#i just think.. they are in a semi-unique position to understand this because this is how they are. while several other writers do not get i

[rednightmare18]

I think ultimately what I'm getting at here is that most of the KCD duology is built upon and around the core truth that Henry is just a guy.

He's just some guy who the world happened to. He doesn't wind up in his unique situation because he is inherently remarkable but because of his own violent cocktail of the highs, lows, and randoms of life -- luck, personality, grit, tragedy, nepotism. So are we all, mostly.

He isn't pulled into these semi-grand events because a high skill level and natural sense loyalty have made him into the perfect candidate to serve as Hans's squire, and Hans is not drawn to him for any of these reasons either. On the contrary, he has developed his skills and has become loyal (to Hans himself, critically, not some general intangible ideal of loyalty) because he is Hans's squire -- because Hans likes him, Henry, for no other reason than because of the person he happens to be.

He is not successful and courageous (in fact he has to work very hard at courage, consciously, over time) because he is Radzig's son and somehow imbued with these traits through the quality of his blood; being Radzig's son drags him into an unexpected position of favoritism that forces him to either develop or flounder, building out his character this way or that.

This is one of the huge statements about worth and class and social stigmata that KCD is trying to make. 90/100 times, they do a superb job. But there are gameified moments, especially in KCD2, where the script deprioritizes that narrative truth in order to fulfill the average gamer's expectations of how an RPG is supposed to work. And those moments really stick out like a sore thumb to folks who came to KCD2 having played KCD1, precisely because of how well the narrative is otherwise crafted -- and how well Henry is developed, body and mind -- over the course of two games.

Above all else, this, I think, is why it is necessary to play KCD1 to fully appreciate Kingdom Come as a work of art and to understand what it is attempting to say about the world and about people, through history and in any present moment.

[porto-rosso]

olly you should tell us ur vision for the cassie solo, im on the edge of my seat

hi thank you for asking!! sorry for taking so long to reply. long post so its going under a cut

starting off what i really want for cassie is essentially a unique position within the dc universe. at the minute there are 3 wonder girls in the comics (hesitantly could include donna since she's appeared semi-recently as wonder girl in world's finest as well) so for character longevity's sake she really needs to find her own niche. additionally, having her just take up a new hero name feels stale and doesn't really separate her from any other ww character enough to give writers in the future a reason to use her. disclaimer everything i'm about to lay out is very pick and choose with what nu52-present storylines i'm using as canon.

the solo starts with Cassie en route to themyscira. she's kind of tried a year of uni but wasn't really interested in it and socially was still having trouble with the lack of a secret identity. she's not planning on staying in themyscira too long, kind of a gap year situation? just to hone some combat skills, rethink her place as a hero, general soul searching.

through some sequence of events cassie ends up taking up an apprenticeship with one of the amazon's blacksmiths (welcome back Io). keeping with the greek mythology aspect of the amazons, the first arc of this solo follows a 12 labours of hercules format where each issue follows a specific task cassie has been set as part of her apprenticeship. (also means we can get a few young justice cameos for tasks that take her off themyscira)

on the character arc side of things, i think cassie is super in denial about how happy she is with herself. through the arc, i've got the idea that she slowly starts presenting more masculine under the excuse of it being 'more convenient' (first big change, for instance, could be cutting her hair as keeping it tied up for metalworking all the time is annoying). Through a mixture of spending time in an environment mostly free from patriarchal influence (Io being a butch woman in a relationship with another woman is super relevant here) and just undeniably feeling more comfortable with the presentation changes, she gradually comes to understand that being a tomboy when she was younger wasn't something she needed to fix. (<- undecided on this specific way of telling it though because honestly i'd like her to have a bit of a breakdown and cut her hair then. for drama)

first arc ends with her completing her apprenticeship and still feeling a bit lost but much, much more secure in her sense of self. from here, it'd follow her moving back to gateway city and setting up kind of a magical weapons specialty shop, with the idea being that when problems arise in other books to do with magic weaponry/armor/ect cassie can appear and help for the issue (think how when there's a demon problem its highly likely jason blood will show up).

basically it all boils down to giving cassie some long overdue development and a unique skillset! love her character very much lol

[hopeymchope]

I've finished playing through Another Code Recollection!

You can see my thoughts on the "Two Memories" part in this first post on the topic. But now we've got to talk about how they handled "A Journey into Lost Memories."

A lot of North American players probably never experienced the Wii original. But as big lover of CING's games, I soft-modded my Wii and imported the European release of "Another Code R." And I loved the CRAP out of it. They really took the innovative puzzles of the DS original and took them to a new level with the Wii Remote.

So. How does the "Recollection" version of ACR fare by comparison?

As I expected after playing through Two Memories, the new puzzles in the "Recollection" version of ACR are a lot simpler than the original. These are more typical to what you find in adventure games and less, shall we say, experimental. There's not nearly as much effort put into using the Switch's unique form/functionality in unexpected ways, but I still had fun solving them. I even got momentarily stymied by two of them this time! The "Two Memories" remake only ONCE had me stuck like this, so I really think they gave "A Journey into Lost Memories" a bit of escalated challenge, and I appreciate it!

Similar to how they removed the bad ending from "Two Memories," they took out some of the possible branches/decisions in ACR for this remake. You no longer have any means by which to identify/describe your lost bag to Dan, ultimately affecting whether you get it back later in the game; the path to retrieving your bag is now different and linear. The subplot where Ashley is briefly accused of robbing the guesthouse also only has ONE solution now. In the original ACR, if you were clever enough to snap a picture of Matthew in the back room while peeking through the blinds, you could actually bypass the entire "prove your innocence" semi-puzzle by just showing that photo to Tommy. But you can't pull out your camera during that part of the story in the remake, so you have to deal with the puzzle no matter what.

3. I positively love the redesign of Janet??? What a glow-up! They added some much-needed diversity into this one with her and Ranger Dan's new look, too. You can tell that both Janet and Dan are now people of some color.

4. The biggest shock is just how much Recollection changed the story of ACR. This is most notably present in how everything wraps up and comes together at the end. Matthew's storyline is NOT left hanging for a future game to pick up this time... he gets closure, though I admit the actual "solution" to his mystery doesn't quite add up and feels a little half-assed. But I understand that the devs had their hands tied a bit here... how do you end his storyline when you don't have a whole other game to expound upon the answers and you ALSO don't want to spend a ton of time destracting further from Ashley's own plotline? It's a tough situation.

5. The biggest change is undoubtedly Ryan Gray. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that Ryan's entire backstory is now different and MUCH more sci-fi in nature. It gets pretty wild! It does at least tie into the resolution to Matthew's storyline, although he also loses some of what made his ending so satisfying in the process. But in fairness, he also GAINS something: Ryan becomes more a sympathetic presence and far less of an emotionally detached person in this version of the story. However, unlike in the original ACR, Ryan no longer leads us to learning the ultimate mastermind behind all the tragedy in the series. Which is... a hell of a choice to make, because now it's kept very VAGUE who the actual mastermind was. I'm not sure if the game actually says who it is (one person is clearly implied to be responsible, but... ) or just leaves it vague for a possible future installment. But shit, if you were gonna do that why not just leave Matthew's storyline the same at that point... ?

6. There are other small changes throughout, of course. Most of them have no real impact on the storytelling to me, but personally, I really missed the scene where Ashley talks to Matthew about D from the first game after Matthew first witnesses a ghost. It's a great moment I wish they'd kept. Also, a funny change is that the characer of Sam Hillman - who never really did jack shit in the original game - is just straight-up removed now. Janet gets a slightly expanded role that lets her step into Sam's position instead. Sorry/not sorry, Sam. LOL.

7. It is once again impossible to overstate the value of the enhanced presentation. The voice cast does an absolutely amazing job throughout, and the more detailed facial animations give Ashley so much more SASS than she ever had before. I fucking LOVE it.

8. The ending credits had me literally choking up... just like the end credits of the original ACR did, but in a totally different way. The montage of beautiful artwork and that pencil-style animation of Ashley feeling hopeful and full of joy is just... SO beautiful. Seeing Ashley in her original outfit from ACR! Seeing Matthew with his dad! Seeing Charlotte's extended family! KYLE FUCKING HYDE cameo appearance! (So glad to see MORE confirmation of the shared CING universe.) That ENDING SONG - so beautiful and touching!!! LOOOOOOVE.

9. Ultimately, if you asked me "Is it better to play the original Trace Memory/Another Code games or just play Recollection?" I'd say "Yes." I can't honestly decide if I love this revision or the originals more, so just PLAY ASHLEY'S GAMES. The story is better presented and the dialogue is better-written here, but I prefer the puzzles and small branches/choices in the originals. But either way: They're beautiful, satisfying stories that, even when they're sometimes predictable, are still thoroughly worth experiencing and full of delightful characters and touching resolutions. I want more people to love these characters as much I do. JUST PLEASE PLAY.

10. #AshforSmash6 :D

[blackdigitalrose]

Yes! Pretty Cure 5 Review

The second Finale review and as the cast is bigger, I'll rank the Cures in preference order over actual appearance order... the bar is low for this series mind you but I'll try not to be bias and stay impartial. I dunno how this series ever gave the impression it was ever its biggest way back then???

I can't the positives are few. The plot is at least consistent, it doesn't take and sudden u-turns into something else at any point. It could have done more to show the Pinky hunt, they only did a couple and then it's never spoken of until they need the last couple to complete it? Coco and Nozomi makes things awkward through out, Milk and Nozomi make things difficult to watch or at least mute the darn think, meanwhile Rin and Karen pettiness is just exhausting but at least that one does seem to get some sort of resolution/ middle ground. Coco and Nuts though do make a good tag team/duo though, even if their actual relationship isn't clear. Nightmare weren't too shabby though, the harsh, cruel business structure was a good foil to the Precure ideals of this series and the progressed as the Precure evolved, it was a good alternative than just giving them a power up, you just worked your way up the corporate ladder instead. On the other hand they are on the whole the weakest link when looking at the full picture because everything they do is for Despariah, the problem there, Despariah's goals don't contradict or hinder the goals of Coco/Nuts & co. To make it worse, Despariah's actual wish for the Dream Collet is as cliché and unimaginative as it gets...and has absolutely squat all to do with the theme of the show. It wraps up with a nice little bow... so tidily, it has no impact. I've got nothing, this series was just flat out weak.

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Cure Mint/ Akimoto Komachi Komachi came out of no where really but the last stretch of eps, really made her stand out and in ways actually relatable. Her relationship with Nuts likely helped here but her character focus eps, weren't just about her writing, it helped build her up and the fact she persevered on her stories throughout, no matter how many times they were rejected, is commendable. There was a storm underneath that calm, quiet surface of hers.

Cure Lemonade / Kasugano Urara I told you the bar was low, I am not a fan of Urara on the whole, she's very clingy to Nozomi, she's scarcely branched out to the other members of the team and I honestly don't understand why she's a Cure in the first place, after all, she's already achieving her dream. She does however get the most exploration outside of the team, between her family, manager and work in general, so at least she got some semi decent focus and her Curry ep was a decent one.

Cure Aqua/ Minazuki Karen Here's a fall from grace, compared to the midway reviews. I did like Karen, her faliure to become a Cure first time, being the voice of reason and only one to ever call out Nozomi, despite backtracking a mere minute later. Unfortunately, after her first appearance and a chance a brilliant mini arc, she got nothing all series, aside a petty feud with Rin and one really snazzy looking, unique battle and one quite sensible process on her deciding on wanting to become a doctor.

Cure Dream/ Yumehara Nozomi  Shockingly, she isn't last, one is just some what more iffy than Nozomi is annoying. The problem I have, Nozomi is a horrid character and at no point does she get better and I stand by that but egads, nothing is more than annoying than everyone taken the blame for her and never letting her take responsibility. Yet, they get so close to addressing this on multiple occassions and just shrug it off with another excuse. On the other hand, Cure Dream is a decent leader, she inspires the team, she can rally them together, it isn't all about her (ish), it's as if another personality takes over.

Cure Rouge/ Natsuki Rin If it isn't her dumb, pointless fights with Karen, that seem to come and go, depending on the mood of the writers, it's her creepy mother coddling of Nozomi, it's just too much. For best friends, the show scarcely showed it. I genuinely recall very little else about her if it doesn't involve Nozomi and she did get some unusual character eps to, so it is odd.

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Nuts - He's the only decent one, this isn't much of a contest. Yes his arc was busted in his first ep appearance, they did manage to expand on it slightly, despite constantly changing it every chance they got and being the shows emotional manipulated punching bag. However, his honesty and hate for lies, along with his developing friendship with Komachi over the series are some of his positives.

Coco - Really is a case of which is the worst of the pair and they are bad for different reasons. Coco's relationship with Nozomi is painfully forced straight out the gate from their encounter in ep 1 and then, to top it all, he becomes her teacher and it all gets rather creepy from there. On the other hand, his teaching skills are his saving grace and despite it all, is a positive role model for Nozomi in that regard.

Milk - One would start to think Nozomi can bring out the worst in other characters. Milk's constant bickering with Nozomi is painful to watch. It is dumb, it is petty and we don't need a second act, we already have two characters covering this. I assume, Milk gives Nozomi such a hard time due to jealousy, it's never actually explained, nor is that weird suitcase she's always carrying around. Seriously, what's in it that she can't let it out of her sight?

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Best:

Kawarino -Not as wasted as Bloody was but I'll still give it to Kawarino. The voice is just so off putting, it makes you feel uneasy every time he speaks (so kudos to them on that one), plus on top of that, he's a manipulative prick who uses everyone as pawns (... good gravy it is another parallel) who ironically falls into despair after Despariah's change of heart and all he's done being for nothing, which lead to him being captured by Bloody for a rather fitting comeuppance. It is a pity we didn't get to see him in action more.

Worst:

Despariah - This series has a list of forgettable or just wasted potential villains but I've got to give it to the EB, while yes she had a presence through out, she was built up to be some rather fearsome, scary figure and in the end, we got this... A walking cliche, cookie cutter villain with an unimaginative wish that does nothing to thwart the other side. Heck even attacking the Palmier Kingdom seems pointless on the whole and more so done because they were bored. Bloody said the company was different before but we never got to see this, outside this throw away line. Despariah was just so, so underwhelming.

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[billveusay]

I watched Gundam Narrative and...

You can check out my review of Unicorn in the (Banagher) links below because as I said, it's more of Unicorn. And to save you some time, I will address rapid-fire style the recurring reasons for why I didn't like it either.

It's still very hard to follow the plot and the points it's trying to make, the fight scenes still devolve into shouty visual noise and sparkles, the Newtype powers do whatever the plot needs them to do, it still repeats its very deep lines over and over again (Yes Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative, I know that if the little blonde girl were to be reincarnated she'd like to become a bird, this is the fifth time you've flashed back to it), and I can't be invested in any character because everyone's motivations are so disconnected from normal human thoughts.

Now, for what's unique to this movie... it's a semi-interesting story but I can't say it has more than potential. I'm interested in the relationship between these three kids and what they went through, or the life of this failed Char Clone, but it's not really explored, it's just... told. It's there, they shout a lot about it, but they almost don't do anything with it. I'm guessing many things had to be cut in the adaptation from the novel to the screen, but all we know about Rita is that the other two like her, she's nice, and she loves birds. And we have even less to work with for protagonist guy. But while it's kind of inevitable for a movie to have less time to develop characters than a 50 episodes TV show, maybe they could have developed them more if they cut out the nineteen flashbacks to stuff we already saw.

There are other things that felt poorly written. For example, one thing I didn't address in Unicorn was how they established that the titular Gundam was such an incredible piece of unique technology... and then there's another one (the Banshee). They just had it. And it's never explained further. Maybe it is in the novel and it's a failure of adaptation, but knowing where the flaws come from don't excuse them. And here, there's a third one. And the soul of this girl is stuck inside of it. How? Don't know, Newtype psycho-frame shit. And it can supposedly move through time, but only a living person can... fix things... I don't know, it's a mess, they can say whatever and it would make as much sense. Frankly, it almost makes me want to read those books just to understand what's going on.

Also wait. Now that I think about it... three mutants who can allegedly predict the future and are experimented on and used by the government, but it turns out one of them is actually the special one... that's Minority Report! Well, can't fault for picking good inspiration at least.

Visually, it's very well made, but I really don't like the Phenex. It's flashy and overdesigned. The Narrative is okay though, and there are some cool designs. But to end on a positive note, that ending song is a right banger (Links)!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand... that's it! This was the last thing I watched before starting Iron-Blooded Orphans, and I'm currently at episode 13. I have officially caught up to myself!

So... see you in a few weeks when I'm done with it!

My gundam reviews :

> Hathaway's Spark > Mobile Suit Gundam > Gundam Zeta > 0083: Stardust Memory > 0080: War in the Pocket > 8th MS Team > The Witch from Mercury > Gundam Thunderbolt > The Origin > Turn A Gundam > F91 > Gundam Unicorn > Gundam 00 > MS IGLOO > Gundam Narrative > Iron-Blooded Orphans

[crusherthedoctor]

I'm feeling disappointed with myself as a writer.

Not counting the very first chapter where it's just Trudy and Verte, I had decided to get the Silver chapter of Trudy Meets out of the way first before moving onto the other non-Verte characters due to my lack of interest towards him (it doesn't matter too much what order I complete them in due to the semi-loose nature of this mini-series). Since writing for a character who you actively don't like can prove beneficial for many competent writers, I had hoped this would be the case here. I had hoped that analyzing Silver through writing, and exploring his character a little bit, might be able to help me gain more appreciation for his foundation at least, despite my personal thoughts on his execution in both the games and the comics.

...But it never came. Instead, I was just bored and frustrated the whole time. It's a surreal experience to be internally thinking "please shut the fuck up, you are seriously getting on my nerves" to something that you wrote with your own fingers. I don't know if it's just the current climate with Silver that's putting additional pressure on my shoulders to convey muh rough edges, but the need to emphasize Silver's uniquely irritating blend of naive and snide (but not too naive, even though Silver instantly trusting Mephiles being a widely defended choice nowadays makes it hard to even tell where the line is supposed to be according to fans), and then having Trudy interact with him and express understandable annoyance with his attitude in a way that's still respectful towards him, and doesn't cause fans to start throwing accusations of me pulling a Lanolin with her... this was simply a chore, nothing more. I don't think I've had a more stressful experience writing a Sonic character. I didn't feel satisfied or enlightened by the time I was done. And until the other chapters are completed and I can link them all together (not literally, just in the context of Trudy recalling them all to Verte), I won't even know for sure if I did a good job with Silver or not.

Keep in mind that I didn't rush through it. I took my time with it, just like any other work I make with any other character(s) I use. Yet... nothing. No change. No shift. No satisfaction. Just "ugh, this guy".

It's not that I couldn't put my personal bias aside to write Silver professionally. I actually think that part is easy, since I remained intent on portraying him accurately and with dignity the whole time, refusing to go full hack writer and start whaling on him like a chew toy because I just so happen to not like him. But I wanted to gain a better perspective on him after all this, as I feel most writers would have in such a position. Instead, the opposite happened: I think I dislike him even more now after the experience, which as a writer, makes me feel like I've failed or done something wrong.

Meh. I'm gonna do the Trip chapter next. Maybe Trudy interacting with her will cheer me up.

[beabaseball]

I fell down a weird... hole in the internet the last 24 hours, reading articles that I want to talk about but cannot talk about for the exact reasons I want to talk about them. I've backed all these links up on the wayback machine in fear they ever go offline. All of these are explicit, talk about sex and genitalia explicitly, and discuss consent, social suppression, and non-consent. First, The Tearoom - A public bathroom simulator about police surveillance of MSM (men who have sex with men) based off a nonfiction study from the US and UK from the 1970s. Sent me off on so many directions, I clicked every god damn link this thing has. What I remember is mostly in the area of sexuality but only because the guns and masculinity commentary are so smoothly succinct.

"What if this gun is my penis" is a pretty obvious metaphor, but it helped me ensure a variety of shapes to orally service. You could say gun culture is somewhat body-positive -- there is relatively little size-shaming around unique pistol designs (e.g. a Mauser C96) or unique concepts (e.g. the trendy "Obrez"), a gun can be "cool" for a myriad of reasons. Take that, size queens! More importantly, guns also help me escalate my resistance against Twitch's draconian game-banning policies because guns are clearly not penises. Therefore, there is no basis for Twitch to ban my game, like it banned the rest of my games -- however, if they still ban my game, then it will be the first time in history that the game industry regulates and bans a game about guns

The Husband Stitch by Carmen Maria Machado - a short story, discussed in the next article. Warnings are for themes of non-consent (which is different from sexual assault, but also a warning for a mentioned semi-described sexual assault), explicit sexual situations, and just. The scariest stage directions I've ever read. Cultural context just in case: the green ribbon is a reference to this specific retelling as a children's story, which may be spoilers but I assume you're expected to recognize it? And 'The Husband Stitch' a medical practice/myth/nightmare where, during vaginal birth where the perineum is torn or cut, it is stitched up... with one extra stitch "for the husband" to make the wife tighter when having vaginal sex. Something about a human being an object for the pleasure of someone else. Of bodies not belonging to themselves. Not of specific incidents of trauma but the damage of existing in a world in a way that has you cut away pieces of yourself. I want to talk about this story and what I still don't understand about it. I want to talk about the ribbons.

What I Don't Tell My Students About 'The Husband Stitch' - an article discussing the above story. I guess it doesn't say anything you don't already get from the story. I think it intentionally glosses over the consent themes to focus on the disbelief at the root of that consent violation, and the role that disbelief plays in specifically misogyny. Which is also in racism, in antisemitism, in the way absolute reality is unbearable. Something something. Gender and sexuality. Something something, even as an aroace agender, the kindness and necessity of depicting perversion in art.

[fangsup-cobrastyle]

Text version for anyone who needs it:

i still don’t feel like this is real… people your age, your peers, the ones you shared so much time and experience with aren’t supposed to just suddenly leave your life forever…but i suppose permanence isn’t really a concept humans are meant to understand.

i’ve spent the past few days thinking about Bob a lot and the person i knew him to be. These are some of the things that stuck out:

BC Bryar was a lot of things. An enigma of sorts because he often inhabited both ends of any spectrum at the same time. He was my friend and my bandmate, but he was also like a stranger to me for most of my life. We lived together for a while, on and off the road… but after the band we would go months on end without any type of contact, until i texted him a “happy birthday!” or out of nowhere he would hit me asking how old the kids were these days or check in on how my dad was feeling. Sometimes we’d trade a meme or photos of lego builds we had done, but then someone would leave the other on read and an indeterminate radio silence would follow. In the meantime i’d hear rumblings of what he might be up to or some shit he’d stirred up online, but that wasn’t ever the person i was acquainted with. 

Bob was incredibly talented and he knew it, confident enough in his abilities to convince us that he was the right drummer for our band without us actually ever hearing him play drums. However, over the years i found him to be incredibly self conscious and introverted whenever he felt placed outside of his comfort zone. Bob was eccentric as fuck and funny as hell. He could be mean and troll you so hard that it would cut you in half, but if you ever really needed something he would be the first one there to give you whatever he had if it would help you out in some way or put a smile on your face. Although thumbing his nose and pissing people off was always a favorite pastime and something he didn’t ever grow out of…(i guess if you find you do something well, you tend to stick to it.)

Bob often got fixated on things to a point of obsession and he liked to make things difficult. In a strange way i think he found some comfort in it. His drumming was clean, always precise and unique, but i remember while on tour for the black parade he got bored, and so as a game he decided to position all of his drums flat so that there were no angles pointing toward him. In turn making it more uncomfortable to play and ultimately injuring his wrists. As far as i know he refused to ever go back to a more comfortable position… but this was also around the time Bob refused to wear any kind of footwear other than walmart slippers because he preferred comfort over any kind of style.

BC Bryar was at times the one i related to the most in the band because his humor was dark as fuck just like mine and we could laugh over our collective negativity without ever worrying we might offend one another. We even had this plan to get semi matching tattoos that would say:

Bob/Frank Hates _________. and then we could fill them in with something different in marker each day when we undoubtedly found a new thing that got on our nerves. There were also times when i think Bob disliked me immensely, and wished he could kick me out of the band. Maybe some days he would have written my name in sharpie on the blank space of that tattoo.

Bob really didn’t like the company of people all that much, but he loved animals. i’m quite convinced he would have been happy to watch the world burn if he could be promised not a single dog or cat would be harmed in the process. At one point while we were working and living out in LA Bob and a few friends got scammed by a dog trainer and one of his dogs was killed in the process. It was a real shady story and Bob was devastated. It really wrecked him emotionally and i don’t think he was ever the same again. Things really went south with him and the band following that incident, he just couldn’t keep it together anymore, his sadness, anger and distrust were too much to handle and took over all aspects. I remember telling him, please just come to me with stuff first. You can talk to me about whatever shit is bothering you without a filter and together we can come up with a way to either fix the situation or figure out a plan on how to discuss this with everyone else… But ultimately it was a bandaid that didn’t hold, the damage was done and Bob was too far gone. Eventually I was the one that had to tell him he was out of the band. He isolated himself by design pretty soon after that. I tried to see him a few times over the years, but he politely made it impossible. I don’t think i ever got to tell him i was sorry, i don’t know if it would have mattered… but i do wish like hell I finished the text conversation we had back in September.

I hope you found some peace, BC.

I’m glad the universe let me know you for a while. xofrnk

frankieromustdie: Rest in Peace BC, 🖤 xofrnk

[Dec 3, 2024]

[niconebula]

Okay, I really want Watching and Dreaming to include in it's themes a conversation about The Collector's immortality and King's self professed semi-immortality. The big elephant in the room is that King is eventually going to outlive all of his family and friends dozens of times over. He starts implying that they have this kind of connection and understanding to Eda, but we haven't seen it play out yet. This is the reason it's important to set him and the Collector up as the genuine best friends I'm sure they will start (slowly) becoming by the end of the series.

I find TOH to be a death and naturality positive show. Caleb will never actually speak from his grave to Belos, there's no communicating with the dead and any attempt at a reversal of the natural cycle, like Belos re-animating tons of Grimwalkers, is obviously framed as being bad. I could make a whole post just on this topic. It's also why I'm not completely on board with the guy from the in-between being THE titan himself.

It's been said by Dana that The Collectors are all about being unnatural, resisting change, and preserving time. They collect so that things may never fade, and the Titans were in direct opposition to this in their creating of new, different life through death. Therefore, I'd like them to tackle the theme head on with King opening up about his existential dread and uncertainties. One of my fears ever since the big reveal was that they were going to find some magical way to change King into a mortal being so that he could be with his family in a 'normal' way. This would be a bad move for a lot of reasons; primarily that it blows a hole in the legacy he carries as the last Titan and representative of his people. Though it might be comforting to him to live the life he originally expected, it would take away his unique identity. With the Collector, a lot of theories hinge upon his magic being drained in some kind of way, making him into a normal mortal child as a solution to his problems. I'll be really disappointed if this happens. I'm not against them preserving a large part of his magic somehow in an amulet to allow them to access it once they come of age and maturity (incredibly specific because this is my idea right now). But anything further would be taking away their identity as well as making King once again alone by the time the Clawthornes die (again unless they do it to him too.. it would be bad though).

Both being the only one of their species remaining from the war (though there may be more Collectors further out there), their reconciliation is an incredibly strong theme. And for King to know that he's not alone in trying to accept his history and Titan-hood, and everything that entails. I'm also just incredibly curious about the kinds of things they would get up to in the farther future including some inter-dimensional or worldly travel and for King the rebuilding of the Titan species; a lore topic for another day but I tend to think King only having a dad is quite literal in that Titans are a 'male' only species and reproduce in a kind of magical asexual way.

[leonsi]

seeing all these rottmnt/2012 crossovers bash on the 2012 bros’ relationship with each other is kiiindaaa upsetting as someone who’s uncomfortable with expressing and receiving overt affection

but hey what do i know i probablyy just have all toxic unhealthy relationships where we never understand each other and share mutual trust and love *twirls hair*

the 2012 bros may not openly express their love like the rottmnt boys do, but that doesnt mean its not there. and acting like the rottmnt relationships are automatically better and the only Right standard for healthy relationships seems pretty,, juvenile and inexperienced imo. love isnt only expressed through physical affection and saying things like “i love you,” openly, and assuming there is no love in a relationship without those things is… odd.

love is not only in words or hugs. the 2012 boys can love each other just as much as the rottmnt boys without being open about it. 2012 raph, especially, loves to show affection through acts of service, physical affection, and quality time, but he doesn’t like any of this to be commented on because it makes him uncomfortable. and thats okay! he doesn’t need to express affection openly to have it be there.

just as rottmnt donnie can express love and affection outside of hugs and words, so too can the 2012 boys. they all have their own unique ways of expressing love that the others all respect and recognize, and dismissing that feels less like it’s intentional, and more like the people writing these crossovers just don’t recognize alternate forms of expression exist. which, again,, reeks of inexperience.

( also semi-related tangent speaking of donnie he literally fucking . put a shock collar on his brother like he’s a dog in an attempt to change him. and brainwashed his brothers. and frequently puts his own wants and needs over their own - which is totally fine, if it didn’t happen all the time. it’s kinda laughable to say 2012 raph is worse than rottmnt donnie honestly

siblings hit each other. okay. siblings hit each other. i need y’all to recognize this. i will power drive my little brother into the floor over the last oreo. siblings hitting each other is not abusive (TYPICALLY) because there are established boundaries both parties abide by. like i will never touch my siblings if they are in a bad mood, trying to concentrate on something, or otherwise in a bad position (like standing somewhere dangerous, by a corner etc), and i will never intentionally hurt them. if i think they are actually hurt, we stop immediately until they tell me theyre fine. roughhousing with your siblings is fun. it is bonding. its a self-esteem booster to be able to pick up ur freshman brother okay.

the 2012 bros always abide by these rules. they never hurt each other beyond what the other party can handle, and if they do, it is very clearly treated as a bad thing by them or the other brothers so they realize they went over the line, and they resolve it by the end of the episode (as is the way of formulaic kids shows).

rottmnt donnie. put a fucking shock collar on his brother. and this is funny to him. and not something he ever learns from. and totally not weirdly sexual. But 2012 raph is the bad guy? ok )

i mean. i dont know what i expect from a fandom full of chronically online children who truly dont have experience with relationships. but it just really irks me for some reason and its currently one in the morning so im feeling whiny about it.

affection outside of words and hugs exists. affection outside of words and hugs exist!! and if you know that then you know that the 2012 boys love each other so so so much, just as much as rottmnt. just because they express it differently than in sanitized queer TV shows and not overtly, so you kinda have to pick up on nuance, doesnt mean they dont love each other. let people love other people in non-overt ways!

[minluvrz]

eren and armin hc’s !

. [ characters: armin arlert , eren jeager. ]

. cw; nothing much, just fluff. pet names such as baby, babe, etc. gender neutral reader. idk why these ended up being about food LMAOO.

this is basically just me expressing how the two act. that’s it. this is also 100% factual

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

armin arlert - shellfish hater

- i feel like armin is the type of person to just really dislike seafoods like shrimp, crawfish, clams, etc..

-he would be fine with eating fish like salmon and such, but thinks the thought of shrimp and crawfish is absolutely vile.

armin was sitting behind you on the bed, with you enclosed in front of him, with your chest leaning against his back. It was a position you two would always find yourselves in as you liked being as close to each other as possible. however, with armin being as smart as he is, he’ll probably be reading a book as you two enjoy each other’s presence. “y/n. look.”

he held a book in front of your face, showing you some sort of marine life. it took you quite some processing to process that you were looking at prawn.

“see, isn’t it so cute?”

armins always had a thing for learning about marine life, but sometimes his knowledge on the subject was way too much.

“yeah, it’s cute!”

just know that after this convo he’ll always question why you like eating it ☠️.

“you know babe, i can’t understand why you eat them”

“are you not weirded out by the fact that it actually looks like a dead animal?”

-the moment an animal actually looks like an animal, he’ll lowkey feel bad .

BONUS!

armin has really bad allergies in the spring, so expect him to always have benadryl or something on him

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

eren jeager - picky eater…

i don’t know why, but it’s pretty much an established fact in my head that even is a very picky eater. you two would be at a semi expensive restaurant ordering your meals, but eren decides to be a little wild and try something unique!

“i’ll have mac n’ cheese with chicken tenders and grapes.”

your mouth hung open in awe of the at that your boyfriend seriously had no shame. the waiter walked away with a fast pace, and you finally let out the cackle you’d been stifling since he uttered those words.

“babe you literally just ordered off the kids menu.”

“i stick with my mac n cheese because it’s kraft and it’ll stay the same every single time. And It’s really fucking hard to mess up chicken tenders.” he shrugged his shoulders briskly and leaned down to take another sip of his orange juice, causing his hair to fall in front of his eyes.

“I thought we made an agreement that you had to try one different food today.”

“did you not see the menu? everything looked absolutely disgusting. beef wellington got too many syllables in it anyways. i don’t trust that shit”

you leaned back into your seat with a sigh and waited for your man child to receive his meal 😐.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[philosophicalparadox]

Oh 100% Itachi is a parental figure to Sasuke. And you don’t even have to look at Itachi to see it.

Sasuke treats him more like a father sometimes than a brother. Especially given the overall narrative that this series usually establishes about father-son relationships, which to be fair are also reflected a bit in teacher-student dynamics but nowhere near as much.

And that narrative overall is not unique to Naruto but is a rather typical shonen trope thing about having a goal to supersede your father, to best him at his own game, or to otherwise surpass him. (This is a deeply cultural thing in Japan…but I am not going there today).

And while occasionally brothers do stand in for this as ordinary brothers, usually if a sibling, trope wise, has to step into the “you must live to surpass me” role, it’s because they’re narratively a paternal figure.

And like I said, Sasuke’s got all the clues here. He:

Is always looking for Itachi’s attention, be it positive or negative

Obeys his brother without even thinking about doing otherwise even long after the massacre*

Pre massacre, he’s clingy and needy towards Itachi because his father won’t give him the time of day, but also because canonically that’s just how he’s always been. Sometimes babies really do pick their parents. (I’ve been in that situation, sort of, otherwise I’d of said it seemed unrealistic. But no, sometimes a little baby just says “no, YOU get to be my mom!” And there’s really nothing you can do 🤷‍♀️ this happened twice, with my niece AND grand nephew.)

Sasuke is always striving to best his brother, even after the massacre, like when he was training with the Kunai, trying to beat Itachi’s record. Yeah that’s a typical sibling thing, but in the bigger context, like after Itachi’s death when Sasuke is once again trying to out-do him, it feels more shonen-trope-fatherly to me. (Though I will concede that I only really watch Shonen that leans in the general direction of Seinen, which is to say more mature themes that twist the typical Shonen narrative; Naruto both is and isn’t an exception to this. Point is I’m biased lol)

* in reference to two:

There is one poignant scene in which Sasuke doesn’t kill Naruto explicitly because he doesn’t want to do what Itachi tells him to anymore. He then semi reneges on this later and decides that severing the bond is more important— he’s still technically not doing it for the reasons Itachi said, but he has changed his mind all the same.

After Itachi dies, Sasuke decides to go counter to his brother’s wishes, but he’s ultimately still doing what he thinks Itachi wants…sort of.

Now, before I go here, I want to say that this is entirely my interpretation, and you’re free to disagree.

But when Itachi tells Sasuke to hate him more, that he’ll only get stronger if he harbors more hate…a lot of Itachi haters take him literally here, and/or are very confused by it. But in my mind, what Itachi is actually saying as a deeply traumatized 18 year old with limited life experience who has just come back to the place that started it all and probably isn’t in a great place is:

I want you to hate me as much as I hate myself.

And, in particular reference to the “you’re weak if you can’t hate with all your heart” thing (I don’t have the panels on hand) :

I want you to throw away or erase everything you ever cared about just like I did.

As someone who has dealt with severely angry and angsty teens before, this is the message I heard. He wasn’t really goading Sasuke on, insofar as he was looking for someone to commiserate with. And nobody else but Sasuke would genuinely understand. I don’t think it was a planned response, personally— Itachi wasn’t looking for Sasuke, and didn’t appear to know that Naruto was his teammate. So my bets are on that being an impulsive reaction to a stressful situation and Itachi trying really hard to put a wall between them while inadvertently pleading for closeness.

But the point is that Sasuke heard what he meant, not what he said. Because he knows his brother. And Sasuke did exactly that — threw away everything, just like Itachi, severed his bonds, just like Itachi, became a rogue, just like Itachi, etc.

You could very well argue that Sasuke just went and did that if his own accord trying to feel closer to Itachi, which I would completely believe. But either way it’s far more son-father than brother-brother in its dynamic. Don’t get me wrong they absolutely have their bro moments, like when Sasuke is chasing Edo tensei Itachi down and calling him a big fat liar essentially, and being a complete child while Itachi basically rolls his eyes at the Drama 🤣 it’s both funny and sad.

But overall there is certainly a sense of paternalism in their relationship. But it’s not solely defined by Itachi, which makes me wonder how anyone ever missed it.

Ever since @shinoposting made a post about Itachi being a more parental figure to Sasuke a couple of months ago, I've seen several angry responses to it, with the sentiment that "Itachi fans want to make Itachi look good and their parents look bad."

Listen.

A five-year-end boy is left alone on the night of the kyuubi attack with his toddler brother.

He doesn't even seem disconcerted, but instead promises "I'll always protect you, no matter what."

Itachi is the one who sits with him, despite his busy schedule, despite grieving Shisui, and despite being burdened with what's more than he could handle, he took time to check on Sasuke's report card.

Itachi was also ready to abandon his first Anbu mission for Sasuke's sake. It was after this their father even recalls he had to go to the Academy.

Itachi "ignored" Sasuke. And, like, what do people even expect from someone who's been this much burdened that isolating himself is the only thing he can do to protect Sasuke and his innocence?

Yet, Itachi doesn't know exactly how not to be distant. That's a sign of how much he was suffering at this point. He was "bad" after the massacre, but before that, he was kind and sweet, who cared about nothing but Sasuke's wellbeing.

[beauty-and-passion]

What Eurovision 2021 taught us

1. That a nice, enjoyable show was possible (even if 4 presenters are still too much)

Of course nothing can beat Love Love Peace Peace (even if Ja Ja Ding Dong does its best), but this year's intermissions were very enjoyable.

We expected something flashy and over the top because hey, The Netherlands. Sex, drugs, gays and all that jazz.

But instead Covid surprised us. And then The Netherlands surprised us even more, by making a very enjoyable show, despite the restrictions. My personal favourites were:

The water intermission of the first semi-final. I loved the mixed feelings, how water is both scary and respected, for being such a powerful, unstoppable force.

The rooftop concerts during the final. Social distancing? Sure, no problem, let's make the past winners sing on top of some roofs all over Rotterdam. That was pure genius, I loved it so much.

On the other hand, the presenters were basically all useless. We could've had just two of them instead of four. But hey, at least they weren't as cringy as the three scary ukranians from 2017 or the useless four ladies from Portugal. The true highlights of the show were the intermissions, the guests and especially the songs themselves and this is perfectly good for me.

________________________

2. That we can live in a world without boring ass ballads

I’ve never been so proud of the Eurovision public, especially during the second semifinal: that evening was PACKED with ballads. Boring ballad after boring ballad, with just a couple more funny songs in between.

The ballads were all left behind. Even the two Amen. And I love the irony we chose El Diablo and the finnish band for the final, but no Amen. No saints allowed, only the norwegian angel. As it always should be.

And so we had the best final I've seen since I started following Eurovision in 2014. Catchy songs, dance songs, upbeat songs. And power ballads. Yes, ballads can still have a place, but only if they're good.

Because yes, Switzerland and France were good. Very good. Just not as good as the ones the public wanted.

________________________

3. That we want Eurovision, not Englishvision

Every year, the same message blasts from all Europeans: send a song in your native language. This show is supposed to make other people from Europe (and the rest of the world) to know more about your own country, to enjoy its rhythm and to listen to something we don't usually hear. So why waste this huge opportunity, to bring a generic song in English?

Because the English song wins. Because we all understand English, so English has more chances.

Flash news: GUESS WHO WON THIS YEAR. No, it’s not the generic English song.

The public has been crystal clear, the final poll is even clearer: the top five includes an italian song, an ukraine song, two french songs and only one english song. We want different styles and rhythms, we want to listen to Europe.

So I want to give my full thank you to:

Albania: amazing song, great voice, wonderful language. Do it again.

Serbia: these ladies are fantastic, their song is great and they sang it in their language so I love them

Switzerland: thank you for leaving English to the side to give us some good french

Spain: the song wasn't as good as Universo, but it was in sexy spanish, so thank you for using it almost every year

Danemark: the song was terrible, but it was in your language and this alone deserves everything

France: I know we all make fun of you for being France, but your language is perfect for songs, so thank you for always using it

Ukraine: take note, Ukraine, because Europe is madly in love with your language and your rhythm

Italy: our language is beautiful, so thank you for delivering every year

While my biggest biases go to:

Greece: a generic pop song with no balkan rhythm and no greek either? An absolute shame, greek should always be used for songs.

Russia: russian language is very melodious and yes, we got something this year, but what about bringing a full russian song? We want it!

Germany: I may sound crazy, but I honestly think german language is good for songs. It's not like the mediterranean languages, but it still works. So please, do not be scared and show what you can do with it!

Scandinavian countries: why do you never want to bring your own language? Do it, don't be scared! Yes, Sweden, I'm talking with you: you still never tried to bring something in swedish, so do it.

________________________

4. That we don't want Americans to play with us

For reasons we still have to understand, Flo Rida was competing this year. And he was competing for San Marino, the smallest European country.

I'm pretty sure they took some time to explain to him what was going on, where he was, where San Marino is, wtf was happening, why there were sexy italians and ukranian witches and a norwegian angel and loads of beautiful women everywhere.

And I loved how we all send memes about this, about ahahah why is Flo Rida here, what if San Marino wins where would they host Eurovision, all while enjoying an actual catchy song.

And then, in the end, Flo Rida basically disappeared. Who remembers Flo Rida, when we got Ukraine, Italy, Finland, Iceland, and the UK? And Germany being wholesome? And the love story between Norway and Azerbaijan? We collectively forgot about him and I think it's very sexy from Europe to just say "nope" and push America away, even if for just one week.

And this isn't the first time: we basically showed Madonna in a corner in 2019, thanks to Mans, Eleni, Verka and Conchita. Once again, Europeans knows what they want: we don't want Americans. Australia can because they're like that little brother we took under our wing for no reason and now it's part of us. But not Americans.

The rest of the year is all yours, but one week is ours.

________________________

5. That we can lose like bosses

This year, the voting results have been absolutely insane and FOUR COUNTRIES got zero points from the public, while the UK got both zero points from the public AND the jury.

Don't get me wrong, the song was bad. And yes, Brexit played a role in this. And yes, hating England is Europe’s favourite sport.

But can we please all take a moment and appreciate how James Newman reacted? The public gave him a round of applause and he celebrated this achievement like a boss.

And he had all the reasons! He achieved something incredible, he unlocked something that this new voting system was supposed to never lead to. But he did it. So hats off to you, my boy: My Last Breath was better.

Germany is also used to the bottom of the chart, but this year I really thought Jendrik could have a chance to achieve a higher position. The song was funny, carefree, lively, the hand costume was the kind of trash we need and the message was nice as well. But he still got 3 points.

Despite that, Jendrik celebrated like a maniac and seeing his this happy made me happy as well. I really wish him the best.

________________________

6. That FUCK YOU JURY

Again, same message every year: the jury vote should be eliminated. It's a fucking farce and their votes have nothing to do with what the public want.

The jury focuses on the voices, except when they don't, and clearly giving points to your neighbours is because you like the song, not because they're your neighbours.

I usually make fun of Greece and Cyprus showing eternal love to each other, by giving 12 points to each other every year, but this time, it sounded even more stupid than usual. It really looked like a farce. Why should we see this farce? Why can't we just choose what the public wants? So at least we would blame ourselves for our shitty musical tastes.

Even if I'm pretty sure we all have great musical tastes. Let's not forget that in 2019 the public's winner was Norway, with a song that mixed english, a catchy rhythm and an amazing part in yoik language. Arcade is good as well, but we cannot deny the norwegian entry was a lot more interesting.

And this year, the public's taste was flawless:

Look at this beauty: italian glam rock, ukranian techno folk, french powerful ballad, finnish hard rock and whatever that thing was with Iceland.

There's variety, there's everything for everyone. And there are native languages. Italian, Ukranian, and French on top three, followed by English.

Moral of the story: the public is great and the jury should be abolished forever.

________________________

7. That Ukranian technofolk is all we needed in our lives

I didn’t see enough love for Go_A, so as italian, I think it's my sworn duty to give my appreciation to them and their amazing entry, because this band is awesome and Shum is currently on top of the Spotify top 50 - as it should be, because everyone should listen to it and join this slavic rave party.

I already liked their entry for 2020, Solovey. But I also liked My Last Breath from the UK and Universo from Spain. And this year they brought two of the worst songs. So I was very wary of Go_A.

But Shum is an absolute blast. Katerina Pavlenko's voice is unique and the song is even more, because based on ukranian folklore and traditional dances to summon the spirit of spring. They managed to teach something to all Europe in a three minute song and I think that’s incredibly sexy of them.

And so, I searched for other songs and OMG, I don’t know how it’s possible, but they are all great. Rano-Ranenko, Zhalmenina, Tanula, they all are perfect and I’m in love with this band.

And if all of this is not enough, THEY DID A COVER OF DANCING LASHA TUMBAI. The most iconic Eurovision song, sang by our god Verka. And this is the coolest, most badass cover ever in the whole universe. Please listen to it HERE everyone needs to hear this.

So thank you, Ukraine, for giving us Go_A. We all had a small empty place in our hearts and this place has ben perfectly filled by them.

And yif you think you don’t need ukranian technofolk, is only because you still haven’t listened to it. Please listen and enjoy Shum. You’re welcome.

________________________

8. That rock and roll never dies (and Italy’s well deserved victory)

The last time Italy won was in 19-fucking-90. 31 years ago. I was just born.

And now, they finally won again. And what a song! Despite being italian, I've never listened to Maneskin before, but oh damn, this song is good. Not all their songs are, but this one is. And also Morirò da re.

Their show was perfect as well. This post is really eye-opening about how well they put on their show. The use of the stage, the movements, everything has been part of a great performance, even their clothes. Damiano's voice never faltered, despite having an entire continent watching him. They handled the stage like bosses, despite being only in their twenties. And they gave us some good fucking rock.

And so the public said a loud "FUCK YOU" to the jury and chose its winners. The sassy, sexy italians.

And yes, I know that there has been a lot of petty polemics because those youngsters are having drugs!1!! as if they were a bunch of idiots who used drugs on international TV, with their manager sitting next to them.

Of course it was a pointless accusation and honestly I don't care if some people are sore losers. The drug results were negative anyway, what a shocker.

What we should truly think about is how strong the Maneskin's bladders are, because they spent the whole evening of the final drinking the entire alcohol supply of the Eurovision and, at the end, they were still happy and cool. Hats off to you, you sexy people.

This man is just iconic, why did I miss him before.

Also, have some more Maneskin. You know, as a treat.

________________________

9. That solidarity and wholesomeness are the biggest winners

It's just beautiful to see these nice people, from all over Europe, bonding, having fun, taking photos together and being friends.

The true winner of this, is probably Norway: Tix wanted to have a good time and he had a good time. The video of him vibing with Ukraine and Germany while listening Hard Rock Hallelujah is the best (HERE). His love story with Efendi from Azerbaijan is even better (please, check the video on his youtube channel, it's hilarious). I don't like his song, but he's a great guy and deserves everything.

The italian and finnish rock relationship is also great. Maneskin and Dark Sides found each other, considering they were the only two rock bands in the competition, so mutual appreciation was inevitable.

But Damiano is also a man of culture and he appreciates Ukraine's entry. And Ukraine appreciates both Finland and Italy. Is this what world peace looks like? Because I love it.

________________________

10. That Italians will be Europe's clowns again (and you're all allowed to make fun of us)

Beware, Europe: we Italians are messy and chaotic, our presenters don’t know a single word in English, we are homoerotic AND homophobic at the same time, our musical competitions are so fucking sloooow... let’s say next year’s Eurovision is going to be interesting.

And yes, you’re allowed to make fun of us. We don’t care, we won, so we deserve to be Europe’s clowns once again.

And I don’t know who the presenters will be (my bets are on everyone’s favourites: Fiorello, Amadeus and Malgioglio), I don’t know how we will ridicule ourselves once again, I don’t know where will we find the money to put on the show, I don’t know how ungodly long it will be... but I know that Mans Zelmerlow will be part of it. This man loves Eurovision just like all of us, so I can already see him packing his suitcase and planning his flight to Italy. Come to us, Mans, we will wait for you. We actually need an English presenter, so if you have nothing else to do...

[maxwell-grant]

AIUI, Burbank is even more a question mark than The Shadow is; we don't know if that's a personal name, surname, or nickname, we no nothing of his past, his personal life, or even (again, AIUI) his personality. Is that something that should be kept in adaptations, or ought he be developed more?

Both.

The thing about developing a mystery is that you still need to have something in place to purposefully obscure or slowly reveal. You still need to give your audience tidbits and information here and there that makes them want to learn more and find out what the answer is, even if they know it's never really happening, even if the answer couldn't possibly live up to the hype.

Twin Peaks was able to delay the mystery of Laura Palmer's murder for an entire season and more partially because Laura Palmer had such an rich, troubled inner life and turmoil, that we could gradually receive snippets of information regarding it every episode and still not know the whole story, so much so that, even after we learned who did it, there were still many, many stories to be told within Laura Palmer's life and the city. This holds true for The Shadow, and it holds true for Burbank.

Gibson successfully created intrigue regarding Burbank because, not only was Burbank a crucially important figure in The Shadow's organization and therefore someone we'd want to know more about, but because everytime Burbank showed up to play a substantial role, you could gleam something new about him. Burbank is a great example of staging in The Shadow pulps because his scenes are often written as if we were watching a movie where the head of our main character keeps being blocked from view, until it's revealed, and it doesn't really help us understand him much better than before, even though we've come to learn more about what he acts and looks like.

In fact, The Shadow even seems to be aware of this, such as in the scene below when the narration goes to great lenghts to obscure Burbank's face, even in a scene when there is literally no one around but Burbank and The Shadow. Why go through this much trouble to obscure Burbank from no one but the reader? Why not just refrain from describing what he looks like instead of making sure we can't even imagine what he looks like in our heads in the scene? What's the mystery over what's ostensibly just an average quiet-faced man? And so Burbank doesn't become just a mystery, but a tantalizing one.

The fellow's back was toward the light; since the elevator was dark, it was impossible to distinguish his features. When he helped The Shadow carry the boxes to an open apartment, the bulky objects came in front of the man's face. Since the apartment was dark, too, the features of this silent companion remained as concealed as The Shadow's own.

The fact pleased The Shadow. The less people who saw Burbank, the better - Voice of Death

For example, we do know where Burbank's name comes from, and potentially his first name. In both “The Shadow Laughs” and “The Case Of Congressman Coyd,” Burbank is referred to as “Mr. Burbank,” which indicates it's a last name. In The Death Giver, Burbank hands Harry a business card

At three fifteen, the stenographer entered and tendered Harry a card. It bore the name:

L. BURBANK MOTION PICTURE OPERATOR

A later story specifically namedrops famous horticulturist Luther Burbank, and according to Will Murray, Walter Gibson did confirm to him personally that Burbank was named after Luther Burbank.

We know Burbank's main feature is that he's "quiet-faced" with a "soft, even-toned voice", and that characters can recognize Burbank by his voice even when his face is obscured, but his look isn't consistent. His sole appearence in a cover comes from The Lone Tiger, where he seems to be past his fifties and being semi-bald, but it's not how he looks in Edd Cartier's illustration where he's got a hairdo. Both seem to be somewhat based on Dr David Burbank, the New Hampshire dentist who founded the city. He's been said to be at least 40 once, and this in itself is at odds with some descriptions that place Burbank as younger than The Shadow and describe him as "a young man with a solemn look", which is more in line with how he tends to be depicted in comics, particularly the blonde man with the eyepiece designed by Michael Kaluta.

We know he was officially introduced after Harry Vincent and Claude Fellows, but that apparently he's known The Shadow for quite a while, as he (as Cranston) refers to Burbank as "an old friend" in his introduction (is he an old friend of Cranston as well?). Robert Sampson speculated that the two met in 1924 at a radio station, where as Rick Lai speculates that Burbank may have been recruited in an unrecorded adventure in Rio de Janeiro, mentioned in Gypsy Vengeance, that took place between the first and second novels.

We know that Burbank is at a rather unique position among the agents because he is maybe the most important figure in The Shadow's network, the main keeper of The Shadow's secrets, the one entrusted to run the organization on The Shadow's absence, the only one who can directly reach The Shadow in the Sanctum, and if anyone knows anything about whatever secrets there are in The Shadow's past, it's definitely him, but he's also the one we know the least about as a person, and contrary to the other agents, Burbank is often described in mechanized terms, which gives him a rather inhuman aura somewhat different than that of The Shadow's.

In a sense, Burbank was the mainspring of the machinery that The Shadow used in his warfare against crime.

As contact man, he kept in touch with all the active agents; there were times when he actually ran things, during The Shadow's absence. Tonight was one of those rare occasions when Burbank was needed on active duty.

Nevertheless, the human cogwheel had connected up a switchboard and had a short−wave radio set handy, so that he could continue his contact duties from this empty apartment - Voice of Death

When emergency demanded, Burbank served as he now was serving. Instead of making calls to the deserted sanctum, he was issuing orders in The Shadow's stead. - The Key

Everytime Burbank gets any sort of spotlight, we learn a little more about him, who he is, what he can't and can do. His methods, what he does to spend the time, some of the things he does for The Shadow outside of communications like planting recording devices in criminal hide-outs and devising or managing electrical devices and The Shadow's advanced technology (even if he doesn't fully understand it).

"Burbank began his own attempt to scale the wall. Ordinarily, his clutches would have been inadequate, and his toe holds were uncertain. But the wire was drawing upward under The Shadow's haul. It gave the needed support whenever Burbank floundered. The Shadow could actually sense his agent's progress by the varying strain upon the wire. At last, Burbank flopped over the roof edge like a landed fish" - Masters of Death

There were remarkable devices here. Burbank understood some of them, but the millionaire alone was familiar with all the equipment - Eyes of The Shadow

“To Burbank, long, lone vigils were nothing. He was not a man of action; he was one of endurance. Prompt, precise and always dependable, Burbank had served The Shadow well.“ - The Key

During his long hours of duty, he resorted to one methodical habit as he bided away the time. He always had a supply of chewing gum.” - The Killer

Burbank leaned back in his chair. His position was one of patient relaxation. While he awaited new telephone calls, his attitude was one of complete passivity. There was nothing excitable in the make-up of this man who sat with his back toward the light. Yet Burbank was a man of amazing endurance. In place of action, he exercised untiring vigilance. It was this quality that made him a most important factor in the affairs of that amazing personage known as The Shadow - The Killer

Burbank is, at once, the barrier between the agents (and by extension, us) and The Shadow, as well as the bridge that allows the agents (and us) to find and reach The Shadow.

And I do like it that Burbank's specifically said to not be cut for action, that he's not really a fighter or a marksman or even a super tech genius, on paper he's really just a guy who sits in a chair all day fiddling with radio equipment. But he is still cool and impressive by the standards of what matters most in The Shadow's world. He's patient and resourceful and vigilant and clever and trustworthy, and he's someone that The Shadow trusts more so than anyone else.

There was no sound of the door closing; no sound, indeed, to indicate that any person had moved in that direction. Yet Burbank knew, from experience, that his master, The Shadow, had departed, after giving him the sign that his vigil was ended.

Such word usually came from The Shadow’s sanctum. Tonight, being in the vicinity of Burbank’s present station, The Shadow had preferred to give his faithful agent fifteen or twenty minutes of extra respite by visiting him in person

Such was the way of The Shadow. Though none of his trusted operatives had ever seen his undisguised face; though his ways and actions were secret and mysterious to them; they received constant signs of The Shadow’s appreciation of their reliable cooperation - Death Triangle

In Suite 808, a figure was seated in front of the writing table. It was The Shadow, in his guise as Arnaud; Burbank was off duty, asleep in the other room.

The telephone buzzed; The Shadow answered it. He spoke in a quiet, methodical tone, a perfect imitation of Burbank's voice. Harry Vincent reported - The Case of Congressman Coyd

On one hand, I don't think the "mystery" of Burbank is ever going to be ruined, or should be ruined. But on the other hand, I definitely think there's a lot of room to explore more regarding what exactly is he as a person, as an agent, what kind of roles he plays, what is his connection to The Shadow or what relationship he has with other agents or other people he's meant to be in more direct contact with. I think it's a matter of balance.

There's a lot of room to work with particularly regarding how you could adapt Burbank into adaptations set in different time periods (not necessarily modern day), because with how communication technology had advanced beyond imagination, there's a lot of ways you could adapt or recontextualize Burbank, The Shadow's social network.

[horizon-verizon]

Reposted bc of changes to the original ask/answer #3

A)

You: “U know there is difference between keeping a normal peasent mistress and  noble lady mistress? keeping a mistress is not a problem, keeping a highborn mistress is a problem. Before rebellion,Robert sleep's with a peasent women and if u see rhaegar situation, he's going to keep a f*cking stark as a mistress and again like i have said it first time, if lyanna was a peasent women or even a minor lord daughter, then elia wouldn't have any problem from rhaegar relationship.”

A woman does not mean they are mistress or a "paramour". You need to provide them some means of living or money as well as consistently go to them for intimacy/sex for them to constitute an actual mistress/"paramour."

I already explained what I thought about mistress-keeping in the specific case of Lyanna-Rhaegar and the entire Stark-Targ-Martell case (in the scenario that Rhaegar deposed Aerys successfully).  You're talking in general without looking at the specific case here.

Yes, Rhaegar sleeping with OR having a noblewoman as a paramour/mistress presents more potential political problems than sleeping with a peasant.

However, when we're talking about Elia, Lyanna, and Rhaegar and the court politics that you specifically brought up to say would influence Elia into hating Lyanna or just hating Rhaegar & Lyanna's relationship, I (as of 11/1/23, semi-)disagree. Again, the court politics. BTW, court politics do not have the same settings or circumstances and actions as "politics" as those played between lords in different locations.

HOWEVER, I think Rickon Stark--Lyanna's father--would have never accepted Lyanna being Rhaegar's publicly know mistress or lover of any kind not just because she is his highborn and eminently esteemed daughter for being the scion of a Lord Paramount, but bc he arranged her to marry Robert clearly for an alliance or political bond with the Baratheons for whatever reason. He would have done what he already did if RhaegarxLyanna had "come out"; really, only his & both of Lyanna's brothers' freak deaths could have allowed Lyanna a credibal possibility of being Rhaegar's public mistress and have a relationship for Elai to be okay or not okay with.

B) [i don't think this one matters anymore; already made the change in repost above abt--ironically--the misreading of Lyanna's words vs "Northern"-unique sentiments abt bastards]

You: “I can't really understand what are you really trying to conveying to me ? That I'm bastardphobic in real life????”

I said that you do not have a grasp on how you yourself think about people born out of wedlock. So, yes. You can reread if you need to.

C)

You: "If visenya really think that aegon was also going to be like aenys then she should have simply choose aenys other children and groomed them into a powerful ruler and keep maegor as hand of the king."

To "choose" & "groom" another of Aenys' kids to become the next monarch would still be usurping Aegon the Uncrowned because Aegon was Aenys' chosen heir, not Maegor!

And Visenya doesn't have the "legal" right to "choose aenys' other children" because in Westeros Queen Dowagers or any sort of Queen (except regnants) do not have the legal authority to choose heirs...this would still be an usurpation.

You're suggesting a usurpation...to stop the actual usurpation that happens already in canon? You're contradicting yourself, bc with your suggestion, Visenya still ends up usurping someone!

D)

You: "Why elia as a dornish women who are already prejudice by the entire Westeros going to accept lyanna and her children wholeheartedly without any of her own benefit? I'm using the term lord paramount again and again because in Westeros coming from a higher position means more power, support and prestige that peasent people can't afford for themselves.when did I say that rhaegar is also held the prejudice against dornish?"

And I already explained why I think she could. Operative word.

It is you who refuses to actually counterargue with a different argument bc you cannot think of anything to counterargue with. Which is how you keep repeating yourself. And when you brought up Aerys' words against Rhaenys to indicate that the anti-Dornish sentiment was strong, I countered with the argument that this sentiment is not as strong or consequential as you think & gave why I thought so.

We're pretending that the Starks and Baratheons are not connected or strongly and haven't built an army against the Targs with the Arryns' support. You think that a succession crisis is inevitable between Elia's kids and Lyanna's. And you think a succession crisis is inevitable because you think that Lyanna's father/brothers would, what, push for Lyanna's kids to inherit the throne by killing Elia's kids?

Meanwhile, no, Lyanna and Rhaegar are not proven to have married in the original story (forget the show, we're talking about the actual story) and even if they had married & it was ruled/accepted enough as a "legitimate" marriage, this, more than Rhaegar having an illegitimate child with Lyanna, could have triggered more dissension and a real Stark protest against the Targs or Aerys because:

it would call into question how "valid" Valyrian marriages were in the realm of Westeros -> thus a perception of the chance of Lyanna being made the "exception" and being the second legitimate wife of the heir to the throne aside from her no longer being available to marry Robert and the final seal to a Stark-Baratheon alliance -> by your own theory, it is then Lyanna's family would try to pressure her into being a rival against Elia -> but even still, Elia's kids would always be both older than Lyanna's hypothetical kids with Rhaegar so whether they are married or not THUS every which way & regardless of gender, Lyanna's kids with Rhaegar--legitimate or not--has less claim to the throne than Elia's kids....them being bastards would give less incentive for the Starks to try to get them to be the next heirs or to kill off Elia's kids; no one would be on their side bc bastards do not ever inherit before their legitimate siblings unless they were legitimized -> they'd be more incentivized to have Rhaegar punished for "sullying" Lyanna & interrupting the Stark-Baratheon alliance through her marriage to Robert

Maegor's name would be brought up and Idk if Rhaegar really would have wanted to make things harder for himself by bringing that up for his own plans to use others' support to take the throne and keep it for himself for the long term -> which means if we go along with the idea that he'd want to make this as smooth a thing as possible for himself AND his kids if he doesn't marry Lyanna

Why do you think Rickard would want to go into actual war for Lyanna's kids to become Rhaegar's only possible heirs and become the next monarch? What about Rickard's actions show you that? He confronted Aerys specifically to get Rhaegar punished, not to stir up things for Elia. And it still doesn't prove he would try to get Lyanna's kids on the throne.

We still do not know his aims, other actions, or perception of the political climate but it certainly wasn't for his grandkids to be royals.

E)

You: "Even a favoured lowborn peasent mistress can hold some power ,see Tytos Lannister mistress and here we are talking about a highborn noble lady mistress from a great house."

And I do not see why you haven't answered my question/addressed my statement as to why you think Lyanna would be willing to contend with Elia for her children to sit on the throne?

You keep speaking in general and with assumptions. Yet the text suggests to us that by Lyanna's own character, it is unlikely that she would actually be the plotting kind or try to fight with Elia specifically to get her bastard/legitimized/legitimate kids on the throne.

Like I said above, what makes you think Rickard Stark would want his bastard grandkid(s) to be the next monarch? And why would Lyanna--if Rickard does--be willing and follow his directions, to contend with Elia if all she really wanted was to live comfortably with Rhaegar and their kids? Lyanna, while willing to stand up for the downtrodden and wanting to be a swordswoman in some capacity herself, doesn't want war itself. Just because you can fight, doesn't mean you want to fight or will find an excuse to fight for its own sake.

Unless we're talking about Elia's calculations about Lyanna?

Again, while of course it's possible that she wouldn't like/hate the hit to her reputation or the further alienation from society (she had been bedridden after Aegon's birth), Lyanna's kids can't inherit before hers. Whether they are legitimized or existed in an unlikely legal marriage b/t her & Rhaegar. Her kids would always be younger than Elia's, so in the event that she does care about the possible rivalry b/t the kids over claims and inheritances or social graces, this is one of the only but important factors that could bring some comfort. We'll have to see how Elia felt in Winds of Winter.

I mean... Of course, Cersei hates Robert, he routinely rapes and beat her. It wouldn’t be a problem if Robert was only a cheater, he’s a wife-beater and rapist.

*EDITED POST* (3/3/24)

I assume that you are talking about this recent REBLOG I just put up about Rhaegar, Elia, Lyanna, and Tywin.

The entire point(s) of that post was to:

point out how Rhaegar's cheating was not the cause of Elia and their kids' death.

argue against the idea he was entirely or mostly responsible and also want to say that the entire dynasty's collapse was only caused by his infidelity. That such a thing could be caused by such.

argue some people have conflated Victorian (a hyperbole) family values of fidelity or their own personal past with a bigger, interconnected political condition that was a maelstrom in Rhaegar's case. While ignoring his concerted attempts to even get rid of his own father before.

argue that some people think that somehow, just staying with Elia would have prevented her death, or that it was easy to ascertain that Aerys and Tywin and everyone else would act as they did if we were him -> as I already listed in that post.

And this is what I said about Cersei:

The text never once explains or indicates how Elia herself feels about Rhaegar or Lyanna, but we have people claiming that she was emotionally wracked by this? Maybe upset for her reputation or shocked, but we still don't know who this woman was by personality, this all the guesswork based on her heritage, her health and the arrangedness of the marriage itself. One also cannot claim that she was something like Cersei was/would be, feeling totally humiliated, jilted of a perfect and glorious life, hating Rhaegar, etc. Nothing in the text gives strong evidence of that.

She is not only hateful towards Robert because he beats and rapes her (completely justified); she hates him for treating her as second place to someone she sees as inferior to herself and someone who "stole" Rhaegar from her. BUT she is hateful toward Robert & compares him to Rhaegar specifically bc for years she has wondered what life would have been like for her if she married Rhaegar instead of this man who she thought would at least appreciate her for the qualities she's told to have/be the best for a woman...but instead gets an abusive, self-deluded man who lusts for a girl who never even liked him AND was not the idea of a "perfect" woman to Cersei, but is still her competition for male favor (a woman's political key to access to power).

(*I must bring a more nuanced point about this, though and note that aside from Robert whispering some other girl's name on their wedding night, Cersei also has had an issue with not "measuring" up to the masculinized standards of competent personhood, so Robert's revealing that he wants and continues to want Lyanna over her pokes at Cersei's deepest insecurity. GameofThronesHistorian on TikTok notes how Cersei expected to marry Rhaegar after Tywin dumbly got her hopes up and she spent a lot of her time fantasizing about being with him and being Queen but he marries Elia, Aerys basically insults the entire house along with Tywin, and her hopes are dashed along with a bit of her pride ostensibly (nobles get a lot of their pride from their house identity). She finally gets to be Queen (the position dangled in front of her like a prize since childhood, snatched away, and now she "has" it back), but she discovers that the queenship doesn't make up for Robert's clear preference for the same girl "her" Rhaegar got himself supposedly killed for. When Cersei married Robert she expected to finally overcome the haunting legacy both girls left behind her own insecurities & ruined hopes. When she actually gets to be Queen, she discovers that this thing she thought would fix everything and that has been long promised to her cannot make up for the slight Robert gives her and thus traps her in a marriage that quickly becomes abusive. For someone like Cersei, who grew up hearing that she is the most beautiful person around while having almost nothing for herself other than that and later being queen as Tywin always promised to her name [bc her patriarchal society affords way less in terms of prestige, value, and recognized respect to women as it does men & boys AND makes physical features comparatively final measure of worth for girls and women], it's not that hard to see that Cersei's feelings are not baseless or totally irrational. Her already existing insecurities mushroomed into a plague that also sharpened her need to be "perfect" and counteract the feeling of never measuring up. Therefore, her classist-generated need to self-empower evolves into her stomping on others to get power and the self-satisfaction always distant from her*)

Neither her feelings nor Catelyn's for Robert/Ned cheating on them are things one could automatically guess are the exact same as Elia's toward Rhaegar being with Lyanna. Even without the beating/raping, because they are unlikely to be similar women w/exactly the same experiences.

I say this to point out that Cersei, while definitely being a victim of domestic abuse, still has a specific personality, history before him, and expectations of herself from her class position and gender. From those expectations, an idea--and the need to constantly reaffirm that idea bc of how little room it leaves one for developing a constant sense of self apart from it--of her exceptionality. Cersei is a NLOG and very much by a social-inspired inner compulsion.

What we know about Elia apart from her having kids and being married to Rhaegar comes from Oberyn and her Martell family members. And we get barely much from there (compared to other characters) aside from how she had had her own mind (her voicing her desire against a potential match by his farting). We have her in her early/mid-teens at the Lannisters wanting to see baby Tyrion and thinking/acting like she thinks him cute and witnessing child Cersei pinch baby Tyrion's penis (which already shows us a deep resentment against male privilege at such a young age and how it turned to who her father blamed for the absence of her mother). We don't have a PoV from Oberyn, so we get a few sentences of his feelings towards her in dialogue and dialogue is not as rich as the direct inner thoughts of characters. He does not have a reflective view of who Elia was as much as current/adult Ned Stark for Lyanna (who had PoVs) because he's focused on revenge. Even Ned could have thought more about other things that showcased Lyanna's personality independent of her engagement to Robert, but Oberyn seemed much more aware of who Elia was than Ned with Lyanna.

We don't know who adult Elia really is like we do Cersei, just her position, she was sick most of the time, and that she was Dornish. We do not get her life with Rhaegar, we do not get details nor suggestions in-text of her dynamic with Rhaegar as much as we get with him & Lyanna.

In a Con, GRRM has reportedly gone on to state that Elia and Rhaegar's relationship was "complex". Does this mean that there was affection but a mutual understanding that there was no deeper romance? Does this mean that if Elia were healthier, she would want to develop one with him? Either way, would she want it to be monogamous or not? Again, she's from Dorne, she's more likely to be more okay with it being an "open" marriage AND it being known Rhaegar has a side lover as she has enjoyed more body autonomy and a stronger sense of her own political autonomy from childhood.

But while she is Dornish, after she married Rhaegar she had to live in a nonDornish court in a nonDornish region while raising children, knowing that a man versus a woman having extramarital lovers are treated very differently. [a fuller explanation by dwellordream HERE]. For her own image and social standing, would she want him to be discrete even more than if they were just minor nobles? Or is she secure in the knowledge that her kids will always inherit before any of Lyanna's bastards (would she be, how likely is this) and de-prioritize how bad Rhaegar's cheating makes her look for her own safety (she nearly died the last time she gave birth)? We simply don't know for sure, even though I believe that Elia knew about Rhaegar and Lyanna bastard and wasn't against it.

this is essentially just a reception, so you could scroll past if you need. I basically free-write these things.

The answers to all these questions for Cersei are too obvious. We have Cersei's PoVs and her interactions with multiple people with both PoVs and with none--either dead or still alive by the last published book. And we get her own PoVs to draw her motivations and psychological processes and make better, credible conclusions.

Cersei's Lannister self-defensive-exceptionalist mindset feeds into her believing herself to be the paragon of any living woman, especially paramours, and mistresses. That PLUS her own need to have something close to or the same authority and power a man could have in her world, which she buys through sex, giving up some of her agency during some sexual encounters, and making herself NLOG to (mistakenly) gain men's loyalty or at least obedience to her commands. All of which is always in flux and depends on the person. To repeat myself, she very much cares about and is emotionally dependent on her nobility, her titles, her rank, her Lannister name, etc to accrue power for herself to her own detriment and to the abuse of others, which worsens or gains justification under Robert's abuse.

On the other hand, Cersei, her whole life, has been externally defined through a sexual lens. Yes, even in childhood. Sex and reproduction. She isn't a "whore" or a "slut" for then using what people used to objectify her into a weapon or device for her own intentions when she has learned that that is a direct way of accruing others' interest in her own and her kids' advancement. Cersei, while loyal & protective to her children, also--from her own experiences with powerlessnes from her gendered value in her family and society--tends to be less patient with them and be less able to address their emotional distresses. She seems abusive towards at least Tommen. And yes, in a feudal world, one can gain much political power & resources through their kids' claims and/or positions of power -> Tommen or Joffrey were kings and she could be Queen Dowager/Mother, the highest female rank a noblewoman could have...at least how GRRM wrote Westerosi society.

This is the crux of her motives: she learned that power-as-masculine AND power = male sexual dominance. Unlike the Tyrells, who have a better grasp of using both actual soft power and hard power (mostly yhr first) to maintain social dominance, Tywin is more the silent, golden rock that intimidates you into following him. Power, she learned from her father, is less diplomatic and more forceful and fear-inspired, violent, physical, and from Robert, sexual. All traditional qualified as masculine and assigned to men, who are given the privilege to hold/lead armies and wield weapons in battles:

In medieval times a woman could not bear arms; therefore a woman could not take on a role which, even symbolically, required her to carry arms. In medieval times a woman who took on an overt military role was an aberration. Lyon, A. (2006). "The place of women in European royal succession in the middle ages."

From childhood, she absorbed this ideology and "decided" to essentially prove she was "not like the other girls." And the loss of her mother to childbirth, how her father never truly coped, would have had her rush to gain his love, and when that didn't work, to gain his respect. But she is female, so Tywin never will. She learned that being anything "feminine" is inherently "weak", and so she tried her entire life to differentiate herself from the "weak" women around her. Cersei is the ultimate NLOGs.

She gave up her sexual agency for her children (yes, the same ones who she abused at one point) to shore up defenses for their/her own position and safety, as she wouldn't in a hundred years have sex with some people willingly if it did not come with the expectation of their support, resources, etc. Class/masculinity-perceived-through-hypersexuality is to her, strength even as it puts her at a disadvantage as a woman, as she's that much more open to scandal if the odds go out of her favor and the Lannisters lose much of their power and the others' fear of them.

She imagines herself as Robert/in the male/"dominant" position (she herself imagines that position as male, the place of power she internalized as prime her whole life) when she's sexually rubbing and fingering Taena of Myr. She continues to finger her painfully despite Taena protesting in pain, thus herself becoming a sexual abuser so she can feel the power and defy Robert/men. Power that she learns directly resides in using sexual ties or performing sexual abuses. Taena also, as Cersei's "spy" on Margarey, and as one far beneath her rank, is also a person who acts as socially lower than Cersei herself, which feeds into Cersei's ego. So Cersei banks much of herself and self-worth on her class to a dangerous fault.

She has basically felt compelled to buy into that exceptionalism at full speed to compensate for her lack of power and feelings of inferiority from that lack. Cersei is rather a pretty complicated woman, while also being very simple. Her class position as aristocratic and Queen Dowager/Mother and her desire for power in the aristocratic space are directly related and inspired by her long sexual objectification. This is where gender and class intersect. Her hatred of Robert is obviously justified and comes from her long struggle to gain and keep autonomous power from men; that doesn't mean that she also doesn't eventually use her class and internalize female inferiority as her final crutch.

Cersei's personality and her abuse from others and against others are two related and unique things informing each other from her young childhood, especially evidenced by her thoughts and actions of her youth before she married Robert, how her father & those others around her treated her, and her observations of the events before Robert rebelled concerning women's abilities. Elia is, by contrast, a silent victim so it's easier to project a lot onto her the way it isn't for Cersei. Or Catelyn.

Even with the societal setup of misogyny put up against her since birth and her trying to collect power for herself, the consequences of how she does it, the carelessness of it, and the losing control of her impulses are going to be reasons for her downfall anyway.

[mariaiscrafting]

I don’t like the comparisons between Tales and Quackity’s latest stream.

I feel like, every single storyteller on the SMP has a unique method of storytelling. The most common we see, because it is most-easily compatible with livestreaming, is a mixture of improv, very loose scripting, and transitioning between being semi in-character and fully in-character. This is the kinda storytelling we get from most of the Eggpire, the Syndicate - that which was first started by Wilbur, at least on the Dream SMP. There’s also the kinda monologuing and intensely angsty experience we get from a couple streamers, most often from Ranboo. Tommy adopts this method sometimes, too, and Jack has done this kind of RP style since early December. Tommy, however, has sketched out a new kind of storytelling for himself, marked by relatively shorter RP bits, where time is traded for quality and planning. 

Now, let’s talk Karl. Karl, from the beginning, with that first Tales stream when he challenged them to create a nation in an hour flat, has always told his stories through loose planning, a focus on builds and atmosphere, and frequent banter and fourth wall breaks. Every Tales episode, I see people complaining about the CCs involved not taking the plot seriously, when that is literally just the nature of any Tales episode. The Tales episodes are not meant to have a huge impact, individually, and they are not meant to be fully-scripted or artful. The focus is always on building and tying each episode to a greater storyline - that of time travel and the In Between. Karl doesn’t seem to be the best at the traditional, fully in-character style of RP we’ve grown used to seeing other CCs employ. So, he works to his strengths, and in my opinion, balances a Dora the Explorer-style knowledge of the plot and the audience with short, impactful storylines. It’s funny, it’s entertaining, and it doesn’t make Tales any less fun to watch than angstier, more immersive storytelling. On the contrary, I think having at least one storyline that is told in a somewhat light, comedic manner, is beneficial for SMP fans who can get emotionally exhausted from keeping up with the heavy topics of normal lore. For example, while the greater SMP tackles death so heavily, deaths in Tales can still be laughed off, while understanding that they still have canon implications. Sometimes, it just nice to not have to genuinely mourn a character and think about all the emotional trauma surrounding their death; sometimes, it’s just nice to make memes about a character’s death and make only lightly-angsty headcanons and fanart about those deaths.

Quackity is, no doubt, revolutionizing RP storytelling within the SMP. He’s using factors we’ve seen in a few others’ styles of storytelling - a stricter outline/script like Tommy, improvised dialogue like most CCs, and cinematic, prerecorded sections like Ponk and Karl - but he’s also exemplifying just how much talent and effort he can put into the SMP and his character’s position in the story. I’m fuckign exciting, and I can say without a doubt that his lore streams will likely bump their way to the top for me, in regards to my own personal preferences. 

But still, I fucking hate the comparisons between his and Karl’s streams. Karl’s streams aren’t trying to be like what Quackity created today. Karl’s streams work best with what Karl wants to put effort into, with what Karl is best at doing. Quackity has always had the potential for amazing RP, and he’s clearly a really dedicated guy and probably a good writer, considering the whole career in law schtick. It makes sense that he’d focus on organizing all these CCs together, on making a stricter script rather than a loose take on lore streams, on tackling morality and character-building. It speaks to what cc!Quackity is best at and most interested in. In the same damn way, it makes sense that cc!Karl would focus on including as large and diverse a cast as possible, given that he is known for jumping between content creator groups and befriending people all across the Internet. It makes sense that he would focus on builds, when he is literally one of the only CCs on the SMP to care about aesthetics, and when you consider that his first Tales episode was literally about building a nation within a time frame. It makes sense that he would focus on entertainment, rather than seriousness or immersiveness, given that he isn’t great at RP without breaking the fourth wall and that he’s still pretty new to streaming. 

I just think that, objectively, the two styles of storytelling aren’t comparable.