#it's just so bad though. like from a writing standpoint it just is not good at all

[venom-ass-daily]

From Venom: The Last Dance (2024)

[pa-pa-plasma]

okay i might actually lose followers for this, but. uh. why is Iron Widow rated so high

[picaroroboto]

For the past couple days, I've been unfortunately cursed with thinking about Zenos yae Galvus. I don't even particularly like him - not that I dislike him either, Zenosfuckers you can put your scythes down - but it seems to me like a lot of the fandom either greatly misunderstands him, or doesn't even care to try to understand him, which from an objective standpoint as someone who cares deeply about writing in video games kind of pisses me off. But I'm more pissed about the fact that I'm apparently going to keep thinking about this issue until I actually write a character analysis of him.

Q: "But, what even is there to analyze with him? Isn't he all about wanting to fight the WoL and nothing else?"

Well, you wouldn't be wrong with saying that. That motivation is at the forefront of his character, and even if you look closer, everything about him comes back to either "violence" or "lack of understanding of others". But there are more meaningful sides to his deceptively simple character. That question of meaning is what I really want to look into - what does his character mean, what symbolic or thematic role does he play in this story?

Q: "Better question: why are you posting this on your art blog/Fate meta sideblog?"

Good question, with a stupid answer: I have all of 6 followers on my FF14 sideblog, and around 150 here. Let's go under the cut so they don't have to read a wall of text, unless they want to.

When you look at and compare FF14's villains, you can see a very clear change, no doubts thanks to the change in main writers. ARR Gaius and Thordan are more or less two-bit villains - Gaius's memeable iconic Praetorium speech gives us insight into how fascists try to justify themselves but little into Gaius's actual personality, while all Thordan gets as far as depth of character is an NPC in a sidequest remarking that he wasn't always a bad person and was probably doing what he thought best for his nation. Nidhogg is a little more understandable, since revenge is a relatable motivation to anyone who's been hurt by others. In Stormblood, Zenos and Yotsuyu are both presented as deserving of pity even as they do terrible things. Come Shadowbringers and Endwalker though, the story takes a greater interest on why villains like Emet-Selch and Elidibus do the things they do, and the player is allowed more options to try to understand them and see how similar they are to the WoL. Hell, Hermes and the Endsinger are barely "villains" at all, with the level of sympathy the story shows them.

What I'm getting to here is that Zenos, with half his arc in Stormblood and the rest in Endwalker, is sort of caught in the middle of this shift. He played the role of the rival character in Stormblood really well, but come Endwalker, he's standing on a stage full of heroes and villains with grand causes and deep motivations, as the guy whose sole motivation is fighting for pleasure.

It seems he's not unaware of this contrast himself - when Jullus confronts him for ruining Garlemald for no good reason, he retorts with "Would you be happier had I a good reason?" Zenos makes no attempt to justify his own actions and doesn't care that his reason seems incomprehensible and unforgivable to others. Yet in that same cutscene Alisaie hits him with the fact that if he keeps living solely for pleasure, he'll die alone. When next we see Zenos, he's alone at the Royal Menagerie waxing philosophical about what he really sought in the battle with the WoL.

See, what really motivates Zenos isn't just the thrill of battle - this guy has gotten Battle High and the joy of human connection confused. Really.

Even before he gets so perturbed by the idea of dying alone, there's other suggestions, like his proposal of friendship to the WoL when they fought in Stormblood, and then later his dying words in which he explains that he never understood others - at his core, he's just lonely. I know there's an official side story that tells it, but you don't need to know the exact details to glean that he had some sort of tragic backstory. Sad, but not a surprise, considering he's the prince of the Garlean Empire, raised to take the throne and continue the Empire's legacy of violence.

At his core, he's a very lonely person, but also a thing of violence, raised using violent methods for the purpose of causing more violence. Violence is how he lives and breathes - the only way he gets any sort of connection with others in a world of hurting and being hurt is the brief connection warriors dueling as equals can sometimes find. Don't deny that this sort of connection exists - FF14 is great at making fights that are both fun and tell a story. Hence, why he goes crazy for the WoL, but also refers to them as "friend". In their fights, he senses (or thinks he senses) similarity between him and them. Beneath all the madness is a pure, genuine joy in seeing the self reflected in the other...but he also instantly gets on the train to projection-town, population Zenos, and assumes the WoL is exactly like him, ignoring or failing to notice that they also fight for deeper meanings. The worst part is, he doesn't even notice that what he's actually seeking in fighting them is connection until Alisaie's aforementioned callout.

So he goes and angsts for a while, then turns into a dragon again and flies across the universe to help us kick the Endsinger's tail feathers, then issues his challenge for that duel he'd been longing for. But what's changed is that he starts with a question - "Such pleasures you sought for their own sake, and for no other reason, is that not so?". Dying after the duel, he's full of questions too: "Was your life a gift or a burden? Did you find fulfillment?" Alisaie's suggestion that he'd die alone actually spurred him to realize what he actually sought in the WoL, and now he's asking all these questions in an attempt to, for the first time in his life, genuinely connect with another human being.

The questions aren't important just because they're a sign of how Zenos has changed in Endwalker - they're actually the thematic heart of Endwalker! ARR may have had "Answers" as it's theme, but EW is the expac of questions. Namely the biggest question of all: What is the meaning of life? Different characters have different answers to that, leading to the grand-scale symbolic conflict being the Endsinger's despair - her belief that there is no meaning in life - versus whatever reasons the WoL chooses to live for, left, as always, up to player interpretation.

When you look deeper, Zenos isn't actually as out-of-place in the symbolic conflict as he first seems. His depressed worldview - that metaphor about drowning in a swamp again - seems to align with the Endsinger's view about life being meaningless. But he aids the WoL in defeating her. In that way he serves as part of the answer to her question about the meaning of life. He may have resented life at times, but he still found meaning in chasing pleasure. Not the strongest or most beautiful reason to deny oblivion, perhaps, but it did enable him to help the WoL triumph. I think of Zenos's philosophy as being connected to the concept of "Amor Fati"...largely because this quote explaining it sounds like something he'd say, or at least agree with on some level:

"and if our soul has trembled with happiness and sounded like a harp string just once, all eternity was needed to produce this one event—and in this single moment of affirmation all eternity was called good, redeemed, justified, and affirmed."

So he does have a meaningful role in Endwalker, as the "Amor Fati" against the Endsinger's "Memento Mori". I think that in this the story shows that his reason for living, while somewhat shallow, is not necessarily a morally wrong thing in and of itself (setting aside for a second all the people he hurt in his pursuit of that). It's just that, since it is a lonely pursuit that denies everything except for his target, it still feels empty. The core of the counterargument against the Endsinger's despair is that both pleasure and fulfillment are necessary to live a meaningful life in a meaningless universe, and that's why Zenos is here in Endwalker. Why he even exists in the story in the first place.

Even if you're one of the people who deeply hates Zenos...well, you probably wouldn't have read this whole thing if you did, but I still think it's important to read into characters you dislike, because every character in a story is written for a reason. Plus, trying to understand even their worst enemies is one of the WoL's key traits as of ShB and EW. With his last breaths, Zenos was trying to understand the WoL too - carrying this understanding of him with you as we move into our next adventures is the least you can do for your "friend".

[izunias-meme-hole]

Oh Miquella... what a guy.

In all seriousness though, after like a few weeks of Shadow of The Erdtree being out and grasping the environmental storytelling of it all, I can easily say that Miquella was certainly something. On one hand he 100% betrays the very idea of being a 100% shining beacon of hope, of being someone that you'd trust with your life, and there some cracks in his writing due to some slight disconnect between the DLC and main game (like that Radahn shit is kinda questionable from a writers standpoint). On the other hand he's a good antagonist because his ultimate end goal to make a better world did start from a genuine place.

He wanted to heal his sister, he wanted Radahn to not be a warmonger, he genuinely wanted an era of love and compassion. However, the second he sent Malenia to kill Radahn so his soul to be brought back, and the second he used his charm to convert Mohg into a worse type of creep just to buy himself more time to achieve his goal, the second that he used his gift to charm others as a method of brainwashing, was where he started tearing himself apart. From there, he would go to the Land of Shadows and discard parts of himself, including St. Trina, his love and from moment on he would go to the Gate of Divinity to be reborn as a god. Hell, St. Trina even says that Miquella ascending to godhood would cage him, ultimately making all this self mutilation and brainwashing for nothing.

Miquella wanted to heal a world that was utterly broken beyond repair by his mother's actions, which is understandable. He wanted to make things better, but had a lack of understanding on how bad the damage was, and when he did gain that understanding he broke himself down. He broke himself down out of willful ignorance, believing that he and he alone could make things better by doing this, until he ultimately became a different being from when he started. In short, Miquella The "Kind" is the metaphorical corpse of Miquella The Unalloyed.

I don't know if this was Miyazaki's intention from the start, but it ultimately works for what it is IMO, despite the more flawed bits of the execution.

[zvezdacito]

A Different Perspective on the Raverne -> Crowley theories, who to trust and a way of tying it to the themes of the story

Preface: This isn't really gonna be a super serious compilation of solid proof, symbolism or anything, more like just me yapping abt something I happened to randomly think of yesterday and thought "it would actually be kinda interesting from a writing standpoint if this is the thing they go for instead of what everyone was expecting". Kind of long but I promise it will be at least interesting AU material if anything so just bear with me lmao

Ok so basically so far the general trajectory of theories is something bad happened to Raverne while he was missing that made him into Crowley who is doing some kind of evil scheming that will disregard the safety of his family and students sooner or later. Generally Raverne is the good self while Crowley is the fucked up self, and it would probably be better if Raverne was here instead of him

But what if it's actually more like the other way around. That Raverne is the one we should be looking out for, and Crowley is the trustworthy version of him this entire time?

What if everything Raverne went through made it inevitable for him to snap and be vengeful and do evil shit so Crowley is basically his sane self's last ditch effort to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone and ruin people's lives, basically using the goofy Crowley personality to suppress and forget the vengeful Raverne personality

Like the "Raverne's soul got fractured and split into pieces and the pieces that remember his past are sealed away" theories, but instead of usual reasons it's him who sealed them away ironically to remain as true to his original self as possible, than if it remained and he turned into someone violent and hateful against his own principles.

I feel like it would be even more of a twist since they keep emphasizing how kind and peaceful Raverne is so I don't think neither Meleanor, Lilia nor the audience would expect the OG Raverne described that way to actually turn out cruel and untrustworthy who the seemingly suspicious and cowardly Crowley was actually trying to manage the whole time

Also it would kind of be more straightforward as to why he would choose to forget Lilia and Malleus than if Crowley was fucked up Raverne and forgot them even though his goal would be to revive Meleanor and his old life with them anyway

It's hard to tell right now but Crowley despite his goofiness doesn't really seem to harbor any malice against anyone, nor would he be the type to seriously blood sacrifice any of his students, even if he does abandon them sometimes. In this new context maybe it would even make sense if he abandons them so the subconcious Raverne doesn't try to find opportunity to break out/cause trouble through blot and magic related situations?

So yeah it would be cool if it turned out Crowley was the "good" version of Raverne all along, and Raverne overtly and subtextually is just trying to gaslight the audience into distrusting Crowley so they can set a chain reaction of events going to unseal him so he can do whatever he wants to

Also Crowley probably knows he has to keep Raverne locked away no matter what but also doesn't dare try to remember what Raverne remembers because that would go against the whole point of keeping Raverne locked away in the first place. His memory of his past is just puzzle pieces w/o the bigger picture. He has to be atleast partially aware that he has to not give in to the voice in the back of his mind for the sake of others

Like he knows he had to leave behind a family behind and forget them so he would not hurt them, but he doesn't exactly remember who anymore which is why he isn't really flinching or anything when around Malleus and Lilia at NRC

Though I feel like him suppressing Raverne lowkey also took a toll on his mental state. So they actual conclusion would for him to basically symbolically stop suppressing his trauma in an attempt to be a perfect victim because it's not working either way and the only way for Raverne to rest in peace is if he finds closure. Whatever that may be.

Maybe if Yuu and co. find out they encourage him to do this to his surprise basically saying "Don't worry headmage we'll beat the shit out of evil Raverne for you if he goes out of control (you are so annoying so we've always wanted to do this)"

The reveal and Crowley needing to stop supressing Raverne in his subconcious to let him process what he should have would make sense, since it would also tie in to the overarching theme around the overblots:

That even though they're ugly and hurtful manifestations of trauma they need to play out so the OBer can finally grow as a person instead of bottling it all up and being in denial

And also so they can finally come to terms with something that happened to them even if they can't change it

^ Accidentally sort of also combined this with the "Crowley's mask is hiding the fact that he's in a paused state of overblot that he just managed to sorta control" theory. Maybe overblot is what he had to stop Raverne from devolving into in the first place

↑ This ties back to my HC for Raverne's personality being a natural coward and not as battle-oriented but tries to be strong, as he sees Meleanor and Lilia to be as well as making the most out of the skills the does have (using cowardice and sensitivity to be a master diplomat and educator instead) so he can feel like he has the right to continue to stand by their side. Maybe he didn't even care much for being considered kind until that's what Mel and Lilia saw his actions as instead of weak or foolish, that being what made him want to work on that newly defining trait of his now

Lilia at one point mentions that even tho Raverne tries to perform honor student he could be as picky of an eater as Meleanor was and Lilia would have to eat his spare food too

Adding to the possibility Raverne was always the type to make twice an effort to be 'kind' and strong to compensate for his nature that he sees as inherently lacking. This is also probably why he'd be super harsh on himself as Crowley

Oomf also suggested that this may add a layer to why his catchphrase ended up being "For I'm so gracious". As if to remind himself to keep up the effort to be such because he fears his natural state is one that isn't, as well as him encouraging himself to always be forgiving so Raverne doesn't gain the upper hand from his subconcious

↑ Ok so I don't have the brainpower to paraphrase this too so I'll just copy paste what I talked to another oomf about here because it's also interesting

That's pretty much it, hope the general idea and effect was conveyed properly🔥🔥🔥 I don't think the exact details need to be followed since it probably has a bunch of holes itself, but the general gist of Crowley being the more positive side of Raverne instead of the expected inverse all along + it making more sense as to why Raverne would be motivated to forget + tying into the themes of overblotting and trauma would be interesting I think. Kind of a clever misdirection. All of this is not super substantiated though since even now we barely know anything about either Raverne or Crowley, so really only time will tell. Personally kinda got attached to this direction for Crowley's character so I hope they go with something adjacent to the heart fo it at least

The other option is he's not Raverne at all and we're racking our brains over this for no reason lmao

[propheticclown]

I need you all to understand. I've seen so many people talk about how Eridan would be slaying the fashion scene. How his fashion sense is awesome and epic, or whatever. NO! Firstly, I wanna preface this by saying that Pesterquest falls under the category of "Dubiously Canon." so his massive closet isn't actually canon. But secondly, LOOK AT HIS FUCKING FIT, MY GUY!

THE DEEP BLUE WITH THE PURPLE??? THE CAPE??? THE HAIR??? BROOOOOTHER!!! THEY EVEN CHANGED THE COLORS OF HIS SCARF AND PANTS TO LOOK BETTER IN PESTERQUEST!

It's subtle but the color shifts towards indigo/cobalt rather than royal blue. "B-But what about March Eridan? March Eridan looks good and is canon!" I don't know how brainrotted you are from buying all your clothes from shien (derogatory) and temu (derogatory) to think that March Eridan looks good, but let me just show you what it looks like again to refresh your memory.

Ignoring the insanity that's even happening with this image in the first place, this IS the Original March Eridan image. Now let me tell you why this fit is more atrocious than Kankri Vantas' takes on feminism. 1. THE COLORS DO NOT WORK!!! His VIOLET symbol combined with MAGENTA arm warmers and thigh highs and a RED SKIRT???? AUUHHG NONE OF THESE COLORS LOOK AESTHETICALLY PLEASING TOGETHER IN A FASHION SENSE!!! NAME ONE TIME RED AND PURPLE HAVE EVER LOOKED GOOD TOGETHER IN TERMS OF FASHION??? 2. STRIPES AND FUCKING PLAID??? WHAT??? IN CARTOONS, MUSIC, BOOKS, AND EVEN FUCKING GAMES, DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH "Ew stripes and plaid." IS SAID??? THAT IS LIKE THE NUMBER 1 NONO IN ANY FASHION WORLD!!! 3. AND WHILE THIS ONE IS A BIT OF A STRETCH, THERE IS NO CONVINCING ME THAT ERIDAN AMPORA WOULD WILLINGLY WEAR THIS SHIT! IT JUST DOES NOT MAKE SENSE FOR HIS CHARACTER TO WEAR THIS OUTFIT! FASHION IS A WAY OF EXPRESSING ONESELVES! FASHION, AS A MEDIUM OF ART, IS A WAY A PERSON CAN EXPRESS HOW THEY FEEL ON THE INSIDE! March Eridan as an outfit, artistically expresses confidence, empowerment and a general "I'm a bad bitch you can't kill me" energy. Here's the problem. Eridan at his base components is envious, closed off, emotionally volatile, and a massive fucking nerd, which the old outfit actually does express.

His clothes are long-sleeved, showing the least possible amount of skin he can, which usually can represent being closed off. His cape is large and grandiose, showing that he likes to be exaggerated and theatrical. His scarf indicates his nerdiness, with it being a reference to Harry Potter and how it could be a tie-back to his nerdy love of wizards. The only other outfit he's shown wearing is with a flashback to when he and Vriska were a kismesis.

Here the outfit, even with as little as we see of it, is big and intense. Unlike Vriska, who essentially doesn't change outfits, Eridan puts time and effort into each theatrical performance he considers himself to be a part of. He adores intricate and exaggerated outfits. Things that are fancy, complex, and over-the-top. So that even though he doesn't feel great on the inside, even though he feels as though he's "wworse than evverybody. all the bodies." He can still look well put together. And that's WHY I don't think March Eridan as an outfit works. It's too casual for him. It's not big or flashy in a way he likes. There's not enough for him. It doesn't cover him up and because of that, he'd feel exposed. He's not closed off anymore. It doesn't exude "Eridan Ampora". Who's "most casual" piece of apparel is probably a sweater vest.

Even in the original image, he looks uncomfortable, like he doesn't actually LIKE wearing it. The only way I can find this artistically working from a writing standpoint is if Kanaya made it for him because, in the story, it is shown time and time again that Kanaya doesn't understand Eridan, so by making him this outfit, she'd take it a step further by not even understanding what he likes. Kanaya doesn't understand that Eridan is terrified of being culled, because Kanaya doesn't have to worry about that. Kanaya doesn't understand the pressures Alternian society is forcing upon him, as an Orphaner. Because Kanaya's only societal expectation is raising the new mother grub. Kanaya doesn't think about how he's most likely going to live the longest out of all his friends. Eridan has the second highest lifespan out of every troll blood color, but even then with Feferi, she's most likely going to get culled by the Condense when she's the proper age to inherit the throne. So in Eridan's mind, he's going to be alone, expected to be an Orphaner until the day he dies, utterly alone to feed Feferi's lusus until he eventually succumbs to old age or dies in war. That's why he's so closed off, yet so emotionally grand. That's why March Eridan doesn't suit him from a fashion-artistic standpoint. It's not what Eridan Ampora embodies as a character. Envy.

[suhmingo]

I, uh, don’t know how to actually preface this. It’s really just a mini rant/pseudo-analysis of chapter 167. Which was pretty crazy. But, I loved this chapter, and yes I’m typing this with two hands.

But first let me try and do some housekeeping.

It’s perfectly fine to have an emotional, even visceral reaction to 167. That’s the point

If you feel grossed out, betrayed, unnerved, dumbstruck, or any form of bamboozled by today’s chapter then good! That means the emotional weight of the scene is working, and that you are a proper, feeling human. The

The whole point of fiction is to explore themes that would be difficult, even dangerous to experience from a place of safety. To me that’s, like the entire reason I ever wanted to become a writer, one of the most unsung broke boy jobs in the history of the world. My desire for Denji to get better in a world that is dead set on making him fail is the entire reason I have an emotional investment in the first place. Stories are inherently about conflict and the struggle with resolving conflict, that should make you uncomfortable.

Say what you want about Chainsaw Man. I can take it, I’m a big boy. But one thing that it has always had since Chapter one is a well-defined through line about the complexity of our innate desire to find some type of love fighting against the pain-wrought pathway that it leads us down. In a good story, every chapter should have some way of showing the highs and lows of that theme, and I’m pretty confident when I say that 167 perfectly shows us that.

It’s bad. Don’t let people who brag about their trauma tolerance tell you otherwise. You are well within your right to feel. But I think it would behoove people to 1. Realize that this is fiction, and its effects, though evocatory, are ultimately abstract, and 2. Realize that exploring dark themes allows people, especially a 16-25 (Or whatever the target audience for CSM is) to grapple with and think on human concepts as all encompassing as love.

From a writing standpoint, one chapter has escalated the tension of the entire story more than anything that has happened in Part 2 so far. It’s admittedly a bit early to call it peak. But looking at it as a simple story beat, that’s a fantastic chapter as far as the medium goes.

Listen, the whole point of stories since, like, Mesopotamian times was the tension between wanting a character to achieve happiness vs the hardships and trauma that life happens in life. They’re supposed to put you in a sensitive state emulative of a tense environment. I’d argue that the prevalence of escapist fiction and fandom has changed how we emotionally digest fiction. But that’s a whole nother essay.

The events of 167 aren’t some horny non-sequitur. Everything that happened is entirely a logical, if graven, extension of how we know characters.

Denji is at the lowest point we have ever seen him at. He was literally dismembered and put back together less than 10 chapters ago. The last chapter literally had him groveling on his knees at a cauldron’s brew of his own weakness, immaturity, stupidity, and horniness. I think we can all understand why he would not be in a good mental state to just lose himself in the moment. You can’t even blame Denji in this situation. He was in an entirely vulnerable state that was exploited entirely by

Yoru. Who is the literal embodiment of war. If you think that someone who represents the human fear of war is going to play fair. Turn on the news for five minutes. Yoru is a character we are not supposed to like. She’s fun, because she’s a work of fiction, but she’s arguably less trustworthy than Fami. She’s a violent, exploitative being who possesses a dead teenager. There is no “too far” for her if it’s the fastest way on the road to conquest. Reminder that before she caught feelings, her plan was literally just to castrate Denji because she thought that would further her goals. The fact that it turned into kissing was actually sparing a worse fate. IMO that savior was all in the actions of Asa.

Asa. I genuinely believe that, subconsciously, Asa wanted to kiss Chainsaw Man. Not like how it happened. Never like how it happened, but her desire for Denji/Chainsaw Man's affection has always been evident. She gets irreparably upset when she’s stood up, she makes cringe poetry for Chainsaw Man, and her entire goal as of now is in some misguided desire to make him happy. I also don’t think Asa is actually demisexual, or averse to sex. She is afraid of intimacy, which stops her from ever acting on her urges. Notice that both times Yoru has kissed Denji, it was after the idea of sex and intimacy was explicitly brought to the conversation. To me that screams that Yoru is spurred on by her host’s innate desires. Hell, it’s been shown that in the same way that Yoru has made Asa more proactive of a human being, Asa has made her feel emotions. I don’t think it's a coincidence that Yoru is blushing while kissing Denji. None of that was part of her plan. That’s Asa’s emotional influence getting the better of her in what I predict to be a fantastic role reversal of their initial contract.

This is thematically in line with how Chainsaw Man presents love and sets up deeper themes.



Remember way back in Part One when Denji was just an initial horndog and everybody kinda hated him? I hated Denji back then! When I first heard of Chainsaw Man I genuinely thought it was going to be a mommy-kink fuelled power fantasy. But I was wrong. Wonderfully wrong. Fujimoto used the allure of that idea in Makima to present a story about how dangerous and manipulative the very idea of grooming is, and how damaging that can be to a person. The same way Denji’s desire to get the approval of Makima was poisonous to him is mirrored in his desire for vapid, instantly gratifying sex is being portrayed here. I genuinely think this chapter is going to age like fine wine, and I am absolutely willing to take egg on my face if I’m wrong.

[night-market-if]

Defending characters’ actions (specifically Milo) does come off as playing favorites a little? More in a “they are my child so they can do no wrong” kind of way which I don’t feel is necessary. Characters can be bad and dumb or do bad and dumb things and it doesn’t need to be justified “because they had a good reason to do it” or “well they’ve had a rough life” sometimes people aren’t always good and don’t always make the best choices and that’s FINE! That makes the characters who they are. Not everyone is going to like them

I guess the thing is though I'm not justifying them. I'm defending my character in a way that's more like "no, I'm not going to write in absolute violence because you are angry". I've never once come out and gave a mantle of right or wrong to any of my characters actions because I fully believe that good people can do bad things and bad people can do good things.

And, when it comes to the favortism comments I got, it was because they said nothing bad happened to Milo. Which is just someone not reading the book at that point.

But, I'm sorry anon. It is not playing favorites to condemn violence and state publicly I will not be writing violence for the sake of others enjoyment. That's my moral standpoint.

Maybe defending characters actions isn't quite what I want to say. More of defending my decisions on MY writing.

Edit:

To make this very clear, the amount of nasty stuff I get about Milo fills my inbox sometimes to a really disgusting degree. And we aren't talking about "I'm mad at him and I can't forgive him" . We're talking about violence. People saying they want to kill someone. They want to make the man suffer. Cry. Hurt him.

Here's the thing. I do believe that says something about someone if they have these urges. I think it comes from a place of emotional irregulation. I think we have a problem with that in society. I do not and will not write someone like that as a main character. And we have talked a lot before about how MC is not a self insert, it is a character that you have control over but they do have set things about them (I'm not Larian guys). And I just will not write a character path where they find entertainment in hurt. And that is my choice. That is not me defending actions of a character. That is me setting my own boundaries for my writing and not allowing people to stomp all over them because they need to maybe evaluate why such rage is brought out over a fictional character. Don't like a character all you want. I have a lot of characters I don't like. But there is a different between not liking a character and moving on. And hating a character and then waxing poetics about violence done to them.

Now, a lot of this is out of context for you guys because I will not post certain asks of violence. I get that. But when I say they get bad, they get really bad.

[exhausted-archivist]

Early Game First Impressions

I have some thoughts and critiques about it from at least an early point.

So far, being 28 hours in (and I just got my 4th companion so the time I've been in the game isn't really indicative of my plot progress) I have some general thoughts. None of them are spoilers, but to be safe, I will keep them below the cut.

Please note, these are my first impressions. I'm doing a mostly blind playthrough and I'm mostly sharing to start a dialogue but also document my feelings. Please be respectful of that and others who may comment. Also my comments on armor/clothing is going to be a whole seperate kit and kaboodle.

My main focuses based on priority to me:

Combat

Flashing accessibility issues

The Bloom effect

Character creator

Photomode

Writing (General)

Dialogue and Banter

Maps and Quest Guidance

Food Lore

Combat, Accessibility, and Bloom Render

So far my biggest complaint is related to the combat. In terms of general enjoyment, this is one of the most enjoyable combat systems in the series for me. The flow is nice, I like the UI, overall a solid 7/10 for me. Except for one thing: I hate button mashing, I cannot handle it for too long, it is a large part of the reason I've never played through dao again. I found that da2 and dai really found a nice middle ground with it. But with datv, the issues are that if I press and hold, it will charge attacks and not continuously fire them off like in the previous two games.

I also don't like how frequently my companions bark at me in combat. Lucanis yelling "Move Rook!" while I'm stuck in a corner or something has thrown off my timing and is also just kinda annoying at times. Something I also don't like when I'm trying to explore but more on that later.

Additionally, I find the rebinding of keys is way too restrictive. It is hard to find a calibration that works, it doesn't solve the button mashing, and it isn't any better for mouse and keyboard. The fact that (at least last time I tried) I couldn't rebind the keys from ASWD to the arrow keys is a huge miss to me. So, while I find combat engaging and fun with a nice flow, button mashing and the key rebinding for combat are a big con. Particularly from an accessibility standpoint.

Speaking of accessibility, while the accessibility for the game is robust (but for some features an okay attempt for a first attempt) not being able to adjust the flashing rendering is the second biggest. That is a major accessibility thing and one of the bare minimum features I've come to expect in most games. Now while at present it hasn't been too bad for me since the prologue, I do not know if it will be an issue again later on. The flashing paired with the way the bloom renders, makes the game very migraine triggering if I'm not careful.

So on the note of the bloom, it is another big con for me because it messes with my eyes. While I can remove it in photomode and see what it looks like without it, I think it could have done with less bloom and still looked good. I do like how it has an almost Dishonored texture rendering to the people. I am curious if they pushed it a little harder if it would be more interesting visually and make the bloom more effective. Not only that, but I see the vision, I appreciate it, but not really friendly to me. Which is okay, to be clear. This is one of those things where the vision is great, the execution might not be universally loved, but it is good. Sort of like Arcane (though not to that level), I will never be able to watch it because of the flashing. But I know it is still an amazing show.

Character Creator

Now, in terms of the character creator I think they could have pushed things more. I'm over all very impressed and I love what they did, the variety and extremes you can push are amazing. From a technical standpoint it is gorgeous, and I overall rate it 8/10.

On a minor point, I do wish we could adjust eye size/shape independently of the head morph as well as change the mouth shape. I also wish there were more extreme limits to the body morph. While there is an okay range for what we have, I do wish I could make a heavier set character than I have, whether they're more muscular defined (think Bull and his almost barrel chested build) or someone who is just heavy. But I also wish I could make someone who looked like Isabela in da2 proportionately. I do get some of the criticism that cropped up, though I think the way most of it was presented/worded was exaggerated because the bust and glute sizes weren't "hollywood" style.

But my biggest issue with the cc is there is not any true dark skin tones. They do not go dark enough, they get close, but I couldn't make anyone who looks like several of my family members or oc skin tones I have. This is a major con for me, because they were heading in the right direction and then fell disappointingly short. I think it likely has to do with lighting, to which I seriously think they need to work on learning to how to light darker skins. I think they also need to learn how to make and layer darker skins. They have the basics down, now they need to push it further.

I also have to speak towards the fact that it seems with the bloom rendering and this art style, they did not push things hard enough to allow us to play older characters in appearance. And because all non-important npcs are made with the same cc as rook, we are pushed to having a very small visual age range for the game. Wrinkles do not appear well or strong, and it is disappointing to say the least. It has always been a weak point in Dragon Age.

Connected to these two points, but on a much more minor note, I think having complexion cover skin texture, freckles, dark circles, birthmarks, and acne was too much. They should have had 2-3 selectors for that - and this might be a rendering, technology issue. But not being able to be freckled and wrinkled or have dark circles, falls short, and it especially impacts being able to create an older Inquisitor. This also touches on the imbalance of which they aged femme presenting characters vs masc presenting characters, but that is another post.

Moving onto the last point I have thoughts on, is the hair. While they definitely improved in the hair options, they still lean heavily one way or the other. Especially with the offset of non-qunari getting 88 hairstyles and qunari getting 33. While we no longer have 50 shades of bald, and they heard our thoughts on hair and horns being connected for qunari, the large gap between the two categories is unfair. Especially given the fewer textured options for qunari and the even fewer length variations. It also looks like some were removed from what we saw during marketing. I've also seen the call for bangs, while they aren't something I usually desire I do agree the few bang choices are a notable.

Photomode

I'm going to be blunt with this one as it is the most cosmetic of them all, I feel like there could have been more options. I love we got it, but it's pretty bare bones comparatively with others we get.

I think looking at Horizon (Zero Dawn and Forbidden West) would be a good reference for a strong photomode. CP77 if they went further. Being able to add different effects/filters or even remove some depending on where you're photomoding would go miles. Being able to remove dead enemies (that you didn't kill) would also be nice. But I think the biggest thing is the limited range that the camera can be from Rook. It likely has to do with rendering range, but I think they could have pushed it more. That's all. I've been living in photomode though, using it near constantly to be honest. Just a qol thing.

The Writing: General, Dialogue, and Banter

Off the bat, I find the writing of this game to be the most Dragon Age between Inquisition and The Veilguard. The series has always been campy and quipy. It is the same semi-serious stuff I've expected from BioWare. I do think they have improved in some areas, stayed the same in others, and got weaker in some.

One of the things I think BioWare, especially the da team, has always struggled with is hitting the sweet spot that doesn't isolate new players but also doesn't aggravate lore nerds or long time players. DA2 I think is probably the best of the series at that. But with datv, I find points of aggravation with the wording, just like I did with Inquisition when I went to replay it after having started the series from The Stolen Throne and playing all the way through to Inquisition again. I cannot decide if they have gotten better or what, however I do think the glossary is an excellent addition. Even if I argue with some of them haha.

A clear point of improvement for me so far is the line summaries. I find they are better than dai, though there are some misses.

In terms of banter, I think I'm starting to see what people have been talking about in terms of its substance. However, I don't think it is unique to datv. Rarely has banter effected anything outside that moment, especially for da2-dai. I've only played dao once so I don't know if they tied banter into main story more or not. For me, banter not having substantial effect outside the moment isn't surprising, and I don't know if that is something I was hoping would change or not. This one I think might change as I play.

I also get what people are saying about the banter erring on the side of toothless, but I only see that in like comparison to da2 where companions were brutal with each other. I would say it is the same level/as close to dai. But I'm still early and don't have all the companions. So another thing that might change when I play further.

Maps and Quest Guidance

They did a really good at fixing the dai overcorrection of maps from da2. They're compact, relatively easy to navigate, and so far a distinct lack of bears!

Though while they pulled back on one overcorrection I feel in turn that they overcorrected on the guidance/party direction banter in response to the loud feedback of dai not having enough guidance. This touches back on the companions yelling at me while I'm exploring, or the persistent markers and pop ups. While turning off some of the UI/setting elements greatly helped, and I have heard that it gets less demanding further in, it is a con for me.

Delving into maps though, as someone who is fixated on maps I have thoughts and feelings over the area maps as well as the map texutures the display as setting design. So far, I'm dissappointedwith the set design ones. I haven't seen any new ones, they reuse the map released with the Tevinter Nights and then the first Thedas map they've used since dao. Now those aren't inherently negative, but I like maps and I was hoping for more, especially at the beginning.

Food Lore

Okay, I know this is last and I said I listed these in like priority, but this one was a HUGE point for me and I wanted to end on a positive note. The food lore so far is rich, it is clearly done with some thought, there are more varieties, and I am thrilled with what I've seen. It is rich, indepth, they've added a lot more than I thought they would. So far, the location I've found to have the most rich lore is Treviso. With a nutrition specialist and Julia, the fruit merchant who's husband is allergic to alubia carilla (black eyed peas). It is something so small comparitively that makes the world so rich. I've been compiling and collecting, and I have been flooded with people sending me screencaps and dialogue snippets (without spoiling anything) and I am so overjoyed and appreciative.

[moonblossom-bunny]

Fizzarozzie have a good character dynamic actually (and are decent characters overall)

There comes a time, in whatever fandom you’re in, that you come across some takes made by people which makes you think right away ‘are we watching the same show?’. Takes made on storylines, characters and but most of all ships. Recently I came across, multiple shared takes regarding Fizzarolli and Asmodeus from Helluva Boss. Two secondary cast characters who have interacted in a total of three episodes as of writing this. These takes were presented as a negative and included the following: . Fizz and Ozzie’s personality isn’t the same after their first introduction and that’s a bad thing. . Fizz acts too childish and therefore can be perceived as child-coded as well as it infantilizes gay men. . Fizz and Ozzie have a sugardaddy/sugarbaby dynamic and that’s a bad thing. . Twink boyfriend and strong boyfriend dynamic is fetishsizing gay men. I, personally and thus in my opinion, don’t agree with any of these takes. Hence this character analysis post to debunk all of this points. I’ll try to keep this as objective as possible. I also can’t really make a solid point on the last take and partially on take two, since I’m a bi disaster and not a gay man, so I can’t stand on that soapbox to claim if a fictional character is toxic or bad representation or fuel for the fetishsizing of gay and queer men from their experience and standpoint. (But I did do some Google research and apparently what is meant by the fetishation of gay men, is that the tropes of how a gay man is portrait in media, for example anime, manga, sitcoms, movies, is carried over to irl gay men and as such they are treated like an accessory or less like a person. Slash shippers seem to be most notorious for this. Source: {link} {link} {link} Again. Can’t say how much of the claim adds to an already fictional gay couple in a show filled with LGBTQ+ characters…but still not my soapbox to stand on.) Feel free to add on to this post if one so desires. This ended up being a 5 page doc though so it's a long one.

Fizz and Ozzie’s personality isn’t the same after their first introduction and that’s a bad thing. A point made by some people who dislike the way this ship has progressed because the next time we see them after their introduction in S1E7, they seem to have made a 180 in personality traits. While S1 E7 shows us these two are a team when it comes to performing and supporting each other in the club. From their duet where Fizz adds on to what Ozzie is singing and physically holds him up during one segment of it, to Ozzie not stopping Fizz when he calls out Blitz and even pointing out that Stolas ‘threw away his life for a thrust’. Which is followed by ‘that’s the spirit of lust’ and thus probably not perceived as a bad thing since he is the embodiment of lust and all that. Though it does come across as Stolas being chastised for that from his and Blitz’ pov and their body language reflects that. S1 E7 basically just shows us that Fizz isn’t afraid to call someone out on their bullshit. That he is snarky and spiteful towards Blitz. That he’s not above making fun of someone while on stage what we see him do to Moxxie. Which is also what he does being the jester character and all. A clown makes people laugh by making fun of himself, a jester makes people laugh by making fun of other people. Asmodeus is pretty much the same in that episode. Standing by lust over love and reinforcing that when it comes to the acts for his club. Calling out Moxxie in his song etc. At a first viewing the audience may walk away seeing them both as an antagonist towards our main cast with how they acted towards them. Kicking M&M out of their club over a love song. Calling out Blitz as being a disgrace in a public setting. Stolas being put in the spotlight for being there with an imp. So I do kind of get why some people figured their whole character changed when we see them again in S2 E6 and E7 and they are portrayed as this lovey dovey couple without the snark and the spite. Most importantly, also without an in universe audience. While we see Ozz and Fizz sing together in S1. Their interactions together are less direct. They don’t have a conversation with each other and the most we see is how physically they interact to give us any clue on what their relationship and dynamic actually is. Fizz tends to curl around Ozzie’s arm.

Ozzie is visibly worried and shaken when Fizz gets bonked on the head by Millie.

They share a brief cuddle with each other at the end of Moxie’s song. Even during their song there are hints that they aren’t as antagonistic as they might appear to be.

Aside from the earlier mentioned backhanded praise towards Stolas for embracing his lust, they give Moxxie the chance to change his song from a love song into one about lust for the sake of the audience and seeing that’s how the club just rolls. Only getting the insults when he sticks to his guns and keeps the song sweet and about the love he has for Millie. So there are snippets there to show us they aren’t unreasonable characters and a little softer towards each other than what they show others. The next time we see them is in a private setting and we as the audience, learn they are madly in love and hiding it from the public (badly) because the sin of lust shouldn’t be in love and least of all with an imp. But there are no prying eyes so they can let their walls down and this is the result. We still see bits and pieces of what was set up in S1 E7 though. Fizz isn’t afraid to be a little snarky when trying to convince Ozzie to let him go out without an escort.

He’s spiteful towards Blitz when they meet again and only softens up towards him when he’s learned about the other side of what happened during the circus fire.

We even see less of that in S2 E7. But by then he’s kind of patched things up with Blitz and the reason to be snarky and spiteful and resentful towards him is gone. So we get witty comeback banter instead the few times they interact in that episode. He’s also thrown in a completely different setting compared to the previous episode and we get to see how he acts in a work stress filled environment. A flashback even tells us Fizz has self worth issues and needs reassurance from those he cares about. In his childhood that was Blitz and now that person is Ozzie.

The same flashback shows us that he gets really anxious when backed into a corner or in the case of the scenario being jumped on by a creepy fan. With Ozzie we see how he takes his job as embodiment of lust seriously with the work he does in the factory. (S2E6) With making sure Stolas knows lust isn’t about force. Just as he takes it seriously in his club.

We see the spurt of anger he displayed towards M&M near the end of the Ozzie episode come back tenfold when Crimson lets him know he’s got Fizz captured and when the lawyer is getting on his last nerves.

Which also fits because Asmodeous isn’t just the demon of lust but also linked to vengeance and anger as described by The Dictionnaire Infernal, so it makes sense as to why he has a short fuse. {link} This also comes back in S2 E7 when he calls Blitz and gets worked up over Mammon and when he confronts Mammon at the end of the same episode. We also see Ozzie being worried for and even overprotective of Fizz. A small snippet of that we were already shown after Millie knocked Fizz out in S1. So yeah, they aren’t that different compared to their introduction. The setting and who they interact with show different aspects of their personality. It’s just that S2 tends to highlight more aspects of their character because of the Fizz and Blitz miniarc that happened. Fizz acts too childish and therefore can be perceived as child-coded as well as it infantilizes gay men. I can only make educated guesses why some say this. Is it the clown costume? Is it his hyperactive personality? Is it because he lets Ozzie carry him around? Is it the burgers for breakfast thing? Or how Ozzie is overprotective of Fizz which one can argue might be on the border of being a toxic thing in their relationship? All of those things do happen in the show and is shown to the audience. But those things also happen next to the profanity Fizz spews, him drinking alcohol, acting slutty, being serious about his profession as a clown/jester. He also explains, in show, why he’s constantly joking around and acting like he does even in a private setting with Ozzie. “You are with me because of who I am at my best.” To Fizz, at that moment in S2 E7, his best is how he is on stage when he’s performing. How he’s been perceived as Mammon’s brand baby. It wouldn’t be that far fetched to think he might feel a need to uphold that image even when around Ozzie. Hench the jokes first thing in the morning or when Ozzie is repairing his broken arm at the end of Oops. It’s also just a common way of dealing with tension or hide fear or anxiety to crack jokes. Doesn’t make him childish. Makes him a clown coping in his own way. Both Ozzie and Fizz also have an immense height difference between them. While you can see Oz carrying Fizz around as a way of coddling him. Fizz also actively chooses to be carried around by jumping in his arms.

We can let loose all kinds of possibilities on why that is, from the fact that Fizz is disabled and being carried is less daunting on his limbs. Or maybe it’s more from a cinematic standpoint and makes it easier for the animators to not have Ozzie bend over all the time while they’re interacting or need to be kissing for a scene. By being carried, Fizz is also elevated to Ozzie’s level to possibly show that they see each other as equals in their relationship. Or the more simple possible reason, it’s a way to play around with their height difference and nothing more. Since it’s happened more than once, I do think it’s an deliberate choice that was being made to have Fizz in Ozzie’s arms frequently. It might even just be there to show that Ozz is the ‘caretaker’ out of both of them.

He’s the one that cooks and he’s worried for Fizz’ safety and he’s the one who reassures him.

Even if Ozzie is overprotective of Fizz, Fizzarolli doesn’t shy away from voicing his opinion and wants. He directly argues against Ozzie’s over protectiveness when it crosses a line for him.

“Come on Ozz, I can be on my own for one day.” (About going to Greed without an escort)

"Mammon’s been my idol since I was five. I’d be letting him down. The fans down.” (Voicing arguments about attending the clown pageant even though Ozz really makes a case on why he shouldn’t.)

So while, yes one might see Asmodeus’ mother hen moments as babying, we never see Fizz actually being fully dependent on Ozzie and the security he gives him. The whole point of S2E7 was that Fizz couldn’t just quit his job because without it he would feel like he would lose all the good things he has. Including Ozzie.

And to be fair, the cutesy moments between them are on par with what Moxxie and Millie have. That’s all. The nicknames, the cooing, the giggling. They are just madly in love with each other your honor and that is far from infantilization. At most annoying to some people I guess. But not infantilization.

Fizz and Ozzie have a sugardaddy/sugarbaby dynamic and that’s a bad thing.

The only time Fizz has ever been called a ‘sugarbaby’ is by Blitz in S2E7 as he implies Ozzie is his sugardaddy.

Fizz still works for his money at that point. Fizz continues to work for his money after that, as we see him salespitching to Blitz in S2E8.

He’s not only Ozzie’s partner partner, but also business partner.

We’ve never seen Ozzie spoil him directly. It might be speculated that’s the case since Ozzie is a King in Hell and all and with his fancy palace and probably being the leading adult toy manufacturer, but we never see him actively spoil Fizz like a sugardaddy does for a sugarbaby so it’s never confirmed.

It’s not ‘Daddy give me your card so I can buy some milk today.’, it was ‘I’ll get some milk today while I’m out.’

Ya’ll seeing things that aren’t in the show.

Twink boyfriend and strong boyfriend dynamic is fetishsizing gay men.

Oh no, it’s like character dynamics have tropes in fiction. I’m sure you’ve seen those posts floating around with the ‘draw your faves or your characters here’ dynamic templates.

The angry gremlin and the optimistic one, or the nerdy one and the jock, or the emo one and the optimistic one, or the short tempered one and the ray of sunshine….etc.

This…is nothing more than that. A dynamic trope.

The feminine one and the masculine one.

Even with that, it’s also obvious that Ozzie has feminine traits too. Guy wears a mini skirt, wears high heels and that high pitched ‘Fizzieeeee’ he let out in S2E6 is everything. So they don’t fall completely in that dynamic trope. But still. It’s fiction. It’s going to rely on tropes to connect easier with the audience. Writing 101.

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

In conclusion, these points are clearly made to nitpick on the show and its creator because hating on a thing is apparently still a whole separate fandom branch these days.

I'm also going to leave this really good video by Georgia Dow, who analyses fictional characters from a psychology standpoint.

[scribblestatic]

Okay, we are so back on my amputee!SY train.

Also, for Cai Minyue, which you'll read below, it's spelled and pronounced 蔡 珉月 (Cài Mínyuè).

Prev: Part 4

---

The day of the crowning ceremony is one most of the remaining wives had come to expect. Sure, none of them were going to be empress, but honestly? Good for Shen Yuan. As much as the man called himself lazy, they knew of people with limbs substantially less dedicated to ecological maintenance, foreign diplomacy, and proper record-keeping.

Sure, he'd had to have a servant write for him at first, but he very much preferred writing through qi control, especially since, once he got the hang of it, he was much faster at getting his own words on paper. And boy does he have a lot to say.

His efficiency at the position aside, he also genuinely loves Luo Binghe.

In lieu of hands, he'll press his forehead against Luo Binghe's when he suspects that the latter's qi is unsettled. Although Binghe acts like he's an open book, Shen Yuan picks up on his moods easier, even the minute things. He's also very, very indulgent of him, but nobody's perfect.

But, perhaps it's that indulgence that has helped Binghe heal into the better person he's becoming.

Fantastic. Good for them, honestly.

Though, that didn't mean Shen Yuan wasn't, somehow, inexplicably still unsure as to why Luo Binghe wanted to make him empress despite having been married to him for several months by this point.

"He could do better," he insists as the servants dry his hair.

"Like, on the chance I really am Shen Jiu somehow, this really isn't something I deserve—" he pauses, voice wavering slightly as the Sha Hualing huffs at him to be still and puts the liner more cleanly around his eyes.

"Seriously, he has you and Liu Mingyan and Ning Yingying and Cai Minyue—"

"Are you complimenting the Little Palace Mistress right now?" Liu Mingyan asks, pinning his hair crown in place.

"She's rough around the edges, yes, but she's not a bad person."

"She hates you, though," Sha Hualing reminds him.

"And that's fair! If I expected to become empress at some point since he grew his empire on the remains of Huan Hua Palace, only to have my husband do some spells on his abusive shizun, marry him, then make him empress when he'd been imprisoned in the Water Prison for the crimes said shizun did against said husband, I'd hate me, too!"

At Sha Hualing's sigh and roll of her eyes, Liu Mingyan leaned from behind him toward his left side, where his remaining eye was.

"Do you love Binghe?"

"Of course I do," he says easily.

"And you trust him to make his own decisions?"

"Yes, he's a grown demon emperor. But—"

"And you trust that he loves you?"

"I...well..." He glances away, his thin face already starting to redden. "I don't get why, but—"

"But you trust that he loves you, yes?"

A simple but elegant fan rises up from the nearby table and opens in front of his face, hiding his nose and mouth from view.

"...Yes."

"Then, that's all the reason needed for him to make you his empress, is it not?"

"Well...it's just..." He starts fanning himself. "...from a political standpoint—"

"You can just say you're nervous, idiot," Sha Hualing snarls heatlessly, pinning another flower near his crown.

He keeps complaining and trying to reason with why he shouldn't be empress despite being perfectly suitable and wanted for the position, but it's not like he actually fights the process. By this point, the remaining wives closest to him knows he avoids and extrapolates and spins his own mind in place, but his actions often say more than his words do.

More than once, he's huffed and griped at them without any harmful intent. He's called Binghe "shameless" while allowing him to do as he pleased. Whenever the demon emperor would call him "wife," he'd huff and hide his face behind his fan and say "Who's your wife?" while turning away, only to lean in when his husband went to kiss him.

He only really said "No" when he truly thought or meant it, giving weak and petulant excuses when he seemed to not want to verbally agree in an almost coquettish display. And, when flustered, he rarely gave his agreement in simple language. If one didn't read between the lines, they could call him a hot-and-cold sort of spouse, but anyone who knew his language could tell he was almost always, unfathomably, full of warmth.

Even on quiet days—when his qi feels jagged and he seems overstimulated by the smallest things, strung tight and unfocused, his words coming out with more bite than intended—he was still warm underneath it.

Sha Hualing and Liu Mingyan watched as that warmth faltered upon the interruption of Cang Qiong Sect, their qi rolling and swords unsheathed as they protested his crowning, arriving right before it was set to add to the one already in his hair as a representation of his elevating status.

Yue Qingyuan's immense qi bowled some of the guards over, guests falling to their knees with others scrambling to get out of the way. Several other peak lords were also in attendance. Liu Mingyan's eyes narrowed upon seeing her shifu, Qi Qingqi giving her a look like a betrayed mother.

"Luo Binghe, you have long gone too far!" the sect leader bellowed, his voice commanding attention.

But Binghe himself just smiled, his eyes crinkling despite the light not reaching them.

"My, Sect Leader Yue. If this lord recalls, he did not invite you to this occasion. In fact, I explicitly remember banning you and the rest of Cang Qiong Sect from attendance."

"Shen Qingqiu was a member of our sect and your shizun. Yet, after debasing him to such a degree, you dare make a mockery of him in this manner? Your idea of just punishment has strayed too far. Cease this humiliation immediately!"

"This lord doesn't understand what you mean by 'humiliation.' I am not so wasteful as to pay such attention and money for an empress crowning ceremony as a paltry joke."

"So you intend to make a mind-broken man the empress to your throne? Hah. It seems you truly are more of a blasphemous fool than even I expected," Qi Qingqi said, her eyes ablaze.

As the two groups continued fighting, Liu Mingyan looked to Shen Yuan, who was mysteriously quiet, his shoulders hunched. From the way he was turned, seated to face Luo Binghe as he placed the crown in his hair, his blind side was to the sect now proclaiming their grievances in his stead.

Yu Qingyuan's pressure increased, and Luo Binghe spread his qi to match. The air churned and coiled with it, some guests having fainted while others hid beneath their seats and nearby tables or other such places. The ones who could somewhat withstand it armed themselves against the sect members, considering most attendees were demonic in nature. That said, the ones more sensitive to qi were looking pale and ill.

"Binghe."

Immediately, Luo Binghe reined in his pressure, turning toward Shen Yuan, adoration plain in his eyes. As though the others weren't there, he returned to his side and got to his knee before him as he often did so Shen Yuan did not have to crane his neck to look up at him.

Whatever look was on his face caused Binghe's expression to sour with concern.

"Yes, this lord is here."

A moment, then Shen Yuan sat up, his shoulders lowering as he straightened his posture. A fan laid still on Shen Yuan's lap. Liu Mingyan could almost imagine how he'd be sitting: his hands politely still, legs tucked slightly under the chair.

The very image of an ethereal, untouchable immortal.

"Our guests are suffering. Perhaps we should have this discussion elsewhere."

"But, your crowning..."

"It can wait until tomorrow. It can't be helped as it is."

"...If it's what you wish."

"Thank you."

Binghe's smile returned, though it was one of his softer, more genuine ones.

"You need not thank me, my beloved."

He lightly held Shen Yuan's chin, and he kissed his forehead, right where his huadian dyed his skin red. Some of the sect members choked in outrage, and Yue Qingyuan's pressure strengthened even further.

"Sect Leader Yue, restrain yourself," Luo Binghe called out. "You invade my palace and harm my guests by throwing your weight around. Have you no shame as a righteous cultivator?"

"You—"

"My beloved requests your acquiescence."

"You dare to call him as such after what you sent to me... After what you've done to him—"

The fan on Shen Yuan's lap raised up, opening slowly before snapping shut. The sound echoed in the area, powered by qi. After all, as the former Qing Jing Peak lord, the arts, and sound, were something he studied immensely, if he was indeed some incarnation of Shen Jiu.

"Yue Qingyuan, cease."

And, as though flipping a switch, the sect leader's qi calmed, pulling back in as though he never let it out. Though, perhaps it was less out of obedience toward him and more out of shock for the irritation in his voice. After all, he sounded...quite sane.

Shen Yuan turned toward them, finally looking at them with his eye, the fan opening back as it hid the lower half of his face. From Liu Mingyan's angle, she could see the unhappy frown on his balmed and lightly painted lips.

"...It seems you wish to protest."

"What?" Qi Qingqi murmured.

"If you want to do so, we can at an appropriate setting. However, here is not it. We've invited these people here for a celebration, not to be harmed."

Wei Qingwei looked firmly at Shen Yuan, likely thinking him possessed by some spirit...and wouldn't he be able to tell? If only Hong Jing could leave the mountain. Maybe Shen Yuan's confusion could also be resolved. Meanwhile, the murmurs and whispers from the sect were already referring to him as brainwashed and incapable of making judgements.

Luo Binghe quickly silenced the whispers by calling out orders, directing servants to tend to their crowning guests as the meeting would occur in the court hall.

Binghe shot a look toward Liu Mingyan, and she nodded back, leaving to find two people they needed for this.

Well...she hoped it wouldn't happen, as did Luo Binghe to a certain extent. However, since the sect did indeed come, they might as well use what they'd prepared.

---

It clicked to Shen Yuan as he was set in his seat beside Binghe's throne that, perhaps, this was all something that Binghe planned.

The court hall was already prepared, and the curtains hanging from the walls were more luxurious than usual. Maybe he could've put it off as simple decorating changes, but there was a nagging feeling in his gut that this had been carefully staged. Not in a fake or false sense, but in a sense that it had been carefully prepared.

He looked up toward Binghe as he placed him on the cushion, his husband carefully settling his clothes before gazing at him with dark eyes full of a profound regard that made him almost feel like crying.

"Hmm?"

Shen Yuan opened his fan, floating it in front of his face as he turned away.

"Nothing."

When his eye slid back over to Binghe's face, he saw the demon emperor's grin as he leaned in and kissed him on his cheek. If his fan lowered to allow him to do so, no it didn't.

"My A-Yuan is so magnanimous. Don't worry, we will certainly have you crowned by tomorrow, if not tonight."

"Who's telling you to rush, ah? Sit, Binghe. People are entering."

The chuckle that rumbled low in Binghe's chest thrummed in his own. After the demon emperor placed one more kiss on his cheek, this time closer to his ear—despite knowing they had become more sensitive since his other senses were muted, you menace—he sat on his throne and, once their guests settled, directed that the sect be allowed to enter.

The doors opened, and they were allowed to enter, but Shen Yuan found it difficult to keep looking at them.

The memory—dream—of them standing in the central crowd overlapped with the current situation. Though, they were a bit displaced. Back then, in the dream, he'd been lower down, bound in immortal binding cables and forced to kneel on knees he no longer had, coughing from continued exposure with the acidic air of the lowest depths of the Water Prison.

This time, though, outside of the dream, he was sitting on a throne of his own. One soon to be completely his in an official sense.

Yue Qingyuan sent him an imploring look, as though he hadn't failed to show up for him again.

...Why hadn't he showed up for him? The book never explained it. Hell, it never explained why Shen Qingqiu had hated Luo Binghe, nor had it explained why Shen Qingqiu felt so betrayed and snappy toward Yue Qingyuan. So many blasted plot holes.

At least now, through the dreams, he was able to get some context.

But Yue Qingyuan was always there, wasn't he? And Shen Qingqiu...he'd definitely asked why he didn't come save him. Yue Qingyuan would always just give him that same, imploring, apologetic look.

He was beginning to understand why the original goods had been so disgusted by it. Having it directed at him now felt similarly irritating.

"Now that we've uprooted our plans for these righteous cultivators, this lord would love to hear why you all have come to a crowning you were not invited to," Binghe sneered, seeming to also dislike the look Yue Qingyuan was sending him.

Or, well, maybe he had a personal reason to dislike him...

Ah. That was very possible, wasn't it? After all, he despised Qing Jing Peak, but he hated Cang Qiong entirely, with some sort of incident having interrupted his plans to raze it to the ground.

Yue Qingyuan, as the sect leader and someone personally involved in his life, had to have known what Shen Qingqiu was doing to Luo Binghe. And he did nothing.

Hmm.

"—to defile your shizun in this manner. We already gave you justice during his trial years back. What more do you want from him?"

"To become my empress, clearly," Binghe humored.

Many in the witnessing crowd laughed, while others tried to conceal their discomfort, perhaps swayed by whatever Yue Qingyuan said. Or maybe they'd always felt a bit uncomfortable about the idea of him as empress. Who knew?

"If we're to speak of justice, then Cang Qiong should consider their judgement overdue... And Shen Qingqiu's justice long ignored."

Eh?

Wait, Binghe, what's this??

"As uninvited as you all are, this lord is grateful for your impudence. Before the crowning of my empress, shall we have a retrial?"

Ehhh??

----

Binghe: Trap card activated.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5: here Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Part 11+: links on Part 10

AO3

[graceshouldwrite]

How to Write Devastating Betrayals (Pt. 1)

Here are some elements + tips on satisfying betrayals that will destroy both your characters AND your readers!

1. Relationship Between Trust and Betrayal 

The #1 Betrayal Rule:

MORE TRUST = WORSE BETRAYAL

This is because TRUST implies 2 main things:

The traitor has probably PROVEN their trustworthiness, and now has a shared history + bond with the character they’re betraying 

The traitor probably has access to a LOT OF INFORMATION about the character, whether it’s career-wise or personal. Probably at least some information the character considers STRICTLY confidential 

An act of betrayal undermines Point 1 by manipulating Point 2 to their advantage.

So, if you want your betrayal to DESTROY, have the traitor be CLOSE with the character they’re about to betray. Lets compare examples: 

you are a gang boss. You hire a new recruit who doesn’t really know anything except one insignificant operation, like “today we buy groceries at 2PM”

your recruit tells the rival gang about the grocery trip   

→ betrayal doesn’t really matter that much

you probably didn’t place much trust in a new recruit 

the implications of information leak are insignificant 

→ not much plot weight 

On the other hand:

you find out that the entire time, your RIGHT HAND MAN (also your childhood friend!) has been feeding information to the rival gang and sabotaging your operations 

→ HURTS a lot more emotionally

might ruin everything you’ve built, career-wise, for good 

→ LOTS of plot weight

From a completely SECULAR PLOT STANDPOINT (please don’t come for me, theologians), Judas’ betrayal of Jesus is a good example because:

Judas was one of Jesus’ disciples, a.k.a. the people considered closest to him, and who followed Jesus throughout all of his preaching years

Judas’ information about Jesus’ identity and whereabouts led to Jesus’ crucifixion → LOTS of plot weight (the entire Bible from a Christian standpoint foreshadows this moment, and every point after is spreading word of this moment. Talk about plot implications!)  

ONCE AGAIN, I know all the “Jesus knew and allowed it to happen” “it was the will of God” stuff but this is purely used as a good plot example!!!!

2. Reason for Betrayal

“’Cause it’s super edgy/evil/cool” is DEFINITELY not a valid option. 

All the plot points in a book build towards achieving a goal, and all the characters do things they think will get them closer to what they want. Likewise, the traitor must want a specific thing that ONLY betrayal can get them, or that betrayal can get them more efficiently. 

People generally portray typical traitors as: 

completely selfish with no personality trait aside from infinite ambition and ruthless pragmatism

a hero whose had enough

someone who sees the person they betrayed as a “worthless disposable” or something 

Traitors don’t have to be morally bankrupt, even though betrayal is typically seen as something inherently bad, or just a bad means to a good end at best. 

They can be conflicted about the betrayal (like Macbeth delaying his murder of King Duncan), remorseful about it (like Discord from MLP feeling super guilty after he hands the main protagonists over to the villain), or even do it for the “greater good.”

e.g. Brutus thought Caesar was becoming too power hungry, and would destroy the republic by becoming a dictator, so Brutus betrayed him to preserve the republic 

→ example of a betrayal that was NOT self-serving

However, building on the MLP Discord example, a traitor can also have been manipulated into it themselves. 

(For context, the villain basically promised Discord lots of power if he handed over the protagonists, but then the villain also sucked away Discord’s powers afterwards—won’t bother explaining MLP magic mechanics LOL) 

3. Foreshadow It 

A satisfying betrayal is usually a subtle, looming shadow that creeps over your plot before it makes its grand entrance during the scene when the character realizes the traitor sold them out. 

A good example is in Shakespeare’s dramatization of Brutus’ betrayal: 

Brutus’ loyalty to the REPUBLIC is made super clear throughout. When Caesar starts deviating, seeming more dictatorial, Brutus remains firm.

Their values are CLEARLY conflicting, so SOMETHING has to be done. Either:

they reconcile by both agreeing on either dictatorship or democracy

they turn on each other...and that’s what happens

Basically, planting the possibility in your reader’s mind is a great way to foreshadow a betrayal. 

Other ideas could be: 

traitor begins suddenly acting a lot warmer to the unsuspecting character, or even colder right BEFORE the betrayal

traitor is always TOO obedient and/or sycophantic 

traitor acts suspicious, e.g. caught in lies, using inconsistent body language (ex. pretending to cry when talking about something really bad), caught talking to people they shouldn’t be talking to (e.g. rival gang)

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

stay tuned for part 2!

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated <3333

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

[starbeltconstellation]

Since you are a passionate jedi fan, I would be interested in your opinion on a thing I noticed on AO3. There is a fanon that is inspired by Ancient Greek scholars having had sex with their pupils. In the fics there is a special night in which the masters have to fuck their padawans because it is tradition. Sex and AO3, you ask? What's new, you ask? What is new is that the writers explicitely write in their notes that the institutionalized fucking of the padawans is their way to show how corrupt and morally bad the jedi are. But how is something that fanfic writers completely made up to get more readers (because sex sells) a critique of the jedi in canon? No matter what answer I come up with, it is weird. Are these fanfic writers fetishizing a law allowing teachers to fuck their students, feel bad for their own arousal and try to shrug it off by making themselves believe that they are just writing these sex scenes for a "good cause"? I mean, if they hated the jedi so much, why would they write about them? The MCU or DC would get them more readers, right? I simply can't come up with a satisfying answer to why this mental gymnastics exist. I know this is a very long ask, but please address it if it is of any interest to you as well!

Hi, anon! 👋💕✨

Sooooo deeply sorry for the long wait time. 😭😖💔 Things just got away from me, and I kept putting off my response because I wanted to make sure I had the time to give the nitty gritty of my thoughts on your ask.

And as a pro jedi fan and a SW fan in general… I just have to say… ew. 😭☹️🤢💔

And it’s not necessarily that I’m trying to SHAME people that write darker or more sexual stuff (even though there are some things that just genuinely baffle me why ANYONE would enjoy writing something so horrible, but then again, I’ve never been a fan of horror movies, sooo… 😂🤷‍♀️).

And look, I’m aware that fiction is separate from reality and not necessarily a show of a person’s morals (it’s FAKE, at the end of the day), but at the same TIME, I believe people on this app and just in fandom spaces in general sometimes purposely plug their ears and sing “lalalala” by pretending that how we interact with the world doesn’t shape our perception and psyche to SOME degree.

And this isn’t me saying that if someone writes something like “noncon” or “whump” that they’re going to go out and hurt anybody! That’s the EXTREME reaction that conservative panic tries to drum up by pretending that people have no self control and need to be shielded from “corruption 🙄” or something like that. But what I DO believe is that seeing stories (whether love stories or family stories in general) WILL affect how someone can come to view relationships. This is on a tier scale, obviously. Kids and teenagers will have a harder time grasping why “365 Days” is not a modern Beauty and the Beast movie. 😭🤦‍♀️ BUT… with ADULTS… it’s easier to separate fiction from reality… in a CONSCIOUS way. But for me, from a psychological standpoint, if a person grows up with a specific attraction to certain toxic love stories that are PRESENTED as healthy when they just aren’t—it’s POSSIBLE that they can unconsciously seek out someone who fits that mold. I don’t think this is the NORM—but it IS a possibility, and that’s why I think it’s so important to recognize yourself and your own wants and needs in the real world and ask yourself “Does this make me feel safe and happy? Or just obsessively DESIRED?” and other things such as that.

Anyway, I got a little off topic (which I often do 😭😅), but my POINT is my disgust isn’t necessarily about these writers’s choices on exploring such darker themes in their work if they truly want to—it’s THEIR fic, at the end of the day. But what DOES disgust me is (yes, dear anon, you guessed it! 🙃🙃) that apparently writers are USING this trope to create even MORE anti Jedi rhetoric when there is already SO much of it in the community in general (and that god awful ‘The Acolyte’ show only made the hatred and genocide apologia worse, even though I do acknowledge the show wasn’t given as much of a chance as Ahsoka and The Mandolrian shows were).

Just as The Acolyte had to INVENT an entire scenario where the “EMPATHETIC SPACE MONKS 😭🤦‍♀️” of the galaxy apparently cover up a massacre which DIRECTLY parallels Anakin Skywalker’s descent to the Dark Side—which makes NO goddamn sense that it’s truly LAUGHABLE—you have brought to me a fic trope scenario where the writer has apparently INVENTED something that was NEVER canon to show how “corrupt 🙄” the Jedi Order is—before they stand back and go “haha! 😌 See? SUCHHH horrible people.”, as if they didn’t just invent that scenario in THEIR own head to justify their bias against the Jedi and their way of life.

It’s very similar to the uncharitable views that certain parts of the SW fandom (specifically the Anidala and the radical Anakin fans) have towards the Jedi in regards to NONCANON info that we do NOT truly know (such as why Anakin never visited Shimi all that time), before just CHOOSING the most uncharitable and mean spirited view of the Jedi that they can, which is saying—“Well, the Jedi Order must have a strict policy on NEVER seeing your birth family again, or they’ll be kicked out! 🤪🤪”, when there is NOTHING in canon to ever give any indication of that. It’s literally fanon that has somehow all but become canon in the eyes of the fandom, and I haven’t the foggiest clue how it happened (yes I do. 🙄🫠 It’s because SW fans LIKE Anakin, so of COURSE they don’t want to admit he was in the wrong or that he could’ve taken things too personally or the wrong way—so they settle on, “Those mean Jedi must’ve bullied him and kept him from his mom! 😡🤪”🙄🤦‍♀️).

Fans will make something up out of thin air—literally twisting themselves into KNOTS to try and excuse Anakin’s choices while blaming everyone else to pretend it’s not his fault and he didn’t truly have a choice (COMPLETELY untrue)—while at the very same TIME, giving absolutely NONE of that courtesy to the Jedi Order themselves. The Jedi’s actions are nitpicked to DEATH. Everything they do—choosing to fight in the war to save lives instead of sitting on the sidelines to watch the galaxy burn, not worshiping the ground Anakin walked on to try and teach him humility and grace and respect, literally putting their LIVES on the line RIGHT BESIDE THE CLONES each day on the battlefield, Mace going to arrest Palpatine before realizing the man would never be convicted at a corrupt trial—NONE of it is ever enough.

They are 10,000 strong (NOT taking into consideration how some are younglings or retired Jedi), and yet they are judged with the sharpness of a knife that they cannot solve every damn trillions of problems in the galaxy.

They are a literal DROP in the ocean. It is LAUGHABLE to expect them to somehow be able to end slavery throughout the galaxy in the Outer Rim without the backing of the Republic’s help (which they definitely would NOT choose to help the Jedi, and even if somehow they DID, it would STILL be a long and tedious thing that would take DECADES to fully accomplish), and it is even MORE ludicrous to BLAME the JEDI FUCKING ORDER of all people for the Clones’s situation, like they could just stroll into the Senate building and wave their lightsabers around to suddenly give the clones their (deserved) rights, or to expect them to somehow—what? Kidnap all the clones (because a lot of clones would sadly NOT go willingly because of their brainwashing indoctrination that this is what they were ‘made for’) and run from fighting in the war? Where the hell do people expect them to GO? How do people expect the Jedi to be able to take CARE of all those people (INCLUDING their own) in such a situation without the Republic backing or the Temple walls?—be able to just magically give the clones rights or to just magically be able to say no to fighting in the war as if that would somehow do ANYTHING for the clones instead of just placing them under the rule of men like Tarkin.

The one thing I will concede is that (WHILE being in the war, because YES, despite what some people believe, it was UNAVOIDABLE. Palpatine definitely made sure of that) the Jedi probably needed to learn to get more into politics to control their image in the eyes of the public (ironic, considering how many people blame them for their own genocide by saying they were ‘too involved in politics 🙄’ when the TRUTH is that they did everything to AVOID being in the political sphere because they heavily disliked it). There is a bit of (gentle-hearted) naïveté here, because they all assume that the citizens of the galaxy will just SEE that the Jedi are trying to protect them. But people get selfish and greedy REAL fast when their lives become affected badly by things happening around them. And the more the war dragged on, the more citizens of the galaxy (disgustingly) latched onto Palpatine’s slowly growing propaganda that the Jedi were somehow the big bad villains of the war and not like—oh, I don’t know—the fucking SENATE. 😭🙄🤦‍♀️

My POINT is that—you’re RIGHT, anon. This fic trope you’ve brought up is (while HEAVILY ew in my eyes 😭🤢) just one part of a growing infection of the SW fandom where it’s becoming the “edgy” take to blame the Jedi (the VICTIMS) for their own genocide, instead of placing the blame at the politicians’s feet, where it belongs. Palpatine wasn’t able to gain this power ALONE. The Senate makes it EASY for him. Because they’re all out for themselves at the end of the day (YES, even Padmé, who would’ve taken Anakin’s tusken massacre to the grave if she’d had the chance), and even the ones that DO care about the bills they’re trying to push to help change things STILL are in such a position of privilege (ironic, considering fandom pretends the Jedi Order is ‘privileged’, when they are anything but and are more of a ‘model minority’ group struggling desperately to keep the soft power they have to at the very LEAST have a place at the Senate’s side to TRY and make them see reason sometimes) that they forget about the little people suffering underneath them (Padmé has to be REMINDED of this by one of her handmaidens at one point).

The point is that George Lucas intended the SENATE to be the corruption of the Prequels that brought about their own doom. Not the fucking JEDI. 😭🤦‍♀️ But somehow, SW fandom has rewritten their memories to somehow believe this to be true. But if they’d watch ANY George Lucas interview, they’d see this is not the case. And people are allowed to have different interpretations of stories at the end of the day—but what IS ridiculous is how certain anti Jedi fans SHAMELESSLY try to rewrite history by outright STATING that it WAS GL’s original intent to portray the Jedi as ‘corrupt 🙄’, which is just… SO far from accurate that it’s laughable.

But yeah, at the end of the day, the REAL ‘villain’ (besides the Sith) of the prequels is the SENATE, because THEY are the ones who should be doing their jobs, but who are INSTEAD lining their pockets or kissing up to the clueless citizens of the galaxy come election time, while apathetically expecting the Jedi Order to solve all the problems that the SENATE is too damn lazy and selfish to solve.

The one conclusion I can make is that if the Jedi HAD realized they’d need to play the game of politics to keep in the public’s good graces—then you bet your ASS they would have been on intergalactic interview after intergalactic interview subtly “hinting” at the clones’s lack of rights and plight to try and stir up public outcry—because THAT is how you get true change. By changing things from WITHIN the very public itself. Because THAT is the only thing that will make the Senate LISTEN—is if they’re at risk of losing votes later on down the line.

Anyway, I of course went on the longest of rants once again. Lol. 😂😅 But I hope the long wait time was worth this response! 😊❤️💕

-

To any readers that stumble across this and are curious enough to check out my fic:

-

Tags:

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[3d-wifey]

TBOSAS was a great movie and an even greater miss---here's why:

The problem here is no fault of the movie. It's not that it isn't a good adaptation or that it cut out too many important scenes. The casting was amazing, the acting phenomenal, the writing and plot translated immaculately into the screenplay format, and the ending was tragically beautiful. All of those boxes are ticked. The problem lies with one thing: Coriolanus Snow.

To understand what I mean, I'll bring the main trilogy to the stand. All of the books were written in first person from Katniss's pov. There were things that we as the audience don't know because Katniss doesn't know them and vise versa all do to her inner monologue. But there are also things we as the audience do know that Katniss doesn't because she's an unreliable narrator. She often misreads people because, whether she'll admit it or not, she's highly suspicious of those that aren't obviously weaker than her and is quick to judge in general. Her biases and black and white moral standpoint can be attributed to her environment, ptsd, and, though not confirmed, Autism (source: I'm actually Dr. Autism) or bpd. So, in this case, she's unreliable, but we understand it's not malicious and it was translated well in the movie (i.e. her thinking Peeta wanted her dead, her thinking Peeta is only acting like he's in love with her, her misconceptions about Finnick.)

Coriolanus Snow on the, other hand, is an entirely different case. He's a bad person at the start of the book and that isn't up for debate. His thoughts about Lucy Gray should make you angry, let alone about people who knew and cared for him for years (Tigris and Sejanus). He is also an unreliable narrator, but in a completely different sense than him. While hers is founded in ignorance and defensiveness, his is built in paranoia and narcissism. He's obsessive, possessive, demeaning to any and everyone, and thinks he's owed more than he is and hates anyone that has what he doesn't. We get all this through his inner thoughts as well (him hating the very idea of Lucy Grey being with anyone before him and likening her to a whore---implying she's slept with peacekeepers, wanting to own her in the literal sense of the word hating Sejanus for having basic human empathy, hating looking down on the Plinths who have been nothing but kind to him, so on and so forth). I say he's bad because, though he hasn't done any of the horrible things he thinks about or acts on them is because he didn't have the power or social standing to back them, something he has plenty of as a president. All this to say, the movie lacks that insight into the character that we gain with Katniss. Enough that people that have only watched the movie genuinely believe he was a nice person drove to the brink or thought there was a little gray area in regards to his morality. Enough that people that think the actor is hot will say they like "Coryo" not Snow, or some people send hate mail to the author because they think she tried to humanize him/excuse his behavior, the exact opposite of the point of the book. I don't fault the movie too harshly for this too harshly. Other than having a voice over, they could do very little to convey his every horrid thought. And because of this and Tom's phenomenal acting, Snow was able to manipulate the audience just like everyone else he fucked over.

Snow is a narcissist who can't wrap his mind around people genuinely being kind while having no ulterior motives, because he would never do that from the kindness of his heart. He thinks everyone is trying to back stab him and want to turn on him and are out to get him or are trying to embarrass him because that is what he would do if he was in their position. Unlike Katniss, he can read people and he can act his ass off, but unlike Katniss, he can't see the best in people because he doesn't want to/it doesn't benefit him. He had many opportunities to do the right thing or the kind thing and actively chose not to.

He, more than anyone in the Capitol, even more than Sajanus, should know what the Districts go through. He grew up poor, starved, and was forced to grow up too soon. He knows what it means to have nothing, be starved, and go into the arena and almost be killed. Yet, he looks down on them and sends children who were younger than him when he went into the arena, to their deaths because it benefits him.

He's a horrible person. He's always been bad, but he strove to be worse. I'm not saying the movie wasn't able to portray this in it's own way, but since it's not as obvious and in your face if you're too focused on how cute you think his face is, you can miss it. You'll find reasons to justify his actions just like he does and, ironically, become like his inner monologue where he continuously made himself the victim in almost every scenario.

Again, great movie! Fantastic even, my I beg of you, read a book. Or watch a youtube essay about it.

[blackphanto]

Chucky predictions

SPOILER WARNING FOR CHUCKY S3E5!

I wanna make Chucky theories so bad, but I can't think of any! This show is so crazy that I can't even predict or speculate on what could happen next. There are some people teasing on twitter though and all they've been doing is making me even more hyped for how this season is going to end. So here are some of my predictions based on everything that's been teased so far.

Jake will enter the spirit realm:

I don't think he's necessarily going to die, but he's so fixated on ending Chucky for good to the point where he refused to run away from it all like Devon suggested. And we've heard the doctor, the only way you get to the spirit realm is by dying, but what if you didn't need to die? I believe that thanks to all the supernatural shit occurring there, the White House will become some sort of passage between the two realms. Jake will cross it to try and destroy Charles' soul, but if he will fail or succeed is still debatable...

Caroline helps Chucky get young again:

If Jake fails in permanently killing Chucky, Caroline will come to the rescue. We know she'll be back, but what role will she play in this mess? When she'll return, all hell already would've broken loose and she'll just make it worse. Her sudden entrance at the White House will cause quite the emotional reunion for Lexi and her. Yet, Caroline didn't come alone. Armed with the Voodoo for Dummies book, sure, but she brought another friend, who's none other than the Good Guy Doll creator played by John Waters. He came with a new doll, a new vessel for Charles and with Caroline's newfound knowledge of Voodooism, she'll get Damaballa's blessings and give Chucky a new body, a new chance to not disappoint the almighty Iowa and if he plays his cards right, he might even become forever young.

Grant will survive:

I don't have any evidence to back this up, I just like him and think it's unfair that Lexy always has to say goodbye to someone she loves each season and I just don't want it to happen again. From a psychology standpoint it just desensitized her and would lead to her not getting attached to anyone else besides Jake & Devon next season, in fear of someone else always having to die because of her. And from a writing perspective it just gets repetitive, predictable and boring. So please Don Mancini don't kill him, also I love Jackson Kelly.

The past will haunt everyone:

Charles Lee Ray isn't the only ghost the Terror Trio will have to deal with in the newly supernatural possessed White House. We've seen the past of the Collins family haunt them time and time again, we've seen Henry talk about ghosts and fearing what they told him almost every single episode. Why would that stop at Joseph or Charles? Wouldn't it be horrible for our trio to be faced with the lives they lost thanks to a doll they couldn't stop? How would Jake react upon seeing his father again, disappointed at him for being gay. And Lexy, the poor girl, facing Junior, the boy she watched die, trying to save her... Not making at least one ghost of the past come back would be a wasted opportunity.

Tiffany will survive, but Jennifer's body might not:

Tiffany's possible death has been brought up in every interview Jennifer Tilly made following the comeback of Chucky season 3. At this point it even became a ‘will they, won't they’ situation. Does Mancini really have the guts to kill off a cult favorite character and actress he loves so much? Or will we just say goodbye to seeing Tilly on screen and welcome only her voice? I mean the trailer kinda made it clear for me that this isn't the end of Tiffany's story, but maybe that of Jennifer's body.

[bumblequinn]

Hi! Medium time listener (I followed after slarpg altered my brain chemistry), first timer asker! What is your process when it comes to composing for games? Is it any different when the subject changes (personal, commission, etc)?

hehehe, well i hope that alteration was a positive one! 😋

so i think there's kind of two sides to this: there's the creative process, and the collaborative process.

The Creative Process

my creative process is actually pretty similar whether i'm working on contract or for personal enjoyment.

first, i consider:

the needs of the prompt in front of me (is it a save menu or a boss battle? is it a tense scene is or a tender one?)

how it should fit into the bigger picture of the whole project (mood/tone, genre, leitmotifs, instrumentation, production style, etc)

what tools i will need to use (subtractive synth or sampler or soundfont or live recording?)

then, i typically write what i call a "skeleton:" just the barest bones of a piece of music. i almost always do this on piano, dividing the bass, harmony, and melody into very distinct registers. i do it this way for several reasons learned the hard way:

first, by dividing parts into clearly delineated registers, i'm saving myself a whole lot of trouble down the line. i have long had a bad habit of over-crowded arrangements, which besides being weaker from a composition standpoint, are also notoriously difficult to mix. and mixing is already hard enough as it is! so writing a strong and well balanced composition from the outset is the best way to go.

second: when you jump into arranging or mixing before the whole piece is written, it's much easier to get stuck. where should i take this track next? i dunno, guess i'll fiddle with the mix. suddenly a week's gone by and i'm still working on a half-written track. if i require myself to write the whole piece out first, then this bottleneck is almost always eliminated.

sometimes you can get really excited about an idea, get carried away with arranging and producing a whole track, get to feeling really attached to it—only for your collaborator to say it's just not the right direction. by limiting myself to one instrument, i don't put in a disproportionate amount of work before confirming whether or not the piece is actually a good fit. and bonus, if it's not a good fit then i have a piece of music written that can serve another project later (or another part of the current project, if i'm lucky)!

of course, i'm not always perfect about this. even very recently, i got really stoked about a track i was cooking up for susan taxpayer and went BANANAS with it—only for punkitt to say she loved it but it wasn't at all the right vibe. a hard but necessary reminder of why i try not to get carried away prematurely!

(don't worry, the one i made to replace it fit like a glove, and the first attempt is gonna be used elsewhere. love wins 😌)

once i do have confirmation that i'm headed in the right direction with an idea though, that's where i really get into it with choosing instruments, designing synths, figuring out the production style, etc. and there's where the real back-and-forth with my collaborator begins, to make sure things are staying on track every step of the way. that leads us to:

The Collaborative Process

for starters, and probably most obviously, different people are different to work with. everyone has different strengths and challenges both creatively and interpersonally, so i try to meet my collaborator where they're at and tune in to their specific needs, vision, and communication style. within reason, i try not to look at these things as being "better" or "worse" with one person versus another, just different!

i think the biggest differences for me as far as how much time and energy i invest into a project are A) whether it's paid or pro bono, and B) my own level of personal excitement about the project.

if i'm doing something purely for fun, it's pretty exclusively because i'm really hyped about the project. because, well, it wouldn't be fun if i weren't, right? and in that situation, i enjoy giving it my all! susan taxpayer falls firmly into this category, and i'm having a blast with it.

SLARPG started out pretty similarly, but as the scope of the project grew, it evolved into more of a pro bono arrangement; bobby and i drafted up a contract and negotiated on how we would split earnings from the game once it released, and that's where i've gotten the vast majority of my income this year. it remained a passion project til the end, but i could not in good conscience put that much of my life into a project of that size unpaid, no matter how much i loved it! (maybe one day, if we collectively defeat capitalism and i no longer have to worry about such things... 🥲)

things get a bit different when you get into strictly contract work, though. when it's something i'm doing for a client who's paying from the start and it's not for my own enrichment, i have more hard and fast boundaries on how much of myself i put into the project. i have specific rates, and offer only so many free revisions before charging additional fees. sure, i can be horribly particular and will revise something a bazillion times to get it "just right" if i'm working on a passion project, but i'm not about to do that for like. a corporate commercial or whatever lol

whether it's for fun or all business, though, i always try to make something i'm proud of. because i want whomever i collaborate with to have something they're happy with in the end, of course! plus i'm kind of allergic to phoning it in, i'm too extra for that 😜

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i'm sure i could go on, but i think i'll leave it at that! pardon the slow response, it took me some time to formulate my thoughts for this one. thanks for the question, and take care ^^ 🎵