin would get bored of that line of work pretty quickly with how free-spirited she is. She and Laios are where they are because they can't sit still, they're impulsive, and they like the thrill of adventure and discovery.

But they would also love a steady income as well.

back

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #dungeon meshi readthrough

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britcision · 1 year ago

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New day new conspiracy to be unhinged about woooooo

SO.

This right here.

The moment where Kabru reveals he’s Milsiril’s baby boy (and more relevantly the last survivor of Utaya)

Kabru telling them that he actually wanted to enlist in the Canaries directly, but couldn’t because of the racial barrier. How true that is……. Well let’s say I’m sure he wanted to when he was little, buuuuut by the time he left it wasn’t that they wouldn’t let him

And tbh the reason why is very much the next panel:

The Canaries learn he’s Milsiril’s little boy and immediately fucking claim him as theirs, asking if he’s been eating well, if he wants cake, telling him to cheer up and smile sometimes

It is notably the convicts, especially Otta and Fleki although Cithis has been leading the conversation; Pattadol is not in frame and Mithrun ruins all their fun by staying on track

Kabru is not 30 seconds out of saying he was raised by their vice commander before he is being babied, and there’s a fun read of just “well this is our child now we must care for him for Milsiril hello new nephew”

But. Given what we later learn Milsiril’s care is actually like. The room where Kabru could eat all the cake that he wanted, that he never ever wanted to return to even when freezing and starving.

Where she gave him such arduous and extensive sword training he thought he would die, with the stated intent of showing him how bad it could be to make him give up and stay with her forever.

“Wanna eat some cake” is suddenly a much darker comment, and doesn’t have a directional bubble, so I’mma pin it on Cithis on general Sketchy Bitch vibes

Now, that only makes sense if these folks know Milsiril directly, or have some way to know what her home life is like for her adoptees

(Or Cithis can read minds which let’s be honest absolutely no one needs to be true but she deserves it)

But. So does that immediate tonal shift

“Oh, you’re Milsiril’s kid. Now we care about you beyond being an interruption.”

We know Pattadol is on her very first mission. We know Cithis has been responsible for Mithrun’s care for long enough while he’s back on active duty that she gets bored of her new doll.

(And that she only started respecting him after they acquired Pattadol, whiiiiich. He got back to active duty 14 years ago. None of the other Canaries got their own timeline, but he’s also had long enough to have an established track record of getting his warden partners killed

When Flamela assigns Cithis to his wellbeing, she pretty clearly knows the extent of his caretaking issues, and this whole section of the timeline is fuzzy, but it is specifically Pattadol who is the first to tempt Cithis into telling Mithrun to hurt her

And specifically not until after he refuses that she begins to respect him)

Milsiril has been retired for the same 14 year period, taking Kabru and for some reason one of her own Canary convicts home with her, but she served with Mithrun when he initially became a Dungeon Lord 40 years pre series… and most of that squad died in Mithrun’s dungeon

(Also his lover became a snake person at some point for some reason sooooo monsterfucker ahoy)

(We know that’s the lover from both Mithrun’s initial vision and his Adventurer’s Bible comic which identifies his brother as the one with the short hair. Presumably they were not always a snake?)

None of the names he gave Kabru in his backstory refer to any of his current party members

Otta and Fleki mention Milsiril in Otta’s comic when teasing Otta about being a pedophile because she only dates halffoot women and breaks up with them when they turn 30

(This being past middle age for halffoots, who become adults at 13 and live to around 50; Chilchuck is 29.

One might expect… say… visible signs of aging to show up around 30. Reminders of how little time they have left. Although, frankly, how much free time does Otta actually have to be dating outside of work???? They’re so shorthanded Mithrun made captain the minute he could serve after Utaya)

Ahem. We digress.

Otta’s reaction (directly saying Milsiril treats shorter lived people like pets while she loves them as individuals, which Kabru Does Not Deny) might be because she’s seen Milsiril’s behaviour directly, or just being sick of the comparison. Hard to say, but Milsiril already doesn’t like elves

No, the conspiracy theory today is that CITHIS in particular has worked with Milsiril between Mithrun being rescued and Utaya’s destruction, possibly with Fleki and Otta

They’re all close to Mithrun’s age so there’s a very real possibility they were serving when Utaya fell, and either were lucky enough not to get sent there (there are so many dungeons in the world) or unlucky enough not to retire in the aftermath

Dumping Mithrun with Milsiril’s survivors makes perfect sense - the two had served together as wardens and Milsiril Barest Possible Minimum took a personal interest in Mithrun returning to duty after Utaya

She’s the one getting him to take his first steps and tells him she’ll get him back in a dungeon

Milsiril, known hater of elves, left the Canaries on good enough terms with her convicts to take one with her (Helki, shown in Mithrun’s story and Kabru’s training flashbacks - the only other survivor we know of from Mithrun’s dungeon)

And these particular convicts immediately brighten up knowing that Kabru is one of Milsiril’s; he’s in a very different position from Mithrun, who basically has direct power over their lives and deaths, but if you have a potentially unstable new captain who’s gonna be extra dependent on his convicts coming in…

Well, it’d be nice if the convicts have a reason beyond “well if both of our wardens die we can’t use magic so we will too” to keep him alive and moving

Note: they did at some point hand him directly over to fucking Cithis, who has an established track record of wrapping her captains around her little finger and doing whatever the fuck she wants anyway

(To the point that she’s left and “rejoined” the Canaries multiple times, and her behaviour with Mithrun is considered her having calmed down… while actively trying to have him hurt his subordinate wardens and plotting to kill Pattadol)

So. Not. Y’know. Convinced that anyone necessarily was thinking that particular assignment through. Although you could argue that they were just heading off the inevitable and letting her know this one is high maintenance

ANYWAY.

Tl;dr: Mithrun’s a monsterfucker, this is established fact and not a conspiracy theory

Kabru’s been adopted by the Canaries the second they know who his mom is, which may explain why no one actually tries to stop him when he grabs Mithrun later despite him not having a weapon

(Fear of Milsiril finding out they’ve hurt her boy > rescuing Mithrun or later even stopping Kabru from helping Laios repeatedly)

And Cithis, Fleki, and possibly Otta worked directly with Milsiril at one point before Utaya, which is why Mithrun was given them specifically - he was one of Milsiril’s projects too, Milsiril’s personal involvement unclear

How much this has to do with Mithrun getting all his warden comrades killed but apparently not his convicts: unclear

(Still bet Cithis “helped” with the warden before Pattadol)

#delicious in dungeon #dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi spoilers #delicious in dungeon spoilers #dungeon meshi conspiracies #kabru dungeon meshi #mithrun dungeon meshi #milsiril dungeon meshi #the web of connections between these characters man #they are all spaghettis #and milsiril is the plate #this is why she has so much villain energy ugh i am obsessed with her #mithrun’s a monsterfucker #that’s his lover right there who has no gender but does have snake ass

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lightwise · 3 months ago

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At Attin and the 9 Lost Planets

Misc. Thoughts/Questions open for discussion

I SO WANT A NOVEL OR COMIC ON THESE PLANETS!!!

So far I haven't seen anybody making the Loki/TVA connection to At Attin. Two planets/organizations that both were supposedly founded by a specialized and revered group of people, commemorated in murals and statues everywhere, with a strict, no questions asked type of governance and on the surface, an idyllic, almost utopian type of Art Deco/Brutalist society. We don't really get any fleshed out backstory on why this is or what the Skeleton Crew creators were intending to imply by designing them this way.

The entire system of At planets. When and why were they all founded together? Do they go back to the High Republic? Further? The same 4-5 species seem to have started their societies and made them stylistically and governmentally similar. Were they all part of the Republic in the beginning? Were they originally planets that have their own innate connection to the Force, like Lenahra in the novel Padawan? (If you haven't read it, you really should. It's a great character study on Obi-Wan and introduces some really important concepts about the Force and how it interacts with living and non-living but still sentient beings into the galaxy).

What happened with the other 8 planets and when?—it's very obvious due to the legend that Kh'ymm mentions, the fact that (the kids at least) on At Attin have never heard of their status in the galaxy nor that they have sister planets, as well as the amnesia of the people on At Achrann towards the existence of their fellow planets' names, that whatever happened to them occurred long before Palpatine created the Empire. SM-33 even mentions that when he and Rennod landed on At Achrann for the first time, the warrior/tribal infighting was already occurring, and while we don't have a timeline on that either, it's probably been at least two generations, maybe even a hundred or several hundred years since Rennod was alive and plundering the galaxy. Maybe during one of the Sith or Nihil wars during the High Republic the existence of the planets had to be made secret? Maybe some were devastated and the Republic put the rest on lockdown?

What did each planet have going on? I've heard podcasters theorize that At Achrann could have been a military base/weapons armory, hence how it devolved into the feuding society the kids came across. Were the others truly destroyed, or merely ravaged as well/with survivors still eking it out on them? My guess is only At Attin was the Mint, and the rest served as other types of resources (maybe ore and minerals, or food sources, etc. etc.). Were they originally self-contained in these luxuries or did the Republic "plant" them all?

Were the Jedi the only ambassadors to At Attin? How did Palps not know about them/plunder it himself? The Supervisor says they received the initial Order 66 communication, but we never find out why exactly they were so hidden that even Palpatine, who had an eye on everything, somehow didn't know they existed or tried to find them and couldn't, etc. A welcome addition to canon, but still a puzzling one.

I'm just so curious about the entire backstory and unique dynamic that these planets bring to the Star Wars Galaxy and I need to know everything about them right now 😭💀. I know that the creators have a lot of this already mapped out, they just chose not to add it into the first season to give both themselves and Lucasfilm room to bring it into canon slowly/down the road. But I really want to know what they came up with so far.

#skeleton crew #star wars #at attin #at achrann #the 9 lost planets #nine lost planets #loki #the tva

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soniclozdplove · 2 years ago

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So I have a mini theory about TOTK based on the memories, major spoilers under cut

So Zelda is around 10,000 years in the past, in the Era where this iteration of Hyrule was first founded. I say this iteration because I believe that this isn't the true original Hyrule that we know to have been founded form Skyward Sword but most likely a refounding of the kingdom from further down the timeline, similar to how New Hyrule was founded by Link and Tetra after Wind Waker, but that's my own headcanon and I don't really want to deal with the whole timeline bs right now. Which is why I'm only focusing on Zelda doing time travel in TOTK.

So... my question here is, exactly how long was she in the past!? The answer is 10,000 years, I know, but I mean... how long was ZELDA in the past. Not Zelda the Light Dragon but Zelda as herself. Time travel is a finicky subject since, for us, she could have only been missing for weeks, maybe months, before the end of the game. For her it could have been much, much longer.

My idea stens from a few factors, first being her relationship with Sonia and Rauru and the second being the Imprisoning War. A little bit of Ganondorf thrown in there too.

First and foremost, the bond between Zelda and her ancestors. Queen Sonia and King Rauru treat Zelda, a literal stranger to their politics and therapy, like a daughter. Far more so than he rown father ever did! When she has something to say, they listen to her concerns and validate them. Now that could just be them being good parental figures to their decendant, but Rauru had no reason to believe a word Zelda said about her concerns over Ganondorf's treachery when, in her time, the Imprisoning War that hadn't even happened yet was little more than a legend and barely remembered history. Nobody even knew who the Zonai were by the time BOTW came along. Yet Ganondorf aoemhow knew Sonia would listen if Zelda asked to see her in private, and Sonia and Zelda were both able to put a contingency plan in effect to thwart the attamped assassination. True they failed in the end, but the initial attempt had failed and the fact Ganondorf knew Zelda's image would move Sonia to leave her protection and her husband says a lot in and of itself.

Then the war itself. First of all, war isn't a quick matter. There is jo su h thing as a fast war no matter what history claims. All war is messy and takes years to deal with the fallout. And the Imprisoning War wasn't a simple skirmish. It was a massive war that put the Hylians and their aloud forces to the rbink of extinction, one that had long lasting consequences including but not limited to the longterm exclusion of all males within the Gerudo tribe with the exception of Link over 10,000 years down the line, and even then that only happened AFTER he saved the tribe twice over. A war that is o far reaching it is mere jyth and legend yet still very present at the time of BOTW. By the time the Sages swear allegiance to Rauru, he was the last bastion against the Demon King in his rampage with the last of the Gerudo falling shortly beforehand. That is, the Gerudo who are OP as hell in BOTW in all accounts and are literally trained from childhood as elite warriors in most cases.

Zelda had FOUGHT in that war and had spent an undetermined time after its ending, preparing the Kingdome of Hyrule and the remaining survivors for Ganondorf's inevitable revival as best she could. That in and of itself will likely take years, especially since she had to find a caretaker for Rauru and Sonia's unnamed and unseen heir to ensure her bloodline lasted long enough for her own birth.

So, I bring you back to my theory... Zelda has been in the past for at least several years before she turned into the Light Dragon. She did not immediately go to the Temple of Time and swallow the secret stone. She had to have had at least several months after the war at minimum before she could transform into a dragon. I know the Tears make it appear shorter than it was but there's no way all the events of the 8 tears can happen within a span of a few months. It had to have been years.

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leopeiros · 7 months ago

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The One in which Wei Wuxian Died

Got an idea for an au in the dead of the night which I might flesh out later. Idk. But for now, here’s what it amounts to.

Wei Wuxian, post-canon, happily married to Lan Wangji, is not in fact getting along with his in-laws. And by in-laws, I mean Lan Qiren. Lan Qiren is convinced that Wei Wuxian is the devil incarnate that stole away and seduced his well behaved nephew, corrupting him. Nothing new from the man who held a grudge against a literal fifteen year old. He does not hide the fact that he believes things would be better off had Wei Wuxian not existed in the first place.

Wei Wuxian, who is in fact a talismanic genius, decides that if Lan Qiren wants a world where he doesn’t exist so badly, he’ll help the man out. He then spends the next few weeks developing a talisman (or array, if that works better) that will allow Lan Qiren to view an alternate timeline in which Wei Wuxian does not exist. He promptly presents it to Lan Qiren, explains the concept, and laughs as he tells Lan Qiren to use it whenever he wants to relax.

Most importantly, Lan Qiren is a spectator to this timeline. He is unable to influence it.

(While Wei Wuxian perhaps no longer blames himself for certain events, like the Wens attacking Lotus Pier, considering they likely would have done so no matter his perceived slight, he does not think through the effect his not being there would bring about during other such events. So while self blame is not as prevalent as it once would have been, he does not think the world would find detriment in his absence. He is wrong.)

Now, with the initial setup out of the way, let’s dive into this alternate timeline, starting with the first divergence; Wei Wuxian himself.

In this timeline, Wei Ying, nearing six years old, succumbs to a fever brought about by infected dog bites after his first encounter with them on the streets. (His little spirit is very happily enjoying spending time with his parents in the afterlife. he’s probably the only carefree individual in this timeline.)

Lotus Pier, despite Wei Wuxian having never stepped foot within it, is still wrought with tension. Jiang Cheng still develops an inferiority complex, and Jiang Yanli still takes it upon herself to parent her little brother in the absence of any real parenting from Madam Yu and Jiang Fengmian, who are too busy fighting with each other to pay much attention to their children aside from using them as ammunition for their ire. While the main family is dealing with this infighting, the Jiang Sect stagnates and weakens under the mismanagement of their appointed Head Disciple until Jiang Fengmian finally catches wind of this during one of Madam Yu’s night hunts when she’s not around to distract him. A new Head Disciple is chosen, but the damage will take time to repair.

Cloud Recesses is relatively calm, the year Wei Wuxian was meant to attend. With a few distinct differences. Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang are not friends without Wei Wuxian to act as a buffer between Jiang Cheng’s headstrong personality and Nie Huaisang’s far meeker disposition. Lan Wangji does not spend the year falling in love with a troublesome rule-breaker, and continues to seclude himself away behind an icy disposition. Su She drowns during the confrontation with the Waterborne Abyss. The students come, study, and leave. Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan’s engagement remains intact by the end of the year. Lan Wangji does not come out of his shell, and Lan Xichen continues to worry about his brother.

Wen Chao still performs poorly during the archery competition. The Lan sect is still burnt down. The indoctrination still occurs. Mianmian is branded on the face. The disciples manage to escape with few casualties, but the Xuanwu of Slaughter remains alive. Lan Wangji will never regain full mobility of his leg despite the strength of his golden core.

Lotus Pier still burns. Jiang Yanli, safe in Lanling at the time, becomes the sole survivor of the main family. Without Wei Wuxian there to temper his impulsivity, Jiang Cheng joins back in the fight after being sent away and dies alongside his parents. The Jiang sect dissolves with so little members left with no one suitable to lead them. Jiang Yanli officially marries into the Jin sect the year after.

The Sunshot Campaign is still formed, but lacking the support of both the Jiang and the Jin (whose contribution is so minimal it barely counts for anything), it was doomed from the beginning. The Wen storm Qinghe Nie whilst the Sunshot Campaign gathers its forces, and Wen Xu takes Nie Huaisang hostage to force Nie Mingjue to come fight them. The Sunshot Campaign is thusly defeated, and as it’s figurehead, Nie Mingjue is beheaded.

Following this, Jin Guangshan openly allies himself with Wen Rouhan, whilst both the Lan and Nie are absorbed into the Wen sect. Anyone who protests this is executed or used for more of Wen Rouhan’s experiments regarding resentful energy.

It is during this lull in activity that Jin Ling is born to Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli. Things are peaceful in Lanling for approximately two years until Wen Rouhan sets his sights on completely conquering the cultivation world and targets the Jin sect. Jin Guangshan dies after his core is crushed by Wen Zhuliu. Following a promise made to Jiang Yanli, Jin Zixuan flees with Jin Ling after Jiang Yanli is captured to buy them time to escape (the only reason it is not Jin Zixuan buying time for Jiang Yanli and Jin Ling is that he has a better chance at being able to protect their son, given Jiang Yanli’s weaker cultivation). She is brought to Nightless City after Wen Xu takes an interest in her.

After an entire year on the run from the Wen, Jin Zixuan is finally caught in Yiling. He puts up a significant fight to protect Jin Ling but is ultimately injured. This is where Xiao Xingchen and Song Zichen show in the narrative. They help Jin Zixuan fight off the Wen soldiers, but Jin Zixuan is dying. He entrusts Jin Ling into the care of the two rogue cultivators, making them promise to keep the boy safe. The two agree. So they leave Jin Zixuan in Yiling and travel to the safest place Xiao Xingchen knows; a place he knows accepts orphaned children. He takes Jin Ling to the Celestial Mountain, upon which resides none other than Baoshan Sanren.

(Jin Zixuan, for his part, does not die. Wen Qing, who although has since been called back to Nightless City to resume her work as Wen Rouhan’s personal physician, occasionally travels to Yiling to check upon the supervisory office still under her management. Wen Qing, who has developed a tentative friendship with Jiang Yanli, chances upon Jin Zixuan and beyond all odds, recognizes him as Jiang Yanli’s husband from before her capture. She promptly smuggles him into the supervisory office to treat him. His core is irreparably damaged by a poison made from resentful energy that Wen Rouhan has Wen Qing helping to develop. If left unchecked, it would continue to ravage through the meridians until the pain immobilizes the affected cultivator, leading to eventual death. To prevent this, Wen Qing surgically removes Jin Zixuan’s golden core.)

That’s where my subsequent timeline ends, but there are still ideas for this that I have. Because without Wei Wuxian, the solution for this timeline’s happy ending is far more complicated.

These new circumstances, however, lead to some pretty interesting dynamics that can be explored. My main idea obviously centres around Nie Huaisang, who with the loss of his brother is most certainly plotting the downfall of Wen Rouhan. But the most interesting dynamic I can think of would have to be between Meng Yao and Mo Xuanyu. Meng Yao, who did not stab Wen Rouhan and therefore was never acknowledged by Jin Guangshan. Meng Yao, who with Jin Guangshan dead, has no way to obtain that approval, and so therefore does not align his entire being with being the perfect son. And Mo Xuanyu, who without Wei Wuxian to invent demonic cultivation, might just end up as the founder in this timeline (because he’s pretty and tragic and I adore him).

Either way, the main rebellion would likely consist of Nie Huaisang, Meng Yao, Mo Xuanyu, (perhaps) Lan Wangji, Wen Qing, Wen Ning, Xiao Xingchen, Song Zichen, Jiang Yanli, and Jin Zixuan. (And if this lasts long enough, Jin Ling as well.) I say perhaps for Lan Wangji due to his injured leg, though he could still contribute utilizing musical cultivation.

Oh, and the Xuanwu of Slaughter is still an issue in this universe. Unless they can weaponize it against the Wen, which would be pretty cool.

(Wen Chao does in fact become the Wen’s very own version of Jin Guangshan, leaving illegitimate heirs all over the place.)

Of course, none of this is set in stone. If anyone wants to play around with this au, you’re totally free to do so however you’d like. I’m sharing this mostly in case anyone else finds it interesting, and because I’ll probably never actually write a fic for it. This mostly just started out as a brain teaser trying to figure out what would happen if Wei Wuxian wasn’t part of the plot, considering that although he did contribute quite a lot to the canon events, a lot of things were set in motion long before he was even born (like Jin Guangshan’s corruption and Wen Rouhan’s plans to conquer the cultivation world).

#mo dao zu shi #mo xiang tong xiu #alternate universe #fanfic ideas #fanfic #wei wuxian #alternate timeline #mdzs #mxtx mdzs

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