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snapscube · 3 months

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In Dawntrail did you enjoy a different character playing the main role, or do you prefer when the player character is leading the narrative?

this is definitely a major point of contention in the fanbase rn and i can generally see valid feelings/criticism on both ends of the spectrum. i myself do fall somewhere in between the most extreme takes on this. i won't go into too much detail about actual events but ill tag this as spoilers anyway just in case. ok so my thoughts are:

firstly, i like Wuk Lamat a lot. i don't think she deserves even half of the pure unfiltered ire that she is receiving from a large subset of the community rn. the amount of people who have already turned being a wuk lamat hater into an advertised personality trait really frustrates me. i really enjoyed seeing her personal journey through the story and i was overall very satisfied by her inclusion. however, i do not think the story was perfectly paced or balanced, and i definitely do understand where people are coming from when they say that they could have used a little less of her in the forefront. honestly it did kind of ultimately disappoint me that we missed out on a lot of potential interaction/development with someone like Krile, who in spite of being promised a big breakout role in this expansion still somewhat felt like a SLIGHT (i have to stress slight) afterthought. she did get some notable moments of development and emotion, but i feel like there could have been more.

okay but, your question is about our role as a player in the narrative. i hold the opinion that for THIS EXPANSION SPECIFICALLY, the warrior of light taking somewhat of a narrative backseat actually made a ton of sense and fit the themes of the narrative as well as the promise of a somewhat breezy summer vacation for our heroes. now, i will say this: i really do not agree with the idea that the WoL should be in a mentor role indefinitely because our story is done developing and we need to give the spotlight to "the next generation" of heroes in the world. i appreciate the SENTIMENT of this, but like for me personally.... i don't want Pella's story to be done, yknow? i definitely would be disappointed if this was the DE FACTO role she played in every expansion past this. but i don't even think that is factually what's going to happen. we're currently in a setup phase! and, again, bringing it back to this narrative and the themes within, a lot of Dawntrail about the experience of entering unfamiliar places and learning about the customs and the traditions of people already within it to best help them without unwelcomely trampling on their culture in the process. i think a story like that is the PERFECT time for the WoL to take a bit of a backseat. wuk lamat is also somewhat unfamilar like us yes, but Tural is still her home and she is about to be tasked with leading it. i feel like centering our character in that equation would feel.... really disingenuous? it was kinda frustrating sometimes when it felt like hey.... there's a situation happening right now that can be solved by skilled combat and you have a literally god killer standing right here doing a frown emote, but at a certain point i could chalk it up to growing pains or necessary suspension of disbelief in the interest of the overall emotional hook of the narrative. a lot of those moments could be explained away with enough thought about the character motivations and culture at play, though sometimes it does feel like a stretch. again, far from a perfectly written MSQ. it starts slow and it's messy and it throws a LOT of stuff at you that doesn't always pay off like you expect or want. but i dunno! i think we're gonna see some really interesting stuff come to the forefront in the future, and i think especially now knowing that much of the playerbase thought we took TOO much of a backseat here CS3 will probably adjust their focus accordingly next time. so i can't be too upset really about the stuff i wasn't into. the rest of it was great imo!

#hi ian :)#ffxiv #dawntrail #dawntrail spoilers

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markantonys · 3 months

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i'll be interested to see if this holds true for WOT s3 since the s1 finale had so many extenuating circumstances and can't really be included in the comparison, but based off of the s2 finale, i believe that season finales tend to bear the brunt of "It's Different From The Books!" ire because they are the culmination of all the smaller changes made throughout the season.

this turned into a bigger analysis post than i expected lmao par for the course with my blog! read on for exploration of how the 2x08 conclusion of each season-long arc is the the most emotionally satisfying conclusion and/or the most thematically appropriate conclusion possible based on the show's particular version of the story, plus a bonus tangent on the nature of adaptation.

for a finale episode, the writers' prime concern 100% has to be "wrapping up all the season's arcs in a way that feels satisfying with everything that's happened in the first 7 episodes, using the book version of the finale event as the framework" rather than "recreating the book version of the finale event exactly as it is with all the same scenes and themes". the nature of storytelling inherently means that every single person who tells the same story will focus on different themes (just think of how many versions of the hades & persephone story there are), and a good adaptation knows that being internally consistent with its own Emphasized Themes is more important than copying-and-pasting scenes from the source material without making any changes to account for the specific way this adaptation is telling the story.

(but a lot of people can't even get past this first point because they don't understand that this is how adaptations - how storytelling in general - work. like, person B literally cannot tell the exact same story that person A told without putting their own spin on it. it's not possible! unless they're simply reading out the exact words that person A wrote, which can't be done when putting 14 massive books into maximum 64 hours of tv. so many readers like to meet this point with "but why does the books' version of the story need to be changed at all?" which is just a non-starter because a) medium differences require a ton of changes, and b) even if no changes were *required*, they would happen anyway because that is human nature when it comes to storytelling. when it comes to story-listening too! ask a hundred different book fans what WOT is about and you'll get a hundred different answers. rafe & co can't possibly make an adaptation that captures every single reader's idea of What WOT Is About, and nobody in the world could ever re-tell the story of WOT in the exact same way that RJ told it, not even the most die-hard book fan; all rafe & co can do is focus on making sure the show honors the core of the books' story while also telling a good story in its own right, independent of the source material.)

i was a classics major, okay? it gets to me! anyway, corralling myself back on topic.

for 2x08, it's very telling just how far Minority Reader Opinion deviates from the general audience opinion. general audiences fucking LOVED this episode (it's the highest-rated on imdb out of the entire show, currently at a 9.0; most episodes are in the 7-8 range), but a bunch of readers call it disappointing and one of the worst episodes of the show. if it was actually a poor quality episode of television, the general audience ratings would reflect that too (as they do for 1x08, currently at a 6.4 (i personally think 1x08 gets way more hate than is deserved and i thoroughly enjoy that episode, but i accept that's just me)), but they don't.

so what does that mean? to me, it means that 2x08 is objectively a very good episode of television which general audiences found satisfying, but which some readers disliked because it prioritized the emotional & thematic needs of its own version of the story over the exact nature of the falme events in the source material. which is exactly what a good adaptation should do! if you forget the books and just look at the show (which the vast majority of viewers are doing), then every resolution that happens in 2x08 is the most satisfying resolution possible and/or the only resolution that was thematically permitted for that particular season storyline.

egwene: her season arc was about learning to stand on her own two feet and not cling onto her mentor figures or compare herself unfavorably to others. thus, her freeing herself from the a'dam is the most satisfying possible conclusion to her season arc. nynaeve and elayne freeing her in the books is nice, but in the show version, thematically, it would've undercut egwene's Overcoming Impostor Syndrome arc to go "yeah actually it's true that she's not good enough on her own and when it comes down to it she does always need nynaeve to help her out". that version worked in TGH where she didn't have an Overcming Impostor Syndrome arc, but it wouldn't have worked in the show where she did. (but, yes, egwene learning in 2x08 that she doesn't have to rely on others is a double-edged sword, which nicely sets up her later-series struggles with trying to shoulder too much herself and not letting even her friends or partner help her.)

rand: his season arc was about learning to lean on others and not isolate himself or try to protect his friends by withholding his burdens from them. thus, him failing to defeat ishamael until all his friends come to lend aid in various ways is the most satisfying possible conclusion to his season arc. rand defeating ishy singlehandedly in the books is nice, but in the show version, thematically, it would've undercut his Learning That Strength Is In Numbers arc to go "yeah actually it's true that rand is capable of winning his biggest battles all by himself and thus it's no problem for him to push his friends away". given the themes that s2 emphasized for rand, the only appropriate finale outcomes were either success with his friends' help or total failure on his own, and they chose the former. (that being said, rand pushing his friends away is a continuous issue for him throughout the series, so i doubt he's perfectly learned his lesson after 2x08; we shall see!)

interesting to note that rand and egwene have inverse arcs in a way (foils!) and that some elements of their book falme climaxes were swapped, and that the way the show has done it subverts the expected gender roles. typically, men are expected to be Lone Wolves and women to be Team Players, and the WOT books absolutely play into these stereotypes throughout the series (sometimes intentionally as social commentary, sometimes unconsciously as an accepted truth of the world), but 2x08 and s2 more broadly did the opposite with our yin-and-yang co-protagonists. it's egwene who has the arc about learning to be a Lone Wolf and rand who has the arc about learning to be a Team Player. and imo these subconscious gender role expectations are a part of why some readers (esp reddit) got SO heated about "how come egwene can succeed by herself but rand can't", because it feels Wrong to them and Not How Things Are Supposed To Work (they've never questioned why rand can succeed by himself but egwene needs her friends' help in TGH, or all the other times in the books when men succeed by themselves and women succeed by relying on each other). but it's a totally apples-to-oranges comparison because egwene and rand had totally different season arcs and focal themes (but many paralleling & foiling moments within that), and so they each get a conclusion tailor-made to their individual stories.

mat: his season arc was about realizing he's a good, worthy person, finding the inner strength to overcome his worst impulses and temptations, and coming through for his friends after leaving them at the waygate. thus, him getting his Big Damn Hero moment with the horn of valere, getting validation that he is literally a hero, and overall spending the episode doing all he can to support his friends is the most satisfying possible conclusion to his season arc. (but stabbing his bff just as he was flying on a confidence high and trying to save the day was a downer note to end on, so we've complicated his relationship with heroism and set up some more internal issues for him to wrestle with next season.)

perrin: his season arc was about learning to acknowledge his inner wolf but also coming to regard it with fear and to believe that wolf & human sides can't coexist and he must Choose One (.......suddenly being struck by the bisexuality metaphor of it all. nice!) thus, him giving into violence to murder a human to avenge a wolf is.....well, it's pretty upsetting for him and serves to reinforce his growing belief that his two sides can't coexist, but thematically, it's fascinating and sets him up for some really great internal (and external) conflicts in s3. he's just gotten what he thinks is pretty strong evidence to corroborate ishy's claim that embracing his wolf side means embracing the shadow, so he's set up for a season 3 of deep-diving into his relationship with violence and his inner wolf. it's also a neat parallel with 1x08: there perrin's avoidance of violence allowed fain to escape, whereas here his embracing of violence has traumatized him (again), so our poor guy is really feeling conflicted in the pacificism-or-violence question because both sides seem wrong to him right now. huh, i guess perrin's full-series arc is about finding a middle ground rather than one extreme (pacifism/tuatha'an/human) or the other (violence/aiel/wolf). i feel like i've just had an epiphany lmao this is why i love the show! it tells the same story as the books, but tells it in a different way that makes me think about it differently and gain new insights!

nynaeve: her season arc was about learning that she, on her own, as she is today, is not enough to protect her loved ones. this is a tough pill for both her and the audience to swallow! but it's needed for her character, and we see it in the books too. nynaeve has an incredible amount of power, but she's terrified of having that much power and wants to pretend it doesn't exist. she's resistant to change, she's used to being in charge, and she's very "my way or the highway". these are all things she needs to grow out of (or moderate, at least) in order to be able to step up and do her part for tarmon gai'don. she has to learn how to embrace her power instead of being afraid of it or being too stubborn to let other people guide her and teach her, so s2 shows her what happens if she doesn't, first hypothetically in the accepted test (everyone she loves dies because she's blocked and refused channeling training) and then for real in falme (she couldn't help elayne fully or rand at all because of her block). so her 2x08 conclusion being Total Failure is not emotionally satisfying, no, but it's thematically exactly what she needed and will goad her into facing her block head-on next season. thematically, like rand, nynaeve only had 2 options for falme: break her block and succeed, or retain her block and fail, and it was too soon for the former (we gotta let her cook a while longer, plus the story will become too easy if nynaeve, or rand, reaches supernova capability too soon), so it had to be the latter. if the show had gone with a third option of her succeeding without breaking her block, then that would've taught her and the audience that it's fine to leave the block in place and she doesn't need to challenge herself to grow as a person, because when it TRULY matters she can always get around the block.

other characters get appropriate resolutions too! moiraine and lan get to work together to succeed after being at odds and failing on their own all season (rand foils!). elayne gets validation that she is an essential and trusted part of the friend group after feeling like somewhat of an outsider earlier in the season. ishamael getting vanquished and lanfear betraying him only to be betrayed by him in turn is exactly where their mutual mistrust was leading them (and it shows us why it's so important that Team Light be able to work as a team rather than as self-interested individual operators; the contrast between ishy & lanfear looking at the seals together while plotting to betray each other vs. rand standing on the tower with all his friends behind him makes me cry your honor. imagine hating that ishy's defeat was a team effort, could not be me!)

(it's also worth noting that the characters who had the least individual success/victory in 2x08 (nynaeve, rand, perrin) are the ones who will have the biggest individual storylines in s3 (tanchico & moggy, waste arc, two rivers arc), whereas the characters who had the most individual success/victory (egwene, mat, moiraine, lan) are the ones who will be taking a bit more of a backseat (of course they all have their own stuff to do, but none of them is *the* lead character of their TSR/s3 traveling group). this is intentional!)

so there you have it. 2x08 is adored by the general audience, and it's because of this: it gives us some damn satisfying conclusions to all the season arcs (and some exciting and visually stunning battle sequences to boot), and all the viewers who AREN'T beleaguered by "But The Books!", which is most of them, recognize that for the good storytelling it is. i for one will always care far more about the show telling a good story within itself than the show being identical to the books, and rafe & co will too, as they should.

the only downside to the episode is that, yes, it is quite cramped for time because there are a lot of arcs to wrap up. this should be less of an issue in future seasons when the season finale isn't "every single major storyline converges in the same place at once". for example, judging by the "goldeneyes" episode title it seems s3 might split it up so that perrin's conclusion in the two rivers is in 3x07 while other conclusions in other locations are in 3x08, giving each more breathing room. whereas 2x08 had no choice but to stuff everything in that episode into that specific episode because it's not like perrin could just do his falme stuff an episode early and take a nap while everyone else was doing THEIR falme stuff in the next episode, nor could the full falme sequence have been split into 2 episodes since that would have disrupted the flow of the story. the only solution would be for 2x08 to be extra long, which is nice to imagine, but we all know that streaming shows almost never deviate from their set episode lengths and so there isn't much point sighing about "this episode should have been 90 minutes long!" because that just is not on the table, never has been, and never will be. the first step to being able to jive with an adaptation is making peace with the limits of its particular medium!

plus, the only things i might deem "missing" from 2x08 are non-essential (ingtar darkfriend reveal - that is NOT important fight me, it's only important in the books as our first example of a morally-gray shadow-aligned person but the show has already been doing that in spades) or will likely be included in 3x01 (the gang spending some time together to breathe and process and catch up). at the end of the day, the show is always going to need to be paced very very tightly with not as much breathing room as those of us accustomed to entire books dedicated to reacting to the previous book might expect. and 2x08 did manage to pack in a LOT of character work amidst all the action and did a good mix of resolving s2 arcs while leaving some unresolved to carry into s3 and introducing some new arcs/issues/conflicts, all within 70 minutes, which i find pretty impressive. in conclusion, 2x08 my fucking beloved <3

#saw some people discussing 2x08 in light of the wheel takes episode about it #i've never listened to that podcast because my brain doesn't function with podcasts #but seeing it mentioned got me thinking about 2x08 and how much i love it!#book fandom's hatred of that episode is my villain origin story it is genuinely SUCH a banger on so many fronts #character work themes stunts action adrenaline acting sets costumes music cinematography EVERYTHING is at the top of its game #i'm glad that general audiences give it the love it deserves #general audiences are way better judges of the objective quality of the show than readers are #wot #wot on prime #wot book spoilers #just for some vague mentions of future storylines & character arcs

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decolonize-the-everything · 2 months

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Is anyone still watching Florida? Did y'all see this? It's from may 2024 and it's straight up Nazi nonsense.

Today, Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation to further strengthen Florida’s protections for consumers, teachers, and employees from being forced to adopt ideologies or reflect a preferred political behavior. With today’s actions, Governor DeSantis is bolstering protections for: • Consumers, by providing recourse for individuals who believe they have been de-banked for political reasons; • Teachers, by ensuring they are not subjected to trainings that teach an ideology of hate, but instead focus on achieving mastery of academic content; and • Employees, by taking steps to prevent ideological discrimination or harassment in the workplace.

Governor DeSantis signed HB 989 and HB 1291 into law. HB 989 does the following: • Increases protection for customers of financial institutions operating in Florida from unwarranted account cancellations and restrictions through a coordinated complaint and investigatory process within the Office of Financial Regulation. • Removes Florida’s exclusive preference of holding public funds with banks, particularly with out-of-state big banks, by allowing community-based credit unions to hold public funds. • Permits the Chief Financial Officer to have a dedicated consumer-liaison for assistance dealing with the Federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

HB 1291 does the following: • Prohibits teacher preparation programs from indoctrinating prospective teachers by teaching distorted versions of significant historical events; and • Prevents the infusion of identity politics in teaching methods and prohibits instructing that theories such as systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in America’s institutions.

Governor DeSantis is also working with the Attorney General’s office to bolster Florida’s protections from ideological discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Companies do not have a right to create a hostile work environment by forcing an employee to sit through trainings that tell that employee he or she is inherently racist or sexist. This includes efforts to mandate trainings meant to guilt employees or think less of themselves because of racial, religious, or social upbringing. “We reject a global elite trying to force their ideology on us by capturing major institutions,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “We are not going to allow big banks to discriminate based on someone’s political or religious beliefs, and we will continue to fight back against indoctrination in education and the workplace.” “For too long, credit unions were barred from participating in Florida’s Qualified Depositor program, which didn’t make sense,” said Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. “Government entities should have more tools in their toolbox for maximizing taxpayer returns, and by opening it up to credit unions, we’ll not only bolster competition, but give banks more incentive to drop the woke-nonsense and focus on returns. Thanks to Governor DeSantis, Florida is where woke goes to die, and we were proud to partner with him and his team in getting this important legislation over the finish line.

🙃🙃🙃

That's systemic antisemitism, right, like this is what this bill is? These laws are to stop the "global elite" who control "big banks" from making Desantis do sensitivity training is antisemitic.

That's literally a dog whistle.

While many people might hear “international banks” quite literally, or maybe as an allusion to Clinton’s ties to foreign financial interests in general, anti-Semites hear something very different. After all, the supposed existence of a cabal of international Jewish bankers working to undermine US democracy is a recurring theme in American anti-Semitism, from Henry Ford’s The International Jew to Reddit troll-conventions. Trump’s choice of language serves as a signal that he is one of them.

•

Hitler described Jews as “international elements” that “conduct their business everywhere,” thus harming and undermining good people who are “bound to their soil, to the Fatherland

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chaifootsteps · 4 months

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while it's nice to see Vivzie finally acknowledge Stella is worthy of pity 'in her own way' (something about the phrasing on that tweet rubs me the wrong way tbh, feels like they're implying her pain is like less important or valid or something? might just be me) it's kind of frustrating to see the end of the tweet say 'that doesn't absolve her of the pain she's caused', because like

I haven't seen many people making that argument, tbh?

like sure there are Stella stans who unironically say she was in the right to order a hit on him and it's fair retribution, but I don't think they're the majority

the majority of fans & former fans I've seen are just frustrated at how much of a caricature Stella is; as a portrait of an abuser she's incredibly poorly done and as an intended Hate Sink with no redeeming qualities she's frustrating because her backstory is just as tragic as Stolas', arguably more so because she has way less power & social mobility than him yet we're supposed to treat her like an irreedemable monster because the writers decided she was evil since birth.

I don't pity her because I like her or because I excuse anything she's said or done to Stolas. I pity her because I look at her backstory and can easily imagine how much of a nightmare her life is & how the fandom only ever seems to consider the 'arranged marriage' part of it and not the laundry list of other things that are awful about Stella's life. And I pity her because she reminds me of people IRL - mostly women - who are stuck in awful circumstances then are victimized twice by people who, if they even recognize the circumstances are bad, don't care about how that influences the person they currently are or why they behave in ways that seem inexplicable to us

for example the whole Stella likes throwing parties thing. we're obviously supposed to take it as a sign she's vapid and shallow, but what else is she supposed to do? at least if she throws parties misery can have company & her friends can visit. We see Stolas make fun of her for not knowing how to spell, but was she ever expected to be literate or allowed to have interests outside of raising a child she didn't want? the show just doesn't care to answer what society looks like for someone in her position. her interests only matter insofar as they provide a vector for the viewer to hate her some more

(going back to the recent discussions around MLP it's so noticeable they went out of their way to avoid 'stereotypical feminine interest = worthy of scorn' by having Rarity & Pinkie's interests be fashion and parties and the rest of the cast being chill about that even if they don't share that enthusiasm)

I know there are some proposed fix it scenarios in your inbox that often throw in 'and then Striker kills Stolas' as a closer but like even those don't sound like they approve of Stella or anything she does. far as I can tell they just hate Stolas and are tired of him because the show keeps insisting he's a perfect angel who never means to hurt anyone so that makes it OK. there's no chance of getting any catharsis seeing Blitzo or anyone else stand up to him, so we have to imagine it. It's even more galling considering Stella keeps most of her ire focused on Stolas whereas Stolas is exploiting and gaslighting a member of the lower classes. I mean at least Stella seems to have no delusions about who or what she is, she knows she's being awful and she revels in it. Stolas meanwhile is in total delusion about who he is and what he's done & the show is running out of chances to fix that

so like yeah, nothing Stella has suffered absolves her of her treatment of Stolas. But that exact logic applies to Stolas, too, yet the show wants us to show him more than pity - it expects us to like and empathize with him while he frees Blitzo from sexual slavery mainly because he feels entitled to love & affection that he's not getting and was never owed

That's what it boils down to, really. Stella's not allowed a free pass, while Stolas is allowed to hurt whoever he wants for any reason.

#Anonymous #actual blog post #helluva boss critical #viv stuff

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khaosrealms · 1 year

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Im literally vibrating in my chair please a part two of that Syzoth fic please I need them interacting more ♥️♥️

LACERTA’S GEM. (PART TWO!) / SYZOTH X PRINCESS! READER.

a/n: it brings me nothing but joy to know you enjoyed the first part! i am happy to please— so of course, here is your part two! 💚

- After your second encounter with Syzoth, it wasn’t long until you made acquaintance with one another soon after. Returning to the stage, chin held high and hands tucked behind you with excitement, only to see your dear sister Kitana on the floor and Tanya engaged in kombat with the very man you’d just let go. Thinking nothing of the possibility that this might be the reason for his flighty disposition. Your heart sinking to the bottom of your stomach as you ran to your older sister’s side, inspecting for newfound bruises or cuts. But nothing— dull hits, nothing but enough to deter her from continuing a fight. Whatever it was Syzoth was doing, it wasn’t in the name of hurting your family.

- From that point onwards, it was all about picking the pieces of whatever the hell was going on. Betrayal from General Shao and Shang Tsung, allyship with mortals from Earthrealm, and— the small increments of time you’d begun to find with Syzoth. Assisting where the battle might require you; during the silent period before the execution of a plan, that’s where he spoke most with you. Hesitantly, at first, for you were positive he believed you held some ire for him that day at the festival stage. Ashamed, from the way he spoke to the way he’d bent his head.

“Princess, if I may?” You never enjoyed it, that fervent necessity those who knew of your place in Outworld had to being near your presence. If I may, with all due respect, if you’ll excuse me, even here, far from your mother’s court, overseeing what would soon be a battlefield, that courtesy did not leave. So you do not answer, rather, you wait— and slowly, you can see the hesitation drip in and drip out from Syzoth’s disposition. Carrying him to a seat a slight ways beside you. Hands folded between his thighs, holding words between his lips that remain knotted there before finally releasing; an undertone of hesitation throughout. “Am I disrupting your peace?” You almost want to chuckle, if it didn’t seem it’d rattle the Zaterran beyond your desire.

“You are not.” Short, to tug him towards continuing, and enough to make his shoulders loosen. “I’m simply thinking, Syzoth. Why do you ask?” You’d spend a majority of the time from the days since avoiding his gaze, not of wrath, but almost— out of hesitation. Hesitation to accept his role in all this, hesitation, knowing the man who your mother, the Empress, took council from was the very man who enslaved him. “I’m afraid I may have soiled what.. little fate you had of me when we had met, that day of the festival.” Ah yes, that day. How could you have possibly forgotten? The day a shapeshifting Zaterran nearly conquered Outworld itself. He can’t help but shift when you chuckle at his words, nervous, perhaps— but less so when you turn to look at him, finally, and a small smile sits there on your lips.

“You had your reasons, Syzoth, I know of that now. And my dear sister forgives you, so why too shouldn’t I?” You wouldn’t admit that there’s a part of you that stirs when Syzoth finally allows himself to smile. A swirling of something warm in your chest as he breathes a sigh of relief, the dark circles beneath his eyes creasing with his grin. “That brings me more solace than you could imagine, Princess.” And to you, as well, simply seeing how much the assurance placed him at ease. “Perhaps then, we could.. speak to one another? Pass the time?”

- You’d discover more and more of Syzoth as the time continued to pass. His life as a Zaterran, his isolation due to his abilities, his family, now lost, the simple pleasures he enjoy in life, and him, of you. Your life as the youngest daughter of Empress Sindel, the isolation due to your royal status, your family, forever by your side. Opposite reflections of one another, a kind of magnetism in knowing just how different you were from one another. And even though your sister Mileena had teased you, asking if you’d planned to make a Zeterran a part of the royal lineage, you continued to make his company. Waiting, during the moments of silence, for Syzoth to appear. At times, in his true form, where you’d request time to admire, and at times, in his shifted form, where you’d find yourself chuckling at the true parts of him that’d peek through to his human body.

- When the titan Shang Tsung is defeated, there’s a peace that finally falls over Outerworld. Like a taut rubber band being reeled back. The first person you celebrate with, barring your own blood, is Syzoth. Looking for him, perhaps without even realizing, amongst the crowd of those who had remained; and there he was, looking back at you, relief painted in his eyes like two emeralds. You hadn’t planned on hugging him when you raced to him, but fueled purely with adrenaline, you embrace him, ignoring the gazes of those watching with quiet shock. His hands stuck to his side before they find themselves wrapped around your waist, clutching, as if it had been years since another soul dared hold him. Better you ignore the sound of Johnny cooing tediously.

“Are you alright, Syzoth?” “I am unhurt, Princess. And you?” “A few bruises, but nothing I cannot withstand.” He smelled of blood and sweat, and his face, caked in dirt, flushed a dark, leafy green. You’d never met a man who’d blushed with such a hue. You never would meet anyone again like Syzoth, and the thought made your heart thump anxiously in your chest. Even as you parted, clearing your throat as you returned your hands to yourself. “What will you do now, now that you are free again?” The thought seems to paralyze him. A fugitive of Outworld, a freak to his people, perhaps he hadn’t thought of anything but simply making it through the battle alive. “I do not know, Princess. Truthfully.” He muttered, hands clasped in front of him. Tensing, flexing, as if somehow the answer would squeeze out from between his fingers.

Instead, you offer. Your hand gently resting atop his, colder than you’d expected, but stiff no longer. “I’m sure my sister Mileena would be delighted to have you amongst her confidants as the new Empress.” There again, that glimmer of hope in his eyes, and there once more, that warmth, bubbling in your chest. You cannot help but smile at the sight of it. “I can be very convincing when it comes to the things I want.” Of him being apart of her court, of course, but it doesn’t stop the true intentions behind your words from slipping past. A rush of red splayed over your cheeks that Syzoth notices with ease. Greeted by his own visage, hints of green coming to his ears. “An enticing offer, Princess.” Sly Zaterran. “Enticing enough to say yes?” You’d be crushed if the answer was anything but. Yet, with simply one look, Syzoth’s smile is enough to tell you his answer. “The first Zaterran among the Empress’ court. It certainly would be something, wouldn’t it?”

#syzoth #mortal kombat x reader #syzoth x princess! reader #mk1 imagine #x reader #mk1 headcanons #reptile x reader #khaosrealms #y’all got me out here writing novels!!!!#(disclaimer: this dude is on mobile and #has no clue how much he’s writing 💚)#please enjoy!#my requests are open and ready for anything #and anything y’all wanna toss my way!

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llyfrenfys · 7 months

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Very much off topic but it has occurred to me that the half-life of intergenerational discourse has shortened considerably over the last few years.

I made a post not too long ago where I was surprised Gen Z was redefined as 1996-2009 (or any such similar range) and I've been thinking about it- and the more I do the more I'm sure of one thing:

Gen Z and Alpha are being exposed to more ire at their existence at much younger ages and much faster than Millenials did from their elders.

When the whole "Blame Millenials for everything" era was in full swing, the vast majority of Millenials were adults (the fact Millenials were adults and not children was a pretty big part of the backlash against the ire). All the "avocado toast rhetoric" peaked when most Millenials were adults.

But Gen Z (my apparent generation) is half adults, half minors at the time of writing. I was born in 2000, I'm 23. But Gen Z kids born after 2005 aren't adults yet. So all of the current doomerism about our generation is annoying for me, but must be so demoralising if you're born after 2005. Like, I can't escape the feeling current generation discourse has given up on finding hope in late Gen Zers. It doesn't seem to know how to categorise early Gen Zers. We straddle Millenial and typical Gen Z experiences and so kinda get the worst ire from both.

Not to mention I've recently seen a whole lot of ire directed at Gen Alpha. C'mon these are literal children now being roped into generation discourse about how they're apparently hopeless or ipad babies.

It was one thing for Millenials to deal with this as adults. It's annoying as fuck for me to deal with it now as an adult. But I worry so much for younger Gen Zers and Gen Alpha who have to bear the brunt of grown ass adults using generations like they're star signs. If you find yourself saying "Gen Z/Alpha are so doomed lol" genuinely take a look at yourself and remind yourself you're talking about literal children. Especially if you're a Milennial yourself who went through the banality of being shit on by every generation preceeding.

It's so easy to not be a dick, yknow?

#generation discourse #gen z #gen alpha #Millenials #boomers #generation z #generation x #generation alpha #baby boomers #millenial

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monstersdownthepath · 5 months

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Monster Spotlight: Mamiwa

CR 2

Neutral Tiny Outsider

Module: Ire of the Storm, pg. 63

These adorable salamander-like creatures form within the hearts of massive rainstorms, birthed from the confluence of air and water elemental energy. They are curious, playful, excitable, and investigative as any puppy brought into a new home... but unfortunately for everyone involved, they love to frolic out in their birth storm, where their playful investigations--such as opening up doors, crawling into stormdrains and gutters, or pushing objects over--can cost people their homes or even their very lives as the Mamiwa unintentionally expose people to hurricane winds, flash floods, or bolts of lightning. Because so many of them are literally newborns during their initial "rampage," they do not yet have the ability to conceptualize consequences, or understand that the storms which birthed them are dangerous to most other forms of life.

This, unfortunately, means the majority of Mamiwa are sought out and destroyed, either as self-defense during the storm or by hunters afterwards who tire of its destructive antics. Unfortunately for everyone, these tiny lizards are quite capable of defending themselves; they have no true resistances or immunities beyond those conveyed by the Elemental subtype (which, granted, IS quite powerful defensively!), but they DO have both a formidable swim AND fly speed to keep them out of reach of most beings capable of killing their tiny, squishy selves in one round, like most adventuring parties. They also have enough offense to perhaps get attackers to reconsider, capable of using an Elemental Blast as a ranged touch attack to deal 2d6 Cold or Electricity damage.

If you're wondering why it's "or," that's because every dawn the Mamiwa selects Air or Water, which determines its Elemental Alignment for the day. An Air-aligned salamander gains 5 points of Electricity resistance, its blast deals Electric damage, and gains the ability to speak and understand Auran. Water-aligned is all about Cold, gaining 5 resistance, dealing Cold damage with its blast, and learns Aquan instead. Regardless of its alignment, it remains Vulnerable to Fire, so any creature capable of wielding flames can quickly put the little lizards on the back foot.

... Provided, of course, that it's not raining. Y'know, like from the storm they were born in? It gets a lot harder to use mundane OR magic fire during a storm for entirely different reasons (rainfall and concentration checks, respectively), which in a way sort of gives the illusion of a parent shielding its child from harm. Cute! And have another cute fact: Mamiwa can telepathically speak with any creature within 100ft so long as both creatures are caught in the same rain, though this doesn't have to be the same storm that birthed the creature. Rain Speaker triggers in ANY rain, even if that rain is summoned!

Despite their destructive potential, they're not Evil or even particularly Chaotic. Any creature with the will and ability to speak with the creatures can often steer them away from their more ruinous shenanigans, especially if the spirits are informed of the danger they pose to the beings they're trying to investigate. Take care to treat them like you would any child tearing its way into the home of an animal without regard (or reason to consider) the animal's safety... and remember that this child has a preposterously effective taser at one end.

Diffusing the difficult situation without bloodshed can earn you more than just EXP, though. Mamiwa are unstable from the day they're born, needing to spend minutes a day in stasis to weave their forms back together and stay whole, and if they become too damaged, their very being may unravel back into elemental energy even if they're healed. They primarily avoid this by fusing themselves into objects with shreds of elemental energy or association with an element, such as fans or ships, but they can also avoid this by attuning themselves with a 7th level caster and become a Familiar, the arcane bond permanently stabilizing them so long as their bonded caster remains alive.

Not only does a caster get an effective translator and a mini elemental cannon, but they can use the Mamiwa's ability to fuse with manmade objects to grand an item an Elemental Infusion! This powerful ability lets the salamander slip into any weapon or armor it's adjacent to for upwards to 3 minutes a day (more if it has more HD; it can split this into minute-long chunks too). Depending on the little lizard's Elemental Alignment, an infused piece of gear gains resistance to Cold or Electricity and grants its wearer the same resistance if it's infusing armor! If it's infused into a weapon, the weapon deals an extra 1d6 points of Cold or Electricity damage, stacking with any enchantments the weapon already has. I feel like I should also point out that if you happen to be wearing armor spikes, you get both sides of the infusion.

Mamiwa are unharmed if the object they're infusing is destroyed (though they do become staggered), allowing some potentially clever plays with thrown alchemy weapons, but that feels like a waste; what martial character would say no to an extra 1d6 elemental damage on their weapon attacks? That kind of bonus only gets better as you level up and gain more attacks!

The Mamiwa is not only useful for the bonded caster themselves, but their martial allies! To say nothing of what it can do for a Magus... And all you have to do to secure one is NOT kill the critter that electrocuted a guard when they tried to stop it from blasting down some poor couple's door!

You can read more about them here.

#monster spotlight #cr 1 to 5 #pathfinder #dungeons and dragons #familiar spotlight

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