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tarisilmarwen · 2 years ago

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Rebels Rewatch: "A Fool's Hope"/"Family Reunion And Farewell"

*singing*

~I'm glad that you were here with me/Here at the end of all things.~

Live reaction version.

Yeah be prepared for a lot of Lord of the Rings quotes and song lyrics in this one, lol.

Hey, don't blame me, the writers were the ones who made it clear they were hopeless Tolkien nerds.

And yes I am packaging both (all three?) episodes together. This is how it was aired, this is how it was experienced, you're gonna get the full treatment.

This does mean though that I will be very stingy with the pictures. Apologies. Blame Tumblr, not me.

Anyway, we start off the finale by gathering all the disparate parties that we completed the Friendship Fetch Quests for. Rex, Kallus, Gregor, Wolffe, Hondo, Melch, and Ketsu are all Back For The Finale. Which is a trope that I absolutely love in all shapes and forms, and it's even more appropriate for this show given that Ezra's main character "superpower" is literally making friends.

The connections and bridges he built all come back to aide him, not for any selfish motives of their own or because "the enemy of my enemy", but simply because Ezra has asked them to come.

"It's for Ezra," is all Hera has to say, and Hondo is immediately, genuinely pledging, "For that boy, there is nothing I would not do."

It is... incredibly heartwarming.

And I told y'all Hondo was a romantic at heart, and genuinely misses the days when the Jedi were around. And also that in the Rebellion Era, the Jedi still represent the nobility and goodness of the past.

After the titlecard, which still has no fanfare, we get this scene:

Come, you all knew I was going to cap it. Sabine's concern is so soft, the hand she places on Ezra's shoulder and the way she asks if he's okay so gentle.

The visual similarity in this scene and two scenes prior to this are interesting. This scene is firstly visually reminiscent of the Kanan-Hera scene in the beginning of "Kindred" (inviting comparison to the main canon ship of the show), and also the Kanan-Ezra scene at the beginning of "Jedi Night" (which emphasizes again that Kanan and Sabine are the two Most Important People in Ezra's life).

Ezra sits in the exact same pose, in the exact same place, that we saw Kanan meditating at, suggesting that he is also hearing the echoes of things to come, having similar visions of the future. This is certainly supported by his dialogue, where he mentions, "Something's changed... Something's happening." and that he's had a vision of Palpatine sending Thrawn back to Lothal.

Honestly I'm surprised it took Palpatine so long, lol. Thrawn: Treason supposedly takes place over the course of... a week? And the events of "Rebel Assault" to "A World Between Worlds" can't have been more than three or four days.

(This is why I reject the official canon timeline for Rebels, Season Four's events are crammed into the space of a month or two AT BEST.)

But anyway, Palpatine is pretty pissed off about the whole Temple thing so yeah, he's sending Thrawn back to retrieve Ezra personally. This seems to be a big ol' sticking point for our favorite blue bastard because he is NOT HAPPY when he turns back up.

You can't blame him really. He'd barely left Lothal and his TIE Defender project got literally blown up, so he had to spend the budget meeting arguing for what was essentially a smoking crater, and the wager he made with Krennic et. all. ultimately went nowhere because he lost on a technicality, and then the Emperor starts questioning his loyalty because his old Ascendancy friends showed up during the shenanigans, and then Palpatine dismissed him to go clean up the mess on Lothal and fetch him back a teenager for Sith sorcery bullshit.

...He'd had a very bad week, is what I'm saying.

I got off topic there, where was I?

Oh yes, Ezra's risky gamble. Fun fact, that was the original title of the episode, "Ezra's Gamble". I assume they axed it because it would give too much away. And like I've said before, if they could have avoided showing Ryder in footage taking the Dome for the finale previews, they could have really sold his false betrayal.

Pryce does not look like she's having a good week either lol.

Ezra continues to be cryptic about things, yet another hint to us that he's gotten "insider information" from the Force, as it were, and has made plans according to multiple possible outcomes. This is just one of the reasons why he outmaneuvered Thrawn, the other major one being that there was no possible way for Thrawn to predict Ezra throwing space whales at him lol.

This interference by the Force could have been a bit of a Deus Ex Machina but I think it's pretty clear that the Force only shared what might happen and left Ezra to figure out a solution on his own.

And his solution was space whales. XD

That comes later though, after this very risky gambit with letting Ryder broadcast their location to Pryce. A lot of things could have gone wrong. Hera might not have made it back in time. Ryder could have decided to genuinely betray them. Rukh could have gotten in a lucky strike and incapacitated him.

We are apparently putting a LOT of trust in the Force today.

This action setpiece is a great one so I'll just cover a few of my favorite highlights:

All the shots that track Sabine as she jetpacks around the battlefield.

Ezra versus Rukh.

Zeb going full feral with the minigun.

And of course on the other side of things Hondo trying to count the number of times he'd been collided with pulling off this exact maneuver they're using lol. The blockade seems to have thinned from "Rebel Assault", not as many capital ships?, so maybe I was right in that Thrawn called for reinforcements to repel the attack. Still gives Ezra the highest kill count by proxy at the end of things.

Oh and once again there's a moment where someone threatens Sabine in order to force Ezra to surrender. <3 Love that.

Pryce is awfully smug until the Ghost shows up, lol. (To heroic Main Theme fanfare into the Rebel Alliance theme of course.) Someone on the writing team understood the power of a good Eucatastophe. (Tolkien term, it means "the sudden happy turn to good".)

The clones also get a leitmotif fanfare as they debark the Ghost.

And we get a lovely Force Theme as Ezra gets his most badass shot.

Hell yeah.

The wolves sequence is amazing. The dramatic chorus, the chaos, the wolves skirting the veeeeeeeeeeery boundary of what's allowed on a Y7 show lol.

You know some of the troopers got ate.

One last shoutout to Hera using the Ghost to straight up smack a gunship out of the air and now we've come to the end of the setpiece. It can be hard sometimes to fill a full episode with one action sequence but this episode pulls if off perfectly. It never feels stale or boring, there are multiple bits and moments that just work. (I've always loved the moment where Ezra lunges for Ruhk's energy staff and uses the momentum of Rukh lunging for the same to straight up yeet him off the platform.)

Ezra's completely nonphased at Hondo's slung arm shoulder hug now aww.

Moving right along into the next segment...

This soft intro with Ezra talking to his parents' picture, telling them they are the inspiration behind his actions, how he wishes they could meet his new family, how he knows what he needs to do, but he's afraid. T_T Hgn he's precious and so mature and I love him so so much.

He knows what he might have to do, guys. He knows he might never actually see Lothal again and he's still prepared to make that sacrifice if he has to.

He's SUCH a good Jedi you guys I can't.

Kallus gets a token line here about his defection which is... okay. But again, really needed more from this arc for it to have a full impact.

"We come to it at last; the great battle of our time."

One casual wolf threat later, Pryce has agreed to transmit the victory codes and our heros fly off to the capitol to pull off their boldest venture yet.

I will never ever get over this moment. Sabine so attuned to Ezra even without the Force that she can tell just by looking at him how distracted and sad and scared he is.

How Ezra so clearly wants to tell her but holds back, and substitutes instead a declaration of absolute faith and trust.

And how she sees right through that and knows Something Weird Be Up With The Boy, Yo.

But like so many other conversations between the two, things are left unfinished, the mission and circumstances taking precedence.

Love the two quipping back to Pryce tho. <3

Still a crapton of air pollution over the city. This would clear up dramatically in the climax, for a bit of a symbolic moment.

There are SO many callbacks to previous moments in the show in this sequence, I noted a couple of them in my original liveblog but I'm certain there's a few I missed.

The music cue is great too, as is the effective silence once they've taken the bridge. A little bit of musical breathing space before things get hairy again, courtesy of Rukh ambushing the others back at base and stealing a gunship.

You know? I'm not quite sure what the plan was for if they managed to destroy the Dome before Thrawn got back. Seems a little shortsighted to blow up all the fighters and equipment and your city shields. A single Star Destroyer is more than capable of leveling cities and there are several in orbit around Lothal.

This honestly lends even more credence to the idea that, Force visions aside, Ezra was largely making this up as he went and had NO idea what he was doing lol.

Indy Ploy versus Xanatos Gambit. Indy Ploy wins by virtue of there was no way the Xanatos Gambit could predict the level of crazy Ezra's ideas were.

Amazing how empty the streets are when they've been emptied of Imperials.

Thrawn arrives, per schedule, and parks right over the Dome so that can't launch, lest they create catastrophic collateral damage. Important to note, for the people who want to nitpick No Endor Holocaust scenarios, the show specifically details that the city shields put out by the Dome deflected the Star Destroyer wreckage when the purrgil came, and that the Rebels directed the Dome to explode over the bay, not the city. The Cadet Academy is also a completely different building.

I mean, sure the debris from the Dome probably isn't great for the bay's ecosystem but honestly the water was probably already super polluted from the factories, they had to clean it up anyway.

Where was I? Right, Thrawn getting to be really awesomely creepy. The placid, "Are you quite finished?" gives me chills every time. Once again let me praise the expression work on this show because Ezra's soft Oh Crap look is amazing.

The dawning horror on Sabine's face too.

And then this music cue! The tension is drawn out just long enough for us to fully appreciate the horror.

:((((((

They even give us a nice wide-shot to appreciate just how much damage just those few seconds of bombardment did.

I had a rant here originally about the dumbass headcanon that Thrawn targeted empty buildings in this sequence (that may or may not have originated from Timothy Zahn himself) but if you've been following me you already know how I feel about it. It's asinine and I won't entertain it. Moving on.

Backed into a corner, Ezra knows he has no choice but to give himself up to Thrawn. This track in the score, "Sabine Sees Ezra" perfectly captures the sorrow and drama. It starts with a strained version of Ezra's theme, that doesn't resolve, fading instead into mournful original strings. Hera's entreaties for him to stay are painful, we can't help but think of what must be in her head--she just lost Kanan, she's afraid to lose him too. But Ezra is a Jedi. He is the guardian of Lothal. So he must make the sacrifice no one else can. He can't choose to be selfish.

So while Hera and the others try to figure out a way around the problem of Thawn, Ezra goes to confront it head on, secretly signaling to Chopper, who has been entrusted with so much of this plan.

And Sabine sees him.

It's a consistent theme throughout their relationship. She sees him. She notices him. She's attuned to when he's upset. She perceives him in a way that's unique from everyone else.

And he trusts her so implicitly that he silently asks for her help here, and after a moment of agony she does it, because she trusts him too.

These two just break my heart. :(

Sabine keeps looking back at the empty spot where he had been. T_T

There's a theme here about attachment and loss again, and it comes from Sabine. Like a Jedi, she's able to let go of her fear of loss and trust Ezra, whatever happens, and is able to encourage Hera to do the same. Her theme plays out here, strongly, before giving way to an excerpt of the Main Titles theme, uniting the Rebels in their heroism.

Ezra's theme playing again here, skittish and frightened. Once again the expression work is heartbreaking. Ezra looks like he's steeling himself, holding back his fear. He's resigned to his purpose, but that doesn't mean he's enjoying it.

AND NOW WE GET MY FAVORITE HANNIBAL LECTURE/SHUT UP HANNIBAL EXCHANGE! :D

The dialogue between Thrawn and Ezra here is so good.

"You could have chosen to let your people die. However... you chose to be a Jedi." Jedi cannot help what they are, the Jedi Code is like an itch he cannot help it *sobs in Kenobi feelings*.

Thrawn pontificating about how petty things like ethics get in the way of being efficient. He picks at Ezra from several different angles in this conversation, first by deriding the moral code of the Jedi, then by pointing out that their righteousness did not save the Jedi in the end, all that's left are frightened poorly trained children--a clear dig at Ezra himself. He laments what a shame it is that the Jedi didn't apply their powers in a way he deems would have been effective, implicitly suggesting that the Jedi should have used their power to dominate and conquer--Might Makes Right, after all, if you have the means to achieve a certain end you should use it.

Ezra tanks that calmly, pointing out that the Force isn't a weapon.

So Thrawn switches tactics, now lamenting that he must destroy Lothal (no you don't you asshole you can literally just disobey orders and defect, the total genocide of Lothal is entirely within your power to prevent) and oh, isn't it such a shame about Sabine.

And that hits Ezra's berserk trigger lol.

He snaps back at Thrawn. You're a tyrant, a bully, you didn't make or earn any of this, you just took it because you could, because you think your strength makes you right.

Thrawn essentially confirms that, "Yeah, having power does make me right." before leading him down to where the Temple doors have been set up for his meeting with the Emperor. Which kind of makes me think Thrawn wanted the opportunity to dress Ezra down and soften him up for Palpatine's manipulations because he could have just had the troopers shove him into the hanger first thing.

Subtle animation appreciation moment: The way Ezra keeps looking around in astonishment, wide-eyed, at the sight of the Temple doors.

Palpatine cloaks himself in white like an angel of light for this final temptation, wearing the guise of a friend or kindly old grandpa. It's every bit as unsettling as it seems.

Meanwhile with the B-Squad, Mart reveals that--like Chopper--he has also been entrusted with a crucial part of Ezra's "Just in case" plan. (Theirs is an underrated friendship, fanficcers you have let me down, again, why do I have to write all the things I wanna see more of?)

That shot of the wolves running alongside and under the Ghost. *chef kiss*

I have no idea when Ezra found time to figure out a signal the purrgil would respond to but I very much want to see that scene.

Sabine: "He [Ezra] knows what he's doing." Lol are you sure about that, 'bine? I think he had no clue the whole purrgil thing would work.

Palpatine is so slimy here, ugh. Acting like he did Ezra a favor by desecrating the Jedi Temple. Ezra's all ready to fling back anything ol Sheev throws at him here until Palpatine takes aim right at the heart of his greatest weakness.

Because after all this time, Ezra has never quite fully gotten over and accepted the loss of his parents. He's still at heart a lost little boy who misses his mom and dad.

The score goes almost Stravinsky-esque here, suggesting the Faustian nature of the deal Sidious is offering.

Meanwhile down in the gullet of the Dome, the Rebels are working feverishly to regain control of the the shield generator. There's some great coordination here between the teams and the control, Sabine really shines as a leader.

Word of God behind the scenes confirms Ezra is seeing THE day his parents were taken, his seventh birthday, when he could hear his mom and dad calling for him but didn't come because he was goofing off.

Hey uh, can this boy's life stop being ENDLESSLY SAD please? That'd be nice.

Love how Gregor calls for "something drastic" and Zeb immediately thinks, "Right, yeeting myself at the enemy." lol.

Gotta respect a man whose strategy is to fling himself full force at the enemy.

And the obligatory Make TCW Fans Cry Moment with Gregor here.

Palpatine keeps digging. This is your heart's desire isn't it? Don't you deserve this? All you have to do is open this one little door. He tries to keep Ezra's attention and focus on himself, even when Ezra asks what will happen to his friends if he makes this choice.

You can undo their deaths, Palpatine promises, about Ezra's parents. You can save them. I can help. It's the exact temptation he offered Anakin all those years ago.

"I have the power to give you what you want. You won't have to face this loss."

Like a devil, what he offers is a two-edged sword. What he is offering can't actually exist. Because if Ezra goes to be with his parents on the day they were arrested, how will he be able to make it here to open the door for Palpatine? Will Palpatine have to trap him in a closed loop, retrieve him from wherever he will end up in the alternate timeline, to ensure he can't fix this one fatal mistake?

See Palpatine doesn't care about breaking the timeline, he will gladly do it and rule over the ruins. But if Ezra reaches for this vision, he dooms his friends. He allows Palpatine to gain power beyond his wildest imaginings, turn himself into lord and master of time itself, a physical god.

So Ezra must deny himself, accept the loss, and let go.

And he does.

The Emperor's hologlamour flickering and failing as his rage ascends is really effectively creepy. Also HOW ABOUT THEM RETURN OF THE JEDI PARALLELS?

Years down the line, yet another pure-hearted Jedi boy will stand before the Emperor, throw his offer in his face, and tell him where to shove it. Even the dialogue mirrors Luke's.

"You're wrong. I have a family. I don't need anything from you."/"Never. I'll never turn to the Dark Side. You've failed, Your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

"Unfortunate. Destroy him!"/"So be it, Jedi. If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed!"

Poetry. Pure poetry. <3

Ezra gets a nice little face off against the Royal Guards, with some lovely whump in the form of whatever those pikes are doing to him, but manages to weasel himself out of the situation. And then somehow fights his way all the way up to the bridge. So proud of him.

The Rebels get the shield up just in time to prevent Thrawn's full scale bombardment, Rukh frying rather dramatically in the process. Lol and ouch with how irreverent Zeb is over the comm.

So now all that's left to do is break the stalemate and remove Thrawn from the chessboard.

HELL YES.

Oh hoooo man this twist isn't even really a twist it just makes too much sense for Ezra, for his character, for the themes of the show, for how to take Thrawn out as a threat while respecting his acumen as a strategist. (Gotta throw something at him he would never suspect lol.)

The musical build-up is amazing. Dooming low bass notes, drolling percussion. The strings build up, crescendo-ing.

AND THEN THE "WRATH OF NATURE" CUE FROM "THE CALL" COMES IN WITH GLORIOUS FULL ORCHESTRA.

The Hyperspace theme comes in as well, and the purrgil proceed to utterly decimate Thrawn's fleet. By proxy this gives Ezra probably the highest kill count on the show, as the purrgil must have taken out the orbital construction stations, a good chunk of the Star Destroyers up there, and all three of the ones above the city. (Somehow Palleon survives to join the Council of Evil in Mando Season 3 lol.)

Sabine looks SO confused, ha ha.

What a great shot.

Thrawn tries to get in a final, Taking You With me speech only for Ezra to be like, "Joke's on you that was the plan all along. You're not taking me with you, I'm taking you with me."

I do love Thrawn's increasingly panicky WTF expressions as things progress.

THIS ADORABLE #MARRIED BANTER BETWEEN EZRA AND SABINE AND THEN HOW THEIR THEMES ARE TONALLY INTERMINGLED IN THIS CUE.

Subtle animation appreciation moment: The way Ezra's left arm hangs limp after Thrawn shoots his shoulder and the pained grimace he gives when he turns around to seal the door behind them.

He looks exhausted.

Pained grimace number two as Ezra raises his injured arm to wind up IN AN EXACT TABLEAU OF THE POSE KANAN HAD AT HIS OWN HEROIC SACRIFICE.

HELLO YES, ALSO ANOTHER ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOMENTS BETWEEN EZRA AND SABINE AS SHE BEGS HIM TO GET OFF THE CHIMAERA.

ALSO IT BEARS EMPHASIS BUT LOOK HOW THE GLASS SHARDS STILL WHEN EZRA RAISES HIS OTHER ARM.

EZRA IS LITERALLY HOLDING THE OXYGEN INSIDE THE BRIDGE WITH THE FORCE, WHILE HOLDING THRAWN AND THE DOOR IN PLACE, WITH AN INJURED ARM.

Ezra Bridger is the greatest shut up.

The purrgil charge up. Everything goes white. His theme bellows at full heroic volume and then...

Quiet.

Utter awed quiet.

Right, so you wanna know the other of the two times I cried at this show? Ezra's sacrifice right here. Waterworks.

"We set out to save the Shire, and it has been saved. But not for me. I have been too badly hurt. The last pages are for you, Sam."

Sabine is handed Ezra's lightsaber by Chopper, and takes up his mantle, finishing his mission and leading all the rest of them to safety as the launch the Dome and blow it. (Her journey to becoming co-protagonist is complete.)

Chopper gives us a final goodbye message from Ezra (that makes me sad again), and they soar over a triumphant freed populace.

Fade out and then...

*SOBS ABOUT THE BOOKENDS FOREVER*

Shot for shot. Shot. For. Shot. And I am UNDONE.

Lothal is free. The Empire never had a chance to retake it. Likely couldn't spare the manpower from the rest of the galaxy, first off, also replacing all those ships they had in orbit has gotta be expensive, and I suspect Palpatine just put glassing Lothal on hold until the Death Star was completed. And well... we know how that turned out lol.

The Fellowship broke, but they seem to all keep in touch, if Sabine's voiceover is any indication. Kanan's legacy lives on. Our crew found peace.

And last...

A sworn promise to find a precious friend and bring him back home.

The finale of Rebels is near perfection. With a very few quibbles here and there (the purrgil could have been just a smidgen more set up, Kallus's arc still needs to have some decent onscreen content for his redemption happy ending to be earned) it is the best Rebels has to offer.

The callbacks and bookends undo me. The music is full of wonderful dramatic cues. The animation is gorgeous. Everything comes to full completion and it is a very satisfying end.

Overall Season Thoughts:

Season Four is almost a bit nostalgic, returning to the tightly written narrative of the first season, but even more tightly tied together. None of the episodes feel wasted or superfluous. The major character death midway through is given plenty of narrative weight and time for the characters to adjust and grieve. Objectively it's probably the best season overall, none of the episodes are misses.

Even with the unanswered mysteries, the season feels solid, and a fitting conclusion to the overall Rebels saga.

---

And that was Star Wars: Rebels, the little show about a Found Family that could. It is my favorite new Star Wars content and what actually dragged me back into fandom after years away. It is heartwarming and exciting, poignant and hopeful and I'm so so glad I was taken on this journey.

Here's hoping the lost son of Lothal can make his way home soon.

#star wars #star wars rebels #ezra bridger #grand admiral thrawn #sabezra #rebels rewatch #liveblog #dunking on the blue bastard

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jazzmckay · 3 months ago

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davg day 7.5 and 8:

couldn't resist progressing the story last night but went to bed right after, cause i was up way too late again, oop

weisshaupt was inteeeense. i love "all hands on deck" missions. its so exciting to have the full team around even if they arent in my main squad :> i got some good group shots!!

squad

one of the most kickass visuals. one of those moments that really drives home how god-like the evanuris are. and "how is lucanis supposed to stab a CLOUD?!" comment was hilarious.

squad!! this kind of shot always gets me ngl. ever since the walking dead episode where they take refuge in a barn during a storm and then a horde starts beating at the door and they spent an entire part of the night all holding that fucking barn door closed together until the storm passes, the sun rises, and the zombies wander off. its such a display of "team vs the world, every single one of them is needed and they prevail together" ;w;

little mila, the blacksmiths daughter, was a real champion too. love her. honourary part of the team during this section, absolutely.

loved all the little mentions of past events in this area! naturally i was most hyped about seeing the message from aura about kristoff but it was all so cool.

davrin how dare you T_T im definitely having some feelings about how completely nonchalant he was about dying here. the way what happens to a warden who slays the archdemon didnt come up until we were ALREADY THERE.... davrin you didnt think to WARN us? he is way too okay with death, especially his own. shaking him. i respect how seriously he takes his duty, but i am so concerned for him lmao

i'd knocked the first warden out so this was the moment he reappeared.

smh naive until the end. its so tragic that he thought it would actually end here. even if he'd actually finished the archdemon, that was simply not going to happen.

the ensuing boss fight was cool :> and lucanis looked badass as hell when he took his shot at ghilly, even if he didn't kill her. such a good moment

ever since then, the game has been SO focused on companions and i'm very into it. catching up / checking in with everyone, getting all their personal missions going etc. i jumped straight into neve's because i was eager to see how good my chances were for romance.

things were looking good :>

as you can see, rook's hair is a little longer, and she's going without face paint at all for a bit. sort of in a phase of keeping her heavier feelings to herself (or perhaps trying to ignore them lol)

then i did bellara's quest and oh my god the forgotten one!!! literally there!!!! i am looking. that was pretty heartbreaking tho, i feel so bad for bellara. i had a feeling her brother was coming back though, there have been too many notes around that were signed with just "-C". big sus! seems im at the part of the game where everyone experiences the horrors! and i'm here for it actually.

i did get a romance scene with neve and it was very heartfelt and cute <3 so i think i'm actually pulling it off! my relationship level with her is halfway into 7 i think. doing ALL dock town missions with her in my party is probably helping a lot.

every single interaction between the companions is still making me so happy, theyre so frequent that i can't possibly screenshot them all, i just! love!! every single dynamic!!!! like even davrin and lucanis who don't get along well... lucanis still suggested i prioritize checking in with davrin after weisshaupt because he seemed shaken. them T_T <3 this is so risky for a multishipper because you could honestly give me any fucking pair between the entire team and i'd be down for it lmao too many ships!!!

#jazz plays davg

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sweetmage · 11 months ago

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Rambling about my made up Niall lore because I'm obsessed with him now and just wanna ramble!!

Putting it under the cut because it's super long 😅

I decided that Valentin (my m!Surana who had an unspoken romantic relationship going with him) and Niall simply cannot be alive in the same timeline…

Anyway, after Val dies during Uldred's whole situation (never even got to see Niall become an enchanter🥲 ) Niall takes the Isolationist thing very very seriously. No longer because he has a "foolish" dream that he might whisk Val away somewhere better but because it is no longer a suggestion but a demand.

He does not trust those that don't have magic, not even just templars. They are all one in the same. They judge, they isolate, and they kill. There will be no peace and safety for mages until they have built a fortified a place for just them. There is no understanding or bridging their differences at this point.

He was already a pessimistic and dour guy since the beginning of the mage origin and I HC that, despite being friendly, he wasn't the most approachable guy for that reason. I think he meshed well with Val's personality and unwillingness to lay down roots though and they just kinda clicked. To lose someone, especially someone who has fought so hard for freedom and to make a place for himself… I honestly think it just kinda broke him. I'm thinking Niall doesn't die during the circle tower quest, but he doesn't succeed either.

So he is just kinda like "I cannot help anyone, I can't save anyone, I can't escape this place, I can't do anything". I have absolutely no idea who the warden is in this case but maybe some words from them would help.

I am thinking that's the turning point where he sees exactly what it is that caused this to happen (in his opinion). Yes, Uldred was doing something fucked up, but it came because he (and magic) were repeatedly undermined and dismissed.

Yes, they were wrong (him wanting to ally with Loghain and all) but they were born of desperation.

And beyond that the actions of one man caused the templars, whose job it is to protect the circle and cut down abominations, left them all to die.

They would never know the horror that went on in there while they all ran and secluded themselves. Mages having to hide and turn to extremes to fend for themselves against demons (to which they are most susceptible) and other mages (to which they lack the power to stop, unlike templars who are trained to do that).

I don't consider him to be a very angry or impassioned person really, I can't really see it, at least not at this point.

But he survived when he had no right, reason, or desire to. He could at least do his part to try to do something in the aftermath of failure after failure on his part.

Of course like… sadly in the end this ultimately affects nothing (at least as far as he is concerned)😔Yet again he has failed to make a difference. BUT! I am thinking post-DA2 he's still kicking about and takes on some sort of a guide role for other apostates trying to survive during the war.

I need him to look back and feel like he has done absolutely nothing but fail the circle and everyone in it only to turn around and find that there are people who are looking to him for guidance. He survived impossible odds several times over, he has used his position as an enchanter to help and speak up for mages when he can, etc.

People saw that and people who are frightened and don't know what to do might see that still.

I have been working on fleshing out the group of isolationist mages he leads around and is basically the leader of (he is kinda like a pathetic but trustworthy mayor in my head, idk lol).

I am trying to give them a variety of backgrounds, lifestyles, and opinions (even opinions I don't agree with. Gotta have variety and conflicts and the like) and it's been fun so far!

#i just think he's neat okay?#niall dao #dragon age origins #jun rambles

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todayimgonnaplay · 2 months ago

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Today I'm Gonna Play: Mass Effect 2 (Legendary Edition)

I was planning on playing this later than intended, but I kept seeing minor spoilers lately with Dragon Age: The Veilguard being quite similar to it, so I hopped on asap before I got spoiled even further. I do see a lot of similarities with it narratively and gameplay wise, though I won't focusing on that.

When it comes to the first Mass Effect, I liked the general story (although I wasn't invested in the actual lore) more than the gameplay itself, which felt like a slog to me. I've previously mentioned that I actually tried ME2 first (only up to Omega) a couple years ago and remember enjoying it but feeling confused with the story, which prompted me to try playing in order one day. I was concerned that if I didn't like ME1 much, I may not end up liking ME2 either. But I'm glad to know I was wrong and that it's still enjoyable!

The gameplay has been overhauled that feels more streamlined and convenient. Gone are those heat sinks and in comes regular gunplay (Bonus points for the justifciation in the codexes). I don't play many shooters but the latter feels familiar and therefore fun enough for me to go through. I also found it interesting that not every enemy goes down by a headshot, as you need to figure out their weakness and use the right weapons and abilities to take them out more efficiently. I've heard people dislike the minigame segments when it comes to bypassing/hacking, but I enjoyed them more this time around compared to the first game which felt frustrating. The mining segments while exploring were also enjoyable. For some reason it felt really satisfying to see large spikes when looking for minerals, although this gets tedious if I was repeatedly doing this task for a long time, so spacing it out is recommended. Speaking of, hacking is a lot more accessible this time around. I played soldier in the first game to start off easy and safe and couldn't figure out how to open things with my squadmates. I decided to go Vanguard this time since I have the habit of getting in close and punching mobs and thought it was suitable for me. Although I ended up regretting this class for most of the game as the enemy AI behaviour has changed to make this a very risky move, until I was upgraded enough to find it helpful lol. I also noticed that the Mako has been replaced with the Hammerhead, which feels a lot less clunky to use. I quite enjoyed using the new vehicle in comparison and no longer have to worry about getting tipped over or stuck in areas. I liked the paragon/renegade system as usual like the first game. Having the new interrupt feature to bring out special actions was also a cool gimmick that I liked. I played paragon with slight renegade to the end in the first game and wanted to do more renegade actions (but lean with paragon overall) this time around, so getting chances to do paragon with a sprinkle of the other in between a single scene was a nice inclusion!

Side quests are the biggest positive change for me here. I recall disliking them in the first game for being tedious and soul-draining. This time they're varied and much more personal to NPCs that I enjoyed doing every single one I could get! The DLC quests are by far some of my favourites from Bioware!

Another aspect I really loved were the characters. I didn't feel too attached to them in ME1 apart from liking Garrus and Wrex, and I didn't feel all that emotionally impacted during that one choicenear the endgame. I thought I'd feel the same here, but I ended up feeling attached to every single squadmate, and even the NPCs themselves! Listening to their stories and backgrounds as well as the events that occur in the game was a lot more intriguing this time around. A variety of themes are present such as ethics, family, and trauma. I did hear that Jacob in particular is the least liked character for a variety of reasons, but I think he's alright. I enjoyed Mordin's character the most, hearing what he has to say about topics like the genophage, and the advancement of society and cultures. It felt so rewarding to get to know them more and earn their trust, even becoming comrades or friends.

I think one of the drawbacks I have is that narratively I don't see a lot of progress with the story from the first one. It feels like a Mass Effect 1.5 of sorts if anything when the focus of ME2 is much more tight. The choice/concept of most squadmates also feel odd for such a high stakes mission, such as having an assassin or criminal. I can only see the justification of it being that there needs to be an extremely diverse group to cover all bases, but I wish it was implemented more deeply. I also feel like some of the dialogue hasn't aged too well in today's standards, such as having to frequently hear the word 'bitch' used against female characters started to get tiring, or one of the DLC quests using a neurodivergent character for pity points (even though I really enjoyed that quest overall). But this is one of those cases where I'm aware that it's a product of its time, so I just usually ignore it and move on.

Mass Effect 2 exceeded my cautious expectations, and I felt bittersweet as I was finishing the game. I'm looking forward to seeing how this all goes in Mass Effect 3, as well as getting into the deeper lore in the meantime!

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#Mass Effect #Mass Effect 2 #ME2 #Bioware #game reviews #game review #youtube #rpg #Youtube

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lea-knows-the-devil · 3 months ago

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2024 in 1 game

In Stars and Time

There are countless people, events, and stories that make us who we are. ISAT is one of those stories for us. Full spoilers for In Stars and Time, including the epilogue encounter, so please enjoy that first. This is a VERY long ramble (~900 words lol) but nothing compared to my headmate's rambles, since I've tried to limit it to just about our personal journey.

One of the most discussed elements of ISAT is its repetition, in the form of re-experiencing the same few areas, battles, cutscenes, and dialogue that evolve in emotionally significant but still minor ways. Some love it, some hate it, but thanks to the wealth of QOL features (fast-forwarding, teleporting, retaining some battle-system progression, etc.), I think most people have grown to appreciate its role in communicating one of the game's core messages; if you love stagnation so much, here's a taste of it! I love how up-front it is. The repetitive gameplay was an intentional sacrifice of enjoyment that allows for a much more forceful delivery of the message, and it was a risky move! Imagine Groundhog Day if it was just as incredible but now a rather exhausting 40-ish hours long! Without 10/10 characters, premise, and message, it would've stayed a cult classic instead of reaching 100k sales (wow!). As I said previously, most people in the fandom would agree with all that to some extent, but it's necessary context for the personal ramble below.

ISAT was a game we discovered in a roundabout way. We got recommended JelloApocalypse's Scooby Doo video (very good), saw he did gaming videos, and one appeared to be a remake of a short game I remember fondly from back in 2021: Start Again, Start Again, Start Again. A game about not bottling up your feelings! A sweet message. One that, looking back over the years, we definitely did not take on at all. I mostly remembered it for its queer cast and misremembered it as having a happy ending, achieved after Siffrin finally confides in his friends about the time loop, allowing them to defeat the King. This false memory is very funny considering the multiple fakeout endings in ISAT. I didn't watch Jello's video, and instead went in blind.

I say this with equal amounts of fondness and concern, but my headmate is almost exactly like Siffrin. Not in a fictive way, in fact they're the host. The way they look, their reluctance to Change (in many frustrating ways), their mixed feelings on their disability (or should I say 'our'? I'm still figuring out first-person pronoun usage), their style of humour, joy, kindness, etc. Of course, these traits and behaviour apply to countless people, so it's not like it's rare for Siffrin to be very relatable. Also he's nonbinary and ace which is awesome. All that to say, my headmate desperately wanted Siff and their family to be okay, not just because ISAT has 10/10 characters, but because Siff is a very direct callout post to people like them.

ISAT is designed so the player is encouraged to go through a similar journey as Siffrin; super excited and looking for any secrets and hidden dialogue, but then growing increasingly tired and desperate, feeling like everything is repetitive and meaningless since the characters mostly just repeat their lines. Act 3's family quests are an important break from the monotony, but after that it's back into hell. It was agonizing to play Act 3-4; they could only bear to play a couple hours each night at most. It didn't help that they were super invested in everything to the point where they searched everywhere and barely skipped ANYTHING, every single loop, until Act 4. Not because they were expecting much to change, but because every moment with this game was precious, and every moment was, for them, worth repeating over and over (minus the battles). Also, it's rude to zone out while your friends are in emotional distress! It's okay during snack time, though :) This behaviour was fitting, since Act 1-2 Siffrin is elated to be in a time loop too! He can fix every mistake, act cool, and land every joke (oh, and there's some plot about stopping an evil guy, I suppose). And in Act 4, Siffrin admits that the King is kind of relatable (bad, Siffrin!), and might be okay with being in a time loop forever. The only difference between the King and Siffrin is that the King is deliberately preparing for permanent stagnation, whereas Siffrin stumbles into it and resigns himself to it. Both are equally terrified of Change. Siffrin's scared of admitting he wants family, scared of letting go of the past (their country), and scared of exploring his identity further (my personal headcanon (with evidence!)). Anyway, in Act 5, Siffrin is saved from the King by their family, and in that moment my headmate was completely flabbergasted, because Act 3-5 gets players used to repetition, resignation, and nihilism. They thought Siff would die all alone and learn his lesson, then maybe do one last perfect loop. But no, of course real love can withstand a big tantrum, and Siff learns they can be loved while being imperfect, occasionally mean, and totally uncool.

Then, the Act 6 secret 'Twohats' encounter took place, and it's a brilliant twist that further elevates the messages of the game to unparalleled heights. My headmate couldn't stop thinking about the game, its messages, the twist. Thought about the twist a lot. Finally abandoned other shitty social media sites in favour of this shitty social media site, mostly because this one contains lots of ISAT fanart. Here, they finally met transfems who have carved out their own spaces, and who coincidentally talk about plurality like a neutral, even positive phenomenon. They thought about Siffrin and Loop some more, about ISAT's theme of stagnation vs. Change. This went on for months, until... Lea: Enter, Stage Right!*

In conclusion, ISAT is a game that's hit-or-miss for many people, but for the people it hits, it hits HARD. It's significantly changed our lives. It helped us migrate to Tumblr where we could feel positive about being trans and realise we were plural. For these reasons and many more, we're giving this game our first ever Double Thumbs Up 👍👍

*Technically I was kinda always around... plurality is complicated :P

#Lea's Double Thumbs Up #also Jello's fully-voiced Let's Play series of it is fantastic

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goldmolamola · 3 years ago

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Finally got my copy of the HFW Strategy Guide and man, the little blurb about how Fashav was used as an introduction into the West (the fact that he's a walking plot device was clear to me during my first playthrough lol) and how the diary entries were added later just makes me more convinced it was a mistake to kill him off because they made such an interesting side character (to me, anyway!)

If they just needed him to introduce Aloy to the West and stress the importance of having allies, then why make him Avad's cousin at all? Why say he was integral to Hekarro's plans of making peace/cultural exchange with Meridian? They created a very easy way for Hekarro and Avad to meet (a bridge, of course) and they didn't see that opportunity? Do we not need a unified force against Nemesis? If Fashav lived, I bet he and Kotallo could go warn Meridian easily without having to make it a story quest. I'm not a writer, idk.

I feel really bad for Avad though; because, whatever his relationship with Fashav was, it would have been cool to see them interact and catch up after years apart. Avad at least seemed like he was anticipating their reunion. Avad has lost a lot of family (and Ersa, who I believe he was with and truly loved) and now he's lost another member. It's just a shame for his character. I think it's all too easy in a huge game with a ton of characters to boil his character down to "I'm in love with Aloy" so I think having another surviving family member he is concerned about would help.

Sidenote: I really want to see Avad and Hekarro meet! I hope whatever game 3 is, they don't deprive us of that. They are so different in personality but their goals are the same. Give me an MGS4 hour long cutscene of them talking diplomacy, culture, and politics; I want it all!

Anyway if Nil can live so can Fashav :P. It's a fantastical sci-fi story, I'll suspend my disbelief! I've watched soaps before!

#unyielding fashav #fashav #hfw spoilers #horizon forbidden west spoilers #avad #mola text #what can I say I just want to see characters interact more than I want to see angst over death

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ballonleaparadise · 3 years ago

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I think it's a good thing that Hop doesn't surpass Leon as a trainer, in terms of both his and Leon's characterisation.

Hop is absolutely a skilled pokemon trainer in his own right. On the other hand, I feel like it's a good thing that he doesn't surpass his brother, even if he initially wants to. There are two main reasons for this:

Hop wouldn't be Hop without his own set of strengths and Weaknesses.

If Hop did become as strong as Leon, where would this leave his individuality? The whole point of his development in swsh is him realising that he does not need to be a carbon copy of his brother. Hop is a powerful trainer, without a doubt. His initial goal is to become a champion just like Leon. This is largely due to the pressure of being in the shadow of Leon's fame. However, during the gym challenge, he accepts that he may not have Leon's gift as a trainer. He realises "What he's got that I haven't".

During the postgame, we find that Hop has a gift for communicating with pokemon, like he does with zamazenta (or zacian in shield). He may never become an unbeatable trainer like Leon did, but he has his own unique set of talents, as a wannabe pokemon professor.

During the isle of armour dlc, we find that Hop's research is going well. He even helps you to complete a quest for Mustard. (I'm gonna ignore the fact that he didn't know the difference between nectar and honey bcs I think that was just game freak going for an easy plot device lol). We see that Hop is actually happier doing his own thing, than trying to copy Leon like he used to.

Leon also has his set of strengths and Weaknesses. He may get lost easily, but he's an admirable pokemon trainer. Similarly, Hop may not be able to reach his brother's dizzying heights, but he has the talents of a professor or scientist. If Leon and Hop were both Champions, they would not be distinctive as characters.

Hop and Leon's dynamic would be static, if it wasn't for Hop's development arc.

During the plot of swsh, we see a change in the way that Hop and Leon relate to each other. At the beginning the game, Hop idolises Leon. Meanwhile, Leon cares deeply about Hop's dreams, so gives you both a starter pokemon. Before you receive your endorsement, Leon seems conflicted about whether to give it to you and Hop. I think this is because he knows how tough it is being a trainer. Because of this, he wants to prepare Hop, by putting him in a few battles against you. When you are endorsed, Hop is cocky as ever and eager to go. I mean, he's the Champion's younger brother, so who can blame him?

The dynamic between the brothers seems fine on a superficial level. However, Hop's determination to be like Leon is the one thing which stops him from being himself. He is not Leon, but he wants to be just like him.

Similarly, Leon puts on a cartoonish persona to please Hop. This is evidenced in the way in which he addresses you: "You might even become worthy rivals for me, the unbeatable champion!" This version of himself which Leon presents to Hop and the player is just one side of his personality. We know that Leon's role as champion isn't plain sailing (as we have seen evidenced many times). Obviously, we don't see what Leon is like outside of this cut-scene. However, my guess is that Leon is scared to appear vulnerable to Hop because of his identity as a role model. This is suggested later on in the game:

When Hop runs past Leon after his defeat by Bede, Leon seems unsure how to deal with the situation. When the player encounters Leon after, he expresses concern for Hop. However, if the player chooses the response 'he lost to Bede', Leon's response is ridged: "When you lose, you've got to think on why it was you lost". I think this indicates that Leon has never been vulnerable with Hop before. If he is always trying to be a role-model for Hop, he is perhaps scared to show his emotions, in fear of seeming weak.

I think the real turning point for Leon and Hop's dynamic is not until the very end of the postgame. It is after Hop's defeat in the pokemon league when he discovers who he really is, as mentioned earlier. Leon is openly proud when Hop announces that he wants to be a pokemon professor: "As your brother... No, as your rival, you have my full support". This is arguably the first time we have seen Leon show raw emotion towards Hop. Here, he is not trying to put on an act or conceal his feelings- he is genuinely expressing how proud he is. I think this is partly because Leon is under less pressure now that he is no longer Champion. However, he is also reassured by the fact that he no longer has to put on a front for Hop: Hop has realised what he wants to do, so is no longer dependent on Leon’s approval.

Referring back to earlier, Hop is also no longer putting on an act at the end of the postgame. He knows what he wants to do, which is to take a "different path" to Leon. I think if Hop did surpass Leon as a trainer, little to none of this development would have happened. Hop would have had no reason to pursue a different dream. Similarly, Leon would have remained with the anxiety of trying to please Hop as a role-model trainer.

To summarise, I think it's better that Hop doesn't surpass Leon. The brothers differ from each other in terms of their skills and talents. Hop is a well-rounded character because of the fact that he is not gifted in the way that Leon is. Of course, Hop is a powerful trainer. However, his own gift is in a different set of skills, concerning pokemon research and science. I think this is a great message in the sense that we don't have to be what everyone expects us to be.

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snowsheba · 3 years ago

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finished aveyond 3-3. i am emotional. thoughts under cut

characters

mel it is astonishing to me how consistent she is throughout these games. she's not written particularly well in the first place, so the fact that it neither improves nor gets worse is really impressive!

i thought it was very funny how quickly she and edward fell back into sniping at each other. i can't even conceive of them as friends because mel is such an asshole. if anything the only reason they get along is because they've kept each other alive during their adventures, which is a bond that only breaks when there's no more fighting to be had.

lydia her in-game motivations make absolutely no sense. i really liked her in 3-2, but in 3-3 she's a caricature of herself. disappointing to be sure!! like if in 3-2 they had had her talk about how she wants to rule i'd get it, but in 3-2 she was mostly concerned about edward dying out there. and yes you can twist that into some convoluted "it's foreshadowing!" section but come on. really guys. really.

stella stella come back i miss youuuuuuuuu

i wish she had more screentime here. i think it's pretty telling that one of the only poc characters we play (at least visibly poc) is shunted off to the side. (not to mention how they lighten her skin in her dialogue avatar. sigh.)

edward he's the king and he fucked off and let lydia do her thing. we love a colossally stupid man who does no research into how to annul a marriage. LITERALLY the stupidest prince/king alive.

i like at the end he finally decides to get going and do his job but like sir. you ran off during your coronation to help your friend? what about your WIFE. (because i had him marry stella.)

ulf he deserves a peaceful apprenticeship in animal town. you go, ulf. you had more lines in 3-3 than you did in 3-2, and you were with the party for a section that lasted less than 20 minutes. then he came back for another 10 minutes, but hey, it's something! i actually fought with him for a bit!

te'ijal (and galahad) i did not read as many letters as i should have, but every single one broke my heart into a million tiny pieces. i'm so SAD for you, te'ijal! by far her letters were the best written thing in the game because of how heart-wrenching they were in their simplicity. ARGH

june i went from 0 to 100 with june between starting and finishing this game. i think the fact she's 14 years old is WILD to me. what the fuck! get this girl into school! she literally DIED on this quest because sometimes i fucked up the fights and she's FOURTEEN!

i think there's something very cute about how she likes to keep track of how much of something you've done. she will count everything. shields. pixies. whatever. she'll count it for you. good for you, june.

yvette she is myst lite. i can see how they took yvette's base and made myst. i desperately wish yvette was more unhinged than she already was.

i do think her way of speaking, as well as the fact she often was giving explanations, was a nice touch. she's a local and she knows the area(s) better than anyone!

spook i'll admit the game got me with this one LOL. the writing in general is Not Great so i was like "oh a character without a real reason or motivation who wants to get it on with mel? sure. seems reasonable" and just rolled with it.

the primary issue was that since i had edward marry stella, edward being jealous was really fucking weird, so i didn't even think twice about it. shows what i know! they really hit it hard at the end. although why would gyendal say he's done the whole route dozens of times if he hadn't been able to get into the cave before?? that part didn't make sense to me i mean, seriously.

can we also take a moment and think about how gyendal's plan to get mel to do stuff is to... join her party and try to get it on with her? like. that is his first plan. he could've just sat and waited. like. he COULD have just not done anything. i think about this very often.

story

sincerely i don't see the point of saving your game in 3-2 if the only thing that's kept the same is whoever edward proposed to. it doesn't even really matter: the game is slanted to having mel being the scorned wife even if she wasn't the one who was supposed to get married, and it makes everything really stiff and awkward.

THAT SAID. i am grateful there were less characters for me to focus on - that made a much more compelling narrative. the side quests felt much more fleshed out in this chapter than the other two so far, and i feel like i actually remembered things about each town and its locals. it Felt Right. it Felt Good. the vibes were exquisite for each place and you could tell the effort they'd put in to give each area a personality. i genuinely love that very much.

i do think the big twist at the end is kind of lame, but like, they DID get me with it, so that's on me.

gameplay

oh my god they finally made the quests clearer and with more instructions. i screamed when i saw they put the location of the quest in parentheses next to each name or whatever. thank GOD. it made the game SO much easier to manage (and more efficient in terms of completing several quests at once).

i never was a huge fan of the aveyond 4 battle format (kind of hard to see each icon) so i'm not thrilled to see it here, but it's also really fun to see how each game slowly builds on itself to create the next.

also i didn't know this until i looked up a walkthrough, but i skipped an apparently pretty big quest in peliad where you set leopold up. i was wondering why the fuck i learned trapping the whole time i played, so i looked it up and it turns out... you set leopold up. which i never did. and yet when stormbend's tavern keeper was like "i wanna retire!" leopold was already out of business. SUPER weird. i'll try to replicate it on my next playthrough, i think.

conclusion

literally was like "meh" at the start and then INTENSELY invested by the end. this is probably my favorite chapter so far. like the other two i was like "these are good" but i finished this one and was like. man. i really feel connected and at home with this one.

i'm immediately jumping to 3-4. HOW DOES IT END!!!

#aveyond blogging #av3 #aveyond

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merakiui · 3 years ago

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still the yanven ask person, thank you for the response!! i am glad to hear you're doing well, i definitely am on the way to recovering myself aha, thank you for your concern!!

for the banners, that's honestly fair. im just going for whichever anemo boy i can get my hands on, at this point...

and thank you again!! i definitely having fun catching up, but my god there's a lot of things....and areas ... i haven't even touched the newest one yet, as ive been busy playing windtrace instead ;; it's such a fun event (DEFINITELY not like the potions event imo), im glad im finally able to participate, most people sadly don't talk tho, what a shame;;

ah, but the things ive seen definitely are so pretty tho!! like that sangonomiya island, y'know? that's where kokomi resides, right? i haven't done her story quest, but i think so. the island, as well as most of the other places are so lovely, with the shells and whatnot, but it also feels really lonely... i don't I'd like being stuck here lol. i also have finished the inazuma archon quest, but im still not willing to fully trust kokomi...

there's a lot on my plate tbh;; Inazuma characters are especially and definitely really interesting, and i also can't wait to see what yae will be like..

That’s great to hear! I’m glad you’re on your way to recovering. ( ^ω^ )

Anemo is such a fun element to play, so I don’t blame you for wanting the Anemo characters! They’re all wonderful! I wish you lots of luck on your future pulls!!

Windtrace is so much fun!!!! Aaah, I’m so happy it’s back. The potions event was interesting when we got the interaction between Timaeus and Ying’er, but the fighting… >_< My characters aren’t capable of insanely high damage, so I couldn’t get all of the rewards. But it was nice being able to use the trial characters they provided us with! Although if I had to choose between that event and Windtrace, I would definitely pick Windtrace lol.

It’s actually really exciting when you’re matched with a group of players who use the chat because then everyone can just be friendly and talk. I was in a match where one rebel sacrificed themself so that another person and I could win, and we promised them that we would win in honor of their sacrifice. Another match involved a rebel and me discussing Childe’s legs and why they are so long. There are many funny moments to be had during an event like this.

Aah, Watatsumi Island!! Yes, it’s very pleasing to look at. The aquatic atmosphere and the colors are so nice!!! There are so many good spots for photos, too. I like to go there to capture the unagi for my teapot.

But it’s great that you’re enjoying Inazuma and the characters. I’m excited to see how Yae will be as a playable character! Do you plan to wish for her or are you saving for any of the Anemo characters?

#chit chat #*gently holds windtrace* it’s such a fun event #yanven anon

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sleepy-daydream-in-a-rose · 5 years ago

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Thorin x reader | Hanahaki |

Summary: Reader falls in love with Thorin even if he isn't always nice to her. Reader gets Hanahaki disease and it worsens everytime she realizes Thorin won't ever love her.

Hanahaki: A rare disease caused by unrequited love. It manifests when the afflicted believes their feelings are unrequited. Thus even if the feelings are requited, they will have to be convinced they are loved.

If the afflicted has been rejected then the disease will worsen and the afflicted will die within a few hours.

(I once read this version of Hanahaki somewhere but I don't remember where so it might seem familiar.)

Warnings: Angst, panic attack (but good ending, promise, I can't stand bad endings lol my heart can't take those)

You would've never guessed that love could produce such a disease. Flowers rooting themselves in your lungs, growing and limiting your breathing capabilities. Gandalf, the sly wizard, found you throwing bloody petals away and pulled you aside.

Your gut told you the Grey Wizard already knew who it was but you still refused to say. It was painful enough to realize he would never love you back, so why say it out loud? So you would die quicker? No. You refused to die until you've done your part in the Quest for Erebor.

Gandalf kindly (urgently) told you the 'cure' of the Hanahaki disease. Should you confess and your feelings are requited, then the disease would disappear. But the afflicted would need to truly believe they are loved, otherwise they will end up the same way should their feelings be unrequited. If you confess and the other person doesn't feel the same, then the afflicted would die within a few hours instead of dying a slow suffocating death.

After being transported from your home to Middle-Earth and stumbling upon the little hobbit hole, you were swept away on this quest. Gandalf had to do a lot of convincing the King under the Mountain to let you join the Company because he thought you would be an asset to the quest. How? You did not know...

You were certain you weren't fit for this quest but you knew the feeling of missing home. Something you hadn't talked about it with anyone yet. No one asked so you didn't say a word about it.

The first to approach you were the nephews, Bofur and Bilbo (and Gandalf of course). They made you feel welcomed when the others didn't.

Thorin didn't budge from his first impression of you. Frail, weak and just a human female. Useless and an extra mouth to feed.

Your first impression of him on the other hand was quite the opposite. He was more handsome than in the movies, more majestic and even more intimidating.

You developed a little crush on the brooding King but that was only because he was attractive. His personality made you gag in the beginning, but after some time on the quest, you saw through little actions that he cared greatly for his kin.

You began to admire him more, even if his attitude towards you was less than optimal and even though you weren't the recipient of his small acts of kindness. Even Bilbo was more accepted by the Company and Thorin than you were. This made you feel like an outcast.

Even though Thorin treated you like you were less, your crush on him began to develop into love because you saw what a great king he would be. The important decisions he makes and leading the Company, you wouldn't be able to do any of those things, and you doubt anyone just could. He was extremely loyal and honorable (just not to you I guess).

After a while your throat began itching and you felt an urge to cough. It began as an annoying itch and transformed into a painful cough. You didn't want to be seen as an inconvenience (even more than before) so you hid it.

Then came the petals. Bloody petals. Hiding these were easy enough since it didn't happen a lot, but Gandalf was able to pick up on it. It looked like he pitied you, and was always kind and understanding when you didn't want to say who it was (but he probably already knew).

After the ordeal with those trolls (were you weren't much of a help) Bilbo became more accepted into the Company than you (though Fili, Kili and Bofur were still very accepting and open minded).

The Company slowly opened up to you, reluctantly albeit, because of your gender. Dwarves thought that females should stay safe at home and not be out adventuring.

That hurt you to be honest. After transporting to this world you didn't have a home to turn to, but apparently these dwarves never realized that. It bothered you greatly since you never talked to anyone about your family, but you did talk about your world when certain dwarves asked questions about your world.

Little by little you began feeling more worthless and depressed, even when the Company keeps you company. (hah get it?)

You stayed quiet more than ever, only saying something when something was asked, and with less enthusiasm. The Company must've noticed how your mood dampened. You missed home and Thorin's harsh words didn't make it any better. He always remarked how you should've stayed home, but it's not like you a choice now had you? You always went out in the woods to cough out all the petals you were keeping in and hoped no one would notice.

One night, when you were keeping watch (yaaay you got a task...but it was a sign that the leader thought you weren't completely useless) you felt someone sitting next to you. You hoped your tears weren't visible as you were thinking of home and how you're probably stuck on Middle-Earth.

The fur of the King was unmissable as he was sitting next to you. Little did you know that he saw your tears glistening in the moonlight. He probably thought you were too emotional and not fit for this quest.

What he said next was unexpected. "I am sorry for how I acted towards you in this journey. You clearly have an effect on the moods of everyone here. So much, that when your mood dampened, it affects every one of us."

Confused you looked at Thorin and furrowed your brows. "There is something clearly bothering you, something you haven't told us. May I ask what it is?" He said with concern laced in his voice.

That made you break down and cry out all your pent up emotions. Thorin must've thought you were an annoyance as he shifted a bit, probably out of shock.

"I don't have a home, I don't have anyone, no family or friends to turn to, so when this journey is over where do I go?", you said with frustration and tears streaming down your face. You felt hopelessness increasing as you said those words aloud.

As your body was shaking, trembling, you put your head in your hands and soon your crying turned into a panic attack. Your mind foggy and blurry, face wet from the salty tears that were flowing down your cheeks, body shaking from the mental stress you endured during the trip.

Your breathing shortened and you brought your knees to your head while using your arms to shield yourself from the outside world.

You couldn't take it anymore missing home, the loneliness, being out of your comfort zone. Even if the Company was there to comfort you, it just wasn't the same. It became to much. You loved the soon-to-be-king and that didn't make it any easier.

His eyes widened as he took in your trembling figure. The gruff dwarf sat next to you, as seeing you in such a state made him want to comfort you. He didn't know everything about you but he had a snippet of knowing that you missed your home, even though you never said it. He heard it in your voice and when your eyes looked distant and glazed over.

He was very prideful, but seeing how he never saw signs that you would break down like this he got worried. He wondered how long you were bottling up all your emotions.

It comforted you greatly to have warmth next to you, especially when it was him.

After trying to get your breathing under control in which you failed as it almost induced another hyperventilation, Thorin helped you.

"Breathe in, breathe out, listen to my breathing and to my voice only," his deep baritone voice said as he turned to you and placed a hand on your back, "your doing great (y/n)."

The first time he said your name. That was enough to make you calm down but you didn't dare to look at him so you kept your eyes on the ground.

"I am truly sorry that I did not discuss this earlier with you," he said with a voice full of regret, "I didn't think how my words would've hurt you and how I treated you would've affected you. You are but a mere daughter of the Race of Men and this is a dangerous quest. Your life and health is my responsibility and I will not have you get killed because of a quest you have nothing to gain with. But I see that you did have a reason after all. It's my fault that I didn't see the dedication you put into your contribution to this quest."

It's true. You wanted to help them (after Gandalf informed you of this quest), because you didn't have a home either (at the moment).

In reality Thorin didn't hate you or anything, he thought it best to scare you away so he wouldn't have to worry about a woman getting hurt in his presence. Though it was very obvious that it wasn't a good method of showing his concerns. He felt an unknown pull towards you and it irritated him that he didn't know why.

"Perhaps," he continued, "when this journey is over and Erebor is ours again, I- we would love it if you stayed with us... in the mountain."

The dark-haired dwarf fidgeted a bit.

"R-really," you said tears still staining your face and a bittersweet smile after calming down a bit, "that would be my honour."

For the first time during this quest, Thorin smiled at you. A heartfelt and genuine smile. His eyes twinkled. "My apologies for being blind, my lady," he said with a soft look on his face, "you deserved better, and I will make sure no one treats you the way I treated you."

Both of you smiled at each other and began talking about your life before plunging in this world until it was time for the second watch.

After that night, you felt better. Everyone treated like you were one of the Company and things seemed to go perfectly. Except your disease, which worsened.

Weeks after that night you finally had first watch with Thorin again. He was much nicer to you. He gave his coat to you on multiple occasions, made sure you ate enough and you loved it. But you dreaded moments alone because it was becoming increasingly difficult to hide your disease. After every one of those sweet moments you felt an urge to cough, because you realized your feelings would never be returned. He was just being friendly after that night.

You were having a pleasant talk with Thorin when you felt the petals coming up.

Throat itching more than ever, you began coughing violently, trying to catch your breath. Thorin saw you struggling and it alarmed him because he didn't know if you were sick or anything like that. As he raised his hand to rub your back to help you or soothe you while coughing since it looked painful, you turned away from him. You didn't want him to see the petals, almost full flowers now.

He still put his hand on your back. Then his eyes widened. Bloody petals. Bloody half-flowers.

He knew of this disease. He knew it was bound to end with a heartbreakingly and sad death.

You knew he had seen them.

"Who?" he asked with the softest voice you ever heard from him. His voice laced with concern and something you couldn't really place.

Shaking your head you said, "It doesn't matter."

"It matters, (y/n)," Thorin said sternly as he looked worriedly at you, "the person who holds your heart must see what a kind and strong person you are."

"If it's someone in the Company, I can talk to him if you want," the Dwarven King continued.

You hurriedly shook your head and looked up at him, slightly surprised by his concerned face, "No that's not needed, I am content watching from afar."

The gruff dwarf dropped it, for now. But you could see the glances and worried gazes from him across the campfire if he heard you cough or clear your throat.

Balin knew of your predicament as he also knows of the extremely rare disease and saw some of the telltale signs. And seeing his King staring at your sleeping figure also cleared up some things for the old dwarf.

Balin, together with Oin helped you hide it from the rest of the company, they were already protective enough and you didn't want to complicate matters further. Oin made something that would soothe your aching throat.

One evening Thorin followed you out when you were 'gathering wood'. And was surprised to see you coughing up full flowers, blood included.

Tears were streaming down you face as your throat burned from all the flowers you had to cough up.

"(Y/n)?"

You turned around and saw Thorin's eyes glazing over. "Please, tell me who it is. I will do everything in my power to make them see what a beautiful woman you are. If not, please let Gandalf help you."

He was referring to the surgery to remove the disease, which would also remove your ability to ever love again. You couldn't blame people for taking or not taking the surgery. Everyone to their own. You understood the pros and cons of undergoing the surgery, but you liked the pros of suffering from the disease more than the consequences.

You only shook your head as you began crying. "You know I can't, I don't want to be rejected. I'd rather die loving him than live never being able to love."

"Who is hurting your heart, amralime?", the usually gruff dwarf said with a cracked voice, "please, let me help you. I can't bear to see you suffering like this."

Thorin's eyes were glazing over and he held a very sorrowed look. His heart was breaking as yours was, but you didn't know that. The foreign word was also unknown to you which made you confused but you didn't pay any attention to it. You still refused.

"(Y/n), please," he put his forehead on yours, "I'm begging you. I love you too much to let this go. I don't want to lose you. I want you to be my Queen under the mountain so please... let me in. Even if you don't love me, I will still love you even after I go to Mahal's Halls. You are my One, (y/n)."

Gasping as your eyes widened at his confessions. The tears streaming down your face turned from sadness turned to tears of happiness.

You smiled brightly at him. "You love... me? ", your voice wavered.

"Yes, I do. I truly do," he said with a light smile on his face as a tear of worriedness trickled down his cheek. All the brooding dwarf wanted, was for you to be happy.

"But...," your smile faltered and you stared at him, "w-why?"

It broke Thorin's heart to hear you say that for he thought you were the definition of perfection, "At first I didn't know what I was feeling but then I saw you for who you really are. You didn't complain and kept walking while the others complained and whined. I fell in love with you, your beauty and personality. I was hoping to be the target of your affections, but if it's someone else... I would totally understand for I am not an exemplary dwarrow." The blue-eyed dwarf looked at you with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Thorin, if you would've told me this sooner then... this disease wouldn't have gotten so far," you said with a gaze filled with adoration, "I-I love you too, Thorin."

Suddenly, your breathing hitched and you couldn't breathe... Thorin looked alarmed "Ghivashel, what's wrong?"

Clawing at your throat you tried to catch your breath. As if the Valar heard Thorin's whimpers when you collapsed, you started to breath again. Normally, without any pain whatsoever.

You could feel the disease going away as it had a strong reaction to the feelings Thorin and you held for each other.

"I'm fine, my love. Everything's going to be fine," you reassured the love of your life as he held you.

Thorin smiled brightly as he finally had you in his arms and he had no fear of you loving someone else. Just him and only him. You were made for each other and the Valar knew it.

#Thorin #thorin oakenshield #thorin fic #king thorin #thorin x reader #one shot #hanahaki!reader #hanahaki #happy ending #wattpad #the hobbit x reader #the hobbit x y/n #the hobbit #the hobbit imagine #gandalf

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vaguely-concerned · 4 years ago

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The Mandalorian Chapter 11; the rewatch edition

I have found a bit more enthusiasm for this one on the rewatch, so here goes!

- din snapping ‘I’m trying my best here!’ in a vaguely annoyed tone as his entire ship is going up in flames around him because he mostly doesn’t get angry as much as sulky... the height of cinema

- I love frog husband’s clothes, because they’re in a very similar style and colour scheme to frog lady’s but also incorporate the knitwear we see on the people of trask, so it both underlines his belonging with her and implies that he’s been on this moon for quite a while, they may have been apart for some time

especially his scarf is a darling detail and there’s a bit of contrast in texture to it next to his wife’s, it’s nice. he’s wearing a similar kind of vest to what we see on the fishermen later, too

- I think my favourite part of this entire episode (well second after din cradling the baby against him after nearly drowning) is just the design and Vibe of the planet and especially this harbour

for one I LOVE that it’s shown that even in the middle of the day it’s dark enough that the electric lights are still on when it’s overcast (it reminds me a bit of norway during the winter, actually, when dawn just never quite breaks and then slinks off in embarrassment before it’s even noon). and there’s also the... sails? nets? hanging around looking almost like flags, which are very Aesthetic but god knows what they’re for. maybe for drying fish on in the summer?

I think the building in the distance behind frog husband’s back here is a lighthouse? or it could be one of those towers for loading you see when they scout out the empire ship too, I suppose!

and one for my strange obsession with Texture on this show: these fabric-covered crates!!! they look exactly as dingy and moldy as you’d expect them to be in this climate, I wonder what they’re for (& I vaguely want to touch them)

- from the sound of it din’s vibroknife is uh ‘on’ when he pokes the squid thing, and he also goes for the tentacle the furthest away from the baby <3

proof the calamari flan have been scratched up a bit during all that time in din’s pockets! (the attention to detail in this show sometimes istg)

- this is 100% me reading too much into things again, call the overthinking police I’ll do my time meekly lol, but the boat looks a little bit like the mudhorn signet from this angle:

again din keeps his hand on or sooo close to his blaster in this entire scene, he knows this is sketch as all hell

a) once again I want to praise the effects team for how GOOD the aliens look in this episode holy shit and b) the hell is this dude wearing on the straps of his overalls tho

- the dude mando (axe woves) uses his little... wrist launcher thing to shoot with to finish two off the fishermen, so my theory that they can be loaded with other things than the whistling birds for slightly less effective use (maybe without the level of honing we’ve seen din’s be able to do?) is looking good!

- din actually has quite good form when diving into the water, I’m guessing he can swim at least tolerably when not in full armour, being stabbed at from all directions, having just had his son eaten by a sea monster and also being trapped in with said sea monster (I’m a strong swimmer and I can tell you that there’s a reason they make you swim with clothes on from time to time to see how hard it is, it sucks. with metal plates strapped all over you as well? yeah good luck) people don’t tend to hit the water that gracefully without some kind of training in my experience lol. might be some of the training with the jet pack has carried over too, considering he throws himself off that cliff in chapter 12 with similar confidence?

it’s interesting that they’re once again showing us a threat where the armour doesn’t help and even hinders him. we’re so used to the ways it can make him near-invincible, but it can also drag him down (literally, in this case. aha ha ha. well if I’m not here for my own entertainment then what am I here for honestly)

- din’s voice sounding like he’s just on the verge of crying as he cradles the baby (and the sound he makes as he realizes the baby’s alive) is my kryptonite, turns out. fucking breaks my heart into tiny pieces every time, I would die for this man and he wouldn’t let me

- in support of din’s paranoia: so far this season we haven’t been able to go five minutes without someone talking about peeling the precious beskar off a mandalorian corpse, I can see why his mind was primed to move in one particular way there

- I think the fabric of din’s cape has been treated with something that makes it waterproof; the water seems to pearl on top of it rather than soak in! can you imagine how heavy it would get if it did absorb water tho christ

(a bit hard to see at this size but that’s what it looked like to me close up anyway! could also be that it’s wool and that’s why it looks that way but I prefer an elaborate sci-fi explanation here, because it doesn’t look particularly weighed down afterwards) might also explain why he doesn’t seem worried about it catching on fire when he uses the jetpack haha, maybe this is something the mandos do with fabric they’re going to use for a long time

I also enjoy part of the gambeson/undersuit thing poking up from under the shoulder pauldron and cape; I think this is about as disheveled as we’ve seen him since immediately post-mudhorn

- the sound mixing in this scene, where din’s breathing is layered a bit over everything else so you almost feel like you’re in the helmet with him listening to what the others are saying........ oh my GOD, it embeds you so deeply in his POV but so subtly

- not to be biased or anything... but din and the armorer’s armour design is so vastly superior to these guys it shouldn’t even be a competition lol

din looks like an honest to god knight in shining armour except also sci-fi western and the armorer looks like a fucking war goddess from a time beyond memory; the clone wars mandos look like high end cosplayers (eh maybe it’s just my dislike for the boobplates that has me so 😒 lol. also a lot of dudes were very shitty about that whole thing and I don’t say anything but the ‘vaguely-concerned will remember this’ telltale message pops up in the corner every time)

moment of saltiness over: I do like the differentiation between their individual character designs

the differences in body type and helmet design is nice! they look like a unified team, but with individuality. I suspect the ladies have those belts and their armour plates on the hips instead of the front of the thighs to emphasize the ‘female’ silhouette, which. okay fine whatever

- bo katan looks very pointedly down at the baby after saying ‘a group of religious zealots who want to return to the ancient ways’ which makes me VERY nervous for reasons I can’t quite articulate

- the mournful guitar version of the mando theme as din watches the sunset...... hmmmmngh (this might be some Symbolism happening to us folks strap in for the identity crisis he still hasn’t processed)

- I Cannot get over din being so unimpressed by and uninterested in bo katan’s ‘retake mandalore’ sales pitch from literally the first moment dfhasdkjfhsad sorry lady kryze this man just does not do main quest shit, he’s all side quests all the time and that’s why I love him

- as someone who after chapter 8 wrote a whole-ass fic that was wholly & exclusively about din telling the baby he’ll always come back for him... some of the shit he’s been saying this season does feel like it’s been written to mercilessly victimize me, personally and specifically

- guessing this structure in the background is the traffic control tower! doesn’t really matter, I just thought it was neat

- this part of the soundtrack is called ‘ship o hoj, mandalorians!’, which I found incredibly charming haha (it’s ‘ship ahoy’ except how you write it in swedish, good one herr göranson)

- bo katan is vague about who exactly the new mand’alor would be if they took back mandalore to begin with, she doesn’t specify she is planning to be the ruler until she’s already got din on the ship and in no position to refuse to help. gotta respect the grift at least lol

I do love her voice, though, it reminds me a bit of jennifer hale as shepard

- “I need to get back to my ship, with the foundling” your honor I uh love him so fucking much

- frog lady stroking the baby’s back a bit as she holds her hand behind him to make sure he doesn’t fall backwards while playing with the tadpole ;___________;

and also frog husband and frog lady reaching out to hold hands and frog smooching as din and yodito leave ;____________________________________________;

- when din says the exasperated “mon calamari. unbelievable” line, the baby makes that little blowing a raspberry sound he does as if to agree ‘uh-huh unbelu -- unbelly -- unbelievable dad smh’ and it is very very adorable

- there’s quite a bit of Stuff in the concept art that didn’t make it in this time around; I wonder if maybe they cut some stuff for pacing or whatever and that’s why this episode is so short? water leaking into the cockpit of the razor crest, something that looked a bit like whaling going on on the docks and more spaceships taking off (maybe there were originally meant to be some smaller ships defending the big empire one?), there’s quite a bit here

#star wars #the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian meta

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