#i wish people would stop downplaying his lore

[tthelady]

I find people who say they want Childe to be "just some guy" really funny. If you even took a second to look at his lore, you would now he's not "just some guy", he's anything but that.

From the lore we have, we know that Childe caught the eye of the abyss and was swallowed by it and taken to the deepest and darkest part of it where he saw the endless possibilities of another knigdom. His presence woke up a primordial beast from its slumber, and it left its traces on him. He was trained by a "sinner" (Skirk). He has an abyssal transformation (Foul Legacy). He knows how to weild every weapon (except the bow, which he is learning right now). He is the only person we know of who experienced a time dilation while in the abyss. He beat multiple fatui men who were far older than him at 14. He became the youngest harbinger. He killed dragons. He's also the only playable character who doesn't have a vision story.

All of the things I have listed expect the primordial beast lore, is lore which we have known since he was released. The funnier thing is this just the surface of his lore. We only have just recently in Fontaine have started diving deeper into his lore. There's still so much more we need to know about him, theres still so many unanswered questions regarding him.

[ayamturd]

trapped│bench trio hc

warnings: mentions of imprisonment, exhaustion, ranboo lore, angst

prompt: (requested) “can i request a platonic!bench trio x teen!reader (individually) where they find out you got trapped in the prison with dream?”

pairings: in-game platonic! tubbo, tommyinnit, ranboo

a/n: i tried to experiment with writing more dialogue for this hc, pls feel free to always give feedback!

wc: (1.6k) - m.list

tubbo - 

“No.”

“Tubbo, I’m so sorry but i-”

“You’re wrong,” Tubbo cuts Sam off, shaking his head widely in refusal to the news. He slowly backs away as Sam tries to approach him. “They’re not- no. They can’t be, Sam, there must be some mistake.”

Sam is at a loss, his concern for the boy present, and attempts to raise his hands cautiously out with soft eyes; Tubbo is in panic, and he needs him to calm down.

“Tubbo…”

“I just saw them yesterday, surely-”

“Tubbo, please.”

Tubbo would refuse to accept that fact for what it was

can’t stand to look at the prison, the sight of it haunting him

will ignore the topic altogether and try to change the conversation if someone mentioned you

if they were persistent and didn’t pick up on the fact that he didn’t want to think about it, he’d snap

people always assume that Tubbo is a happy, emotionally driven person; while they’re not completely wrong, he’s extremely closed off to his trauma and knows how to put up a convincing front

that being said, the idea of you trapped with someone who is at the core of his past pain is unsettling to him

he’s trying but failing to pretend like everything’s okay, because everything’s not okay and he feels helpless to the idea that he might be at fault for it all again

make no mistake, he does care for you, but the fact that he cares so much makes it where he doesn’t want to believe something so awful can be true

Ranboo will quickly pick up on what he’s trying to do, and will go along with it for his sake; everyone deals with their trauma and hard news differently, Tubbo especially

Tommy, however, is too upset to notice and reacts impulsively to Tubbo’s reaction

they both clash: Tubbo refusing to address what happen, and Tommy emotionally sensitive when believing Tubbo doesn’t care

his anxieties would build up until one day he just falls apart

“Tubbo?”

They had been walking and collecting more material for their most recent build when Tubbo stopped, Ranboo pausing once realizing he had fallen behind. 

“Tubbo, what’s wrong?” Following his line of sight, Ranboo sighed once seeing your house; despite looking untouched in the time you’ve been gone, something just felt off when knowing you weren’t there. Ranboo patted his shoulder gently before tugging him away.

“Let’s go, man. They’re probably out right now.” There was a beat of silence, and Tubbo eventually responded in a weak voice. 

“No.” Ranboo picked up on the hostility in his tone and spoke with caution to his obvious upset.

“...Tubbo?”

“They’re gone,” Tubbo croaked, tears leaking from the corner of his eyes as he bit his lip roughly. Ranboo tried to console him, but it didn’t help stop the pain. “They’re trapped and I- I just can’t…”

Ranboo was at a loss for words, for Tubbo couldn’t hold it in any longer. 

he misses you, and doesn’t want to accept that there’s a reason he should miss you

tommy - 

“You’re lying.” Ranboo glanced down, his fingers fidgeting together harshly as he struggled to come to terms with the news himself.

“I’m not,” he mumbled, his voice weak in comparison to Tommy’s usual blunt tone. “I’m sorry but it’s the truth.”

Tommy’s breathing hitched from Ranboo’s words, the truth quite evident in his wavering tone and the fact that this was no joking manner. 

Eyes wide, Tommy was frozen to the truth and fear that slowly washed over him, life practically spitting in his face for how cruel the world could truly be to those young on the smp. 

“I know this is really hard to process but we have to be hopeful that everything will turn out okay-” With a shove to Ranboo’s outreached hand, Tommy turned and bolted away, his emotions running high and the situation too painful to admit. There was no ‘okay’ in this reality, you were stuck with Dream and they couldn’t do anything about it. 

Tommy was angry to say the least

he channeled his fear into his drive, but knowing you were trapped with the manic that broke him down and manipulated him for weeks on end completely offset his focus

he didn’t want sympathy, he wanted to get you out of the damn prison

while he’s usually caring to how others may feel and adjust his attitude to them, he couldn’t care much besides the amount of anger he manifested

he’d snap at anyone that tried to console him, yell at others that seemed like they showed no real concern over your absence, and most of all, he’d blame those that tried to downplay the situation

Sam was the center of his rage; Tommy couldn’t stand the thought that Sam sat there and possibly did nothing to prevent your current state

Tommy would close himself off and push everyone away; it felt wrong to act like nothing was wrong when you weren’t there

he can’t stand the idea that everyone’s okay when you’re not, and it follows him to the point where he wishes he was in your place instead 

“Tommy.” Puffy’s stern voice startled him, and he flinched with tired eyes from his spot above on the small hill. 

“You shouldn’t torture yourself like this.” 

Tommy clenched his jaw from her words, her concern valid but useless to his main reason standing watch over the prison. With a shake to his head, he tried to wave her off. 

“I’m not,” he mumbled, “I need to be here.” With a sigh, Puffy crouched down next to him and moved his chin towards her, eyebrows furrowed as she took in his tired eyes and the bags that hung beneath them. He was pushing himself too much. 

“But you don’t, Tommy. You shouldn’t be the one to burden yourself like this.” Trembling lips and narrowed eyes, Tommy broke down. Puffy was quick to grab hold of him, trying to steady his distraught state when he lost his footing. 

“Why couldn’t it have been me?” he cried, his eyes squeezed shut as he dug his head deeper into Puffy’s arms. “Why isn’t it me?”

Puffy couldn’t do anything but squeeze the boy tighter. 

Tommy was a force to be reckoned with when things involve his friends, and the fact that he couldn’t help you essentially tore him to bits

ranboo - 

“Are you alright, Ranboo?” 

Ranboo looks ahead, but avoids Sam’s wavering eyes as indelicately as he can. He doesn’t want to show his real emotions to the news; he doesn’t want Sam to feel worse for the situation as is. 

“Y-yeah, yeah, I’ll be alright. Mhm.” Nodding stiffly, Ranboo’s voice pitches higher than what it usually is, but he pretends it doesn’t faze him while rubbing his hands anxiously together. 

His head snaps up when Sam speaks, his ears twitching once recognizing the painful guilt in the creeper hybrid’s voice. 

“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry I let this happen.”

“It’s okay, Sam. I don’t blame you.”

While Ranboo chose not to look directly at Sam, he emphasized his point a final time, his thoughts lost in thought of the real guilty party.

“I don’t blame you at all.”

oh Ranboo

he would be concerned for other’s reactions to the news, first and foremost

he’s the type of person to put people above his own needs, he puts other’s take on the news before his own

will comfort Tubbo to the best of his abilities by distracting him

though Tommy tries to push everyone away, Ranboo will find ways to help, whether that be letting him yell his heart out when he’s upset or putting a blanket over him when he passes out after watching the prison overnight

you were one of the few people that understood his main values and always treated him well; he’s close to you, and would have probably told you about Dream’s internal torment over him

because of this, knowing that you were trapped with Dream made him feel like he had some involvement with it, that he’s at fault somehow

he puts others before him because he feels guilty, like he needs to redeem others for something he possibly did

no one knows of your status, of how you’re doing in there alone with Dream, but he fears the worst and rattles himself down to the bone

when he’s with Tubbo, he’s able to play along and put up a front too: pretend nothing is wrong and not be faulted for it

but when he’s alone, he’s spiraling and has no one there to wake him up

“I let this happen.” Ranboo was pacing, his voice echoing in the dimly light room while his thoughts rang loudly in his head. He could stand still, for he was too anxious and unnerved by the recent events.

“I’m the reason, I’m the reason they’re trapped. I did this.” 

Lifting his hands to his head, Ranboo began to pull at his hair, pushing pressure to the stress he had created upon himself. Before he could demean himself further, however, another voice spoke up. One familiar and one thought gone.

“You’re right Ranboo.”

Pausing, Ranboo froze in horror to Dream’s taunting statement. He pushed his hands against his ears, desperate for the voice to go away.

“No…”

“You did this to them, and they’re stuck with me now.”

“N⍜”

“Can you hear their screams?”

“⌇⏁⍜⌿ ⟟⏁.”

“They’re mine to play with. Because of you.”

“⏚⟒☊⏃⎍⌇⟒ ⍜⎎ ⋔⟒. ⟟⏁'⌇ ⋔⊬ ⎎⏃⎍⌰⏁, ⟟⏁'⌇ ⋔⊬ ⎎⏃⎍⌰⏁, ⟟⏁'⌇ ⋔⊬ ⎎⏃⎍⌰⏁ ⟟⏁'⌇ ⋔⊬ ⎎⏃⎍⌰⏁-”

people are more important than any goal or belief, and Ranboo stands by this when he vows to end Dream himself

[senadimell]

Boromir for the character ask?

send me a character and i’ll list:

favorite thing about them: Honestly? His focus. He's a problem-solver. He focuses on whatever task is in front of him, and while he's the golden child, I honestly don't know if he'd be the best fit for Steward because he seems to be at his best when he's thinking about concrete solutions to discrete problems.

Oh! The other thing is that he evaluates the advice given to him for what it is, not based on the authority of the advisor. He’s not going to accept bad advice just because it comes from a trustworthy source, and he’s going to be honest about his thoughts. So he’ll trust and respect the advice of the council of Elrond, but not to the point where he doesn’t ask questions or question things that don’t make sense (I’m thinking about Caradhras here) It’s a good skill to have as the de-facto heir to Gondor, and it makes sense that he’s not in awe of elves or Gandalf and acts among them as a guest but also as an equal at least in political status, though his experience is vastly more limited.

At the same time, he’s not arrogant or haughty. He's a team player. He’s supportive of decisions for the most part, though where the ring is concerned, things get skewy. He’s not the kind of person to rub mistakes back in your face. He’s compassionate and understanding (which we see even in the way he treats Frodo as he strives for the Ring).

least favorite thing about them: Honestly Boromir doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I suppose his positive traits are also double-edged swords. Focusing more on the advice than the giver sort of has Feanor vibes? And you can see where his focus leads him when he talks to Frodo about why he wants the ring and how he would use it. He can see his corner of the world (Gondor) and his place in saving it (political, but primarily military leadership), and it’s his practicality, drive, and focus that the Ring exploits. He’s too busy thinking about what he must do to save the day that he misses the grander scheme (yet he’s doing it because he cares! he cares!).

brOTP: Um, Faramir, I guess. Though I guess it’d be kinda sweet if he’s got a brotherly relationship with Bergil. I can easily imagine Bergil hero-worshipping Boromir, and so I think it’d be sweet if Boromir did acknowledge him and know him by name.

OTP: none? look, I rarely ship and even more rarely out of canon.

nOTP: also none? Shelob? The Ring?

random headcanon: I dunno...

unpopular opinion: boromir has dark hair Sean Bean is an actor he’s not the only face

So I feel like there’s a bit of a structural problem with the LotR fandom. Characters are often written in pairs or as foils, and inevitably the comparison starts to turn towards “who’s better?” Then, if you don’t ship them, there’s a tendency to aggrandize one character’s virtues and minimize their flaws (which tends to happen everywhere), but then the comparison game starts. Because they have a paired character, the natural next step is to lionize your favorite by de-emphasizing the other character’s strengths and virtues (and sometimes also highlighting their flaws). (I’m not immune to this by far, btw, and am possibly about to engage in it.)

This happen the most with Frodo and Sam, but I think you also see it in Boromir and Faramir. Because obviously, in the books, Faramir is the golden child. Not in his father’s eyes, of course, but narratively speaking. And I have mad respect for him.

Most people don’t try and diss Faramir (because frankly. it’s hard. like, what are you going to say?), but there’s a tendency to downplay the fact that Boromir is his culture’s golden child, and Faramir...isn’t. Which isn’t to say Faramir isn’t beloved by those who know him, but his strengths are not valued in the same way that Boromir’s are. Faramir knows this. And given Boromir’s attitudes discussed above (how confidently he assumes his position in the world), I can’t believe he’s the 100% supportive, loving, sensitive, protective brother that fanon depicts him as. I don’t see how he can be.

Don’t get me wrong, I do believe the brothers love each other deeply. But growing up with siblings has taught me that it’s possible to love someone and yet be deeply wounded by them due to the casual and inescapable intimacy of your relationship? You can share more inside jokes and weird stories than anyone, yet you can never get away from how deeply they know you--not your thoughts, but who you are at home and who you were when you were seven and how you acted when someone broke up with you or what you did when your parents were furious.

You also know exactly how you match up against them, because you will always exist as a unit. And because your relationship is as natural as the lens  in your eye (you can’t imagine viewing the world without it), you forget about the other as a person and just say something and don’t think about how it hurts them. You can joke about this one thing and your sibling can carry around the hurt for years and you didn’t even know. And maybe the hurt isn’t even your fault--maybe they were just sensitive and you had no way of knowing, but the hurt doesn’t go away for the lack of malice. And even best-friend siblings are capable of malice towards each other at times.

So Boromir is good at things that Faramir isn’t, and Boromir knows it. He’s probably ribbed his brother in what he thinks is a playful way about when you’re going to shape up, or do X, or do Y, or why do you do that, anyways, or do you realize that’s a little unbecoming? maybe you should stop that. You know Father’s going to think that you’re... And he doesn’t realize how those slights can add up over the years. I do think he’s said things to his peers about his brother that have ended up hurting him. No matter how pure and nice he is, that sort of thing is unavoidable, and due to his cultural upbringing I don’t actually think he’d question the appropriateness of his attitude/acceptance and glorification of martial prowess at the expense of those who don’t have it in the same degree.

I think this passage is really telling:

For on the eve of the sudden assault a dream came to my brother in a troubled sleep; and afterwards a like dream came oft to him again, and once to me. 'In that dream I thought the eastern sky grew dark and there was a growing thunder, but in the West a pale light lingered, and out of it I heard a voice, remote but clear, crying:          Seek for the Sword that was broken:          In Imladris it dwells;          There shall be counsels taken          Stronger than Morgul-spells.          There shall be shown a token          That Doom is near at hand,          For Isildur's Bane shall waken,          And the Halfling forth shall stand. Of these words we could understand little, and we spoke to our father, Denethor, Lord of Minas Tirith, wise in the lore of Gondor. This only would he say, that Imladris was of old the name among the Elves of a far northern dale, where Elrond the Halfelven dwelt, greatest of lore-masters. Therefore my brother, seeing how desperate was our need, was eager to heed  the  dream and seek for  Imladris; but since the way was full of doubt and danger, I took the journey upon myself. Loth was my father to  give  me leave, and long have I wandered by roads forgotten, seeking the house of Elrond, of which many had heard, but few knew where it lay.' 

There’s so much you can read into this. Faramir has this dream, and he has it many times. We know he’s a lover of lore and no less devoted to his kingdom than Boromir, though his love is expressed differently. He is “eager” to heed the dream. So would I if I was having prophecy dreams all the time.

But is Faramir a member of the fellowship? No. Why? Because Boromir “took it upon himself.” He wanted to do it, he thought himself the better candidate (and Faramir the worse), and he argued his way into doing it against his father’s wishes. Coupled with Denethor’s later attitude towards Boromir, I’m inclined to believe Boromir was uniquely able to obtain this quest for himself because Denethor has a soft spot for him.

I find myself inclined to disregard Boromir’s account of Faramir’s motive (”how desparate was our need”), because it sounds like he’s justifying the appropriateness of his actions.  If it’s just about the great need of the kingdom, it’s nothing personal that one brother goes and the other stays. That view implies  that Faramir’s interest in this mission is primarily utilitarian in purpose, with a little academic curiosity--that is, it’s nothing personal. Doesn’t matter who goes! Not as long as we protect the kingdom! Which...just doesn’t square with his description of Faramir having repeatedly cryptic dreams that he wants to understand. I can almost guarantee that Faramir wants to know what those dreams meant more than Boromir.

It’s a bit tragic, because ultimately Faramir was more suited for the quest than Boromir (tramping about in the wilderness doesn’t seem to be a problem, he’s also a team player, and he’s much more willing to accept the power of the Ring/not downplay its personal danger, and would be able to see it in a bigger picture beyond just Gondor). Ultimately, though, if Boromir was the one to catch Frodo in Ithillien, the story would have a veeeeeeery different ending. (Gollum would likely be dead, and I can’t imagine he’d be inclined to just. let Frodo and Sam go free.)

I kind of view their relationship as a much less antagonistic version of Agravain and Gwalchmai from Gillian Bradshaw. (Agravain is more of a jerk than I can ever imagine Boromir being, and has a wicked temper). 

Also none of this is to say that I don’t think he’s not protective of his brother.

So a lot of words to say: I don’t think the Boromir and Faramir relationship is as uwu cinnamon roll as it seems in fandom. I think they loved each other, but I think Boromir did have a tendency to take what he wanted when he thought he deserved it and not give it a second thought, even when it was at the expense of his brother. Sure, he’d defend his brother night and day, but I expect him to be a bit of a jerk, be unaware of the extent of his behavior, and also see little wrong with it (the ring quest seems to have crossed a line, by the way he justifies it).

Still, they do love each other deeply and genuinely. It’s just a little more conflicted.

song i associate with them: Requiem, from Dear Evan Hanson. Not a particularly creative association (and I don’t associate him with Connor at all), but his death comes as such a shock at the beginning of TTT and brings with it so many mixed feelings due to both their relationship and the circumstances of his death. Nobody’s mourning is straightforward: not Frodo, or Denethor, or Faramir, or Aragorn, or Merry, or Pippin. His absense is woven throughout TTT and even RotK, in plot and in emotion and in theme.

favorite picture of them:

Don’t really have a favorite, but this one is nice.

The Sean Bean runners-up: one, two

[slo-liveblog]

Witch’s Heart: Bonus Stage Final Thoughts

Hello hello! Honestly I can’t believe I finished Bonus Stage after all this time... took me quite a few months, oof. Many thanks to the handful of you that stuck around during all that, and to the few new people who popped in too! Hope you’ve all been taking care of yourselves, and don’t mind the long post.

CHARACTERS

Claire: After finishing the first game, I didn’t know it was possible to love Claire even more. I was absolutely wrong. The way she took charge at the end was incredibly powerful and I’m so fucking proud of her, even if it’s sad as hell. I really really like how the game both criticizes and respects her unconditional empathy, I think there’s definitely room for both conversations and they’re both incredibly fascinating. I do think she suffers from some of the most writing pitfalls out of everyone, though. Like I said while playing, there’s really no reason given why she wouldn’t confide in Leon, or at least acknowledge that he’s likely the person there she can trust most. In addition, I found it really bizarre that Claire just... never tried to talk to Reynaldo or Sirius after learning about their pasts. Like, at all. I understand why the emphasis on Ashe was important, but it was jarring and kind of unsatisfying to see Claire act so uncharacteristically by not even really acknowledging them after their stories were over. It’s more of a story problem than a character problem though, I think, and I understand why it had to be that way especially considering the conclusions will touch on a lot of the missing pieces- I just wish there could’ve been more of a justification for it. The way her personality was explored through her interactions with everyone, and how other characters were depicted based on their reactions to her ideals, was incredible and I would die for her.

Ashe: Oh Ashe. Fuck Ashe. I do appreciate the depth given to his character, he’s definitely far more complex than I expected and kudos on that. I don’t really empathize with him as much as I do the other four mains, but I do think his writing is incredible and his relationships with Leon and Claire continue to be some of the most interesting to see play out, if not THE most interesting. Star shaped carrots man. Fucked up. Super excited to see how his dynamics with everyone continue, and he’s probably the character I’m the most interested to see make decisions going into these conclusions. His arc feels the most... unfinished, he’s never really reached any sort of closure at any point of the story so far and especially not bonus stage so it’ll be cool to see where he ends up.

Reynaldo: MY BOY. I’M SO FUCKING PROUD OF HIM... going into bonus stage my expectations for him were pretty much rock bottom from the moment I realized he didn’t have a single line in the opening scene outside of saying his name. Like, I kinda made my peace with the possibility that the writer just wasn’t that interested in developing him, and would rather spend time on the rest of the mains. But holy SHIT did he pull through in the second half of the game. The subtle but noticeable build to him deciding to side with Claire was so, so well done. I still wish there was a little more solidity to his characterization- I do have to reach way further to understand him than I do any of the other mains- but I think what we DID get for him was wonderful and god, I appreciate him so much. Definitely the character that improved the most for me from the first game to bonus stage. I can’t wait for his conclusion, here’s to hoping we do in fact get it this year. The way his similarities with Claire were set up makes me SO excited to see how their relationship develops when it’s actually the focus, and how he’ll be fleshed out more in general so we can finally have a clearer picture. Because to be honest, as much as I like the development he was given in bonus stage... there’s still a LOT of gaps to fill in with him.

Sirius: continues to be the perfect human being 1000000/10

Leon: Sweet baby boy whose expressions always make me cry. Leon is still a character I’m sort of on the fence on. Like, he’s very well written and easy to sympathize with. But I realized I’m always far more interested in how OTHER characters react to HIM than the other way around, though. He’s not really a character I personally would find interesting in general, he’s a little simple for my tastes, but that doesn’t mean I’m not 100% invested in seeing him end up happy... eventually. Something tells me it might be a while.

Charlotte: I feel like Charlotte definitely got the short end of the stick in bonus stage, moreso than any other character. Her only memorable scenes that I can think of off the top of my head were when she told Leon he could kill everyone but Claire, when she thought about how Ashe probably can’t be saved, and when she reacted to Claire after the completion of Ashe’s backstory. None of those scenes even come close to hitting the same level of intrigue or emotion as the sparse Charlotte scenes had in the first game, even if that last one does have some interesting bits in it. I said at the end of the first game that we’d only really scratched the surface and I was interested to see more from her and, well, my opinion hasn’t changed. I don’t think there was much I would’ve wanted out of her here anyway unlike the boys, so I’m not especially disappointed. Just hoping we get more excellent Charlotte moments somewhere down the line.

Zizel: I would’ve liked Zizel’s deal to be... a bit more built upon, to be honest? I could just have missed things along the way, but her triumphant moment is a little harder to get in to when we know almost nothing about her or the way she thinks beyond stuff reveled about her in the same scene. I could definitely see that her siding with Claire was being foreshadowed, but I think there needed to be juuust a bit more characterization given to her for that particular development to have the impact it seemed to be going for. Still, it was a good moment, and I think it definitely made up for a lot of the sore lack of Zizel in both games. Can’t wait to see what she does from here.

Lime: Goddddd. Okay look, I still love Lime probably more than I reasonably should. She’s wonderful and I love her design and her personality and her backstory and her motivations but... yea she’s a very very bad person. Bonus stage did really make it clear that she’s not just lashing out occasionally, and this isn’t anywhere near harmless teasing. She’s full on the primary villain of the game, in some ways, and has been doing pretty horrific stuff knowing (and intending for) exactly what she’s causing. Which we sort of knew in the first game anyway, but now it’s very explicit. And like, damn dude... I do wanna see what’s gonna happen with her. It’s tough, wanting to see a character get their comeuppance and stop hurting others while simultaneously just wanting good things for them. this really is how y’all ashe stans feel huh

Side Characters: I gotta say, I really loved a lot of the smaller characters introduced in bonus stage and the way their presence added to the development of the mains. Dorothy and Nicholas, the old dude and the thief woman (I didn’t actually realize until just now but nobody in Wilbert’s backstory had a name, huh. It may not have been intentional but considering that he might literally just not remember that far back I actually really like that decision.), and Ashe’s family and friends were really smartly integrated into the story’s themes and I appreciated that a lot. also lucy and coco rights

Overall This one gets a fucking 10/10 from me chief, some small issues certainly but as close to perfect as they get, in terms of the kinds of stories I like.

STORY

I debated breaking this up into chunks, like I did in the first game with the scenarios, but I feel like the writing quality is more or less consistent throughout the game so it would be a little redundant. I definitely need more time to think on bonus stage before I have a really solid opinion, but at the moment I kind of think the story was even better than the first game? My only major issue was the aforementioned use of Claire’s character, where she’d only really react to the boy’s backstories as she finished hearing them, with the exception of Ashe’s. And her not confiding in Leon. But other than that, it was a constant rollercoaster, with pretty much every scene being jam packed with 3000 layers of character development and relationship building with lore sprinkled in. The elements that were amazing in the first game, like the fun dynamics between the characters and the subtle and unobtrusive exposition, are nothing but improved upon. I do wish we got to play more with the idea of the demon girls living alongside the mains, I think that aspect was severely downplayed almost immediately after it was introduced, but I’m crossing my fingers those potential dynamics get some time in the conclusions. Once again, my biggest gripes with the story are just that I feel like there’s so much more to explore and I can’t wait to see how the rest plays out. still giving this bitch a 10/10 on this one it was everything I wanted and more

GAMEPLAY

Combat: This was kind of... not even really utilized in bonus stage, which I didn’t actually realize until just now. There weren’t any real “boss battles” in the way there were in the first game, the closest thing to it would I guess be Dorothy’s showdown. Considering I didn’t even notice, I think that was a perfectly fine decision. The climax worked well without any actual fights. The battle mechanics continued to be functional and everything, just... not much of a thing.

Demon Requests: It could just be because I played a lot of bonus stage at a very different pace than I did the first game but the demon requests didn’t feel as frequent or intrusive this time around. I was always really excited to get to the request portion anyway cause of the photo booth and all the cool new areas, I had a super fun time using the deep sea bubble and I think overall the stuff that was added to the fantasy spaces was really neat. also lucy and coco rights

Minigames: Very hit or miss. It felt like the minigames were either so quick and easy they were hardly memorable or so tedious they made me wanna die. Take that with a grain of salt, though, I’m really bad at video games. There were very few of them anyway so it doesn’t matter much, but I guess it would’ve been nice if the minigames were less... Like that. To be fair, they were all still pretty charming or cool conceptually. Can’t really complain about getting to fucking shoot people as Dorothy even if it was hell to play.

Overall The demon requests were actually really enjoyable this time around, but the minigames and combat were kind of downplayed. Not to big of a deal, though, it’s not as if they were a focal point of the game to begin with. 7/10

ART & SOUND

Character Design: Not much to say that I didn’t already say after the first game, but the special bonus stage outfits are absolute bangers and I wish they got shown more often. And maybe I would’ve liked the guys to have a little more variety to their suits. But that’s nitpicking, Claire and the demon girl’s dresses are absolutely gorgeous.

Sprites and BGs: The overall art quality definitely got shaky in places but I gotta say, they pulled out ALL the stops for the sprites in this one. Ashe just fully has an entirely new set of them, and everybody else gets tons of new expressions too, all of which are super super good at conveying incredibly specific emotions. All I’m saying is, this would be a totally different game for me without the sprites, and I was always ecstatic to see new ones and figure out what was going on in the character’s head based on them.

OST and Sound Effects: Again, pretty much the same deal as the first game. I think there was a bit of a higher frequency for songs that made me immediately want to search for them so I could listen to them later though, thank god for that. So many good tracks.

Overall Continued to impress me, and then some. Only a slight improvement from the first game, in my opinion, but even that is pretty impressive since I didn’t have many issues with the first game to begin with. 8/10

So uh, in other words, I really really loved this game. Cannot WAIT to start best boy’s conclusion!!!

[jhindraven]

okay now that issue 6 is out and ive read the thing like 3 times, im gonna do my full review/breakdown of the zed comic and allll my thoughts on it.

no screenshots bc i dont want this to be longer than it is already, and also im not gonna talk about the art itself either. this is simply about the characters, the story, and how that relates to the lore of league itself.

all of this is my opinion, you can agree or disagree with me whatever, yadda yadda lets begin

ISSUE ONE

Probably the best one? In my opinion. The lack of expectations really helped this one not suck. Also the most consistent when it comes to characters personalities, comparing them to the in-game voice lines from league and the card game.

There are scenes in issue 1 that almost foreshadow, or at least reference, the events of Issue 6, specifically Zed looking up to the statue of Kusho, and how Zed kills Althon vs how Zed kills Kusho later on.

The dialogue between Shen and Akali is.. a little clunky? Shen’s dialogue is just a little. formal. but to the point that he sounds like he’s lecturing a stranger, not talking to a former student.

Jhin giving Zed his scalpel from 19 years ago is a neat detail that I wish they used more in the story. Sure, we can assume now that Jhin probably only got it because Kusho gave it to him at some point after releasing him- which means that the scalpel is one of the many wasted plot opportunities I’ll bring up here. Part of the appeal of that scene, if only just for me, was the idea that Jhin stole it from Zed while he wasn’t looking. I remember people pointing out background characters and being like “but what if that’s Jhin there! what if he was there all along!!”  But that has now been thrown out the window.

A thing I wish they did was shown more of Jhin’s ‘performances’, even if only in a montage. To show more of the impact this had on Zed and Shen, the strain it put on them mentally and emotionally, and how it affected their relationship. But I understand time and probably page restraints. So whatever about that.

Again, I think this was the best one. Set up the story well, showed why everything happening is important for the character. Neat, cool. Let’s move on

ISSUE 2

Seeing the bodies was pretty fucked up, but tbh? That shit vibed. It’s one of those things I hoped they were gonna do and they did. The bodies looking like porcelain with gold blood?? And the peacock feathers???? Thats fuckin cool as hell.  Then they never did it again.

In the flashback comes one of the worst fucking things in this comic. Yevnai.

Listen I adore Yevnai as a character, one of my favourites to come from the comic. You know, in the ONE ISSUE SHE ACTUALLY SHOWS UP IN????? She shows up as simply conflict between Shen and Zed (which never actually comes up mind you), as bait for Jhin, and for? Zed to show that he can sense magic from her kids to show that she’s been cheating on her husband with Quno the vastayan servant (bc we know Zed hates vastaya i guess?). oh and Guess What? the sensing magic thing also doesn’t show up again. 

Oh and Jhin follows Zed to Yevnai’s place. But nothing happens from that.

Issue 2 was good, but just a total waste imo. A lot of plot points set up only to never happen again. Best things about it were dead bodies, Jhin’s tiny Zed and Shen puppets, and the knowledge that Shen still writes letters to Yevnai :’(

ISSUE 3

I got so fucking pissed when this issue came out, no shit. They took the events of The Man With The Steel Cane and just. Threw it out the window. I did a whole other post about my issues with it so I won’t just rewrite the same shit twice. But I had to actually stop reading and pace angrily for a bit. I HATE issue 3 bro.

The scene with Kusho :) . Good to know that was now a waste of misdirection because EVERYONE seemed to call that Kusho was still alive. What bullshit. But I’ll get to that.

The inconsistencies in character really show in this one. And that connects to it being a shitty rewrite of The Man With The Steel Cane. They probably wanted a fight between Shen and Zed by this point, being halfway through the comic, and just shoved it in there. Doesn’t mean I’m not mad about it.

Akali and Kayn’s dialogue was probably the best thing in the entire issue. I don’t vibe with Akali/Kayn as a ship personally, but it got a giggle out of me im ngl.

Akali attacking Zed. I guess yeah sure she would. Fits her whole “fuck you i wont do what you tell me shen” vibe. But SHEN? calling off the armistice between the yánléi and kinkou due to the actions of one of HIS ex-students?? Shen would never. Let’s add another point to the ‘This Is Really Out Of Character’ board!

The sworn and witnessed scene was nice, it’s what Kayn deserves. Finally knowing the Kashuri Faction was nice, too bad they never get fucking mentioned ever again I guess.

There’s so many references to The Man With The Steel Cane that they could’ve implimented so much better, especially dialogue. I can’t read the original story without feeling cheated out of what it was before Issue 3. So more wasted potential I guess.

Issue 4

This was a big step up from Issues 2-3. My personal favourite, but not the best (if that makes sense). But there isn’t too much to talk about here? Jhin sets off his bombs from the last issue, it looks cool, but there’s no real story to talk about here. There is a lot of character stuff to talk about though.

Zed choosing to save Shen over getting Jhin is fucking HUGE for Zed as a character. For a character so hellbent on vengence throughout the entire thing choosing instead to save his "hated enemy and closest friend” ?? im sobbing.

This whole comic was emotional as hell, and the most character development we ever fucking saw in this thing. From Zed’s daddy issues to the realisation that Zed’s shadows are shades of Jhin and Kusho (which is now fucking hilarious and makes no sense after Issue 6).

There was a lot of setup for plotpoints that actually did show up later for once, like Kayn being the temporary leader and all that jazz. What it had in emotion, it seemed to lack in real story progression until the end. 

Issue 5

This issue was weird for me. Like there was a lot of plot and a lot of character shit that seemed so condensed that it felt like nothing. Zed’s confession in the cell-wagon and the information that Shen was out fighting Noxians too? Alright, sure okay. 

Shen still seems wildly out of character for me, since we mostly know him as this beacon of peace and calm- he’s so violent towards Zed all the time it’s strange. Like he points a sword at Zed while saying that he isn’t allowed to kill Jhin, wtf

The callback to Awaken is fucking superb. Really solidifies that video into the lore of the game. Camille being mentioned had me like :hearteyes: This is a nitpick- but I wish we knew what happened at the end of Awaken. Is Camille okay? Did Jhin get injured? It was a week ago, if he did get injured- where and how did he recover so fast? Little details  that I wanna know, not really for any real story purposes.

Rhaast finally showing up :hearteyes:, nothing else to add bc nothing else happened with him.

Jhin making the most of Piltoven technology is really cool, and its a scene that made me go “OH YEAH he was a stagehand for a good period of time!!”  That’s what we call Tying In Pre-Existing Lore fellas.

Jhin just really shined in this issue. Really set him up to be The Big Bad of the comic, like he had a monologue and everything! Once again, though, that gets absolutely wasted by Issue 6.

Issue 6

Where do I fucking start?

Let’s start with Jhin. I don’t know about yall, but since we spent a solid 5 issues chasing after him I expected more of a dramatic fight. More like the explosions in Issue 4. But uh we got. Some fancy prop work before he got punched in the face twice and thrown on the ground. It’s What He Deserves but like you know, he deserved worse.

As much as I didn’t want it to happen, I’m disappointed they didn’t unmask him at all. His mask was still fucking pristine by the end of the fight!! Not a scratch, not a chip!! But to be fair I think we got maybe 2 pages worth of a physical fight with Jhin so,, sure. Whatever. Out goes 5 issues of setting up? Not to downplay the conflict in that scene of course, I think it was pretty cool. It was just so anticlimactic at the end like wh-

Kusho! Haha they got us good!! The dead dude is actually still alive oooo~ [heavy sarcasm]. Why. It wasn’t a good twist! It was a “oh. okay yeah sure” twist. This might be my heat of the moment response but I have no words for how cheap and absolutely horseshit that twist is. Good thing we only have to think about it for 10 pages because HE FUCKING DIES AGAIN. WHAT A WASTE!!

Whatever, whatever, thinking about it makes me so mad because they set it up barely in Issue 5? I’m just tired this actually drained me irl.

At least we have baby Kayn and good dad Zed at the end to cleanse us of that.

HEY actually did you know that they thought that Good Dad Zed was considered contoversial by Marvel’s editors?? HUH????

whatever, whatever. i’m pissed. 

BONUS SHIT

So Jhin’s lore has now had an update to connect with the comic. And it’s fucking weird. Now suddenly Kusho didn’t care about catching Jhin after he found out it was just a human person murdering people? And that it was essentially Not Their Job anymore??? excuse me??

CONCLUSION?

This comic started with a good beginning and a lot of potential. It brought up so many new theories and so many new headcanons. But all that potential and all that interesting story got washed away with unconnected plot points, ‘important’ characters that show up once, and a cheap twist ending that simultaneously came out of nowhere and was easily predicted (in the bad way). It was a fun read for a while, but the ending has soured the experience I had reading it.

Some issues may come from time + page constraints, and the limitations of the medium. But those were mostly minor issues. I wanna give the artists and the writers the benefit of the doubt, maybe blame Marvel as I like to do. But...

6 months worth of waiting for an ending like this? I’m just disappointed.

[doocentral]

“SCOOBY-DOO! AND THE CURSE OF THE 13TH GHOST” - MY SPOILER REVIEW

SPOILERS AHEAD -- I was so so SO excited for the "Scooby-Doo! And the Curse of the 13th Ghost" movie that came out on DVD and digital yesterday. I picked it up after work and went home to watch it almost immediately. My excitement and nostalgia for this movie was something I hadn't felt for a Scooby-Doo movie in a while. And...I finished it disappointed on a few levels... The entire concept for this movie was phenomenal: Let's take a 34-year old plot hole created from an obscure era of Scooby-Doo and resolve it with an awesome DTV movie in the 50th year of the franchise's life. But instead what we got was: Let's take a 34-year old plot hole created from an obscure era of Scooby-Doo and attempt to resolve it by writing out characters, rationalizing the supernatural aspects of the story, and creating even MORE plot holes. 

The movie had a great set-up and was going well for probably the first half of the movie. I'll discuss real quick what I personally like about this movie before going into what I didn't: 1) I thoroughly enjoyed the backstory of the Chest of Demons (COD) and learning about how Vincent VanGhoul himself had to capture the 13 ghosts (I'm going to refer to them as The 13 from this point forward) before Scooby and Shaggy ever released them in the original series. I think that's great character development, storytelling, and additional information that was lacking in the original series. I always had a hunch that Vincent was responsible for creating the COD and capturing The 13 in the first place, when really he didn't actually create the COD but rather discovered it and made the same mistake Scooby and Shaggy made. 2) I think that the design of Asmodeus (the 13th ghost that was never captured) was fantastic. His head shape is reminiscent of the COD itself as well as the collective entity of The 13 that we see escape in the first episode of "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo". I *think* Asmodeus is supposed to be considered the first being to ever enter the COD, and him supposedly being the most powerful of The 13 makes him an interesting antagonist for the group. Especially when it's learned that he is actually Vincent VanGhoul's ancestor, adding to the world-building and justifying further Vincent's self-appointed responsibility to recapture The 13. His name is also interesting since “Asmodeus” is actually a being believed to be the “king of demons” as he is also stated to be in this movie. Just an interesting tie-in to real mythology that the other twelve ghosts of the chest lack. 

3) Based on elements of the original series, I enjoyed the movie's occasional call-backs. I think bringing Flim-Flam back was a good choice and having him grow up a little but maintain the same personality was delightful (despite him not being a favorite character of mine AT ALL). The return of the Red Mystery Machine was great too. The COD was modernized in style (as was the Red Mystery Machine) but it still looked menacing. 4) The humor was for the most-part great. I think the joke of older people being scared of teenagers was great, especially when it suddenly and unexpectedly was said again by a different character. Other instances of humor I enjoyed were when Scooby and Shaggy were roleplaying as flight attendants/plane pilots or when Flim-Flam commented on Daphne's hair and Shaggy's green shirt (for those who don't know, Shaggy wore a red shirt in the original series).

Now for the things I took issues with... 1) I DESPISE how the lore and threat of Asmodeus was undone by the character we see throughout the movie just being a man in a costume. The whole point of this movie was to revive the supernatural storyline of "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo" and finally finish the gang's quest. The ghost turning out to be a man in a mask ruined the story and I think this should be borderline false-advertising (not really but still!). I really wanted to see the characters struggle to face off with the most powerful ghost among The 13, who again are the most powerful supernatural entities the world has ever known! I would have LOVED to see them be brutally scared and terrified of this ghost because of who he is, and I also wanted to see someone maybe be forced or hypnotized or tricked into opening the COD again. If the real COD had been opened again it could've made the whole situation more dire. This would've made the ending of the movie really dramatic; watching the gang and Vincent and Flim-Flam work together to recapture the twelve ghosts inside the COD as well as the most powerful of The 13 as a whole would have been fantastic. I can only imagine the explosive scene and visuals we would've gotten if this were the case. I know I can't fault the movie for not going this route too much, but the fact it didn't and further downplayed the supernatural characteristics of the original show and Asmodeus left a bad taste in my mouth. 2) The absence of Scrappy-Doo was a debated topic for this movie since it was initially announced. Everyone speculated if he would make an appearance, be referenced to, or the movie just not acknowledge his existence at all. I'll admit, the "What's a Scrappy?" joke from Velma did get a laugh out of me but I almost would've rather had the movie ignore the problem altogether. My IDEAL outcome of this dilemma would just be for Warner Bros. to swallow their pride and include Scrappy in the movie. He was a prominent and regular character of "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo" so reviving the storyline for a movie doesn't make sense without him there. I don't know if the joke was supposed to satirize the franchise's willingness to ignore the existence of this character but it just doesn't make sense story-wise. It skews continuity (which is my next point) and confuses fans of the series. Scrappy isn't an entirely untouchable or irredeemable character either; he has become a prominent and likable character in the "Scooby Apocalypse" comic book series. In fact he's one of the better characters in that comic series because of his character development and instilled morals. Why couldn't Warner Bros. just put in the work and make the character a functional and non-detrimental element of this movie? People hated Flim-Flam a lot more than they hated Scrappy, and even he got to come back. (But I also acknowledge they didn’t bring back Weerd and Bogel either). 

3) This movie presents so many issues in terms of continuity. It's not the movie's sole fault; I don't think Scooby-Doo and continuity are compatible to begin with. But here's a couple issues with continuity I think need to be addressed if this movie is supposed to be a continuation of the original series:   a) The Sheriff at the beginning of the movie says that the gang "is almost 18 now" which means that they are still teenagers. I'm pretty sure that Daphne and Shaggy were supposed to be portrayed as older versions of themselves (maybe early 20's) in "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo”. They were flying planes and traveling all over the world. And if time has truly passed between "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo" and this movie, that would mean Daphne and Shaggy were probably like, 15 or 16, when they went in search of The 13 in the first place. I wish they would stop calling them teenagers in stories where it doesn't make sense AT ALL for them to be teenagers. Kids are able to enjoy Scooby-Doo just as much regardless of the gang's age because they just want to watch a talking dog be scared by ghosts and monsters. They're not watching because they personally identify with the gang since the gang are teenagers. The only time their age was maybe at all important was in "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo" because the very premise was that the gang were kids. Why do they have to be teenagers in this movie? The answer is, there is no reason. WB just insists they're still teenagers.   b) Before I say this, I just want to acknowledge that "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated" is supposed to be an alternate universe to the "main continuity" (if that even exists) of Scooby-Doo. So it's interesting to see that both that series and this movie make reference to "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo", yet "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated" actually acknowledged the existence of Scrappy along with Flim-Flam. The same excuse was used that Fred wasn't in the original cartoon because he was at summer camp, however Flim-Flam in the "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated" timeline is apparently serving 25 years to life for his con-artistry. This isn't something I'm mad about for this movie, just thought it was something that should be said since the movie decided to write-out Scrappy. 

    c) Just...don’t get me started on the continuity dumpster-fire that is the garage sale scene...it’s nostalgic but just...please don’t...

   d) After the gang discovers the crystal ball in the garage sale, Daphne explains a lot of the backstory to Fred and Velma in her bedroom. At one point, she throws an outfit on Fred, and when we see it land on Fred we can ALSO see a picture frame on her nightstand showing the whole gang unmasking the Moat Monster. For those who may not remember, the Moat Monster is the green villain in the flashback at the beginning of "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island". I'm not saying that this case couldn't have been solved between the events of "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo" and this movie; the case was a flashback in "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island". But if this movie is trying to say that it takes place in the same continuity as "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island", how can the gang be so baffled by the existence of real zombies and cat creatures when they, or at least Scooby, Shaggy, and Daphne, have encountered THE 13 MOST TERRIFYING GHOSTS ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH??? You could say that the events of "Zombie Island" don't ultimately happen in this timeline, which is fine, but then why reference that movie at all? 

4) Velma and Fred are very frustrating characters in this movie. I'll start with Fred here though. While I like the group-dynamic shifting with Daphne taking on leadership in their mission and making Fred step-aside, I don't like that they focused Fred's story-arc on him trying to find his place in the group. It's like the movie is trying to make us feel sorry for a man because a woman is stepping up for once. I liked watching Daphne take charge and show Fred that she, as well as Scooby and Shaggy, are able to handle things without his leadership. I have no sympathy for Fred in this movie, and when he reveals he actually went to cheerleading camp when he was gone in the original series? He instantly becomes 100% more frustrating than he already has been, Velma on the other hand becomes exhausting. After the crystal ball is discovered, EVERY SINGLE LINE OF DIALOGUE she has is devoted to her denial or skepticism in the supernatural. Yes, Velma would be the one to question the existence of real ghosts between her and Fred (this was central to her story-arc in "Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy"). But when that's literally the only thing she has going on, Velma just becomes a flat, uninteresting, and annoying character. Especially when we, the viewer, know for a fact that the ghosts in the original show were real. And then her rationalization of the other twelve ghosts being hallucinations that Shaggy, Scooby, and Daphne experienced at the high-altitude of the Himalayas was maddening. I don't know if Warner Bros. was trying to undo the existence of the supernatural in this timeline of Scooby-Doo or not, but it doesn't make sense anyway because in the show, the gang wasn't in the Himalayas the whole time. They opened the COD in the temple and then traveled all over the world to pursue them. So Velma's explanation of this is ultimately as weak as wet toilet paper. And then her rationale is undermined by her reluctance to open the COD when they are boarding the plane at the end of the movie. All around Velma is my LEAST favorite thing about this movie. 

5) People have mentioned that there were potentially only 11 ghosts captured in the original series since one episode they didn't explicitly capture a new ghost but rather recaptured the four ghosts they had already captured. I just want to believe the Cyclone Ghost that appeared in that episode (which to some is actually an amalgamation of those four ghosts) is really just another one of The 13. That way we don't end up needing a "Scooby-Doo! And the Curse of the 12th Ghost". But I'm personally very fine with it if you disagree with me on this.   6) I don't know if it was or not, but I'm unsure if Scooby and Shaggy's gag with Asmodeus in the temple pretending to be meditating monks(?) was appropriate. Just a minor comment I wanted to throw out there since they decided to somewhat identify a specific culture in the setting of this movie. 7) This movie doesn't explain the ending well whatsoever. The lack of clarity I had after Asmodeus was unmasked was painful. And the plot-holes I found and questions I have are endless. Where has Mortifer been this whole time since he disappeared when he and Vincent finished capturing The 13 the first time? Is he immortal like Vincent or did he become immortal when the ghosts attacked him? What is his motivation to reopen the COD? Why would he want to reopen the COD when he's SIMULTANEOUSLY trying to sell it on the black market for being a priceless supernatural artifact? The COD is supposed to be an obscure and low-key artifact, so why would it even have value on the black market and how much would it even be worth? Would it's worth vary if it still contained The 13? If Asmodeus was really a disguise and not a real ghost, why couldn't Vincent use his magic powers? Why is there a secret FBI agent in this movie? Why does the FBI know anything about the COD? How could the FBI have even known that the gang might have the COD at the beginning of the movie? Did Velma actually misread the Sanskrit in the book, and did the REAL Asmodeus actually move on from the mortal realm? Is it even safe for Asmodeus to still be allowed out of the COD? What was the real Asmodeus protecting Vincent from this whole time, was it Mortifer? How was the real Asmodeus able to conceal himself from Vincent's and the gang's radar in the original show if he was apparently watching over Vincent in an attempt to "protect him"? Why was Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby so okay with just abandoning the mission when they went back to school that year? Did they ever try to check up with Vincent to see if he managed to capture the 13th ghost? How did the gang just not know at all that Daphne had the Red Mystery Machine just chilling in the garage? Why does she have it if she evidently never drives it? Did Mortifer have actual magical powers or was he just a silly illusionist? If he isn't actually magical, then how was he able to drive that ghost car throughout the movie without being inside it? WHAT EVEN WAS THE CURSE OF THE 13TH GHOST?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! --- I could probably go on and on about my thoughts on this movie but these are what I wanted to talk about and mention since this movie was highly anticipated. I think it fails to satisfy what fans wanted out of its attempt to bring closure to "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo". "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo" is an obscure and borderline black sheep of the Scooby-Doo franchise so it was going to be really cool to see an "attempt" at resolving the unfinished story. I just think this movie could've done better and ultimately leaves a lot to be desired. I’m giving this movie a neutral 5/10.

(Understand this review is independent of That Groovy Scoobcast)

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with my opinions or disagree? Did you have other questions that I didn't mention already? Or any plot holes I overlooked? I’d love to hear what you have to say. 

[thenightling]

My problems with Avengers: Endgame

Someone on Youtube described Avengers: Endgame as being like The Emperor’s New Clothes.   The emperor was given clothes “so fine” that only the most enlightened and wise could appreciate / see them.   There were no clothes but no one wanted to be the one who didn’t “get” the fineness of the material.   Finally a child blurted out “He’s naked!” and that’s when people relaxed and admitted yes, the emperor was naked.    The way Avengers: Endgame is like The Emperor’s New Clothes is that no one seems willing to admit the film is flawed.   It really is flawed.   At least, I feel it is.  Here are my biggest complaints about Avengers: Endgame.

_____________  

1.   The Time travel.  Taking a dig at Back to The Future doesn’t suddenly make the Avengers version of Time Travel more sound.   The lore indicated in the film is that when you alter the past you create a deviated timeline (actually enter an alternate universe.  For each possible outcome of an event there is an alternate universe.)  But the film claims you won’t come back to that new timeline when you come back to the present, you come back to the original timeline where things went as they originally intended.   This contradicts everything Stephen Hawking has ever suggested in A brief History of Time.   It is more likely that you would be in the new alternate universe timeline and not the one you originally came from, going home to your original continuity would be exceedingly difficult.

But supposedly this is how time travel works in the MCU because that’s why Valkyrie is still there (the events of Thor: Ragnarok happened).  Yet those events did not happen in the timeline where Loki escapes with the Tesseract. 

This also heavily indicates that the Loki that had the most character growth is definitely dead (the directors said so) but the AU Loki that had no character growth after Avengers will get a TV show?

2.   Another problem I have with Endgame is they want to have their cake and eat it too.  Loki escapes so that’s a new Alternate Universe (AU) / Alternate timeline yet Cap goes back and he’s still in his original timeline so that they can see him as an old man- contradicting their own earlier statements about time travel and the multiverse.

3.  Cap should not have aged.  In the original comics Super Soldier serum greatly slows down or even stops aging.  Black Widow is a super soldier in the comics and actually in her 80s, not her twenties or thirties.   She just looks young.   Why did the films feel the need to nerf super soldier serum?   He could very easily have lived out a life with Peggy AND come back as youthful Cap to continue to be Captain America.  I am tired of powers being reduced by Marvel.  I look at things like DC’s Doom Patrol and most of the characters haven’t aged in decades.  Why is Marvel so afraid of things like that?  Come to think of it, I hate how Marvel downplays its supernatural side just so they can get that coveted Chinese release.  From Odin saying “We are not Gods!” to The Ancient One disappearing after her body dies...    Can you really imagine Blade and Dracula existing in this universe?  Yet they are supposed to.    I’ve lost faith in Marvel respecting its own Supernatural side ever since  The Darkhold (Marvel’s Necronomicon) was turned into “Alien tech” on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

4.    Valkyrie should not have been left ruler of what remains of Asgard.   My problem here is Valkyrie has not had the character development she needs to lead.  If she had her personality from the comics it would be one thing but when we meet her in the MCU she’s a slave trader who has delivered people to the arena to die all because of her own chip on her shoulder and resentment.  She never shows any remorse for this but she’s going to lead a people now?

5.   I don’t really like Thor “passing the torch” at all considering his entire story was teaching him how to be a good king.  I ultimately feel cheated in regard to the Thor films and their purpose that he’s just going to travel the stars now and leave his people to someone who hasn’t had the character development she needs to be a leader.

6.  Thor got fat after just five years for a cheap laugh... Do I really need to go into detail here?

7.    I have no problem with Sam eventually becoming Captain America but I feel they should not have skipped the step where Bucky becomes the next Captain America first (see the comics).   There are still Tony Stark fans out there who wish Tony had killed Bucky.  Fans who somehow do not grasp what it means to be under the mind control of another to such a degree that Bucky could not even make the choice of if he wanted milk or not.  He had no free will at all, he was literally a puppet.   And yet there has been no pause in the narrative for Bucky’s exoneration to be understood by those who still want Tony to kill him for something he had no control over after his mind was scrambled. In the comics Bucky went on trial for his crimes as Winter Soldier and it was Black Widow who presented video footage of the physical and mental torture, hypnosis, ect, used to destroy Bucky’s free will and personality and how miraculous it was that he recovered.   Even now many fans don’t get how innocent Bucky truly is because they haven’t seen the brain washing processes shown in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D or the comics. Bucky’s arc should have included his redemption and forgiveness for what ultimately was never truly his fault anyway, this (in the comics) reached its climax when he took up the mantle of Captain America.   Later in a different storyline when Steve’s Super Soldier Serum was removed from his blood stream (somehow causing rapid aging as being a Super Soldier in the comics greatly slows or even halts the aging process) that was when Sam became Captain America.    

I don’t mind Sam becoming Captain America but I wish Bucky’s story and redemption and acceptance by others had played out first.

 8.  I hate that they killed Black Widow.  I already felt like they were trying to overshadow the established female heroes with Captain Marvel and this did not help matters.  We gain a female hero so we have to lose one?  Is that how this works now?     

Also I found out the writers of Endgame “Had no idea” (Yeah, right) “a Black Widow movie was in the works” when they killed her off.   So is that an official “Oops, our bad.”?  Half the audience still doesn’t understand multiverse if they make the Black Widow movie an Alternate Universe.   And a good portion that does understand multiverse wouldn’t want to watch a film about a Black Widow that is not actually the one they were attached to, just the same actress.   And if they make it a prequel some don’t want that either.  They have already cripple the potential audience size for the Black Widow movie.  

9.    I hate the idea of the main continuity versions of Gamora and Black Widow souls being trapped for all eternity.   That’s not how this works in the comics and it’s unfair here that good people should be trapped for all eternity.   

10.  (Warning: This one is petty.) “I love you 3000″ is cute.  And I get the original source.  But this is a slight nitpick. Wouldn’t a child with Tony’s intellect be more likely to say “I love you, infinity”?  No, not for the film title, but because it means... well, endlessly.  Three thousand is actually quite limited, as any genius would know.  (I said this one was petty.)

11.  “Although I’d like to join the crowd in their enthusiastic cloud, try as I may it doesn’t last...” - Sally’s Song from Nightmare before Christmas.  Avengers: Endgame isn’t really bad but I do feel it is overrated and everyone wanted to like it so badly that I feel like many people are willfully ignoring the flaws because they are still riding the high that it has finally been released.

[luckthebard]

caleb & nott

Caleb:

1. First impression

WIZARD. WIZARD IN CRITROLE. MY FAVE CLASS all my dreams have come true.

2. Impression now

Interesting, complex, everything I love to see and analyze in storytelling. I love his seriousness and silliness and contradictions and clutch spells. I wish for happiness and healing in his character arc, but I’m along for the ride regardless.

3. Favorite moment

His midnight monologue in episode 26. I loooooove seeing that kind of insight into the character’s thoughts. All the reasons he should leave and then he doesn’t. Tells us so much and leaves us wanting so much more.

Runner-up: “You shouldn’t have killed my cat.”

4. Idea for a story

I’ve had a weird thought recently that Avantika might single him out as the person to detain if she wanted to control Fjord and stop him from running away (just ‘cause he’s the squishiest and he’s been downplaying his wizard abilities around her). I haven’t figured out where that idea would go though.

5. Unpopular opinion

Caleb can be a little cold and a lot selfish. I don’t think we need to ignore these things to like or enjoy him as a character. Acknowledging his many faults is part of the whole package. Part of his character growth is going to need to be caring about other people’s goals sometimes and putting his own on the back burner. I also think his self-loathing is related to his selfishness. You can’t have that level of self-loathing without it coming from placing too much importance on your own actions. (Not sure if that’s an unpopular opinion or just me psychoanalyzing him)

6. Favorite relationship

Soooo many. Caleb and Nott as ride-or-die friends. Beau and Caleb as awkward friends/siblings. Caleb and Jester as I-don’t-quite-understand-you-but-I-enjoy-your-humor buddies. 

For a character who’s anti-social Caleb makes consistently great relationships.

7. Favorite headcanon

PTSD Caleb I consider canon, but I’m also very behind the autistic Caleb headcanon.

Nott:

1. First impression

Oh Sam. Of course this is your character.

2. Impression now

Oh goblin mom, please open up to someone soon. You keep almost doing it with Caleb! I know you’re worried about what people think of you but your friends like you, I promise! I hope she learns to love herself.

3. Favorite moment

“But I am the parent. You do understand that, correct? I protect him. He’s my boy, and I keep him safe.” I’ll never be over it.

4. Idea for a story

I’m here for any and all possible Nott and Jester shenanigans. 

5. Unpopular opinion

I’m not sure if this is unpopular, but - she’s an adult, if a young one. I found the initial debate around that exhausting.

6. Favorite relationship

Nott and her boy. Also Nott and Jester.

7. Favorite headcanon

Any interpretation of goblins that makes them more like cats I find super enjoyable. I’m also charmed by art that gives her a tail, though I don’t think that’s traditional D&D goblin lore.

[scripturehomosexuality]

The Parable of the Two Brothers - Its Application In Modern Society

This blog is written in the United States. As such, the content of this blog will comment particularly on issues within the U.S. However, if you are a reader outside the U.S., feel free to continue. You will see the complex dynamics of U.S. society in a new and interesting way.

In this post, I use the terms “African American” and “Latino”. I’m aware that the entire picture of ethnicity is much more nuanced. African Americans are indeed distinct from Afro-descended peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, and from those of the African continent. A Cuban has more in common with a Jamaican or a Trinidadian than with an Argentine or a Paraguayan. I use these terms only for the simplicity of writing, and I’m sure you will understand who I’m referencing through this language.

For this post, I will start with a powerful parable from the Man2Man Alliance. This parable was written by Alliance contributor Robert Loring, and was published on Armistice Day 2006. It was originally published as part of a larger discussion page, entitled “While society slouches towards matriarchy, single-sex schools make a comeback -- is the agogé far behind?”. The following excerpt will be shown below uncensored, and in its original formatting.

In context, Mr. Loring is reacting to articles and content posted the day before, by Alliance founder Bill Weintraub.

~~~~~~

[Start of excerpt]

Thanks for posting these two articles Bill. They just confirm what I have, in fact, been saying for YEARS now. Our society is NOT normal nor is it NATURAL. And no matter how some wish to delude themselves into thinking otherwise we all feel something deep down within us that reminds us that our present society is NOT the historical/traditional NORM and that there is definitely something WRONG with society today.

Suppose you had a brother whom you considered fairly normal while the two of you were growing up. Then one day you brother began to change for no apparent reason. He suddenly stopped wrestling with you and he stopped hugging you. He obviously begins to withdraw into himself and you know it because you can see all the signs in his change of behavior that tell you something is wrong with your brother.

Time goes by and your brother stops displaying his masculine nude body to the world. Suddenly, you can see shame set in as he no longer goes without a shirt and never exposes his genitals like he did in the past. Once, you know, he was proud of his developing manhood but now it seems that he has become insecure and ashamed of his manhood. You begin to get concerned for your brother and you try talking to him to find out what is wrong. But, little brother won't talk to you on any level below the superficial. He avoids answering your questions and he assures you that there is nothing wrong, nothing bothering him.

Once the two of you wrestled endlessly night and day but now you notice that your brother rejects your invitations to wrestle. You can tell that there is now an emotional distance between the two of you and that it's getting wider. Little brother becomes very homophobic and you soon discover that ANY male-male contact or expression of emotion is quickly deemed "faggot" by your little brother. Little brother now spends endless hours talking about "faggots" and pointing out everything around him as being "gay." When he sees two males hugging he really goes ballistic because he deems such behavior as "really gay!"

Time moves on and little brother gets a job and marries. He becomes consumed in his job and when you see him that's all he seems to want to talk about. You soon figure out that the reason for this is because he is avoiding talking about his feelings. He wishes to avoid talking about his feelings because he is in a state of denial and he thinks he's doing a great job at hiding from you what is bothering him. But, in fact, HE'S NOT!

Little brother's marriage does not go well and doesn't last long. Little brother has slid into a daily life of alcoholism and his wife believes he has also slid into a life of sexual addiction because she knows he's having affairs with other women and, she suspects, maybe even with other men! Little brother's marriage ends in a nasty divorce and the children he and his wife bore pay the price (as always) for they now are forced to live the broken home life.

Time goes on and little brother isolates himself more and more not only emotionally but now physically as well. You're worried about him because you know something is badly wrong with him and has been for awhile. But, he won't talk to you and he denies everything you say to him about his growing problem. Now, lost in his own self rejection and dislike he drinks more and more. You begin to realize that you don't even really know your little brother anymore. He has become like a stranger.

Little brother maintains that there is nothing wrong with him. He tells you over and over that he is "fine and normal." But, you know that this is not so. You know that he is not "fine and normal." One afternoon a police officer comes knocking at your door to inform you that they have found your little brother dead. He put a bullet in his head. All these years you were torn. You knew there was something wrong but at the same time you wanted to believe what little brother said, that he was "fine and normal." But now, on this sunny afternoon with the police officer standing in front of you everything you suspected about little brother NOT being "fine and normal" is blatantly CONFIRMED.

Would you think that a little brother being like this was "fine and normal?" Would you conclude that he was just doing what other males do normally and naturally? Would you reject your own suspicions that there might be something very wrong with little brother? Would you stand by doing nothing as you watch little brother sink further and further down the abyss of abnormalcy, isolation, alcoholism, and major depression? Could you not see that little brother was on the road to SELF DESTRUCTION? And would you really be so surprised when the police came to tell you little brother had committed suicide?

Little brother is our modern industrialized society folks. No one in their right mind would see all these major changes in little brother and fail to realize that something was really wrong with little brother. So, do we continue to ignore little brother and downplay his symptoms hoping that everything will be ok? Will we continue to close our eyes to the FACT that NOTHING IS OK with little brother right now? Will we be so surprised with modern society commits societal suicide?

The past few decades have seen a dangerous ideology promoted. That being that the world is all about "Me! Me! ME!....Wonderful ME!" But the FACT is that the world is NOT all about YOU! It's about US!! All 6+ billion of US! The only thing the ME focus has done is to force people into isolation and neurosis more and more. It has taken what is historically and traditionally RIGHT and turned it into wrong while at the same time it has taken what is wrong and turned it into "right." Somehow....someway....people have got to band together and fight against the raging tide of the unnatural that is beating us all today. If we don't then I can assure you that we will witness and be an involuntary part of the coming societal suicide. Something IS WRONG with little brother! It's NOT going to be OK! It is NOT going to all go away either! BIG brother is going to have to take some action and help little brother right himself up again. Little brother is modern society. YOU are BIG BROTHER!!

I love Jedi's idea of a society based on Sparta's model. [Note from this writer: “Jedi” is another member of the Alliance.] A WARRIOR SOCIETY! As I have said before, "The path of the Warrior IS the path to humanity's SALVATION!!" Society cannot go along the path it is now on for much longer. Something is going to give. We all know it and we all feel it. It's just a matter of time before it all comes unglued!

Homophobia, isolation, FEAR, depression, anxiety, selfishness, and egotism! These are what our industrialized, consumer-ridden society has produced. Industrialization might have made humanity's life easier BUT we are ALL paying the price psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. Some of us are now asking, "Is it all really worth the price?" I'm one who shouts out a resounding, "FUCK NO!!"

And, as for masculine men such as Alexander the Great somehow being time warped into our own modern times he'd be a lost, confused man. He'd be a man who never would realize his potential for greatness and he'd die as a man unknown to the world. How can I be so sure of this? Because there are MANY Alexander's today in the world BUT they are SILENT and they refuse to come forth and claim the greatness that is RIGHTFULLY theirs! Instead, they stay in the shadows of society, hanging back, and they die unknown men. They feel like they do not belong in this time. They feel like men out of place and out of time. They innately know and honor the "old ways" of manhood and masculinity. The ways of the ancient Greeks and Spartans. The ways of true manhood and masculinity. Yet, they know that our upside down society would crucify them especially for their innate M2M love.

MEN NEED OTHER MEN psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, and PHYSICALLY!

Little brother is screaming out! Who will hear him?

[End of excerpt]

~~~~~~~

When I first read this parable a few months ago, I was struck by the description of the little brother’s decline. His growing dysfunction was often manifest subtly, in signs that could be explained away as other things. For example, his increasing discomfort with nudity could be explained away as modesty caused by puberty. His emotional and physical withdrawal could also be explained away as “normal” teenage angst and turmoil. His extramarital actions (especially with men) might be blamed on hypersexuality. Yet, Mr. Loring perceptively points out the real cause of all these developments: the little brother is letting society’s messages rent ever more space in his head, and increasingly hates the homoeroticism inside him. Thus, he proceeds on a path of slow and steady self destruction.

By saying that the little brother symbolizes modern society, Mr. Loring drives his point home - by increasingly embracing homophobia, society imposes all sorts of ills on itself. Those problems can be numerous, and will show up in many areas of life. At first glance, the relationship between some ills and homophobia might not be so obvious. However, with close inspection, it becomes clear that homoeroticism is not the concern of a minority. Instead, a society’s treatment of homoeroticism has ripple effects that are omnipresent and completely inescapable.

To that end, let’s explore three issues that are subtly but forcefully exacerbated by homophobia. These are problems that are wreaking havoc throughout the United States - drugs, gangs, and the modern dating crisis.

Regarding Drugs

Within the United States, illegal drugs have never been a bigger problem. At present, drug deaths are rising in all 50 states. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death nationwide; deaths from shootings and car accidents haven’t come close in years.

Opioids in particular are feeding the problem, as they move through cities and towns with increasing volume. Heroin has become cheaper in past years, and as a result, is being more used across the board. Furthermore, while the drug death toll is greatest in cities like New York, Chicago, and Baltimore, the devastation has been most concentrated in Appalachia, New England, and the American Midwest.

As such, this might point to an unfortunate reason for the increasing press on drugs. For many years, drugs have disproportionately affected minority populations in the U.S. However, of late, the problem has greatly accelerated in the country’s Anglo majority. Appalachia, New England, the American Midwest and other like areas have a large majority of white Americans. Therefore, the problem is currently impossible to ignore as a minority problem. It’s now perceived as an issue that threatens the entire U.S. population.

However, the U.S. drug problem has ripple effects on other lands. The majority of illegal drugs in the United States come from Central America, South America and the Caribbean. In these regions, drug dealing has become a lucrative business, and the United States is one of the biggest customers. Because of this, drug violence is reaching crisis levels throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Monstrous crimes within these regions are becoming increasingly frequent, with the most famous example being Mexico. As a result, and in a stunning twist of irony, people from those regions are fleeing to the United States, whose drug hunger is helping to destroy their homes.

So what connection does this crisis have with societal homophobia?

If we study why people take drugs in the first place, we may find the answer. Some people may do it just to rebel against society, especially if they’re teenagers and young adults. Others may do it just to please their peers, and to fit in. Others still might use drugs purely to experiment, and to experience its effects firsthand.

However, there is one reason that concerns us here. Quite often, people use drugs to get away from their problems, and distance themselves from their emotions. For a few minutes, they can feel better about themselves, and not be bothered by problematic situations and feelings. They can make their reality whatever they want it, even if it will come crashing down in a short time.

Is same-sex attraction one thing that most people are trying to escape through drugs?

If that seems odd, let’s take a few minutes to consider our world, especially within the United States. The majority of the population identifies as “straight”, while a minority (5% to 10%) identify as “gay”, “queer” or something similar. Within our sexual labeling system, “straight” is another way of saying “normal”. Exclusive opposite-sex activity is consequently considered a sign of “normality”. However, a fair number of those “straight” people are tacitly aware of their capacity for “abnormal” same-sex attraction. This is why websites like Yahoo Answers and Virtual Teen are littered with questions about experimentation from “straights”.

Now, consider the constant messaging “straight” people get on same-sex activity. This messaging is endless and unrelenting, and is transmitted explicitly and implicitly, formally and informally. To be specific, they are constantly told that if they entertain their same-sex attraction, they will uncontrollably and irreversibly become “gay”. By extension, this would mean that

they can no longer call themselves legitimate men and women, but instead are psuedomen and psuedowomen beyond all hope of being “normal”

they are uncontrollably predisposed to participate in anal play, which is objectively degrading and dirty

they are no longer on an equal basis with most of their peers

they are forced to make their own lonely path through life, with only feeble support from their “straight” friends

they are hopelessly predisposed to be high risk for many STDs

they cannot legitimately experience love with the opposite gender too, and have biological children

if they are Christian, they are now objects of God’s blazing wrath, and are fit for destruction

Because of this, they are compelled to rid themselves of this supposedly existential enemy. Yet, despite their best efforts, same-sex attraction may still persist in them, with no solution in sight.

I ask you, wouldn’t all that make you want to take drugs? However, this possible reason can never be suggested openly. If it was, it would implicitly mean that most people aren’t completely “straight”, and that modern sexual philosophy is a farce.

As such, the “gay” community at large is no help at all. In fact, they actually prove the point being made here. It’s well known that the LGBT-identified community has much higher rates of drug use than the general population. Some of this is for functional purposes: for example, poppers and other like drugs are used to enhance sexual pleasure. However, this is a relatively minimal reason why “gay” drug use is so high.

Instead, the reasons often stem from their identity and sexuality. Homophobia is often cited to be a major cause, as mental and physical health issues caused by it push them towards drugs. Indeed, as DrugRehab.com puts it, “internalized homophobia may result in self-loathing among LGBTQ+ people and may be a trigger for substance use.” The “gay” scene is also blamed, since alcohol and drugs are often used in “gay” clubs and other meeting places.

For “straight” people, reading this might seem confusing. After all, they might ask, isn’t this something “gay” pride is supposed to solve? To gain enough self-esteem to face the world? To improve one’s sense of self-worth? How can those people drown themselves in drugs because of their sexuality, yet claim to have pride in their sexuality? How can people with pride apparently hate themselves so much?

They will only find the answer when they analyze the central message of modern sexual philosophy, and of the “Straight”-”Gay” dichotomy that philosophy constructs. The message is quite simple, and yet quite powerful - that same-sex activity is inherently abnormal and aberrant, and should be viewed as such. Both the “straight” and “gay” sides agree on this message; their differences stem from how they react to it. The “straight” side accepts it and avoids anything related to same-sex activity. The “gay” side accepts it, internalizes it, and uses it to guide how they conceptualize same-sex activity.

In other words, by internalizing the message that all same-sex activity is aberrant, the LGBT-identified community tells itself that it is an aberration, and should be rightly treated that way. That kind of internal dialogue has powerful psychological effects. It’s no surprise then that, at the same time that they blurt out “pride”, the LGBT-identified community engages in conduct of self-loathing. Through its embrace of that message, the community has made internalized homophobia one of its pillars.

Of course, there are many other reasons drugs are so widely used. Larger social and economic dysfunction plays an unignorable role. A multifaceted solution which is focused on fixing problems, and not merely treating symptoms, will be necessary to tackle drugs. However, in formulating this solution, we cannot ignore the role homophobia plays in the problem. Nor can we ignore the role of homoeroticism in the answer.

Regarding Gangs

At present, the United States has a worsening gang problem. In 2015, gang violence was on the increase, even as overall violence declined. This problem has been seen in large U.S. cities, particularly in Chicago, where 2016 was its worst year for homicides in decades. According to the National Gang Center, the number of gangs existing has steadily risen from 2003 to 2012 (the last year they have data for). In an era of rising inequality and social unrest, the effects of gangs might increase even more.

People join gangs for all kinds of reasons, and it’s these that interest us here. Some may join for financial gain, as gang membership might guarantee riches or possessions. Others might join out of peer pressure, since their friends and family are already involved with gangs. A few might join purely to enhance one’s status, to achieve a fame that might otherwise be unattainable.

However, no matter where you turn, one huge reason always presents itself. The Los Angeles Police Department states it quite plainly: “To the majority of gang members, the gang functions as an extension of the family and may provide companionship lacking in the gang member’s home environment.” Gangfree.org lists “a sense of family” as the top reason why youths join gangs. It says further, “Young people might feel that they don't receive enough support or attention at home...gangs often make promises to give unconditional support, and to become the ‘family’ they never had.” This connects with other reasons that are closely related, such as seeking protection and being part of a group identity.

In other words, youth join gangs for reasons that appear counterintuitive. From what can be gathered, those youths join gangs simply to find love and appreciation. They want to be nurtured and cherished. They want to feel like they’re a part of a “family”, even if such a family is ultimately dangerous. If they can’t get love from their actual family, they will turn to a gang.

As such, it’s noteworthy that prevention methods often focus on fostering community spirit and identity. Sports teams, school bands, drama clubs, and the like are often singled out as solutions for gangs. These are environments that require collaboration, which help its participants to become familiar with each other. It makes the youth become bonded with their adult supervisor, but more importantly, it also helps youths create deep bonds with each other. It’s these bonds that are hoped to prevent, and often do prevent, those youths from joining gangs.

Given that, I feel compelled to ask the following question: should we look at homoeroticism as one way to help solve the gang problem?

Indeed, homoeroticism has an uncanny way of fostering an intense spirit of community, in a way that heteroeroticism simply can’t. Ancient Greece shows a premier example of that. Same-sex love was the bond that held its society together, and was openly and unashamedly manifested in all areas of life.

Its practice of pederasty allowed older youth to sexually bond with the younger, and thus let them enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship. The Sacred Band of Thebes, which consisted of men erotically bonded to each other, were repeatedly successful on the battlefields. The Ancient Greek gymnasium and Olympics were designed to foster same-sex love. This homoeroticism had many positive effects on Ancient Greek society, so that the aristocrat Phaedrus felt compelled to say the following: “...if there were only some way of contriving that a state or an army should be made up of [same-sex] lovers and their loves, they would be the very best governors of their own city, abstaining from all dishonor and emulating one another in honor...”

It should be noted here that Greek homoeroticism was entirely different from the “gay” sex model of today, which entirely pivots on anal play. Anal sex was taboo between men in Ancient Greece, and generally seen as a shameful act. Intercrural sex and what is today called frot was the main contact; mutual masturbation probably was part of the contact as well.

By contrasting the Ancient Greek approach to community with that of the modern United States, we can better see the differences between both, and what causes them. In Ancient Greece, the larger society acted only as a regulator of community spirit. The Greeks knew that same-sex love was a naturally occurring phenomenon, which would propagate itself without any human help. Societal institutions (pederasty, the Olympics, the Gymnasium) merely harnessed the power of homoeroticism for its own improvement, to further bind Greece together and move it forward. From what we can see, they succeeded spectacularly.

In this way, Ancient Greece spent relatively little energy creating and sustaining community spirit. They realized that homoeroticism was as natural as heteroeroticism. They recognized that without human assistance, boys would naturally have sex with boys, and girls with girls, often many years before they would be interested in relationships with the opposite sex. Usually, those sexual relationships had a tone of mutual respect and dignity, which kept them from engaging in risky and degrading behavior. Greece merely had to set up institutions, lay down simple rules to keep conduct respectable (like no anal sex between males), and that community spirit would consequently generate itself.

In fact, it actually takes much more energy to control or prevent homoeroticism. This is why modern sexual philosophy is a high-maintenance system that needs constant and comprehensive enforcement. It must be so, or else that philosophy would collapse under its own weight.

Contrast that with the scenario in the modern United States. At present, U.S. society is also a “free market” society, which works against any community spirit that would otherwise flourish. It creates a fiercely competitive world without much empathy or compassion, in which the weakest in society (including youth) suffer the most. In trying to counter the effects of gangs, community-minded institutions must constantly try to override this dominant culture. So far, though they have had some measure of success, they have not yet changed the trajectory of society.

Thus, unlike Greece’s simple role of regulation, modern community-minded institutions must instead act as feverishly aggressive propagators of community spirit. Nobody else will do it, and the present environment is extremely hostile to any sense of community that doesn’t serve neoliberalism. These institutions are an insurgent force against a culture that is deeply entrenched and established, and they must expend intense energy just to make a dent. In fact, they must work like ants even to survive, because they have only meager support from larger society. Meanwhile, the dominant attitude of same-sex love - that it is a weird abnormality - blocks these institutions from reaching their full potential.

Case in point: the NBC newsmagazine “Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly” recently covered a high school basketball team in Chicago. Under the leadership of team coach Lou Adams, the basketball team isn’t merely a basketball team. Instead, the team has become a family, where Mr. Adams has become a father, mentor and protector to the boys under his charge. For over twenty years, he has expended himself wholly to the people he serves. In return, his team greatly appreciates his efforts, and reward him with their love and affection. In fact, during a pep rally for the basketball team, Mr. Adams got choked up with emotion, and the team responded by embracing him on stage. What was the message they gave to Mr. Adams? “We love you coach.”

As I watched the report during its original airing, it was hard not to well up with tears.

However, there was a few questions I still had. Firstly, did the team members love each other as much as they did Mr. Adams? That’s equally important, because that bond will keep them out of trouble long after they leave the team.

Furthermore, are they willing to show that love in action? To me, that’s where the rubber hits the road. Mind you, given that they’re all in a sports team, they likely do have affection for each other. However, if they openly show it outside of a sports setting, “gay” rumors might quickly take flight. Some of those players might internalize those attitudes, and restrain from showing their teammates any affection, because they don’t want to act “gay”. As a result, the efforts of Mr. Adams can never have their full effect.

In tackling this problem, the LGBT leadership and media are no help at all. In fact, they are actually a hinderance. They are the ones responsible for defining the word “gay”, which is at the center of the problem described above. They are the ones who insist on infusing the word with contradictory meanings, purely for their own advantage. One is a sexual meaning, while the other is a sexual, cultural, and political meaning. Through this combination of definitions, “gay” leadership can claim that same-sex activity and “gay” culture are independent in one moment, and alternatively claim they are linked in another. This is why many “straight” people will stay away from general same-sex activity: while they might not object to that activity in itself, they object to the culture associated with it.

In discussing those contradictory meanings, there is one more factor to consider. Remember that the majority of gang members and recruits are African American men and Latino American men. These are minorities that have long been marginalized and mistreated. These are groups that struggle with institutional discrimination, and fight to be treated with dignity and respect. Since they are under constant attack, they feel compelled to avoid anything that undermines whatever honor they have.

As such, the “gay” identity carries much more controversy within these minority groups. Remember that in modern sexual philosophy, “gay” men are considered psuedomen, who are not worthy of any respect. Thus, in the fight for equal treatment, the “gay” identity constitutes a special form of surrender. To them, it constitutes giving up one’s masculine dignity, and fully accepting and embracing the disrespect and dishonor sent their way. This is especially so given that anal, considered the ultimate surrender of male dignity, is the key act of the identity. When their position is already so precarious, this kind of capitulation is unacceptable.

This is why these youths might take special pains to avoid anything “gay”, including same-sex activity as a whole. This is also why the “gay” identity carries a special taboo in the African American and Latino American communities. Unlike their Anglo counterparts, they perceive anything “gay” as an existential threat to themselves, and to whatever dignity they possess.

Mind you, we’re not even touching the intense racism and bigotry that exists in the LGBT-identified community, under which these youths would suffer if they entered it.

As a result, evolution of modern sexual philosophy may have exacerbated the gang problem. Indeed, by many accounts, gang growth exploded during the 1980s and 1990s. Gangs were never so strong before that period, and that growth has sustained gangs to the present. It was also during this period that the AIDS epidemic exploded, which coincided with other phenomena that ultimately created this philosophy.

Did stigmatization of same-sex activity give fuel to the rise of gangs? It’s true that many factors helped spur that growth, but given the timing just mentioned, it’s worth asking the question. Commentary from the g0y movement makes that question even more pressing. While discussing the reality of male sexuality, this page from their website (link NSFW) makes this vital point: “when peer-empathy, tenderness & physical affection become the signals of the ‘queer’, - what is left for men to build interpersonal relationships on? Violence.”

Because same-sex activity and “gay” culture are linked so closely, many of those youths might understandably balk at the idea of being homoerotic, because it’s too “gay”. Yet, for their own good, they must learn that same-sex activity and the “gay” identity are two different things. They must understand that men can fool around with men without sacrificing one’s dignity. They must realize that men can have sex with men without doing anal play. They must comprehend that a man can openly say “I love you” to another man, mean it with all his heart and soul, express such love in action, and not feel that such behavior threatens his masculinity.

In fact, homoeroticism can only help them. Remember what homoeroticism did for Ancient Greece. By harnessing its raw power, Ancient Greek society became tightly woven together in community spirit. It helped create a system that nurtured Greek youth, and developed them into full-fledged men. Greek armies became forces to be reckoned with, and dominant forces of the ancient world.

In like manner, I truly feel that homoeroticism (outside the anal-centric LGBT model) could revolutionize minority communities, and youth as a whole. It would create virtually unbreakable bonds among minority youth, which would help reduce youth-on-youth violence. After all, young men are unlikely to kill or maim each other if they want to court each other instead.

From there, minorities could become modern Sacred Bands of Thebes, forcing society to let them exist in full dignity. Being so closely yoked together, they would be able to tackle the institutions that oppress them as one. Their example would highlight a special truth in this quote from Athenaeus: “Hieronymus the Aristotelian says that love with boys was fashionable because several tyrannies had been overturned by young men in their prime, joined together as comrades in mutual sympathy.”

Of course, in saying all this, there are many factors that have contributed to the rise of gangs. Social inequality is another reason, which provides youths another reason to join gangs. Economic discrimination and dysfunction only compound the problem. Without a doubt, if we’re serious about solving the drug problem, these are situations that also must be addressed.

However, as with drugs, we cannot ignore the role homophobia plays in the problem. Nor can we ignore the role of homoeroticism in the solution.

Regarding The Modern Dating Crisis

For millennials in the United States, the dating scene (particularly that of opposite-sex dating) is much different than that of their ancestors. At this point, even that might be an understatement.

The truth is that at present, the dating scene is now completely in uncharted territory. In the age of dating apps, we now live in an era where sex is literally a swipe away. If one plays their cards right, they might bed someone within a couple of hours. As Vanity Fair put it in 2015, app users “might find a sex partner as easily as they’d find a cheap flight to Florida.”

However, the availability of sex usually doesn’t translate into the availability of love. Very often, sex is done just for instant gratification, and not for the sake of starting a relationship. In that same Vanity Fair article, all the men quoted therein say they’re not interested in relationships too. It’s roughly the same for girls. The article quotes one New York woman as saying the following: “Sometimes we [girls] just want to get it in [have sex] too. We don’t want to marry you.” In fact, as one woman in the article put it, “it’s a contest to see who cares less.”

As a result, the dating scene is also approaching a state of profound dysfunction, as relationships become increasingly hard to come by. In fact, the Atlantic (a magazine published out of Boston) said that “dating-app fatigue” was emerging, where dating apps were proving to be ultimately frustrating. As a result, the modern dating scene is creating all sorts of confusing statistics. For example, according to a “Singles In America” survey done in 2016, 125% of millennials will likely admit they’re addicted to finding love. However, that same survey found that 57% of millennials report feeling lonely.

So let’s sum up what we’ve just read. Through dating apps, the dating process has supposedly never been easier. Sex is never more than a swipe away, and readily accessible. Yet, 1 out of every 2 millennials feel lonely. How can anyone make those figures jive with each other? There’s only one way possible: we must acknowledge that sex and love have become disconnected, and while the former is ever more accessible, the latter is much harder to find.

On a surface level, that has much to do with the influence of neoliberalism in modern sexual philosophy. Under that influence, sex ceases to be a bonding agent, and thus something to be considered with some sensitivity. Instead, sex becomes a business transaction between buyers and sellers, who must harangue and negotiate with each other to leave mutually satisfied. In such a transaction, the parties involved are mainly looking out for their own interest, with the interest of others being a small nuisance. Because of this, sex simply becomes a reflex for instant gratification, without necessarily seeking to give equal pleasure to one’s partner.

On a deeper level however, this is exacerbated by the homophobia inherent in the philosophy. Remember that in modern sexual philosophy, same-sex intimacy is completely unacceptable for anyone who considers themselves “normal” (aka “straight”). For any forays into love, romance or sex, only opposite-sex relationships are suitable. This is because homoeroticism and heteroeroticism are considered opposing and adversarial forces. Homoeroticism is considered immature and corrupting, while heteroeroticism is viewed as perfect and virtuous. As a result, the former should be discouraged, while the latter should be encouraged and should flourish. In analysing this, it must be admitted that this affects males quite more than females.

Let’s be clear here - these ideas are extremely new. For the majority of human history, things simply haven’t worked that way. In the past, only certain kinds of homoeroticism were considered corrupting (like anal), as were certain forms of heteroeroticism. Now, heteroeroticism of any kind is considered “good”, while homoeroticism of any kind is considered bad, which produces dynamics that ultimately benefit neither.

As such, in studying the modern sexual culture, there was something curious I noticed. Specifically, the language now used to describe male-female hookups once described same-sex friendships of past decades. For example, in the Vanity Fair article mentioned earlier, one man is quoted as saying the following: “I always make a point of disclosing I’m not looking for anything serious. I just wanna hang out, be friends, see what happens…” Those words resemble what was once normal in male-male friendships. In those friendships, men would go through life’s adventures together, with erotic favors aplenty, but without needing to formalize that closeness in marriage. Those friendships gave an avenue of intimacy that was more freewheeling and loose, unlike what was expected for male-female friendships.

Thus, we can clearly see what’s different about male-female relationships today. They’re not only expected to fill the need for heteroerotic intimacy. At present, they’re also expected to replace closeness offered by the same-sex friendships of yesteryear. They are supposed to be like Swiss Army knifes, satisfying any need for intimacy that might arise.

The problem is that while same-sex relationships and opposite-sex relationships are equal, they are different in their dynamics. Certain things work in a same-sex relationship that simply don’t in an opposite-sex relationship, and vice versa. Opposite-gender sex outside marriage comes with problems that don’t exist in male-male sex (outside the anal-centric model), such as pregnancy, high STD risk, and the like. As a result, the sex in such relationships might cause emotional friction that is not inherent in same-sex relationships, which is why they might often be fraught with tension.

That’s not all though. Being the Swiss Army knife of intimacy comes with more consequences. The greater load of expectations might make opposite-sex relationships more prone to collapse. This is what writer Stephanie Coontz concluded, in a 2006 oped for the New York Times. In her article, Ms. Coontz makes the same observation that this blog has made, that “it has only been in the last century that Americans have put all their emotional eggs in the basket of coupled love.” However, because of that, “we have also neglected our other relationships, placing too many burdens on a fragile institution and making social life poorer in the process.” Later in the article, she makes her point bluntly: “In some cases we even cause the breakdown [of male-female relationships] by loading the relationship with too many expectations.”

Meanwhile, it’s been found that satisfaction of same-sex desires actually improves the quality of male-female relationships. The Man2Man Alliance has found that out consistently. As Alliance founder Bill Weintraub reports, “many of the Men who visit this site are married and have a male lover -- or Frot buddy...and what they report is that having that male companion strengthens their marriage...because it makes them happier as Men, and better able therefore to make their wives happy.” Ms. Coontz makes the same point in her article, when she notes that “Victorian novels and diaries were as passionate about brother-sister relationships and same-sex friendships as about marital ties.” On that note, she says that to improve opposite-sex relationships, “we need to restructure both work and social life so we can reach out and build ties with others, including people who are single or divorced.”

In other words, homoeroticism and heteroeroticism are not diametrically opposed to each other. To the contrary, they are joined together at the hip. Because of this, stigmatization and oppression of the former will automatically disrupt and disable the latter. Developments of the past few years have shown that clearly.

During this growing crisis, and as with gangs and drugs, the LGBT leadership and media are no help at all. In fact, they are actually the least helpful parties imaginable. They constitute a selfish cabal that, for their own purposes, help drive men and women apart. They join in preaching the false charge that homoeroticism concurrent with heteroeroticism is automatically infidelity. As such, they might gleefully urge women to dispose of their supposedly errant boyfriends and husbands. To convince them to do so, they might say that such moves automatically empower them.

In saying this, they don’t say the real motivation for their statements - that bisexuality poses a serious threat to their own power. Thus, to the contrary, these moves are anything but empowering. It’s actually detrimental to those involved in a relationship. The women are disadvantaged by breaking up with men that they otherwise love. Meanwhile, the men are strongly punished for merely trying to please their natural desires. In fact, at present men can’t even have a good bromance without having “gay” rumors swirl around them.  

This does not mean that the women’s fears about the subject are completely unfounded. The “gay” sex model (which pivots on anal) is highly risky for injury and STD transmission. Wives and girlfriends are indeed threatened by the dangers inherent in that model, and are justified in their concern.

However, the solution is not to hastily break up with their men. Nor is it to demand that their men only have sex with them. Instead, it would be better to guide to a safer (and infinitely more pleasurable) same-sex model, which would allow exploration of homoeroticism without much risk. This is the model that the g0y movement (link NSFW) and the Man2Man Alliance (link NSFW) have worked tirelessly to promote, which the LGBT leadership has tried to disrupt at every turn.

In short, there are two basic truths that must be acknowledged. Firstly, under the right circumstances, and with the right guy, most guys would unashamedly have hot, sweaty, passionate sex with another man. Secondly, if a boyfriend/husband is attracted to other men too, it doesn’t necessarily mean he loves his woman any less. Denial of these two facts is helping to cause the dysfunction seen in male/female dating.

Most alarming of all, this dysfunction will have far-reaching consequences in the future. Think about how things are at present. The modern dating crisis causes young men and women to remain in complete isolation. The survival of the human race depends on men and women joining together in love, and doing so within a finite period. The quality of future generations depends on having those children raised in stable and nurturing homes. The stigmatization of homoeroticism stymies the existence of either phenomena, and destroys any sense of community spirit that would otherwise form.

What will this mean for future society? Would this mean that, with men and women remaining in isolation, the human population would drop to a detrimental degree? Would this mean that any children born would be more likely to grow up in destroyed homes and disrupted communities? Would this mean that these children would be isolated even from people of their own gender, and wouldn’t be able to create meaningful bonds of any kind? Would any society be able to function under these conditions?

Thus, for the good of the human race itself, homoeroticism cannot remain a stigmatized and oppressed phenomena.

Of course, in discussing this crisis, other causes must be considered. There are societal and economic factors that are exacerbating the modern dating crisis, and these must be addressed. Indeed, when addressing this dilemma, a multipronged solution will be necessary.

However, as with drugs and gangs, the role of homophobia in this problem cannot be ignored. Nor can the power of homoeroticism be disregarded in the solution.

Conclusion

In his parable, Mr. Robert Loring made a powerful point - that stigmatization of homoeroticism has sweeping consequences. The younger brother served as a powerful symbol of modern society (particularly that of the United States), as his actions became more erratic and irrational. Little by little, as the younger brother denied his natural urges, he descended down a rocky path that lead to his own destruction.

You’ve just seen how homophobia exacerbates serious problems in the United States. It is likely aiding the increasing consumption of drugs, which is having international consequences. Through its total destruction of community and community spirit, homophobia is fueling the dangerous growth of gangs. In a way that appears counterintuitive, homophobia is actually disrupting heteroeroticism, and is wrecking the world of male-female dating. To be clear, these are crises that pose existential threats to society, and homophobia is feeding them all.

There is why, in another post in the Man2Man Alliance (link NSFW), Mr. Weintraub says the following: “when a society acts to destroy NATURAL male bonding and relationships -- that society is committing suicide.” Isn’t that what you’ve seen throughout this post?

In all three problems, the LGBT leadership and media are no help at all. To the contrary, they are actually helping these problems get worse. For the sake of their own narrow interests, they are selling the rest of humanity for a song. For their sake of promoting their own ideas, they are effectively helping to destroy remaining shreds of a healthy society.

The simple fact is, the LGBT leadership cannot have the last word on same-sex behavior, and how it should be conceptualized. If we think this is compatible with progress, we are deluding ourselves. Our treatment of same-sex activity is intrinsically related to other processes and events in our society. If we ignore that, we do so at our own peril.

Same-sex activity is a natural resource that belongs to everyone. At present, and with full assistance from “straight” counterparts, the LGBT leadership and media are trying to monopolize that resource. In their efforts at monopoly, they are grossly mismanaging it, and are turning it into something that proves false to its power. As with other natural resources, the consequences of such are inescapable.

The question is, will you cooperate in this disaster?

Thus, I urge you to read further on this site, to explore another way to think about same-sex activity. I urge you to read “The ‘Straight’-’Gay’ Dichotomy: How It Works”, to fully understand how that system functions. I also urge any who read this to go to “For Straight People (though not exclusively)”, which will point to philosophies and forms of same-sex behavior that don’t hinge on demonstratively false concepts. Also read the page “History of the Concept of Homosexuality”, to see how this concept evolved into its modern day meaning. Don’t be afraid of talking about what you learn to others, because that’s the only way progress will be made.

The debate over same-sex activity doesn’t just concern a minority, despite impressions to the contrary. Instead, everyone is involved, and all will be affected by the outcome of that debate. Thus, it’s in the interest of all to get involved as active participants, and not as passive observers. That is the only way homoeroticism will once again exist in dignity.

[atsukawolfcat]

Tbh this just proves my theory

Ayaka may be Hoyo's favorite visual Genshin character

but Childe/Tartaglia is their favorite lore character

I find people who say they want Childe to be "just some guy" really funny. If you even took a second to look at his lore, you would now he's not "just some guy", he's anything but that.

From the lore we have, we know that Childe caught the eye of the abyss and was swallowed by it and taken to the deepest and darkest part of it where he saw the endless possibilities of another knigdom. His presence woke up a primordial beast from its slumber, and it left its traces on him. He was trained by a "sinner" (Skirk). He has an abyssal transformation (Foul Legacy). He knows how to weild every weapon (except the bow, which he is learning right now). He is the only person we know of who experienced a time dilation while in the abyss. He beat multiple fatui men who were far older than him at 14. He became the youngest harbinger. He killed dragons. He's also the only playable character who doesn't have a vision story.

All of the things I have listed expect the primordial beast lore, is lore which we have known since he was released. The funnier thing is this just the surface of his lore. We only have just recently in Fontaine have started diving deeper into his lore. There's still so much more we need to know about him, theres still so many unanswered questions regarding him.