#just forewarning you

[benschwartzcinematicuniverse]

“Nobody cares about Jacky!”

“…so I took a quick sink bath”

And the way he aggressively asks “WHY”

…have got to be some of my favorite deliveries from him. This pilot was bananas, but he is so effortlessly silly.

Endless love for you, Anon

Also, if any of you are looking for a server to hangout in and talk about this pilot or any Ben content, come hit up the BSCU discord. I’ll link you. You just gotta ask <3

[ferberus-skull]

hey anyone wanna share some dragons?

hoping to open up an art shop soon to fund my poor decisions (ongoing egg hatch and scatter project) and i need some more fr examples

i prefer to draw tundras, aethers, gaolers, spirals, pearlcatchers and imperials, but i'm open to drawing any breed!

my only request is no dragons with bubblegum bc the color makes me nauseous ^^'

[starcurtain]

Some Speculation on Kaveh’s Father

I actually started this post right after the Parade of Providence event last year, but never got around to finishing it. However, in light of Kaveh still not appearing on a banner, I decided to dust this one off and get it finished, so that I’d have at least a little Kaveh content in my life after being so cruelly denied by Hoyo.

So, without further ado, some stuff about Kaveh’s father I did not see discussed elsewhere but which I think is especially interesting.

1) Kaveh’s father likely first became depressed/disillusioned with humanity after witnessing (or possibly being the victim of) a murder attempt.

Without knowing the full situation and reading all the additional text from the Parade of Providence event, I feel like this might have been easily missed, but the entire “Kaveh’s dad became disillusioned and depressed and retreated to the desert to help people” seems--at first--like it came out of nowhere. He had a lovely family, was the pride of his darshan, and was eager and excited to win the crown to bring it home to his son. Yet theoretically, he did not win the crown (and, in fact, the crown was stolen before the last event and may not have been there during the Avidya Forest fight, so when, as the non-winner, would Kaveh’s father have come into contact with it to encounter Sachin through it in the first place?) Why would Kaveh’s father’s personality take such a massive turn all the sudden? What would drive an excited, happy person to suddenly withdraw from everything he loved and everyone who loved him, if he didn’t actually win the diadem to be influenced by it in the first place?

The event implies there was a trigger:

Huvishka’s friend (who is described as “honest and kind but vulnerable and sensitive”--obviously Kaveh’s father) went into the Avidya Forest with the other contestants, where no one was watching, and we’re not told what happened except that the Akademiya responded to whatever occurred by shutting down the entire competition and banning any sort of events in the future that cause contestants to become so desperate they would “fight to the death.” 

This is a pretty obvious implication that Kaveh’s father either witnessed two other contestants attempt to kill each other or was the victim of an attempted murder himself, which prevented him from winning the competition even though he was the favorite to win by a long-shot. This feat of betrayal, demonstrating the depths to which humanity would sink, likely shook the idealistic world views of a sensitive person such as Kaveh’s father. This brush with death and with humanity’s capacity for evil in the forest would have been the exact trigger needed to make Kaveh’s father particularly vulnerable to Sachin’s message of nihility and despair, leading to the downward spiral that sent Kaveh’s father into the desert.

- 

2) Sachin may have way more culpability for Kaveh’s father’s death than Kaveh realizes. 

For a while after the event, I was under the impression that Kaveh’s father must have met Sachin’s consciousness through the diadem and that’s where he got the idea to go into the desert. However, something was always a bit odd about the timeline, because...

Sachin was still alive when he gave the Akademiya his estate. This is why no one actually knew/believed he was fully dead, even to the present--because he willed the Akademiya the estate while he was alive and told them he was going to be personally watching over the contestants to award his estate to them if he deemed them worthy successors to himself. 

So did Kaveh’s father run into a fragment of Sachin’s consciousness... or did he run into Sachin himself? The game doesn’t really clarify:

The fact that Sachin’s recording recognized Kaveh’s appearance as familiar makes me think it is much more likely that the consciousness preserved in the diadem already had knowledge of Kaveh’s father at the time it was preserved. Aka, Sachin actually met Kaveh’s father in person. This also makes sense of why, even though the diadem was stolen away during the last event and Kaveh’s father did not win it, he would still know about Sachin and Sachin’s research. (However, as a counterpoint, I guess we could say that the Diadem!Sachin had enough sentience to maybe have its own memory, separate from the real Sachin? And reached out to Kaveh’s father mentally even though he didn’t win the diadem? Maybe?)

Still, there’s one really notable aspect of the timeline that I think is important: Right after the Interdarshan Competition twenty years ago, the one which Kaveh’s father competed in, we know that Sachin went back out to the desert. 

Who else went out to the desert exactly 20 years ago? Kaveh’s father, obviously.

This overlap in the timelines makes it seem very likely that Kaveh’s father, who failed to win the competition because of a murder attempt (and therefore never got the diadem), was nevertheless reached out to by the real Sachin, who saw in Kaveh’s father the kindred disillusioned idealist he was looking for to pass his research torch onto. From this connection, Kaveh’s father was driven to either directly accompany or at least pursue the still living Sachin into the desert. (This works even if we say it was only Sachin’s consciousness he was contacted by--in either case, he would have been driven go to out to the desert to meet the real, temporarily still living Sachin to join his quest to help the desert people.)

Only for Kaveh’s father to meet his end there while trying to aid a caravan that had fallen into trouble. What a tragic coincidence, a completely unpredictable twist of fate.

Or... was it?

How odd, in the same quest that Kaveh’s father’s connection to Sachin is discussed, that we’re given an account of a caravan that appears to have been deliberately sabotaged, where money was taken (from Sachin) and somehow sparked a betrayal, a “trial of human nature” that caused many people to die, with the takeaway being the exact belief Sachin wants to pass on and reinforce in others, that humans are horrific creatures who can only make the world a worse and worse place. 

We know that Sachin’s “research” specifically consisted of doing this exact thing, manipulating situations to test humans’ moral character, conducting trials/experiments on “human nature” to reinforce his belief that humans were fundamentally selfish beings.

(It’s no accident the merchant ledger we receive uses the exact same words as Sachin does, “trial of human nature” and “experiments on human nature.” We’re supposed to assume what happened to the caravan in the note was deliberate sabotage on Sachin’s part, to create a scenario where he could observe the cruelties of humanity.)

Why would the game go out of its way to give us an account of a caravan being deliberately sabotaged and used as an experiment if there was no connection at all between what happened with this caravan and what happened to Kaveh’s father, who was also killed helping a floundering caravan?

It’s just too much of a coincidence to accidental. I think the implications of the ledger Dori gave us and the similarities in the language on that ledger to Sachin’s ideas was supposed to lead the audience to wonder:

Could Kaveh’s father have died in one of Sachin’s final “human nature experiments”? 

Was the caravan Kaveh’s father tried to help one that Sachin deliberately sabotaged, expecting to observe humanity’s selfish, self-preserving nature?

I think there’s enough evidence in the story to suggest that we players are at least supposed to consider this a possibility. (There’s no reason to give us the ledger about the manipulated caravan otherwise.) And if you consider this a possibility, it would mean that Sachin didn’t just indirectly cause Kaveh’s father’s death--he would be the direct cause of Kaveh’s father’s death, an actual murder brought about by Sachin’s beliefs that humanity’s self-centered nature made everyone beyond saving.

This idea transforms Kaveh’s father’s sacrifice into the ultimate rejection of Sachin’s beliefs. This would mean that, even in a situation manipulated to bring out the worst in human beings on purpose, Kaveh’s father gave everything to protect the lives of others, for no gain at all of his own, doing everything he could just to desperately try to make the situation (the world) better.

SO yeah. I’m not saying we have hard evidence here, but I think the quest was trying to lead players to speculate very, very hard on the possibility that Kaveh’s father’s death was no accident.

-

3) Finally, a cuter piece of speculation to brighten things up after that despair bomb I just dropped: it’s highly likely that Kaveh’s father had more than one Aranara buddy!

During the Parade of Providence, we hear about an Aranara who learned to read from Kaveh’s father:

However, this is a bit confusing, because later in the event, we hear someone else say that Kaveh’s father taught an Aranara to write specifically when he was a child:

While of course it is possible that Kaveh’s father taught the first Aranara, Arakasyapa, to both read and write, I think there’s also another possible answer here about why Kaveh’s father would separately mention teaching an Aranara to write:

Because there is an entirely different Aranara in the story which was taught to write by a “good Nara” who was a child--Arashakun, from the quest “Courage is the Heart.”

In this sweet little world quest, the Traveler discovers a flower talisman that has been snatched by some hilichurls, and seeks to return it to its rightful owner, a timid and shy Aranara named Arashakun. 

We learn that Arashakun once had a kind-hearted “good Nara” companion who taught him to write (sound familiar?), and who, in order to encourage the poor Aranara, gave him a single flower dubbed “courage.” In describing this child companion, Arashakun specifically states that his companion was no strong warrior like the Traveler’s twin, but instead a gentle, comforting presence who never teased the Aranara.

All of these descriptions line up particularly well with Kaveh’s father, who the game repeatedly describes as vulnerable, kind-hearted, and giving to others.

To drive home the possible connections to Kaveh’s family even further, this quest takes place very, very near to the Palace of Alkazarzaray. 

Although we don’t have any guarantee, I think it is strongly implied that the “good Nara” mentioned by Arashakun is indeed Kaveh’s father, and the “courage of the heart” that he extended to Arashakun as a child is the very same courage, kindness, and generosity that drove him to reach out to the people of the desert, hoping to make a difference in their lives--even at the cost of his own.

The takeaway? Kaveh’s father was a truly good person who aided everyone he came across, from timid Aranara to people whose very lives were in danger. He never meant to leave his family, and especially not his son, but repeatedly fell afoul of the worst humanity had to offer and was driven into a situation in which all he could do was offer his very life to uphold the altruism that was central to his idealism--the same idealism and goodness that Kaveh carries as “courage” in his own heart.

[front-facing-pokemon]

[floorworm]

Hey so why did nobody warn me about the piss episode? Why was I not given just like a tiny heads up that an episode where House fucking pisses himself was coming up? 😭

[dawnlotus1]

Can ppl @ me in their favorite Jrwi analysis and infodump posts. I want to read some good themes and motifs shit. Headcanons too please. My brain is spinning. Feed me. Pls and thank you. This is also for self promo btw if you made a banger analysis/infodump/headcanon post please send it to me.

[fastcardotmp3]

It’s 2002 and Jonathan Byers is back home again in Indiana. It’s 2002 and Steve Harrington hasn’t found a love worth fighting for since the one he lost to the Upside Down in 1986. It’s 2002 and they’ve almost found each other.  stonathan // rated T // 3 chapters // 15K total

read on ao3 // snippet under the cut:

“So you and Argyle, huh? Whatever happened there?” Steve questions bluntly around the lip of his bottle. “I would’ve thought he’d come with you if you were moving for the gig and all.” 

Jonathan makes a face, not sheepish or ashamed, but just a face, and then he breathes out a breath which is almost a laugh. 

Steve is coming to realize that Jonathan is a man of almosts. It’s like everything he does isn’t quite on the nose enough to be considered concise or black-and-white in its existence. He’s on the precipice of vulnerability with every breath he takes while just as much keeping one foot in his own little armored pocket of safety at all times. 

It’s kind of infuriating. 

It kind of feels nice just to recognize it at all. 

“Yeah, uh,” Jonathan clears his throat, leaning back on both elbows now and watching the roiling mass of people in the bar instead of Steve, “that didn’t quite work out.” 

Steve’s eyebrows hop high up towards his hairline. 

“For real?” he balks. “I figured you two were sorta locked in by this point.” 

“You figured, huh?” Jonathan looks at him, just out of the corner of his eye. Almost. 

“Oh, forgive me for being curious, man,” Steve deadpans, and earns a quirk of the lips from Jonathan in response. 

A roll of the eyes and a genuine snort of amusement. 

“We tried opening the relationship,” he shrugs, “he discovered he liked being open and I discovered I’m… not great at, uh, sharing.” 

Steve can’t help himself but laugh. Not maliciously, or at least not intending to be, but just because it will never fail to shock him just how well he gets Jonathan Byers sometimes. For all of their differences, every once in a while the guy will just say something that Steve has never been able to put into words but has felt his entire life to be true. 

“Better man than me for even trying,” he says through his laughter, leaning a forearm onto the bar and letting it hold his listing weight. He can hear the bubble of Robin’s laughter over the music from somewhere on the dance floor, an easing thing to the beat of his heart and making it so he doesn’t need to look to check on her. 

He can stay just like this, watching the deft and practiced way Jonathan holds his bottle by the neck between long fingers, and then getting called out within an inch of his life by the calm and deadpanned tone behind, “oh wow, you a little bit possessive? Never knew that about you, Harrington.” 

[magratpudifoot]

Oh my God, y'all, the 2024 booster is so much worse than the last couple. No where near as bad as the first series, and I would 100% do it again, I just would have scheduled it before a day off work if I had known.

[bugtoast]

watching the new tpot episode and all i have to say: this is ICONIC and i love it so much and black hole IS my wife i will not be taking any opinions on this

[mintedwitcher]

So where do they go with Eddie from here? Because it’s clear he’s never going to get over Shannon

Therapy. A LOT of specialised therapy.

He can eventually move beyond the hold that Shannon's memory has over him right now. Remember it's only been five years since she died, and they were married for a long time, they were highschool sweethearts. Eddie loved her, and she loved him, and no matter the faults in their relationship, that fact still holds true.

But it's going to take a lot of therapy and time to fully heal from the wound that Shannon's loss has caused in his heart.

This is why I've been saying that Eddie needs to be single, and that he needs to learn how to be fully comfortable and at peace as a single man - not just as a single dad, but as his own individual person.

How is he meant to hold a healthy relationship when half of his heart is in the past?

It'll take time. It'll hurt a hell of a lot more, but as we just saw, Eddie has more repressed trauma in regards to Shannon's death - and Shannon in general - than he ever admitted to before. He doesn't know how to cope with her death, because he never got closure. He never got to grieve - properly grieve - the end of their relationship before she died. And he'll never have the chance to do that as long as he's chasing these other women, desperate to fill the void Shannon left behind.

He's dealt with his anger at her. Now he has to deal with his grief over her leaving him and then dying. He has to find a way to cope with all of this.

Smoothing things over, patching the proverbial wall here is not the solution. Because the holes are still there. And all it'll take is one misplaced hand to send the whole thing crumbling in again.

Eddie needs to rip down that wall, right down to its foundations, and build anew. That is the only way he will be able to move forward in a healthy way.

And then, maybe one day when his meddling aunt sets him up on another blind date, maybe his first thought won't be "I can't marry her."

[sercphs]

Oh yeah, I want to announce this officially.

Over this weekend I will begin work on making a Carrd, and will be merging my Multi (@sercphs) into this blog so that I can run with one single blog.

Honestly, Writing Fischl is a big task for me to do since can be quite exhaustive to write, but I don't want to do away with her because I really do love writing her. Going forward I intend to condense into one multi and run out of that so that it's easier for me to manage, and those changes will be coming over the next week-or-so depending on how long it takes me to get formatting and the like done.

[hwsforeignrelations]

RANT

[damn-daemon]

Honestly, this upcoming chapter of AVWH is going to be something else...

[wearily-confused]

i wish it was acceptable to ask to dtr friendships

like are we treating this as bfs or acquaintances or talks casually every other month or every day gm and gn or what

like please tell me what amount of energy and care you are willing to reciprocate without pingponging between loving me and not even giving a fuck if i die, just stop with all this hot and cold bs

[dr-lizortecho]

you’ve heard of internalized homophobia get ready for internalized queerphobia

[igneous-crocnroll]

SWEET CHRIST TEN PEOPLE FOLLOWED IN A ROW RELAX RELAX RELAX