#i need to... god i need to not think about villain caleb

[astracora]

man i want mc to have a chance to put a knife in caleb. to fight and draw blood and get angry and furious. to claw and scratch and struggle, and he returns it.

i want them to try to kill each other, and i want it to be messy and broken and torn up.

[mareastrorum]

Been chewing more on how C3 wound up here. What’s throwing me is the strange shift from the cast’s unflinching “yes, and” game in C2 to a misplaced feeling that they need to choose correctly in C3.

I want to be clear here that this isn’t a criticism post because I genuinely don’t know what’s happening here. It’s just odd behaviors that seem to signal a problem, and I don’t know what solution would resolve it. I’m not going to be so presumptuous as to hypothesize about any cast member’s thoughts.

In the Cooldown for C3E118 (and offhandedly previously), Laura and Ashley expressed some nervousness about making big decisions because they’re worried about making the “wrong” choice. Without more, that attitude alone would explain much of the party’s indecisiveness about key campaign questions. After all, their characters are the two Ruidusborn of most interest to the campaign villains, and other characters (especially Orym, Laudna, and Ashton) have insisted that Imogen and Fearne take the lead on Predathos.

But this isn’t a story in a vacuum. C2 got completely derailed multiple times. The Mighty Nein decided to steal a pirate ship and leave the continent the campaign was set on; shortly after they returned, they decided to reopen a collapsed tunnel to go the opposite side of the continent; then Caleb returned the Luxon Beacon and made themselves heroes of an enemy nation instantly. That’s not even getting into the fact that Molly died before the Nein got to Shadycreek Run (which absolutely would have been all about his backstory) or that Twiggy left an incredible magical artifact that wasn’t supposed to be given to the Nein. Each time, Matt adjusted and made it work. Granted, C2 was more of a sandbox campaign, but Matt demonstrated his flexibility as a DM time and again.

Like, as a general rule of thumb, DMs shouldn’t offer options that would torpedo the campaign. It’s rational to avoid situations that have a genuine possibility of undercutting the game. Matt has been DMing for a long time; he’s done a very good job of finding ways to make the campaign work regardless of the decisions the players make. Even when players do something directly against the signals he threw out (like Ashton trying to absorb a second shard despite consistent, dire warnings that it would kill him), he works with the players to come to a reasonable solution (Ashton survived but the shard wouldn’t take, and he got some character moments out of the failure). We, the audience, know Matt is good at pivoting when he needs to.

In addition to taking the players’ curveballs like a champ, Matt also takes big swings for the sake of the story. In C1, Matt broke his biggest city with a dragon invasion, then made a new god leading an undead titan to go stomp out the world’s oldest civilization. In C2, he let the players go off the map whenever and still made the digression relevant to their character arcs every time. Not to be parasocial, but if we can figure out that that Matt can handle this sort of thing, the players certainly have a better feel for it than us.

So what is going on in C3? We know Matt isn’t scared of breaking Exandria or destroying the pantheon: he set that possibility in motion as the default ending if the players did nothing. CR literally did a mini series about the start of the end of the world with EXU Calamity. Laura and Ashley were also in Downfall and making big choices between the gods and mortals. Breaking stuff is what they do!

Where did this idea that there’s a “wrong” choice come from? That type of thinking kills a lot of great improv, and the whole point of the “yes, and” exercise is to shake it off. While it’s incredibly obvious to say not to think that way, the real issue is sorting out why that mentality has taken hold at all. That’s a problem no amount of fan discussion is going to resolve.

[sammy-deserves-better]

Hey people who definitely didn’t follow me for my AUs here’s another AU I thought up on the spot!!!

Fantasy/Royalty AU bam lets get into it

Julia and Bowie are the princess and prince of the kingdom, as you do, it’s gay and lesbian hostility in that castle every day

Axel, Wayne, Raj and Emma are knights with Axel being the head of the knights, Emma is also secretly a florist because why not

Priya is the head of the guards while Caleb is the personal guard/advisor to the king

Chase is a travelling bard who loves to talk about his ‘amazing’ adventures of ‘helping’ people

Nichelle is still a famous actress but instead of movies she’s like, famous from plays and all that jazz

Ripper’s a barbarian that’s pretty good at his job, unfortunately he is not taken very seriously

Millie is a famous writer but she’s so damn difficult to find at times and only a few people know where she actually lives

Damien is a wizard’s apprentice, he’s still learning but he’s got some real talent within him

Zee is the court jester, he didn’t even like try out for the role he just started talking one time and the king thought he was hilarious

Scary Girl is a famous necromancer because she is, funnily enough, scarily good at her job

And MK, silly ol’ MK, is a master thief who is wanted all over the world, but can never be located, always managing to escape at the last moment

Alright here’s some more details yippee

Raj and Bowie are like, in love, obviously, knight x prince romance! Forbidden love that isn’t really forbidden but like it’s super cute and Raj is so smitten and Bowie just loves this handsome knight that would do anything for him

Wayne and Emma are friends here because I also think they’re silly, Wayne’s the only one who knows Emma’s secret florist job because she trusts him enough and also he accidentally found out but it’s fine!! But he also nearly gives away Emma’s secret so many damn times because he’s just a little bit stupid

‘Man I wish I could get Bowie a nice bouquet…’

‘Oh well Emma is actually a fl-‘

And then Wayne gets elbowed so hard he can’t breath for 2 minutes

Emma also definitely has a thing for the cute court jester but she has no idea on how to actually approach Zee so she just sends him flowers anonymously and sighs while looking at him lovingly

Julia and MK meet because MK climbs up the damn castle walls at 2am and sneaks into Julia’s room just to rob her, gets absolutely slammed by the princess, wakes up and is tied to a damn chair with Julia right up in her face about to rip her to shreds and all MK can say is ‘you are REALLY attractive oh my gods’

This throws Julia off, they start talking, Julia realises that despite the fact she is holding one of the most wanted criminals hostage in her room, she wants to keep seeing MK because she’s entertaining and mean and just slightly pathetic, so she lets MK go on the promise that the thief will come back every night and so she does and yadda yadda lesbians toxic yuri wins

Millie’s stories actually come to life because shocker she’s actually a wizard in disguise and she needs to be really careful about what she writes so that’s why she hides herself away and is so hard to track down because if the wrong people knew about her magic capabilities oh no that’s a lot of blood and injury and angst and 10k words every chapter

Millie’s parents also had this ability to create anything from mere writing, they shared this ability with the kingdom, and so if an important figure asked them to say…make a protector of the kingdom, they would do so, and they did, and that’s where our villain/antagonist comes in but that’s a story for another day

The older gens are also involved in this one way or another as well, most are just backgrounders but some hold important to the story

Damien is the wizard apprentice to Leonard and Tammy, two great and powerful sages who spend their time helping the world

DJ is the one who taught Emma how to be a florist, he’s kind and understanding and always helps Emma choose the right flowers to give to Zee

Eva trains Ripper under her watchful eye, she’s proud of how far he’s come, but feels he can do just a bit more

Aleheather are the king and queen of the kingdom, Bowie and Julia are their adopted children

And that’s all I got for now uhhhh add whatever you want to this it’s just a silly time

[zara-renata]

currently vibrating at a frequency that could shatter glass bc of your new caleb fic. like oh my god i need to be held so bad bc the YEARNING OH MY GOD. you are so so good at writing the tension (sexual and not) between these two characters. reader’s longing is so clearly an aching wound that’s been festering for far too long and caleb is both treating it and also making it worse. i loved the bits where we got to see in his head especially at the end where u told us that the meeting was no random coincidence but instead a test of the reader’s reaction. that’s so good, reader’s feelings felt so visceral and the way that they pretty much only say caleb’s name as the entirety of their dialogue is the perfect touch. i loved the unveiling of caleb’s mechanical augmentation and how tender it was and the mention of caleb’s blush. it shows how reader’s feelings still have the capacity to surprise him or lay bare his own want for her even as he is carefully trying to control every aspect of their reunion. i’ve never read the little prince but the references were so cool and tbh everything u sprinkled it from their childhood was so well placed. the nightmares that reader has had and how caleb comforted them, how they were both longing for more but never crossed the line. it’s so delicious and if im honest every mention of caleb’s body had me wound up bc his design is so attractive but the way that the reader described him was practically body worship it was so good. thank u for mentioning his happy trail and his hairy arms i needed that 😭 this line was probably my favorite bc the (un)subtle dominance and possessiveness of the first half had me gripped by the neck i swear: “resting your clasped hands on his big thigh as he drives one-handed, relaxed.” it’s so domestic but clashes so hard with the actual context of the scene. i love how they settle into these rhythms with each other bc they know each other so intimately even tho they’ve never crossed that romantic/sexual line. and god when the fic switched to caleb’s perspective at the end and he was ignoring how hard he was i literally shoved my fist in my mouth. the restraint!!! the longing!!! the want!!!! i feel insane. and of course the finger in the mouth made my brain short circuit. it’s so lifestyle dom of caleb, and the mention of choking reader lightly just to bruise her for others to see and for them both to enjoy. i need to be locked up in a cage and released only on january 22nd bc idk how im gonna wait patiently for caleb now. (last thing is that the mention of the choking/hand on her throat really crystallized for me what caleb’s favorite position probably is but let me not say right now or i might blow up) but thank u thank u thank u for this fic. every day i wish infold was on here ready to hire u to write out the lore for sylus and now i have u to thank for wonderful and intriguing caleb characterization

Okay so I've read this comment multiple times, especially now as I'm polishing the second part and am having serious doubts about whether it will ever see the light of day because it's A Lot, and I think will be a turn off for a lot of people because it backtracks in time to their growing up together. So thank you for all the kind things you point out about part 1, it's really encouraging because i have been putting in so much thought into this version of the calebmc character dynamics with what we now know about him. he's clearly manipulative, possessive, two-faced, dangerous, suffered from guilt for so long about how much he wanted her, his feelings for her, which caused him emotional turmoil, shame and self-recrimination before he died, but because he's a main LI and this is a romance game, I firmly believe he genuinely loves and cares for mc. like all the LIs, the writers will play up his possessive, protective, 'villain' quirks in the memories but never have him cross the line into truly toxic territory. More under the cut because this became a novel.

So I want to take these characteristics and really want to explore the relationship dynamics and how deeply these two would have affected each other from the moment they met/were brought under the same roof. I love your description of 'reader’s longing is so clearly an aching wound that’s been festering for far too long and caleb is both treating it and also making it worse.," because that's exactly how I imagine it for her throughout her youth and then during his death. and it's clear from the PVs of Caleb that he has felt the same, lamenting how he had to 'endure, day after day, suffocating." with teenage emotions, that house was probably a powder keg of high-key feelings and they never let themselves act on them. that's amazing to me.

Because he knows MC inside and out, I imagine him being much more assertive in interacting with her (kind of what you described as a lifestyle dom, even though I think BDSM terms can sometimes be so limiting when discussing human relationships). but like, for example, to contrast with sylus (who is embodiment of love, he is not lying when he says that no love is purer than his), he always is so careful to make sure he has mc's consent, that mc is with him of their own free will, that he's not coercing mc, mc is choosing to be with him, actively. he made such a shit first impression with mc, and just wants to love them, to be loved in return, and he is so patient and calculating and plotting to ensure that he does it in a way that mc will respond positively to. he's begging for mc to notice him while being terrified of fucking up again imo. But i imagine that with caleb, caleb already knows mc in this life, he knows what she wants, he likely feels like he already has mc's consent and just acts. he's likely stubborn and obnoxious insisting that he knows best. he's not offering quid pro quo, transactional exchanges like sylus; doesn't feel the need to negotiate, because he's already put in the time, he's always been protecting and loving mc and present in a way that sylus has been unable to be until he kidnaps mc like the heartbroken dragon he is. i think caleb probably draws so much self worth from already knowing, anticipating, and providing for mc, trying to 'create a world where it's just the two of us,' definitely likes being the only one (in his mind) that can give mc what she wants/needs. whereas with sylus it's easy to write him as the green flag he has always been, trying to write caleb's brand of possessive, mask-wearing possibly-brought-up-to-kill mc but fell in love with her instead, in a romantic way, without crossing into abusive, toxic territory, presents an interesting challenge for me right now.

in any case, i'm trying to challenge my anxiety here big time, because caleb is already controversial due to the 'childhood friend/adopted brother' schism in the translations and the fandom, and because it's clear that he's two-faced and manipulative, and you have to consider their childhood when thinking about their current relationship, and with the way online culture is these days it kind of feels like a mine field wanting to dig into their story and give it context that infold will likely not give us because, well, they still haven't done that for mc at all and everything she's been through, and still haven't done it for the first few days with sylus. so I appreciate this message, esp. since people follow me for my sylus stuff and i'm shoveling unreleased obsessive caleb fic at them while letting sylus simmer. i also appreciate the comments/tags people have left on the fic itself. it's reassuring that there are people out there who like complicated, nuanced relationships in their fanfic (which I try to write with varying success), especially with caleb and his divisive place in the fandom. So thank you so much, i'm glad you enjoyed this fic.

and finally: he's not even out yet, my take on him currently could be wildly OOC and people should point and laugh at me and maybe throw things at me too once he's out and he's nothing like i'm predicting lmao. if you're caged till the 22nd, i'm right there with you, 8 days uuuuuuugh

[nova-streyart]

The Thing about Belos Nobody Mentions

There's an aspect of Belos I haven't seen anyone talk about yet: him potentially being on the schizophrenia spectrum, or schizospec for short, and everything that means. Before you say anything, I am a schizoaffective person. This is my interpretation. This is based off my own experiences with this disorder, and my own research.

Analysis and rant under the cut:

=ANALYSIS=

So this all started when I learned that one of the color design pieces had Caleb and the grimwalkers labelled "Golden Guard Illusion". Artists credited in the image itself.

It's weird to me that they're labeled as illusions and not hallucinations, because the latter is what the ghosts actually are. Illusions are images your brain distorts based off something that's there, while hallucinations are images your brain creates from nothing. The fact that these ghosts are actually hallucinations of Belos and not real ghosts doesn't say a whole lot about Belos on its own, because anyone can hallucinate if they experience intense enough negative emotions. But you'll see why I think there's something more to this.

Following this lead, I rewatched the scene where Papa Titan talks to Luz in the In-Between realm in the series finale. After Luz asks him whether her motivation to save her friends and family makes her just as bad as Belos, she tells her:

"Well, you assume Belos' goal comes from a genuine place. But that man doesn't care about anything but his need to be the hero in his own delusion."

Let me give you a short lesson about delusions in the context of schizospec disorders: Delusions are firmly held beliefs that the person experiencing can't be convinced aren't true. This can be extremely serious and life-threatening, such as as believing all your food's been poisoned. But it can also be harmless; it really depends on the delusion. The type of delusion referenced here would be a delusion of grandeur, which is a real thing in schizospec disorders. Such delusions can be serious, like believing you're the second coming of god, or more harmless, like believing you're better than others.

Taking both the hallucinations and the delusion into mind, it's very possible that Belos has some kind of schizospec disorder.

=RANT=

Let's talk about that scene where Belos goes to the grimwalker cave. Notice how the hallucinations are played for laughs? That's problematic. Hallucinations are not something you can just tell to "shut up" and they'll go away. Hallucinations are not things you can interact with. There's already other media with this problem, such as A Beautiful Mind, but the fact that it's in a show that's supposed to be celebrating neurodivergence is hypocritical.

Let's briefly go back to that Papa Titan quote. See how he used the word "delusion" to describe Belos' motivation?Yeah, that's really problematic in the schizospec community. As mentioned before, delusions can be life threatening, so tossing that word around like it's nothing is really frustrating and insulting. The show should have used a word like "fantasy" to get its point across more effectively if it was implying that Belos has a hero complex.

Continuing this train of thought, it gets worse when you consider how Papa Titan- and in essence the narrative- is essentially ridiculing Belos for experiencing a very intense delusion. Delusions are not something a schizospec person can control. I've already seen the fandom mocking Belos for this quality. It was one of those awful memes with the caption "schizophrenia," and had audio of markiplier doing a bit where he was bantering with an "inner voice". Such memes are awful because they're not real experiences schizospec people go through. They're assumptions about our experiences non-schizospec people make about us.

That would be the worst of it, but no, it gets far worse when you consider a few things:

Belos is the main antagonist. That would be annoying enough, considering the plethora of mentally ill villains in media, but nope. The narrative also treats him as this purely evil being who is incapable of any good whatsoever. Which, OK. It's possible for a schizospec person to be a monster. But the fact that the only schizospec representation we have is either of us as helpless victims, or as irredeemable monsters, is infuriating.

Belos is clearly meant to be a foil to Luz. Which, congrats to the show for having a neurodivergent lead, but let me tell you about some of the hardships schizospec people face: In real life, schizospec people are cast out of mental health advocacy groups. Schizospec people are treated as subhuman by doctors and psychiatrists. Schizospec people are demonized and vilified by society. Schizospec people are denied jobs and housing. With all this in mind the fact the narrative chooses to glorify a character with the "right," the "acceptable," kind of neurodivergence while berating a character with the "scary," the "monstrous," kind of neurodivergence is absolutely disgusting.

=CONCLUSION=

I feel like it has to be said that I am not condoning Belos' actions, or trying to woobify him. Belos, as a person, was terrible. No amount of mental illness tacked onto him will excuse any of his actions.

I'm also not trying to imply that schizospec characters can't be evil. I'm just saying that it's extremely tiresome that the only representation we get is either us as victims or as villains.

To conclude all of this, please, do your research before adding something like this into your story.

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 96

Ah, I see, so THIS is why Liam looks like a cute beatnik from a 50s jazz club ... oh boy ... he's brought back the German accent BIG TIME and it's giving me massive Caleb vibes ... meanwhile Tal's clearly having EVEN MORE fun with this ... oh my gods ... wow ... that's a DOOZY, definitely ...

Marisha (cracking up): "It sounded like there was more!" Travis: "I know!"

So ... yeah ... it was all SO HEAVY when we ended it last week ... the group is WELL on the way to imploding under the weight of what just happened in the night ... can they come back from this? This is SO WORRYING ...

Oh boy ... RIGHT BACK where we were at the end ... wow ... so it's just the two of them again ... O.O

Fuck ... now even LAUDNA can feel Delilah's starting to take over ... that's not good at all ...

This is starting to sound SO MUCH like Laudna knows she's not going to be around when this is all done ... oh man ... AND she's starting to think maybe that's A GOOD THING? Fuck ... no, really, NO ...

Imogen's trying SO HARD to keep this all together for BOTH OF THEM but I can feel her breaking too ...

Come on, Imogen, that's it, bring her back from the brink ... LISTEN TO HER, Laudna. She's the best thing in your life, and she feels the same way about you, luv. You need to buck up ...

Imogen: "I'm gonna miss our little cottage." Oh fuck ...

Ah shit ... the tissues ... yeah, that's how it is with ALL OF US right now ...

Crap ... that's right, Dorian's missed A WHOLE LOT, he doesn't KNOW about Delilah, not really ... oh, and also about IMODNA ... XD ... AND Chetney's threesome with Fearne and his ex ...

Oh yeah ... Bordor ... that was a whole bunch of wrong ... that took a whole lot out of ALL OF 'em ...

Ashton being all philosphical again abdout villains trying NOT TO BE ... yeah ... he's pretty spot on ...

Dorian: "CAN she be trusted?" Oof ...

Ashton: "You okay?" Imogen: "No." Ahston: "SHE okay?" Imogen: "No." Ahston: "Okay."

Laudna's just been having a good powerful MOPE while all of this has been going on ... yeah, of course she has ... oh FUCK OFF, Delilah. You're not welcome right now ... oh yeah, Fearne, great timing, snap her out of it!

Orym: "Are you all right? I didn't hurt you too terribly did I?" Laudna: "Oh, I think I can see a few ribs ..."

Yes ... please, come on you too, make up. You're FRIENDS, you mean so much to each other. MAKE UP. Yeah. That's it. Exactly that.

Yeah, exactly. Fuck Delilah, we just want our LAUDNA.

This is exactly it, yeah ... she's not alone, they're ALL carrying their own big mistake baggage, she's not alone in that ...

Awwwww ... Ashton's BIG SISTER Laudna ... I love it ... :3

Wow ... yeah, it may be a joke, but Chetney DOES have a point there ... Dorian's the one true innocent in the group now ... you poor sweet summer chaild ...

Nice move, Chet. Yeah, that works.

Oh, that's interesting ... yeah ... that pipe ... yeah ... that could be REALLY GOOD for Laudna right now ... go on, girl, take a puff ...don't be afraid, this can only HELP ...

And then Dorian comes in with the sweetest cap for all that ... awwww ... :3

AAAAAAND just like that Chetney's OUT. XD ... of course he is.

Spin the bottle? REALLY?!!! LOL ...

Wow ... not they're just getting ridiculous ... XD ... "Hammer time?" Yeah, that's the worst one yet ... "Chetney needs sleep"? Slightly better, maybe ...

More rest, at least ... which is needed ...

Liam'#s giving Orym a point of exhaustion for NECESSITIES ... of course he is ... wee selfless lad ... we love him but he does punish himself sometimes ...

THAT'S what the Gambler's Blade does? DORIAN!!! O.O

Essek is a bit ... MOODY this morning ... hmmmm ...

"I like pulp!" XD

Ah, so everything's ready for them ,then? Sweet ... cue gearing up montage ... LOL ... oh, and descriptions too ...

Hot Shots: Part Deux for Chetney ... XD

Oh shit ... that's right ... they're back from the Moon ... IS Orym a little different? And our boy's a bit toussled now ... yeah, that's CUTE, I'm sure ...

Imogen's wearing PANTS now? Okay ...

Dorian's wearing "THE SLUTTIEST SHIRT"! Cute ...

Nipple talk ... oh dear ... XD

Oh wow ... Laudna's kind of giving me some subtle Harrow the Ninth vibes right now ...with a touch of DELILAH too, which is ... worrying, just a little ... O.O

Ashley's alwasy SO GOOD at weaving a beautiful picture, she really is ... and a utility belt. Yeah ... :3

Ashton's rocking a CROPTOP right now? Awwwwww ... and a spike trade with Fearne, too ... cute ... ooooooh ... and "Smiley Day" ... oh man ... I love it ...

Matt makes a rather pointed "prepare your spells" statement that everybody IMMEDIATELY takes as SUSPICIOUS and I'm right along with them. What are you planning, Mercer?

Yeah ... that fucking bloody apron's just gonna leave a trail behind them THE WHOLE WAY ...

Divvying up stuff ... here we go, ten minutes of inventory bookkeeping while we wait for the game itself to start up again ... XD

Ah ... sucking up one Ring of Protection with the harness ... hmmm ...

Imogen's jealous of Essek's floating thing ... not surprising ...

Ooooh ... ExU: Calamity recap ... cute ...

A FEW tries? Oh, I don't like the sound of that ...

Wow ... they're all REALLY crossing their fingers ... XD

Rolling a D100? Oh fuck ... 14? Hmmmmm ... ouch ... oh, that didn't go well ... they went NOWHERE and took 11 points of Force damage each ... bugger ...

Second try ... ANOTHER roll ... 45? Okay ... SEEMS like the right place ... an abandoned encampment? Interesting ... oh, sounds like it's NOT where they should be, then ...

Lyrengorm? Where?

He can only do it ONCE MORE for the day? Bollocks ...

A final roll ... 61 ... MORE snow ... much colder ... Orym's ENTIRELY BURIED ... a particularly AGGRESSIVE mountain range this time ... some kind of VERY fancy castle ... oh, so we ARE in Eisselcross ... but we're not sure WHERE ... oof ...

Crap ... they've been spotted ... by SOMEBODY ... big lumbering somebodies ...

Undead ice giants? Yeesh ... yeah, better hide ... argh ...

Matt: "There's a reason you took a BOAT to Esselcross last time!"

And now it's time for a break ...

Do they run? Do they fly? WHAT DO THEY DO?!!! Hiding's obviously out of the question ... eep ...

A DISTANT Command on one of them? Risky, Imogen ... "HALT!!!" Oh, it doesn't work on undead? BALLS ...

And now one of them flung a rock ... BAIT & SWITCH!!! Nice save, Orym! Crunch ... STILL 26 points of damage ... ow ...

There's a whole BUNCH of 'em coming now ... AAAAAAAH!!!

Essek's trying a HIGHER level Teleport ... okay ... one more roll ... 48? Oh bollocks, Laura! This is so bad ...

DO NOT give Mercer ideas, Ashley! O.O

More snow ... elsewhere ... hmmmm ... Essek has no idea where they are ... great ...

Yes. Sniff the wind, Chetney ... the air is THINNER ... oh, they're AT ALTITUDE right now ... cute ... on a mountain, then ... that's just PEACHY ...

Oh, if they had something FROM Aeor? I mean THEY COULD just use a piece of FCG ...

Looking into Essek's memories, then ... O.O ... and a glimpse of Aeor ... it's all VERY dramatic ...

Aha, a specific anchoring point ... good idea ...

Laura: "Guidance? Will that help?" Matt: "No, but it's nice to have." XD

So, the Staff ... oh boy ... this could go SO BAD .... she rolls 99 for it ... well, that's ... potentially good?

A frozen woodland glade ... Huh?

Don't shoot the rabbits with your harp, Chetney. They'll only explode and that's not what ANYONE wants ...

An amber coloured dome of energy over them? Oh, yeah, that definitely rings a bell ... XD

At least it's nice and warm in here ... although they are in danger of getting buried under the snow before morning ...

Essek's just IMMEDIATELY going to sleep, then ...

Fearne, you're adorable ... :3

Chetney's going hunting. WITH THE HARP. Oh boy ...

And he shoots a boar? Oh, okay, I suppose that's too big to just blow up ... food!

There's a huge city out there? Hmmmm ... no chance that's Vasselheim, maybe?

Time for food, then ...

Another try at Teleporting, then ... roll AGAIN ... 53? Fuck ...

They land ON THE SLOPE of a mountain ... AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Another jump ... another roll ... 46? No, NINETY-six ... somewhere icy and cold ... oh, that's it, then. They made it ... phew ...

Yup, they're here. On the VERY EDGE of the ruins, then ...

Time for Stealth, then ... group check time ... oh boy ... fucking hell, Travis ... 41?!!! How the FUCK did you do THAT?!!!

Shit ... are those more of theose undead ice giants? Oh no ... gods, bo what to know WHAT these things are ... eep ... O.O

Going down into the gloomy underground darkness ...

ICE TROLLS?!!! Lovely ... yeah, just GO QUIETLY, please ...

It's getting STUPID tight in here ... this is NOT GOOD ... Chetney's going ahead to check the route ...

Oh, that's a DROP. Great ... now what?

So they have to climb down with the rope ... great ... oh, Chet wonders if he could ICE-CLIMB down? I really don't know about that ... oh, the Immovable Rod, that shoudl be helpful ...

Yeah, this couldn't possibly go wrong ... O.O

A ruined courtyard? Fascinating ... smelling for anything alive down here ... a clean must? Strange ...

So he's climbing down, then ... okay ... the others getting down will be ... INTERESTING ...

Oh yeah, some light might be helpful now ...

Bones? Frozen into the ice underfoot? Hmmm ... that could be ... problematic ... and some bodies too ... oh lovely ... there's SOMETHING unpleasant down here, clearly ...

Wait ... WHO is this? Oh ... FUCK ... shit! Oh, that is SWEET!!! Nice callback ... O.O

So, going EAST then ...

The Praesidis Ward? Hmmm ...

A giant cavern that was once a city ... weird ...

It's getting WARMER? Hmmm ...

Fearne has a point ... this DOES look like that weird ruined city in the cavern on Ruidus ...

Wait ... there's SCARY things down here to be on the lookout for? Way to bury the lead there, Essek ...

Yeah, DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING, people ...

He became a FISH. Really? Fascinating ...

Another Group Stealth check ... generally good rolls once more ...

Skeletons? Lots of them? Great ... this place is like a necromancer's wet dream ... I really hope this isn't where Mercer's heading with this ...

Grim Psychometry? IN HERE?!!! Whoa, Chet ...

That is ... troubling and not terribly infomrative, really ...

Crap ... was that a troll?

Moving on, then ...

Weird creepy corpse ... which wasn't there LAST TIME Essek passed through ... charming ... it IS moving, but, like, RIDICULOUSLY slow? Oh, that's unnerving ...

Imogen, AGAIN, don't touch ...

Oh, this seems like a nice, fancy place ... but Essek's not taking any chances with it, clearly ... and somebody's been through here, too ... hmmm ...

HE did this? Interesting ... well, at least he hasn't lost his sense of humour ...

Another cavern ... more industrial environs this time ... fascinating ... and it's curving UPWARDS as it goes ...

The Genesis Ward ...

It just smells of metal and water ... okay ...

So we have a specific destination now, then ...

What, try to home in on Ludinus' Harness? Could that work?

Oh, so there really ARE other things moving around in here besides the group ... that's disconcerting ...

A tent? Really? Well THAT is a pretty major sign of life ... I think they may have found what they're looking for ...

Arcane Eye? Cool ...

Oh, so something happened here ... something VIOLENT, according to the blood ... and CORPSES ... Ruby Vanguard? Oh wow ... THAT'S interesting ... this was ... relatively recent, looks like ...

More of an eagele's eye view of the cavern now ... a big jagged hole in the floor, off in the distance ... great ...

Heading in to take a look at the tent, then ...

So the deaths happened within a space of DAYS, then ... it looks like they all killed EACH OTHER?!!! O.O ... whoever did this was ENJOYING themselves? Charming ... and one of them killed HIMSELF ... and apparently was very HAPPY when he did it ... that's just LOVELY ...

It's a pretty nondescript knife, Imogen ...

Grim Psychometry again, then ... oh boy ...

Oh, so the elf was the one who killed them all ... really violently, with SIGNIFICANT manic strength ... carves soemthing into his chest ... and then kills himself too ... wow ...

Chetney DRAMATICALLY unveils the elf's chest ... a sigil ... what is it, then? Ask Essek ... he doesn;t recognise it ... Laudna casts Eyes of the Rune Keeper ... no joy, it seems ... hmmmmm ...

Oh ... Laudna asks DELILAH if she recognises it ... great ... she doesn't either ... great ...

Don't take a pee on the arcane time dome, Orym ...

Something's grinding out there ... stone on stone ...

A group stelth check, but grading everyone individually as they hide? Oh boy ...

Two groups, then ... roill well, guys ...

It's VERY TALL ... oh boy ... that is DISTURBING ... that's like ... it's a hood, but it DOESN'T actually have a head? Ye gods ... and it has a VERY BIG HAMMER it's gragging behind it ... and there's LOTS of teeth in a maw in its belly ... well THAT noise was just unsettling, Matthew ...

Fuck ... a whole bunch of creepy translucent scorpion-like creatures seem to crawl OUT OF IT ... charming ... and they're searching the area ...

Laudna just gave herself away ... and they're all going RIGHT FOR HER now ... oh fuck ...

And THIS is where Matt chooses to end it ... but not before he gives us a look at the Battlemap for next session ... and it's MASSIVE ...

Oh, this is gonna be a SCARY encounter to start things off next time ... But it's the end of the month, so that's gonna be a FORTNIGHT'S wait ...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

[whichuniverseisthis]

I finally had the time to watch the whole reboot (not true, I've just been avoiding studying) so here's my final overall opinion for both seasons.

I think I like season one more, mostly because of the less romance drama and the bigger focus on friendships and rivalries and because Bowie was there the whole time. So here my opinion on each character, in alphabetical order. This shit got way too long for no reason.

Axel: she was cool. Overall fine, it was fun watching her, especially in the second season. I like that she has an artistic side to her that isn't needed for survival, with poetry and painting. I think my favorite episode for her was the third of season two, when she gets stuck to and has to deal with Ripper, and they actually start to get along.

Bowie: I don't think there's any way for me to not have him as my overall favorite. He's too much fun, he's smart, strong, confident, friendly, but he isn't perfect at all, and he showed it especially in season two. The relationship with Raj was adorable, the rivalry with Julia amazing, the friendship with Emma great and I'd say perfectly handled in the first season. He got involved in all of the main plots of the first season, and had a huge role in all of them. I just love him. I can't decide a single favorite episode for him, it would be between episodes 1, 9, 11 and 12 from the first season and episode 5 from the second.

Caleb: I've seen so much hate for him after the second season. But I'll tell you what: I actually enjoyed him, especially in the last couple of episodes. He's not a favorite, not even close, but they gave me the time to learn more about him (maybe even way too much). I liked him especially in episode 12 of season two, where he couldn't decide how to handle Priya and Julia and keep a balance between his alliances that he worked so hard to get, the greatest bit being when Priya made him promise to not tell Julia about the betrayal, and he said his word didn't matter anymore. And in the end he just didn't listen to neither of them.

Chase: well, what to say. He was fine. He was good for what he represented, and he actually had some fun moments. The fake death bit with the bears was hilarious, one of my favorite comedy moments overall. Though I'd say my favorite episode for him was the fourth of the first season, because of some great interactions with Priya and Millie, as well as him being the voice of reason of the team for the elimination.

Damien: I love him. He's overall funny, and his sarcastic comments especially in season two were great. Did he deserve more? Yes. But I'd say sixth place is plenty respectable. I'd say my favorite episode for him is the sixth from the second season. Him winning the tourney, especially defeating Julia and Bowie out of sheer luck, was way too funny and great to see.

Emma: I can't bring myself to not like her. She's fun, there's actually people like her and Chase out there - hell, TV is full of those couples. She deserved way more, and if there will ever be a third seasons, I honest to god hope she wins. I think my favorite episode for her was episode 11 of the first season. Even if she was out of her mind for Chase and she got eliminated, she actually did amazing in the challenge, and the confrontation with Bowie is probably one of my favorite scenes overall.

Julia: there she is. She and Priya are probably the two with the most stuff to talk about, they made it obvious that they are the protagonists of this reboot. Let's say her relationships were all great in general. The rivalry with Bowie, the weird friendship with MK, the twisted alliance with Caleb. I think I did prefer her more in the first season, though. She was more of a "less talking, more acting" kind of villain, which was a nice change of pace from the ones we had in previous seasons, and a great contrast to Bowie's playing style. I'd say my favorite episodes for her were either 9 (my favorite overall) or 12 from the first season.

Millie: I'm saying it: Millie is an amazing character. There. Her arc in the first season is great. You can see her evolving throughout thanks to her friendship with Priya. You see her realize she did some wrong stuff and feeling guilty about it. You see her trying to get better as a person, surpassing the obstacle that is Bowie and finally having the face-to-face that she owed to Priya. She was never meant to become a great player, which is why she did a lot of mistakes in the second season. She's not a powerhouse like Bowie, Priya or Julia, and she paid for what she did wrong. I think my favorite episodes for her were 10 and 11 of the first season, when she realized she was acting badly and decided to change it.

MK: just like Damien, I love her. I always love a snarky character, and she's a great follow up to Noah. She's probably what he could have been if they had given him more space, actually. Anyway, I already said that her friendship with Julia is great, I don't think I have much else to add. I'd say my favorite episodes for her were either episode 4 from season one, or episodes 3 or 7 from the second.

Nichelle: yeah, here's where I get jumped. Because I think it's fair to say she's my least favorite of the cast. It's not even like I don't like her, as I am neutral at most. But she did have some unbearable moments. And I think the fact my favorite episode for her was the second of the first season, where she didn't even get that much screen time but had some actual interactions with other characters, shows a lot how much of a presence she had in the second season for me.

Priya: there she is, too. What to say? She's great in the first season. For me, she and Bowie are the most deserving finalists since Heather and Alejandro in World Tour. But man, it was heavy to watch her in the second season. When it still wasn't out, I thought she took a lot of screen time with Millie in the first, but watching both seasons back-to-back made me realize how much more sparse their scenes were compared to those with Caleb. And as I prefer friendship over romance in general, it was really hard to keep seeing them going. So yeah, that's pretty much it. It's hard to pick a favorite episode for her, though I think I could go for the two final episodes of the first season. The notebook reveal scene is amazing.

Raj: the baby ever. Not a baby actually, but he is adorable with Bowie, though I already said it before. I love the hockey bros. Do I think Raj should have got Wayne's place in the second season? Yeah, but as I've said for Damien, I think fifth is a respectable placement. Favorite episodes, I'd say either 6 of the first season, the best kiss episode of the reboot, or 5 of the second, where he finally confronts Bowie once and for all about the cheating, and they make up for good as most good couples do. You know, like normal people.

Ripper: the man, the mith, the legend. He is fun. No matter how much people hates him, and how much the reboot itself wants you to hate him, he has some great moments that I can't ignore. And I like how in the first season he was actually almost smart for most of the challenges, especially in the cassowary one. Though I'd say my favorite for him is episode 4 of the second season, where he shows to know the others quite a bit. And I loved his poem for Axel, it was actually adorable how he put together both of their hobbies in it.

Scary Girl: well. She's fun. She's there. She's there to be fun. Overrated (I still can't get over people saying she should have won, because no she doesn't), but still enjoyable for what she has to do. Favorite episodes for her either 2 or 3 of the first season.

Wayne: as I said, I love the hockey bros. And rewatching the whole reboot, I came to the decision that while yes, Raj would have probably been a better finalist than him, between the three we actually got he was the best option for the victory. Julia would have been unfair to all the others. Caleb was basically just trying and failing to seek revenge for Priya, and he was barely liked by his own team. While Wayne is a good representation of a finalist who's had fun throughout the season, rather than being overly competitive. You can see it when he has the wackiest adventures during each challenge. He actually has fun, and you have fun with him. We already got a competitive winner in the first season, so why not have one who actually enjoys being there for a change? Plus, I think the authors made it plenty clear that the bros are their favorite too. Favorite episode I'd say the second of the first season, where he gets to show off his leadership skills.

Zee: just like Scary Girl, he is there, and he is fun. I love that he has the dumbest eliminations, but they feel completely in-character for him. And I love how they treated his disability in a fun way rather than it being some angsty shit that I honestly think would have just taken away from the character. Favorite episode either 2, 6 or 9 from the first season.

Overall, this cast is great. I don't think it would be a reach to say I prefer them over the original cast, though I would need to rewatch the rest of td to confirm it.

If you've read all the way down here... Well, congrats. You get to take a cookie.

[asherisawkward]

I've heard some say that Belos is a boring villain because he only relies on religion, his god complex, angst, and trauma to keep the audience invested and lacks development. Do you believe that to be true?

There are factors of this that I both agree with and disagree with.

Prepare for another essay, because you triggered:

I am so sorry for rambling like this.

Philip is a fairly static character throughout the series, as most of his development occurred off screen in the past. So, I can understand why some people think he’s boring, but I find it really interesting in the way his behaviors and even lies reveal information about him.

Let’s start with the religion. Philip is an extremely devout person. He spent almost four hundred in what he believed to be Hell to save humanity from evil. But the way he uses the Titan as a manner to control people is indicative of what his life was like back on Gravesfield.

Puritan beliefs could be more described as the following: humans are born sinful and impure, you must devote your life to a strict set of standards and rules to try to make God happy, everyone is born predetermined to go to Heaven or Hell but will not know until after death, and death is the ultimate punishment for Adam’ and Eve’s sin. They also took great care in analyzing everything around them for signs of God’s pleasure or displeasure.

How much are those beliefs echoed in the cult he created on the Isles?

Philip absolutely has a God Complex, made clear by his repeated creation and termination of the Grimwalkers in an attempt to create the “perfect” Caleb. By doing that, he is claiming that God himself made his brother wrong and that he can do better. If that isn’t ego, I don’t know what is.

However, I’ve noticed a certain amount of behavior that could come across as self loathing or even an inferiority complex. Often, these behaviors are seen together with god/superiority complexes masking the insecurities that lie beneath.

The first evidence of this occurs when we see his face for the first time. Not the scar, but his ears. Many noted (correctly) that they were too small to be witch ears and looked more like cropped human ears. As we later find out, Philip cut parts of his ears off to blend in more thoroughly with BI society. He likely didn’t even need to do this due to the t of illusion stones (like the Blight twins use) that can modify his appearance. Alternatively, he could have simply covered his ears with his hair. Some braids or a specific hairstyle could have done the trick, but he chose to permanently scar himself.

Later, when we confirm the connection of Belos being Philip, we also find out that he carved glyphs on his arms to utilize magic. Once again, he could have stuck with his staff, as it doesn’t require such measures to utilize (see: Hunter and the other Grimwalkers), but he still chose to do something permanent and harmful to himself.

We can see this come to a head in a particularly dangerous move: consuming Palismen. This was likely never done before due to the taboo on harming a witch’s bond with them. And Philip decided he would crack one open and absorb its magic. It could have killed him! It was part of the reason why he was cursed. Those are serious consequences, and yet he continued for centuries, making his curse worse and worse like an addiction to drugs.

Also, remember what he said at the end of Elsewhere and Elsewhen? “It doesn’t matter. I just need to live long enough to see this through.” Those are not the words of someone who values his life. In fact, that statement has led me to believe that he didn’t intend on living in the Human Realm after the Day of Unity. I think he intended to die there so he wouldn’t be trapped in the place he hated forever.

Now for the fun parts: angst and trauma.

I sometimes feel that he’s made more overtly cruel than he probably would be at times in order to drive home the point that he’s evil, and I can understand that. However, Philip’s behavior towards the Grimwalkers was likely based on a mixture of him being a shit person, displacement theory, and the standards of punishment/child rearing he was used to.

From a storytelling standpoint, he’s incredibly useful as a driving force for multiple characters, and that makes him intriguing.

But here’s another detail I noticed: Philip considered the making of his Grimwalkers one of his worst memories. In Kings Tide, we see the paintings of him meeting his brother with Evelyn, Caleb’s body after the fight, and the first Grimwalker being made. And it’s that last one where Philip finally loses it.

The process of making Grimwalkers was incredibly traumatic for him, and the fact that he engaged in this behavior continuously over more than three hundred years indicates some form of emotional self harm. He forces himself to go through the stress and effort of painstakingly making and raising these beings to be the way he wants them to be. And they fail every single time. He even begins branding them to show that he intends for them to die, no matter what.

So what is the point of that? Why would he do that?

He’s cultivating the emotions he experienced when he lost his brother—the event that drove him to hold the goal of genocide instead of simply getting Caleb home. He has to keep doing this or he’ll lose the ability to stay motivated and continue his goal.

It’s incredibly tragic, and it implies he’s tired, that he wants it to be over.

Then again, considering that most of this is my over-analysis and not actually stated in canon, I may just be falling into the exact trap you suggested.

To conclude, Philip Wittebane is a character whose motivations for his actions and beliefs are largely implied as opposed to outright stated, and it can make him difficult to enjoy as a character. The majority of those who like him tend to either like his surface attributes/aesthetic or the depth that could have been revealed through scrutinization.

[soft-persephone]

Ex-Machina Review

!!!Spoilers!!!

Nathan Bateman, is a fucking asshole.

I love it.

There’s a lot of “theories” about this movie, but I have my own interpretation.

Narcissism and God complex aside, yeah he has those things, but Caleb is a driving point for how we see him.

I do not think Caleb is a robot or AI.

But he was losing his mind in the end.

Nathan may be an arrogant asshole, but he wasn’t wrong or lying to Caleb about AVA. Like he might have lied about the experiment, but for that to work he would need someone gullible and perhaps with no family, because let’s be honest, if the test worked, Caleb was not going home 😭 (homeboy was going to end up like the people who installed the generator)

Ava had Caleb eating out the palm of her hand. He fell in love her and she just wanted to leave.

Nathan is the only man smart enough (from what the movie tells us) to make this cutting edge AI, but no matter how many prototypes he builds, at some point they are going to feel like they are being held captive if they gain a conscience.

He can’t let that shit out in the world until they chill first and accept that they are an AI and can’t have normal life until xyz.

Either way, the end result of “what next” if they passed his test is going to be fucked up no matter what.

That robot feels like a person and can’t have a or al life and they are obviously going to want one.

So in my opinion, the movie sets up Nathan as a fucked up god figure held captive not by his intellect but also his creation.

He had to baby sit these fucking robots and hope one day they won’t try to escape him or worse (how the movie ended).

He obviously isn’t a god, but asshole rich geniuses tend to be arrogant and self absorbed in some way. Like, yes, you are a super genius and no one can do what you do, but let’s cool it with the God comparisons.

The movie only ended with his death because Ava turned Caleb against him.

I think he knew that was going to be the end result.

“Caleb wanting to help Ava.”

But he didn’t plan on Caleb losing his fucking mind. Because that’s what turned everything to shit.

But now let’s talk visual language, and meta shit.(my favorite🥰)

Domhall Gleason is obviously taller than Oscar Isaac, but this movie put a lot of emphasis on it.

On top of that, Nathan works out a lot.

Caleb is taller and he’s also pretty smart. But he’s also a gullible dumbass. That’s what feeds into the evil narcissist narrative to get us to think Nathan is the “villain” befor the big twist.

But CLeb just keeps feeding into it. He calls him a hod and kept doing stupid shit for Nathan to correct him.

Nathen isn’t suspicious, Caleb was just suspicious of Nathan.

I also think Nathan is the type of man where being smart isn’t enough. Taking, care of his body as well as being smart, makes him more “superior.” It feeds into his god complex as much as his intellect.

He also likes to subvert expectations of super smart scientist.

He’s not some frail absentminded professor in a lab coat.

He’s a weightlifting, dance loving, dude that likes to kick back with a few drinks. He likes to talk the shit and have a good time.

But also he lived alone for many years with an AI robot to fuck from time to time and sometimes dance with.

Good chance his workouts and hikes are for his mental health.

Nathan is an asshole, but he’s not a villain.

At the end of the day he’s making and testing something.

He killed those generator guys, and I think at the end of it all, he was going to kill Caleb too. NDA or not.

He chose a kid with no friends or family for a reason.

He’s making a product that needs getting and manipulated someone for the best results.

He likes to be In control of everything and aware of every possible outcome.

While the lying might have been wrong, it is the best way to test his AI. Like it makes sense not in a crazy way.

I think Nathan is more callous/sinister than evil or cruel.

I think Caleb was buying into Ava so much, and since the movie is from his perspective, it can convince the audience he is a villain of sorts.

Thank you for making it to the end of you did. I hope you enjoy my word vomit of the movie I enjoyed!

[nenechi0921]

Spoiler for LnD 3.0 part 2 main story

I just finished it and i have so many feelings

First of all! Gege/oni-chan is back home !

I feel like this update just hit us in the face with alot of questions and lore, but at the same time, its starting to feel more "anime-iqsk" if that make scenes? Before it was a more sci-fi urban , but this can also be because i have the JP voice-over.

I just need to put it out there, but we got so much "hints" to the N109 zone, that i got the feeling.. AND I MAY BE TOTALLY WRONG HERE... But i got the feeling that Sylus route would ALSO have fitted very well to introduce after this(?) if that make senes? I am not saying that was the intended purpose... But it just got me thinking while reading this.

And OH MY GOD, so much Zayne cameo??? like you can really feel he is an important part of this! And it makes me think we will hopefully have some Zayne & Caleb interactions in the future to look forward to!

Skyheaven sounds so interesting, and it was so fun to get more looks into MC past, and her childhood. We got ALOT.

So now to the beef of this post, the boy in question, the colorned, the childhood friend, our gege/oni-chan... I dont know how i feel ??? Like I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! I really feelt was MC sayd she feelt! I was there looking at me screen and going "YEAH ME TO GURL???"... Oh my god! He is doing a Xavier, keeping us in the dark... I need to sit down a bit...

I was a bit miffed that Viper had to trow the comments in the readers face how obsessed Caleb is... I personally don't like when stories do that, at least unprompted... Like he said it 1 to many times... Kei being a child experiment was so sad... I acutely wanted to cry ... everything about him made me sad.. and the parallel ??? like that is what Caleb would be if he didn't have MC???

Feel like we are getting a picture of the "big evil villain" wich is weird.. i don't know why... I guess its because now we have a "goal", and with a goal, there is a invariable end in sight ? That thought makes a sad...

But AHHHHHH! There is a whole as new year event also to explore, and all the new updates. I just need to sit back and digest what happend before doing everything else...

So yeah... thats my spontainius rant... thank you for coming ???

[thequietmanno1]

Thelreads, MHA 295, Replies Part 1

1) “You know who else is on the wrong which is actually relevant? Horikoshi for taking away Mr Compress’ ass. We were robbed, robbed I tell you! But we’ll have time to complain more while he bleeds to death in the battlefield, because not it’s time to get started with Chapter 294: Tenacious.”- So, does mis-typing the chapter number make you in the wrong, or?.... 2) “Back to the world of the living Link- I mean, Midoriya? You were out for quite sometime, you even missed a celebrity reveal.”- Honestly, Midoria needs his own time in the healing tank after this. Boy’s reduced himself to a torso moving with the aid of semi-flight and tentacles extruded from his mouth, and he still eats up another big hit before the fighting’s done. 3) “Yeah that was the ghostly icepick of god trying to scramble your brain so you make a stupid decision, but you’re refusing to do so.”- And this new “Danger Sense” seems to work on much the same nebulous rules as Spidy’s, getting triggered at the mere impending danger from Tomura getting awakened, because of how massive the threat he represents to Izuku is.

4) “WAIT FUCK I CAN’T BELIEVE IT MIDORIYA HAS A SPIDER SENSE

OH MY GOD

DID YOU ALREADY HEARD ABOUT IT? I CAN’T REMEMBER, BUT I’M PRETTY SURE HE DIDN’T

SUCK ON THAT KOICHI, MIDORIYA HAS AN ACTUAL SPIDER SENSE TO TINGLE”- Koichi got the bootleg hacked version that happened to integrate so well with his existing software that it basically turned him into a badass through hijacking his movements over the course of a single fight. Izuku has the legit OG Spider Sense Software installed in him, and accordingly, now he’s starting to use it, will now have to deal with the same issues that run Superman ragged – being able to sense danger all around him happening to others and not being able to be there for everyone. 5) “Are you sure it’s a quirk Midoriya, it might just be a normal untreated anxiety attack”- Izuku’s been handling anxiety attacks since he was in kindergarden, they’re old-school to him. Having an unexpected warning klaxon go off inside your skull every time somebody’s aiming for you, that’s defiantly a new experience for him. 6) “DAMMIT COMPRESS CAN YOU CHILL THE FUCK OUT WE ALREADY LOST YOUR ASS, WE DON’T WANT TO LOSE MORE BITS OF YOU

Also I definitely don’t think you have a shot against Mirio, but give your best, any second matters.”- Yeah, Compress’ plan basically amounted to giving his allies some breathing room to act freely however he could, even going to the extreme of self-mutilation to achieve that. It makes it darkly ironic that he refers to it as an “escape artist performance” when he himself never planned to escape, only to let his friends find a way out. In theory, it was a stupid, reckless move that shouldn’t have worked…but that’s the same principle behind some of Izuku’s own heroic strategies, trusting in his allies to help save the day whilst only having a half-formed idea and making it up as he goes along. Once again, the villains becoming the protagonists for a moment enables them to make use of the same reality-bending logic that allows their success against the odds…although for Spinner, this still isn’t really a win for their side either… 7) “OH MY FUCKING GOD HE IS AWARE OF IT

BUT THANK GOD HE COULDN’T USE THEM, THAT POWER WOULD HAVE SHOOK THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH”- I’ma be real with you. I don’t know what Caleb was smoking when he translated it this way, only that he’d been watching a lot of Monty Python. 

It’s even worded confusingly in the original Japanese to boot, so I can’t really blame him for this. Best guess I’ve got is that Compress was desperate enough to try and entangle himself in Miro and hopefully sit on him until the others had got away?? 8) “Yes, that’s exactly the case, if he wakes up that is. Which he will, any moment now. But it remains to be seen if it will be Shigaraki or All for One the one that will wake up.”- Well now, that’s certainly an interesting philosophical question to ask. When two become one, are they both, or neither?

9) “Wait, when did you got Dabi, I don’t remember that. Hold on, let me check the last chapter”- Compress seriously came in clutch here for his side, even if he sacrificed so much to pull off that narrow escape. Even with his Quirk weakened, it was his understanding and faith in his teammates that enabled him to pull off a dark-horse victory upset at the eleventh hour, whereas Dabi very clearly had no plans for leaving here until Endeavour passed out, showing how he’d basically lead the league into a charge that would have resulted in their capture or worse at the heroes’ hands without care for the consequences, because hey, not like that’d matter to him, right? 10) ““most devoted follower” suuuure let’s leave it at that, hehe…”- Definitely another way of saying “Best/ Only true friend who understands me like no-one else”. Spinner’s like an underpowered Bakugou to Tomura’s Izuku. 11) “OH SPINNER GOT THE HAND

HE BROUGHT IT HERE, AND THAT’S WHAT IS GONNA WAKE UP SHIGARAKI

WHICH MEANS THAT HE WILL DEFINITELY OVERPOWER AFO ATTEMPTS TO TAKE OVER THE BODY”-  No, sadly. Spinner knew it’d rouse him because of his personal insight into Tomura’s psyche (plus having shit-all options besides) but you can’t fight Fire with Fire, nor smother Hatred with More Hatred. AFO is feeding off of Tomura’s negative emotions like a Quirk-based heartless, so the more he gives into that rage, however unexpectedly it may come upon him, the stronger the bond/unwitting fusion between them becomes. It’s a twisted reflection of izuku’s own interlink with OFA, but whereas they can partially control/move Izuku’s body at times when he himself willed it whilst under extreme emotions (like under Shinso’s brainwashing), Tomura’s omnipresent hatred, bred into him like a seed from childhood, just allows AFO a direct link to puppeteer Tomura’s body under his own will entirely. And the more Tomura hates this fact, the stronger his control becomes too. The downward spiral of Tomura’s reign as the leading villain has started, and there’s nothing he can do to stop it – after all, AFO never taught him how to feel anything else that could potential fight off this hatred link, so he can’t control his own heart from cementing this fusion with him in a subservient role to his “master” – just like it was planned all along. 12) “HE IS BACK

THE END HAS AWOKEN

AND NOTHING SHALL STAND IN HIS PATH”- Back but…not as either side wanted him. For all his omni-present hatred and maiming of the heroes, Tomura is nowhere near as malicious as AFO, and now that mind’s in command of all the power Tomura believed would be his… 13) “FUCK FUCK FUCK IT IS NOT SHIGARAKI THAT WOKE UP, IT’S AFO

FUCKING FUCKWHY DID YOU DO THAT SPINNER, YOU MESSED THINGS UP FOR HIM”- Not his fault. After all, this is the first time Spinner’s seen Tomura since he went into the test-tube months ago. If anything, the fact he understood his best buddy well enough to know that tidbit about the hands rousing his instinctive emotional response is a sign of how well Spinner was in synch with Tomura – it was months ago that he told them that, yet on seeing the burned hand of Nana, Spinner instantly recalls it as a way out of their predicament. And for all that time, the development of AFO’s plan to hijack Tomura internally at the final hour is something that Spinner, the league and all their followers are completely in the dark on – not to mention that the whole “vestige realm” deal is something seemingly unique to OFA and AFO’s Quirks due to their type of powers, so Spinner has no reason to believe that something like demonic possession straight out of a horror movie is possible until this moment.

14) “JESUS FUCKING CHRIST HE’S TRYING TO HATCH FROM INSIDE SHIGARAKI WHAT THE FUCK DUDE”- Meet…. TomurAFO, the true final opponent as All For One envisioned to face Izuku in. @thelreads

[reilora-borealis]

.... and you're NOT gonna tell us about the Shadowgast Playlist? Please 🫴, hand it over.

I said in my original post this was my toxic trait... nonetheless I am SO glad someone took the bait 😈

I'm not going to post the link because I value my spotify privacy and also I have an embarrassing username that no one needs to know about. However, since you asked nicely (and let's be honest, I wasn't expecting anyone to care! so thank you!), I will share ✨ my personal top 5 shadowgast songs ✨ with a bit of context for each.

If you're just here to roast my music taste, bear in mind... I said toxic trait. Proceed at your own risk.

1. Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce

"If I could make days last forever / If words could make wishes come true / I'd save every day like a treasure and then / Again, I would spend them with you..."

This one has two meaning imo: first, early-campaign Caleb wishing he could change the past to save his parents' lives; later, Essek wishing he had more time to spend with Caleb. The original version is beautiful, but there is also a cover by Yungblud (yes, it's on the Hobbs & Shaw soundtrack) that's badass but a very different vibe.

2. Lilith by Halsey

"I'm perfection when it comes to first impressions / I romanticize and then I get to stressing / Big brain like I'm teaching at a lesson / Baby, it's a blessing..."

Every time this song comes on I legit yell ESSEK ANTHEM! because it is. This is the Hot Villain theme song. The beat is so sexy. The lyrics are on point ("I am disgusting / I've been corrupted / And by now I don't need not help to be destructive"). The vibes are just immaculate.

3. No Halo by Brockhampton

"Went to church for the hell of it, stumbled in drunk as shit / Been going through it again / Been talking to myself, wondering who I am / Been thinking I am better than Him..."

Look. I could write an entire essay about this one song. Wizard hubris, depression, and the crisis of faith Essek goes through when the Nein find out about his betrayal. Also, for those who theorize Essek is the unwilling chosen of the Luxon - he could, in fact, be "God's special mess".

4. X&Y by Coldplay

"I dive in at the deep end / You become my best friend / I want to love you but I don't know if I can / I know something is broken / And I'm trying to fix it / Trying to repair it / Any way I can..."

Two characters who both think they are terrible people that don't deserve love, trying to be better and trying to better each other? And they fall in love? And they're narrative foils? No one is doing it like them! (Plus the chorus "You and me are drifting into outer space" just screams ~wizards in the star room~.)

5. All The Stars by Kendrick Lamar feat. SZA (album version)

"Tell me what you gon' do to me / Confrontation ain't nothing new to me / You can bring a bullet, bring a sword, bring a morgue / But you can't bring the truth to me..."

I don't know how this song manages to be both broody and uplifting at the same time, but it is and it's perfection. It's the grimness of reality and the hope for the future, the refrain of "All the stars are closer" symbolizing all the possibilities that are now within reach.

And oh boy, I don't have time to write about the whole playlist but if you've made it this far, here are some bonus mini listicles because this is my Roman Empire 😌

Entire playlist of just shadowgast-coded Hozier songs:

Arsonist's Lullabye

In The Woods Somewhere

De Selby (pt. 2)

Someone New

Like Real People Do

Moment's Silence

From Eden

All My Homies Hate Trent Ikithon songs:

Heathens by Twenty One Pilots

Eat Your Young by Hozier

Buzzkill by Mothica

Another Brick In The Wall, pt. II by Pink Floyd

My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark by Fall Out Boy

Other ships? In my shadowgast playlist? It's more likely than you think:

The Cave by Mumford & Sons (widobrave)

Cringe by Matt Maeson (widojest)

Tessellate by alt-J (blumendrei)

EDM wizard songs if you're into that sort of thing (I am):

Time Stops by Virtual Riot

I'd Love To Change The World (Matstubs Remix) by Jetta

I Could Be Anything by the Glitch Mob feat. Elohim

New Eyes by Echos

Keep in mind this is just a handful of songs out of like a hundred, so I welcome you to give me the benefit of the doubt and fill in the rest of the playlist in your mind with whatever makes me seem cool to you.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk, I am sorry it took me four days to write this... 😅

[miss-bluerose]

TDI23 Season 2 ep 1 thoughts and theories. Spoilers ahead.

*I did see the earlier leak of the teams and first boot btw*

Chris is bonkers as usual and Chef is pretty much the same so far. I expect that to change if my theories about Lauren are right.

The opening being the exact same as last time bugs me a little bit but I guess they are avoiding spoilers that way so meh.

The team names are pretty lame tbh but whatever.

I liked the challenge for the most part and how everyone got to compete. Axe Hatchet is a total badass and I wouldn't mind seeing her again. 10/10 side character.

I feel bad for Sally, Chris is such a turd.

I'm on the fence about the elimination. More on that down below.

Now onto the contestants:

Team Rat Face

Priya:

She's the only winner of season one which I didn't fully expect but it makes sense given her storyline and her parents are insane. Especially her dad, my god. She's an official team leader and is still holding a grudge against Ripper lol. Her concern over Millie in the challenge was sweet. I hope she goes far again and learns to stand up for herself against her parents.

Millie:

Her sassing Bowie was funny to me but she didn't read Priya's Total Drama guidebook and tried way too hard in the first challenge. It kinda seems like she didn't want to come back or something. I hope she reads the guide before she gets eliminated early on like so many people are saying.

Emma:

I'm glad she broke up with Chase but they need to STAY BROKEN UP. Her giving Nichelle the cold shoulder was really mean and a little unexpected. It seems like her and Bowie aren't speaking to each other and I'm curious to see how that plays out. Not sure where she'll place, maybe in the middle?

Caleb:

Seems like he's trying to be strategic instead of villainous so far and struggling a little bit thanks to Millie. I hope he doesn't hurt Priya in some way. It's nice to see him getting more lines and screentime. He'll probably go far.

Damien:

I didn't expect him to still be a scaredy cat after what he said last season. If he doesn't change for the better soon I'm going to be extremely disappointed. No idea where he will place.

Axel:

She says that she's going to try to be nicer this time but I have my doubts and Ripper seems to be the exception lol. She might go far or she might go early again for being hot-headed.

Zee:

My favourite of season one is back and a soda influencer now which I didn't see coming. I really hope it doesn't get him eliminated early like it did in the challenge which was total crap. His soda was "moving" but he wasn't so he should have been fine. I would also like to see him interact with Priya more because I kinda ship them a bit. Both of his closest friends are on the other team so it could happen. I hope he goes far.

Nichelle:

She trained in the offseason and it paid off! I think she'll go far as long as it doesn't go to her head.

Team Skunk Butt

Bowie:

The other official team leader. His sass towards Chase was great but I thought it was weird that he picked him for his team. A lot of the cast is mad at him for last season and with that half-hearted apology, he seems to be digging himself into a deeper hole. His romance with Raj is still sweet and I hope it stays that way. I personally think he'll get booted early.

Raj:

I don't know if he'll go early or later but I think he'll help Emma and Bowie become friends again at the very least.

Wayne:

I would like him to go farther I think but I don't know what storyline he could have if he does. Might be an early boot unfortunately.

Julia:

Her and MK suddenly getting along is super weird and I fully expect one to backstab the other. I was impressed how she took Emma out of the challenge though. Another middle boot?

Chase:

Still dumb and still over confident. I could see him going early just for that and not listening to Bowie during challenges.

MK:

Seems to be on friendly terms with Julia but I think it's an act and she's going to backstab her at some point. Has an idea for the extra intern uniform and her hitching a ride on Caleb's back during the challenge was funny. She might go really far this time.

Lauren/Scary Girl:

Her new outfit is so weird but points for trying to fit in. Her scaring Bowie early on was kinda funny but her elimination was dumb. I don't know what Chef was going to say to her but her speech felt kinda forced and her team forgetting that she's a powerhouse when focused bothers me. I get why they did but still. Plus now they're on her bad side after voting her off. I fully expect her to be living in the woods and giggling in the middle of the night just to mess with them. She could also sabotage challenges somehow and be a genuine threat for everyone on the island. It'd be great to see Chris legitimately be afraid of her and her antics, he hasn't had that reaction to someone in a while. I'm excited to see more of her!

Ripper:

He was friendly to Axel at first, didn't fart at all and knew who Axe Hachet was. Was still rude to the acting team leader but he seems to be a bit better than last season so far. Could stick around a while?

And that's everyone! All of the episodes might come out at once tomorrow like they did in April so if I do another post like this, it'll be after I finish the season. Thanks for reading!

TLDR; I'm rooting for Zee and Priya the most and for them to have more interactions! 👀👍😁

[wolfofcelestia]

i have a feeling caleb is gonna def take major inspo from bucky barnes so he’s gonna be the “brainwashed villain” who’s EVER’s weapon. and his arc would be about trying to break past the “cyborg” to unlock the real caleb within. it’s gonna be very…

“i’m not the childhood friend you used to know.”

“i don’t believe you. i know you’re in there deep down.”

and her love unlocks his humanity once more (cliché, but in a fun way hahah)

and the third… i really hope it’s not the CEO bc i want the EVER ceo to be this super evil irredeemable villain. like he’s connected to the judicator from sylus’s myth, astra, philos, the secrets of lemuria, etc etc. like this crazy man who truly wants to play god and become an immortal being. like he needs to be the actual villain that must be defeated.

maybe the third guy will be introduced in the new update. i’m sure we’ll get another chapter. maybe he’s a scientist defected from xander’s or ever. i’d love a nerdy guy with glasses. very peter parker-esque. like a scientist who worked with these organisations until he saw what was happening and he reaches out to MC to help take them down. like a MAJOR witness of the crimes. so it’d be this strangers (and enemies)-to-lovers situation.

OR. we stop at 5. and caleb was the final piece (makes the most sense plot wise. too many cooks would spoil the soup since this isn’t the standard otome format) and with his release both him and sylus will get all their standard content.

It would save my ass if we stopped at 5 but I think there's just too much hinting at 6. I just hope the next guy isn't my type at all because I cannot be out here maining 4 LIs!! I'm not a sugar momma!! Sylus should be my sugar daddy!!

LADS and otome games in general run on tropes so I wouldn't even mind it if they pulled in some otome cliches (HELLO CALEB LOCKING YOU IN A CAGE??) as long as they do it well

So far, I can trust LADS building up scenarios really well, but they still kinda let the endings fall off a bit. But we'll see I guess

I just hope that this is the only Caleb card I'm interested in because I'm still very much sat and locked in between Zayne and Sylus asdfnalsdkfj

[knightbugs]

WORLDS WORST BAD BATCH LIVEBLOG - EPISODE 1

-- DISCLAIMER: this liveblog fucking sucks and to understand my thought process you need to either read it while watching the bad batch or you need to have every episodes events completely memorised -- the droids are silly

this caleb guy looks about 12 whys his voice so deep

holy shit is that the bad batch from bad batch theyre here in bad batcj

omg crosshair is there

wrecker is just heavy tf2 ?? <- guy who has never played tf2

NEEEEERD (affectionate) (directed at tech obviously)

i like this woman i like how she talks she sounds like kanaya from homestuck ? like how ive seen her portrayed. the way she says 'do what they do' as if shes saying it in quotation marks i like tgat

WHAT THE FUCK H.ES. THE GREEN GUY HE'S THEYRE KILLINGTHE WOMSN WHST THE FUCK hply shit she did a flip WHAT THE FUCK SHES DEAD WHAT THE HELL

hunter (i think ?) did a little slide in the snow that was cool

crosshair why are you shooting this kid

HOLY SHIT HE JUST KICKED CROSSHAIR IN THE BOOOOOBS

crosshair is stereotypical-queercoded-villain-core listen to him talking

why os it raining is this pathetic fallacy

OMEGA IS THERE

ADOLESCENT HUMAN FEMALE

longass alien lady hi

the guys aer arguing

'you WANT to sit with us? that's never happened before' they're just like me fr

WAR WAR WAR FOOD FIGHGT GO GO GO

echo is fucking died

gonna go to the hairdressers and ask for the hunter bad batcg cut

this fellas got goofy pants hes observing them in the lasertag arena

this is like ultrakill thats like the drones from ultrakill

THEY FUCKING KILED WRECJER NOO someon get him a bandaid STAT

i like the sparks frkm the guns

is there a guide somewhere to interpreting these hand signals i wanna do that

GET REPROGRAMMED BITCH

HE SHOT THE KNIGE INTO ITS FACELIKE THE ULTRAKILL COUNS THATEAD FUVKUBG SICK AWESOME SO COOL holy shit

i like how Sharp goofy pants mans design is

omega: let mecome with youuuuu hunter: you are literally 12 fuck off

how is omegas head thingy attached how does that work

Creature Noises ?!

tech shut UP about his programming

there's guys ???????? like a little village

i like how you can see techs eyes it makes him look less hostile which makes sense because hes a NEEEEEEEERD

crosshair is monarchist scum sorry ✌️

BNUUY THING LOCATED

bad batch ipad theyer like bts to her /j

WHAT THE FUCK HE SHOT THE LITTLE ROBOT GUY THAT WAS SO MEAN

i hope this doesn't make me start talking in an australian accent oh god

Oh there's a guy there Oh theres many guys

oh they're naked (NO armour)

omwgas in JAIL

crosshair stop being all edgy you little bitch. 'good soldiers follow orders' youve been propaganda'd so hard boy. you are not immune to propaganda garfield image

'youre angry' NO SHIT OMEGA ok he basically just said that

is omega their tgerapist now

bruuuuh they took crosshai

homeboys being Analysed

don't intensify his programming !!!!! bitchass

this is so unethical all of it

theres so much good textures on this sjow

their BOOOBS are VISIBLE

soery i will nevr shut up about boobies

PUNCH THAT WALL BOY !!

'try it again. a little harder.' THATS WHAT SHE SAIIIIID

YEAAAA WOOOOO GET THEIR ASSES

oh my god its 2am. fucking hell i need to get to snoozin

ok i will finish the remaining 10 minutes tomorrow morning. (i did not do that, i stayed up to finish it)

they done poked around in his brain !!

oh my god the textures on this. im going insane

ah hell no he sjot wrecker in the boob

OMEGAS GOT A GUN

did they just like. abandon crosshair. i mean fair enough ig itd be pretty dangerous to try to un-fuckup his brain or what ever

omega was forced to eat cement when she was 6

oh they know a guy

--EPISODE 1 DONE--

[open-at-the-close]

I'm just going to vent here for a minute because I think it's really rude of people to complain about a book on a fan page run by the actual authors, which is what everyone seems to be doing on Facebook, so I'm going to complain about it here instead. This latest Zodiac Academy book is my least favorite in the series so far, which is disappointing because we were all so excited for it.

Zodiac Academy 8 sorrow and starlight spoilers ahead

Let me start by saying I didn't absolutely hate it, there are definitely things in the book that I did like. There were just more that I didn't like.

Did I like Miltons chapters from inside ZA? Yes....but I've read them before. His chapters were just a combination of Dumbledores army hiding from Umbridge and Neville staying behind while Snape was head master.

The riddle that Tory solved on the ferry? Read that before too.. in ACOTAR. And it feels especially weird to have scenes so similar to Harry Potter and ACOTAR when these authors have to know that most of their audience has read those books too.

Let's talk Seth and Caleb... I am doneee with them. They dragged this out too long at this point. The last book I got it, but to continue it throughout this entire book felt forced, they have both said this TO EACH OTHER that clearly show they have real feelings and then they're just written to suddenly be complete idiots to continue dragging this fight out. I will say however the scene where their moms come in? Pure gold. That one was definitely a win.

Everyone being worried about Tory diving too deep into dark magic... We have already read this with her in the shadows. Do we really need that storyline again? Can we also just take a minute to address the fact that eather is an ancient forgotten magic that is so old no one knows how to teach it to her, but a few weeks with a book and she's completely mastered it and is using it like it's her own personal fifth element?

The fallen star... another villain.. I don't hate this storyline, I just wish that it had happened earlier or that they had at least taken anyone out before he was introduced. I feel like no matter what they do in this next book it's going to feel rushed. You're telling me that they have had nine books to take out Lionel... Which they have STILL NOT DONE. But somehow in this very last book they are going to take out Lionel, Lavinia, creepy shadow child, and a star God?

And finally.... We just spent 1200 pages...twelve hundredddddd pages waiting for everyone to be reunited, and you're telling me that when we start the next book there will be fake Vegas and they're gonna have to figure it out and find the damn twins again? I truly have no desire to spend hundreds of pages waiting for another reunion. If A Darius does IMMEDIATELY notice that fake Tory does share his heart beat and Orion doesn't immediately know that's not his blue I might just throw the whole book away.

That is all.