#it's almost goblin time

[cinnabon-sweetroll-tiramisu]

I'm unfit asf, just walking up the damn stairs got me wheezing and asking jesus to take the wheel.

[lazylittledragon]

did somebody say dadkarios

[myrkulitescourge]

i'm surprised i haven't seen any text posts yet about the Unsubtle Differences between astarion’s tiefling party/high approval forest scene and the one you get after the goblin party.

there’s something so terribly interesting about how the conversation afterward plays out depending on which variation you pursue.

like, most people have seen the tiefling party version by now. astarion basking in the sunlight the morning after, playing off most of what tav says with relative ease, even when they ask about his scars and he tells them about cazador. his cadence is smooth and composed, his smile almost friendly, even though you know, as the viewer, he’s playing a game of manipulation at this point. the only real crack in his demeanor is if tav notices that cazador’s “poem” was written in infernal, which, understandably, startles him.

but recently i watched the goblin party version of this same scene, and everything reads so differently. unlike at the tiefling party, it’s still the middle of the night when astarion tries to leave, thinking tav is asleep—almost immediately after the act, in fact. when tav does speak to him, he’s visibly nervous, halting and stammering in the middle of lines delivered unflinchingly in the other version of the scene. he gestures broadly and fidgets more while talking, his smile comes and goes. there’s even some of his distinctive high pitched, fake laughter sprinkled throughout the exchange, almost identical to later scenes where he's very, very obviously uncomfortable (like if raphael mocks him and magics off astarion's shirt to show the party his scars in act 2, or when confronting the gur children in their cell in act 3, etc etc).

siding with the goblins represents something deeply familiar to astarion, a level of cruelty he's more than familiar with and embraces likely because cruelty and duplicity, to him, go hand-in-hand with the power and freedom he craves so badly—but he won't stay the night with this tav, even if he approves of their actions. no, in this case, he'll keep to what's familiar and attempt to leave them in the forest under the cover of the very same darkness he resents having been cast into by cazador. when he gets caught, it sets him on edge, and everything he says becomes such a blatant lie to save face that tav would have to be completely oblivious not to see through him, or maybe just not care enough to.

but if tav saves the refugees? challenges his worldview and comes out victorious? oh, he'll complain of the poor rewards for his trouble at the party and whine about it being boring, but he decides to stay with tav through the night while they're asleep and on past dawn. he takes a moment to enjoy the morning sunlight, returned to his life after two centuries without. the same is true if you have high enough approval that he asks before the party, in which case, you've almost certainly hit his biggest approval gains: trusting him and supporting his safety. maybe he doesn't trip over his words when he speaks because, well, maybe this is someone he doesn't have to worry about. someone who's already more than proven themselves a foolish, heroic sort with a bleeding heart or otherwise demonstrated that they're already in his corner. in other words, not a threat—at least not to him.

does any of this make sense. i wanna study this guy under a microscope.

[ballpitwitch]

Keanu Reeves performing at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach, CA - August 10, 2023

[popcorn-plots]

Very long Doctor Strange ramblings below the cut. You have been warned. If you read all of it, feel free to give me your opinion, I am way too invested in this help

In She-Hulk, we see that Wong worked as a librarian at Kamar-Taj for 11 years. In the beginning of Doctor Strange, the first few scenes show Kaecilius and his Zealots stealing pages from the Book of Cagliostro and beheading the current librarian.

When Strange first meets Wong, Wong claims that the former librarian was relieved of his head, and he implemented the rules he now enforces (no portals inside the library, etc.). However, we do not know how long Wong has held the librarian position. If we consider that there is not much Kamar-Taj life shown in the movie, it suggests that no one has forgotten the rules or made mistakes regarding them. This implies that Wong's rules have been around long enough for people to understand and remember them (or at least Wong has been enforcing them consistently). The rules have been in place for a while, and people are not surprised by the missing pages.

Additionally, Kaecilius' betrayal does not seem to be a major issue during Stephen's training, as if it had happened a while ago and Kamar-Taj was biding its time, attempting to hunt him down or waiting for him to make a move. Of course, a rogue sorcerer with that much power is a concern for the Ancient One and Mordo --as seen in the movie-- but Stephen, being a novice/apprentice, is probably not told much.

So, how long has Wong been running the library by himself? It doesn't seem plausible that the gap between Kaecilius' betrayal and Stephen's arrival is 11 years. The entire movie happens over a period of at least a year and a half, maybe even two years. The movie is set from 2015-16, so Wong would have had to take up the position somewhere between 2004-5. If we take Benedict Wong's age and assume that is how old Wong is (as we do with Stephen's age), then he would be 44 in 2016 (Stephen would be 39), making him 33 in 2005. So, was Wong working with the previous librarian for 11 years, and Kaecilius betrayed the Order within a year of Stephen's arrival? Or did Kaecilius steal the pages 11 years prior to Stephen's arrival, right at the beginning of Wong's career?

Not to mention the amount of time it would take for Stephen to recover from the initial accident and the numerous subsequent surgeries, plus the physical therapy and the time it took Stephen to find Kamar-Taj.

The recovery time for hand surgeries is 6 weeks on average. With Stephen having a total of 8 surgeries, his recovery time would be, on average, 48 weeks of the 52 weeks in a year. That's 11 months of recovery, plus a month of travel and logistics. So, if Wong has been working at the library for 11 years, then Kaecilius would have stolen the pages somewhere between 11 years to 1 year before Stephen arrived at Kamar-Taj.

@invye what's your expert opinion? (I'm going way too far into this rabbit hole HELP)

[movedtodykedvonte]

I hope The Spot gets to die as a himself like pre-powers. It’s likely he’s gonna destroy himself trying to destroy Spider-man (I think he’s gonna for the mythos of the hero not just Miles, if the flash forward is any prediction) cause he’s either not gonna be able to handle the full effects of his abilities it and needs to be saved but it’s too late for him or does some not fully redeeming sacrifice as he realizes he didn’t have to resort to villainy and doesn’t want to go out with people fearing him rather than respecting.

It’d make the point that anyone can be Spider-man under the mask string as it’d point out that depending on circumstances anyone could become anything. In this case none of them would know The Spot personally or even in passing as Johnathan Ohnn, so seeing a complete stranger, someone who could of been anyone, defeated at the end of the battle would invoke a lot with the random chance and fate that comes along with being Spider-man if not just going through life rather than the adherence to canon events that is trying to be pushed on characters.

I feel like giving the Spot his face back would just make the climax feel more complete, an odd commentary on being true to oneself even if it is past your time.

[mushroom-through-the-stargate]

what i mean : this concept is fascinating and i want to study it further just to see what happens

what comes out of my mouth : i wanna poke it with a stick

[weirdraccoon]

Ominis *talking about MC*: I'm not usually interested in anyone, but now that I am, it's like the universe is telling me: "nah bitch, you can't have them".

Sebastian *looking longingly and sadly at his best friend*: I know what you mean.

[instinctsxbad]

*scratching at the walls thinking about how no one has adapted Peter’s college arcs in a consistent and satisfying way.*

[whodunnett1526]

[verynonyideas]

Me: “It’s wicked late. I should go to bed…”

Also me: “…right after I finish killing all these goblins.”

My BG3 character: “I’m so done. I need rest.”

Me: “Shush. Take a healing potion, we’re almost done.”

[ryan-is-a-god]

"wHy CaNt I dO aRt InStEaD oF sChOol!?"

Bitch your semester projects are apps!! You have to make sprites?!!!!!

[lolli-popples]

I didn’t think I’d ever make an “empiressona” But I thought of a really funny idea so my empiressona is now Dave, the sole building safety inspector of Sanctuary. He got the job when it was a pretty small Empire, and now he wakes up every morning and is exasperated because Sausage has built ANOTHER THING that he has to do inspections on now. 

[cicadaknight]

i nearly lost my honor mode run by being honest with minthara during her first romance scene. what a way to go after all that pain and suffering.

[blujayonthewing]

For context I was planning on doing a turquoise next but I'm playing Melliwyk on Saturday and purple is her color

[vulpixelates]

trying to find a balance between "module that's easy to understand and follow bc i am terrified of DMing and might cry" and "module that's not boring af especcially in the first adventure bc that might be as far as i manage to get through before losing my mind and i at least want my forever DM to have fun as a player for once" is killing me lmao