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bookishdaze · 5 months

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Noa and Mae as Romeo and Juliet in the Next Planet of the Apes Movie?

Here's why a potential "love story" between Mae and Noa, whether explicit or simply implied, may not be such a terrible idea.

Why? Because Shakespeare told me so, that's why.

"When in doubt, it's from Shakespeare....or the Bible." At least according to a book I had to read for high school, lol.

The biblical references in Caesar's trilogy have been pointed out multiple times already, and these movies have also been described as Shakespearean tragedies. So I thought, 'ok, what kind of Shakespearean tragedy will we have this time around?'

I'm first gonna start off with Hamlet in the Caesar trilogy. I'm also gonna mention other popular movies that are based on Shakespeare's plays. Not necessarily because it's concrete proof that this is what will happen in future POTA movies. This is me simply picking up certain storytelling beats and patterns I've noticed in some of my favorite movies.

It's not 100% the same, but there are some similarities. Also, this isn't anything new. Many have pointed this out before, but I love talking about this stuff!

The Lion King, Black Panther, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes are loosely based on Hamlet. A king or rightful heir is killed. Usually by an evil uncle, cousin, or family member. For some reason this always results in them falling off a very high cliff.

Everyone thinks they're dead, the evil relative takes power, and everything kinda sucks. There is not enough food in the Pride Lands under Scar's rule. Killmonger burns the heart-shaped herbs. Koba leads the apes to war against the humans.

The rightful ruler spends time in exile, recovering from their wounds and trauma. They might even get a visit or have a recollection of their dead father.

Then the rightful ruler comes back from the dead, challenges the usurper, and regains their rightful place upon the throne.

Now lets take a look at their sequels.

The Lion King 2 and Wakanda Forever share some similarities. They both follow another one of Shakespeare's popular plays, Romeo and Juliet.

Like the Montagues and Capulets, we have two rival kingdoms in both movies. We got the Pridelanders and the Outsiders. We also got the Wakandans and Talokanils.

The two heirs/rulers from both kingdoms meet. They hate and don't trust each other at first, but then they start to have compassion for the other. In Kiara and Kovu's case, they fall in love. Namor and Shuri don't fall in love, but after Namor shows her his underwater kingdom and what he has to protect, she softens and begins to understand him more. (They even got the whole Hades and Persephone thing going on, who are a couple in Greek mythology, by the way).

There are losses on both sides. Kovu's brother was killed while going after Simba. One of Namor's people was killed when Shuri was rescued by Nakia, and Shuri's mother, Queen Ramonda, died after Namor's attack on Wakanda. (Starts nervously eyeing Anaya here...)

These losses make things worse, by the way.

In the end, both pairs are able to bring the fighting between their people to a stop. The Outsiders are welcomed into Simba's pride. The Wakandans and Talokanils stop fighting after seeing their leaders return together.

In the end, they realize that they're the same. That they can't let hate and fear of the other side cloud their judgement.

Kiara tells her father, "A wise king once told me we are one....Look at them. They are us. What differences do you see?"

Shuri tells Namor while she spares his life, "Vengeance has consumed us. We cannot let it consume our people."

And I think this goes well with one of the core themes of these POTA movies. The apes are a mirror to humanity. We the audience are seeing us through them, and the characters in the movies themselves must come to the realization that they're the same.

Like when Caesar tells his son, "I always think ape better than human. I see now how much like them we are."

Maybe something similar like this will happen with Noa and Mae and whatever fight will happen between apes and humans. While I'm all for a good romance, it may end up being more like Namor and Shuri's case. There's something there. The tropes are present, but they don't fall in love. (At least not yet. Please Ryan Coogler, give me Nashuri endgame in Black Panther 3, hehe).

This is just a theory, by the way. This doesn't have to happen, but I just think it'd be neat. There would be differences though. What those differences would be, idk, but whatever happens in the next one, I can't wait!

"But but.... aren't you forgetting something?"

What's that?

"Don't they...ya know...both die at the end?"

Besides, they don't have to die. Things can be a little more hopeful for our two heroes 🙈

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prontaentrega · 5 months

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@fluctuating-fixations It's mostly about some specific word choices that don't really change the plot or the whole direction of the story so it's not like, an entirely different book, but they alter the whole tone of it and makes it worse to me. The first thing i noticed I didn't like about it was when Valentín first mentions Marta and he says "my girl" i immediately went he would not fucking say that!!!!!

In the original Spanish the word he uses for Marta is "compañera" which translates to partner or comrade (F). It's not the most common word to talk about your girlfriend in spanish so it's a deliberate choice on his part. What was the need to change it? to make it sound more natural? to make him sound less political?

In that same page he goes on to talk about his guerrilla comrades and he actually uses the word compañeros for them. The masculine/neutral form of the word he uses for Marta

But the one that really annoyed me is this one

Because in this part the word he uses in Spanish is, again, compañera. And idk about you but i think it has a completely different meaning if you say "if she's my woman, it's because she's in the struggle too" or if you say "if she's my comrade/partner, it's because she's in the struggle too." And besides he would never call anyone "his woman" it's just completely contrary to his whole character... this and a bunch of other small stuff like it mischaracterizes Valentín as more of a macho figure than he really is. And this is an issue i have with literally every adaptation and translation of this book tbh everyone's always so fixed on making this college educated communist latino more violent and sexist and angry. I wonder why

This one's minor but it also bothers me, when talking about the panther woman movie there's a character that in Spanish is "the architect colleague" but in English she's "the assistant" ????? what reason was for that other than misogyny

Maybe this is a non-issue and I'm nitpicking but with the book's narrative being exclusively a dialogue between two people, word choice is fundamental because this is the only way we have of knowing these characters. And especially on a book where gender expression and gender roles are such a main theme this is not like, getting mad because they switched coffe for tea on a sentence. Which I'm also mad about btw. They completely ditch any mention of the characters drinking mate and switch it for tea. Once again I'm asking what was the point? to make it all less exotic? to make it easier to understand to English speakers? having to look up what a mate is or just guess it from context isn't gonna kill anybody, but the translation is so afraid of alienating its gringo audience that it discards cultural context and reduces its only two characters to shallower versions of themselves. And I'd say the cultural context is pretty relevant because this is a book about two political prisoners under a dictatorship that was written and published when Puig's own country was under a neoliberal dictatorship. It's not Vonnegut's cat's cradle with a made up dictator in a made up country, this was actually the situation in Argentina in 1976.

And obviously someone who only speaks english won't notice any of this. What makes me sad about this is that none of the problems i have with it have to do with impossible cultural clashes, it would be extremely simple to fix all of that. It's a tragedy that the only english translation of a latin american book about gender and propaganda was made in 1976. But still I'd rather someone read the book even with the bad translation than not read it at all

#chizitxt #ive been wanting to complain about this translation for so long thanks for giving me an excuse ✌️#el beso de la mujer araña #id probably have more to complain about if i read more of it but i dumped it pretty early on

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artist-issues · 2 years

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Birds do it, bees do it, educated fleas do it,

let’s do it, let’s

REMAKE THE LIGHT FURY

Toothless used to be a realistic creature, designed to balance on the visual knife blade’s edge between appealing and terrifying. He borrowed his coloration from panthers and manta rays and his movement from cats because they are real animals that master that cute-fierce combo, too. He could look menacing and then loveable at the drop of a hat.

Then in HTTYD 2 somebody hit him with the Puppy Stick. I haven’t seen any better explanation of the visual problems with Toothless from HTTYD 1 to HTTYD 3 other than this Reddit user’s, so we’re just going to skip trying.

https://www.reddit.com/r/httyd/comments/qasmwo/toothless_head_comparison_by_durkishdragon/

Read that. Anyway. Let’s move on to the Light Fury. Everyone’s talked over and over the problems with the Light Fury’s design. So I don’t think I need to go into depth with that, either. Suffice to say, I believe that the way a character is designed should reflect their purpose in the story. She was never meant to be a species that was exciting to learn more about, unlike the Bewilderbeast or the Night Fury. She was just meant for cute interactions with Toothless. I think her design, sad as it is, reflects that lazy story direction.

BUT NOT OUR REDESIGNS. And mine is no exception! If I’m going to change the story structure of HTTYD 3 (and I am) then the Light Fury has to change, big time.

First we’ll talk about the species.

We all know there are more than one Light Fury visible in the third film, and that’s the idea I hinged my little “fix it” re-write of HTTYD3 on in this post. I’m not going to restate it, but a lot of it focuses on Hiccup and Toothless discovering a whole Fury Flock who has migrated out of distant, hostile lands and is resting near Berk on their way to the Hidden World.

This way, instead of the Love Interest Fury just serving as Catnip that makes Toothless act dippy and cuddly, they actually have a purpose—because they’re tied to a mystery. They’re the whole plot. This way, instead of Toothless waking through the woods and happening upon a single personality-bland version of himself with no build-up, the Light Furies are a whole community and species that the story spends as much time on as they did the Night Fury in the first film. Anyway. So while our heroes are uncovering all the interesting quirks and hierarchy of the Fury Flock, we’ll do the same!

So without further ado—bum-ba-da-dum, let me introduce you to—

The Sky Fury!

(Click for better view)

Yeah, okay, I know it’s a different name and not too terribly different a design, but hear me out below the cut

I don’t think that just because Toothless, is straight black with faintly darker markings (basically only visible in the first movie) that means every other Fury has to be one solid color either. And why should it be white? Most white animals in the wild who don’t live in snowy environments straight up die because of their lack of pigmentation. It makes them a target and it lets reptiles get sunburnt.

But we all know that white contrasted with Toothless’ black has a certain appeal. It’s more visually interesting than a samey-same color pairing between him and any would-be Love Interest. So I kept the white, like most re-designers do.

And then I thought, well, why would Furies have to worry about being spotted by enemies—they’re up in the sky all the time anyway. So instead of having the Furies be completely black and only able to blend in with shadows and the night sky, our Furies will be mottled.

Their markings will be more visible to let them camouflage against cloudscapes in the daytime—and just like black panthers are simply leopards with overwhelming black in their coats, Sky Furies are kind of like what Night Furies might look like if you could fade back some of that intense black and see the patterns underneath.

So our Sky Furies are mostly white, but with hints of blue and stormy gray underneath. The youngest Sky Furies are sky-blue around their horns—which, yes, they have horns and spiny spikes, not just smooth aquatic ridges. I basically leaned into what the original design for the Light Fury was supposed to be; rougher like an axolotl, with influences from a naturally-pale master of camouflage in the wild like the Snow Leopard or Clouded Leopard. We keep all the potential for cuteness without losing the fierceness.

Because you can’t tell me this:

Is nailing the fierce-end of the spectrum as perfectly as THIS DID:

So the Sky Furies are called Sky Furies because one, Light Fury is a dumb name. It sounds super made-up. Like they were really just trying to rhyme with “Night.” But “Sky” Fury indicates that there’s more to know about this type of Fury besides the fact that they’re associated with Toothless.

A few things about the Sky Fury Species:

- Only their two largest ear-flaps can move.

- They are better swimmers than Night Furies.

- They can camouflage, but they can’t echolocate.

- They communicate by clicking more often than roaring or other vocalizations. This is why their Old Night Fury leader calls to them by clicking his back spines together, open and shut.

- They have a complex social hierarchy. In one Flock, the leader’s rule is always obeyed; unlike other Dragon species, Furies aren’t susceptible to being “controlled” by an alpha. (This explains why Toothless was able to block out the Bewilderbeast in HTTYD 2. And we can just say he just needed some practice doing it, since he didn’t grow up with his own kind.) They just obey the leader in charge.

- Sky Furies must migrate from the Hidden World to Grimmel’s Land every thirty years. It is an instinctual urge, like Sea Turtles going on land to give birth or Manta Rays migrating. Theory has it their first nesting grounds were on the land Grimmel’s people built their village on top of. Ever since then, Sky Furies and Grimmel’s Tribe have been at intense war. This leaves them with no tolerance at all for humans—in fact, they’ve begun viewing people as a particularly impressive part of their food chain.

- Sky Furies are strategic, team hunters. Rarely do they set out to hunt alone. Part of their social hierarchy is that the first Fury to strike prey (being the fastest) is generally the first to eat. If a Fury is eating alone, it is because that Fury is being punished or outcasted by the others.

- Sky Furies have almost always been led by Night Furies, because Night Furies can echolocate and sense the underground routes to the Hidden World. In return for this, Sky Furies often hunt for their leader during the daytime hours, the same way lionesses hunt while male lions protects the group. - Sky Furies sing! This is the only way they use their vocalization abilities, and they only do it when they feel safe. That’s all I’ve got for now. More art to come—more on the specific Love Interest Fury, too.

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colourful-jack · 1 year

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Paper Talk Special: YOSHIHARA Rieko's interview (1989)

“Riki is an almost full-grown black panther”

YOSHIHARA Rieko has written in a wide variety of genres, from high-school stories to fantasy and science fiction. If there is one thing her characters, like Aki and Kacchan or Iason and Riki, have in common, it’s their impressive charisma. We had the opportunity to ask her more about Ai no kusabi in this interview.

Profile

Pen name’s origin: My birth name. My family name changed when I got married, so I thought “nobody would know it’s me!”.

Date of birth: October 4th, 1954

Blood type: B

Place of birth and residence: born in Fukuoka Prefecture, living in Kumamoto Prefecture

What made you send your manuscript to the magazine: It had been a long night…

1. What made you start writing Ai no kusabi?

I didn’t really… want to write about “pure love” in a science fiction setting (ah ah ah), because I wanted to write about an “encounter” than would not just be casual, the bonds it would create and the various feelings they would draw along.

2. Which character can you empathize with the most?

Probably Riki, as one could expect. Because, even though he has a sharp tongue and is quite mature, his way of thinking is fundamentally straight. Him running around struggling yet unable to act, because he’s caught between two feelings of different natures, makes him seductive, I like it.

3. What is your favourite scene? And what is a line you like?

My favourite, hmm… It would have to be the scene where Katze cries while stifling his voice. But I also cannot put aside the scene where Riki is kept waiting in vain in the rain by Guy… As for the lines, those would be “there’s no way I’m letting him die alone” or “you may be able to look the other way despite everything, but I… wouldn’t be worth more than trash if I did. I couldn’t go on living.”

4. Could you tell us about the creation process of the characters, like Riki and Iason? (size, weight, blood type, date of birth, etc.)

I had their personality roughly figured out, so I didn’t think about their finer characteristics, but…

Riki: Because he’s a slum mongrel, I pictured him as an almost full-grown black panther. Not frail, but slender and lithe. As for his appearance, his intelligence shines through the strength of his obstinate spirit, that’s all.

Iason: Since he’s an absolutely perfect member of the elite and the Black Market’s king, he should definitely be like the God of the Sun Apollo, but raised in the depths of the sea (or something). He’s shrewd and good-looking, incredibly proud, and wouldn’t collapse under any circumstances. Regarding his height, all things considered, he’s a head taller that Riki.

Guy: In my first draft, he was a tolerant and broad-minded herbivorous felid… that was my intention, but I wonder where and how things went wrong.

Raoul: His looks, intellect and handsomeness are on par with Iason’s. He has a sense of humour and, even more than Iason, nerves of steel.

Katze: Went from being raised in the slums to being a Furniture in Eos to being a broker on the black market. Putting aside the protagonists, he’s the one with the most dramatic life, so that’s probably why I gave him a tragic handicap, like being a scarface or being a man without manhood…

Kirie: Representing slum dwellers in their late teens, he’s overconfident and reckless. He has a very limited worldview, so he’s the most fragile yet also the most dangerous character.

5. Concerning the way you chose the characters’ names, you previously said you were “drawn to the “dragon” kanji”, were you fixated on something like that for Ai no kusabi?

This time I wanted to give them names that would fit their character, so… I gave Riki a name conveying “power” (riki is one of the few ways to read the kanji meaning “power”), I named Iason after a hero from Greek mythology, and Guy after the goddess of the Earth, Gaia, for his ability to embrace everything. But when you list them, they’re not consistent. All things considered, you could say they’re just far-fetched choices, ah ah ah…

6. Writing Ai no kusabi, what did you enjoy? What did you find difficult?

For the most of it, the story was ever changing with the characters’ feelings, so until I had reached the ending, I had fun worrying (somehow) while writing. Difficult things that would bring wrinkles to my forehead, I tend not to think too much about them.

7. A number of different types of Pet Rings appear in readers’ four-case mangas, but how do you picture them yourself?

No, well, when it comes to Riki’s, its basic image was something like Sun Wukong’s circlet. Looking at it like this makes Journey to the West quite salacious too… don’t you think?

8. Could you tell us your thoughts about the cassette adaptation?

I thought “Are you sure we can really do that?”… but when it became real, well, I mean, ah ah ah, what could I say? As you know, this work involves many human relationships, some violent lines, and it’s quite heavy on that. “How can we make all that fit in 60 minutes?” I wondered… When I heard the tape for the first time, it dawned on me that letters and voices are truly two completely different things, obviously. I wrote it, so it’s weird for me to say that, but I thought “can I really make Mr SEKI and Mr SHIOZAWA say those things?”… on the other hand, when I wondered what faces they made then, Tokyo felt so far away… So those were my thoughts. But everyone used their beautiful voice to give impassioned performances, so I’m very happy!

9. And lastly, what is June to you?

A breather between child rearing and house chores, a teatime friend… or something like that. (October 1989)

#ai no kusabi #yoshihara rieko #interview #小説june #間の楔

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frightnite52 · 2 years

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Okay, let’s talk about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, shall we?

*spoilers*

Duh

The beginning: I saw a tweet today where the author said they hated that the movie killed T'Challa with an illness and I have to say I disagree. Not only because logistically there was no way for Chadwick Boseman to act in the movie for a death scene, but because (for me personally) I don't think I would have liked it any other way. I like that T'Challa died of an illness for one simple reason: The whole movie sort of felt like a catharsis for the cast and crew. No one knew Boseman had cancer except his immediate circle. I still remember opening twitter and literally not believing what I was seeing. The way they chose to go about it, and then all the time the devoted to grief and loss felt like a release for everyone involved. And if this was the way they thought would best help them work through their grief in their art, I don't think it's right to say you wished it happened a different way.

Okay, time for something fun after all that heavy: Queen Ramonda's speech in the beginning was amazing.

The scene of the Dora Milaje in the Wakandan outpost coming out of the hall was amazing.

I loved that the people of Talocan had siren powers

Riri Williams. I have a problem with making a significant part of a plot revolve around a person who needs to be kept alive, especially if that person isn't the main character. I find that it leaves me feeling like there was no point to the character. In the case of Riri, I can't decide how I feel. I like her character and I was happy to see her introduced. I think a Black Panther movie was the perfect place to introduce her one, because she's Black and was clearly written to have a deep love, respect, and admiration for Wakanda, and two because she's a technological genius like Shuri. But something about her story feels... well, it just doesn't feel right. Like a puzzle piece that *seems* to fit in a space, but also doesn't. I think if she might have had more agency. Or maybe if they'd let her feel bad that her design put Talocan in danger. She didn't make that machine to help the CIA or anyone, she built it to spite one of her college professors. They don't explain it in the movie how the machine got into the hands of the government, but they do make it a point to say that she built it for an assignment. This leads me to believe that it was either stolen or given to the CIA without Riri's permission. If she'd been allowed to explain that (or if Shuri had just mentioned it) I'm not sure it would have changed anything, but it might have made Riri's story feel more full.

Namor did nothing wrong. He was completely justified in everything that he did. lmao okay, no, he killed the queen of Wakanda, but listen here: He had his reasons. Namor, at heart, is a good man, and I truly believe that. He want's what's best for his people. T'Challa wanted the same, and for him, the right thing to do was to open Wakanda to the world. He couldn't have known he was putting Talocan in danger, too. I think Wakanda is gentler on the world than Talocan, and that's were the biggest issue comes from Wakanda was never colonized. Their land, their histories, their people, their resources were never stolen from them. They watched all that happen to other people. But watching bad things happen to other people is different than having those things happen to you. By contrast, Talocan was borne from a colonized civilization. The flower that gave them their powers and abilities was used as a treatment for smallpox. Their legends even say that their god gave them the flower to build a new home, the implication being that they needed a new home because their old one was stolen from them. Because of their vastly different histories, their reactions to the possibility of outsiders trying to steal from them is vastly different. Namor has the right of it and by the end of the movie, he still does. The surface world will come for the Wakandans and the people of Talocan will be ready. His methods may not have been sound, but his rationale was.

Battle orcas. No, I will not be adding context.

Everett Ross was married to Madam Hydra and I just can't get over that.

Talocan seemed like a more accurate underwater city than any I've seen, and I love that.

I wish Shuri hadn't made a new heart-shaped herb and had become the Black Panther because of her technological skills. A Black Panther Iron Man suit, if you will. I didn't feel like there was enough justification for her to make the herb and then take it herself. After she wakes up from the ancestral realm, she said that she drank the herb to see her family, but none of them came. It's a heartbreaking scene, but it also doesn't make sense when you remember that Shuri doesn't believe in any of that. Even Killmonger said in her vision that she didn't believe in the ancestral plane. I think Shuri's time would have been better spent making a Black Panther suit that gave her almost all of the abilities of the traditional Black Panther. I think what they were going for was a full circle catharsis moment where Shuri couldn't make the herb in the beginning of the movie but then she did near the end. And that would make sense, except she didn't make the herb to heal anyone. She made it so she could get revenge on Namor. And I don't think that's a good way to tie the herb to the theme. Edit: I’m seeing your replies to this point. My opinion still stands as of now, but I do appreciate the other perspectives and it’s giving me something to think about whenever I watch the movie next.

I like the Shuri didn't become queen of Wakanda at the end. I don't think being queen would have suited her at all.

The end credit scene really punched me in the heart.

I forgot to mention M’baku’s “Bald headed demon” line. And apparently it was improvised which makes it so much funnier.

All in all, I loved this movie. I've seen it twice now and I can't wait to see it again.

#wakanda forever #review #movie review #film review #marvel #mcu #namor #talocan #wakanda #black panther #black panther 2 #thoughts #shuri black panther #riri williams

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p5x-theories · 1 month

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After playing basically all the content of p5x, I have the following ideas. Although I have posted them on the Chinese Internet, I would like to share them with you.

My English vocabulary is not large, so some parts may use the machine, please forgive me.

（The following persona1 is referred to as p1, persona2 is referred to as p2, persona3 is referred to as p3, persona4 is referred to as p4, persona5 is referred to as p5, and persona5x is referred to as p5x.）

P5X has one less teammate in the first palace than P5R, and Closer occupies the ecological niche of Skull and Panther at the same time. When I first saw this role, I thought it was the female version of Skull. When I finished playing the first palace, I felt Closer had a little bit of the shadow of p4 's Satonaka and p2's Lisa. I realized that this character has its own characteristics, she is who she is.

Version 1.3.2 of the p5x updated Nishimori Yokana's side story and added two more episodes of Merope's shaping story.

Let's talk about Nishimori Yokana first, his "Shibuya Expedition" gave me a feeling of the shrine friends in p2, the shrine friends are out of their parents' business and meet friends, and the conflict between ITO Shita, the founder of the expedition and Nishimori Yokana itself, is out of not wanting to lose friends, and want to catch up with him or her through their own efforts. The addition of wonder makes me feel more Amano Maie about the main character, which is in line with the Wonder that p5x wants to portray, which has to mention Merope.

Merope is often seen as a taker (such as asking wonder to pose as jojo4's STAND: Killer-queen double), and wonder himself does not reject such behavior, and even supports her star chasing at certain times, which makes her more like a little sister than her mature and intellectual clothing, Wonder, on the other hand, is a character like her brother. The Velvet Room and the Velvet Secretary are "Anima" in the minds of the Persona's protagonists, meaning that wonder's ideal woman is like Merope, even though the velvet room may be fake (joker's secretary is still a girl when taken apart). In my opinion, the essence of Merope's pursuit of wonder to become an idol, and even her own favorite idol, should be to gain support. When the p5 protagonists faced the false gods, they won the support of the public and defeated the false gods. At this time, wasn't the thief group of the original p5 Phantom Group the biggest idol at that time.

Wonder himself is also very kid-friendly, as you can see in MARIAN and RIDDLE's story, so I think wonder is more like Maia Amano or Katsuya than Tatsuya. I think the p5x side story is better than the co-creator story, and the reason why the gacha reason for the strange idol is that the p5x original Strange Idol only has the daily story and no battle story. This is very fatal to the main theme of the persona series of SMT, which emphasizes the connection, because the Persona series is simply three gameplay: mask, combat and daily, of course, there is not much drama in the new Persona group（p3,p4,p5） in the mask, but because the main actors of p1 and p2 can all enter the velvet room, so there is more drama in the mask.

There are many places where p5x pays tribute to p2, such as Closer's weapons（Sin and Punishment）（P2's full name is Innocent Sin & Eternal Punishment）, and the two numbers 5 and 2 seem to be opposite in appearance, while p2 sin and p5x two main character group images can even correspond, lisa and Closer, Eikichi Mishina and Soy, Wonder and Tatsuya , Wind and Yukino Mayuzumi. And there are similarities in the other characters, too: 黑须淳 and the guy who looks like Pinocchio（wuhexi）.

Some of p5x's characters have some storylines in common. All five of them have regained something :Mont has regained her confidence on the court, Chord has regained her confidence in performing in front of people, Phoebe is dancing in a different way, Marian is working on her dream of becoming a nurse. Yuki rediscovers what she wants.

By the way, I found that the European and American versions of p5 actually have different roles from the East Asian versions of p5, for example, Futaba Sakura's code name is NAVI in the East Asian version, but Oracle in the European and American versions.

Here are some of my thoughts:

In fact, for p5 spin-offs, I would prefer to see some if timeline works, such as fan works on Pixiv :Persona 5 Reboot:

The worldview is a neutral god testing man as the embodiment of the collective unconscious, giving the personas of Adam and Eve to Joker and Violet respectively. Meanwhile, Igor is real, Lavanda is not separated, Violet and Violet's sister join the main group, Mona does not lose her memory, Crow is met by joker ahead of time, the original character Sakami joins the main group, and Shiho Mizuai (鈴井スズイ) joins the main group. These people formed a new party, Road as Adam, against the seven angels who ruled the seven heavenly bodies and the Zodiac who corresponded to the false gods.

October is the Gakuen Festival for the original, which is when many of the original characters are likely to be introduced, Crow is likely to debut in October, Harube and El（P5T） in December, Violet should debut in January, joker should return to Tokyo for a trip in July, Sophie and Wolf should debut at this time.

There are also many original thieves to come out in the future, such as Aran in the plot. And Lume, Doctor and Cherish, of course. I don't know if Lisette is going to play.

In fact, the persona series had mobile games before, such as p3s, but the quality was not good, so I hope that the new generation of p5x can do a good job as a work to promote the perosna series and even the whole SMT system. Meanwhile, I also hope that P5X can make up for some regrets according to some of its Settings (phantom idols), such as Sophie and Violet appearing together. Tougou Ichinisan joins the main group, the appearance of Harube's strange costume (of course, he may be awakened because he faces the shadow like p4, so there is no strange costume) Aragaki's resurrection or awakening, the encounter between p3 and p3p's protagonists, the current situation of the old world of Tatsuya , Yoshida, Harube, and 冰堂鞠子: The dialogue of the three p5 politicians , the Kingo family in persona External animation, the remeeting of Kiba Kazumi and Suzuki (the protagonist of p2 external manga), and so on.

In fact, the core or setting of each of p and jojo's two posthardia works is quite similar, p1 and jojo1's beginning, p2 and jojo2's development, against the seemingly impossible opponent Kaz and Naia, p3 and jojo3 highlight the great sacrifice, p4 and jojo4 are seemingly calm towns, but in fact, the undercurrent is very strong. The passive transparency of Adachi Turu and the active transparency of Yoshida Yoshitake, the direct self-facing of the protagonists, the rebellion and resistance of p5 and jojo5.

On the Chinese Internet, Chinese players have two ideas about the phantom idol: The first view is that the phantom idol is wonder's previous "reincarnation" teammates, just like Soy or Closer. The second view is that the phantom idol is the result of a "myth" system similar to p2. (These people are rumored to be thieves, and then make them wonder's partners who can fight in other worlds)

Finally thank you can see here, thank you for bringing us blog content, hope you p5x, metaphor fantasy and SMT 5 revenge have fun!

Woah, this is a long message! Thank you for sharing your theories here. I hope it's okay if I divide it into parts to respond to everything? Also, to keep this post from getting longer, I'll respond under a read more:

I agree! Closer definitely has similarities to Skull, Panther, Chie Satonaka, and Lisa Silverman. But I like that she's clearly her own character, as well. She doesn't feel like a copy of any of them.

Version 1.3.2 of the p5x updated Nishimori Yokana's side story and added two more episodes of Merope's shaping story. Let's talk about Nishimori Yokana first, his "Shibuya Expedition" gave me a feeling of the shrine friends in p2, the shrine friends are out of their parents' business and meet friends, and the conflict between ITO Shita, the founder of the expedition and Nishimori Yokana itself, is out of not wanting to lose friends, and want to catch up with him or her through their own efforts. The addition of wonder makes me feel more Amano Maie about the main character, which is in line with the Wonder that p5x wants to portray, which has to mention Merope.

That's a good point! Wonder's role in Haruna Nishimori's side story does feel similar to Maya Amano in P2. I hadn't really thought about that before, but I agree!

Haha, you're right! Merope does feel like an enthusiastic younger sister sometimes. I disagree that being Wonder's Anima means Merope is necessarily his ideal woman, though. My understanding of Anima as a concept is that it's "the unconscious feminine side of a man", though someone may be attracted to a person because she reminds him of his Anima. By that definition, I think Merope may possess traits that Wonder could be attracted to, but her characteristics also say something about Wonder himself.

I do like the idea that Merope is helping Wonder gain public support with her idol plan, though! That is how the P5 team won their fight, so if Merope has any awareness of P5's story, it would make sense that she wants Wonder to have that, too.

I agree that Wonder is very friendly to kids! I think Merope feeling a bit like a "little sister" could be related to that, actually. That does also make me think more of Maya Amano and Katsuya Suou than of Tatsuya. I think most people compare Wonder to Tatsuya because of his appearance, more than anything else. But it would be fun if he looks more like Tatsuya, but his personality is more like Maya!

The rest of this part is a little confusing because of the machine translation. I agree that the Persona series emphasizes a connection between Persona, combat, and daily life. But I'm not sure what you're trying to say about P5X with that?

That's another good point about the P5X characters! There is a similarity in appearances between the main groups of P5X and P2: Innocent Sin. I think the name that didn't translate is 黒須淳, Jun Kurosu? I agree they look similar as well.

I wonder if that means there will be a teammate that looks similar to Maya Amano in the future. I think you could also say Wind looks more like Maya, though. So maybe there will be someone with curlier hair, like Yukino Mayuzumi has?

That's a good point! I think you could say even more of the storylines are about regaining something than just those five, especially since regaining desires is a core part of P5X's plot. For example, while Merope doesn't regain something, I would still say she gains a connection to the world outside the Velvet Room. She gained a desire to support her new favorite idol, and also support Wonder even more.

That's true! Some theories (that others have sent to me) speculate about whether any P5X characters will change code names when they release P5X in English.

Here are some of my thoughts: In fact, for p5 spin-offs, I would prefer to see some if timeline works, such as fan works on Pixiv :Persona 5 Reboot: The worldview is a neutral god testing man as the embodiment of the collective unconscious, giving the personas of Adam and Eve to Joker and Violet respectively. Meanwhile, Igor is real, Lavanda is not separated, Violet and Violet's sister join the main group, Mona does not lose her memory, Crow is met by joker ahead of time, the original character Sakami joins the main group, and Shiho Mizuai (鈴井スズイ) joins the main group. These people formed a new party, Road as Adam, against the seven angels who ruled the seven heavenly bodies and the Zodiac who corresponded to the false gods.

That sounds like a neat fan work!

I would definitely also enjoy a P5 spin-off that gets to change the original timeline of the game, or show an alternate way the events could have gone. I'd play a P5:IF game for sure!

p5x's original p5 limited the time of the character pool to match the game date of the character's entry into the team. For example, Skull,Panther and Mona appeared in April, Fox appeared in May, Queen appeared in June, so Navi should appear in August, Noir in September. October is the Gakuen Festival for the original, which is when many of the original characters are likely to be introduced, Crow is likely to debut in October, Harube and El（P5T） in December, Violet should debut in January, joker should return to Tokyo for a trip in July, Sophie and Wolf should debut at this time.

I hadn't thought about this, but that would make sense! It doesn't seem like Navi will appear this month, based on the game version timeline the developers announced, but I would enjoy seeing her earlier than expected. I do think it would still work out okay if Navi was added a little later. Everyone else could still be on time!

There are also many original thieves to come out in the future, such as Aran in the plot. And Lume, Doctor and Cherish, of course. I don't know if Lisette is going to play.

Yeah, I'm not sure about Lisette either, haha. It's a bit strange.

I hope P5X helps promote the Persona series as well! It sounds like it's already really popular in China, though I could be mistaken. But if it is, that seems like a good sign!

Oh, before when you mentioned Phantom Idols and I didn't understand, were you saying something like: it's unfortunate Phantom Idols only participate in combat, so they don't get to be involved in the daily life and story aspects of the Persona series? I agree. I think the concept of Phantom Idols is an interesting use of the way the Metaverse works (I think it's just called the "other world" in Japanese? I'm not sure about Chinese) , but it is a shame the characters aren't involved in the story. Except for Tomoko, a little. I hope maybe they can interact more in events at least!

I would love to see Sophie and Violet interact, on that note! I believe "Tougou Ichinisan" was the machine translation messing up Hifumi Togo's name? It would be so fun to have her join the team. I'd enjoy any of P5's side characters getting Personas and joining the team, honestly! But I know Hifumi Togo and Yuuki Mishima were both planned to be teammates in P5 at one point, based on concept art, so they would make the most sense.

It would be so great to get a proper Phantom Thief outfit for Toshiro Kasukabe, too, I agree! You make a fair point that he did awaken his Persona more like in P4, but he still had a mask, so I think he could have an outfit. Shinjiro Aragaki being resurrected might be a bit much to ask from a spin-off (instead of a sequel), but I would like to see him, even if it's just in a P3: Reload event. I think the same goes for Tatsuya's old world (as in, the P2: Innocent Sin timeline, I think is what you mean?). We did get to see P3 and P3P's protagonists meet in PQ2, but I'd love to see them meet again in P5X!

I'll admit, I hadn't considered Toranosuke Yoshida, Toshiro Kasukabe, and Mariko Hyodo meeting, but that could be fun! It'd also be really cool to see the Persona 2: Tsumi to Batsu characters appear in P5X. Sometimes when you click on Yuki to strengthen her, at least in Japanese, she says, "Tsumi to... batsu..." ("Crime and... punishment..." in English), and it really surprised me the first time, haha. Though I'm not sure that actually means anything. But it would be awesome!

I don't actually know very much about JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, but it does sound like there's a similarity there!

Those are both neat theories! Based on what we know right now, I think the first idea seems more likely. But with the phantoms also being related to rumors (some gossip about someone posted on the website, like Ms. Katayama, is enough to get them treated like a phantom, even if they're not confirmed as one), I could also imagine rumors becoming even more important later in the story. In that case, the second idea could end up being true!

Finally thank you can see here, thank you for bringing us blog content, hope you p5x, metaphor fantasy and SMT 5 revenge have fun!

Thank you for sending in all your ideas and thoughts! It's always cool to hear perspectives on P5X from more people. Especially someone who speaks Chinese, and knows what other Chinese players have been talking about as well!

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beauspot · 2 years

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thoughts after i saw black panther wakanda forever again.

firstly queen ramonda’s muscles in this movie were crazy 😭 i don’t even think i noticed it the first time. all of the women in the dora looked strong as hell and beautiful i’m obsessed. since we’ve introduced ironheart and we’re supposed to be getting a tv show(?) i hope happy and her get involved and it would be hilarious if she becomes friends with peter and mj but mj has no idea who peter is but riri does(and she’s the only one who does).

the fight scenes in this movie are so good, like some of the best in the mcu, there’s less cuts and the use of slowmo especially in scenes with the water makes them so gorgeous.

the black and gold in shuri’s black panther suit represents her brother and tradition and the vengeance of her cousin n’jadaka.

why does m’baku challenge for the thrown? with him in this movie it feels off for him to do it for selfish reasons maybe shuri asked him too.

i know the romance plot was scrapped because of test audiences but to me(this is MY OPINION 😒) the romance would have made their ultimate rift so much weightier. what if they had at the end of her tour simply had namor tell her they were more alike than anyone else he had ever encountered and asked for her hand BEFORE asking her to burn the world or if he asked for her hand in order for the scientist to be returned and she said yes. to then be drawn out of the water and have his people killed so he turns around and kills her mother and the final fight hits so much harder.

shuri not only doesn’t kill him because of his people but because some part of her does love him. this is not me negating the relationship they already have, it’s beautiful whether they ever are romantically involved or not i just think it would enhance the story.

also it’s been bothering me but shuri is not 19 and i keep seeing people say she is. she was 19 before the blip friends 😭 in universe it’s been 6 years since the first black panther.

another thing that bothers me is people fully missing the point of the talokanil as antagonists. yes they are the villains of the movie but they are not. VILLAINS. their goal is the same as the wakandans. to protect their home. over the years this goal has been warped by grief and anger and it’s completely understandable. people who look like them have been enslaved and beaten and killed and the surface countries have made it very clear they desire vibranium to control the world. not to help it. hate him if you want but namor is right. the world will turn on wakanda and the only ally they have is talokan.

The core of this movie and honestly black panther as a series is the way black people and other poc are so focused on hating one another, a hatred that was taught to divide us when killmonger, and t’challa, and namor, and shuri, are not enemies. they are victims namor and killmonger understood that better than t’challa and shuri because they’d seen first hand how the world treats people who look like them. Now obviously they could have gone about it another way, a better way but don’t misconstrue that to mean killmonger OR namor were wrong, they weren’t.

i’m very excited about phase 5 moving forward and i can’t wait to see these characters again even though I know it’ll be awhile. shuri will probably be in the next avengers and i have no idea when namor will be back. i hope we get this movie on streaming soon so i can analyze it more closely

OH LAST THING. i see what y’all were talking about with okoye and attuma and i totally agree lol

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incorrectallpersonaquotes · 10 months

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OKAY, SO WE FINALLY BEAT PERSONA 5 TACTICA AND THE REPAINT YOUR HEART DLC, FULL SPOILER REVIEW AHEAD

- First of all, I think the game is very good. I rate it 9/10, because although there are some stuff I don’t like, the good stuff is SO good that it makes up for it perfectly. It is a great game, and I don’t regret at all buying the Deluxe Edition on release.

- The gameplay is VERY good, no doubt one of the greatest points in the game. As a fan of tactical RPG fan, it’s a system that is very different than the usual “your character’s turn, move these squares, do your action, proceed”. The fact that you freely move the characters makes for a very peculiar experience, and it makes for a very fun gameplay, with cool puzzles that, although I recognized may be annoying for some people, were very fun to me. Very cool!

- However, I think the gameplay lacked more Persona/SMT elements. For example, the lack of a system based on elemental weaknesses was something I didn’t like. Because of that, I spent 90% of the game’s battle with a party composed of Joker, Panther and Queen, without feeling any need to alternate between different characters. Sure, there’s this mechanic that the characters have better status if you let them rest, só it’s valid to alternate the party, but that was literally the only reason, the aspect of changing characters because of their strong or weak points was kinda lost. Also, no Social Links aside from the Quests and the Talk menu, that provide some fun scenes, but doesn’t replace the social aspect of the Persona games.

- That said, the Quests and Talk scenes were REALLY cool, it provided us with some awesome interactions between characters and did a wonderful job at including the newcomers Erina and Toshiro. Things like Yusuke wanting to see Legionnaires fall from the sky, Haru blowing up everything to let off steam, Erina trying to summon a Persona and being a worthy rival of Ryuji in the aspect of yelling at inappropriate times… it was all very cool. Also, the Quests were amazing in gameplay if you like puzzles. I don’t like it, but I had lots of fun with it.

- The game is kinda short, and it felt like a waste to have only two Kingdoms with a strong historical theme (the French Revolution and the Meiji Revolution), the other two Kingdoms felt kinda bland. I think it would have been nice to insert at least one or two other Kingdoms with strong revolution sceneries.

- The story itself is very cool. Erina is amazing since the start, but Toshiro is a character that really grows on you. He starts off being very annoying, but since the main story is all about his development, you end up liking him more, and the transition from “adult pain in the ass” to “honest man trying to do the right thing” is very nice, and his background is amazing.

- There’s a specific scene where you, as Joker, can pick someone on the Phantom Thieves you’d want to marry, and that includes Ryuji and Yusuke as well. I really loved that scene because, although Ryuji and Yusuke scenes are more inclined to comedy, in no moment it goes like “whaaaaat, you want to marry Ryuji, that’s weird man, no homo”, quite the opposite, in both Ryuji and Yusuke options the act of them marrying Joker is seen as totally normal, without making fun of it, and well, it’s not just the boys’ options that tend to comedy, if you pick Makoto the scene is also hilarious. Sure, it could have been better, but we’re talking about Atlus, every baby step is a reason to rejoice in that way. Who knows, maybe in Persona 6 we’ll FINALLY have a MLM romance option.

- LAVENZA IS BETTER THAN EVER, it’s her best version of all times, she radiates 1000000% of that Elizabeth and Margaret chaotic energy and I FUCKING SCREAMED WHEN VELVET ROOM TURNED INTO A FUCKING TRAIN OH MY GOD THAT WAS SO FUCKING AWESOME HELL YEAH

- Salmael is the generic god final boss, normal to every Persona game. But one thing I didn’t like is how it’s not directly based on any entity like Nyx, Izanami or Yaldabaoth. Sure, you can argue that it’s based on Samael, but it doesn’t make any sense, since it’s only in the name, nothing in Salmael’s motivations have anything to do with Samael. Aside from that, well, can’t say much about it, just the regular “god-that-looks-for-excuses-to-fuck-up-humanity-while-trying-to-justify-saying-they’re-actually-saving-it” that we have on every Persona game.

- I think the game is kinda easy. Sure, it’s a good thing for those who want to enjoy the story, but I beat the game on Medium and had literally no difficult whatsoever aside from some Quests (and in those cases, the difficulty is more related to solving a puzzle than facing actually difficult enemies). The damage input is mostly small, the AI is not really smart and you have access to very strong skills early on. Dunno how that would go if I tried on Hard, but Medium felt more like Easy to me. And I don’t mean that as “I’m too good for this game, it’s so easy for my standards”, but I really think the game difficulty is not that high, which can be good for some and disappointing for others.

Now about Repaint Your Heart, the DLC:

- CAN’T BELIEVE THEY ADDED SPLATOON TO THE PERSONA + FIRE EMBLEM MIX, THAT’S SO CREATIVE, SOUNDS REALLY DUMB AT FIRST BUT WORKED SO WELL

- The story itself is not that bad, but not that good either. Guernica is cool, Luca is cute, but their story wasn’t that touching for me, I couldn’t empathize with them properly.

- Still, the DLC was cool not only because of the Splatoon mechanics, but also because of Akechi and Kasumi interactions. If you play it knowing what is happening at that time (it’s before Sae’s calling card, so Akechi is already part of the Phantom Thieves, is in the middle of the plot to betray them and assassinate Joker, and Joker is fully aware of that), it’s awesome because you can clearly see the moments when Akechi’s figurative mask fells off, and you have many dialogue options made to provoke him.

- Don’t have much to say about Kasumi, she’s cute and nice as always. Also, THAT SCENE OF HER LEGIT WILLING TO PICK UP TRASH WITH LUCA, HOLY SHIT

- I want to turn Jerri into fried chicken, but her motivations seem kinda dumb, I mean, she’s a servant of Salmael, who wants to “save” mankind erasing all will of conflicts, then she brainwashes Guernica to kill all of manking using conflict? Makes no sense at all unless she was rebelling against him, and that’s clearly not the case.

Well… it was quite an experience. I loved it.

#Persona 5 #Persona 5 Tactica #Toshiro Kasukabe #Erina #spoilers

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valeriefauxnom · 6 months

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Dev's (C)Leo Biases,

Or,

A Comprehensive History of How Leonidas Became Nearly Everyone's Object of Thirst

So, among the Dragalia Lost team, it was rather well known that they admitted to a strong Cleo bias.

It's pretty easy to see, in anything from Cleo's early spate of alts, like Dragonyule and Summer in quick succession, to the utterly random unique outfits they flaunted in ch.9 that you can just tell they drew for funsies but really liked them and wanted to put them in the game despite it serving no real purpose...

The dev team just really, really loved Cleo and drawing her. But after they apparently used up their Cleo allowance to make Gala Cleo probably the single strongest character in the game at the time, they cooled it down a bit.

However, as much as they were apparently thirsting over Cleo, I would joke that somewhere along the way, some part of the dev team, feeling desperate now that the yearly Cleo Allowance was running dry as they prepared to release Gala Cleo, decided to find a new fixation to quench their addiction.

And since Cleo was off-limits, they turned to the next best thing: crossing out the C in Cleo to find their newest substitute Dev Thirst character.

That's right, we're talking about the one and only Leonidas.

Leonidas had kinda just melded into the background with the rest of the siblings at this point to my observations. Sure, he was a campaign antagonist. People weren't particularly clamoring for him in particular over the other siblings, though. Honestly, I'd wager Emile was more popular at this stage, even in a 'love to hate' sense, just because we'd already seen him so much.

But then, it started. Whether it was art like this being posted on their twitter just a few scant months before G!Cleo's debut...

...They just seemed to have a certain edge in artworks featuring Mr. Curry in a way to make one squint and tilt your head sideways.

For instance:

It's one of those cases where you just kinda get a feeling the artist(s) found x attractive in a way that simultaneously still can give you a moment of self-doubt if that's not just you projecting because there's no blatantly obvious signs, you know? Whether it's something about the posing, or angles, whatever it is, I got this air increasingly whenever they put out any Leonidas art.

Thankfully, they decided to put me out of my misery and just flat out make what's likely the single most suggestive wyrmprint (or honestly art piece in general since Dragalia was thankfully very very very tame) starring none other than, you guessed it, Leonidas.

(Secret Cygames/Nintendo conversation, probably: "As you can see, it's vitally important that we draw this character in a speedo with sparkles around him." Nintendo: "...I'll allow it. This time.")

Even if he puts on some more clothes in the refined version, we're still back to that air I mentioned, as the shot focuses almost entirely on him instead of the wildly popular Chelle or his pet panther (which, yes, seemed to be an actual pet of his):

Even the Ilia-damned funny chibi comics got in on this thirst train as it went on and made quite possibly the raunchiest joke in the entire 400+ comic run featuring Leonidas, even if the exact same joke didn't make the translation overseas, however they tried. You can see a brief breakdown of that in THIS post.

Not content to restrict it to art and comics, Leonidas also dropped this line that is permanently engraved into my mind with just how shocking it was to see anything of this caliber in Dragalia, in his baby brother's story to boot!

At this point, I could no longer deny it: the devs and artists had collectively acquired a new fixation to satiate their once insatiable Cleo appetite in the form of Mr. Currymeister. (Don't worry about Emile there, he's just drowning, he does that all the time in waist-high water)

And this attitude even extends to in-universe, too! People increasingly fawned over the first prince, who very much was filling in the role of 'this prince you know vs. his hotter and more competent elder brother', as virtually represented by my expert skills in Microsoft Paint artistry as such:

Naturally, there was only so much time before the people IRL could succumb to Leonidas Fever (and no, this time we're not talking about all the people who were so devoted to this dude to effectively set themselves into a fatal, firey, steroid-filled death!) at this unrelenting onslaught.

It was hard not to see comments such as these that started pouring in (and yes, all of these were just about Leonidas exclusively):

(I'll attribute the misspelling to being overcome with Leonidas Fever, a grave illness indeed!)

(Another serious symptom: the decline of any self-preservation instinct around Leonidas, who is indeed Very Dangerous and Will Kill You!)

Ahem. You get the picture. Thus concludes the slow, insidious buildup from just another sibling for Euden to probably commit a whoopsie-daisy fratricide in the future to one of the fandom's favorite menaces, all carefully plotted-out by the collective efforts of devs who were the first to succumb to the sickness...Right?

This concludes my professional historical report on this very serious issue that I suspect lingers to this day. The Fever has but been put into remission; it has not faded yet.

Extra:

So a long time ago I commented that some of the royal family seemed to have pointier teeth than normal, which I speculated because they deliberated giving a bit more 'draconic' traits to define dragonblood, and I didn't realize how pervasive this was until I saw Emile's model there. Look at his fang!

...

...How did I forget the weapon skin of Leo's gun is additionally named "Royal Dominator"?

#The royal family truly robbed the bank with their genetics. Magic powers. Sharp-looking as a whole...and they have been for 300 years+!#dragalia lost #dragalia #leonidas #He's strong. He's handsome. He's a fantastic chef. He's had cat ears put on him in a comic.#the People were to put it bluntly Screwed or so I would reckon in my comprehensive study of #'why the heck are you guys thirsting over xyz character NOW?'#...Also a very formal scientific field.#I'm additionally glad in the end that Leo bore the brunt of this #Since at least he's likely 25+. A disappointingly high amount of media can't even manage that!

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theelectronicstranger · 4 months

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Ultimate Black Panther #1-3 Discussion

If you have not read these issues, then please look away now. I’ve liked the series so far so I recommend you get these issues if you can. The only reason why this Discussion is late is because there was a massive shortage on the first issue, and I couldn’t get my hands on it until a few weeks ago.

I found it really interesting that Okoye and T’Challa are together in this universe because when I first got into reading comics Ororo/Storm and T’Challa were together. I always realty did like that pairing and wanted it back after Avengers versus X-Men broke them up. I understand why they broke up, but I was still hoping they’d be back together someday. I do think that Okoye is an interesting choice for a queen, but you can tell that they have a political marriage. In the first issue, we see them sleep in separate beds and the way they talk to one another feels more like two respected colleagues rather than two people that ever loved one another:

It just feels like they’re being forced to stay with each other because the tradition/politics of Wakanda wanted them to be married. In issue 2, there’s a scene where T’Challa is talking to the Vodu-Khan, and they’re telling him about this “woman of light” that will apparently have a child with him. In that scene, we see T’Challa assume that this will be Okoye, but at the same time we’re also kind of hinting that its going to be Ororo/Storm:

I’m really looking forward to seeing how Okoye and T’Challa’s marriage and relationship play out in this series because it feels like right now, with T’Challa being with Ororo currently, it could be such a big mess. I’m also looking forward to learning more about Okoye in this series because I feel like we don’t really know much about her besides her relationship/marriage to T’Challa.

Speaking of Ororo/Storm, we have seen a bit of her in this book so far. I like how in the first issue we just saw silhouette of her in lightning:

This is the reason why I think she’s the woman of light that the Vodu-Khan was talking to T’Challa about because they literally silhouetted her in light during her first appearance. It could be a red herring; but also, I don’t really think so because in the second issue when T’Challa meets her, he literally is in awe of her and even recognizes that she is a woman of light:

I think there’s a lot of people, like me, that really wanted these two back together in the main universe and I think that’s exactly what Bryan Hill is going to give us in this series. I also really like how in the pages above, we kind of see T’Challa be faced with his destiny or the destiny that was foretold to him. I’m kind of a sucker for those stories of destined lovers and I would love to see their romance play out more in this series if this is where they’re actually going to head with this story. I also want to know more about Ororo’s character and who she is. Currently, we only really know that she’s in a partnership with Killmonger to help people in need. She also seems to trust Killmonger a lot so maybe they’re in a relationship or maybe they’re siblings? If they’re in a relationship and the prophecy is true then T’Challa and Killmonger are definitely going to butt heads because of that. If the book told us what their relationship is, then I for sure missed it.

Anyways, I want to talk more about her design. I really like her design in this comic. I can now see where Maystorm/May Igarashi from the Ultimate X-Men title gets her design inspiration from. However, this also gave me a lot of questions about her as a character. If somebody like May from Japan knows about Ororo, then is she famous? If so, then what for? Is she a famous mutant in this universe? Is she part of the X-Men in this universe? Because it seems that nobody knows about her when she shows up in these books. Does the X-Men even exist in this universe? Because the Ultimate X-Men book hasn’t answered that either. I’m really hoping we get to know more about her soon.

EDIT/SPOILERS for Ultimate X-Men #4: I have been procrastinating on writing/posting this since last week and this week’s Ultimate X-Men #4 actually reveals that this Ororo is just a freedom fighter. She’s not associated with the X-Men in any way or at least not that we know of yet. Also, the X-Men as a group doesn’t seem to exist in this universe yet.

Ultimate X-Men #4 Storm:

Next, I’m going to talk about the Vodu-Khan. They are set up as elder religious types in this title. They seem to be connected supernaturally to Bast and tries to guide the King of Wakanda. T’Challa actually doesn’t seem to like them nor trusts them in the first issue. However, after T’Chaka dies, we see that he starts trusting them more and more. However, I’m not really sure whether he actually trusts them, or if he just took his father’s advice in issue 1:

I’m focusing on this group because I feel like they might be the traitors of Wakanda. Maybe I’m also just thinking that because T’Challa already didn’t trust them in issue 1, but I feel like they have an ulterior motive. Also, I felt like they had the most to gain when T’Chaka died because after he died, T’Challa started trusting them more and going to them more it seems. I don ‘t really have any other proof of their treason yet, so all of this is conjecture for now. I’d love to know what you guys think though. I have heard that some people think that the traitor is Okoye because of her and T’Challa’s political marriage, but I’m not sure about that either.

I want to talk about this T’Challa for a bit. In the beginning of the series, he says “Traditions must change.” when talking to Okoye after his dream, but we haven’t really seen him change anything yet. I feel like his father’s death has only made him embrace the traditions of Wakanda more, hence why I wasn’t sure if he actually trusted the Vodu-Khan or not. I definitely feel like watching his father die made him more vulnerable and more accepting of the traditions of Wakanda because he’s grieving and need to rely on those traditions right now. After his father’s death, he also became a bit more paranoid to the point that Wakanda’s people are being arrested because T’Challa doesn’t know how many more spies are in his kingdom:

He’s very paranoid right now, which is understandable, but it also is putting so much strain on the faith that his people might have in him and in Wakanda as a whole. Also, we’re shown that this T’Challa doesn’t really know much about the world outside of Wakanda:

I could be reading into this wrong, but it feels like he’s been trapped inside Wakanda for a long time and that he needs to see for himself what the outside world truly is. He has a sense of the nations and countries outside of Wakanda, but he’s never truly experienced it for himself. I’m really excited to see him find out more about the world around him/the world outside of Wakanda and see how that affects his rule as king. Like how would he react to finding out that this world was tampered with by the Maker? He seems like he’s going to be part of the Ultimates at some point, so I’m excited to see how he changes. I also really like how much different this T’Challa is to the main universe counterpart. I feel like the main universe is sure of himself and more confident in his skills as a leader. However, this new Ultimate version of Black Panther feels like he has a lot to prove to himself and to his people. I’m excited to see him grow as a character and see him develop into a better king.

In this title, Khonshu and Ra seems to be trying to take over Wakanda or the whole of Africa for their Vibranium. I think ever since the Maker disappeared most of the illuminati of this universe are trying to take more power and to rule more land, so I think that’s why they send those spies to Wakanda that ended up killing T’Chaka in issue 1:

I also think that they might want to take whatever that little green planet-like structure was that we say at the end of issue 3:

I have no clue what this planet-like thing is, but my theory is that it’s the remnants or shadow of this old universe before the Maker changed everything. However, I have no proof of any of that. It’s just a crazy theory. I’m very excited to find out where this story leads. Also, one last thing about Khonshu and Ra. At the end of issue 1, T’Challa says that they call themselves Moon Knight and I kind of find it interesting that in this universe Moon Knight is more of an organization that Khonshu and Ra has formed rather than an actual character. I wonder if Khonshu and Ra in this universe are actually gods or if they’re just wealthy/powerful people of influence in this universe.

Lastly, I want to talk about Killmonger. We first see Killmonger with Ororo in the first issue helping out the people of West Africa fend off against Khonshu and Ra’s army. He seems to be a freedom fighter that wants to help out people wherever he can. I don’t think this Killmonger will serve as a villain but more so as a guide to open T’Challa’s eyes to the horrors that exist outside the walls of Wakanda. I also really like what he says in Issue 3, where he talks about how he got tired of sitting in paradise and watching people suffer:

I feel like by the end of this arc that T’Challa is probably going to feel similarly to Killmonger. His eyes will be open to all the cruelties this world has to offer and he’ll want to help the people not just his people in Wakanda but people who are suffering around the world. I think Wakanda will end up being known to the world rather than a secret.

Thank you for reading this post! Tell me what you think of Ultimate Black Panther so far. I’ve been enjoying this title so far, but I would love it if they started telling us what’s going on sooner though. I just have so many questions right now (specifically, after issue 3) and I just want some of those to be answered right now. Also, sorry if this post was a bit hectic. There was a lot that I wanted to talk about, so I hope I talked about it well. Speaking of, I totally forgot to compliment Stefano Caselli's art. I think he did a fantastic job in this book. That should be all I wanted to talk about. i never want to do a 3 issue discussion again. Have a great day! Thanks for reading this!

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foodsies4me · 8 months

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I love Apollo:Blood Wars! I’m desperate to see those three get their comeuppance! I know absolutely nothing about daemons but your fix does a great job at conveying the seriousness of the relationship. I wouldn’t of thought that Alec would have a parrot but it makes sense! If you don’t mind elaborating, what was your process for deciding everyone’s daemon?

Tbh, I’m a sucker for any story that recognises the lack of stellar siblingship in shadowhunters. Season one Alec is treated awfully and I love him being appreciated. Like, I get they’re teenagers but surely siblings would know the amount of shite he’s dealing with being acting head.

Love all your works and looking forward to updates!

Thank you for the kind words, nonnie!

For some reason, all of my leftover salt for the way Jace and Izzy treat Alec in season 1 came out in this fic, which means it takes some getting used to when I switch over to a fic where they are being good siblings.

Also, I am apologizing for the absolute ramble I'm going to send your way, but in my defense, you asked about the choosing process for the daemons! I'm only going to be mentioning the daemons we already have met to avoid rambling too much.

So, for Alec, I knew I wanted a bird from the get-go, and while I have seen a lot of fanart of Alec holding a raven or a crow I wanted to do something different. Then I just went for personality: I needed it to be an intelligent bird, social and cuddly with those it trusts and loves but picky about handing out that trust and so I ended up choosing a parrot. (I'll admit I was partially influenced by my own parrots, one of which I have heavily based Apollo's quirks on.) Additionally, I thought it was funny to give Alec, who doesn't speak much unless he's at ease, an animal known for talking a lot as a daemon.

For Magnus: Well who else but Chairman Meow could it have been? So, that one didn't take much thought.

Izzy got a black panther because I wanted something graceful, strong, and most of all dangerous. Several characters have daemons that appear harmless - either because of magic or because they're animals we tend to wrongly consider harmless. But, with Izzy, I didn't want that to be the case because Izzy gives me very strong "I'm dangerous. I know I'm dangerous. And I don't hide it" vibes in the series. And so, black panther!

Jace got a lioness (as well as two other forms that haven't been revealed yet!) for similar reasons. I wanted a dangerous animal, prideful if possible and, what with the whole "Jace is one of the best fighters the Clave has seen in years" I needed it to be a King of thee Jungle kind of dangerous so that's how I landed on a lioness for him.

Underhill has a snappy, eastern box turtle: smart, quiet, shy and harmless (at least at first sight). They're often considered solitary creatures, but they can grow really strong bonds with other turtles or their human owners when in captivity, and this ties into my headcanon that Underhill looks like a friendly loner at first (nice and kind but likes to keep to his own) but that he just needs some time to get out of his shell so to speak.

Clary has a dove and a bull (+ one more unrevealed form) the former of which she shares with Valentine. I liked the idea of Valentine using the fact that his daemon is a dove ( a symbol of peace and purity) as a way to further prove his righteousness and moral superiority compared to the rest when he was still starting out with creating the Circle. Clary having that same daemon is also my not-so-subtle way of showing how, despite being very against him in the series, Clary shows a lot of traits that are similar to Valentine. The bull daemon is another - is dangerous, but also fits Clary because of her bullheadedness, I run full speed without thinking of the consequences personality. (Or that's the way I read her at least.)

Jace and Clary's daemons having multiple forms will be dived into further as the story progresses, but it ties back into the whole "all downworlders have something special going on with their daemons" thing.

Kyle (yes I am talking about my OC's and their daemons because I am entirely shameless) has a dumbo rat: friendly, sociable, curious, inquisitive, and very intelligent (which works well with Kyle being the Head of the Investigation Department), cuddly and just all around very affectionate. Basically, they're golden labrador puppies but as rats, which fits Kyle.

Cécile has a Barbados threadsnake (the smallest snake species in the world! They are so cute and smoll!) They're solitary like most snakes and prefer a nocturnal lifestyle. They're non-venomous and prefer to spend most of their time burrowed in soft soil, which again works with Cécile who prefers to be on her own, which is why she spends most of her time working undercover in the mundane world in places where mundanes might unknowingly come into contact with demons.

I'm going to stop my rambling here before I really turn this into a novel, but yeah that is a very rough resume of the thought process I had when choosing the different daemons. :D

#foodsies rambles #foodsies answers #apollo fic #also someone tell me to go write some more AWG one-shots or to work on the second installment #because I want to #but my brain is being rude

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parkeryangs · 8 months

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OK BUT THIS IS REALLY INTRIGUING ACTUALLY. tell me more about this 'mattkey' ............

YES ABSOLUTELY OH MY GOD

SO in episode 1 participant observation, the main character, mike walters, claims to be "investigating" a secret online game called woe.begone out of curiosity/boredom, via actually playing the game. w.bg is a series of challenges, the first being that mike had to call his ex-boyfriend and tell him the worst thing he ever did to you.

mike does this, explaining that his "lifelong best friend" (matt) had unexpectedly died in a car crash, and his ex wasn't home at the time/didn't realize how serious the situation was, so he left mike to worry alone before matt's death had actually been confirmed. he tells his ex that he doesn't forgive him and has a breakdown, then waking up the next day to realize that matt wasn't dead and there was no trace of the voicemail he left for his ex. (so, at this point, mike continues to play w.bg, with matt as his "prize")

there's several other challenges he completes, along with another old friend of theirs also playing woe.begone, but the next marker of their relationship is in episode 11 this is only temporary, when mike's woe.begone challenge is to kill the prize from his first challenge— which is obviously matt. he explains the situation, a future version of him shows up to "prove" everything to matt, and ultimately matt slides his gun across the table, mike apologizes, and tells matt he loves him. (i talk more about this in another post)

at the end of season 1, woe.begone contacts mike to tell him that he has to relocate to a government job, a place called o.v.e.r./oldbrush valley energy & resources. he does, with season 2/3 following the start of his time in the valley & continued problem-causing due to w.bg lol. then in episode 35 safehouse, he kills another character and flees o.v.e.r., driving 26 hours to matt's house. he doesn't tell him all the details of what happened, but episode 36 respite is mostly dedicated to mike talking about the few days he spent with matt ("we didn’t need to do anything other than be in each other’s company") (i ramble about matt in 35/36 here)

there's a lot of non-mattkey events that occur, lol, but it gets to a point where matt essentially wants to be involved with a time travel org mike creates called base, but mike kind of keeps him at a distance for reasons unknown (coughs. mike does have a boyfriend he meets at o.v.e.r. and not saying it has anything to do with that but i'm also not Not saying that) and in episode 84 panther, matt helps with stalking two "rogue" iterations of mike and his boyfriend edgar (and i believe this is the first episode where matt has a voice actor?) and continues to do so throughout the current point in the podcast/"about a year" in canon time.

at the end of episode 120 true story, a (drunk) mike transports to matt's house as there was a timeline they'd been in (~e104 to 120ish iirc) where matt was dead once again because of mike. mike gives matt a box of his old stuff, and matt, worrying over mike using time travel when he's drunk lol, brings mike to stay in his spare room (that he mentions he's kept open since mike was last there). mike tells matt he loves him, and matt returns the sentiment.

so YEAH. mattkey my absolute beloved. imo their dynamic is very much "knowing one another better than they know themselves" if that gives you a more direct idea jksdhfjksdf. also college-era mattkey has been brainrotting the fandom recently which might be my fault LOL but pre-wbg mattkey is SO compelling even if only mentioned in passing - i talk about college mattkey here, here, here (kind of), and here, and i wrote a short fic about them here. overall, essentially the catalyst for everything in woe.begone is literally just. matt. like... mike literally rewrites time to keep matt safe and while it's true that mike has a deep relationship with most of his friends, matt is so intrinsically tied to him in a way that nobody else is.

#this is so long grack IM SO SORRY #they are just so important to me. forever and ever. u would really like them i think #mattkey #grack tag #i probably missed some things BUT these are at least the high points i hope lol #askbox #woe.begone #finch chirps

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writingquestionsanswered · 2 years

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Hi I hope you're doing well! How should I write two really old main characters? The main character is 60 and his best friend is 80, so I wanted to get the sort of vibes of a calm, older person with stories to tell across. How should I write an adventure story where the main characters are too frail to do a lot of physical activity?

60 and 80-Year-Old Characters

Oh goodness! Well, I think you need to reevaluate just a little bit. :)

While 80 definitely qualifies as advanced age, and most 80-year-olds aren't physically vigorous, I think you have to be careful about thinking of being 80 as meaning someone is automatically frail. I know a lot of people who are in their late-70s/early 80s who I wouldn't qualify as frail. My dad is in his mid-70s and he spent last summer hiking in the mountains under the hot sun.

And, 60 may sound old to young whipper snappers under 30 or 40, but it's really not old. I'm only about a decade off from there myself, and I have friends in their late 50s and early 60s who run marathons, kick box, compete in martial arts, dance, and do all sorts of physically vigorous things. Most people in their 60s aren't frail or physically limited, but it really comes down to personal health and other factors.

Case in point, if you're a fan of The Karate Kid or Cobra Kai, you're familiar with these guys... Ralph Macchio and William Zabka are 61 and 57. Yeah, these guys...

If you've seen the MCU's Black Panther movies, you're familiar with the legendary Angela Bassett, who is 64...

Sure, not all people in their 60s are blessed with great physical fitness or the look of eternal youth, but these three are much more representative of the average 60-year-old than "very old and frail."

The best way for you to learn to write older people is to spend time with some if you can. Or, at the very least, find some recent movies or TV shows that feature some older characters and observe them.

The twenty-year age gap between the 80-year-old character and the 60-year-old character is a big one. They're likely from two different generations, or opposite ends of the same generation. They had pretty different childhoods. And the 60-year-old is likely to be more physically spry than the 80-year-old--but 80-year-olds can be spry, too. So, you'll have to take these differences into account with their dynamics.

If you're choosing to make this character frail because they're frail, rather than because they're 80, you can still create action around them. Action just means that "things are happening." They don't have to be big, dramatic, physically intensive things. He might cook or bake, take walks or stroll about the yard, garden, take care of pets, engage in a hobby like woodworking, painting, or fishing. They could go on a drive, go to restaurants, go to other interesting places. These are things they can be doing while talking/telling stories.

I hope that helps!

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norcalbruja · 10 months

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The Ocean Crew just coming up and freaking me out again

Around Thanksgiving / Colonizer-Celebration day, I had a dream where I was in the sequel to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Then me and Tenoch Huerta found out after a party that our shit-for-brains friends took both our cars to ferry the drunk folks home without asking first, so that means two POC got stranded at midnight in the suburbs, trying to walk an hour back to my place. (It wouldn’t be overtly dangerous, but my town DOES have a Ku Klux Klan history and only really tolerates the “good/respectable” minorities, so a Brown Mexican AND a Brown Asian may not have been able to flag down anyone for help.)

I didn't think much about it because I'm a writer who has REALLY coherent dreams, in which Dream-Me also can't seem to get her shit together (seriously, she gets into some escapades!). I laughed about it and I just thought it was me being bitter about my new day-job until Namor/Kukulkan showed up in one of my meditations going, "Hello, love. Did you like the dream?"

And I was like "uhhhhhhhhhhhh yes??? Hello sir—I mean Your Majesty! Or are you actually some form of Tenoch Huerta?"

As noted with the pop-culture spirits when Eric Draven came around on Undas, I never know whether these guys are the CHARACTERS or the ACTORS. I've actually encountered Marvel-Namor a couple of times, but he is extremely high-minded and insistent on getting his way, so while he’s usually pretty civil, he’s still exhausting for my introvert commoner self to deal with.

Long story short, he is not the Feathered Serpent, but he is Mexican/Mayan and is A FUCKING BIG SNAKE (like 40-foot Titanoboa levels of Big Snake!!!). Like most of the other colonized water-spirits, Kukulkan seems to know MY Water-Spirit/Giant-Squid from... you know, Spanish colonization.

Also I’ve noticed a small but distinct pattern where indigenous reptile spirits (Ulupong the spitting cobra, Lola Buwaya the crocodile, and now Namor/Kukulkan the goddamn Titanoboa) just don’t have any fucking chill. For species that are seen as cold-blooded/uncaring and often cowardly by Westerners, the difference is really surprising.

Insert “reptile spirits with metaphorical snake-tongues” jokes here.

So Kukulkan refused to leave and demanded of the Water-Spirit, "What have you been doing all this time?! Are you just her attack dog and a bedwarmer?! You act like a mortal now! As if you know nothing of our kinsmen! The only thing left of you is your eyes!"

The Water-Spirit kind of flinched like they’ve talked about it before, and he told Kukulkan, “I couldn’t grant wishes even at my peak. I don’t know how much you expect me to do now.”

Kukulkan just seethed and went, “You can do more than grant wishes. You do yourself and your wife evil to think otherwise. You act like the Spanish won, but she clings to the scraps of you like a starving creature. Perhaps she should be the water-spirit. And you the young man who knows nothing of your people.”

Dionysus came over and said, “Sir, trash-talking a traumatized guy about how he acts like a squishy human might not be that motivating. Maybe tone it down a little?”

Kukulkan then snapped at him, “GODLING, LEAVE THE WATER-SPIRITS TO OUR OWN MATTERS! Your power is from your father! My power is from myself!”

So Dionysus clearly got pissed and just... left entirely. This is the second time an Extremely Old nature-spirit brushed him off as a "godling," and I think the added jab of 'you only got a job at Mount Olympus because your daddy runs the place' was another issue.

This is why Kukulkan is exhausting for me. He essentially acts like Marvel's Kukulkan--he's very capable and cares deeply about people, but he also has unnecessary shit to say if he doesn't consider YOU capable. Active/feudalistic nobility: Fun to watch/read in stories, not fun to deal with in real life, especially with my commoner ass. :/

Anyway, he took a while to stop demanding that the Water-Spirit just Get Better Already, but this morning he finally came up and admitted, "I am no idiot. I know the Spanish broke your husband's spirit. He is not the first or the last of our kin to become so."

And I'm like, "Okay, sir. Thank you for chilling out. I wish you did that a LITTLE bit earlier."

And as for their relationship dynamics, this is another instance of "these marginalized spirits are clearly Not Straight." Kukulkan and the Water-Spirit are this weird blend of "friends who lost touch" and "ex-boyfriends who had a falling out," because Kukulkan is polite to me but WAY more intense with the Water-Spirit, who also gets distinctly hurt when Kukulkan goes on his "I remember you used to be on fucking beast-mode all the time" rants.

Also, "Otherworldly Terror that doesn't fit anywhere else" note: You know how the Water-Spirit can turn into water-shaped-like-a-man, a wave, or a waterspout? I can't remember if I posted this here, but he can use his water-form to "sprint" long distances or to dissipate through various non-waterproof things.

He doesn't do it a lot because it wears him out and it also tends to freak me out as a solid-bodied human, but Kukulkan does it ALL THE TIME. He just disintegrates into a stream of water that is much bigger than an Average Human Body could hold, and then he fucking flies/teleports(???) wherever he needs to go.

#pop culture paganism #unverified personal gnosis

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jurakan · 2 months

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can I have a fun fact in youtube deep dive format?

I, uh... don't know how to do that, friendo, because this is a Wendy's a blog not a video hosting site, but! I will try to give you something interesting. Today You Learned about the tygers of colonial Carolina!

[Alright, full disclosure: this is half a conspiracy theory of mine. I went down this rabbit hole after reading Wild New World by Dan Flores.]

In 1709, John Lawson published a book titled 'A New Voyage to Carolina' which is a detailed description of the people, flora, and fauna he found while exploring the Carolinas (I think mostly South Carolina? They weren't divided then, I think).

One thing he notes that I found interesting?

Tygers.

???

[whatcha talking about Johnny, we ain't got tygers here]

Listen to this from page 31:

As we were on our Road this Morning, our Indian shot at a Tyger, that cross'd the Way, he being a great Distance from us. I believe he did him no Harm, because he sat on his Breech afterwards, and look'd upon us.

Uh, okay... um... then on 119 we get this, when he's describing the different animals you can find in the area:

Tygers are never met withal in the Settlement; but are more to the Westward, and are not numerous on this Side the Chain of Mountains. I once saw one, that was larger than a Panther, and seem'd to be a very bold Creature. The Indians that hunt in those Quarters, say, they are seldom met withal. It seems to differ from the Tyger of Asia and Africa.

Alright, what makes this odd (other than that we don't have wild tigers in the Carolinas, if you don't count tailgating Clemson fans) is that the automatic guess you'd make is that he's talking about mountain lions/pumas. They don't live here now, but they did back before colonization. Except he specifically lists what we'd think of as mountain lions as 'panthers', and makes it clear that this animal, this 'tyger' isn't that.

So what are our possibilities here?

ONE: He saw an actual tiger.

...very unlikely. You'd think we'd know about this sort of thing, wouldn't you? If there were tigers in the Americas? Nah, let's dismiss this.

TWO: He made it up.

Well, look, Lawson did actually found towns in the Carolinas, so he has a vested interest in making people go there to live. If he tells you they've got cool animals to see/hunt, like tigers, well, that would definitely attract some colonists, wouldn't it? And they'd expand westward, as he points out that they're supposedly more common on the other side of the mountains (the Appalachians, presumably), and he'd get credit for that.

THREE: He's talking about a different big cat.

He does also mention the 'tygers' of Africa, except Africa doesn't have tigers, either. Either he's confused about that, or for him, 'tyger' just means 'big, colorful wild cat'. I remember that in telling Anansi stories, one author has his characters claim that 'Tyger' back in the day just meant 'big cat', and he uses 'Tiger' as the name of 'Osebo' (which I've seen other authors depict as a leopard). And while North America doesn't have tigers, it does have another really big, roaring cat...

Yes, the US does indeed have jaguars in the Southwest, though they are very rare there, as opposed to further south (and this Border Wall business is not helping conservation efforts). Historically, before they were hunted out by settlers, they did live in Texas and as far north as Colorado, and as far east as Louisiana. Heck, until the 60's it was still legal to shoot them in Arizona. Was it possible that Lawson's 'tyger' was a jaguar? He does say his indigenous correspondents told him that they were usually found west of the mountains, and rarely that far east--and the jaguar's historical range was west of the Appalachian, though pretty far from the Carolinas. And I admit that I have trouble imagining a jaguar wandering the wilds of the Carolinas (though that would be dope).

I don't know. I have no way of knowing. But Dan Flores is pretty insistent that jaguars used to be all over the place, and so he seems to subscribe to the theory that Lawson's 'tyger' was a jaguar that wandered into the Carolinas.

Hm.

A strange zoological mystery, to be sure.

In case you were wondering what happened to John Lawson, by the by, he was captured by the native Tuscarora in 1711 while exploring and tortured to death, shortly before the beginning of the Tuscarora War.

So now you know. I hope this was the 'deep dive' you were looking for.

#Fun Fact Friday #North Carolina #South Carolina #Today You Learned #wildlife #jaguars #tigers

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