#just adding knowledge for more nuance

[tonitoewyn]

this is my lane and my knowledge here might be of interest: I'm a digital art history research assistant. We just did a survey on how well people can distinguish AI-made art from human-made originals, asking 900 people to choose the human-made painting out of two images, one being the original and the other being a midjourney generated piece (we asked it to make paintings "in the style of" artists, detailing the content of the paintings). The general outcome is that people choose the correct option roughly half the time - mostly because they couldn't actually distinguish them, and if you take a wild guess, a 50% success rate is likely. HOWEVER, there were clear differences between the paintings that were more easily distinguished and those that confused people. The pair of images where 78% of participants answered correctly:

First one is The Annunciation by Joseph Erns Tunner (1830), second is midjourney 2023. People recognized the AI fake by realism but done wrong: the midjourney architecture doesn't make sense, the surfaces are too smooth, the hands and proportions are weird. The task most people guessed wrong, at 14% success rate?

First one is Sam Francis 1965, the second is midjourney 2023. People presumably got this wrong because they expect human-made art to be what they have seen before, and AI-made art to be weird, unusual, "wrong". Of course, AI art is still in developement, but for what it is at the moment I can derive three points from this: 1) People at large think that AI art is weird and human-made art is what they expect. Do with that knowledge what you want. 2) AI art so far actually sucks at realism. There is a specific AI-art look that most people who have been confronted with this before can recognize, because it is too smooth while also making clear mistakes in the construction of architecture and anatomy which are easily recognized by the human eye (because your eyes already saw more images than any AI training model has by the time you were three years old). If you make realistic art, especially showing humans, AI cannot do what you do. 3) At the same time AI art isn't creative. It doesn't subvert expectations, it learned from what is already there and reproduces it as well as it can (like large language models, AI art generators also are stochastic parrots - babbling without real content understanding). If you make weird art - AI isn't going to be on par with you for even longer, because you can come up with actual new things, taking all your specific knowledge, background and experiences into account. (However, presuming that people don't update their expectations, at some point you might get an annoying amount of people mistaking you for AI, which is a whole new can of worms.) Honestly the only kind of art AI can do really well is soulless, faceless corporate images and the corporate designers who did that so far should be doing better anyway

Robots may already be replacing a lot of art jobs but that's all the more reason to make all of your art weirder. Realistic illustration is dying but if that's what you trained for you still have all kinds of skills applicable to stylistic work. Go ahead and just draw like a toddler who somehow spent 10 years on just color theory.

[karinyosa]

transtape changed textures again and now i must relearn to bind well with them sigh. if god wants me to be a visibly titted man so be it

[sunderwight]

SV Malevolent AU where, due to a system error (Shen Jiu not actually dying from the qi deviation? Mu Qingfang being present and resuscitating him in time maybe?) Shen Yuan ends up only half-possessing SJ by gaining control of his eyes.

SJ, of course, fully believes that he's been possessed by a demon and wants to evict the creature in question as soon as possible. However, he's still a paranoid bastard before anything else, so his first attempt is to just quietly do it himself after chasing Yue Qingyuan and anyone else away from his house. He doesn't want either a reputation for being weak and susceptible to possession, or one for having ties to demonic influence. There's enough grime on his reputation and the ONE thing he has confidently never been at risk of adding to it was consorting with demons, and he'd like to keep it that way.

Except, of course, Shen Yuan's not a demonic spirit, so none of the efforts to "evict" him actually work. Much to Shen Yuan's relief. A blind cultivator is still plenty formidable, but after a few days of deadlock over the issue, and with Shen Yuan fully in control of Shen Jiu's eyesight but otherwise unable to do much, Shen Yuan negotiates with the system (which SJ cannot perceive at all) to be able to tell Shen Jiu some things. Enough to get him to do something other than crack and run out of his house to let the other peak lords try their hands at ousting SY.

He tells Shen Jiu that he's not a demon (not for the first time, not that SJ believed him) but that he IS a spirit from another realm, and that he got turned around somehow on his way to try and warn this world about an impending catastrophe. SJ is naturally still suspicious, but after SY provides him with enough tidbits of information to verify that he's not completely lying, he decides to at least entertain the idea that SY isn't a demon and that a more nuanced approach is called for (also this route is appealing for him because it means he can still avoid telling anyone else that there's anything wrong with him).

Thus, uneasily, the two Shens reach a truce. Shen Yuan offers to help SJ navigate the world by describing things to him (within the privacy of their now-shared mind, of course), and SJ just sort of gives up on destroying him. For now.

Shen Yuan also, of course, tries to stop SJ from abusing Luo Binghe. Both because he would do that regardless, but also because he's now co-piloting SJ's body, which means he has a vested interest in making sure it retains all of its limbs. This has varying degrees of success.

But mainly I think this would be hilarious because Shen Jiu would essentially be held hostage to Shen Yuan's descriptions of things. Flowery, detailed and fascinated descriptions of monsters (at least these are useful because SY also has encyclopedic knowledge of their weak points). Largely vibes-based descriptions of scenery and women. Glowing assessments of Luo Binghe. Constantly bringing up Liu Qingge's beauty. Shen Jiu doesn't need his own shidi described! He knows what the asshole looks like! Go possess his body instead if you like it so much! (SJ was maybe kind of hoping that would happen when the spirit did something during the debacle in Lingxi Caves -- but no, SY just saved Liu Qingge's life, like some kind of not-evil creature. Infuriating!)

[dreamcsc]

take a gamble, won’t ya?

SYNOSIS. Mingyu is assigned to crack the case on the mass murder that terrorized the land; however, he unravels that his former Head of the unit had turned against righteousness and is now the main suspect in the crime. In hopes of clearing his former Head’s name, Mingyu finds significant clues at the crime scene, dragging him and a mysterious, peculiar someone named Lee Y/N, into a journey riddled with trust issues, mind games, and revelations. Mingyu is faced with pivotal choices—will he continue to protect his former Head based on their shared past, or will he confront the man who once taught him the meaning of integrity? The outcome of the investigation hinges not only on solving the murders but also on the evolution of Mingyu, as he determines what it truly means to stand for justice in a world full of gray.

-> pairings: kim mingyu x female reader/you, other seventeen member x female reader/you

-> word count: ???

-> warnings/tags: vulgar language, murder, corruption, secret identities, organized crime, secret organization, psychological warfare, betrayal/backstabbing, UNRELIABLE NARRATOR, lowkey inspired by alice in borderland, slowburn, eventual romance, angst/fluff/dark themes, seventeen ensemble, alternating point of views in MC, greedy people ew, AGE GAP [more to be included].

CHARACTERS.

-> MAIN CHARACTERS:

Kim Mingyu : a 23-year-old detective with an unyielding sense of justice. He yearns for justice not just for victims but also for those who have been wronged by the system itself. His ultimate goal is to solve the mass murder case that has gripped the nation, but beyond that lies a personal mission: to clear the name of his former mentor. Throughout the investigation, Mingyu goes through significant growth, transitioning from a rule-abiding individual to a more nuanced thinker willing to question authority and morality.

Lee Y/N (You) : a 28-year-old woman who enters the Capital with an air of determination mixed with vulnerability. You seek redemption—not just for the one you love but also for yourself. Through your journey, you transform from a woman defined by your past traumas and fears to a stronger, more capable individual.

-> SIDE CHARACTERS:

Yoon Jeonghan : a highly intelligent and charismatic figure, revered as the Head of the Unit of Investigative in his early 30s. Having been underestimated in his early career, he learned that knowledge is power, and secrets are the currency of strength.

Jeon Wonwoo : an individual who gains a renewed commitment to justice, accepting that his fight is not just for himself but for those who still believe in the system.

Other seventeen members will be mentioned.

CHAPTERS.

Chapter 01 — Chapter 02 — Chapter 03 — Chapter 04

Chapter 05 — Chapter 06 — Chapter 07 — Chapter 08

Chapter 09 — Chapter 10 — Chapter 11 — Chapter 12

Chapter 13 — more to be added.

author’s note: Hi guys! This is my final project that I plan to work/finish in 2025! I wrote the plot line a few months back focusing on Minwon but I decided to revise it and post it on here instead. I have big hopes for this series as it's a very sophisticated plot line and it could go very bad if I don't write it well (lol). I will try my best to bring my ideas to life so please keep a lookout for updates! Please let me know what you think! Enjoy ~

taglist: @nerdycheol @syluslittlecrows @heeknow @gyubakeries @gyuguys @choco-scoups @reiofsuns2001 @rainytapestry

If you want to be on the taglist, please send an ask and I'll add you!

likes / reblogs / comments are appreciated! 🩵

©️ dreamcsc, 2024. no copying or reposting any of my original works. if inspired, please let me know so i can support + give permission.

[johntayjinf]

very serene theme that's been stuck in my mind ever since i first heard it

yk, one thing i've slowly come to internalize is that, once you share your art with the world, it's no longer just yours; it's for everyone.

sounds a bit stupid because realistically speaking i still am responsible for arranging and/or writing the songs that i release... but i think people should be free to interpret art however they like, bad or not. you can obviously tell whether or not people interpret a piece of art in bad faith, but i don't think that stops the fact that people are allowed to think what they do.

there have been times where i've tried to change people's minds on why i make specific stylistic choices, but i really should acknowledge that people will interpret it based on their own knowledge and experiences. i feel like i should bring this up because sometimes people don't necessarily see the true intent i want to convey or deliver in a song or my other artistic works, and that's probably for the best. maybe there simply isn't a definitive answer as to what something would truly mean, especially for something so abstract.

people should be allowed to create their own meaning out of the feelings they get from something, though obviously it would be much more appreciated if subjects were handled with more nuance and maturity. people can find their own happiness in their own ways. it's a hard concept to fully grasp, but when you actually slow down and look around... you'll realize that, that minor form of self-expression is a very beautiful thing.

i wrote all that down because this song really just, reminded me about how a song as beautifully written as this one exists in our reality. i personally have never fully played through any pokemon game, so playing gold/ silver/ crystal is out of the question. gameplay just never clicked with me, sorry.

but the thing about this song... or , well, the heartgold/ soulsilver arrange of this song just reminded me of a lot of the beauty in life, despite my suffering.

it's hard for me to have a long-distance relationship, but i am just about as happy as my boyfriend is for us forming a meaningful bond together. his opinions may come off as wacky and kooky and he may be a bit absent-minded; but deep down, i know he really cares a lot about the things he talks about. i've told him many times how unbearable it was watching him squabble with other people about their own opinions, but i still love him regardless. there are times when we respectfully disagree on things so it isn't so grim as i've written it out to be.

i just wished that people would take video games as an art form much more seriously, and when i came to talk to him about it, he agrees with me but simply says he can't do a lot to help the situation; i very much understand that. sometimes we all just have different opinions on things and while that may warrant unwanted conflicts, that's entirely fine.

i like to imagine national park as like, a place that people regularly go to in this universe (no i do not know what part of the pokemon world this is). i like to believe that we'd see different kinds of people here, thus the arrangement reflecting that fact added up with the commentary. you'd never know what you'd learn from other people. the more i appreciate people's perspectives, maybe the more happier i am. like with my boyfriend.

[rmncihld]

rewatching iwtv is interesting because most episodes become more nuanced, clearer, the second/third/... time. With knowledge of later events, book backstories, having thought about these characters for a long time, what I see isn't changed but is added on. I'm not just seeing the perspective of Louis, but also of Lestat and Armand. I feel more like I can see some kind of truth in between the story that is told.

And then I rewatch the trial episode and instead of everything becoming clearer, it keeps becoming more UNclear what is real and what is fake. What happened, what is misremembered, what is manipulated? Who is mindcontrolled when? What are anyone's motivations? Who knows what, when?

more than ever I'm convinced there has to be an episode in S3 that shows the trial again because there are SO many unanswered questions

[blacklegsanjiii]

I wanna see Mihawk with a fem golden!Sanji. I don't think much would change over all but I feel like Mihawk being a girldad would be hilarious. Because she's nine and looks like she's six and she's been through hell and back and she's scared of men and boys. Mihawk doesn't interact with girls or women all that much so Zeff shoving them together would be hilarious and heart warming I think. Mihawk would be The GirlDad™️ and not even know it. This is so long. I'm so sorry(not).

Like Mihawk who wraps and braids and cords his swords looking at his daughters hair and taking the time to help care for it and make it look nice because she hasn't had somebody do that for her in years. She lends an ear to his stories and music and she doesn't comment for a while, a long while but when she does start adding her opinions in a soft voice he does smile a bit.

They probably dance a lot, like Mihawk would have taught golden!Sanji anyway, but with his daughter he probably teaches her more of the pairs dances she might have to do during Baratie parties or something. But she's small, like half his size when she starts learning so he's holding her and dancing around the room and she's laughing and Mihawk is smiling. During one such Baratie party Zeff managed to get a photo of this and it's framed in Mihawk's office. The one Sanji has framed in her room is of her passed out on Mihawk's chest in her chef coat and pants and him passed out with an arm over Sanji and the other over his eyes. Five people in the world have seen these photos and no one else believes they exist.

Sanji knows a lot about sex, no one who works at sea - no matter how old, unfortunately - can't not know. Mihawk tries to make the conversations not awkward but like he's Mihawk and Sanji is Sanji so at first they're probably awkward and very factual until Sanji's older and living Baratie and asking her dad some bizarre questions about sex, like what certain acts are or something. Like technical terms and when he's asking her why she's asking she mentions how Zeff and the cooks killed a man or something for propositioning her or something and Mihawk is like 'Ah, yes. I did leave you in good hands for work training, but nothing else.' and then explains whatever she's asking and they'll dive into the nuances of certain acts or the mechanics.

And when Zoro and Perona are on Kuraigana, Mihawk is looking at them and is like 'okay, well, my daughter's not here and neither of you will fit in her clothes' and they're both shocked he has a kid as he digs in old chests and finds clothes for them. Perona isn't in Sanji's old room but they are allowed to look through the room and see if there's anything they'd like to borrow. Zoro probably finds a very old copy of Noland the Liar and tells Mihawk and Perona going there and how the cook was scared of all the bugs. Mihawk is neutral until Zoro opens up the page and sees Sanji's name and Zoro laughs and says there's two people named three in the world and Perona has keyed into something but she's not sure what as Mihawk is like 'just one, to my knowledge, my daughter is the cook of your crew.' and Zoro pales immediately.

One time they're all in Mihawk's office as he goes over paperwork and Perona asks why there's a blonde braid on his desk next to a photo of him and a kid. Zoro comes to look and says they both remind him of Sanji and Mihawk is like 'did you both already forget who my daughter is?' as pinches the bridge of his nose. Mihawk explains the braid is from when Sanji moved to Baratie full time and left home. She has one of Yoru's old cords and her own photo from a Baratie party. Also no one will believe them that this photo exists. Nor is anyone going to believe them about Mihawk having a daughter. He sits back and watches in amusement as realization takes both of them and that outside of the geezer and Sanji, no one will believe Zoro and no one in Perona's life will believe her.

When the Strawhats are reunited Zoro corners Sanji and demands to see the photo of her and her dad and Sanji is making fun of him for losing his eye on Kuraigana as she shows him the photo and the cord. I also feel like it becomes common knowledge on the ship because someone(Usopp and Luffy) found the photo and brandished it to the crew and Robin is cooing at baby Sanji with Nami and Zoro is talking about the photo Mihawk has on his desk. Everyone is staring at the cook in awe and she points out none of them asked.

Every time they get an ally and Luffy is introducing his crew and gets to Sanji she thumps him on the head and is like 'you can't keep telling people who my dad is! You're going to get us killed!' and no one fucking believes it until they pass the photo on the way into the galley. And (for the Lawsan agenda) everyone always makes a comment about how darling they look but Law asks how Mihawk even acquired her and Sanji mentions he saved her and the geezer and took her with. Geezer said he needed someone to make the man soft so the blonde girl would do. Law is like 'oh this is me and Cora just flipped' and then he starts falling for the cook. Because she is good at making people soft, she gives him a place away from Luffy and the others, has coffee ready at all times of the day, and is insanely good at bickering with multiple people as well as intelligent conversations. When they start dating, post WCI and during Wano, Sanji brings up meeting her dad eventually and Law points out he's met the man. Sanji says knowing the man as a warlord and as her boyfriend are different and will garner different reactions which makes Law blanch and Jinbei and Marco fucking lose it at them.

When Law does meet the man as Sanji's boyfriend? It's happenstance, Mihawk is sailing by and figured he'd check on Zoro(and Sanji) and Sanji has a few drinks in her(courtesy of Ikkaku) and is on Law's lap when he rolls up he hears the crews talking and Zoro and Luffy welcome him aboard since this isn't pirate business, just a man checking on his kids and Luffy announces to everyone that 'Sanjis dad is here!' and Law and Sanji are staring at the swordsman who is staring back as Shachi and Penguin are losing it and Law shambles him and his girlfriend away out of not panic but a definite fear for his safety.

Sanji is of course telling him he's dumb and just made it so much worse for them because her dad is a master of observation haki. He will find them. Law groans buries his face in her neck because they're a few drinks deep and were not planning on introductions yet, but they have to be made. Also they shambled to Law's room on the Tang so they have to make their way from the Tang to the Sunny. Mihawk is talking with Zoro and nods at them as they go back and Zoro asks Law if Mihawk scared him that much and Sanji says to be nice but Mihawk does agree he's a rather frightful person to have as your partner's parent. Sanji frowns at him and Mihawk raised a brow at her and then she very unceremoniously drags her dad to the galley and he lets her. He just goes which might be the more concerning part because even Zoro is surprised the man lets her pull him around.

They return with wine and glasses to join the party and Law can tell his girlfriend is blushing from whatever they were talking about in the galley as she stands beside him and Mihawk next to her and they open the wine as Mihawk looks to Law.

"I don't necessarily do 'shovel talks' if that's what you're concerned about." Mihawk says smoothly.

"Right." Law nods. "Knowing you're her father is enough, I assume?"

"Well, Zeff and the cooks from Baratie maimed or killed those who were...uncouth. I have no doubt my daughter would kick your ass if you needed it. I assume I would only be called if something dire were to happen." Mihawk answers as he sips his wine. "I didn't kill Roronoa to defend my daughter's honor because she can do that herself."

"Yeah, sure." Zoro hummed in his drink. Sanji handed her glass to Law as Mihawk looked amused and then shocked at Sanji's legs catching on fire as she rushed the green haired man.

"She can skywalk too." Law says as he watches the fight start. "When I saved Zoro-ya after Kaido punched him I shambled us down and she happened to catch both of us. One on each shoulder and still managed to not lose speed."

"Yes, well, being a chef does require a decent amount of upper body strength already, cooking for this crew even more so." Mihawk acknowledges. "Though her hair not being braided is new." He tacks on tilting his head as the wings fight.

"She hasn't the entire time we have been dating." Law says in a questioning tone. Mihawk hums as they watch the cook fight the swordsman, Luffy is laughing and reminding Law he can't take Sanji with him which makes Law flush and yell at him which makes Mihawk chuckle into his wine as the fight concludes. Sanji goes back over and Mihawk hands her his glass and just starts braiding her hair because 'what the fuck have you been doing to your hair?' 'Nothing! Look at my crew! It wouldn't last a day!' 'So pin it.' and everyone is watching him make quick work of her hair and then takes his wine back. The father daughter duo definitely threaten to call Zeff on each other. Mihawk is surprisingly relaxed during the party, even when his daughter leaves with her boyfriend to sleep,

The next morning he's helping Sanji cook in the galley of the Thousand Sunny and Law is the first to come in, despite his hangover, and does say his cooks are providing breakfast to his crew and Sanji nods and gives him coffee. As the crew filters in for breakfast Nami asks Mihawk about braiding and how quick he did it. Mihawk answers he's been cording sword hilts for most of his life and wrapping with multiple cords is just braiding and applying it to his daughter's hair was not so different and offers a demonstration. Which Nami agrees to eagerly and Robin smiles and says that would be a good idea. Mihawk tells Law he is participating, no arguments.

After breakfast is cleaned up Sanji is sat on a chair on deck and Nami has brought the hair pins and hair ties out and Mihawk shows them all several different braids, ranging from simple to intricate. Law is taking many mental notes during this whole thing. When he is made to do a braid on his girlfriend under her father's watchful eye Law doesn't shake because he's a surgeon who has been in worse situations and executes it well. Mihawk departs with a clap to his shoulder and a promise the next time they'll meet to be an excellent fight. Sanji is smiling and once Mihawk is gone asks Law how it was meeting her dad. Law groans and curses her and pulls her close because her dad is terrifying and he's afraid he knotted the shit out of her hair and he will hear about it.

[quitefair]

The Temple of Mythal and Greek Sculpture

Or: How Bioware takes from history without any nuance.

--

Picture this. You're me, playing Inquisition for the first time. You get to the Temple of Mythal, the doors shut behind you and you finally get to look around. It's a typical elven ruin for the game, nothing much seems different...

Hold on.

Hold the fuck on.

You know what that is.

You know what that's based on, and for a long time after it tickles you. Oh, maybe that meant something in the grander scheme of things! We've never seen such a blatant reference to a real-life sculpture anywhere else in game (to my knowledge at the time)! Maybe it'll come up later and it'll all make sense!

Here's the deal. I've been bothered by this for years. The more I think about it, the more angry I become. Anger over a single fucking type of statue, you say? There's a lot of other shit to be angry over in this game, and you choose this?

YES! I CHOOSE THIS! AND THIS IS WHY.

--

Picture this. You're me again, aged 14 this time. You're in the Louvre, the first museum of Western classical art you've ever been to. You've grown up in a place where this interest could only be cultivated from extra-curricular reading, and for a kid that age from my country to be ass deep in Greek and Egyptian myth is frankly lmao. Neurodivergent. Anyway.

So we're wandering around the Louvre, I've just taken my parents through the Egyptian section and given them a thorough infodump on everything I know about burial rites.

And then we enter this room. And I very nearly fall to my knees when I catch sight of her.

This is the sculpture the statues at the Temple of Mythal are based on - one Winged Victory of Samothrace.

She is a sculpture from the Hellenestic era, depicting the goddess Nike stood at the prow of a ship. Her head and both arms are missing, save one hand with two fingers (also in the Louvre but displayed separately). She was found on the Greek island of Samothrace, among the ruins of what was known as the Sanctuary of the Great Gods. It seemed like she was displayed at the top of a hill, looming down at all that regarded her.

I’ve had the absolute privilege of seeing her in person twice in my life, both before and after the 2013 restoration. And let me tell you, regardless of which staircase that leads you there, the sight of her will stop you in your tracks.

[Now with people, for scale.]

She is massive. Larger than life, and immediately is the centre of your attention. It's not the fact that she has no head, no arms. No, you will realise the closer you get to her, the more you're able to appreciate the details of this absolutely astounding piece of history.

No. It's because she feels so alive.

The way her robes drape against flesh, wet from sea-spray or rain, yet flowing with the motion of an invisible wind. The wings cast behind her dramatically as her right foot steps forward. Standing tall and proud, unflinching, unbowed against the elements. Even without her arms, you can feel how dynamic the torso and legs are.

You don't need to be an art historian, or even have any knowledge of Greek myth or art history to stand in front of her, as I once did as a young teen, and nearly be brought to tears.

So.

This brings me to the first of the two main gripes I have with the way this sculpture is used in Inquisition.

Compared to the way she's displayed in the Louvre, and also presumably how she was presented to her original audience - larger than life, looming, powerful, beautiful - she is relegated instead to smaller, repeating statues of the same nature throughout the temple.

This diminishes the purpose of the original sculpture, which was to instill a sense of awe and wonder. The singularity that forces you to focus and appreciate the scale and intricacy. The aura, the gravitas of having a single, massive sculpture of such a dynamic figure is completely gone.

And to make things worse, they Mythal-ify her. Adding a helmed head and changing her beautiful feathered wings to leathery dragon wings. They don't even add arms, which is odd because the original sculpture very clearly is missing its arms.

And, may I ask, Why?

It feels cheap, like they saw the Winged Victory and were like 'oh shit this is a cool sculpture, we should add it in game' without giving any fucking thought to what the sculpture means.

Which brings me to the second gripe. The complete disregard for the symbolism of the Winged Victory.

Detail from the Athena fountain, Parliament Building of Vienna, showing Nike the Winged Victory in the palm of Athena's hand [source]

Nike is a minor Greek deity, said to be the daughter of Pallas (a Titan) and the river Styx. Her other siblings by the same parents include Zelus (Zeal),  Bia (Might) and Kratos (Strength).

Yes. That Kratos.

She was one of the earliest gods to pledge her allegiance to Zeus in the Titonomachy, and after the victory of the Olympians, Nike and the other gods that allied with them were allowed to live on Olympus. In her aspect as Victory, she is closely associated with several of the major Greek gods, and in particular, Athena.

There's also her Roman counterpart, Victoria. This version doesn't come with the backstory Nike has, but is more of a general concept of victory. This is the aspect that is present in a lot of the modern sculptures and interpretations of Nike/Victoria:

Left: Detail from the Berlin Victory Column. Right: Detail from the Victoria Memorial, London. Note the similar iconography, of a woman seemingly standing against a strong wind, fabric and cloth adhering and yet flowing against the breeze, wings outstretched.

From this, we can probably extrapolate what our beloved Winged Victory might've looked like. Here's an artist's render of one possibility:

There's some iconography we need to go through before moving on - symbols that are commonly associated with Nike/Victoria.

One is the trumpet as see in the reconstruction above, the sound and symbol of the end of war, of impending peace. Another is the laurel wreath, another Greek symbol of victory and achievement. Famously, laurel wreaths were used to crown victors of the original Olympic games.

This is another conversation entirely, but there’s a discussion to be had about the duality of Elgar’nan and Mythal, in term of vengeance and justice, and how an emotional rage versus a calculated wisdom can be compared to the difference between the two Greek gods of war – Ares and Athena.

If we can compare Mythal to Athena, in the sense of her wisdom in making difficult decisions, then it’s not a stretch to associate Mythal with the symbolism of Nike, and therefore explain the presence of statues similar to the Winged Victory in her temple.

But since Bioware absolutely did not put this in the game for anything other than the Aesthetic, there’s some problems that need to be addressed.

Mainly in the way in which these statues are scattered throughout the temple. If you wanted static, ominous statues to line the walls as your player characters explore, perhaps have like, I dunno. Less dynamic statues that you reference?

Left: Nike of Paionos, Right: Stele 1 of Las Incantadas

Or maybe instead of statues, have friezes lining the walls. Like this one from the equally iconic Pergamon altar, depicting the Giganomanchy.

It’s the same symbolism, the wings, the smiting of foes and victory of good over evil.

And then perhaps, at the heart of the temple... where, y'know Bioware, lay a body of water sacred to Mythal herself, you could've perhaps done something remarkable. You could then have had the most dramatic and beautiful entrance you’d ever seen.

[Nike, at the iconic Daru Staircase, the Louvre]

It was at this moment that Mythal walked out of the sea of the earth's tears and onto the land. She placed her hand on Elgar'nan's brow, and at her touch he grew calm and knew that his anger had led him astray. - Codex entry: Mythal: The Great Protector

Mythal herself strides out of the Well Of Sorrows, the metaphorical tears of her followers that died and kept their knowledge alive in her name. Her (draconic) wings spread out, (restored) hands outstretched to touch her husband, to calm the rage that nearly destroyed this world.

A symbol of victory against the blind rage of a god against His father, the Sun. A symbol of wisdom and grace, against the violence of hatred. A divine sense of something bigger than anything we could imagine.

There's also the lack of iconography regarding victory, instead piling on some cheap representations of what we think of as Mythal. That's another post entirely on the symbolism of the Elven gods, but if Bioware really wanted to hone in on the Athena/Athena Nike parallels, they might have thrown in the trumpet/laurel/palm leaf symbolism with the statues, alongside the dragon wings.

If this were the case, then maybe, just maybe, Inquisition would’ve then earned the use of this sculpture in the game.

Sources not listed above/Further reading if you're interested

https://www.louvre.fr/en/explore/the-palace/a-stairway-to-victory

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1412/winged-victory-the-nike-of-samothrace/https://smarthistory.org/nike-winged-victory-of-samothrace/

https://smarthistory.org/nike-winged-victory-of-samothrace/

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/greek-art/hellenistic/a/nike-winged-victory-of-samothrace

[bairdthereader]

Intentional Touch, Respected Space: A By-Episode Study, Part 2

This is the space where their love grows in safety.

S1E2: Crush

[Note: My longest and giffy-est post yet, but episode 2 is nothing short of monumental in the Narlie relationship. Grab a cuppa, a few biscuits, settle in, and enjoy!]

When we pick up with episode two, Nick and Charlie are in their private spaces, both trying to process the events of the day. Charlie does this by playing the drums and likely engaging in some very negative and circular thought patterns. Nick, meanwhile, is busy integrating this new knowledge of Charlie’s life experience with Nick’s previous, less nuanced perception of him. He’s trying to get a more complete picture of Charlie, to understand more deeply how this part of Charlie’s life affects the rest of it and makes him who he is. Of course he turns to the internet first, because Nick. We get the sense that maybe Nick has never really looked at Charlie’s Insta, based on how charmed he is by the first few lighthearted posts he sees. Then he comes across Charlie’s post succinctly expressing his hatred for school and his horrible experiences there.

This triggers a flood of memories of comments Nick had heard made about Charlie around the time he was outed the year before. While it’s highly unlikely that Nick hasn’t thought about this at all in the time he’s gotten to know Charlie, perhaps it’s been mostly background noise, or at least somewhat removed from his own experiences with Charlie. After witnessing Ben’s psychological and physical assault on Charlie, these memories have new profundity, clarity, and a terrible nearness. And they bring with them some delayed and misplaced guilt; now that Nick knows Charlie personally, he knows he would have done something about the past bullying if he’d had the chance. This is the wholeness of understanding Nick wants, even if it is uncomfortable and distressing, and with it comes a pressing concern for Charlie’s well-being. Nick feels an intense need to check in, so he does.

Of course it must be noted that Charlie made the virtual check-in leap first, after a bout of classic Charlie Spring overthinking. Justified overthinking in this case, since Charlie is highly aware that, immediately after he and Nick were pushed across boundaries in their friendship by the confrontation with Ben, he’s stepping over another line by adding texting to the mix. At the risk of getting a bit too meta, I’ll say this counts as an intentional, if virtual, touch. It’s a point of contact, reaching across the space between them, and though there’s an asynchrony to this form of touch, it’s still a new type of closeness for Nick and Charlie. It’s clear that they have not exchanged messages before, so by establishing this connection Charlie moves their communication from school-based and public to online and private. It doesn’t seem like a big deal on the face of it, but it is; it’s a pebble dropped in a pond that starts a flood.

Especially when Nick decides to reciprocate. Another thing we have to note here is that, in direct contrast to Ben’s rapid-fire, aggressive texts with Charlie, Nick gives Charlie time to respond. He respects that space between them, the room Charlie needs to emotionally maneuver and figure out how much he wants to tell Nick about Ben. Only when his uneasiness over Charlie's silence grows too great does he follow up on his original question, and even then, he continues to respect the space. He acknowledges Charlie’s right to keep things to himself, and simply offers a confirmation of his friendship, reiterating to Charlie that he is safe and trustworthy, and then leaving Charlie to decide on his own.

Charlie chooses to trust and share.

This new thread of connection snaps taut between them, and it never loosens again.

There now exists an increased ease between Nick and Charlie. When Nick invites Charlie to his house (ostensibly to meet Nellie), Charlie's posture is clearly relaxed and just slightly curled toward Nick, while Nick’s invitation is delivered easily and with no hesitation. Now, not only do they have private online conversation, they also have time together away from the social confines of school, time that belongs only to them. Another boundary is removed, that space between them narrowed just a bit more.

After requisite “hi”s have been exchanged and Nellie has been given the attention she rightfully deserves, Nick practically flings himself across the intentional touch divide. Charlie’s had a haircut (has he though? I’m with Tori on this one), and Nick reaches out, across the open doorway, to gently tug at Charlie’s curls. Charlie is obviously surprised, pleased, and a little confused. But this is a clear indicator from Nick, and a fairly clear acceptance from Charlie, that this kind of playful touch now falls within the bounds of their friendship. While there's a lot going on here for Nick as he realizes he does, in fact, notice aspects of Charlie's physical appearance and have strong enough reactions to them to both have and offer an opinion, he is not intentionally flirting with this gesture any more than Charlie is by asking nervously if the haircut is bad. Any flirting here is accidental or subconscious; they're still maintaining that caring respect for each other.

After Nick lists (just a few, it must be said) of Charlie’s positive qualities, Charlie mirrors Nick’s earlier playfulness with some of his own, covering Nick’s mouth with his hand and pushing him down on the bed. This could easily have become a more heated moment for Charlie, but it doesn’t, in part because Charlie is still incredibly conscious of the space required by their differing vantage points on the relationship. He uses only one hand, the other still grasping the video game controller and held down by his side; he looks at Nick's face only for a brief second before diverting his gaze; and he lets Nick push him off easily. Still, this is a freer Charlie than we’ve seen thus far, a Charlie who understands that, crush and romantic feelings aside, he’s found someone he can be himself with, and with whom he can safely express some affection, even if he has to keep the larger part of it concealed. Nick is surprised but responds in kind, equally playful with a huge smile and laughing “get off me!” (though notably slow to actually physically push Charlie away). His face clearly shows delight in witnessing a side of Charlie he hasn’t seen before, and these moments of casual but respectful touch have played a part in that.

Then comes the snow, and possibly the sweetest montage of the whole season. Here is a place where they can bring joy and easy openness into that safe, respected space between them. We get a glimpse of Nick brushing snow out of Charlie’s hair, shoving snow into the neck of Charlie’s coat, and flopping down to make a snow angel close enough to Charlie to brush his arm. Charlie’s delighted surprise is a little more nuanced, because the beginnings of hope are making themselves known, and there's a little bit of speculation in the way he views Nick's actions.

Despite Nick’s clear comfort with Charlie’s nearness (only Nellie separates them in this final scene, and Nick’s upper arm is crossed over Charlie’s while they talk in the snow), Charlie is still a bit more restrained—he doesn’t initiate much of this contact. He’s conscious of the fact that touch still means something slightly different, slightly more, to him than it does to Nick, so he generally allows Nick to choose when to use intentional touch.

While Nick’s conversation with his mom later isn’t about touch, I do think it’s there in the subtext. Sarah tells Nick he seems more himself around Charlie, so we have to conclude that she’s at least partly referencing the relaxed playfulness Nick experiences with Charlie (which is absent or at least different from his interactions with the rugby lads, with whom Nick is always aware, on some level, of the persona he is expected to present in that environment). Nick’s default setting is physical affection, but he’s been holding back all this time. With Charlie, Nick can let down his guard, trusting that the safe space they're nurturing between them, where they can see each other clearly and authentically, will allow Charlie to appreciate this essential part of Nick's nature.

The result—according to Nick, one of his favorite days, ever.

---

Much confusion and speculation about Nick's sexuality and romantic availability ensue among Charlie's friend group, causing Charlie to have extreme doubts about those stirrings of hope he felt while spending time with Nick. Nick immediately understands that something is wrong, and Charlie's highly uncharacteristic reticence toward him lets Nick know that whatever is wrong clearly has something to do with himself. He very deliberately puts a little extra space between them, trying to give Charlie room if that's what he needs, while also turning to face him a little more completely, opening himself up and communicating a willingness to listen. When Charlie still declines to talk, Nick, with his characteristic emotional intelligence, leans back in, removing that extra space, helping Charlie see that whatever's going on, Nick wants to understand it and, if he can, help fix it. Charlie, after an internal battle, briefly but decisively sets aside his doubts to ask Nick to come round his house. After all the drama and rumors, it comes down to just the two of them, as it always should have been, offering each other the space and support and patience they need to understand each other.

When Nick struggles in his attempts to play the drums, Charlie’s deeply buried but powerful self-confidence comes briefly to the fore and he tells Nick to budge up. He’s testing the waters here a little; by saying “let me help,” he’s still giving Nick the option to decline, but Charlie definitely isn't his usual deferential self in this moment. Nick does not decline; in fact, there is nervous excitement all over his face. Both of them are fully aware that they’re erasing that physical space between them—they’re pressed together from shoulder to knee—and they both agreed to be there.

Charlie takes Nick’s hands and guides him through a drum sequence, clearly focused and happy, in his wheelhouse for once, while Nick finally, fully realizes and admits to himself on some level that the kind of touch he wants to share with Charlie has changed. He can barely mask the confusion and exhilaration and little bit of fear that he’s feeling when Charlie stops playing and looks back up at him.

Then we have a very intentional removal of touch as Charlie recognizes that, maybe, this interaction affected Nick more intensely than Charlie, or even Nick, first thought it would. Charlie releases Nick’s hands and steps away, reinstating that safe space between them, giving Nick (and himself, really) a chance to assess how they’re both feeling. Nerves and uncertainty play a part in this, and Charlie is clearly a little concerned about appearing too flirty toward Nick, but by taking a step back he's also respecting that bit of fear and confusion he sees in Nick, trying to lessen it if he can.

And now we get to the most casually yet profoundly intimate scene thus far, as Charlie falls asleep on the couch while Nick watches a movie, both of them bathed in golden evening light and swathed in separate blankets, Nick much closer to Charlie's side of the couch than his own. Nick looks at Charlie with intensely confused longing—the first time he’s looking at Charlie when no one else, not even Charlie himself, can witness it—and wonders, what would it be like if this space between them was gone? What if he could be that close to Charlie?

And here he tests himself—does he have the nerve, or even the self-understanding required to take Charlie’s hand? Is that actually what he wants? Nick bravely pushes himself to cross the divide and confront his new reality. When he hovers his hand over Charlie’s, the intent to actually touch is there, but it’s not quite enough to overcome the fear and follow through. Nick pulls away, once again retreating into the safe space between them to process the fact that he very, very much wanted to hold Charlie’s hand. This happens not once, but twice, as Nick essentially double-checks his own impulses to make sure he understands them, to make sure he does feel this way about Charlie. Nick's gaze takes in Charlie's whole face--obviously there's a thought about kissing somewhere in there, but Nick is considering the entirety of his relationship with Charlie, the intensity of his emotions toward and about Charlie as a whole person. The potential for a different kind of intentional touch is just the final piece of that puzzle.

Now it’s late, quiet, and for all Nick and Charlie know they are, for the moment, alone (Tori’s lurking notwithstanding). There’s a sense, unspoken and shaky but undeniably there, that the tenor of their friendship has shifted. Charlie admits that he wishes Nick didn’t have to leave, a statement that, in a less charged setting would mean little. Here, though, it's a subtle admission of deeper feeling. Nick admits he would like to stay as well, and follows it up with a very telling line: “You look so . . . cuddly like that.” Lots of things are going on here. First, Nick is not looking at Charlie’s face for much of this exchange—he's looking at the rest of Charlie’s body. And this is only the second time Nick has commented on Charlie’s appearance; unlike when he notices Charlie’s haircut, here there is nothing obvious prompting this comment other than Nick’s own desire to voice his thoughts. Nick’s word choice is interesting, too. He could have said “cozy,” “comfy,” or some such. Instead, he says "cuddly," a word with connotations of both appearance and action, specifically reciprocal action. To say Charlie looks cuddly implies that Nick has thought about Charlie’s cuddlable-ness (not a word, but stay with me here). Combine that with the progression of the conversation—from admitting he doesn’t want to leave to telling Charlie he looks cuddly—indicates that Charlie’s cuddleable-ness is at least partly the reason Nick doesn’t want to leave.

Charlie, with all of his suppressed hope, tentatively picks up what Nick is putting down. “Do I?” really means, “did you mean that like I hope you meant it?” Nick responds with an emphatic “Yeah.” Then there is a pause while Nick holds a quick internal debate. Charlie waits, seeing clearly that Nick is struggling with something. As Charlie often does for Nick, he’s maintaining the space between them and allowing Nick to make his own decision about whether a meaningful touch is what he wants. This is one of Charlie’s most profound and consistent means of caring for and protecting Nick, and proof of how highly attuned he is to Nick’s conflicted emotions.

Nick comes to a clear decision and embraces Charlie for the first time. Charlie, unable to quite believe it and unsure of the meaning behind it, waits several beats to return the hug, giving Nick a lot of room to change his mind. And while Nick is clearly a bit panicked about his actions and their ramifications for him, while he is confused and scared, he intentionally, courageously chose this hug, this meaningful touch, as an expression of his deep care for Charlie.

And this is when that actual physical space between them becomes intangible space. It is still there, still a vastly important part of their evolving relationship, but when Nick and Charlie are alone, that space is now held between their minds and hearts rather than in the tangible world.

[bitchesgate3]

Disclaimer: I have not romanced Minthara nor have I fully played the Dark Urge.

One thing I've experienced whilst having Minthara in my party since Moonrise is that there feels like there are narratively TWO Mintharas. And the Durge break up makes sense for one and not the other.

This 1st Minthara: Upon rescuing Minthara, all your initial conversations are deeply emotional. And later ones at camp are so deeply insightful that her maturity and experience compared to the other companions really stands out.

She understands the plots going on and the subterfuge and conspiracy. She reflects on her experiences with the Absolute, her understanding of the Chosen 3, her gratitude about being saved by Tav, her time under Orin's thrall, and gives us glimpses into the emotions that run through all these experiences.

How does a merciless woman grapple with being shown mercy? Her specifically. Not Dror Ragzlin. Not Priestess Gut. But her - singled out - for mercy?

This Minthara feels like she makes sense of these experiences for herself, to find a life to carve out on her own - integrated with her indomitable spirit. She is a dynamic and nuanced character and makes her a must-have companion for me on ANY playthrough.

However, another Minthara exists.

Minthara is most likely intended to be Chaotic Evil. She comes across as Lawful at times, but I think she was de facto made to be compatible with any type of evil, hence she must be chaotic. As opposed to Lae'zel who with Lawful Evil and disapproves if you are dishonorable in some way.

Astarion in EA was more overtly Chaotic Evil leaning Neutral Evil, and probably more conventionally chaotic because some of what he approved of felt like evil for shits and giggles. Following his whims and entertainment.

Minthara on the other hand is certainly calculated by comparison. She understands that seeding disorder is a way to destabilize an existing power in order to obtain it for one's self. This knowledge of undermining pairs extremely well with the overarching mindflayer plot. So while she may inevitably seek more secure power for herself, her ambient dialogue options encourage chaotic evil in this way.

And that's where this 2nd Minthara character comes in. She is the only companion that consistently disapproves of every "good" aligned decision the other companions make. She encourages you to make deals with Gortash and the Emperor (THE master manipulators), and has all these big plans for world domination right out the gate that she sort of assumes you're on board with.

The most egregious thing for me is that she grants approval for the silliest evil actions in the game.

It's clear to me that being opportunistically evil, selfish, and self-serving makes sense for a character like Minthara who utilizes chaos and fear for her own goals, but I find that because she is the only character who could possibly align that way, Larian gives her EVERY possible [calculated] chaotic evil approval that comes up.

So this 2nd Minthara ends up saying the most contrived, cartoonishly evil dialogue responses that really breaks immersion because it feels as if she's only saying that because she's the only companion who can.

That being said, I don't mind this "2nd Minthara"/Chaotic Evil Minthara existing and actually being a part of her character (because clearly this is intended and part of the authors' vision), but when the 1st Minthara seems to hint at possessing divergent thought while this 2nd Minthara seems stuck in her ways, I can't merge the two entities as the same one.

I actually think the game needs to add flags similar to Gale and the Crown where the more you agree with Minthara on her disapproving of the companions defying their dominators/approving when they align with them, only then you will get the Durge break up if you defy yours.

Just adding those flags - not even adding new content - would be an easy fix and I think would help justify why these two Minthara's even exist.

[monocle-teacup]

Should Earthspark been a sequel instead of a standalone? I don’t see anyone discussing this.

In ES, we got Optimus who is the same as in G1, Spike Witwicky exists (or he’s a nobody), we don’t know how they got to Earth or how the fight began on Earth, did they have selected allies, who died, what characters exist in this continuity, what happened during the war on Earth that could play a significant role in the post-war, what concepts exists?? A lot of the story is generalized. Nothing interesting, just ‘post-war inspired by G1; make it vague, fill the minor gaps, add some changes and let the imagination fill in the rest’. I could be wrong. But I love that they borrowed some IDW ideas.

New audiences are not going to understand what’s going on and not get into this story. Only fans can watch this with their existing knowledge from other continuities. Watching a standalone show as a fan kinda feels… unfulfilling, empty, I don’t how else to say it. I’m glad it’s a new idea but it’s less satisfying. We don’t know who or what the iconic characters (Autobots and Decepticons) are in this setting, they have smaller roles and don’t have much depth. Especially for new viewers.

IMO, ES should be separate from G1. Even if it was a sequel, it wouldn't save the show from writing quality issues which I'll get to later.

From what I've seen on other sites like tfw2005 and reddit, one of the only times ES gets brought up is when a person asks if it's a sequel to G1. It doesn't help how much G1 fan service ES has. While it's neat long time fans can have a "I understood that reference!" moment, there are also TF fans that are sick of the G1 pandering and want something new. ES was supposed to be that, but then it added the fan service like it knew some people would immediately reject the show because it strayed too much from the typical TF formula. It's pretty telling that ES S2 pretty much scrapped everything from S1 to the point that one of the staff made a tweet about it:

Budget and time constraints are most likely a factor for how how vague things are in ES. However, most of the vagueness feels intentional because the writing quality wasn't up the challenge of doing actual nuance. It'd be hard to really make the Cons and Megatron sympathetic if they were shown being utter bastards like most of them were in G1 and especially in IDW. The writing across all seasons of ES operates on the assumption/hope that the audience won't question anything.

And I know people are probably sick of me bringing this up, but the show's insistence with focusing on the Maltos as well as the way they're written is a huge reason why ES never realized its full potential. How are you supposed to look at the effects of war when the main humans behave like there wasn't a war most of the time? Wanna see more of the actual TF characters doing something? Too bad, this is the Robby and Mo Show. Sure, the TFs do get some time to shine, but they ultimately take a backseat to Robby and Mo. The Terrans were supposed to be a new subspecies of TF, but being a Malto is the most important thing.

So many people like to cite Nightshade as being THE reason ES failed when the reality is that the show's overall writing turned a lot of people away. It being a G1 sequel might've made more viewers stick around longer, but nostalgia can only get you so far.

If the writing was better in S1, I'm 100% certain that ES would've been one of my favorite TF series as well as one of my favorite cartoons in general.

[bandtrees]

AAHHHH!!! AAHHHHHHHH DIALTOWN AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay i've had a night to sit on the evil route and put my thoughts together and holy shit dude. ALL OF IT- all of it was so good but i'm obviously (being the callum and gingi guy) going to focus on the callum and gingi stuff. spoilers ahead if you have not done the evil route gooo do it!!!!

i think looking at the worst end of the evil route is best to view through the lens of "the literal opposite of ch3" and also "knowing who milt and marla and all of them are" because - for starters - i think the approach dogman has taken, out of universe, is genius. i know milt and marla aren't ingame mostly for writing constraint reasons, but the specifics of their lives (milt's especially, being basically erased from history) not being something you ever get is really really good because history just... does not remember them!

milt committed suicide but according to dogman that's not even public knowledge, as far as anyone in-universe knows he just disappeared and all of the turmoil that took place is kind of lost to time. and i think knowledge of his name, much less what happened to him, being something you have to dig through paratext and get an easter egg of a fuckin tie-in web quiz to learn, is... probably the experience you'd more or less have in-universe. he's someone you only really know if you're really into the subject.

and to be honest i dont think i would have it any other way, because what the dlc does to you if you're one of those who know is MADDENING. it's everywhere. the hat motif. i have very strong feelings on evil route peter essentially having the exact role marla must have - the conversations gingi has with the narrator, with roger, is soooooo gooooood. it's a subtle background puzzle you get to piece together that (i reckon) also would hit hard for any player who doesn't Know(tm).

(and that also segues into a general feeling i have about the dlc, being that i am not a dsaf guy at all, i was into dialtown first and i have no interest in dsaf i'm sure its great but just not something i think i'll ever look into: for a bit before this dlc i was worried if it would be enjoyable as someone who's not into dsaf or has context for any cameo characters or references - but it was and is :D the characters all exist perfectly in dialtown and the references that exist still have merit on their own and are funny/etc on their own even without whatever added context im sure dsaf gives. which is good and i love it.)

all of that to say, i really really love what this dlc did for so many characters, but especially gingi and callum (and the narrator!) - i love how, as seems to be callum's destiny with maladjusted people, gingi only sees him as an incomplete and biased ideal to strive for. we simultaneously get so much weight and nuance to callum through seeing gingi go down a similar path, but also get so little of it because the only thing gingi cares about wrt callum is him being the "greatest salesman ever" and completely discarding the parts of him that made him anything but an industrial supervillain.

i think it wouldv been easy for it to just be "phonegingi is basically becoming (the worst parts of) callum and so, when they're working with mingus, finds some degree of kinship in the pictures etc of him" but the fact they're completely dismissive of mingus and her family history in every way, demanding the pictures of him be taken down, making a jab at him being "forgetful", staining and ruining them, etc, is even MORE telling of what they've become. much like callum was, they've found success and don't really think about how they got there or who helped them get there!

(see: mingus having marla's hat, which gingi takes from her when they execute her - you could say that hat symbolizes the genuine good that callum did despite his mixed legacy, and the love that he had for his wife and those closest to him: and that's something gingi is completely ignoring in favor of having it be another symbol of their (and callum's) power :D)

also the space ending. You're telling me gingi became wildly successful and then in an act of innovation-induced hubris, locked themself in an inescapable box, alone? Good god man. callum is INESCAPABLE in this route its so fucking good. elements of him and what happened to him and the path he went down are everywhere - even in other routes, there's roger's amnesia, there's gingi making other people suffer for their mistakes: it's so horrifying when you realize what's happening but in retrospect the signs were always there. roger's plant is literally crown mechanics. no wonder that man's juices are all over the goddamn place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

also gingi getting a cat tail in the bad ends is genius. 10/10 design choice. really good dlc. this is not a coherent ramble but i'm hopped up on being insane about what iv witnessed this weekend and also we have like no food in the house rn. we dont even have fucking milk iv had to make pb&js with this strangely tasting strangely textured squeeze bottle jelly and not even have milk with it. roger is the only thing keeping me stable

and roger himself is like... god, i dont even know what to say about him really? i adore him so much. he's a brilliantly written character. it's to the point where i cant even like analyze anything i just kind of have to point at him really hard and hope you understand. i related to him a lot as i'm sure a lot of people did. inexperience and "stupidity" and forgetfulness are traits that often get flattened into either completely sympathetic non-flaws or completely unlikable annoyances and i think how the dlc touched upon those traits of roger's - funnily a lot of the time, yet very respectfully and sympathetically when the time came for it, while never letting you forget the genuine harm it was causing to the people around him - was reaaaaally good. you love roger but you understand why others might not - but even then, like the rest of his workers, you still care about him first and foremost, not what he can accomplish.

and i think that duality being present in the good/evil routes is really good: roger's good ending is one where he flubs the presentation and hands the reins over to someone he trusts more to fix up the place, and he acknowledges his workers love him as a friend more than they do a leader. and the evil ending is the one where he has a wildly successful, energetic presentation that people love, and he's getting praise and is saving the plant and everyone's so excited, because not only is he promoting an underhanded shitty scam, but it's not him. he IS, like gingi, becoming a HORRIBLE version of himself: the point where good intentions or even ignorance begin to matter less and less in the face of actual harm being done. again, much like callum!!!!!

i also love peter. oh my god peter. in his marla crown era

i 100% had more to say but i'm beginning to lose it. oh yeah THE FUCKING INSULIN SCAM IS CRUEL. that part had me with my hand over my mouth and my eyes just agape at how fucking grim it was. the reveal that peter's wife is also diabetic makes it go from "pretty fucked up!" to "actively devastating". truly gingi at their worst. both it and the blowout argument they have with the narrator afterwards are done excellently. taking advantage of peter's tendency to worry about roger, roger's not wanting to upset peter, peter's fucking diabetic wife, is so so cruel and i love it. really really gets into the weight of what you're doing and how fucked up scams are, we are out of the realm of silly jokes about crypto and in the realm of ruining peoples' lives. it's so good.

anyway. really good dlc. i will surely have so much more to say and create about it. it maddens me that it's only five dollars because i dont think i will ever be the same again after that to be quite honest with you!!!! literally my only gripe is the way it's kind of carried on dialtown's general problem with its non-main female characters but that's something people have talked about more and articulated better than me.

good dlc. really good dlc. cough up the five dollars because it is truly worth so much more i havent even been able to touch upon here. and if you havent played dialtown cough up the eight dollars and then cough up the five dollars. its real good.

[bloop-bl00p]

The different planes of existence

IDK If “Plane” is the appropriate word, honestly but..

This is just me explaining things about the magic system, and there are basically three species that were created differently.

Humans, Angels and Demon. Oh and quick things, I added the Holy Trinity but changed it a bit because I tried to understand it before realizing that it doesn't make sense.

Jesus is The Son

The Holy Spirit is well... The Holy Spirit

The Father can be referred to as God

The Trinity created the world together, I’m still trying to put sense into this.

Being made from Light:

This is the Angels category Fallen or not, each of them is made from Holy Light. This means that they are pure and fundamentally good but good can be corrupted by Sin.

Sin is a tangible energy, it can be controlled but I’ll talk about it later. This corruption manifests by the angel shining less and less before the Light eventually goes out killing it in the process, since there’s no afterlife for them, they simply stop existing. It’s slow and you really notice it takes effect when it’s too late. Does that mean that all Fallen Angels are bound to die? Yes, but The Holy Spirit can purify them if they ask for forgiveness.

Being made from Sin:

Now I said earlier that it’s a tangible energy that can corrupt light. Sin is something that you do willingly while knowing the consequences of it. It seems that all forms of Sins lead to death and desolation.

The first form of Sin that was ever witnessed was with Lucifer, his pride led him to carry out acts of violence disrupting Heaven's policy. He knew trying to fight The Trinity was bad, he knew the difference between good and evil but he still did it anyway.

The second was with Adam and Eve, they did not know what was good and evil but The Trinity did say that they shouldn't eat from the Tree of Knowledge which they did anyway. One thing is that many people think They lied when They said that the Tree would kill them, They never did. Knowing what is good and what is wrong allows Sin to exist, it’s essentially a course of action that leads to death, spiritual and/or physical.

But enough of talking of sins as a corruption factor.

The Fallen Angels quickly realized the potential of this energy and since they needed a new source of power, due to their light dimming, they harvested Sins in the hearts of humans. First, they tempted mankind themselves then, after quietly getting powered up, the 7 most well-known harvesters eventually created Hellborns based on each of the most prominent sins of humanity. The Imps were the first, but other species with more interesting powers came after.

Those are the demons. Demons can hold multiple sins at the same time, it’s either from a partnership between the Sins where they decide to create a species together or when like a greedy type demons make a child with a lust one. Demons holding multiple sins usually have more interesting abilities and are favored as they can multitask.

And if you wonder what happens to demons in contact with light or blessed things…

Then there’s us humans:

Our souls are neutral at birth but can be both affected by goodness and evil. Unlike Angels, who will eventually die from being sinful, we are able to withstand this energy but it’s still leading us to death, just not physical.

Our sinful essence can be negated by the good we did in life, although Angels whose biology literally operates by following The Trinity or dying don't seem to understand that. While they will be a bit indulgent if you lie to steal candies, you will go to Hell if you kill someone. No matter the reasons, they don’t care if you were being forced, in a war, or defending yourself there’s no place for nuance in their eyes. You sinned.

So redemption is possible because we humans have the ability to change. The thing is, Sin is still a corruptible energy and there’s a point of no return, at this stage redemption is not possible anymore.

It's possible to reach this state on Earth but extremely unlikely because it’s slow and takes centuries. And if you somehow do in a couple of years, just what depraved thing have you been doing exactly?

In Hell, it’s much more realizable since it's where all kinds of debaucheries are available without rules to restrain people. You eventually lose your sense of self, your memories with no chance of getting them back, and your humanity and start acting according to the sin you’ve been abandoning yourself the most. It’s to a point where demons seem much more lucid and civilized than you are, those are the souls who die first during the Extermination since they are easy targets and act more like animals than intelligent beings.

Lilith is one the rare ones who crossed this state and didn't go totally crazy, she still has some things that tie her to her humanity, a self-given mission if you will. There are just a few cracks in her behavior.

[bitterrobin]

I loooove expanding on the al Ghuls. IDK in both canon and fanon they're always exclusively villains with little nuance to them unless its the sole focus of a story arc. Even then, its pretty much only Ras and Talia that get their (deserved) due.

*pushing up my nerd glasses* which is why I have fun writing GRAVEYARD because I can yap about my al Ghuls headcanons left and right. For example, Melisande is primarily a French name. But since Talia's mother is often described as mixed Arab/Chinese, I figured I would look for why she would have a French name (other than the writer's decision, maybe they thought it was just pretty). I came up with this: Algeria has history of French usage through its colonization, so Melisande has a French first name but an Arabic middle name (Fadhma). Since she met Ras in Woodstock, she'd have to have been a teenager/young adult by then, and thus been raised in the 1950s/60s. I figured the connotations of Woodstock, her mixed heritage, the then-current state of Algeria etc, the 1969 oil spill in the US, she would have visited America with curiosity about the counter-culture. (how? idk that's why this still in the works) In my au,

Melisande already held views on nature and environmental protection before meeting Ras. Her views were fierce, but probably a little naive compared to Ras' own views. Nonetheless, they clicked intellectually, with Melisande debating theories and politics, which eventually led to their marriage. I don't think Melisande would've liked America (and obviously neither did Ras) so they did not stay there. I considered writing Melisande having Kayble Amazigh heritage to further fuel her desire for change and revolution and because Ras is implied to have Bedouin/Berber origins, but since I don't know much about those cultures beyond some research - I figured I shouldn't include it. Also, because Melisande died when Talia was young, so I don't think she'd have the time to impart a lot of her specific culture onto her daughter, adding to Talia's isolation/loneliness. Melisande is a mother who's killed in both of her iterations, I just wanted to add more significance to her connection with Talia. Something about meeting an intellectual and then being doomed, one way or another, to be absorbed into his mythos. She's a blip in Ras's history, not even his first wife or his first lover - but she's important to Talia.

Same kinda applied to Dusan. He's only in several comics as the White Ghost because Ras needed a new body. He's albino. He's extremely devoted to his father despite not receiving the same attention, and he was born to connect Ras to some lost culture or people. Dusan, to my knowledge is not an Arab name. From research, in some areas, its a Czech/Slovak/Serbian name. This is interesting to me since, besides Nyssa, it implies he's the only other non-Arabic member of the family. Nyssa (depends on translation, is either Greek or Hebrew, which makes sense considering she is Jewish) is of Russian descent. So in my hc, Dusan is of Slovak descent, connected to some fictional peoples. Considering Ras' history, Dusan's mother was probably connected to some type of specific science or magic culture that Ras wanted his hands on. He seems detached to Talia, despite being her brother, so my hc is that he's much older than her and so they don't have a connection in the way that Nyssa created between them. Because Ras was successfully able to transfer his mind/soul to Dusan's body in Resurrection, we can glean that Dusan might've had this magical connection too. Bringing Mara into this, we don't get a lot of content surrounding what her relationship w her father was. Still, my hc is that her red hair streak is actually dyed, and she has inherited her father's albinism but has yet to show it outside of her hair. Mara is also not an Arabic name. In Hebrew it means bitter, but my hc is that she nicknamed herself Mara. Besides Nyssa, I don't think any other member of the al Ghuls are Jewish - so Mara just took the meaning as a way to symbolize her bitterness over her father. Her full name was Maram, which means "wish" or "desire" in Arabic. Whether it was Dusan or her mother that named her this, I'm not fully sure yet but I think it'd be more heartbreaking if it was Dusan. Despite spending so long attached to his father's crusade, I think it'd be sad if for a moment - he had independence and happiness w Mara. Maybe he wanted a son, just as Ras wanted a son, but he once loved her just as fiercely as Talia loves Damian. But again, the al Ghuls are Ouroboros. They cannot ever break the family curse, so in the end, Dusan was once again driven to his father's side w fervor, his lover or wife left him, and Mara was left (as many in the family) alone.

[backjustforberena]

So, my two cents about Fate S2? I wouldn't have ended S1 how it did. I would have ended it without the bombastic massive takeover of the school with Luna, Andreas and Rosalind as the "new order" aka the three big baddies.

Because, basically, they become irrelevant in S2. They are not "the threat" and half of them don't last to the end of the series or even make much of an appearance overall, and, in my opinion, they add nothing nuanced to the plot or that could not be represented by conflict with another character or guidance by another character (aka the mentorship role Rosalind takes with Bloom, and the Sky angst over his dad).

I'd have kept Saul, Farah and Harvey in their positions at the school. Have Beatrix locked up/take the fall for the murder of Callum and even have the school think she was responsible for the energy wells failing (if they need a cover story at all), and write her out. Andreas is just dead - you don't need him to be alive to create that rift between Sky and Silva. Just knowing Silva murdered his dad is enough. Let it be.

Rosalind - have her escape. She's the looming shadow, she's who Farah thinks is behind the disappearances of the fairies, rather than Blood Witches, she's the constant worry/tension because no one knows where she is and Farah is paranoid that she'll return and make her move, take her revenge, whatever. Leaving her free to take her eye off the ball when it comes to Blood Witches, or else, be overwhelmed when that's added to the list of dangers.

Farah will be on a knife's edge with Luna. Maybe Luna threatens to have her pulled as Headmistress at the Alum Dinner. Maybe Farah has to go darker- to threaten her- they all have to keep Aster Dell and Rosalind's escape a secret, don't they? How much like Rosalind is Farah willing to be? Have her horrified by the Blood Witches threat, have her worry about being the right person or about being weak and not strong enough to lead the school. Have her need to find Rosalind. Have her try to guide Bloom but not have the knowledge. Have her keep more secrets from Bloom because of the worry, and the damage.

Have Harvey be increasingly worried about his family's safety. That's fine. Terra and Sam can look at him differently because they know about Aster Dell now, and maybe he starts to pull away from the other adults because of it, because they don't know what it's like, to have kids (sorry Silva, he doesn't mean it). He can still heal fairies from scraper damage - I don't think Rosalind's "experiments" led to much at all. But, as Harvey becomes fragile, you can centre Saul and Farah more.

Because Farah and Saul are a team. But Saul is distracted, brings back Specialist graduate Sebastian to help teach as Saul is coordinating a search for Rosalind, a response to scrapers and all of his stuff with Sky. You do not need Andreas at all to have that conflict. Maybe Farah doesn't trust Sebastian, but trusts Saul enough. But that gives him access, prolonged access, to the school. So anything he does, they think Rosalind did.

Not sure how the rest of the Winx characters fit into this plan as I've only spent a few minutes thinking on it, but you obviously wouldn't have a lot of stuff that we end up having in S2, especially in the latter half. But still.

[blueiscoool]

These Bronze Statues Reveal Ancient Healing Rituals

Discovered in a dig at a thermal spring in Tuscany, Italy, the well-preserved items offer a glimpse into medical practices from the Etruscan and Roman eras.

An exhibition that opened Friday at Rome’s Quirinal Palace could be described as a classic rags-to-riches story.

Just ten months ago, many of the bronze statues now on show there — artfully spotlighted and captioned — were submerged in layers of thick mud in what had been a sacred pool of thermo-mineral water roughly halfway between Florence and Rome.

Their rediscovery last fall during an ongoing archaeological excavation in a field just below the Tuscan town of San Casciano dei Bagni made headlines around the world, propelling the bronzes — via a stint in Italy’s main restoration institute — to the rare honor of being exhibited at the presidential palace.

“It’s an extraordinary discovery,” Luigi La Rocca, the culture ministry official responsible for archaeology, fine arts and landscape, told reporters at the palace on Thursday, praising the variety of the bronzes, their quality and their high degree of conservation.

The artifacts — mostly dating from the second century B.C. to the first century A.D. — were votive offerings collected in the sacred pool of the so-called Bagno Grande, or “large bath,” part of a sanctuary that was in use in various forms for more than 700 years.

Lightning struck the building around the first century A.D., and following the Etruscan tradition of burying objects struck by lightning in a sacred place, the statues and other artifacts were concealed under a layer of terra-cotta tiles along with a bronze thunderbolt, a ritual called “fulgur conditum.”

Successive votive offerings, mostly bronze coins and plants, were deposited until Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century A.D. Then, the sanctuary was dismantled, and its offerings were buried once again, which contributed to their remarkable conservation.

The dig that uncovered them began in 2019, but it was only in 2020 that the first artifacts — inscriptions, altars and small bronzes — began to emerge. Last year, the archaeologists dug further down into the sacred pool.

“We thought there could be something here, but nothing like what we found,” said Emanuele Mariotti, the director of the excavation, on a recent hot afternoon as he surveyed the site. “It was like a time capsule waiting to be opened,” he added.

The finds offer insights on ancient medical practices. The waters were considered curative by “Etruscans, Romans, Christians and Pagans,” Mariotti said. “This was a place of healing, meeting of cultures and medical knowledge.”

Many of the bronzes had inscriptions from the territory of Perugia, about 70 kilometers northeast of San Casciano, a considerable distance to travel more than 2,000 years ago. This shows “how complex and nuanced” cultural interaction was at the time, added Jacopo Tabolli, the scientific director of the dig and co-curator of the Quirinal show.

“Gods changed, but the water remained the same,” he added.

Some of the bronzes are still being restored, but many made it to the Quirinal for the exhibition. In one room, bronzes of arms, feet, ears and other body parts are on display, reflecting the various ailments that were treated at the thermal baths.

“These are unique,” Mariotti said, stopping in front of two bronze plaques showing what he said was a “very accurate” depiction of internal organs. Similar terra-cotta examples existed, he said, but bronze versions were hitherto unknown.

Other statues represented gods and goddesses, but also men, women and small children, wrapped in swaddling cloths. Some were sickly and in need of healing. Others appeared to have benefited from the cures.

The thermal springs are still used today for their therapeutic properties, both in the public baths near the archaeological site and at a private resort.

For San Casciano dei Bagni, a picturesque hilltop town, the ancient finds will hopefully bring new economic prospects, especially after the opening of a new museum in the city center.

Earlier this week, at a property deed transfer in Rome attended by various authorities, the culture ministry formally bought a palazzo in San Casciano dei Bagni from local clerics to house the museum (list price 670,000 euros, around $730,000) and Italy’s culture minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, pledged to contribute “additional resources.”

Massimo Osanna, the director of Italy’s state museums said Thursday that he hoped one section of the museum would be ready next year. “I’m an optimist,” he said.

“It’s going to be a tremendous opportunity,” said Agnese Carletti, the town’s mayor. Following on from previous administrations, Carletti’s council championed and funded the local archaeological excavations that led to the finds, offering room and board to archaeology students participating in the summer digs.

A new excavation begins next week, and Tabolli said that it would concentrate on expanding the archaeological site to better understand the context around the sacred pool. “We’ve reconstructed the structure of the sanctuary, but there is still much more to know about the overall site which must have been monumental,” he said.

Osanna said that more surprises could be in store. “We don’t know what else the sanctuary has to offer,” he said.

By Elisabetta Povoledo.