#might make this an actual scene in the story
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shytulipghost · 6 hours ago
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Here's a funny anecdote:
When I was 13, I had an idea for a time travel story which was about a kingdom that had a magical clock tower that was created by a wizard a long time ago. The citizens would heavily rely on said clock to go back in time and fix their problems (the problem though was that they would have to climb up the tower to move the hands of the clock anticlockwise).
An alternative for the citizens was to go up to the wizard's descendants for help. The descendants had a pocket watch that they could use to time travel and it was an object they would pass down from generation to generation (it worked the same way as the clock tower, but they could also move forwards in time and stop time). However, the citizens would take advantage of them and treat them as living tools instead of people.
I ended up abandoning the whole idea 2 or 3 years later because I didn't know how to develop the story and I was starting to lose interest in it.
...
Cut to last year, when I decided to watch the first two episodes of The Little Prince 2010 series out of nostalgia (to be more precise, the "Planet of Time" arc). I was having a good time rewatching it and I was slowly remembering the enjoyment I had for this series when I was a kid (I had only watched the first season). Then, I got to the flashback scene in the second episode, where the viewer is shown and told how the Snake tempted the watchmaker (a very important figure in that planet because he controls all the planet's clocks and how time functions there) to ignore his responsibilities and, unknowingly, slowly destroy his own planet.
Here's the relevant part of the flashback: the Snake basically asks him if he wishes to be a kid again and not be stressed and burned out anymore (the watchmaker had been exhausted lately because of his job). Once he seems interested in the idea, the Snake gives him a "solution". What's that "solution"? To grab a clock and move the hands anticlockwise so he can essentially "go back in time" (he doesn't actually time travel; he just turns into a baby).
The moment I watched that scene, I remembered my abandoned time travel story and thought: "Oh, so that's where I got that idea!" (I also realized that it was very ironic to be watching these two episodes again for nostalgic reasons).
I knew that some childhood shows and movies had a direct influence on my art and writing (for example, the main characters of the novel I'm writing are just the Mane 6 from MLP: you have the nerdy girl, the sporty girl, the girly girl, the silly girl, etc.), but I hadn't considered that "The Little Prince" may have also influenced my work (both the abandoned and non-abandoned ideas). I might have subconsciously taken other elements from it, such as some of its themes and plot details).
I think it also probably had a small influence on some of my antagonists (especially, some of my demon characters). There aren't any demons in the series, but the Snake is depicted as being kinda like Satan, with him tempting people and making deals sometimes. (Funnily enough, when the series came out, I had started catechesis and my mom had read to me an abridged version of the Bible that was made for kids. However, I didn't make the connection at the time that the Snake was acting like the serpent from the Bible).
NOTE: the series isn't a Christian show, but it's something I noticed after rewatching it. There aren't any other similarities to the Bible or Christianity besides that. Also, I'm not very religious, but I find stories with demons interesting.
being an artist and revisiting media you liked when you were 11 is like. oh ok. this shaped my sense of humor and the way I write characters and the way I pace narratives and the tropes I'm drawn to. and I vastly underestimated how much of an impact it had on me because I literally have not thought about it for 15 years. but it was there inside me the whole time. ok. ok cool! c ool
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ineffableaddiction · 2 days ago
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Mirroring
I know, mirroring is not anything new in Good Omens. I highly appreciate the nuance it takes to build on the same theme through two (or more) seemingly (and sometimes actually) different stories.
There is one that has been stuck in my brain for awhile though.
Let me share….
The Final 15
This has been analyzed from millions of angles, so I’ll be brief. Crowley cleans the bookshop and plans to take Aziraphale to the Ritz. He attempts confession of some sort, only to be interrupted by the angel bringing him good tidings of great joy while looking like The Them when Adam made them smile. The two awkwardly talk, each thinking they’re making grand gestures (and they really are, in their own ways). Things go… not as either of them would have liked. And then… the kiss and aftermath that broke a billion hearts.
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This scene has always seemed very Crowley to me. Bold. Grand gestures. Blatantly emotional. (My evil demon drama queen). This scene has an in-your-face impact. There is a reason that almost everyone that saw this had a visceral reaction to it.
NOT the Final 15
But if we pull back, we see a parallel story. A grand gesture. A declaration of love. A missed opportunity to work together.
And…
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One of them choosing to go to Heaven.
Think about it. Aziraphale plans a ball in the bookshop, one he’s quite excited about. But, in true Aziraphale fashion, he hides his emotions away and lets the Nina and Maggie coupling attempt to explain away his excitement.
I could always rely on you. You could always rely on me.
Our favorite angel has plans. Is he going to declare his love? Possibly, but maybe not. Will Crowley be invited to live at the bookshop? This seems likely, given the previous “our car” and “our bookshop” banter. Whatever it is, it’s a step forward.
I would like to spend…
Just look at Aziraphale’s excitement as he asks Crowley to dance.
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But…
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Hell decides to bust up the party. Not Crowley’s fault, but disappointing.
This is where some things seem to get overlooked.
A group of the two of us
At one point, before Crowley escorts the humans out, Aziraphale asks Crowley to hear his idea. He didn’t say plan - he wanted Crowley’s input. After all, it worked so well when they put their heads together when they were trying to protect Jim.
You can’t leave this bookshop
But Crowley doesn’t listen.
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He moves the humans to safety, basically just walking them across the road.
And he doesn’t come back. Instead, he goes to Heaven. Because he thinks it is the way to help everyone.
During the time Crowley was in Heaven, Aziraphale didn’t know where he was. There were demons outside the bookshop. The human-shaped being he loves might be discorporated. Maybe even erased. And he had two humans and an amnesiac archangel to help him protect his and Crowley’s home.
That makes this scene tug violently at my heart:
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So, to recap….
1. Heart eyes plans something special
2. This is ruined by occult (or ethereal) beings
3. Heart eyes tries to get their object of affection to stay at the bookshop and work together
4. Object of affection leaves the bookshop anyway
5. Object of affection goes to Heaven because they think it will solve/protect something
Then….
6. Object of affection comes back. They always come back.
We have Aziraphale’s quiet, understated version. We have Crowley’s flash bastard version.
Season 3 will hopefully bring us their version. For them, together is beautifully better.
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sprinklesoncake · 20 hours ago
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While I sip on my apple tea and eat my apple pie, let me tell you another my opinion of Calebs storyline.
Warning: Spoilers!
First of all, I was always a Caleb stan the moment I saw him and chapter 4 broke me back then. My worry was, how the devs will handle him in the story. It is hard writing a character who is suppose to be dead in MCs eyes.
His introduction was🥵 him in uniform and then using his evol against an assassin had me feel things and then the scene where the fleet landed and him in his sunglasses AHHHHHH!
The interrogation was also hot af! But that’s not my point, I could go on for days talking about how sexy Caleb is lol When they hugged you could actually feel the relief on both sides. Let me say this but MC in this story was better than before in my opinion.
And I know a lot are creep out by his possessiveness but knowing that he also lost his parents as a young child he probably was already traumatised and then MC came into his life, someone who gave him warmth, that little boy wanted to start protecting his sun so bad. In his anecdotes there is a hint that Caleb was already possessive like he is now. He almost lost his life too during his training as an aerospace pilot but the only thing that kept him fighting was the thought of MC. And now after the explosion he took the sacrifice to be an experiment so that MC won’t have to go through that. In his mind it’s better to be alive than letting MC fight on her own.
And that chip??? Every soldier seems to have in the fleet where they basically become cold and emotionless soldiers? Or when that kid was crying for his sister’s death and the chip realised an error? MC in his myth was implementing one into herself (Might be wrong but I think it is heavily implied) and the chip made her go crazy. She thought there is no tomorrow! Maybe that chip also makes Calebs fear even bigger and that’s why he’s like that now. And possessiveness might not be count as a “weak feeling” by the system.
His possessiveness throughout the main story makes more sense now if you keep that in mind. Am I still mad that he drugged us? Edit: A friend of mine told me that the english translation once again sucks ass. In Chinese it was just cold medicine and he just took the chance since MC was already sick to his advantage. Absolutely! But it shows me how easy it is for love turning into possession, the fear he feels makes him do things he normally wouldn’t act out. He wants to protect his sun so bad.
MC however wants to go back in time where everything was still alright. She sees that Caleb is in pain, that someone who had no secrets with her suddenly is not telling her everything. Unlike Zayne, who MC met again as basically “a stranger”, Caleb was constantly in her life and both of them didn’t want to be separated ever. It is understandable that she can’t grasp the “new Caleb” yet.
Both of them yearn for each other so badly and want whats best for the other one but they need to understand that none of them is the same as before. MC is not a child, she knows things about herself which she can’t ignore anymore and Caleb needs to accept that. MC on the other hand needs to accept that after the explosion, Caleb due to circumstances is not the Caleb she knew before.
I was so happy when the start of his myth told us that they found a way to coexist but you could feel that they don’t fully accept it 100%. Yet both of them are ready to die for each other.
And let’s not forget that MC is possessive herself. In his 4* where MC kisses his cheek, the story was about how MC thought he got a love letter and knowing how Caleb never accepted one before, she got curious. She vaguely asked Caleb in 3rd person and he thought she had a crush on someone. Both of them were restless and who tf gets restless not knowing your best friend crush?? UNLESS you yourself are possessive for that person. And the promise they both made at the end? “You promise to not ever get a girlfriend!” That is one cruel promise to make UNLESS again, you are possessive if each other and deep down you know you’ll end up together😂Crazy finds crazy😂
I really like how the devs wrote this story. It is exactly how I thought the vibe would be between those two and I can’t wait for the next story cards and main story.
What is your thought, dear reader?
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sassy-radio-hazbin-queen · 2 days ago
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Ok I am going to talk about something that's been on my mind recently.
Major warning ⚠️ might get deep.
Also ADHD RAMBLING SORRY IN ADVANCE 😔
Regarding Alastor and the Seven year absence. Ok so I see how In some recent posts people say Alastor must feel forgotten by the Hasbin crew, cause When Sir Pentious and Dazzle died they got a portrait and a statue. While Alastor got nothing. And Charlie thought he had died too.
But while that is true I'm surprised no one talks about how Alastor already felt Forgotten long before the fight. I'm talking about when he finally got home after 7 years disappearance.
My boy didn't get a Welcome home,( although he did get one from Carmilla later on)or a " Hey are you ok". Nothing. What does he get. Pushed around, Judged ( though it's quite understandable it's still wrong) and even told that he basically didn't matter. Remember the scene between Carmilla and Alastor. Alastor was basically asking her " Hey while I was gone, Did you at least think about me"?. And Carmilla response was definitely " Eh Not Really, But welcome back in any case".
Sure he looked pissed but if I was in his place I'd feel very hurt. I kinda noticed how everyone treats Alastor as if he is the worst thing in hell. When there so much worse * cough Valentino cough*
From what I understand he only targeted those that hurt others. Maybe Hell was pissed because in a way he was saving other souls. Taking them from their abusive owners. Which is fucked up but it's hell. What do you expect?
I firmly believe Alastor grew up in a abusive household and definitely witnessed his mother getting abused which definitely affected his psyche. Maybe his father killed his mother and after killing his father he vowed no one will ever go through what he went through.
So he targeted awful people and offed them. When he got to hell. I think he felt his work wasn't done yet and now he is in the land of abusers and monsters. Maybe deep down. He was the one SCARED 😨.
Maybe he killed so he could feel safe in a twisted way. He ended up selling his soul cause he was scared. His owner who i headcanon is like Mother Gothel definitely didn't help. She manipulated him into thinking she is keeping him safe. When In reality she was using him for his powers.
I also headcanon that ( now this is going to sound crazy) His owner forces him to dress and act the way he does. She wants to be the only one who can play with her toy. His owner definitely doesn't share. So she will try to make him look in her eyes unappealing. We all know this doesn't work though. As Vox had fallen in love with him.
Now I don't believe Vox ever hurt Alastor and as much as I love stories where he gets 😳 obsessed. I actually would be happy if they become best friends again and hope it was just a giant misunderstanding just like Fizz and Blitz.
Still something happened That hurt Alastor deeply that he now hates anything to do with television. My Headcanon is cause Vox started to spend more time with Valentino and accidentally leaving Alastor in the dark. Alastor enjoyed spending time with Vox. Going dancing at a club, listening to radio shows. Even cuddling in a blanket watching a movie. But I think the main reason he enjoyed Vox's company is cause, His owner couldn't touch him. She couldn't hurt him in any way.
Kinda like how a person wants there friend over so there abuser doesn't hurt them. The abuser won't cause they rather do their evil deed in secret.
In other words Alastor felt safe around Vox and when he started spending time with Valentino and less with him. His owner would hurt him.
But no one knew this cause Alastor always had a smile on his face. Always seemed sure and confident of himself. This is a perfect representation of " You don't know what happens behind closed doors". I think this was a learned habit from childhood too. Maybe after his father abused him or/and his mother he would threaten to kill them if they told or even showed any signs of abuse.
His owner definitely has that power. If she has the power to give him power then she has the power to erase Alastor from existence. I think she threatened his afterlife multiple times.
Anyway eventually Vox and Alastor have a big fight which pissed the owner off. And she took him away for seven years. Personally I am among those that think she TORTURED him during that time.
I think she let him out and told him to watch the princess and make sure no one gets redeemed. She sews a smile on his face so everyone thinks he is happy and fine. Again reference to what I said earlier.
Alastor goes back home and everything has changed. Probably a culture shock to him. He goes to the hotel and had to pretend everything is ok. Maybe he was all touchy feely with everyone cause he wants to feel safe and secure. Like he is finally home and not hallucinating. When he is pushed away he acts like it doesn't matter but I think it does. I think it hurts him deeply but because of the abuse he endured in childhood and his afterlife he puts up a front as a defense mechanism.
As Alastor told Charlie
" Just because you see a Smile, don't think you know what's going on underneath. A smile is a valuable tool my dear. It inspires your friends, Keeps your enemies Guessing and says no matter what comes your way, Your the one in control".
In a roundabout way he was basically calling for help without saying he needs help. Remember he can't tell her or anyone about what he went through. Of course In a way it means he is still a prisoner. His owner can take him away at any time and this definitely scares him. So he will do anything he can to prevent this from happening. Even making a deal with the princess of hell.
Anyway So while after the battle I think he felt Forgotten, I think he already felt that way. Like he doesn't matter and he wants to matter. His owner and father probably told him that he is worth nothing and no one will miss him while he is gone.
Well he was gone twice and NO ONE missed him.
That's very sad when you think about it and I'm surprised no one had brought it up yet.
Once again I apologize for my rambling thank you for reading
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my-cat-ate-your-appendix · 2 days ago
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A few theories floating around in my head that aren't based on anything, just me wildly speculating possibilities (and when I saw wild, I really mean it):
1) That book and that key
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As was pointed out by user goodbye432, we can see that Violet's key comes out of the book, but this key still remains.
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I feel like this could be a gateway key that helps all the keys find each other? Or it could be the book that acts as a gateway. Or maybe both of them as a combination act as a gateway?
Point is, that key definitely isn't a key that gathers narratonin
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It doesn't have the narratonin compartment that all the other keys have
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The whole structure is different, actually.
So it's probably not a key that was in the original story-key roster. Maybe it was created after the other keys to help them find each other better? Maybe Nox himself created this key while he was still a human? Maybe Nox created this key after he became a key? Maybe Nox didn't have anything to do with it at all? Maybe it was accidentally made by a cat named Prunella?
Personally, I don't think that key is sentient (like, I don't think it has a tiny goober form like the other keys), either, but that really has no basis at all. It very well could.
2) Are the stories themselves sentient?
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The story just wants to be enjoyed, the story just wants to be finished, the story doesn't want to be destroyed. The story's sounding an awful lot like a sentient creature right now.
We know that the keys don't decide anything about the story, and nor do the holders of the keys. So who decides when the story ends? Who decides the amount of enjoyment (and therefore the amount of narratonin) received from the story? My bet's on the story itself.
I don't think this is going to have much relevance in the actual plot, but it was just interesting to think about.
3) Silver is in on it
Silver knows something. This has such major foreshadowing with this particular panel:
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and then the scene immediately cuts to Silver
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Suspicious. Also, so far, Silver's key is the only key that was left around with a note. Bronze and Goldie were literally on sale in a flea market. Silver's key, on the other hand, was left in the library, very clearly intentionally. It was meant to be found, just not by Chase.
And why was Silver broken? What happened? Did she just like, fall? I don't think so.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, since we all know that Silver adores Chase as well as her family and would never agree to endanger them again. Maybe she escaped and was supposed to help the other keys escape too? Maybe she was supposed to help Nox escape? Maybe she did help some of the keys escape, but not the others? Maybe she's part of the FBI? Who knows? Not me, that's who.
4) What's up with Ex Libris anyway?
So far, we've been hearing of Ex Libris as this kind of Big Bad Organisation, but we've never actually seen them make a move? I think it's clear now that Nox wasn't working for the Ex Libris, but rather for his own motives, so it isn't as if the Ex Libris sent him either.
So does the Ex Libris just like, not know that half of it's keys are missing and another key is trying to turn human? Or does it know and is deciding to not do anything about it?
Or does it know and can't do anything about it? What if the Ex Libris has been disbanded, and the keys just don't know about it? That's not quite feasible, I know, considering that Violet and Buddy are probably in the Ex Libris facility right now but that's just our assumption, y'know? They might be in hiding. I'm pretty sure Ex Libris wouldn't want Buddy turning back into a human, so they're definitely going behind Ex Libris' back to do what they're doing, so why can't they be in hiding? Why can't they be totally unaware of what's going on in Ex Libris?
Or maybe the Ex Libris isn't evil at all? They seem more like a bunch of sleep-deprived scientists making one mad discovery after another. If I'm right about the artificial key Buddy theory (see this post) then I admit that would make them more evil, but maybe they're aware of that. Maybe they know that what they did was wrong, and regret it. Maybe all the unethical experimentation was done by a far, far older batch of the Ex Libris, and the new generation of the Ex Libris is strictly vegan and on the keys' side. Maybe they're choosing to help by ignoring. Maybe there's a helper on the inside. Maybe it's Chase's dance partner who never shows up to practices.
Maybe he never shows up to practices because he's too busy trying to save the keys from the Ex Libris. Poor guy.
5) Chase's friends
Yeah, they're definitely not just there to show us that hey! Chase actually has friends his own age! It just doesn't line up.
Maybe one of them's going to coincidentally show up in the same book as Chase and Nox some other time, and Nox is just going to stare at Chase and Chase will be like "Dude I swear I had absolutely no idea this time."
I just think that would be funny.
That's all I can think of right now. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk, I'll be disappearing off of the face of Earth now.
(On a totally unrelated note, a few months ago, my school counsellor told me I should test for ADHD)
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dreamer1084 · 14 hours ago
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Spoilers of Natsuyuu Sp.23
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Only 8 pages special chapter for this month, so it's almost a summary...
I am not a native English speaker, and I used Google Translation mostly (from Chinese to English), I hope the translation is not difficult to read.
Spoilers under cut.
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At first, Sensei was drinking juice and waiting for Tanuma with Natsume, complaining about waiting for so long (Natsume: It's only three minutes late, Sensei) Sensei said that three minutes was also fatal. What if the new dumplings are gone? When Natsume was wondering why Tanuma was late, Tanuma finally arrived (it felt like the scene in Ch.117)
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Tanuma was late because of a cold snap, so his father forced him to wear more clothes.
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When they were finally ready to leave, Tanuma said that he wanted to take a detour to find a mailbox because he wanted to mail a postcard. Suddenly a strong wind blew the postcard away. Natsume immediately chased after it and saw some pattern on the postcard.
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When the post card flew up, what Natsume saw was: beautiful seasonal flowers carefully painted with watercolors, and densely written words that did not contrast with them. Why he thought this way, he himself didn't know. "Is it a hand-painted postcard? Sorry, I saw it by accident..." But it looked like a love letter.. "Oh, this is a letter my father wrote to my mother."
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Natsume could only look at Tanuma, think that his friends didn't usually ask about his family, and he didn't often talk about them. The same was true for Tanuma.
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"Mom is far away. Oh, far away really means far away, they live separately. But they don't have a bad relationship. ──How should I put it? My mother never seem to be in good health. After she was with my father and gave birth to me, her health deteriorated rapidly... Her health improved slightly after she was admitted to the hospital. But when my father happily visited her, her health deteriorated again. Because the cause was unknown, the doctors said that maybe meeting dad caused her some stress. And there was a period of time when we had a bad relationship with my mother's relatives... Dad decided to live separately because of mom. However, mom was quite against it and made a fuss about it. Although my mother is recuperating now, she sometimes comes to visit me as long as she feels better. "
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Natsume remembered that Sensei once mentioned that Tanuma's father was possessed by a youkai with divine power, and that the youkai was very powerful. But it may be jealous of the people around him. (Vol.16 Ch.66, this part was deleted from the anime) (The Youkai I see can sometimes be very unreasonable...) "So my father writes letters occasionally." (It's just like a love letter.) Because she is important, they cannot meet. Because they cannot meet, he put his heart into it──
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Natsume could only say Tanuma's name helplessly, and then Sensei asked: "Hum, did you write a letter then?" Tanuma put his hat on Sensei's head. "Eh? Me?... I did write to her, but it's hard to make a reply lately..." When Natsume asked why, Tanuma said his mother had wanted him to send photos because he unintentionally mentioned something in the letter. "Photos...? What did you mention by accident?" Tanuma thought awkwardly for a long time, and finally said:
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"...I made a best friend here."
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We finally know about the situation of Tanuma's mother. I am glad that he did not grow up in a single-parent family... But maybe Tanuma's mother is also sensitive to youkai? That's why she met her husband? I believe how these two people met and interacted can be a good story LOL
Also, for Natsume's first "like a love letter"... did he actually think that it was written by Tanuma (Huh? Natsume's second "like a love letter" might be referring to the feelings of those unreasonable youkai who want to monopolize the people they value...
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nefaricussims · 2 days ago
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Hi everyone! Today I bring you two small sets of couple poses inspired by Arcane on Netflix! There are two scenes where Jayce gets comforted by Mel while he lies in her lap, which I both loved so I decided to create this posepack based on them! The bed version was actually made for my own story and then I added the desk version as a fun little extra. (I say fun as if it didn't give me a major headache. 🤣)
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This posepack comes with two sets; one uses a bed and features 5 poses and one uses a desk which features 4 poses. They're made specifically for a masc Sim lying down on a fem Sim so if you try it the other way around they might clip!
In order to make the desk poses work I had to alter the chair's placement, which I know sucks, but it just wouldn't have been possible otherwise. The teleporter goes into the middle of the desk BUT the chair must not slot on it but be placed one half-tile further away:
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You need:
Andrew Pose Player
Teleport Any Sim
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Download (always for free):
SFS
Mediafire
If you decide to use these, feel free to tag me here or on instagram! I would LOVE to see what you create with them! <3
TOU: please do not edit + reupload, claim or paywall my poses!
@ts4-poses @alwaysfreecc
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fatalism-and-villainy · 2 days ago
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Another part of untangling the Garashir knot i.e. trying to make their relationship make sense for fic-writing purposes is the question of Bashir’s ability to trust and be vulnerable around Garak.
I got to thinking about that because of this 10-year-old post (yay old meta dives!) that points out that Bashir is just as emotionally closed off as Garak in The Wire, and it’s really true - he never explicitly tells Garak he that he cares about him, but instead frames his care for him through their doctor-patient relationship, or through his higher ethical convictions (that is, when Garak says “Have you considered I might be getting exactly what I deserve?” and Bashir says “No one deserves this”). And given that part of the conflict of that episode is Bashir’s uncertainty as to whether Garak actually considers him a friend or cares for him on the same level as Bashir cares for Garak - as indicated in Bashir’s conversation with Dax - I think it speaks to a level of emotional self-protection on Bashir’s part that’s pretty often at play in his relationship with Garak.
Because for all that he wants Garak to open up to him in those early episodes - it comes up in a more playful mode in the way they banter with each other, but The Wire shows more legitimate frustration from Bashir at the possibility that Garak might not trust him - Bashir never actually leads by example there. When does he ever share anything about his personal history with Garak? When does he ever confide in him about his hopes and fears and insecurities? Pretty much never! And he’s not at all averse to sharing things about himself, whether it’s to get laid (like the adapted story about his medical exams) or to make a friend (like him telling Miles about Palis in Armageddon Game, or telling that pregnant woman about Kukalaka in The Quickening). He gave Jadzia his medical school journals (to get laid… and make a friend?). And there are plenty of instances of him confiding in his friends - Miles, Jadzia, Ezri - about his insecurity, fear of failure, feeling like he’s a monster because of his genetic engineering, etc.
But not with Garak. The closest he gets to sharing anything significant about himself is his grumpiness about turning thirty in Distant Voices, which isn’t even close. And you could argue that that’s a contrivance of the writing, a consequence of their relationship not being allowed to be developed more. But I actually think it makes a lot of sense from a character angle. Because for all that he seemingly can’t stop talking about himself, Bashir is a lot more selective about what parts of himself that he shares than it initially seems, as is most obviously demonstrated by the fact that he hid his being genetically engineered from everyone for years. So I do take him at his word when he tells Jadzia in The Wire that he doesn’t exactly trust Garak either, and I think that’s modeled in his (possibly subconscious) reluctance to truly open up to him. I mean, in Distant Voices he casts the guy telepathically attacking his brain as Garak! Which he and Garak laugh off in an extremely charming scene at the end of the episode, but it really does say something about how he sees Garak on a subconscious level.
So it’s honestly much easier for me to imagine fic scenes and whatnot in which Garak opens up to Bashir, because there is plenty of precedent for that in canon - largely in The Wire, but also when he vents to Bashir about his frustration with Tain and desire for Tain’s forgiveness in In Purgatory’s Shadow. And there’s a real sense that he really does want to unburden himself to Bashir, even if primarily in his own evasive, circumlocutionary way. But it’s so, so hard for me to get Bashir to a place where he’d do something similar with Garak, because given his characterization wrt their dynamic, I just feel like there’d need to be so much more work done in their relationship to get him to feel that kind of trust towards Garak.
(This dovetails with my headcanon that they weren’t that close in the later seasons, because the events later in the show would honesty make that even more difficult. After being interrogated by an intelligence organization, I imagine Bashir would be even warier of Garak!)
There’s also the fact that the most intense intimacy between the two of them always comes up in situations where Bashir is the stronger one, and Garak is the one who needs to be cared for, who’s being pushed into being vulnerable. And that again is a contrivance of the writing, but it is something that I think is compelling to contemplate when it comes to their relationship dynamic - specifically, how it might affect a long-term relationship dynamic in a post-canon setting. Because Bashir can be something of a fixer-upper when it comes to his romantic relationships, and I do see him as drawn to dynamics where he’s the stronger one who’s positioned to care for and guide the other person. And so, while I don’t think Bashir would be the sole cause of any difficulties that might arise in their relationship - trying to get open and honest communication from Elim Garak really would be like pulling teeth - I can really see him falling into a pattern of thinking with Garak wherein Garak is the one who needs to be cared for, the one who needs to communicate with him, etc etc, but being very very bad at being open and communicative with Garak in turn. Even if their relationship does develop sufficiently for him to feel more comfortable sharing himself with Garak - and I really think that it could - I still imagine his first impulse when he’s Going Through It would be to close himself off from Garak. And that does cause problems.
A broader angle that canon does not really bring out is the potential for Bashir’s dynamic with Garak to draw out some of Bashir’s hypocrisies, or aspects of his ideology that are incomplete or contradictory. Bashir on Cardassia post-canon has a lot of potential to do this - not that I’d want him to let go of Federation ideals, but the reality of living somewhere else would necessitate those ideals being qualified, or him becoming more flexible. And with the shift in their dynamic, in which Garak is in his natural habitat (even if it’s drastically changed from the Cardassia he remembers) and Bashir is the outsider, Garak could potentially be put in the role of having to guide or protect Bashir. And given the nature of Cardassian politics, the actual methods he might take in order to do so would imo not necessarily be within Bashir’s comfort zone. And I like the idea of that conflict, and that kind of testing of Bashir’s values and expectations and perceptions, coming through on a smaller scale just within their relationship, wherein Bashir really wants Garak to communicate with him but finds it (not even consciously!) very difficult to reciprocate that.
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forevergoldgame · 2 days ago
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Episode 1 Progress Update, Part 2
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We're in the process of putting all the story scenes we've written in-engine! As we go, Dan's hacking through the remaining art assets, and I'm tying up some loose ends related to systems and variable storage.
Keep reading for more details!
Writing, writing, writing
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At this point, the draft mentioned in the previous update has been more or less fully realized. There's still plenty of editing to do, of course, but the episode's narrative is complete aside from a collection of short variable scenes.
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We won't reveal too many specifics just yet, but the scope of Episode 1 will take you from Quincy's last day as mine inspector through to the christening of the Prince's Convoy. Along the way, you'll meet most everyone from the demo (save for Oscar and Imani) as well as a few characters you haven't, make foundational choices about the kind of man Quincy is, and actually get a proper introduction to the setting and conflict.
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Changes to: art, character designs
You may have noticed some of the portraits in these screencaps are different from the demo. Once Episode 1 is out, it will be much harder to make design changes, and so we've decided to take the opportunity to revise a few character designs we weren't happy with. Nothing too crazy, but you might see a change of hair style or color here and there.
Art updates might happen here and there throughout development as Dan's work evolves, but the character designs themselves are less likely to such alterations after release. (Not counting diegetic changes in appearance, of course.)
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[PICTURED: Dan's faltering suspension of disbelief over Lucas's ability to continuously dye his roots while traveling. ]
Changes to: systems, traits, and more
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As we wrote Episode 1, I spent a lot of time rethinking the back end. Writing an entire episode gave me perspective on how the systems I wrote for the demo did and didn't work. I could talk at length about this, but most of said systems (like experience/leveling and reputation) were not represented in the demo due to its small scope. Seeing as no one would really understand or appreciate the details, I'll try to keep it brief instead.
LEVELING: Originally, leveling was going to be based on earning experience points. EXP would be awarded for completing quests and attempting skill checks, but we found that pacing an EXP curve in a game like this was a lot of work for a system which is ultimately at odds with a story based more on "narrative" than "winning." In the end, we did away with the concept of EXP in favor of a leveling system that is tied to main story progression.
REPUTATION: You may recall from the demo that Quincy's statistics listed a few different reputation continuum: rebel or orthodox, apathetic or ambitious, and so on. These were going to be tallies that kept track of the player's cumulative actions so that the system could easily calculate how certain characters felt about Quincy in a somewhat organic way. However, once we got writing, we realized the system was needlessly complicated, full of logistical holes, and redundant with other decision tracking handled by other parts of the system. And so, I replaced it with...
IDEALS: Ideals are somewhat like traits in that they alter text pertaining to Quincy's inner monologue and offer the player special dialog options. However, unlike traits, Quincy's ideals are somewhat malleable. If a Quincy with the "earnest" ideal continuously lies at every opportunity... well, eventually someone will notice.
AFFINITY/FRIENDSHIP: Much like reputation, the affinity system from the demo was both overly complicated and too simple to do what it needed. We knew we wanted something more organic than the standard "you completed my sidequest so now I'm in love with you because you're the main character" RPG approach since Forever Gold is more story-based, but the solution I came up with... was stupid.
I won't say how the new affinity system works - it'd spoil some of the magic if I told you exactly what actions the game was tracking and why - but it's simple on the back end while having enough complexity to create interesting roleplaying.
TRAITS: Traits have largely remained the same but have gained more importance as other systems shifted. In addition to the eight available to choose in the demo, there are three more to see in Episode 1. A few of them have been tweaked or renamed for clarity: the two traits that shared the name "Haretouched" are now called "Pariah" and "Maverick" to prevent confusion, and "Cleithrophobic" has been expanded into "Wilding" so that it better acts as a parallel quirk to Plutonist.
BETTER TOUCH CONTROLS FOR MOBILE + SMOOTHER NAVIGATION FOR DESKTOP: As it says on the tin. A lot of navigation that felt like it should have been swipeable on mobile or scrollable on desktop wasn't. But it is now!
In closing...
We're getting there. Man are we getting there. We've been pulling crazy hours on this lately.
-LS
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sapphiresaphics · 6 hours ago
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I wanna talk about how DEEP the lore of League of Legends actually is. Because while some people might be confused by the events of some things that happened in Season 2 of Arcane, the series itself is less so pulling from our own earthly history, but instead that of the history of Runeterra.
Let me tell you about the tale of Azir:
“The youngest and least-favored son of the Shuriman emperor, Azir was never destined for greatness. He was a slender, studious boy who spent more time perusing the texts collected in the Great Library of Nasus than training to fight.”
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Azir befriends a slave and the two of them bond over their love of ancient texts and magic. Eventually Azir is so enamored with his slave friend that he names him Xerath and appoints him to be his closest adviser.
After a series of cataclysmic events that resulted in Azir being in a position to become the new emperor, Xerath convinced him that “to stand as ruler over the entire world, Azir would need to be all but invincible, a god amongst men – an Ascended being.”
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Azir agrees to undertake a dangerous ascension ritual, unaware that Xerath has actually been studying the dark arts and was seething with jealousy, hatred, and rage for being a slave.
“At the height of the ritual, the former slave unleashed his powers and Azir was blasted from his place on the dais. Without the protection of the runic circle, Azir was consumed by the sun’s fire as Xerath took his place. The light filled Xerath with power, and he roared as his mortal body began to transform.”
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“But the magic of the ritual was not intended for Xerath, and such awesomely powerful celestial energies could not be diverted without dire consequence. The power of the Ascension ritual exploded outward, devastating Shurima and laying waste to the city. All that remained of Azir’s city were sunken ruins and echoes of its people’s screams on the night winds.”
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“Azir saw none of this. For him, all was nothingness. His last memories were of pain and fire; he knew nothing of what befell him atop the temple, nor what became of his empire. He remained lost in timeless oblivion until, thousands of years after Shurima’s doom, the blood of his last descendant spilled onto the temple ruins and resurrected him. Azir was reborn, but was yet incomplete; his body little more than animate dust given form, held together by the last vestiges of his indomitable will.”
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Azir comes across a woman who was stabbed. By using his powers he is able to resurrect her and heal her of her wounds.
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“And with that act of selflessness, Azir was lifted up in a column of fire as the magic of Shurima renewed him, remaking him as the Ascended being he was meant to become. The sun’s immortal radiance poured into him, crafting his magnificent, hawk-armored form and granting him the power to command the very sand itself.”
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“With the power and prescience of an Ascended being, Azir summoned an army of sand warriors to march alongside their reborn emperor saying; “I will reclaim my lands and take back what was mine!””
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———
I had to edit a lot of that down and find respective screenshots that emulate the scenes that were being referenced… but I wanted to do this because I think it helps explain some of the stuff going on in Arcane.
Arcane is VERY MUCH drawing from its own lore and history of Runeterra. When you start digging into the lore you’ll start seeing these direct parallels and references, and some of the oddities start to make sense. I know we like to joke about Viktor being hextech Jesus, but his arc and storyline more closely resembles that of Azir than of Jesus.
League of Legends lore is FILLED with stories like this. Stories that are referenced by Arcane in many subtle ways that won’t be obvious to outsiders. This stuff runs DEEP, and the creators of Arcane know the lore enough to use it to tell their own stories with it as a guideline and reference.
Additionally it’s helpful to know that magic in League of Legends lore is a sentient thing that corrupts and WANTS to be used. This is why Heimerdinger hypothesizes that mages who use the Arcane magic often go astray and that this temptation to use the magic to commit world ending cataclysms “might be a property of the Arcane itself.”
As Rise says:
"Magic wants to be used, It is all around us, emanating from the first fragments of creation. It wants to be wielded. And that is the true challenge on the path we both walk. When you realize what the magic wants, how eager it is... Well, then the difficulty isn't how to begin wielding it. It's knowing when to stop."
Arcane tells the story of Viktor, a weak boy who makes a friend over their shared interest in studying and learning. Who goes through a metamorphosis after a cataclysmic event, saves people with his benevolence and newfound power, is ultimately betrayed and killed by his closest friend, and is resurrected through the use of (Warwick’s) determination and will to live, reborn into a godly figure who can control armies of his followers.
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okonogikonomi · 1 day ago
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sand.
what's worse, being wanted but not loved, or loved but not wanted?
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Kn8 + unrequited feelings. :)
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Kafka Hibino has never had unrequited feelings before you. He's happy that you're happy with your boyfriend, Haruichi, but would be lying if he said he wasn't jealous of the guy. I mean, Kafka always feels inadequate, but compared to Haruichi it's a different story. He's smart, he's strong, he's attractive, he's rich as hell. It doesn't get more intimidating than that, but to top it all off, he's dating you. It's like a kick in the face. But Kafka's a pretty good sport. He'd honestly just try to become more impressive so you might notice him.
Mina Ashiro is a subdued person in all respects, including and especially when it comes to romantic feelings. So when she finds out that the girl of her dreams is not only Not Gay but is dating Gen Narumi, she hides her anguish well. After finding out, she'd largely avoid you so as not to slip up and say anything or act out of character. She becomes more aloof and tries to kill her feelings. She drowns her sorrows in work, becomes more aggressive on the battlefield and towards her cadets. She's also more hostile towards Gen, which strikes everyone as odd since she usually can't be caught dead behaving in such an unprofessional manner.
Reno Ichikawa is the worst at pretending not to be hurt. So when he finds out you chose Iharu over him, he has to actually leave the room and punch a wall. Pretty much everyone sees what he's going through, but for some reason, you don't seem to notice. Too enamored with your new boyfriend, he thinks resentfully. I'm picturing the scene in Legally Blonde where Elle throws a box of chocolates at the TV, screaming "LIAR" at a romantic soap opera. He's not exactly that dramatic, but that's how he feels on the inside. Love is dead to him and so is Iharu. He never considered the guy a rival before, but now he considers him a full on enemy. Wouldn't try to break you up for fear of you hating him, but would kinda put his hope in Iharu fucking up.
Soshiro Hoshina is seething when he finds out his brother got to you first. Of all people, you chose that jackass?! He's livid. At Soichiro, of course. He could never stay mad at you; he's got to assume his idiot brother lied to you about his nature or something, although deep down he knows you wouldn't fall for it if he did. He gets really intense in sparring and on the battlefield, and punishes cadets extra hard. Every time he sees you with that fucker, he has to physically remove himself from the situation. Would blow up if Soichiro teased you in front of him. Might try to seduce you anyway, despite your being "taken." Fully believes his brother will ditch you eventually which makes him even more angry. Vents to Okonogi.
Iharu Furuhashi actually does cry a little when he finds out you're dating Kafka. How could he ever compete?! Kafka is kind, wise, and strong. Even with all that Kafka himself perceives as shortcomings, everyone else idolize him. And Iharu? He's just some guy to you. Maybe a friend. It breaks him. He becomes really sluggish and distractable. Consistently loses sparring matches to Reno, who is like "dude wtf." Won't tell anyone he's upset, or why, but it's visible.
Gen Narumi probably screams when he hears you've started dating Soshiro. Not only does the guy have that stupid smug attitude, and more fans than Narumi himself, but now he has you too. He wants to rip Hoshina to shreds, but Hasegawa says no lol. Instead, he coops himself up in his room and games for a few weeks. Any kaiju that shows up during this time is toast, because he just pictures his now romantic rival's face on it and goes wild. Insults Hoshina in front of you hoping to sway your opinion, but you just get mad at him which makes him angrier. Might possibly ask you "what's he got that I don't?" Isn't a huge jerk to you but is to everyone else.
Rin Shinonome kinda figured you were dating Narumi. As usual, he's a step ahead of her. She's bitter, but takes it in stride. She uses your unavailability as motivation to better herself. After all, she enjoys adversity. She's the most likely to have fun chasing you, so she's the least upset of the group.
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class1akids · 3 days ago
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What’s the point being made when Midoriya commented “he’s getting called Endeavor’s son less and less” if Endeavor got zero legal consequences for abusing his family? Was Endeavor still considered a “bad hero” by the end of the war? I thought the citizens were mad because they thought he let them down as a hero because he failed to defeat the villain, not that he butchered his family. Dai even spoke about Endeavor still being thought as a great hero in the future. Maybe it makes sense as a reader for that comment since we know the whole family’s trauma, but with how the story is written it doesn’t work since, again, barely anyone cared about the Todoroki family (some even became Endeavor glazers.)
I know the family association thing is bigger in eastern culture, but was the intention supposed to be similar to if Todoroki went onto the field and was still associated with Endeavor just by being his son even without their history being exposed? As much as I hate the writing wouldn’t it make more sense if Dabi/Touya replaced or was at least added onto the association since the civilians didn’t seem to care about the abuse? I mean I don’t want Todoroki to be associated with his shitty father, but with how the narrative flipped back and forth on Endeavor the point became less impactful since he’s still treated relatively great despite what he did.
It's just an example of Hori's "wants to have his cake and eat it too" kind of writing.
On the one hand, Endeavor's "consequence" is the scandal, the public fall, being responsible for the rise of Dabi and his victims. And his atonement hinges on this consequence, because he's goal is to "catch the sparks" (even though we know he can't protect the kids, because Fuyumi already lost her job and the situation is so bad Natsuo is leaving the family registry to protect his fiancee from any association with the Todorokis).
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As for Shouto's own situation, he's more in the public eye than his siblings, and it's kind of implied in some scenes how he's also a subject of criticism - like him being outside of UA with Endeavor and Hawks and when he talks about how he's being seen with concern. (Dabi also brought it up btw during their fight).
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So I think from the perspective of Shouto's arc, the key sequence is:
"you are not bound by his blood, you decide who you want to be" -> "I want to be a reassuring hero" -> "people look at me with concern because I'm Endeavor's son and Dabi's brother" -> "you have to stop Dabi to become who you want to be" -> "work day and night for 8 years" -> "the citizens rarely call him Endeavor's son anymore.
So basically Shouto's narrative is about freedom from blood and free self-determination. But his story is actually about how his family ties keep hindering him from his goal and how he has to fight for his "honor" in a way others don't have to because of those ties. So Shouto's freedom comes with a huge qualifies and a huge price - where it's having to fight his own brother and stop him from causing harm to others is just the first hurdle. After that, he still has to work day and night for a decade to make people finally see him on his own terms.
So the "you can become who you want to be", just like "you can be a hero" come with huge qualifiers in the story.
As for Dai mentioning Endeavor - that list was really weird puttin BJ and Endeavor up there with All Might, and Deku being mentioned only like 4th place when in fact wasn't he the ultimate hero of that war?
I think that's Horikoshi's clumsy writing, where he insists glazing Endeavor because he personally thinks that he deserves brownie points for trying hard.
But I'm fairly certain that the narrative on the one hand tells us that Endeavor and the Todoroki family got a lot of public criticism for creating Dabi and Dabi's crimes (not for the domestic violence mind you, which is treated as a private matter) and Shouto had to fight against those prejudices. On the other hand, it's telling us that even if Endeavor is in hell, there are people who support him because he was a good hero.
Also, as an aside, even if Endeavor wasn't exposed by Touya, Shouto probably still would have had to fight for a long time to be seen not as a nepo-baby but as himself. Children of famous / successful people are often struggle against the public perception that all their success is due to the advantages that were given to them at birth - which is also true for Shouto who was introduced as the "boy born with everything" and the first thing he was known to the public for was being "Endeavor's son".
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chuluoyi · 19 hours ago
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honestly i don’t want to start discourse but it makes me so sad to see so much hate towards caleb girlies and caleb online :( like i had to block like five people on twt in a ROW cuz all i keep getting on my feed is people calling caleb girls weird for enjoying his story or calling caleb ugly or literally only talking about zayne’s cameo in caleb’s story and it’s like?? why is it okay to do that with caleb’s story but not okay with all the other LI’s…
LADS is either a bunch of girls first otome game or they’re not over 18 with the immaturity they’re showing towards not only darker tropes but to other ADULT women who enjoy darker content like yanderes in fiction :/
this is actually just a case that can be resolved as simply as “don’t play it if you don’t like it” 😐 they can always skip caleb if they don’t want him, and if they hate him so much then they can discuss it with their own circle rather than spewing hate on ppl who like him
you see, i don’t even bother to open twitter anymore bc of how toxic lads global players there. they’re practically rioting over the banalest things everyday and it all comes down to how they can’t accept that this is a game by a chinese company and thus will inevitably have some chinese culture in it—bc let’s be real, all this caleb discourse stems from the fact he’s called “gege” in the first place :)
and then the sylus discourse too. it’s strange how i’m also a sylus girlie but i see no problem in his content so far? but they’re trying to make it as if sylus has little content and bad myth when caleb gets the same treatment. infold is not an all-perfect being, they’re innovating bit by bit too (they might say i’m defending infold but hey, all content we get is from them too—i’m not a hypocrite). i don’t compare sylus or caleb to xavier-zayne-rafayel bc they’re the first to be announced so ofc there will be a gap between them, but yeah some people can’t accept it. maybe bc i’ve played other otome games before, but later characters usually have less content than the original characters first announced in the game so i’ve come to think of it as normal. but we never know, it could be that infold is cooking behind the scenes too so why not wait and be patient like a cultured person?
and you’re so true when it comes to immaturity—it’s as if all content/characters have to cater to their own wants and needs 😐 they keep demanding as if they’re the only consumers infold has when the chinese market generates revenue many many times than them. why should infold cater to them? sigh
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vvisteriae · 16 hours ago
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SONIC MOVIE 4 / SILVER THOUGHTS
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It’s nothing new seeing Sonic fans starting fights over the smallest things but throwing a tantrum because we got a pink logo instead of cyan is SO STUPID
I understand that people want Silver to have his moment and I agree that Sega should let him have a re-introduction to the series but people convincing themselves that he IS in Sonic 4 even when we don’t have any proof are just delusional
Everytime we’ve gotten a new character they were always shown in the post credit scenes
IF HE WERE IN IT THEY WOULD’VE SHOWN US
And yet we still have people arguing under Sonic 4 updates saying they want to cram Silver next to Amy and Metal or that the 4th movie should focus solely on him
Personally I don’t see Silver fitting in with the movie universe at all, I feel like his character would overcomplicate the story, and I know we’ve seen them do an amazing job at writing Shadow, simplifying some of his plot but even if they did include him it wouldn’t make any sense to introduce him before Amy and Metal it’s just way too early
There are still people who believe there might be a chance for him to appear in the 4th movie but I don’t see that happening mainly because as I’ve said before we would’ve seen him already but also because it would make the movie too crowded and with all those new characters there wouldn’t be enough time to properly flesh any of them out
I think it would be best for Sega to make a Silver centric game before they do anything else with him, I don’t think he deserves a whole year of Silver campaign but he definitely needs to be re-established in the franchise, so yeah I don’t want him in the movie but I hope Sega will notice how much hype surrounds him lately and make use of it
Ideally I would want Sonic 4 to be the last movie since we pretty much got everyone from the main cast minus Rouge but I doubt we’ll see her, she had the potential to be used for a new original story in the Knuckles series but that wasn’t the case, they didn’t include her for the SA2 story either so I really don’t know what they could come up with to make her make sense without it feeling forced same goes for Omega, Blaze and Silver, but there can still be hope for her and maybe Omega to show up in the Knuckles & Shadow series
If paramount actually greenlights it
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madmaryholiday · 2 days ago
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personally, i like the idea that carlisle's compassion is real, but his ultimate priority is his family. my strongest evidence for this is that he voted to turn bella even though he thinks becoming a vampire will damn her to hell because the alternative is edward eventually killing himself. his feelings about the nature of vampirism are overruled by his desire to keep his family together.
that then can extend to having the vampire witnesses in BD. he probably tries to convince them all behind the scenes, or has tried in the past, but he needs them around to save his family, so he's willing to let them feed far from anyone he personally knows. drugging a woman, stealing her car, and causing a massive traffic accident is also needed to save bella, and by extension, to save edward, so he allows it to happen.
carlisle might also not see their presence triggering the werewolf transformations as a bad thing? the werewolves are protectors of humanity, and carlisle knows that most vampires would gladly eat humans. having a group of werewolves around to deter unscrupulous vampires from feeding in the area might seem like a good idea to him. (obviously it's selfish and bad to make these kids go through all that, but if carlisle thinks it's ultimately keeping more people safe than it's hurting, he might still see it as justified.)
like obviously he HAS to have significant compassion and self-control in order to be a doctor and be around human blood all day. but he also hasn't BEEN a human for hundreds of years. and he can't let himself be too close to any given human for too long, or they'd notice something was up. so the only people he's consistently forming bonds with are other vampires. he's still incredibly compassionate, but he's not registering humans the same way he does vampires because he isn't able to be a part of the human world the way he was when he was, well, actually human.
of course, these are in-universe explanations. the "real" explanation is, like you said before, a mix of the bella-centric story and the limits of the author's imagination. but this is how i like to read his character because it allows for multiple things to be true at once.
also continuing off the Informed Traits discussion, just how much of Caslisle's compassion/kindness is informed? Bella and Edward both make it seem like he's this saintly figure and pillar of goodness, but then there's moments where he does things that make you wonder if the view on him is just really rose-tinted.
Again, going back on BD where he invites his friends to witness and doesn't seem to care that they're hunting humans just outside forks/la push and let's them stay even after already knowing what their presence triggers the tribe to phase, the book also reveals that he took Jacob's blood sample to study without his consent?? Like a lab experiment???? (I learned this through a post showcasing that part in the book) Also in a podcast I listen to that discusses the plot of MS, he apparently fakes being Billy's distant relative (impersonating an indigenous person uhhmmm 😬) and, well,,,, lets just say I can see why some people think that entire phone call just gave colonizer vibes. AND!!! didn't he drug a woman to steal their car and kinda doesn't react much when they caused a massive car pileup??
On the one hand i dont mind if it's meant to show us that even Carlisle's sense of morality is flawed, but between Bella's "the Cullens are good to the core" and every time Edward talks about him in MS, it's feels more to me like another unreliable narrator trope.
This one is harder for me because, see, I want the compassion to be real because I think the concept of a vampire blessed/cursed with Super Compassion is legit fascinating! As I've said about 23470234 times, my favorite aspect of vampire stories is how they become a vampire, how you cope, the choices you make, what you accept and what you deny about your new reality. The idea that for this one guy, becoming a vampire made him even more compassionate is just the kind of twist on it that I've never seen anywhere else and I think it's really interesting, actually. A dud of a superpower, sure, but the innate push-pull of vampire instincts vs super compassion compels me, though.
But obviously I can see where it comes from that it could be an unreliable narrator thing or outright lie. Or at least a show vs tell problem where we're told he's compassionate but actions suggests otherwise.
I think it falls apart in two major ways:
The protagonist-centered morality. Everything in the story is about facilitating the E/B romance. Carlisle's alleged compassion can only help that, he can't hinder it. They HAVE to move back to Forks so the story can happen, he can't say "huh maybe it's NOT compassionate to move back to a place where people know what we are and are terrified of us." He can't refuse to drug the soccer mom because they have to save Bella! He can't object to having witnesses gather in Forks and force more teenage boys to phase and put humans at risk of being eaten because we have to save Renesmee! He can compassionately offer Bree surrender, but neither he nor Esme can do any more than that to try and save her, because that would complicate Bella's upcoming wedding. The Bella-centricity of it all sits like a supermassive black hole in the middle of the story, disrupting the orbits and bending the light of the other characters.
Carlisle can't be any more compassionate than his author, and that limits him. We had a fandom discussion about this a few years ago, but basically because SM doesn't see the problems with how the Quileute characters are treated in the story, none of the characters can, either. I remember calling it the moral version of how Alice is supposed to be a fashionista, but because SM doesn't really know anything about high fashion, there's a lot of 'tell' about her being this fashion icon but the actual show of clothes in the story doesn't live up to it. Or Carlisle himself -- he's supposed to be this genius doctor who has studied medicine and science for centuries, but SM isn't a doctor or a scientist, so some of the stuff she makes him say doesn't live up to the idea she planted. SM totally missed the settler-colonial stuff, the dehumanizing language, etc etc, so none of the characters, not even Compassionate Carlisle or Power-of-Heart Esme can.
tl;dr I like to think the compassion is real but hindered by the narrative insisting on prioritizing the love story AND Carlisle being unable to be more compassionate than his author. But that's because I WANT it to be real because I think the concept is really interesting, even if the execution is lacking. I don't need or want him to be Perfect or a Saint, and I'm sure existing as a VAMPIRE of all things would naturally come into conflict with compassion all the time (examples in the book is him not wanting to kill James and it leading to the extended hunt instead; offering surrender to Bree but knowing if he goes against the Volturi they could kill the whole family; telling Sam in BD that this isn't his fight and 'don't get your family slaughtered for pride,' even as Sam insists they have to be there for Jacob and Jacob has to be there for Nessie [blargh].) and that struggle and how he deals with it when he's in a situation with no Compassionate choice is available would be great. Even that car chase in Midnight Sun could maybe work if the story gave Carlisle any room to protest until Alice insists it's the Only Way!!!! or whatever, and some follow up where like oh huh weird some random charity swooped in to pay all the medical bills of everyone involved in the pile-up and bought them all new cars. If Edward, Jasper, etc can't turn off their gifts, Carlisle shouldn't be able to either, even when being forced into uncompassionate actions. But SM doesn't care. She only cares about Carlisle, let alone his compassion, inasmuch as she needed a kindly father figure to set up the vegetarian vampire thing and for Bella to have a convenient doctor.
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raiiny-bay · 4 months ago
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made this & then realized i wanted to make something else instead
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