#legitimately in the running for one of my favorite arcs

[sallymew4]

all my edits kinda lag on tumblr, sorry </3

[alicelufenia]

A Guide To Keeping Wyll And Karlach After Siding With Minthara In Act 1

Or as I like to call it, how to permanently recruit Karlach and Wyll (because I have yet to complete a full playthrough with both of them)

Ever since Larian added a way to legitimately recruit Minthara by knocking her out, I've wanted to help the community be more successful in their efforts to give my favorite drow yet another concussion. Because like all things related to Minthara, the KO method was buggy as hell, non-intuitive, and metagamey as fuck. I wrote multiple guides on it, to the point where I made the master post my pinned for a while. You may have seen it at some point, but here it is again for reference [x]

As happy as I am with the success of those posts, it's time I revealed my true alignment. I'm actually one of those scary Minthara stans who has killed the grove more times than siding with the tieflings. I know, you'd never guess by looking at my blog (don't look at my blog) I did it my first playthrough and it's only gotten easier since. And while I stand by it as the single best way to experience Minthara's character and story arc, I'm not so cold-hearted as to deny that it's a shame we miss out on Wyll and Karlach in the process.

So rather than play the villain, what say we have them stick around by taking on the REAL villains of Act 1:

The Druids

To start off, you'll want both Wyll and Karlach in your party, and Withers in camp. I've had him show up upon crossing one of the bridges in Act 1, either to the blighted village or the goblin camp, I forget which, or you can bust him out of his Dank™ crypt. Proceed through Act 1 as normal. To be safe I got as much approval from them as I could in early game, but that may not be necessary. Offer to kill Kagha for Zevlor.

Now, both of them need to die, and preferably not by the hand of your party members. I had them suicide charge the gnolls and get wrecked, as on Tactician mode they'll attack downed party members until they're dead. I don't know if having them jump off a cliff works, but it might. We need to entrust them to Withers by asking him to look after their bodies instead of reviving them. Their bodies will then appear in camp by their tents.

Now go kill Kagha without revealing the shadow druid conspiracy. This should trigger the Druids to start fighting the Tieflings, which will happen off screen as you deal with Kagha and the few druids inside with her (killing Nettie earlier might make this easier in case she joins in. She tried to poison you, so serves her right.)

Steal that idol! I'm not 100% sure this is required, but it takes no effort at this point and you need to sit tight for a minute, so might as well.

Also if you thought you could return the idol to Mol, no luck, she won't accept it until the fighting ends. Unfortunately all the tieflings need to die for this to work, so rip Ring of Protection. But not exactly rip the tiefling kids, more on that in a minute.

OOF, rip Dammon (and most of Karlach's questline. Don't look at me like that, it's Larian's fault for tying her entire story onto one npc and giving nothing as an alternative)

I'll give the tieflings credit, they did not go down without one hells of a fight. This bear was found burnt to death, probably due to Zevlor.

Damn, they really killed all of them. I wanna point out this can happen even on a good playthrough with the best of intentions.

In the end, only four(!) druids survived. I don't know how they'd fare with Kagha fighting too, but overall I'd say the druids talk big for doing this badly against a bunch of unarmed civilians. We kill the last four of them, then get ready to move on.

With trepidation, I go to check on the kids. Not recommended if you raid the grove for real, but here:

It's just... empty. No bodies, no npcs hanging around, they completely cleared out.

I like to headcanon that Mol followed through on protecting her kids, and they escaped down this hole. I'm still very early in this run used for testing, so I have legit no idea if they show up later. But this is good enough for me to include them all in my fanfiction so :D Congrats, the only tieflings with rights (sorry Karlach!) are gonna be alright (because if we don't see a body it doesn't count)

Next step is to just... keep going. Sazza can get you into the goblin camp no problem, and if you play a Drow or have Shadowheart use disguise self, you can gain entry without any checks or dialogue. My half elf needed to talk her way in (or just use AUTHORITY)

best goblin btw

MOMMY

Lookit how happy she is after Sazza has brought her the grove's location! A lead on the weapon AND another True Soul AND she's concussion-free? Everything's coming up Minthy!

It's at this point things get a little weird (I did warn ya), as the game now has flagged the grove as "raided" even though we haven't done an actual grove battle, which is a different thing (as I'll demonstrate later), so Shadowheart has her "post-raid" dialogue when we wake up on the next long rest. The Raid The Grove quest is also marked as Completed, but still has a marker on the map. Have patience, return to the grove and walk through the (destroyed) gate, and suddenly:

The quest will update, and direct you to speak with Minthara in the secluded chamber where she normally is at when the raid is finished. There's also goblins milling about the grove now, same as the post-raid grove.

Get someone who looks at you the way Minthara looks at a cave full of dead druids and tieflings.

"No Minthara, I never meant for any of this to happen. This was all my fault, I shouldn't have gotten involved, they're all dead because of me-"

"Nevermind I am no longer morally conflicted about all this."

To the goblin party!

LIES. He never mentions it again lmao. C'mon patch 7 fix this! (you won't)

Why we're all really here 🥰

The next morning, speak to Withers and ask to collect your dead party members. He will have you confirm payment for their resurrection.

And it works! Karlach and Wyll are back, they can rejoin the party, and their approval is Unchanged!

Since I was on a roll, I went ahead and checked a few other scenarios: what happens if we don't start a fight with the druids and just raid the grove directly, with Karlach and Wyll dead? Well you can revive them afterwards, but...

Dang, Wyll still leaves (he's still so nice about it though! Even wishes you well!)

Meanwhile Karlach: Feck off, cunt.

Well, she's not leaving, but she's never been this blunt or cold towards me before. I wonder how much-

Damn, -49?! That's literally one away from leaving permanently! She started at 50, which means Karlach looses 100 approval from raiding the grove, and being dead doesn't change that. I think the only reason she's at -49 instead of -50 is due to that +1 from reviving a party member. So, she's grateful for being brought back to life, but not happy about anything else. You know what, that's fair.

One last thing I tested (and no pics for it cause this post has reached its limit! But those extra pics of Sharp-Eye Sluck are important, so I'll just write this next part out) I wanted to see if it was even necessary to finish off the remaining druids after they killed all the tieflings. So I left the grove (manually, you have to journey quite a distance before it lets you fast travel, almost all the way to the first bridge) and headed to the goblin camp to start the raid as normal.

Like our first time, we arrive at an empty grove. Even the druids we left behind are gone, meaning you can safely headcanon this method as joining up with the goblins and Minthara to take revenge on the druids. The game still acts like you killed the tieflings though, down to Gale's threatening to leave.

But Karlach and Wyll still get brought back without a problem! You can even revive them DURING the goblin party and they'll act like nothing's happened!

Wyll And Karlach Recruited Alongside Raiding With Minthara: Success!

So Baldur's Gate 3 community! I now implore you to put down your Pommel Strikes, switch off that Non-Lethal toggle, and stop giving poor Minthara even more brain damage than the tadpole and the Absolute already gave her!

And when you reach Moonrise Towers to rescue her, for the love of Selûne, when the guards are torturing her in the prison, don't just swing on them. Agree to enter her mind first. You'll have a dicey roll to deal with, but trust me, it's SUPER worth it!

As for the whole process, well. Despite the clunky way quests update after you start the grove civil war, the resulting lack of direction and narrative inconsistencies in the dialogue post-goblin party, this still feels like a more immersive way to recruit Minthara on a run with both Karlach and Wyll still present, than the KO method, in my not-so-humble opinion.

Consider this: You've got a major twist in the Act 1 plot now, with the Druids turning on you and killing the tieflings you were trying to help, leaving your party dispirited and lacking direction, other than to continue their search for a cure, which leads them to meet the Absolutists, the goblins, and the drow commander leading them and looking for the druids' sanctuary. And in the midst of your grief and anger, you side with her, both to get close to the source of the infections (as the Dream Visitor suggests) but also to take your revenge out on the druids.

You can feel conflicted, regretful even, but the context has changed enough that I think even a good-aligned Tav with no qualms about methods can live with this result. It just takes a bit of filling in the gaps (do you simply point the goblin army at the druids and look away, or lead them yourself by Minthara's side? Either way works for the results)

The only real downside is, again, Karlach's story just sorta ends here, until the confrontation with Gortash. I personally think this is a problem with Larian's writing for her, and at this point fanfiction is about the only solution in sight. But if you don't mind her not getting the chance to touch others again, you really have nothing to lose here

Besides, were you really going to pay Dammon for that act 3 armor? Of course not, you steal it every run and don't pretend otherwise, "hero."

[savedbythedrafts]

I have many thoughts about Bridgerton.

Was it the perfect season? Absolutely no.

But it quite honestly is my favorite season so far because it made me realise how the enemies-to-lovers trope has rotten my brain when this is what I want to see. Gentle love, best friends becoming partners.

Things that I absolutely loved this season:

-Pen's arc: In the book she gives up whistledown to become a romance author which is nice, but now we have a legitimate journalist in the house who has proved her accuracy at such a young age. People who are worried about how she's gonna get her info now that people are guarded? Um her main sources were always the maids and footmen and she is observant enough to run a column. Plus now that everyone knows who she is, people might anonymously send her reports (as happens in journalism) which gives her SO MUCH POWER. I am a journalist and I can't stress enough how incredible that is. I know book fans expected the last speech by Colin but imo her taking full control of her decisions and willingness to face the consequences makes it so much better.

-Eloise and Pen patch up: Both of them going to each other for comfort and support when the shit hit the fan made my heart warm. When Eloise comes back, I hope she knows herself a bit better and actually brings her grand ideas to reality.

-Benedict going about his viscount duties in absence of Anthony without the rage of responsibility whilst discovering his sexuality 10/10. Man was also fully involved in all of his siblings feuds, mainly whatever the fuck Gregory and Hyacinth were upto. CUTE. Actually shoutout to all the Bridgertons, they were so perfectly chaotic.

-THe FEATHERINGTONS OMG: I am the youngest daughter of my family as well as the black sheep- so unpredictable, unconventional that no one in my family gets me. That's why I relate to Pen so much and I'll defend her to death. To see the sisters and Portia realise Pen's worth made me sob. Phillipa saying I hope my daughter becomes a writer? Cherry on cake. But Portia opening up to Pen and being vulnerable and proud at the same time was so bloody well done.

-Polin: Fans being livid about the lack of spice in part 2 (minus the incredible sex scene in ep 5) is understandable but I blame the marketing for it, not the showrunners. Over the course of part 1, we saw Colin's relationship with intimacy change drastically. His want for connection becomes a necessity and if they just jumped into angry sex without actually resolving anything, it would have ruined his character development. I think it's the incredible chemistry between Nic and Luke in general and the heavy emphasis on the horniness during the press tour left the fans understandably wanting for more. But in general, their romance felt quite authentic. The Pride and Prejudice 'dancing in the room alone' callback, goofing around in the church, Colin coming to terms with what Whistledown meant to the ton and himself, Penelope's newfound confidence thanks to Colin's frequent words of affirmation, it was all good.

Things I would change to make this season better (this is turning into a full article now but read ahead if you have been here so far):

-The bloody editing: Pardon my french but why the fuck Benedict's prolonged threesome scenes not edited out? He has a whole season coming up so I don't understand so much focus on that weirdly edited scene amidst the drama. Just one shot of establishing his pansexuality (or bi but I am hoping it's pan) would have been enough? I love Ben, he is my favorite brother but this gave me the ick. To think these 3-4 minutes could have been used to extend the last Polin intimate scene. We could have had a good 5 minutes of Pen topping Colin after the BIG REVEAL but noooo. Even the subplots should have been kept short and sweet. Unlike some fans, I am not completely against the inclusion of the Mondrich family, Cressida's back story, the build up to Benedict's and Fran's actual stories, and more. But I believe too much footage was given to these even though the show clearly focuses on one couple per season. Get your shit together Shonda, this is not 20 episode Grey's anatomy, we can't focus on EVERYONE.

-Colin's anger after the wedding: Now I understand why he didn't want to have the wedding night given the stressful circumstances but him being angry till Francesca's wedding made no sense. How I would have written the resolution would have been something like this- In the hours before Rae leaves the house at night, Colin would have been reading the letters, figuring out how Pen is so whistledown at core (like he actually does the very next day but in absence of Pen). And instead of coming into the room to get a blanket, he could have brought in his own manuscript, asking her to read it as promised and taking up her offer to let her edit. This scene was literally in the book and was so easy to adapt. I would give my left kidney to see Colin sitting near Penelope, watching her powerful writing in action. Again, no spice required, just this. This would have made Pen's 'just love me' speech to Colin so good, but alas!

-Cressida: This is the arc I am most pissed off about. Eloise's reconciliation with Pen was great but completely abandoning Cressida to misery was so outta pocket. I realise Eloise is still not a fully realised character and is barely 20 (she's just a girl) but she was always kind. If I was writing Cressida's arc, I would have had Eloise come to her rescue at the end by borrowing some money from Pen and helping Cressida escape to Vienna or better Scotland. I highly doubt Pen would have minded if she knew how similar both of their circumstances were. I detested Cressida in the books because I'll be honest the books were pretty two dimensional with no real character development and just grand gestures (I'll understand if you come for me but this is how I feel, sorry). But the show made me care for her and I wished she could have found some happiness in life.

Overall, I'll rewatch it because the tiny details were so good this season I believe I can relish those till the next season. And I'll miss Polin immensely. But Shonda please, you can do better.

[percheduphere]

So...Thoughts on the whole people thinking Sylvie is Aro-Ace? I can kinda see her being Aromantic, but with her mentioning she's more "hedonistic" than Loki and silently hinting that she's Bi too, can't really see her as Asexual. But what do you think?

LET'S TALK ABOUT SYLVIE'S SEXUALITY, HER RELATIONSHIPS WITH LOKI AND MOBIUS, & HER CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SERIES NARRATIVE

Before I answer this, I think it's important to acknowledge that fictional characters exist for people's comfort and pleasure. I write original fiction, and I would hope that most artists believe in the right of the audience to interpret character to meet their personal needs. To me, canon is a sandbox. Everyone should play with it as they please and not hate on each other. There are more important things in life to worry about. Therefore, if Sylvie reads as Aro-Ace to you and that reading brings you joy, then she is.

This question inherently requires the need to talk about Sylki in this post. I predominantly analyze Lokius, so please, no hate! My number one rule is never yucking someone's yum. Furthermore, Sylvie plays a critical role in Loki's development and the philosophical thrust of the series, of which Mobius also contributes to as the other half of Loki's character arc equation (selflessness and sparing life [Mobius] + free will and revolution [Sylvie]). It would be biased and disingenuous to not acknowledge her contributions to the overarching narrative.

ARO-ACE INTERPRETATION

All right, your question! I can definitely can see Sylvie as being aro-ace. That's a legitimate interpretation based on how she responds to Loki's flirtation and romantic advances. It is also possible that she's an aromantic bisexual. This second possibility is more likely based on the text the audience is given.

THE CANON TEXT

Having said that, I think you're curious about what the source material is trying to say about Sylvie's character and how that influences her sexuality. I believe it's important to remember that external behavior doesn't dictate how someone defines themselves. Closeting and disengagement from intimacy because of trauma are prime examples of this.

The train scene in S1E4 reads as earnest. Loki and Sylvie are both very lonely characters. In this moment, both are trying to connect with someone who finally understands them because they are the same. It's actually a lovely nod to the queer experience.

The dialogue, lighting, and costuming (blue, purple, pink) in this scene communicates they are both queer, specifically bisexual. The lighting and costuming combining to represent the bisexual pride flag is an example of queer subtext in film. The dialogue, while direct, is also written in such a way that it avoids explicitly stating "men and women." Sylvie later comments that the brief flings she indulges in during apocalypses helped her "keep going". She even specifies that apocalypses make people desperate. This suggests that Sylvie likely didn't need to do much wooing or charming like Loki would to obtain a sexual partner. Finally, the way Tom and Sophie play this scene is vulnerable. I therefore believe we can take this on-screen admission at face value.

So the question becomes, why does Sylvie respond to Loki's flirtations the way she does?

SYLVIE'S BACKGROUND

Sylvie was orphaned and forced to run all her life from a very young age. Her backstory is deeply tragic. To live in such a way means that she never had the opportunity to experience adolescence.

NOTE: This is honestly my favorite gif of Sylvie. She's so sweet and cute when she's happy. I can't get over the 5 stars on her employee badge. "Sylvie, can you refill the straws?" "Already did it!" The sweetheart.

Sylvie working at McDonald's accomplishes two things: it allows Disney to fulfill their advertising sponsorship agreement for the fast-food franchise, and it subtly alludes to Sylvie's need to live the adolescence she didn't get to. The TVA forced her into arrested development. She never had the chance to make friends and safely socialize on her own terms. The centuries of trauma have made trust, let alone romance, completely foreign to her.

Which is why, when Loki and Sylvie have romantic scenes, she is often awkward or, if not unreceptive, wary. Her previous flings, as she agrees with Loki, were "never real". Physical intimacy without emotional intimacy is a familiar dynamic for both characters. Their relationship with one another is their first experience of emotional intimacy (or at least attempt at it) outside of their families. The pursuit of this emotional intimacy feels safe to them because they are the same entity and thus they know each other's base nature (versus nurture!) to some degree.

The difference between them is that Sylvie has not experienced social rejection in the way Loki has (nurture!). She recognizes the wrongness with which the TVA has treated her. She knows the absolute atrocities the TVA has committed. She is determined to destroy them to free herself and all timelines. Sylvie is consequently more self-assured, more confident in what she wants and believes in, than Loki. In S2, Sylvie's clarity on desire is what allows her to help Loki articulate what he wants: his friends back, most especially Mobius.

In S1E1, Loki, still posturing before Mobius, describes himself as a "liberator". At this point in the story, we know that isn't true, but it will become true by the finale. This line of dialogue foreshadows Loki's trajectory as well as Sylvie's revealed motivation in S1E4: to liberate.

THE NEXUS EVENT

There are a variety of ways for viewers to interpret what exactly the Nexus Event was. The canon, within the text of Mobius's dialogue and verbal confirmation from the creators, is that Loki and Sylvie fell in love. Now, I'm not going to spend time arguing over other interpretations here, but I will say that regardless of whatever pairing or OT3 a viewer ships, the Nexus Event was ALSO definitively this: two Lokis in the same place, at the same time, not feeling lonely together.

And Sylvie, who had confessed to Loki she has no friends and has never really experienced joy, answers Renslayer with the number of positive memories she has:

Sylvie doesn't state it outright, but the subtext is clear that her one positive memory was her time with Loki on Lamentis. Indeed, moments later, Sylvie prunes herself in an effort to find and rescue him.

SYLVIE & MOBIUS

But being the harshly pragmatic individual she is, upon arrival and encountering Alioth, Sylvie assumes Loki didn't make it. I don't think Sylvie means what she says in a cruel way. I think she believes this because she is accustomed to disappointment and accordingly guards herself with cynicism. Sylvie's traumas, her difficulty with trust, her inexperience with intimate relationships, and her cynicism all combine to create an individual who may appear aro-ace when that may not necessarily be the case. Please note, however, that Sylvie being aro-ace or aro-bisexual may still be a possibility. My analysis here is based on what the text and subtext seem to be telling us about her character.

Notably, it is Mobius who is more optimistic about Loki's survival, wondering if Sylvie truly believes that Loki is dead.

This moment is brief, but it is significant because Mobius's optimism implies that not only does he believe in Loki, he also wants Loki to be alive. Sylvie is intelligent. She can read between the lines. We can also assume an off-screen conversation took place between them that confirmed for Sylvie Mobius's genuine care for Loki. When Sylvie informs Loki of this fact, I believe we get this:

Mobius was conservative in how Loki might interpret their relationship, extending a handshake before their goodbyes. Loki, on the heels of his conversation with Sylvie, chooses to hug him instead. The result: Mobius is delighted!

I've long pondered on why Mobius would say, "You're my favorite" to Sylvie. I believe this is why: she helped along their friendship and opened the gates for physical affection between them. This demonstrates that Sylvie cares enough for Loki to ensure he is secure in his bond with Mobius. It likely helped that Mobius did not deny the TVA's evil when she pointed it out to him, and that he did not hesitate to apologize to her for it.

Ironically, it is Mobius's optimism, especially in the potential of broken things to become something better (whether it is Loki himself or the TVA), that creates the fraught philosophical divide between Sylvie and Mobius (and Loki) with regards to the TVA in S2.

THE S1 FINALE

The S2 finale is where the narrative between Loki and Sylvie turns, and the plot pivots to the deepening relationship between Loki and Mobius. Triggering this event is Loki's desire to slow down and think about the consequences of killing HWR in the Citadel at The End of Time.

This may seem out-of-character at first glance. S1E1-E4 have demonstrated that Loki's decision making is sometimes chaotic by virtue of impulse. What was the last impulsive decision he made with heavy consequences?

He ran off after Sylvie. A good decision ultimately, as Loki learns the truth about the TVA through Sylvie, but only by luck. This decision very nearly cost Loki a friendship, one he didn't even realize he had until Mobius called him a "bad friend."

Despite the fallout, Mobius recovers relatively quickly once he confirms Loki's claims and views Ravonna's recording of C-20. He reestablishes trust with Loki as soon as possible to help Loki be with the one he loves. Why? Because Mobius is ultimately selfless and wants Loki's happiness regardless of his own feelings of jealousy.

Which circles us back to the theme of trust and Sylvie's challenges with it.

Loki and Sylvie's relationship falls apart not because of lack of mutual interest, but because Sylvie loses trust in Loki and with good reason: HWR (and thus the TVA) is the cause of all her suffering.

It is not Sylvie's fault she is this way. She hasn't had enough time to develop meaningful relationships, and the one relationship that was meaningful to her (Loki's) became, in her eyes, a profound betrayal. This experience only adds to the other traumas Sylvie carries with her, making encounters with Loki in S2 emotionally difficult if not triggering.

The relationships of Loki & Sylvie and Loki & Mobius are intentionally set side-by-side for 3 critical reasons:

1.) To demonstrate Loki's growth by developing trust and thus emotional intimacy with others.

2.) To create the Plot B emotional source of conflict in S2.

3.) To set-up Mobius and Sylvie's individual beliefs and values (selflessness and sparing life [Mobius] + free will and revolution [Sylvie]), which Loki combines into his own system of beliefs and values. This combination gives Loki the strength and wisdom to ascend the throne and become the God of Stories (and Time).

THE S2 FINALE

Loki comes to his final decision after speaking with the two halves of his character arc equation. Loki first seeks out Mobius, who shares with him the distinction between himself and Ravonna. Now, this is brainwashed Mobius. Brainwashed Mobius believed Ravonna could do the impossible while he couldn't. But Loki knows Ravonna's corruption.

Beneath Mobius's wisdom that "most purpose is more burden than glory" is also Mobius's heart: he could not prune children and that instinct was the right decision. His "failure" was not a failure of duty but rather his humanity succeeding despite the brainwashing. It's this same intrinsic compassion that drove Mobius to convince Ravonna to spare Loki. Loki articulates this to Don as such. He therefore takes the message of selflessness and sparing life from Mobius to Sylvie.

Sylvie, in turn, challenges Loki, stating they should have the freedom and right to fight whatever comes on their own terms.

She also stresses that it is all right to destroy things. Upon hearing this, Loki comes to the conclusion that what is destroyed must be replaced with something better. What needs to be destroyed? Not the TVA and the people in it (not Mobius, Verity, OB, and Casey), but the Loom.

Loki sacrificed himself (selflessness + sparing life [Mobius]) in order to save all timelines (free will + revolution [Sylvie]). Loki sparing Sylvie's life is a direct consequence of Mobius having fought to spare his.

Through this sacrifice, Loki gifts Sylvie the chance to get the type of positive experiences she wants and needs, which includes future romance, if she so chooses. That is canon and is a genuinely romantic gesture regardless of anyone's interpretation of mutual reciprocation or lack thereof.

It is also canon that Loki loves Mobius and Mobius loves Loki. Their actions for one another across both seasons demonstrate this to be true. Is it also romantic? Absolutely. Is it sexual? On screen, no, and it doesn't have to be. Romance does not require sex, let alone physical contact, to exist.

Loki loves them both.

[elitehanitje]

The wrestling world is known for its creative costumes and storylines – and now two female rivals are modelling themselves on the Bette Davis/Anne Baxter classic.

Inspired by a young fan, a veteran performer takes the woman under her wing to nurture her as an understudy. But the route to the spotlight inspires cut-throat behavior, and the protégé upstages her mentor to replace her entirely. For those familiar with cinematic history, this sounds like the plot of All About Eve – but in this case, it's actually the arc of a feud between two of the best women's wrestlers of the moment. 

A quick rewind to this time last year: London played host to one of the biggest, if not the biggest, wrestling events in the country's history with All Elite Wrestling's All In, which filled out Wembley Stadium, a pretty remarkable achievement for a wrestling company that's only five years old.

For those unfamiliar, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) owned by Tony Khan, is a relatively young entrant into the world of US professional wrestling. Matches are pre-determined, and rivalries between wrestlers are scripted using long-running fictional "storylines" over months or even years. The bouts are still legitimately physically fierce, but the result is an artistic dance between narrative planning and live improvisation.

Since being founded in 2019, AEW has rocketed to prominence thanks to the strong alternative programming it offered to the behemoth World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which was at a creative low point at the time (they've since bounced back).

The standout story this year, one which has played out across months of weekly television, and will now climax at All In with a title match for the Women's World Championship, is the conflict between the wrestlers "Timeless" Toni Storm and "The Glamour" Mariah May – and in their rivalry, they have been drawing from classic Hollywood, a unique accent to their narrative.

Khan, who as well as being AEW owner is also responsible for the creative direction of many of the storylines, has directly cited Sunset Boulevard and All About Eve as inspiration, calling them "two of [his] favorites". Lyric Swinton, freelance wrestling writer/creative and host of the Maps & Graps Podcast thinks this storyline may go down as "All Elite Wrestling's best work so far". "The investment in this story from both an administrative and fan perspective has been unprecedented for a women's feud in AEW, and every risk has paid off" she continues.

For a while, Toni Storm quoted Sunset Boulevard directly, saying "Mr Khan, I'm ready for my close up!", before defeating her opponents

A lot of wrestlers use wider popular culture as a jumping-off point for their characters but usually, such direct homages are contained to ring gear and walkout looks for big matches (one of my favorite examples: Kenny Omega walking out dressed as Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII, accompanied by the character's theme). As a result, even through those little nods, the shows become a fun nexus point of the other interests of wrestlers and fans alike.

It's not standard, however, for wrestlers to make cracks about Turner Classic Movies or use the infamously salacious (and mostly made-up) Kenneth Anger book Hollywood Babylon as a sight gag.

"Wrestling takes from itself just as much as it does from its current cultural moment," says Katie Stebbins, a film zine creator and co-host of the Clean Finish podcast. "But harking back to the golden age of a different medium altogether feels like its own homage, acknowledging professional wrestling as its own constructed, heightened, and totally unique form of storytelling.

How the story has developed

The storyline, which has been playing out over the past year across AEW's thrice-weekly programming, really kicked off in the lead-up to the 2023 All In, when Storm lost her title. This sent her into a spiral, her character gradually changing in a series of backstage interviews. Previously her styling leaned rockier, but now she was turning up talking like a washed-up, Golden Age Hollywood actress in the twilight of her career à la Sunset Boulevard's Norma Desmond (made funnier by the fact that she's only 28). The live interviews typically ended with her rambling loudly and throwing a shoe at her unsuspecting coworkers.

This developed further, as Toni's every on-camera appearance would be presented in black and white, complete with fake film grain. Now, her entrance music sounds like a classic film overture, she's billed as being "from Stage 7 of Warner Brothers Studios", her outfits have changed to silk gowns, and her in-ring gear looks like something Ingrid Bergman might wear to the beach. She got a butler. For a while she even quoted Sunset Boulevard directly, saying "Mr Khan, I'm ready for my close-up!" and pausing for a quick camera zoom before defeating her opponents. And, despite being a millennial from New Zealand, Toni speaks of Jayne Mansfield and other Hollywood icons like she spent time in the trenches with them, all in the kind of transatlantic accent that actresses from the time might have.

Stebbins highlights how the "feud playfully remixes a general 'Old Hollywood glamour' with the specificity of two stone-cold classics", Sunset Boulevard and All About Eve, while also noting that these reference points aren't required reading for fans. "If you recognize them, it's great but if not, it doesn't impact the enjoyment at all". It may even encourage people to seek out the films for the first time.

Eventually, in November 2023, entered Mariah, the doe-eyed fan, who in backstage segments claimed that she came to AEW for Toni, and to follow in her footsteps – this is where the story got its All About Eve angle, with Toni starting to seem like Bette Davis's old-school star Margo being pursued by Anne Baxter's super-fan Eve. What followed was weeks of Toni shrugging Mariah off, as she fought for her attention. She finally won it by dressing up as Toni, walking to the ring with her idol's old theme music and wearing her old ring gear – and later, her own variations on it – and then, to complete the betrayal, vanquishing her.  

Their sparring even gained a romantic subtext, not least through another rivalry between Toni and Mariah's old tag teammate from the Japanese promotion Stardom, Mina Shirakawa. It was effectively a battle for Mariah's heart (Swinton also notes how the trio has invited comparisons to film of the moment, Challengers).

The storyline is a genuinely original meeting of cultural phenomena, which has won over a lot of wrestling fans, given Mariah May some absolutely star-making time in the spotlight (Stebbins calls her "fully worthy of being the 'Eve' to Toni's 'Margo/’Norma'"), and provided an incredible revitalisation for Storm's character. As Stebbins puts it, "in real time we experienced Toni go from a placeholder women's champ indifferently received by audiences to losing the belt and gradually re-emerging as 'Timeless' Toni Storm. In real time, we experienced Toni the performer come remarkably into her own within Toni the character. It's part of what makes pro wrestling so endlessly fascinating, that the role of character and performer is always a simultaneous parallel and fusion." The same is true of Mariah, her newness to AEW adding to this immersive blend of fiction and person.  

Why the fusion works so well

When it comes to Toni Storm, the initial (and delightful) absurdity of a wrestler acting as if they're from the 1950s has developed layers, with Toni slowly but surely developing seemingly real vulnerability as her rivalry with Mariah has progressed. Stebbins posits that being able to see these incremental changes in personality has added to the fun: "So much in wrestling is about timing, and the effect that the passage of time has on both performer and audience and Toni / Mariah have utilized both in a way that doesn't often happen. We're with these performers week in and week out, watching performers evolve (or not), develop (or not), get over things (or not)."  

The narrative drama has also been helped by the fact that Toni and Mariah are so fundamentally skilled as physical performers: as Swinton notes, beyond "the clever video packages and heated [live] segments, these are still two of the best in-ring workers in any women's division worldwide". Indeed, the introduction of Mariah exemplifies how great wrestling storytelling can be built in large part through physicality – where outside of the ring she's a fawning and excitable sycophant, once she steps through the ropes she reveals her capability to be a vicious bully towards an opponent who doesn't quite know what they're in for.   

As the storyline has developed further, it has pulled in yet another Golden Age Hollywood reference. Following her (rather brutal) betrayal by Mariah, Toni returned angrier and more erratic , now seemingly nodding to another Bette Davis-starring film, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, as she channelled Davis's appearance as bitter former child star Jane Hudson, both through her gown and severe makeup.

Toni and Mariah's storyline is pretty unique, and it's unlikely to spark a "classic cinema" trend in wrestling: Stebbins sees it as having a "lightning-in-a-bottle quality". But it nevertheless underlines the appeal of professional wrestling more generally. It's a showcase of its varied potential, fusing a heap of narrative elements – shared with theatre, comic books, soap operas, and in this case, classic cinema – with combat and extraordinary feats of athleticism. And it's fun to see how the wrestling world draws on specific bits of pop culture to forge connections with audiences and create its own unique art form in the process.  

[dross-the-fish]

I like your AU but some of your posts come off as kind of harsh on Adam. Are his crimes really worse than Victors?

While Victor may have very foolishly created an 8-foot-tall homunculus that he was in no way shape or form prepared to raise, said homunculus has canonically:

Burned down a house because he was angry that the tenants left after chasing him out, planned to kidnap a child because he thought maybe a child could be raised not to be horribly prejudiced against him. When he found out the child was a Frankenstein he killed that child, framed a woman for the murder of said child, harassed and coerced his creator to make him a wife, specified that the wife should be as ugly as he is so she'd have no choice but to be attached to him and only him, Victor rightfully said "That's fucked up, holy shit no!" then the homunculus went on to kill at least 2 more people that we know of, only to lead his creator on a long chase across the globe that ultimately resulted in his death.

And that's just the shit Adam did on screen. At one point he obtains dogs and guns and I don't think he went up to a store and bought them.

Adam is the definition of

You feel bad for him because at first he legitimately tried as best he knew how to be good and benevolent but it just wasn't working for him so he did a full on U turn and went back in the other direction at warp speed.

Victor was awful about Adam being ugly and he did assume before he actually knew the truth that Adam had killed William because Victor has some strong biases. He also maybe could have talked more to his family and friends about what was going on when they were in clear and present danger. but Victor hasn't actually committed that many crimes, he's just sometimes kind of a shitty person with shitty views.

This is also why I favor Adam as a character because holy Moses on a dump truck this guy needs character growth and a redemption arc and he needs it bad. Like every decision he makes I'm just sitting there going "oh, sweetie no. No, that's the worst thing you could possibly do in this situation. Please stop." but it's like watching someone set a train on fire, derail the train, then run it off a cliff, you just know there's no hope and everyone is going to die.

Anyway I love Frankenstein, it's my favorite, and the Creature is my favorite character.

[anonymous-dentist]

Will you still continue writing and putting qbbh in your stories?

I'm asking this question after months because I can't stand people "separating" the cc from the character, when it can't be done, not when the cc defends such a despicable person. I kept quiet for a long time because you're my favorite writer, but I'm tired of pretending that it doesn't bother me because I suffer daily from racism and xenophobia (things that both qbbh and cc don't seem to care about JAJAJA).

I don't know if you will respond to this or just ignore it, but regardless, thank you for writing such beautiful works and stories, I won't follow you any further, not until I have your response. And if you keep writing Defender of the Bastard, I'll pretend I've never read any of your works, that I've never even met you.

I used the translator to make the job easier 0___=

Okay, anon, I'll start this by saying that I 100% understand where you're coming from. If you've seen my pinned, you know that I hate that shitty green teletubby and all his friends equally, and I do NOT fuck with anyone supporting them. And you've probably seen me speaking up about the freakish xenophobia that parts of Bad's fandom have been taking part in basically since April (that I know about, I've never been a viewer.)

But also? I don't write qBBH. I've written him maybe five times Ever since the QSMP started, and three of those five times were in Breaking Dawn. And, even then, he's not really super important to the narrative at all, and he was never going to be. If anyone from the book club was gonna be important, it would be Maxo because he was super important during the Regret Arc, unlike Bad. And you may have noticed that I haven't even mentioned Bad in that fic since he started getting weird about Dream recently. I legitimately rewrote all of the most recent chapter to keep Bad out of it.

With my other current multichapters (Let a Spider Run, Evil Eye), he was never gonna be a big part of them because I quite genuinely just don't give a shit about his character and because his character isn't too important to the parts of qCellbit and qRoier's stories that I want to explore. Breaking Dawn? Regret Arc. Let a Spider Run? ...Kinda all over the place, but it's the bit of May when Cellbit and Roier started getting interested in each other. Evil Eye? Current "Fuck The Federation" Arc. So if you wanna follow those, go ahead, Bad would only be a cameo mention at most, almost definitely not someone super important. The fic he'd appear most in would be Breaking Dawn, but even then it's like one or two more times because, again, Maxo is actually the more important one there. Limited roles, dig?

But also? You have no right to demand what I do and do not put in my writing. Am I gonna put Bad in anymore? Not in any huge role because I never did, but you showed up and decided to effectively threaten me into not writing him at all by saying you'll never read again. And that's disappointing because I'm so ridiculously thankful for all my readers and I never want to make anyone uncomfortable, but you coming in and demanding I effectively change the plot to my passion project instead of coming and talking to me in dms or something is just kind of a dick move.

I don't hold anything against you, anon, and I won't hold anything against anyone who decides to unfollow me because I'm gonna keep having qBad appear as minor characters in my fics, but you've gotta understand that he's a character. Does he suck? Yeah, and so does the CC, but separating fact from fiction is a vital part of appreciating Minecraft RP storytelling. And I 100% understand having difficulty separating character from CC when it comes to a CC who has done some real shitty things, but sometimes you just need to take a step back and stop consuming content from something that brings you this much distress just by having a single character in it.

You're probably young, and I'm really, really sorry that you've dealt with so much horrible bullshit because of this one man's fandom, and I'm sorry that this guy is on a server that you love and appreciate and I understand that so well (I was a DSMP writer for a while, after all), and I hope that you understand what I'm saying here. I'm not currently planning on including him in anything beyond one or two brief appearances in Breaking Dawn, but you don't really have much of a right to demand that of me. I made this decision weeks ago.

[mhevarujta]

A post for one of my favorite characters of the dance who will not be included in the series.

Some see Nettles just as a dragonrider and a wrench between Daemon and Rhaenyra, but she's far more interesting than most characters. It's why GRRM has said he'd like to explore her more.

She was a young girl of 16 (as Ser Florian mentions she was basically a child really even towards the end of the dance) of humble origins, smallfolk, who may or may not have been a seed. We don't know that she wasn't. But we DO know that dragonseed or not, she tamed a dragon that had not been tamed before just because she took a different approach, akin to that of the shepherds of Ancient Valyria that discovered dragons in the Fourteen Flames.

Yet this girl was discriminated: For her mother possibly being a whore, for growing up on her own, for having a cut from thieving to survive, for being poor and therefore it's just ASSUMED that she'd sell her body for the sheep, for being small and brown and not looking Valyrian, for not being attractive enough for Daemon's attention.

The seeds were promised riches and titles. We have mentions of what was given and considered for Hugh and Ulf. Addam (and Alyn, because those two were a pair despite only one being a dragonrider) got legitimized and Addam was made heir to Driftmark. Yet we have no mention of Nettles, who was the only woman, getting rewarded in anything else than the gifts and comforts that Daemon's fondness for her provided. And yet THIS girl cared. She cared enough to cry for Jace's death, she remained loyal and it's implied that even the accusations of her and Daemon being lovers were false ("a queen's word, a whore's work").

Her story escalates to an actual witch-hunt, with racist arguments involved, with Nettles having to run away to survive, which ultimately results in Daemon flying knowingly to his doom, since the victory against Vhagar could only be achieved with her help.

The girl lived in the wilderness and remains in history as a fire-witch and a goddess, still remembered in ASOIAF as a legend. I'm sorry but her arc is EPIC. Moreover, Rhaena is privileged, the casting is colour-blind, she's a princess and Daemon's daughter in particular, we know she's Valyrian, Addam himself is the son of a highborn who may have had Targaryens in his family tree and he's Valyrian. Ulf and Hugh are smallfolk but they're turncloaks, even if the show attributes to them some understandable reason. None of them can fully encompass Netty's nuances for me or the full scale of her journey as a character.

[gladosluver]

music and artists i think you'd enjoy based on your favorite danganronpa character

- for characters with less songs, expect them to be edited in the future - if there's a song that's instrumental doesn't really fit the vibe of the character, then look at the lyrics. a lot of these are in japanese so i recommend looking them up if you're curious or confused. short explanations are provided for more confusing songs (original titles are provided, as some songs/lyrics only show up under those names) - don't like? don't look. if you don't like what i have to say you don't have to say anything about it. just smile and scroll

Chiaki Nanami binaria - not just recommending them because they wrote the DR3: Despair Arc opening, but because their music is legitimately super good and it somewhat reminds me of her laid-back sweet personality song(s) to try - 火星のアーカイブ (Mars Archive), 双糸 (Twin Threads) other assorted songs - きゅうくらりん (kyukurarin), パレットには君がいっぱい (My Palette is Full of You) (rest easy, siinamota), 幸せになれる隠しコマンドがあるらしい (There's Supposed to Be a Cheat Code for Happiness), うに (Uni)

Nagito Komaeda Megumi Ogata - i know she's his CV... her music is just so, so good and fitting. no matter how hard i try i CANNOT unhear nagito.  song(s) to try - 再生-rebuild-, 残桜-zanka-, poison -劇薬- The Hoosiers - no comment i cant explain this one. wanted to put this for hajime too song(s) to try - Who Said Anything (About Falling In Love)?, Runs In The Family other assorted songs - Under My Skin, ヒトガワリ (Substitute)

Hajime Hinata Foster the People - this is definitely more of a "music i feel like they'd listen to." but to each their own. song(s) to try - Ask Yourself, Nobody's Favourite (Foster The People rework) (i should just link the entire Supermodel album here lol) other assorted songs - Friend's Apartment, A Sadness Runs Through Him

Ryota Mitarai 実験台モルモット (jikkendaimarmot) - although their songs don't have english translations (its difficult to even find the original lyrics) the overall vibe of their music makes me think of him song(s) to try - 100万回死んだぼく (I've Died 100 Times), リストカッター (Wrist Cutter) (shockingly, the latter is not about s/h. lyrics here, but i believe it's about coming to terms with living in hopes of a better future even if you truly want to die.) 全てあなたの所為です(It's All Your Fault/subeteanatanoseidesu) - their music is very vague and ambiguous. it's mostly just the vibes for this one song(s) to try - エヌ (N), . (it's just a dot) (i believe . about experiencing unexpected events in life, and whenever you try to see the good in them, they end up causing you more pain [ie. getting water from a usually empty container, only for it to taste too sweet]) other assorted songs - 輪廻転生 (Reincarnation), ドーピングダンス (Doping Dance), The Saddest Story Ever Told

Celestia Ludenberg Lana Del Rey -  BEFORE YOU BEAT ME TO DEATH hear me out… some of her songs really have that "femme fatale who pulls evil shit to get what she wants" vibe song(s) to try - National Anthem (Demo 1), Lolita (Demo) other assorted songs - Pyrite Girl, Girl Anachronism, Candle Queen

Kyoko Kirigiri x0o0x_ - whatever genre they make I WANT IT. their music is calming and makes you want to cry at the same time, yet some songs make you wanna scream the lyrics and stand ominously in the wind… it's just so unique song(s) to try - '''''', ====== (most songs have no titles, so i'm using the ones from their spotify) other assorted songs - The Downfall of a Well Known Actress

Junko Enoshima MARETU - the theme of his music is so… despair-inducing. you can imagine an edit of her with any one of his songs song(s) to try - マエガミスト (Maegamist), うまれるまえは (Born before) (maegamist is about turning a blind eye to other people's/society's problems, isolating yourself and leaving them to struggle alone. but this is just my interpretation) 和田たけあき (WadatakeakiP/KurageP) - cant explain this one… trust me song(s) to try - チュルリラ・チュルリラ・ダッダッダ！(Chururira Chururira Daddadda!), トラッシュ・アンド・トラッシュ！(Trash and Trash!) (chururira is about using other people's "bad" actions against them (no matter how small) to spread harmful rumors/snitch on them until you're the only "good" one) other assorted songs - Breaking Things Into Pieces, 食事 (EAT) (my interpretation of EAT is consuming everything you can, but never being satisfied)

hope yall can hear me out on some of these have fun happy listening

if i get any reblogs "correcting" me saying a fictional 4-person rhythm game group wrote and produced any of these songs im deleting my fucking account (iykyk)

[heartofspells]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tags, @brandileigh2003 @tracingpatternswrites & @mycupofrum!

Username: heartofspells

1. How many works do you have on A03?

96, all of them HP except for one lonesome Supernatural fic

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

1,685,584

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Harry Potter, though I've dabbled in a few others, only one fic of which is still available for Supernatural

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

At the Healing Edge of Broken

Prick the Craving, Watch it Seep

Multiplying Parents

How to Succeed in Business

The Tying of Canines

5. Do you respond to comments?

I used to. Hardly ever anymore, and unfortunately, I've got solid reasons for that. I will respond to them if someone asks a question that legitimately needs answering or similar. And while I maybe don't respond to them anymore, I do read every single one multiple times. I love comments, and I'm so grateful for everyone who takes time out of their lives to leave them for me <3

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ah...heh. That's really not an easy question to answer for me. I guess, coming from a personal stance, knowing everything I put into it and the build up that led to then ending, I'd have to say Wasteland. That's the one that's still lingering with me to this day.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

That's also hard to answer, because as much as I love flooding my fics with angst, I have a lot that end very happy or hopeful. Narrowing it down to longer fics with more character arc throughout, I'd probably say This Way We Fall because it leaves them on such a high note after all the struggle.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Unfortunately, yes, but that's part of it, I guess. I've become better at ignoring it.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do, but at the end of the day, it's mostly just typical smut when I look at it, though I do have a few kinkier ones scattered in there (ceiling smut, er...inter-species stuff). There's also the...not entirely nice stuff when it comes to smut as well simply because I like exploring all aspects of most everything.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Haven't so far. Doubt I ever will, but you never know.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of. I hope not.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have! I co-wrote Family on the Mend with @tracingpatternswrites and it was so much fun! I'd love to co-write more fics in the future!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

It's gonna have to be Wolfstar just because that's where my heart has rested for years, but there are others that run as close seconds.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Oh god. YOU. It's not posted anywhere, still only exists in my docs, but I'm convinced that fic will haunt the rest of my life.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I always struggle with questions like this, but that also means I've spent a lot of time thinking about it over the years. I think, mostly based on reactions I've had and what other people have said, that I'm quite good at capturing heavy and deep emotions, hopefully enough to not only grip a reader, but to plunge them into the heart of a scene and make them feel those emotions as well.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Details? There are times I think I'm terrible at this, and not just in fiction writing. It's in everything. Something might exist in my head, and I sometimes manage to forget that not everyone can see my exact thoughts and know what I'm thinking, so I leave important bits and pieces out of things and explanations that only end up confusing people - or worse, makes me seem not so great in general simply because I forgot the inclusion of a very important point when it mattered most.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I'm not against it, though it's not something I generally do because I don't know any other languages and that's a risky game to play. I'll only include it if I've spoken to someone who speaks that language fluently and has agreed to translate for me. But having other languages in a fic is a wonderful thing, especially if you're trying to include other cultures, though speaking as someone who has to rely on things like Google Translate that aren't always accurate, included translations are always appreciated.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

This changes constantly for me. I'm not sure how it couldn't. I love most of the fics I've written, and it's like choosing a favorite child sometimes. However, I think right now I'd have to say it's a toss up between CRuSH (i'm just so proud of this one) and Multiplying Parents (also very proud, and this one was so much fun and makes me grin every time i think about it).

Open tag! Because I'm very late to this and I've got the feeling most everyone has done this by now.

[hopeymchope]

Do you think you can help me out? I don't understand why everyone loves Ibuki so much. I mean, I don't want to hate her, but the one thing I don't like is her music. It's been bothering me ever since I learned that she's a fan favorite, I want to know if anyone doesn't like Ibuki because of her music. I get that her popularity has to do with her jokes and fashion, but some of it feels like dark humor to me. You can read my blog for more info if you want (some of it doesn't make sense though).

I don't think anyone likes Ibuki's music aside from Hiyoko, lol. (Unless, of course, you're talking about that amazing fan recording of what "I Squeezed Out the Baby But I Have No Idea Who the Father Is" could sound like, which I would say is an absolute jam.) Just look at everyone else's reaction to it in-game! So you're definitely not alone in such an opinion; I'd be stunned to learn if ANY fans legitimately liked her in-game/in-anime music, actually. I always thought the whole POINT was that it's supposed to sound like a cacophony of garbage. But having some crap musical preferences isn't usually enough to hate OR love somebody, y'know? Whether they're real OR fictional.

(But please, y'all: If any of you legitimately love — or, like @dangan-kagura, totally hate — Ibuki for her.... eccentric musical style, I'd love to hear about that. I want to know you exist!)

But ultimately, I think Ibuki is beloved by the DR fanbase because of three main reasons:

A) Yes, she's funny and cartoonishly positive and speaks in the third person, but she also runs deeper/smarter than she usually acts. We do tend to really dig characters with layers to them that run deeper than our first superficial impression.

B) We also love someone who is relentlessly individualistic and shows no signs of caring what other people think of her. There's an admirable quality to her, particularly in how she's pursuing her music when we meet her.

C) A character with queer undertones (overtones?) is always a character that fandoms will gravitate towards.

Let me go a little more in-depth on those points.

Regarding point A: Obviously, Ibuki acts like a goofball a lot of the time, which can be endearing. But she also surprisingly pulls her weight in the class trials by catching others in lies, pressing people for answers, reporting on exactly what sounds/voices came from where at what points during Chapter 1's murder, and so on. She can be quite insightful — remember that in DR3's Despair Arc, she's the only person in Class 77-B who points out that there's something between Fuyuhiko and Peko — that they're clearly closer than they pretend to be. All of the above speaks to how lowkey observant she is, which supports how she can drop some legit wisdom, such as her mini-speech about "finding oneself" during her final FTE in Island Mode.

Regarding point B: As we gradually learn her background in-game from various conversations and FTEs, we find that she once wrote and co-performed a song with her Light Music Club that became a top-charting single. That fact combined with her incredible guitar skills helped her get scouted by Hope's Peak as the "Ultimate Musician." Even so, she ditched her club and quit pop music so she could make the heavier, harder music SHE wanted to make. And... it's not exactly being well-received, but she doesn't seem to give a damn. She left behind the easy route to praise and loads of cash so she could maintain her artistic integrity and do what she's passionate about and loves doing. That's easy to admire.

Regarding point C: At the end of Island Mode, if the player/Hajime suggests they could now be "lovers," she rejects that notion with a strong "DENIED!" Plus she talks about her heart pounding hard when she sees the other girls in their swimsuits. And there's her request for Mahiru to take picutres of Mikan in compromising positions when poor Tsumiki falls in Chapter 1. And, y'know... the infamous "Welcome to the world of girl love!" quote. All this together has made her be popularly believed to be gay or at least bi/pansexual, and characters with those kinds of hints just always get a lot of love from fans. Geeks do love their slash.

I hope this helped you understand why people are fond of her — including myself. I'd probably put her anywhere from tier 1 to tier 3 of my favorite characters, depending on the day. She's not a lock for the top level by any means, but I'm still a fan and enjoy her presence.

[the-ellia-west]

Geon!

Alright, so Geon. I haven't talked about this little man very much, so you probably have no idea who he is.

And it doesn't help that he's one of my favorite characters and I talk about him randomly with no context.

Soooooo.... Here's that context!

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

Geon is The Blind Prince of Rosel, Specifically the 6th of the King's Children.

So a little more context - The King of Rosel, Kayxhan (Kay or K for short) is a rat bastard of a man. He's good at keeping his country out of conflict with everything but conquering other countries. But the other 4 Big islands in the Five Star Archipelago are too strong, so he turned to the continent of Ahellis to the north.

There, he found a thriving community, new people, resources, and an abundance of people who are well acquainted with the world of magic. Obsessed with making the perfect weapon, he took the strongest sorceress he could find and had a child with her. Several trial runs happened where Geon's Ahelite half and full siblings all died (of natural causes). He was the only one who survived, but he was born blind, so the King gave up on that endeavor.

But despite his blindness, Geon was born with the powers the king wanted in his perfect weapon, the skills of a seer who can see the future without seeing at all, an empath who can feel the breath in the air, and resistant to the effects of temperature.

But from the moment he was old enough to walk, he was forced to wear a blindfold to cover the two main distinguishing features he gained from his mother. Deep violet eyes, and pointed ears. Because the king didn't want people knowing he had sex with a servant race. (Flawed logic there Kay)

Geon is a very sweet prince, being Raised by the very sweet sorceress who was allowed to live because the King well... Liked her. And also his older brother, Damian.

Damian was raised by a nanny, discarded because he was regarded as weak and expected to die when he was younger. But because of Ahelite magic stolen in the conquest, he survived and gained the strength to live, but didn't grow up to be like his father.

He is the only legitimate heir of the king, but he adamantly refuses to take the throne, convincing his father he's still weak so someone with more influence can have the power.

But despite this, Damian is smart and well-liked by his father and his people. He wants what's best for his kingdom and his family, which means he wants peace. And after the conquest, Ahellis will not stop starting revolutions because they hate this king.

And Damian knows that Geon is intelligent and Powerful, as well as being half Ahelite which has a good chance of making peace.

So Geon, being not very well monitored by his father because of his blindness, was given an aid to help him navigate, Trissa. An Ahelite Crafter's daughter.

Soon enough, being tutored by Trissa, Damian, and Damian's tutor, Geon grew into a competent prince and fell in love with Trissa.

But soon enough, his father took notice of his magic and decided to make him a real weapon this time, finally taking Damian's advice, and deciding to appoint him the crown prince.

Now I can't go too far into events as not to spoil everything >;]

But Geon's arc turns our sweet baby though a series of magical mistakes and extreme mental trauma into an antagonist.

You'll see. Don't worry. His Asshole brothers had it coming.

And Geon doesn't come in until book 4 so have fun waiting, I'm sure not!

-------------------------------------- Hey there! Hi! You! Tumblr user!

Are you a fan of epic fantasy? Want a story with romance, action, and sassy heroes and villains? How about some good old-fashioned ANGST?

If so, you're in luck! I've got just the series! Come check out TCOT!

Take a quick look at this post if you're interested

And keep an eye on my blog for updates!

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[crystalelemental]

Unit Teambuilding - Sygna Suit Lear

Sygna Suit Lear vies for one of my least favorite sync pairs, not because Lear, but because Gholdengo.  Its entire design does not sit well with me, but the fact they also made it something that's so competitively dominant and then keep reminding me it's there like they're proud of it just pours salt in the open wound.

General Overview Steel type is eating deliciously this month.  Arc Steven is an absurd support despite not being Support by default, Solgalillie is excellent for a free pair, and now SS Lear is a powerhouse Steel type damage dealer.  He's also the first Pasio Master Fair, with both a Pasio related Master Passive and a Pasio Circle to apply.  He's neat.

What I think pushes Lear from just an extremely good damage dealer in a rare special Steel type is his supportive effects.  The aforementioned team boosts are one thing, but he can debuff and provide immunity to stat debuffs, status effects, and status changes for the team while his Circle is up.  These are extremely good effects for him to provide, and makes him more valuable in a broader context.

If there's a fault to Lear, it's his specificity.  Pasio has very few pairs, given the dearth of OCs.  Worse, many of them are Support partners, so he doesn't provide quite as much when it comes to offense.  While this feels minor and more exclusive to my hangups from a bygone era, but special Steel is rare and has only premium partners.  He relies in part on physical allies to help him out.  Again, I think this is less relevant given that CS is kinda meaningless now, but still.

Team 1: SS Lear, Arc Steven, Solgalillie This is the current Steel meta team that many are using, probably because of recency.  I personally think it's good, but feels awkward to me because of that aforementioned hangup.  Solgalillie and Lear both have ramping ability, which Steven can easily support with Head Start or Adrenaline.  Solgalillie also has Steel Zone support, which pumps Lear's damage tremendously.  They're an incredibly good partnership that easily gets the job done.

Team 2: SS Lear, V!Thorton/Roxanne, S!Tate Pure special Steel team.  V!Thorton isn't half bad as a tank, provided he gets that Endure effect, and can apply Staggering from Flash Cannon in addition to his Restrain to counter Acute Senses opponents, and sets Steel Zone on sync.  S!Tate can apply debuffs with ease, alleviating some of Thorton's rotation.  Thorton is able to get Free Moves Next whenever he hits a Restrained opponent, so gauge is not a consideration thanks to this and Lear's gauge acceleration. If you don't want to Thorton because he's not particularly great, Roxanne is there too for gauges.

Team 3: SS Lear, Bellelba, MC Solgaleo This is aiming to talk about two things at once. First: Lear's Pasio Circle results in immunity to status, flinch/trap/confuse, and stat debuffs, while Bellelba sets Crit Shield and Dual Screens. This is, to put it mildly, a lot of lucky skill effects floating around a single team. And with Crit Shield being one of them, Bellelba is able to run Head Start, providing Lear with a ramp. This works excellently. The other aspect is MC Solgaleo. Pasio Circle is uh. Strange. I legitimately struggle to really put together team compositions, because most pairs are Not Very Good Supports from the MC's Master BP pairs, or the 4* Pokefairs like Sawyer, Rachel, and Tina. I can't even say the new 5* Gimmighoul pairs are all that interesting. So Lear's real targets are MC Solgaleo, who is a pretty solid F2P physical damage dealer for Steel (if you missed the free Lillie), and Paulo. The former has physical to Lear's special, so CS approaches are rough, while the latter is aiming for physical support as well and is a different type. Paulo does get special notice for also being ramp-centric, that's probably a fun combination, but I did want to talk here about the general issue Lear faces with his Pasio pals. I'd say they need more Pasio OCs, but also I've played FEH.

Team 4: SS Lear, Solgalillie, Poppy Damage Challenge. Lear and Lillie are both Sprint pairs, giving a ton of sync cooldown to the team. Lillie can also apply Steel Zone, which is excellent. Lear has is own excellent DPS pressure, but Poppy's swing is out of this world huge. Poppy also is notable just because Thunder Wave will burn turns. It's all upside, really. This might be a little too diffuse for high scores, but I don't really understand how this mode is supposed to work in the first place if I'm being honest.

Final Thoughts SS Lear seems incredibly good, and serves as another great addition to the Steel type, which seems to be vying for a place among the best types in the game this month. I really do like his ramping and supportive effects, and think he'd be great fun! But also, it's Gholdengo. And I cannot with that thing. God, just...Gimmighoul and that whole intro trailer was so cool, and I cannot express what I felt when I saw what it amounted to.

[yellowocaballero]

hello! i really liked your fics, especially the dc-xmen ones, and they made me interested in reading the comics. do you have any recs for starters? thank you :D

So a long-running gag between my sibling and I is that they aren't allowed to send me any panels or information about the X-Men, because I don't like the X-Men comics. Have I legitimately read a bunch? Sure. Would I recommend any of them? No.

I'd say X-Force (starring private eye Jamie) wasn't bad, except the 10yo girl got aged up into an 18yo and started making out with the lead. Cable & Deadpool probably barely counts as X-Men but it's definitely the best Cable and the best Deadpool comic simultaneously. My X-Men fics are based almost entirely off the children's cartoon X-Men Evolution, which is the only X-Men media I can say with my whole chest that I really enjoy. I heard that X-Men Blue was good.

As for where to start with DC comics...I'm struggling with a personal opinion on that too. I can't give a single comic that's the best Batman comic to start with, because the popularity of the Batman arc has an inverse relationship to its quality. The best Batman comic is some random one-off by Denny O'Neil in the 70s that was never mentioned again. I'm not sure how often this rec is given but Batman: Black and White is one of the few one-off Batman things that is sincerely gorgeous and moving (unlike The Dark Knight Returns or Arkham Asylum A Serious House on Serious Earth or The Killing Joke or Batman: Year One or The Long Halloween or Under The Red Hood or). If you've rolled up here for the Batfam exclusively then Cassandra's 90s Batgirl run is unironically pretty good.

If you enjoy reading teenagers being awful the late 90s-early 00s Young Justice comic by Peter David is delightful - if you enjoyed Impulse in it, then check out my favorite comic run of all time Impulse (not best, just favorite). The 90s Mark Waid Flash run was lovely. Outside of the heroes I've actually written, if you're pretentious as fuck the the 80s Denny O'Neil Question is fantastic. If you're not pretentious and want something much lighter then the early 00s Blue Bettle and 70s Shazam comics are unbelievably fun.

That probably doesn't help much! I love Batman so much but I couldn't believe that I couldn't actually list of any famous Batman arcs or stories that I genuinely love. Life of a Batman fan. I'm so sorry I can't actually recommend an X-Men comic. I'm sure there are good ones I just haven't read any.

[seeingteacupsindragons]

Hello....Do you mind if I ask your top 5 (or top 10) favorite moments from any media that you love (books, anime/manga, tv series, movies, games, etc)? Thanks if you want to answer. Sorry if I ask too much....

Ah, I don't think I can do favorite moments. How about "Moments that overloaded me so much I needed to stop short and process"? Because favorite or not, these ones all impacted me very deeply.

1. That bit in Noragami Aragoto when Yukine sacrifices his name for Yato's safety and becomes a Blessed Vessel.

Look, I had to pause the show for about 20 minutes when watching it for the first time because I was so Overcome. I was watching with my little brother, and he had the same reaction. We spent the twenty minutes incoherently making noises at each other in the middle of the night until we could finally calm down enough to continue.

Something about how far Yukine came from a frustrated, sullen kid who was acting out because he had been hurt and traumatized so badly, to willing to give up everything for the person who risked everything for him was just. Wow. Wowwww. 1000/10 character arc.

2. This moment toward the end of The Furies of Calderon when Tavi had messed something up and his uncle wasn't speaking to him, and he had gone so silent and cowed, and Amara was like, "Huh, I've seen actual abuse, but this hurt this kid so quietly?"

Because all I could think of was how I knew exactly what it was like to make a small mistake trying to help someone else and lose everything for it because of the way my parents acted, even though absolutely no one understood what it would mean for me or that my parents would not forgive.

I cried. I don't know if I was supposed to? But I did.

3. Viktor launching himself at Yuuri to kiss him in episode 7 of Yuri!!! On ICE

I watched this one live, so there was no need to pause the show or anything to process. But I do remember around that point in the episode, I stood up and spent the credits/etc. raking my hand through my hair, pressing my lips together, trying to hold it together because What did I just see?

I then frantically DM'd all my friends to message me immediately after they'd seen the episode, and then went for two separate runs in November in the Upper Midwest without a jacket, trying to settle whatever I was. Doing. Emotionally.

Ahhhhh!!!!

Ahhh!

4. Toward the end of Trick of the Light when Zeke and Griffin confessed to finally having got together

Because back in high school when I was reading this, I had spent the entire book shipping them and telling myself it was a proper urban fantasy novel, not a romance novel, it wasn't a schlocky BL manga, of course they weren't going to--WHAT? THEY DID???

I screamed. I threw the book (library book. Ooops!). I was mad, but at myself, but why, that was the environment I had been lead to believe in? But? No.

5. The end of the last episode of the Nabari no Ou anime.

When I tell you I cried. I cried for, legitimately, hours. A friend and I had stayed up almost all weekend in college shotgunning the series, it was 10am on Sunday morning after having not slept all night, I went back to my dorm room after starting my sobbing session, and could not sleep, because oh my God.

I don't usually cry to visual media. It doesn't usually hit as hard. Yoite....Yoite brought me to pieces.

6. Jeff getting outed in volume 10 of The Case Files of Jeweler Richard

I'm pretty sure I kept suffering through machine translation of the novel after that, but my brain was still focusing on processing...that...Jeff...was gay. I don't think I stayed up much longer that night. Because. Because. BECAUSE.

Lots more, probably, but this is my most memorable ones for right now.

Laters!

[throughtrialbyfire]

Hi, can you tell me what was your original inspiration for Cycle? Where did you start with the ideas? Plot? Characters? A little of both? ❤️

hi winter!!!! <3333

i think the idea for CotS kinda just… happened. it was a speculative concept of what it would look like if there was more than one "last" dragonborn, and how that would fit into the world or change the narrative of skyrim!! i already had some concepts for a few characters and some scattered story ideas, so i decided to make a trio and send them on adventures. athenath was the first one i made, though, since he was originally going to be a self insert i tossed about like a ragdoll into various situations (especially involving cicero), then they decided that they had their own story to tell, and here we are! the trio's backstories and personalities blossomed as i wrote more about them, which is what lead to a rewrite of some chapters, but i love them a lot. it really was just gonna be a little side project from my original writing that i had no intention of posting anywhere, but, well, we see how that went AHAH

as for the plots, i was genuinely going to write out every quest and side quest. i thought that in order for the trios adventures to work, i had to do that, and follow canon exactly. then i engaged in the fandom more and read more fic and realized that, no, i can be canon-divergent and not write every quest HAHKJGDHKJFG. i still have drafts of chapters where they talk to characters to initiate certain plots, and maybe i'll put them to use one day. it went from following canon, to canon divergence, to using canon as my guideline and making my own arcs and storylines, altering existing ones, and toying with the framework of bethesdas writing as much as i feel necessary. i still try to adhere to the lore and keep it grounded in the world of the elder scrolls, but i'm allowing more room to play with that lore as the story goes on. for example, since solitude as a city doesnt have much in the way of a city-wide quest like some others do, i'm writing from the ground up an entire arc for the town based on several quests in the game and just expanding upon those.

of course, a lot of alteration has to be done in order to make room for three heroes. i have to rewrite dialogue and even rework some quests to make room for them to fit into it, or decide which one of them is gonna be handling a solo mission. for example, i planned for athenath to get dawnbreaker because that's one of my favorite weapons in skyrim, so i had to decide why the other two wouldn't be able to follow into meridia's temple. so, i decided vigilants of stendarr would be trying to stop the trio from going inside because the vigilants think the trio are "aiding the daedra", and only one of them could run in while the other two held the vigilants back. i'm slowly dividing up the daedric quests between who gets what, or if all three do the quest. it's a challenge to be sure everything still flows smoothly, but i love it >:3c plus, i've come up with a hell of a lot of other OCs as i've gone along to flesh out the world, and as i get to know those characters, too, skyrim feels more and more like home.

i hope any of that made sense <3 thank you so much for the ask!!!! i could legitimately ramble abt the writing process with this fic for so, so long AHAH so thank you for letting me do that!!

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