#might be time to just do a proper meta for it to be a companion piece to the s1-s4 one tbh

[raayllum]

also remind me to make a terry-callum companion parallel post to the raydia one for s5 bc whoo those boys are in for a time

[galedekarios]

elminster and gale: an addition

a while ago, i posted a meta about the relationship between elminster and gale.

i tried to detail their relationship and delve deeper into how gale values elminster not only as a friend and mentor, but perhaps as well as a paternal figure in his life - especially working on the assumption that gale's father might have left morena and gale early on in his life.

back when i wrote my meta, i didn't have the information yet that elminster knew gale from an incredibly early age, which was only revealed once the epilogue was added to the full release version of the game. in one of his epilogue letters, elminster recalls his first meeting with gale when gale could have been "no more than eight summers' old".

which then in turn of course means that gale has known elminster for almost all of his life, if we take the age attributed to gale by idle champions as canon. it's set at 35 years old. if we assume gale was indeed eight when he first met elminster and not younger, it means elminster has been in gale's life for nearly three decades at this point in time.

it's a lot of preamble, but i felt it was necessary because i was looking through the files again and found these idle lines for elminster that don't appear to trigger in the game.

it's indicated to be idle comments made by elminster at camp, before elminster informs gale of mystra's will at the beginning of act 2 proper:

Elminster muttering to himself ruefully as he prepares to tell Gale bad news and wait for him to be ready. - 1: Weary Traveller: How will he react? He has a stout heart, but this...? - 2: Weary Traveller: Perhaps another way will present itself. But perhaps not.. - 3: Weary Traveller: I can't say I'm relishing this, but it must be done. - 4: Weary Traveller: I do wish this was over with.

the devnote is the same for all four idle comments:

devnote: Spoken to self. Weary, heavy heart. Waiting to deliver some tough news for someone.

not only does this give us another (heartbreaking imo) insight into how elminster himself feels about being forced to deliver mystra's demands - there are several others in the game itself, as well as gale quite clearly saying that he had no choice but to do so, defending elminster from the protag's anger - but it also does give us some more insight into how others perceive gale.

and not just others, but those who have known him longest.

elminster says he has a "stout heart", which also ties in beautifully - and heart-wrenchingly - with his epilogue letter, speaking about gale's kindness, eagerness and brilliance.

the "stout heart" comment resonated very much with me because it reminded me of yet another line from tara, another life-long companion of gale:

Tara the Tressym: If that's all, then what comes after is for you to decide, Mr Dekarios. Think well on all that's happened, and stay true to that heart of yours. It's a good one.

which in turn reminded me of an all-time favourite lore blurb:

Tressym were sometimes kept as familiars by wizards and sorcerers. They needed to be experienced mages capable of bonding with a more advanced creature, and the tressym would only accept a good-hearted master.

and though it's only a description and not in the game itself, i also immediately thought of gale's idle champions description:

With a kind heart, and a keen mind [...]

a stout heart, a good heart, a kind heart.

[bringbacktentoo]

“Rose is actually happy in a parallel universe with a half-human Doctor.” - Russell T. Davies

Hello, Whovians — we’re excited to announce the #BringBackTentoo movement!

Sign the petition

In July 2008, millions of viewers tuned in to watch ‘Journey’s End’; where the Doctor and Rose were left hand-in-hand on Bad Wolf Bay.

While fandom has remained active, continuing to generate endless works inspired by this iconic pairing, there's sadly been little official content from the people who launched the ship!

Nonetheless, our devotion remains unwavering. We persist, loving the OTP; ceaselessly spreading love and fan-made content worldwide!

The purpose of this movement is to show there is still an audience that is very interested in revisiting these two. One that would love to see the Doctor and Rose together again, on-screen or off, living their best lives in Pete’s World. 

Regardless of whether it’s a spin-off, comics, audio adventures, or — and this, we believe, is crucial — anything at all, we would just love to have them back in some way. We’ve realized that perhaps there hasn’t been enough collective buzz to bring this into reality, which is why we’re looking to rally up as much support as we can.

Already with us? Sign the petition! Our petition will be emailed directly to the powers that be; including Russell T Davies, Big Finish, the BBC, and more.

Have questions? Doubts? Need a little more convincing? Then read on…

Why now?

Because there’s never been a more perfect time for it. 

Already, Russell’s return has been bringing former fans back in droves. Everyone’s waiting with bated breath for RTD2 and the sixtieth anniversary; plus Ncuti, David, and Catherine. With so many fans dipping back into the Doctor Who world, why not strike while the iron’s hot? 

At the fifteen-year mark, it might never be this “hot” again!

Plus… nostalgia is a massive market.

A return of Tentoo and Rose after all of these years would be the perfect cherry on top of all of it: closure for so many fans, as well as validation for the only happy ending a Doctor-and-companion pairing ever got in Doctor Who.

And don’t forget — fan campaigns work, especially in the social media age!

A spin-off — too much? 

As much as we’d love to see David and Billie back on-screen together as the proper Meta-Crisis Doctor and Rose, we understand that we already have David coming back in a big way, as well as Ncuti Gatwa — our brand new Doctor. It’s a big, BIG ask, trying to get a spin-off out of this. We recognize that.

However, as famished fans who are living off of little more than canonical crumbs and dreams, we will greedily devour anything we can get.

Such as:

More Big Finish audio adventures

Big Finish has done incredible work for Doctor Who, including one of the only official ‘glimpses’ we’ve gotten into Pete’s World: A couple of short audios featuring Tentoo and Jackie.

Big Finish understands and respects these characters, their relationships, and the overall source material. They’ve shown time and time again that they’re more than capable of doing justice to Doctor Who! 

Audio adventures with a focus on the Meta-Crisis Doctor and Rose Tyler would be fantastic. Anything from their adventures with Torchwood and/or UNIT, imaginings of their life with a TARDIS, etc — there are endless possibilities! 

Comic book adventures

In 2021, Titan Comics published ‘Empire of the Wolf’, a lovely comic book that gifted us with the best glimpse we’ve ever had into the lives of the Doctor and Rose in Pete’s World:

It was a beautiful, if brief imagining of these two (and includes their daughter), but even so, the vast majority of the story involves Rose being trapped with the Eighth and Eleventh Doctors. We only get a few pages of Tentoo. 

Comics would be an excellent way to dive into the parallel world again!

Novels

There are loads of Doctor Who novels with amazing stories about Rose and the Tenth Doctor (like 'The Stone Rose' by Jacqueline Rayner). But, here's the thing: there's just one official novel that dives into the whole Metacrisis and Rose relationship... And guess what? Fans are really craving content that stays true to RTD and Julie Gardner's original vision for this couple.

The good news is, there are tons of talented writers out there who would jump at the chance to create legit Meta-Crisis stories, and some would even do it for free!

An animated series

We recognize that this would be a tremendous undertaking, but imagine: You can do incredible things with animation that aren’t possible with film. It would appeal to fans of all ages, and Billie and David have more than proven themselves to be excellent voice actors. There are all sorts of stories that could be created in this medium.

But let’s say we went with the first choice…

A spin-off/miniseries

RTD has been very vocal about his plans for spin-offs. Billie and David are willing, and it hasn’t been so long that the pairing has lost relevance… Although, in Doctor Who, does anything ever really lose relevance? The show is known for bringing back old characters. Enemies, companions… Doctors:

It’s obvious that David seems to have no issue with playing the Doctor. Furthermore, even Billie Piper has recently expressed interest in a spin-off!

In 2019, she told Doctor Who magazine: 

“I would like to see a one-off dark comedy about Rose and the Doctor in the parallel universe”. 

Then, even more recently in December 2022, she told Buzzfeed [on returning to Doctor Who]:

“If it was like four episodes all shot in London, then yeah, I’d be like a rat-up-a-drainpipe for that.”

Four episodes of Tentoo and Rose in London? What could be more perfect than that?

Wouldn’t a spin-off overshadow Ncuti Gatwa?

It doesn’t have to! If a spin-off were to happen, it wouldn’t necessarily have to happen immediately — it can happen after Ncuti has been established as the Doctor, and after RTD has re-established himself as showrunner. We’d just like for it to be part of the conversation, and let those in charge know that people are interested.

So… What about the people who didn’t like the ending?

Yes, there are some naysayers out there. People who refuse to acknowledge Tentoo’s legitimacy as the Doctor; others who refuse to believe that Rose could ever be truly happy with him, and vice versa.

This, sadly, is willful ignorance. Not only has Russell T. Davies, the man who wrote Journey’s End — who created Tentoo and Rose — confirmed that they're happy; the Doctor himself, David Tennant, will be the first person to tell you that those two are blissfully shagging their lives away at all times. And god bless him for it.

We’ve come to find that a lot of people who aren’t on board with the ending just didn’t understand it, which is fine — what better way to understand this pairing than by seeing more of them? 

On that note…

How can I help? 

Sign the petition!

Petitions are old school, but they are proven to be effective at affecting change, even in today’s world. We can preach to the ends of the earth about how much we want to bring these two back, but without numbers to back it up, the prospect is null and void. 

Don’t just like this post — please reblog!

This is a grassroots effort that is counting on the power of fans to help spread the word. Unlike most social media platforms, there is no algorithm on Tumblr. Likes do nothing for visibility, so please reblog to make sure as many people see this as possible! 

Participate in Tentoo x Rose Month

This is a multi-medium fan event for creating content of the OTP throughout all of July! All works will be featured on the @tentoorosemonth2023 page, with certain works even shared on the BringBackTentoo Instagram.

Buy the already-existing content

If you haven’t already, buy the ‘Empire of the Wolf’ comic. Buy the Big Finish audios ‘The Siege of Big Ben’ and ‘Flight Into Hull!’. Show these fantastic creators that we will gladly consume any content about these two that we can get!

Spread the word

Know anyone who likes Doctor Who? Any former fandom friends who might’ve outgrown all of this, but would enjoy more Tentoo/Rose content? Or maybe even just a random IRL friend who supports your obsessions? Link them to the petition!

Join the movement by following this page and our Instagram (which is brand new, give it time to grow ♥️). Keep on creating content, using #BringBackTentoo to tag any of your fanart, well-wishes, or whatever you like across platforms — just please be sure to keep it positive!

Feel free to DM/ask if you have any other questions, concerns, or ideas that weren’t touched upon in this post. 

And please, for goodness' sake, be kind. This is a labor of love inspired by passionate fans and creators who just want to see our OTP again. ♥️

[rachelbethhines]

Speed-running Doctor Who - The Eighth Doctor and Other Non-Series Doctors

A quick and dirty guide for those who want to get into the show, but don't want to watch everything from the beginning.

The Eighth Doctor

Plot Important Episodes

Entrances, Exits, Enemies, Lore Drops, and Character Development

The Enemy Within - The Doctor Who TV Movie (The Eighth Doctor's introduction)

The Night of the Doctor - Minisode (The Eighth Doctor regenerates)

Bonus

Not actual episodes but things you might want to watch anyways

Shada - Webcast (one of the many animated versions of Shada, but this one stars the Eighth Doctor instead of the Fourth)

The War Doctor

Plot Important Episodes

Entrances, Exits, Enemies, Lore Drops, and Character Development

Scream of the Shalka - Animated Mini-Series (this story features what may or may not be a young War Doctor. It also features Derek Jacobi as the Master for the first time)

Day of the Doctor - 50th Anniversary Special (The War Doctor's proper introduction and his only official episode)

Bonus

Not actual episodes but things you might want to watch anyways

The Curse of Fatal Death - Minisode (a Doctor Who parody made for charity that, at the time, was treated as an actual episode but is no longer considered canon. Worth a watch just to see how much the short predicted the New Series)

Alternate Universe Doctor

Back in the 60s, Doctor Who got two theatrical film adaptations staring Peter Cushing. There's much debate over where he fits in the continuity of the show, if at all, but he literally has more screen time than either McGann or Hurt so there's no reason not to include him.

My personal favorite fan theory is that he is a 10.2 Meta-Crisis Doctor grown old. It explains why he's human, why his last name is actually Who, why he had to build his tardis in his backyard, where his two granddaughters and niece come from, why they're named after past companions and family, why Ian and Wilf have alternate universe version of themselves, and why the Doctor is seemingly repeating his past adventures all over again.

Plot Important Episodes

Entrances, Exits, Enemies, Lore Drops, and Character Development

Dr. Who and the Daleks - Movie (first story featuring Peter Cushing's Doctor)

Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. - Movie (Final story featuring Peter Cushing's Doctor)

Bonus

Not actual episodes but things you might want to watch anyways

At the Earth's Core - Movie (This has even less to do with the show than the Dalek movies, but Cushing's character here is basically the same as his portrayal of the Doctor and is even called 'Doctor' through out the film. So fans of his Doctor have considered this an unofficial third movie)

(NOTE: THE FUGITIVE DOCTOR WILL BE COVERED DURING THE 13TH ERA BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE ALL OF HER APPEARANCES ARE)

(disclaimer: no spin-offs or extended universe stuff were considered when making this list beyond filmed appearances)

Up Next: The Ninth Doctor

[slavicafire]

Dear Żmija, I have just finished Inquisition that my dear friend that got me into DA is very fond of, and I just couldn’t explain to her why… it just doesn’t right with me. I loved Trespasser and ESPECIALLY the Solas romance but making Inquisitor a Mary Sue and overall focusing on her role in Thedas too much (as well as Corypheus being the villain… bleh) just felt like such a waste. What are your thoughts on the game? Because I remember you calling it „catholic”. (i’ll welcome a rant. Also hope you are well!)

ah. I have cast them away but alas, here come all my dragon age brain worms, happily returning to the fold like dozens upon dozens of prodigal sons.

quick foreword: i always play as humans, and i always play as warriors - I have played dai as a mage just once. so, in theory, I should be the one type of player the game caters to the most, lore-wise. alas.

inquisition is absolutely the weakest link in the da games - and it takes, for the lack of a more polite word, a giant shit on the lore and atmosphere set up by origins and expanded/played with by II.

and don't get me wrong, the first two games blundered and made a lot of mistakes, contained a lot of inconsistencies, contradicted their own set up plenty of times - but the expectation was (very much so) that inquisition would not only avoid fucking up in the same way but also! would fix some of those mistakes. add both proper gravitas to the story of the world - and allow for the return of the fascinating, genre-appropriate - again, for the lack of a more polite word - whimsy. it was supposed to be more comprehensive, more complex, more creative. heavy, again, yet funny. meaningful.

instead, inquisition made sure to make everyone bland, rather catholic and centrist in their convictions and beliefs - which, in a setting so fueled by the absolute injustice enacted on entire subgroups of people, simply means it made most characters bland conservatives, on the in-universe axis regarding chantry, mages, circles, elves, slavery, dwarves, the qun, and basically anything else you can think of. even characters who are supposed to be Hardcore Believers in whatever it is their convictions are end up being kind of undecided or confused about it all - see sera (love her as i might) or cassandra (no comment), or even bull when talking about the qun (which we are supposed to approach from a more liberal perspective now, diminishing its actual depth). don't even get me started on cullen, wannabe war criminal creep, who had a chance to become something interesting at the end of da II and then instead got wattpadded into the game as your trusty sidekick to prank instead of, you know, asking about how fucked up places starting with k get when he's there.

and then the game doesn't allow you to actually take a stance yourself - it just lets you choose the tone of expressing the one or two stances picked for you. you can't actually play as a meaningful character with proper agency - you must play as someone whose goal is to uphold the andrastian approach (not even faith, but approach), enjoy being the head of a giant religious militia, subdue mages at least partially, yield to accepting the apparent non-issue the grey warden order becomes, and then also give even less of a shit about elves and slavery than the previous games did.

I believe the only way to actually play the inquisitor without megatons of meta roleplaying in your head is to be kind of an evil cunt - and I don't mean choosing the asshole options in dialogue and missions, I simply mean accepting the fact that no matter what you do or what you say, you can't do or say anything all that meaningful. or good. nothing revolutionary, for sure.

the companions and advisors won't mind too much either way, after all.

[kamenwriter]

"Space Babies" and "The Devil's Chord" reactions.

Spoilers I'm sure behind the cut.

Space Babies

"It was a genocide" wait I thought the time war got trapped in a painting and then...oh wait the Master killed them all during the Chinbal run, didn't he? God we could just ignore that whole mess but noooooo

The butterfly gag...sigh.

"we made it...we went to the stars" like, I get the whole "hopes and aspirations thing" but when we've got billionaires trying to sell us colonizing mars when it would be a hundred times cheaper and easier to save the planet we're living on, I'd rather a solar punk future not a colonization future. Am I being exceptionally cynical? Maybe. These are just "reactions" not a proper critique.

I can only imagine how difficult filming with all the babies was.

Making the Doctor adopted and all about "embracing what makes you unique" is good Timeless Child damage control but I dunno the idea of him being a renegade of a detached society appeals to me more than him being THE ULTRA SPECIAL TIME BABY.

The AI might actually be an AI?

AND there's something mysterious about Ruby because of course there is.

Star Trek ass looking uniforms on the crew.

"The planet down below refused to stop the babies from being born, but refused to take care of them afterwards" hey now this is getting close to some proper Doctor Who.

"It's like a children's story" this is is a good set up for the mystery here's hoping they stick the landing. Now watch it being some alien that feeds of psychic energy and manifested as the babies fears or something.

The incredibly literal baby raising machine made a bogeyman out of boogers to give the babies a monster to fear. Okay. Acceptable.

I totally understand the Doctor empathizing with the bogeyman but why the babies?

The constant babiesSPACEbabies bit got old so fast.

And a fart joke.

And don't forget, Ruby Sunday is super special and not just some random person we can't have random people do incredible things in Doctor Who nope nope nope

The Devil's Chord

The visual representation of The Maestro sucking out music and eating it is some fucking comic book shit and I am here for it.

The Maestro starts playing the intro oh god don't let this character be meta don't let this character know they're in a story don't fucking lay on that crutch.

"What about my clothes?" Both of those retro ass fits would work fine in the 60s. I'll concede to the hairstyle change though.

...trying to visually communicate the Maestro's influence on reality is definitely a trick. Again this feels exceptionally comic booky (That's a compliment).

Oh that's right Susan was potentially killed during whatever bullshit killed the Time Lords during the Chinbal run.

I do enjoy a camp villain.

The Doctor using the Sonic to actually do something sonic. What a refreshing change of pace

Ugh don't wink at the camera.

"I was born in 2004" well I'll just turn to dust, then.

Power scaling doesn't just affect shonen series the Doctor has to go up against literal gods now...

Callback to the Sound of the Drums yeah okay.

"There's a hidden song deep inside her soul" SPARE ME FROM THIS TROPE OF COMPANIONS BEING SUPER SPECIAL.

"What is this song?" "Christmas" actually it's the Carol of the Bells which was originally a Ukrainian song called Shchedryk do your research.

MuSIC BaTTle hahahaha

DONT WINK AT THE DAMN CAMERA

I want to make this clear I have no problem with a big musical number at the end but making it a meta joke I wanna bash my head in with a hammer. I'M SO FUCKING SICK OF META WRITING.

So in summation Space Babies was kind of what I expect from nuWho nothing amazing I would have loved The Devil's Chord if it weren't for the "oh Ruby is some secret incredible thing" and all the metaphorical and literal winks at the camera.

[tamedstray]

Is there a particular aspect/secret/theme/snippet of backstory about Vigor that you have always really liked, but have little opportunity to include in the things you write?

The good news is I have been spoiled by the most lovely mutuals who indulge my nonsense, along with exploring things I never did before making Vigor a bg3 muse. Converting him from a Skyrim OC to a bg3 companion helped me write a proper arc for him. Despite making him back in 2016, I'm only recently learning what happens when he has a support group to grow his confidence and force him out of the wilds.

      But, I want to write more of him as a younger man. Not just with muses he acts genuine with, but muses he would charm and lie to. Even if in meta we all know that he hates doing it, he did have to for many years. I'd love for him to pick a target, internally scream the entire time, and get called out for it. I've plotted some cute stuff from that part of his life, giving him hope through those dark years, but I'd also love for someone to catch him during a kill, especially a shipping partner.

      Also! How he is prone to entering abusive relationships because that's what happens. Not forever, of course, soon enough you've heard it all before. I want to explore the line where his desperation and loneliness are preferable to the fear of being used and owned again.

      Also, also, last one I swear, I need to get better at describing his duality as an upper-class gentleman and a scruffy woodsman. Maybe a more detailed bio might help off the bat? But most of all, I think it's on me to help reinforce that throughout threads. For example, when he does something gentlemanly, I should add some description about his tired eyes or worn out clothes. In reverse, when he's harvesting or hunting, he moves with grace or proudly mentions how a certain plant is referenced in poems and art.

      There's a lot I want to do as drabbles. Anything I can't find a writing partner for, I can do myself, especially exploring his strict childhood or how he managed during his time isolated in the wilderness. It would help me unpack the effects it had on him in more detail, and hopefully help plotting partners understand those years better.

      tl;dr I have thoughts, lots of thoughts. Thank you so much for this question. I've had this blog for two months now, and I already feel spoiled for choice. I currently have assassin Vigor on the brain, but in truth I am still learning more about Vigor every day, and by extension, what I want to explore.

[sylleblosscm]

Anonymous:

For the meta thing, perhaps the journey to contact the gods and how it affects Lunafreya?

---

Send A Topic For Meta [accepting]

Oh Anon, starting off strong with a punch to the gut.

 Before I get into this proper, there’s some context I need to provide about Luna’s character that is arguably the most pivotal aspect when it comes to understanding her fully. It’s something I’ve seen criticized and overlooked, even within the source material itself. See, it wasn’t just the Empire that put Luna through hell. There’s a heartbreaking moment in Dawn of the Future where Noctis is given the chance to see all of history, including everything he never knew happened to Luna in the years they were apart. There’s no way to stress just how brutal her Oracle training is - and Luna began hers at the age of twelve. Fucking twelve. She was forced into long periods of isolation, fasting, intense mental and physical training - and all this is to say nothing of the hellish panopticon of being made into a religious figurehead in one’s tweens. Imagine what that does to a person. With that in mind, know that Noctis is disgusted and horrified, in no small part with himself, now he knows the full extent of what Luna endured for his sake. He never knew. He never knew because Luna never said. Luna, the girl who literally can’t survive the a p o c a l y p s e without writing a letter to her boyfriend about the tea she found and the time her companion said she had a bad poker face, never thought to mention the extent of her training. 

 And that’s the thing, friends: this is as normal to her as the sky is blue. Try as Noctis and Ravus might have, bless their hearts, Luna was never taught that her life, her thoughts, her feelings, mattered. Hell, she was actively taught the opposite. She was not yet a teenager, suffering after the death of her mother, the separation from her best friend and the subjugation of her Kingdom, when immidiately her image, thoughts, feelings and relationship to her religion were made into a public commodity. Millions looked to her during times of war and strife for comfort, assurance - shit, God Himself put the weight of the world on her shoulders because he was too lazy to do it himself. Luna is the epitome of a good and selfless person being taken advantage of so severely that she can no longer function healthily, and that’s the kind of thing that takes years to heal from. And the worst part is, she can’t see what’s so wrong with it. 

 With that as our groundwork, let’s move on. Because there is one thing she kept for herself, if only one. A dream. One encouraged by her own Gods by virtue of their prophecy - that one day, the darkness would be driven from their star, and she could be with Noctis again. This isn’t a lunoct apologeia post (although...) - it’s just important you understand, it is the one and only thing she wanted for herself. The dream she worked toward all her life. Yet by the time she was to awaken Leviathan, Luna knew she was not long for this world. Please understand what this means.

 At some point between leaving Insomnia and arriving in Altissia, Luna realised she was going to die. She was going to die, and her only dream would never be fulfilled. Her God, who she dedicated her life to, failed her. She would leave her brother, her only family behind; Noctis would have to go on without her; and she would never get the future she was promised. Sit with that a minute, because goodness knows I had to take several. There was a moment in time when that thought first occurred to her, and she had to keep going. I want to say she was too good and noble to run, but knowing what we know about her upbringing, it probably never occurred to her in the way it should have.

 We don’t know too many details about what traveling was like for Luna (because the game doesn’t care what she thinks or how she feels), save for what few cutscenes we get, and what Ravus writes in his letters. We know Gentiana was with her for at least some of the journey. We know she visited a few places and was well-loved wherever she went. We know her condition steadily deteriorated from being in fine physical form, to struggling to carry her own body weight. And goddamnit, we know Luna never got the justice she deserved except for in one canceled DLC that made a banger of a book most fans will never read. Justice for Luna.

[intuitive-revelations]

“Guardians of the Edge”

Want to do a breakdown of the episode at some point, but this whole thing deserved its own post (heh...). So, what’s the deal with the ‘Edge’?

The telephone pole is interesting, but at first glance doesn’t seem to mean much other than a bit of abstract imagery to do with networks, as in the brain and memory centers.

I count 15 conductors (I’m sure there’s a proper name, but no idea what) on the post, with varing numbers of wires coming off them. Possible this might have something to do with regenerations, as since Hartnell there have been 15 regenerations at this point (including War, Metacrisis-Ten and Dhawan)? I thought the placement could possibly have something to do with the cycles (so 12 together, 3 separate) but that doesn’t seem to match up. Alternatively, excluding Dwawan it could represent 15 Doctor incarnations (including One as well as War and Metacrisis-Ten again.

Wires are much harder to count. I’m not even sure if it’s consistent between shots, as my counts have ranged from 26-34, though there’s also a lot of bloom in the sky and some are very close together, so it may be consistent after all. The number of connections seems to vary. If there were only one or two one-link conductors I would have assumed something to do with the before and after of each regeneration, with those potentially being Thirteen and the Meta-Crisis offshoot, with another with three maybe being Ten′s life, but that doesn’t seem to work.

Alternatively, maybe numbers of TV companions? (I haven’t checked if that could be accurate, but if anyone wants to test it feel free to run with it.)

As for the location, red dirt and rocks with an yellow-orange-blue sky immediately brings Gallifrey to mind. Of course it doesn’t need to be anywhere in particular, as the whole thing is a metaphor, but the dry terrain and surrounding mountains looks a lot like the Prydonian Drylands, which has of course been an important location for the Doctor. If it’s evening and the Suns are in the east (which they are for Gallifrey), then the mountains seen are probably part of the long range leading down from Prydonia and the Capitol to Southern Gallifrey proper.

There’s a few squarish structures that almost look like sunken buildings, but also could well just be rocks, it’s too hard to tell.

Notably, the ‘Edge’ not only seems to appear out of nowhere but also seems to move around slightly in distance from the post, suggesting perhaps that if this is based on a real location that it’s not a true part of it.

Personally, I think it’s appearance is likely strongly related to...

And yes, this works extremely well if you interpret the boy in the Timeless Child story as a previous (re)incarnation of the Master. Even if not literally true, the symbolism of the childhood friend pushing the other off a cliff in a jealous fight certainly works wonders.

I think the rest of the location is different however, since the rest of it looks like part of the Drylands, whereas the Timeless Child’s fall was almost certainly much closer to Mount Cadon, pretty much halfway between Mount Lung and the Academy (which I got during my Gallifrey map project, based on elements like the kids playing, the direction Tecteun approached, the Suns’ positions, surroundings etc.).

Fun fact, getting the above picture from Ascension of the Cybermen, I also noticed that some telephone / powerlines are also visible in Brendan’s story - apart for some fencing it’s the only sign of civilisation at the clifftop. 100% coincidental, but it’s fun annecdotal evidence for the Timeless Child backstory being the reason for the Edge subconsciously looks the way it does.

Little detail I didn’t notice originally watching, but I love - Eight isn’t the only one who diverged from the robes. Small continuity error I think in that he’s wearing it on his ring finger rather than middle finger, but I love the signet ring here

There’s also a little An Adventure in Space and Time music cue here, which was also used in The Doctor Falls / Twice Upon a Time.

The patterns on the robes don’t seem to be anything. Maybe some “daisy-est daisy“ / “blossomy-est blossom” symbolism with some of the flower-like patterns on One and Seven’s inner robes? One also does appear to have a pattern based on the Seal of Rassilon on his sleeves. Five has a recurring pattern that could almost be a sort of High Gallifreyan, while Six has what weirdly looks like a “3″ fabric pattern flipping backwards and forwards on his inner robes.

The red robes actually remind me a bit of the Merlin!Doctor - “Muldwych”? Colin in particular has an interesting resemblance with the pure-red robes and his larger frame.

Eight my beloved

As for why these specific incarnations? Beyond Doylist reasons of Tom being busy, actor deaths and New Who actors possibly being saved for next year, or at least being harder to get in (though in some ways I’m surprised David wasn’t used for a bit of foreshadowing)?

My person interpretation is that the similarity with Zagreus is quite deliberate. It was ultimately Five, Six and Seven who appeared to help Eight with his body being hijacked, so in a ‘life flashes before your eyes’ scenario, it’s not surprising that the Doctor’s subconscious imagining those personalities to help.

Hell, Eight even appears in his own outfit, as if he was the Doctor experiencing these events, because he has before! While it’s of course his looser Time War / Night of the Doctor outfit, it’s not hard to imagine the anti-time infected Eight of the audio in his worn out and damaged original outfit looking quite similar.

Presuambly this is the same place, at least metaphysically, that Eight met Five, Six and Seven. Like with Thirteen, they greeted and congratulated him, though in their case the mood turns sour as they realise Eight lost determination and thus the regeneration process stalled (which I always thought Night of the Doctor paralleled pretty nicely, with Eight essentially commiting suicide and failing to regenerate from Cass’s ship crash).

This might make the pole a visualisation of the Doctor’s Medulla Oblongata, which the past Doctors mention in Zagreus, though there it seems to appear as a constellation in the sky.

EIGHT: So what happens now? FIVE: Oh, you'll regenerate. You'll see this blaze of light, a comet across the medulla oblongata. SEVEN: A new star. SIX: Any second now.

As for One. Of course he’s a bit of a special rule as the ‘first’ kind of, but given he was the one that helped Twelve with his regeneration it’s not surprising he reappears here. His appearance could almost be considered a sequel, given that Twice Upon a Time featured his struggle with his own upcoming regeneration and now we get to catch up on him on the other side, with his sub-personality getting to speak with Thirteen, the result of Twelve’s regeneration, after going the ‘long way round’.

Finally on a meta-level, there is something interesting with the ‘ruining it for the next one’ line. It may be nothing... but could be considered a bit of a dig at Ten, not just with what’s happening with the 60th, but even the whole “I don’t want to go” thing, which I always considered a really rough way to hand over the show to Moffat and Matt after an extremely popular Doctor/era.

(And that’s not even mentioning the Metacrisis, the in-universe most extreme version of this, which Eleven also joked about with the “vanity issues” comment back in Time of the Doctor, and one could almost theorise left an erased incarnation somewhere between the Doctor’s “twelfth and final incarnations”...).

Granted, you could make the same criticism for Twelve’s regeneration reluctance going into Thirteen, though I’d argue that was handled way more tastefully (plus Twice Upon a Time‘s story arguably only exists because of Chibnall’s plans for releasing Series 11 anyway).

Personally, I see three options:

It’s nothing, purely a bit of heartwarming in-universe wording about handing over between incarnations (perhaps even lightly acknowledging the Six-Seven-Valeyard thing in the VNAs, given it’s Six who says it?).

It’s Chibnall having a dig at RTD (or possibly the BBC, if there was some upper-level pressure for Tennant’s return, as rumoured by tabloids for years) for the reasons above.

Best case scenario, IMHO? It is a bit of a dig at Ten, but it’s a deliberate in-universe setup for RTD to tell the story of whatever’s happening with Ten and Fourteen (yeah I don’t like calling Ncuti Fifteen either) which will confront it, in the same way this whole segment and the ‘degeneration’ process sets it up.

[the-king-andthe-lionheart]

The Fundamentals of Gendrya

So I just want to establish the possible foreshadowing Arya and Gendry have that hints at a possible romantic relationship in the future, as well as the romantic undertones present in their story.  I’m not really going to focus on symbolism in this meta (although it will come up a couple of times in a minor way), as that will be a focus for future meta.  This is only meant to establish the fundamental basics.

First I want to say that when I’m talking about the romantic possibility of Gendrya, I mean future Gendrya, as in once Arya is older.  However I will posit and say that because we are viewing this in the world of Westeros (in a pseudo Medieval world that GRRM exaggerated and sensationalized from real Medieval sources as well as rumor) and because GRRM has established he has no problems with placing his younger characters in romantic or sexual situations (see Mercy TWOW) I think it would be remiss to think GRRM would not take Arya and Gendry here if that was his plan all along.  After all, there is plenty of precedent.  

This also leads me to remind everyone that Gendry is not an adult when he meets Arya, and the age gap between the two is one of the least egregious age gaps in the books as most of the age gaps are between adult men in their 20’s and 30’s with 12-16 year old girl’s.  I think a lot of people think of the age gap as Arya being 9 the whole time and Gendry being 16, but this is in fact wrong.  According to the timeline, Arya and Gendry meet at the beginning of 299 AC, right around Arya’s 10th birthday.  In 299 AC Gendry was only 13/14 years old.  He was born in 284 AC and is not the same age as Robb and Jon, like Ned surmises.  Gendry is just big for his age, and it’s highly likely Gendry doesn’t even know how old he is.  When Arya and Gendry separate in ASOS Arya is almost 11 while Gendry is 14/15 years old.  

Regardless, this is fiction, and doesn’t reflect real world morals.  So what I’m getting at is that if anyone disagrees with this meta because of their ages I suggest you don’t read any further.

Foreshadowing

Our first hint of foreshadowing happens in Arya’s very first chapter:

She frowned down at them with dismay and glanced over to where her sister Sansa sat among the other girls.  Sansa's needlework was exquisite.  Everyone said so.  “Sansa's work is as pretty as she is,” Septa Mordane told their lady mother once.  “She has such fine, delicate hands.”  When Lady Catelyn had asked about Arya, the septa had sniffed.  “Arya has the hands of a blacksmith.” - Arya I AGOT

This quote is later followed up with:

[...] “I ruined that gown Lady Smallwood gave me, and I don't sew so good.”  She chewed her lip.  “I don't sew very well, I mean.  Septa Mordane used to say I had a blacksmith's hands.”

Gendry hooted.  “Those soft little things,” he called out.  “You couldn't even hold a hammer.” - Arya VII ASOS

In the same book Lem Lemoncloak says this to Gendry:

“You must be a lackwit, boy,” said Lem.  “We're outlaws.  Lowborn scum, most of us, except for his lordship.  Don't think it'll be like Tom's fool songs neither.  You won't be stealing no kisses from a princess, nor riding in no tourneys in stolen armor.  You join us, you'll end with your neck in a noose, or your head mounted up above some castle gate.” - Arya VII ASOS

At this point Arya is indeed a princess, but Lem also makes an obvious reference (to the audience) to the Knight of the Laughing Tree, which I think we can safely say was Lyanna.  The fact that Lyanna is Arya’s literary mirror, tells me we can connect Arya to Lem’s comment, not to mention the inclusion of “princess” just kind of seals the deal.  We also know that Arya is the spitting image of Lyanna and Gendry the spitting image of Robert Baratheon.  I think it’s worth noting also that after Acorn Hall, Lem takes it upon himself to make sure nothing untoward happens between Arya and Gendry (he thought Gendry was taking advantage of Arya after they wrestled) as he starts sleeping in between them, which is seen in Arya V ASOS when they are at The Peach.  Lem saying “Don’t think it’ll be like Tom’s fool songs neither” is also interesting because at Acorn Hall we specifically get Tom singing a love song directed towards Arya and Gendry.

Speaking of Lyanna and Robert being reflections of Arya (in both appearance and personality) and Gendry (in appearance for the most part) this is said in Eddard I AGOT:

We were meant to rule together. If Lyanna had lived, we should have been brothers, bound by blood as well as affection. Well, it is not too late. I have a son. You have a daughter. My Joff and your Sansa shall join our houses, as Lyanna and I might once have done."

Now this quote may be referring to Sansa and Joffrey, but I do think it’s foreshadowing for Gendrya and this is just a misdirect.  After all, Joffrey is not Robert Baratheon’s son by blood, but Gendry is, even though he is illegitimate.  To me this also sounds like a promise.  When you think about it, the story truly begins at the Tourney of Harrenhal with the events that broke the betrothal between Lyanna and Robert, so it would be very cyclical for the ending to do what the beginning could not, binding a Stark and a Baratheon together in marriage.

There are also several references about Arya marrying an apprentice/blacksmith:

“[...] Or if it is marriage and children you desire, tell me, and we shall find a husband for you.  Some honest apprentice boy, a rich old man, a seafarer, whatever you desire.” - Arya II AFFC

We also have a comment made by Jaime:

“Not all,” said Jaime.  “Lord Eddard's daughters live.  One has just been wed.  The other...”  Brienne, where are you?  Have you found her?  “...if the gods are good, she'll forget she was a Stark.  She'll wed some burly blacksmith or fat-faced innkeep, fill his house with children, and never need to fear that some knight might come along to smash their heads against a wall.” - Jaime I ADWD

Now I know what you are going to say, that Jaime is referring to Sansa possibly marrying a blacksmith or innkeep, but if it weren’t for Jaime’s thought’s in the middle towards Brienne, you’d never guess which Stark daughter he is referring to because Sansa was only just recently married as well.  Also it’s Arya who is associated with a blacksmith (Gendry) and a fat-faced innkeep (Hot Pie).  So while Jaime is referring to Sansa here I think we are meant to actually look at the reality behind this and reverse the foreshadowing back onto Arya, because it wasn’t Arya who was recently wed, that was Sansa.  It’s also Arya who is legitimately trying to forget she was a Stark (Sansa isn’t trying to forget, she is only pretending to be Alayne to ensure her protection) and like I mentioned it’s Arya who had a blacksmith and future employee at an inn as companions for two novels.  So I think it’s a foreshadowing switcheroo.  And I think it’s also worth mentioning that while Jaime sent Brienne out to save Sansa, Brienne spends her whole journey almost exclusively hearing news and following leads about Arya.

There is also a reference in Brienne VII AFFC that makes mention that Arya may marry an apprentice boy:

Gendry was the closest thing to a man grown, but it was Willow shouting all the orders, as if she were a queen in her castle and the other children were no more than servants.

If she were highborn, command would come naturally to her, and deference to them.  Brienne wondered whether Willow might be more than she appeared.  The girl was too young and too plain to be Sansa Stark, but she was of the right age to be the younger sister, and even Lady Catelyn had said that Arya lacked her sister's beauty.  Brown hair, brown eyes, skinny...could it be?  Arya Stark's hair was brown, she recalled, but Brienne was not sure about the color of her eyes.  Brown and brown, was that it?  Could it be that she did not die at Saltpans after all?

*

“One day that little girl [Willow] will make some man a frightful wife,” Ser Hyle observed.  “That poor 'prentice boy [Gendry], most like.”

Willow is very obviously a Arya stand-in which makes this specific quote about Arya and Gendry, not Willow and Gendry.

Arya IV ASOS has the strongest case for future romantic Gendrya.  Not only does Gendry follow after Arya and invite her to look at the forge, Gendry opens up to her about his life right before he was uprooted, and does this:

Gendry reached out with the tongs as if to pinch her face, but Arya swatted them away.

Gendry is being playful and open with Arya during most of this scene in the forge, teasing her in a manner that verges on flirting, telling her a story about his past, laughing and having fun with Arya.  And then this happens:

Gendry put the hammer down and looked at her.  “You look different now.  Like a proper little girl.”

“I look like an oak tree, with all these stupid acorns.”

“Nice, though.  A nice oak tree.”  He stepped closer, and sniffed at her.  “You even smell nice for a change.”

“You don't.  You stink.”  Arya shoved him back against the anvil and made to run, but Gendry caught her arm.  She stuck a foot between his legs and tripped him, but he yanked her down with him, and they rolled across the floor of the smithy.  He was very strong, but she was quicker.  Every time he tried to hold her still she wiggled free and punched him.  Gendry only laughed at the blows, which made her mad.  He finally caught both her wrists in one hand and started to tickle her with the other, so Arya slammed her knee between his legs, and wrenched free.  Both of them were covered in dirt, and one sleeve was torn on her stupid acorn dress.  “I bet I don't look so nice now,” she shouted.

Gendry compliments Arya’s looks and scent, only for Arya to think he’s teasing her about her appearance due to her intense insecurity when it comes to highborn conformation (Gendry’s laugh when he first saw her didn’t help matters in her insecurity even though Gendry most likely only laughed out of being startled at her transformation).  This insecurity leads Arya into getting angry and starting a wrestling match with him.  This wrestling scene also directly follows Jaime and Brienne’s very sexually charged sword fight, and could also be interpreted as foreshadowing a romantic and potentially sexual relationship in the future, like theirs did, when they are older.  

Now I’m not saying that I think Gendrya is going to go NC-17 in the books, but I do think it’s likely to go PG-13 by the end of ADOS, considering we have precedent that GRRM has no qualms about writing these types of things as I mentioned above, and we know Arya is going to be 12 in TWOW and may be at least 14-15 when the series ends depending on how much GRRM can spread out the timeline in the next two books.  But considering the amount of stuff that needs to happen, I think the next two books will span 2-3 years before the epilogue begins.

Then there is the love song GRRM specifically wrote for Arya.  A song that has only appeared in one chapter, Arya’s chapter:

“My featherbed is deep and soft,

and there I'll lay you down,

I'll dress you all in yellow silk,

and on your head a crown.

For you shall be my lady love,

and I shall be your lord.

I'll always keep you warm and safe,

and guard you with my sword.

“And how she smiled and how she laughed,

the maiden of the tree.

She spun away and said to him,

no featherbed for me.

I'll wear a gown of golden leaves,

and bind my hair with grass,

But you can be my forest love,

and me your forest lass.”

Now we know this song is about them because when Tom O’Sevens is singing it, he winks at Arya, and later Lady Smallwood specifically says to Arya “I have no gowns of leaves”.  The song specifically mentions yellow – a Baratheon color – and depicts the free spirited “Maiden of the Tree” who wants love on her own terms, which sounds like what an older, flowered version of Arya would want if she fell in love.

Romantic Undertones

Arya’s Crush

As she passed the armory, Arya heard the ring of a hammer. A deep orange glow shone through the high windows. She climbed to the roof and peeked down. Gendry was beating out a breastplate. When he worked, nothing existed for him but metal, bellows, fire. The hammer was like part of his arm. She watched the play of muscles in his chest and listened to the steel music he made. He's strong, she thought. As he took up the long-handled tongs to dip the breastplate into the quenching trough, Arya slithered through the window and leapt down to the floor beside him. - Arya IX ACOK

It’s very subtle but this paragraph tells us everything.  Arya unintentionally reveals in this quote that she watches Gendry blacksmithing enough to know that the world falls away when he’s in his element.  She watches the play of muscles in his back and notes how strong he is and even attaches poetic language to his work.  Arya has a crush on Gendry.  It’s not acknowledged and it’s likely she doesn’t understand it herself, but this seems to be the truth of it, especially with the way GRRM worded this.  I don’t know how many times I’ve read a romance where the protagonist studies their love interest while watching the “play of muscles” in their back or their arms.  It’s also interesting to note that Arya always mentions specifics about Gendry’s looks and notes details about him:

He blinked at her, startled. Strands of thick black hair, still wet from the bathhouse, fell across his deep blue eyes. "I'd hurt you." - Arya II ACOK

"It's me they want," Arya whispered back. His ear smelled of soap. "You be quiet." - Arya II ACOK

When she spied Gendry, his bare chest was slick with sweat, but the blue eyes under the heavy black hair had the stubborn look she remembered. - Arya VIII ACOK

"She's not alone." Gendry rode out from behind the cottage wall, and behind him Hot Pie, leading her horse. In his chainmail shirt with a sword in his hand, Gendry looked almost a man grown, and dangerous. Hot Pie looked like Hot Pie. - Arya II ASOS

Now most of these I’d normally chalk up to the author just being descriptive, but if that’s the case, why don’t we know more about Hot Pie’s looks, who Arya spent nearly a year with at the same time as Gendry?  Why does she take special time out to describe Gendry so much?  Honestly I think part of it is to keep reminding us that Gendry is a secret Baratheon bastard, but that doesn’t explain the first quote about Arya watching the “play of muscles” in his back and noting how strong he is.  So I think it’s a combination of GRRM wanting to remind the audience that Gendry is a Baratheon and to also subtly show us that Arya has an innocent crush on him, but doesn’t know or acknowledge that this is the case out loud.

Their Mutual Jealousy

Starting after the events of Acorn Hall in Arya IV ASOS, it’s obvious that something shifts in Arya and Gendry’s relationship.  One aspect is that Gendry can no longer ignore that Arya is indeed a highborn girl after seeing her for the first time dressed up as one.  He knows what class differences will mean for their friendship.  And another aspect, is that Gendry acknowledges that he may be romantically interested in Arya, or at least acknowledges the potential for those feelings to emerge in time.  And because of this, combined with their class differences, Gendry knows that if he follows Arya to Riverrun where her mother and brother are, he would end up watching Arya grow into someone he could romantically love, only for her to be torn away from him due to an arranged marriage.  Both of these aspects play a factor in why we see Gendry become more outwardly scathing towards highborns in the chapters following this and why his behavior seems to become one rife with jealousy.

In Arya V ASOS the Brotherhood Without Banners travel to The Peach and both of the above aspects I spoke of are present in this chapter:

"You don't even know what a brothel is."

"I do so," she insisted. "It's like an inn, with girls."

He was turning red again. "What are you doing here, then?" he demanded. "A brothel's no fit place for no bloody highborn lady, everybody knows that."

And when Gendry protects Arya from a pervert by saying that she’s his sister, this is what goes down:

"Why did you say that?" Arya hopped to her feet. "You're not my brother."

"That's right," he said angrily. "I'm too bloody lowborn to be kin to m'lady high."

Arya was taken aback by the fury in his voice. "That's not the way I meant it."

"Yes it is." He sat down on the bench, cradling a cup of wine between his hands. "Go away. I want to drink this wine in peace. Then maybe I'll go find that black-haired girl and ring her bell for her."

Arya doesn’t really understand the intentions of the pervert, despite knowing of sex, and is confused on why Gendry would say that he’s her brother, but when she asks him, he takes it the wrong way since he is already so sensitive about their class differences at this point in their story.  That last paragraph is what makes this exchange really interesting though.  Why would Gendry say this, when it’s already made clear and established in this chapter that Gendry has no intentions of sleeping with any of the girls, even when it’s offered to him for free?  He is very obviously lying to try to get a rise out of Arya and the only way this makes sense is if we put it under a romantic lens.

Then we have this:

Arya whirled and left him there. A stupid bullheaded bastard boy, that's all he is. He could ring all the bells he wanted, it was nothing to her.

Now considering Arya’s defense mechanism (the mechanism that has her calling things or people stupid when she’s hurt or feeling inadequate by them to try to make the pain and hurt not seem so severe) the fact that she calls Gendry a “stupid bullheaded bastard boy” and proclaims Gendry ringing the bells of any girl was “nothing to her” tells us that it matters to her and that she’s upset.  This is further reiterated in Arya VIII ASOS:

Arya wished she had another crabapple to bounce off his face. "My father had honor," she said angrily. "And we weren't talking to you anyway. Why don't you go back to Stoney Sept and ring that girl's stupid bells?"

So here we have Arya mention this three chapters later, likely weeks if not months later.  If Arya didn’t care about Gendry ringing “all the bells he wanted” then why is she still so hurt and jealous?  She’s obviously been stewing about this for a while.

In this same chapter we also see gems from Gendry that clearly proclaim that he’s still plagued about his class differences to Arya.  It also clearly shows that Gendry is jealous of Edric Dayne once Arya befriends him, especially since she befriended someone highborn, like her, who just so happens to be a boy who we know has nearly the same coloring as Rhaegar Targaryen, which evokes the history repeating motif that is present in Arya’s arc of the Rhaegar/Lyanna/Robert love triangle.

"You have a knife," Gendry suggested. "If your hair annoys you so much, shave your bloody head."

He doesn't like Ned. The squire seemed nice enough to Arya; maybe a little shy, but good-natured. She had always heard that Dornishmen were small and swarthy, with black hair and small black eyes, but Ned had big blue eyes, so dark that they looked almost purple. And his hair was a pale blond, more ash than honey. - Arya VIII ASOS

And

"My lady?" Ned looked embarrassed. "I'm Edric Dayne, the . . . the Lord of Starfall."

Behind them, Gendry groaned. "Lords and ladies," he proclaimed in a disgusted tone. Arya plucked a withered crabapple off a passing branch and whipped it at him, bouncing it off his thick bull head. "Ow," he said. "That hurt." He felt the skin above his eye. "What kind of lady throws crabapples at people?"

"The bad kind," said Arya, suddenly contrite. 

Gendry continues to encapsulate “ours is the fury” during Arya’s whole exchange with Edric Dayne.

I do want to add that I know Gendry’s class issues have always been there, and it’s definitely been made even more apparent to him during the War of the Five Kings during his time in the wartorn Riverlands with Arya, so it’s not exactly that far-fetched that Gendry may become even more sensitive and/or bitter about it.  However, this extremity of his behavior only happened after Acorn Hall where he saw Arya looking like the highborn girl she is.  And while I do believe part of Gendry’s increase of bitterness about their class differences does have to do with potential romantic feelings, I also think it has to do with Gendry also coming to terms with the fact that Arya’s family is also directly responsible for the carnage they have seen and experienced (even though he doesn’t blame Arya, as she seems to be one of Gendry’s exceptions when it comes to his dislike of the nobility).  If it weren’t for the blatant flirting on his behalf in the forge at Acorn Hall and the jealousy, I would honestly chalk it up to Gendry trying to reconcile his own trauma and anger regarding highborns, including Arya’s family’s sins, but alas, that is not completely the case.

Post Separation

When Arya is kidnapped by the Hound and witnesses the Red Wedding, Arya contemplates where she may go and this crosses her thoughts in a very romanticized light:

She could stay with Hot Pie, or maybe Lord Beric would find her there. Anguy would teach her to use a bow, and she could ride with Gendry and be an outlaw, like Wenda the White Fawn in the songs.

But that was just stupid, like something Sansa might dream. - Arya XII ASOS

The fact that Arya follows this thought up with “that was just stupid, like something Sansa might dream” tells us specifically what type of fantasy this is.  Arya isn’t fantasizing about an adventure, she’s fantasizing about love and romance, considering those are the types of flights of fancy Sansa always loses herself in.  Now Arya isn’t outright rejecting the possibility of romance here, because there is more to that second paragraph:

But that was just stupid, like something Sansa might dream. Hot Pie and Gendry had left her just as soon as they could, and Lord Beric and the outlaws only wanted to ransom her, just like the Hound. None of them wanted her around. They were never my pack, not even Hot Pie and Gendry. I was stupid to think so, just a stupid little girl, and no wolf at all.

She rejects the possibility because she remembers that Hot Pie and Gendry abandoned her as soon as they could, and that all the Brotherhood did was use her, according to her perspective on the matter.  And her perspective is entirely skewed because of her abandonment and low self-esteem issues, as well as not fully understanding the class issues as she honestly didn’t think that bringing Hot Pie and Gendry to Riverrun and Winterfell would cause any issues with their friendships, which is understandable for a kid to think.  Especially one that hadn’t been in the highborn world for the past year and a half.  In fact, Medieval children in the real world and in the books, weren’t reprimanded for playing together regardless of class, usually the highborn children played with the children of those who worked and lived within the castle walls, from other lords children to stewards children to the helps children.  It’s just something children did until they reached a certain age where it just wasn’t allowed anymore.  So it’s only natural for this not to really factor into Arya’s plans.

When Arya is about to walk into the House of Black and White, Arya comforts her fear with a memory of Gendry:

Suddenly she was somewhere else . . . back in Harrenhal with Gendry [...] - Arya I AFFC

Which indicates that Gendry is still very much on her mind at this point.  I think it really says something as well that Arya takes comfort from a memory at Harrenhal of all places.  I think this indicates how much comfort she took from their friendship.  I also think she doesn’t think about Gendry with the Brotherhood to take her comfort because while ASOS has the most romantic foreshadowing for them and the two shared some nice moments, it was also the start of them truly fracturing, or so her unreliable narration interpreted it as.  After all, she actually thought that Gendry was making fun of her looks at Acorn Hall, and she thought Gendry didn’t want to be her friend anymore as he “abandoned her” for the Brotherhood.  So while Harrenhal was awful and they had their disagreements there, Arya still felt reassured with his companionship and likely found it uncomplicated in comparison to her other problems at the time.

*

When we next see Gendry in Brienne VII AFFC we see a drastically different Gendry.  While Gendry has always been guarded and sullen with a chip on his shoulder, with little love for the nobility, this change is drastic enough where it’s unsettling to read at first.  Not only is Gendry just flat out rude in a very mean way but he is filled with rage.  Gendry joined the Brotherhood because he liked how they handled justice, but under Lady Stoneheart there is no justice and he doesn’t seem to mind.  His beliefs have shifted as well.

And though his eyes had been that same deep blue, Lord Renly's eyes had always been warm and welcoming, full of laughter, whereas this boy's eyes brimmed with anger and suspicion.

Septon Meribald asked if he might lead the children in a grace, ignoring the small girl crawling naked across the table. "Aye," said Willow, snatching up the crawler before she reached the porridge. So they bowed their heads together and thanked the Father and the Mother for their bounty . . . all but the black-haired boy from the forge, who crossed his arms against his chest and sat glowering as the others prayed. Brienne was not the only one to notice. When the prayer was done Septon Meribald looked across the table, and said, "Do you have no love for the gods, son?"

"Not for your gods." Gendry stood abruptly. "I have work to do." He stalked out without a bite of food.

Gendry was at his forge, bare-chested beneath his leather apron. He was beating on a sword as if he wished it were a foe [...]

What would a knight be doing working at a smithy? "You have black hair and blue eyes, and you were born in the shadow of the Red Keep. Has no one ever remarked upon your face?"

"What's wrong with my face? It's not as ugly as yours."

Lord Renly was ahead of her, her sweet smiling king. He was leading her horse through the trees. Brienne called out to tell him how much she loved him, but when he turned to scowl at her, she saw that he was not Renly after all. Renly never scowled. He always had a smile for me, she thought . . . except . . .

While some people chalk up Gendry’s behavior as a result of trauma about what he experienced in the Riverlands, and I don’t deny that is a factor, I don’t believe it’s the only factor because we didn’t see Gendry like this post Harrenhal or even with the Brotherhood in ASOS.  Yes he embodied “ours is the fury” at times and was jealous and bitter, and rude at times as well, but he wasn’t flat out cruel to people, nor filled with rage and vengeance.  The Gendry before Arya was taken would never have led Brienne to Lady Stoneheart for the slaughter after she tried to save everyone in that Inn against Rorge and Biter and co.  We can also see another difference in Gendry:

Lightning cracked to the south as the riders swung down off their horses. For half a heartbeat darkness turned to day. An axe gleamed silvery blue, light shimmered off mail and plate, and beneath the dark hood of the lead rider Brienne glimpsed an iron snout and rows of steel teeth, snarling.

Gendry saw it too. "Him."

While there is no emphasis on the “him” when Gendry sees the Hound’s helm, it’s an abrupt and emotionless statement.  It’s one word without emphasis but it conveys a lot.  Gendry recognizes the Hound’s helm and it’s apparent he’s not happy, thinking that it was indeed the Hound for a minute.  And while I’m trying to avoid discussing symbolism, I just can’t ignore how the lightning that cracked in the south could also be symbolic of Gendry’s true mood.  He is, after all, a bastard Baratheon, connected to the storm, the fury - thunder and lightning - as well as sharing a connection to the god, Thor in our mythology.  This lightning could symbolically be linked to Gendry’s anger and vengeance.  So why does Gendry act like this when he sees who he thinks is the Hound again?  He had no issue with the Hound during his trial by combat, so what changed?  The Hound kidnapped Arya.  And while he knows Arya didn’t die at the Red Wedding, he and the Brotherhood aren’t entirely sure if the Hound sold Arya to the Lannister’s and if she is now Arya Bolton.  So it makes complete sense why he would have issues with the Hound.  In fact I think a lot of this behavior we are seeing from Gendry is the direct result of the Hound kidnapping Arya and not knowing if she’s dead or being brutally raped and tortured in the North.

Why do I think this?  Because this behavior began between Arya being kidnapped in ASOS and Brienne VII AFFC.  Only a few to a handful of months have passed since then.  This, I believe, is the inciting incident.  Another reason why I believe Arya is the reason is because of what he is doing.  He is staying at the Crossroads Inn, one of the last known places Arya was sighted, and he’s helping take care of orphaned children.  Arya took in strays as well and cared for them, like Weasel.  And considering how Gendry in ACOK wanted to leave Weasel and Hot Pie and Lommy behind, it’s interesting to see that he’s helping by taking in strays himself now, as if he thinks he may be able to atone for not saving Arya.  Another reason is because the Brotherhood is actively searching for Arya as well.  She is ever present on their minds.  So yes, I believe part of Gendry’s change has to do with losing Arya, which goes to show how much he really cared about her.  Not to mention (a tiny bit more symbolism, oopsie!), Gendry’s stay at the inn, waiting for Arya to return (I believe Gendry and the BWB are hoping that Arya is alive and will return to the inn) is a romantic aspect to the mythology of Weyland the Smith and his Swan Maiden/Valkyrie, and the aspect about the Brotherhood + Gendry searching the realm for Arya is also a romantic Cinderella motif, hence why I feel Gendry’s behavior here is supposed to have romantic subtext.

*

Extra:  Another interesting aspect that I think foreshadows this future relationship is the meaning of Gendry’s name.  Gendry is a nickname type of surname for a person who has inherited his family estates from his father-in-law, deriving its origin from the Old French word “gendre,” which meant “son-in-law.”  And as we know if Arya and Gendry married when they were older, Arya wouldn’t be taking his name, but he hers, due to her higher status.  So by marrying into the Stark family, he would be inheriting from his father-in-law Ned so to speak, even if it’s just inheriting the surname.

So this is everything I’ve compiled so far about Gendrya, that relies on just their foreshadowing and romantic undertones in the texts we have available but I’m positive I’ll be adding more to this list once TWOW officially releases.  However, I still have a lot more to share that focuses on their symbolism and motifs throughout the story, so I’m definitely not done making Gendrya meta, far from it and I can’t wait to share it with you all!  

And if anyone is interested in Arya’s and by extension Gendrya’s Cinderella motifs, you can find it at this link:  A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.

[mybg3notebook]

Lore: Details about Vampirism

Additional disclaimers about meta-knowledge and interpretations in (post)

The number between brackets [] represents the topic-block related to (this post), which gathers as much evidence as I could get.

I want to point out how Vampirism is portrayed in BG3 so far, as we saw in EA, which follows as much as it’s described in DnD 5e: 

Vampires are undead creatures, 

They have fangs and red eyes,

They can’t enter a residence without invitation, 

Running water hurts them, 

Sunlight causes a progresive damage, 

They can‘t see their reflection in mirrors or reflective surfaces, nor cast shadows,

Master and spawn share a slavery relationship, and 

A wooden stake in their heart kills them. 

So, since they are following these detail stated in the book (they are using all these traits as if they were proper of vampires but some of them have been altered due to the tadpole effect), I trust they would follow the additional characteristics of Vampires (5e Monster Manual, Vampires): 

They belong to the Evil alignment (spawns to the neutral evil more precisely). It’s true that Swen has explained that it would only be three broad alignments for the companions (evil, neutral, good) instead of the classic nine, therefore, Astarion would fall in the Evil one [1,2,3,4,6,7,10,11]. 

Dark desires is an interesting characteristic that assumes that a vampire, remembering or not their previous life, will have twisted every desire and emotion they had when they were mortal.

Emotional attachments wither as once-pure feelings become twisted by undeath. Love turns into a hungry obsession, while friendship becomes bitter jealousy. In place of emotion, vampires pursue physical symbols of what they crave, so that a vampire seeking love might fixate on a young beauty. A child might become an object of fascination for a vampire obsessed with youth and potential. 

According to Astarion’s own words: he pursues “gold, sex, revenge, and when failing any of those, shallow praise.” I believe part of this pattern he follows belongs a bit to the effect of the Dark Desires.What makes Astarion extremely dangerous is that his desires and emotional attachments were quite egotistical before turning into a vampire, according to his background so far, so now they only become darker.

Charm: There is also a Vampire skill that, even though in the game is not stated yet, I feel that the way Astarion has been written it shows it's working all the time: the powerful spell of Charm

Charm. If the target can see the vampire, the target must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or be charmed by the vampire. The charmed target regards the vampire as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. Although the target isn't under the vampire's control, it takes the vampire's requests or actions in the most favorable way it can, and it is a willing target for the vampire's bit attack. Each time the vampire or the vampire's companions do anything harmful to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or until the vampire is destroyed, is on a different plane of existence than the target, or takes a bonus action to end the effect.

Charm is a powerful spell on the tabletop. Its high DC makes it hard to break. It’s true that it belongs to the Vampires and (apparently) not to the vampire spawns, but I think it’s worth keeping it in mind. Larian has already changed many things that were strong concepts in lore just to suit their narrative (examples: Hag Eye spell, or the concept of red eyes for only Lolth-sworn drows). My suspicion on this comes from apparent proofs in-game:

Astarion explains how he charmed potential victims of Cazador during the nights in Baldur's Gate. It can be his own natural seduction, or it can be a soft version of the vampire’s charm spell.

Gandrel explicitly says that a vampire spawn can charm in a way that mortals can’t resist.

(Datamined Content) If we take into consideration how he refers to the blood of the companions, we could consider that the Dark Desires compound may be playing a role there. He may have had a great taste for wine (reasonable supposition since he speaks about “circles”, making us infer that he had belonged to the highest class in Baldur’s Gate), and after vampirism, this aspect was twisted in what we see in these scenes: a morbid playful discussion about refined taste of alcohol drinks in comparison with the companions’ blood. This scene also brings an uncomfortable ominous idea that Astarion is asking Tav permission to eventually kill one of the companions. If we take into account that Larian was/is thinking about a mechanic that would eliminate part of our pool of companions—as they did in DOS2—maybe this thought is not so far-reaching. 

Other details we see in BG3-vampirism: he can’t taste anything but blood. If Tav helps the tieflings, Astarion will drink a heavy, rich red wine during the party and perceive it as vinegar. Similar happens with any food you make him eat to recover health: he will state it’s foul. On the other hand, if Tav helps the goblins, Astarion would be drinking blood in that scene, and therefore his happiness would be a direct result of the good taste in his glass (and the good entertainment that massacrating tieflings was).

“See what I mean? Awful.” (Dev’s notes: referring to the wine. The player’s just been told that the wine tastes delicious, but to a vampire it still tastes like muck.)

Astarion also states that Vampirism creates a relationship of master/slave between vampire lord and spawn. To be precise, spawn is even less than a slave. The way he describes it allows us to infer that a spawn is a kind of animal [14]. And following these conceptual connections, we may link Astarion’s views on spawns as animals. 

Astarion states that choice is what makes the difference between an animal and a thinking creature, that animal instinct is only to fulfil a need. When a vampire spawn is under their master’s control, they are animals, reacting with pure instinct to fulfill the need of satisfying their master [14]. So, this may imply that only those who have control, have choice, and therefore, from Astarion’s point of view, only a Master can truly distinguish himself from an animal. This interpretation may add more reasons for Astarion to become a Master himself. 

There are many scenes where Astarion speaks about animals or about humanoid behaving as such. 

“They are desperate. Back any beast into a corner and you'll quickly see its teeth.”

He refers to the refugee tieflings as desperate animals, that you can push enough to make them show their teeth (concept that may respond to his own personal experience). He also sees them as weak, so not worthy to waste time on them or saving them. Weak animals should accept their fate.[11,13,14]

He also considers a lot of humanoid races as animals, like kobolds, goblins, and gnomes [5]. 

Slaves are considered animal-like creatures too by Astarion [6,14]. Or at least, creatures of so little worth that he treats them with disdain. The way he sees slaves in EA [10], shows once more how much he supports the slave/master relationship when applied to others. He, of course, doesn’t like to be a slave, but he considers that only strong people are the ones worthy of aspiring control and the position of Master. He despises weak creatures [6, 7].

I think that, not by chance, Astarion is shown in many situations like an “animal who needs his bloodshed” because it’s a way to reinforce how much of a spawn/animal he still is.

GOB_GoblinPriest_Branding (when you decide to spill Gut’s guts) “Yes! And I thought you weren’t any fun.” (Excited, slightly feral "yes!" as Astarion starts to let the animal out.)

So, in short, the spawn condition seems to explore the animal-coded concept of a slave that the relations spawn/master produce.

For the sake of honesty, it’s worth mentioning that some of the DnD Vampirism characteristics had been altered by the presence of the tadpole, so some points present here may end up being modified under the argument that the tadpole allows it. 

This post was written on April 2021. → For more Astarion: Analysis Series Index

[lyrebirdswrites]

not me drawing and interpreting proper astrological birth charts for the jjk main trio now that the official fan book finally gave us their birthplace in addition to their birthday 👀

Explanation under the cut! (edited to be more beginner friendly)

Quick disclaimer ig: this is just my personal interpretation of these placements. If you read the way I describe something and you think to yourself “hang on, I have this placement and this doesn’t sound like me at all” that would be because a) I am an amateur astrologer and I do this for fun, I don’t know everything about every sign/planet, and b) no placement exists in isolation - it’s influenced by the house it’s in as well as any other planets aspecting it - so it’s possible that the placement manifests in a less conventional/standard way due you because of such factors.

EDIT: my first draft of this post was not super beginner friendly so here’s a quick astrology 101 to help people understand wtf I’m talking about. Skip to the next photo if you don’t need a primer.

Everyone has ten main planets in their birth chart, each of those planets will fall under a different sign depending on when and where you were born. The planet governs an area of your personality, the sign shows what that area of your personality is like. Some quick definitions of the relevant planets for this post:

Sun: the one everyone thinks of when asked ‘what’s your star sign’. Your basic personality, your core, your ego.

Moon: symbolises emotion, intuition, your private internal world, and how feelings are expressed.

Mercury: symbolises communication, intellectual reasoning, and how you learn.

Venus: symbolises romance, aesthetics, how you socialize, and pleasure-seeking behaviours like shopping or sightseeing.

Mars: the source of your passion/drive/motivation. Symbolises where and how you expend your energy.

Retrograde: not a planet, just something the planets do sometimes. At some points in the year the planets look like they’re moving ‘backwards’ through the sky, and this alters their influence on the birth chart.

I think that’s probably enough but shoot me an ask if you’re curious/confused! I’m always happy to talk astrology (clearly lol)

Megumi... I always suspected he had scorpio influence somewhere in his chart and turns out I was right!! Not only scorpio venus but scorpio mars too?? I’m obsessed with this. Scorpio is a water sign (read: big on emotions), the embodiment of the phrase ‘still waters run deep’, and though scorpio placements are not always loud about their affection they tend to bond in a pretty intense way with their chosen people. Those venus and mars placements together really do speak of ride or die devotion - no wonder he’s Like That when it comes to Yuuji people he cares about.

His jupiter and saturn are both in retrograde; I would not have predicted it because I don’t think about natal retrograde all that much, but it actually makes a lot of sense imo. Retrograde jupiter usually indicates someone who is internally very philosophical in the sense that the person will define their own firm moral/ethical code instead of following a familial or societal belief system, which is pretty much megumi ‘I save people according to my own conscience’ fushiguro in a nutshell. While retrograde saturn is basically like. On the outside you’re stoic but on the inside you’re a worrywart, and you take responsibility Super Seriously but you also don’t like people with authority pushing you around needlessly. Which is also megumi in a nutshell lol.

His leo moon was a surprise but I honestly think it works for him because this is definitely where Unhinged Feral Megumi comes from: when he decides to go all out he gets such a flair for the dramatic. capricorn sun and capricorn mercury are pretty intuitive tbh, he really gives off capricorn vibes - practical, reserved, loyal, ambitious and tenacious, possessing a dry wit, capable of putting in steady hard work to get to where he wants to be.

I was already aware of Nobara’s leo sun because we’ve had their birth dates for a while now (birthplace is the new info which lets me draw the whole chart). But her cancer moon is such a lovely placement under that hard outer shell of hers. Nobara seems like she does not have a nurturing bone in her body, but it’s wrong to stereotype cancers as exclusively homebody motherly types - they have deep loyalty for their chosen family/home and they’ll go to the ends of the earth for those people in their own way whatever that may be... she really is a softie deep down 🥰 she really does care 🥰 thinkin about the end of her ch 125 flashback in this context

Nobara’s virgo mercury is actually kind of funny to me because while it indicates a natural gift for intellect and a talent for sorting out the fine details, it also has the potential to make someone a harsh critic who can nitpick and be quite blunt in stating their opinions... this is very Nobara, she does Not spare the feelings of anyone she is talking to lol.

Libra venus!! She has libra venus that’s so perfect!!! this placement is sophisticated and charming and always classy, these people adore that classic chocolates-and-roses romance but they turn love of all kinds into an art form. Traditionally the placement is also associated with people who care about beauty and harmony, who will go out of their way to look good for their companions. Also her leo mars... I love that. It’s really amplifying her bold outspoken flashy self-loving take-charge nature. Queen energy right here.

She has a bunch of natal retrogrades but the one I want to talk about is retrograde uranus... this one is Very fitting and again almost funny in the context of her character. You know how she’s always convinced she’s the only sane person in the room when actually she’s the unhinged one 24/7 and not self aware about that in the slightest? Yeah. That’s big retrograde uranus vibes.

Oh Yuuji... I could talk about your pisces sun all day 🥺 I could get Very technical and meta about the pisces association with the twelfth house and the fact that it’s ruled by neptune and what that says about his character, but I don’t have the room or the time so I’ll save that for another post. For now I’ll just say that the fact that he cares so deeply for others regardless of how well he knows them, the way he feels his feelings so intensely and is very intuituve/sensitive to others needs, him being interested in the occult before he ever found Sukuna’s fist finger, it all just seems more pisces to me than any other sign. And him having pisces mercury + pisces uranus in addition to his sun is also very sweet... our boy really thinks with his heart at all hours of the day doesn’t he?

His libra moon is such a fitting placement, too, because this moon is all about relationships - not just romance but bonds of all kinds, friends and family and companions of any sort. Yuuji as a character is so motivated by the bonds he shares with others and his desire to not be alone, especially on his deathbed. Libra moons are charming and personable and find it very easy to connect with others, they are deeply concerned with justice and will be accepting of everyone except for people who are cruel (exhibit a: just look how he responded to mahito). I think it’s a very apt moon for him to have.

Tbh if I were picking and choosing I might have loaded him up with yet more pisces energy and given him my favourite placement in the whole world, venus in pisces. But he actually has an aquarius venus and I think that’s so interesting! The part of this placement that speaks to his character for me is the way that aquarius venus love is defined by radical acceptance - there is never any judgement (I won’t judge you, Junpei!), because this venus seeks not only to see and understand but to be seen and understood in turn. Some say aquarius venus is an emotionally detached placement. I think that’s a mischaracterisation, but it is true that aquarius placements can be low key scared of intimacy and vulnerability even when they crave it lmao. An aquarius venus will sort through turmoil in their heart by retreating to think it over in isolation, rather than by submitting to the mortifying ordeal of being known and reaching out. Manga readers if u know u know

All I can say about his capricorn mars is that it definitely embodies that determined protagonist vibe. Thoughts like ‘I want to get stronger, I want to be the best, I’ll put in the work to come out on top’ are very capricorn thoughts to have, and the drive and forward momentum associated with mars really push them to the front of his character. But also, again; an underdeveloped capricorn mars under stress will shut out possibilities for connection with loved ones by dedicating themselves to their job or cause. Yuuji learn healthy coping mechanisms challenge 2k21.

[raijinden]

     meta.001 on the subject of the FUTURE OF INAZUMA && THE CONCEPT OF ETERNITY

     ( warning !! heavily references information present within the 2.1 Omnipresence over Mortals questline as well as the Imperatrix Umbrosa Act I: Reflections of Mortality questline !! )

      “ what I take from these stories is not so much the content itself, but what they represent in terms of the effects of time upon Inazuma. -- in accordance with my wishes, the Shogun did her best to create an eternal nation. a nation that, in theory, should remain entirely unchanged over time ...

     i'm wary of any and all change, but I do not wish for my pursuit of eternity to stop human lives from changing for the better. “

     as ei makes abundantly clear through the visitation of her own city with the traveler and paimon at her side, she finds herself at a very critical crossroads in her life for a number of subjects . she must re - evaluate what eternity means to her and how she will continue that pursuit, what she must do to ensure her citizens remain protected, yet able to change and evolve further-- and in the light who she and the shogun are . additionally, she is coming to terms with the modernity that her nation has become since the last time she walked upon it .

     the greatest and most apparent impact that affected bael during the cataclysm of khaenri ‘ ah was, of course, the passing of her sister . you could call this the ‘ icing on the cake ‘-- having dealt with the untimely passing of the tengu general sasyuri during the inazuman civil war between followers of narukami and followers of orobaxi, the corruption of the oni swordmaiden chiyo which would result in her turning her blade upon bael, and the sudden disappearance of the revered kitsune saiguu . inazuma had ever been jointly ruled under baal and bael since the archon war reached its conclusion, founded and maintained for 1500 years of unchanging and relatively peaceful rule until these events, in fairly rapid succession, would assail her . with but one confidante to confide in in the form of the newly appointed guuji yae miko, yet no desire to load her troubles and problems onto someone else, she would decline so rapidly, and so terribly too .

     eternity has ever been the domain of the inazuman archon, and it was bael’s firm belief that it ought not to change-- not with the reverence and respect and adoration of their god that she saw in the people . and so she decided to let that eternity live on, to take up the mantle of her beloved sibling, to take her name and her role and pretend things were as they were not-- she had played the part of ‘ baal ‘ many a time during archon gatherings . but oh, she found quickly that she was not prepared to be a true ruler . she was a warrior, the age - old kagemusha who hid in the shadows, who paraded with a hundred demons and rained judgement lightning upon the enemies of the shogunate . she was no shogun ... no ruler, and there were many a time she would falter before her council-- ‘ what would makoto do ? ‘ ‘ how would she respond ? ‘-- for it was makoto who was a ruler, and ei who was a warrior . but though the two differed greatly in their style of leadership, what did not change was the love they held for the people .

     and so it was that she, in recognizing her failings, constructed the ideal ruler . one who could fearlessly and faultlessly seek out ‘ eternity ‘ for herself and for her people, all the while bael could return to her position of old-- to hide in the shadows . once again there was a figurehead of power that she worked and supported from behind-- though she was ever reminded when speaking to the Shogun that it was she who was supported instead . and thus, with knowledge blessed of her last living companion, she vanished, self - imposed sealing within her blade to ever remain strong of spirit in contemplation of the eternity she sought, while the Shogun would keep safe the people .

     and for 500 years, she sat in utter silence . the shogun would not ever speak to her, did not ever need to seek council for she was stalwart, and ei was fine with that . she had faith in what she created, in the blessedly simple directive ‘ seek eternity ‘ .

     so when it is that the traveler is the first being she sees in hundreds of years ... she is confronted once again with the confusion from before . the shogun could not have faltered, and she had not been inquired by the one without, so why then, were there those who opposed her with all their might ? but still ... she remains faithful in the shogun, and remains contemplative . contemplative even as the traveler returns, and yae miko herself appears within the plane of euthymia and she loses a duel for the first time in her long, long 2000 years .

     and contemplative she returns, demanding a period of ‘ rest ‘ in which she grows introspective, changing the shogun’s directives and debating what the proper step forward would be, until the traveler, once again, seeks her out and invites her out .

     as with so many other things in this eventful year of hers, it is the first time in 500 years she has returned to the mortal plane . and oh, by the gods, how it changed-- she is so overwhelmed she damn near returns to her blade . ( for retrospect, let us consider the 500 year difference in our world:

          the 1500s were rampant with disease, conquest and invading of ‘ uninhabited ‘ or ‘ barbaric ‘ lands is very much the norm in spite of its despicable nature-- there is no separation of church and state in most places, and in fact, religious systems are something of an overbearing force on societies at large . if we were to step through a door that transported us to the 2000s, say, current day, would it not leave us shell - shocked ? to go from that, to a world where food can be stored for days, weeks on end, can suddenly be warmed up in a little box-- to see a means of communication with people all around the world a manner of seconds ? now certainly, teyvat is no earth, there are not towering builds of metal, save for the factories of snezhnaya as we know of now, but it is still such a monumental difference ) .

     to step out into this world, to walk a street she rules over, but has never seen in her life-- it is unbelievably eye - opening to ei, who has spent half of millennium staring at the same, run - down torii gates on a backdrop of bleak scarlet . her concept of eternity is shaken unto its very core-- and it only further is turned on its head as she sees how her people live .

          everyone is very uptight and fearful to her-- and she has said before that she is no fan of lofty titles . she sees tomoki, finds delight in his stall and the dango milk he has-- but she learns that he is unsuccessful because people are afraid to try something new-- they are afraid of CHANGE, and so they do not even know what they miss out on . her curiosity in yae’s other pursuits brings her to the publishing house wherein she learns of her people’s passions . they are no books or literature she has ever before written-- and she has such interest in each book that is presented to her--

she’s intrigued by the liyue martial arts story, even claiming that she would dearly delight in sparring with the main character and that she has a respect of his sense of justice

the daily life romance story presents her with the concept of challenging decisions with regards to love-- something she does not quite understand in her claim that one could simply choose all seven interests-- which she is told would make a poor love story, and she realizes she has a different view on ‘ love ‘ than her people

finally, perhaps the most interesting one, the reincarnation adventure story . it gives a very clear cut view of how at least some of her subjects view her, or rather, the shogun . she is not in the least insulted, but instead applauds the creativity and imaginative writing ( also noting that publications are approved by yae miko, and this one too must have crossed her path ) .

     even in spite of this ‘ eternity ‘ that she seeks, having believed for so long that it meant stagnation and unchanging in the face of time, the people have changed . and, perhaps more interesting to her, is that the Shogun did not view this as a threat to eternity-- so why then, should she ?

     finally, she is given an inside look at her own executive system, the inner conflicts within the tenryou commission in the face of the kujou clan’s treachery . with the traveler at her side, she enters the mountain - side base and bears witness to a sight she had seen just weeks before-- her people attempting to curry favor to themselves by providing falsities .

      “ if you still think you can copy the fatui's strategy of providing me with deceptive information to produce flaws in my judgment... “

     yet, where the kujou clan head did this with the firm belief that the almighty shogun would simply triumph over the fatui anyway, the takatsukasa clan head did this knowingly in the belief that his clan would benefit . even with the Shogun’s unwavering and eternal gaze, there are still things that cause her people to suffer . she sees this now for her own eyes, in her own body when she stands somewhere the shogun would never have even considered . and so she decides then that she will return . there may be a time for her and a time for the shogun, but she will be among her people again . whether that is simply traversing the tenshukaku grounds or descending into the city proper to ensure she always has an understanding of her people that is not based on what others tell her .

     “ the Shogun does not make mistakes — she is incapable of doing so. but i, as ei, would like to offer my apologies. “

     she recognizes that she has made a grave miscalculation, but for the first time in her life, she has elected not to hide away for it, but to take responsibility for it . though the traveler is not the one she has wronged most severely, the fact that she apologizes is incredibly significant . she understands that she has failed-- that it was not the Shogun who failed inazuma, but that she did in not understanding how much it affected her people, how much it was not eternity for her people she was seeking, but a selfish wish of her own .

     she recognizes too that one, single apology to the only person who managed to best her in combat is not even a drop in the ocean of work she has to make up for 500 years of ignorance . on the conclusion of her story quest, she states that she will return to her plane, but that her solitude will not last much longer .

     ei convenes with the Shogun, on the subject of reprogramming, and the nature in which they might jointly have a place within the body that was once only the Shogun’s . when she concludes her ages long period of reflection, she begins her work in earnest -- she has had 500 years to ponder the nature of eternity, and how it effects both herself and her people, and that period of time is at its end . she spends well upon a week in deep concentration, remembering the years before the grief, remembering the words of the kitsune saiguu, of torachiyo, of sasayuri and most of all, of makoto . she is no born ruler as her sister was, she is a warrior, but for inazuma that she loves with all that is left of her heart, she will learn to be the ruler that it deserves, had long deserved for 500 years .

     the second fear that was born of the cataclysm of khaenri ‘ ah, was the fear for her people . because khaenri ‘ ah was godless, its people sought to elevate themselves in that place, and they became so wise, so very, very wise . oh, how celestia did not like that . and so it was that ei and her sister went to fight in a war for a cause which they did not believe in, and it was not the sister bathed in blood that would pay the price, but the sister the people looked to that would . especially in current day, ei deathly fears celestia and the whim in which it acts upon-- what if that temper one day fell upon inazuma for their successes ?

     long ago, ei’s eternity hinged upon stagnation because if the people did not ever change, then celestia would never find reason to decimate them, to take the people that held what fragments of her heart remained from her . now she realizes that no matter what, people will change, they will soldier forward . why then, she thinks, should they feel the weight of a god who opposes this inevitably so staunchly . if the day should come that celestia turns their hellishly divine gaze upon inazuma with fire in its hands, ei would now sooner die fighting tooth and nail for their ability to grow ever stronger and ever greater rather than opposing and weakening them for celestia to come and sweep away what remains .

     and so she is different now . she walks on shaky legs for a future that she does not know if she believes in wholly yet, but it is a future that her people look upon with eagerness in their eyes, and so the electro archon’s eternity will align .

     eternity is a ceaseless and unattainable thing for humans, but for ei, it is the belief that every sun she watches raise will do so over the people she has protected even though they are not the people of yesterday, and the people of tomorrow may not be them . the people change, this is something she cannot control, time goes on whether she likes it or not . but no matter how many times the hands on a clock spin, they will always and eternally ever be inazuma’s people, and she will always give blood and blade for them .

     and the only moment that that fact will cease to be true will be the day that celestia hurls a blade of judgement through her chest and cuts away at the one who no longer bears their ‘ gift ‘ .

     “ inazuma shines eternal “

[lordeasriel]

ATTWN: A Look at Miss Brent

I keep circling around the idea of writing And Then There Were None meta, like a full, proper analysis of the novel, but I just can't settle down on how to do it, cause I do have many thoughts, but I can't seem to organise them in a way it will make sense. But-

I was thinking about Miss Brent today, and she's not exactly a character I have that many thoughts compared to Vera or Armstrong, but she certainly has my interest. What strikes me stronger about her is her complacency, in a way.

Let's look at the novel first: here's this sixty-something woman, a spinster who takes on girls from local charities/orphanages to train them into proper maids or whatever. It's not an unusual thing for that time based on the rest of Christie's novels, it seemed like a common occurrence for the period. At any rate, she's very righteous, uptight, her belief is almost borderline fanatical, she never hesitates over her "innocence" in front of the accusations, and the thing is: she doesn't deny shunning the girl away.

Unlike the others, who remain resilient on their innocence (Lombard the exception cause he literally confessed right away), Miss Brent never denies that she did refuse to help Beatrice. In her own mind, she didn't do anything wrong - and if we're going there, in its fucked up way, she technically didn't do anything wrong. She had no familial attachment to the girl, she didn't have to do anything for her legally speaking; morally, of course, she should have but we don't arrest people for being morally corrupt lmao Let alone death sentence them. *coughs*

But what gets me it's her complacency. You know, I'm blaming this on the windy day, but thinking about her, sitting by herself almost all the time (including when she died), she never does anything. Unlike the others, Vera included considering how Christie often writes the women isolated, Miss Brent never gets involved in either investigating or helping them to find a way out; she just sits and knits and eventually bosses Vera around or say some mean stuff to someone. She doesn't act, which is odd for us as a reader; I mean, if I was in her spot I would have already made a signal for help, even with the bad weather lmao This book heavily traumatised me anyway--

Miss Brent doesn't act, that's my main point. In her head, I suppose she expects some sort of divine intervention, in its way; not a miracle, but you know, she expected her righteousness guaranteed her safety. She sees the other deaths as punishment, she thinks them all guilty, perhaps not the General or Wargrave, but I've no doubt she considers the rest of them wicked and deserving of the punishment, but never herself. She didn't do anything wrong, she has got nothing to feel sorry for. There is a whole section, where Vera asks Miss Brent if she is not afraid or if she simply doesn't mind dying. To which she reacts exactly like I said before, like she was above them all, like death wouldn't come for her.

Now, I will just vaguely go over the show because I think their choice of handling her was an interesting one. I like most of the choices made by show, except the ending which I'll save for another day of ranting, but Miss Brent in the show behaves similarly, but her background gets deeper. For one there was two key things - I say two because I've seen two different interpretations of this - and they were 1) repressed lesbian and 2) predator. Now, these two could coexist with each other, she could have been taking in girls to take advantage of them, but I don't know, I think it would be hard for her to do that always, so I like to think if repressed lesbian was it, then it makes more sense for her crime and her reaction. It would be related to a feeling of betrayal - "I've given you a home, a job, affection and you still went behind my back to be a whore" - and it's something Miss Brent would probably not acknowledge. She was always too religious, too righteous, so Beatrice probably haunted her more in death than she did in life: no one would believe this ragged girl over any accusations - even if there was consent on her part. But that's just beside the point.

What I mean for the show is, they go in a different direction. Miss Brent's reactions over the murders are a little more in line with her religious dynamic for the show: when Tony dies, she makes a little prayer, she worries about Mrs. Rogers state when she sees her passed out (despite the fact she humiliated her earlier over being meek and weak and so on), she has a judgemental attitude towards Vera, but even that comes from a place of almost understanding? She still judges them harshly, but she is a lot less harsh to the ones she consider less harmful (aka she is absolutely distasteful about Lombard, whose crime is easily the worst crime in the show and she thinks so).

Of course, all of her views and beliefs and behaviours are based on her own lifestyle, so she is a bit blind and biased - when Lombard points out about the missionaries crimes in Africa, after she calls him out; or when she states she couldn't imagine crossing paths with a man like him, despite the fact she knows well enough they're all there because they're guilty - so she is bound to hypocrisy every now and again. But her fanaticism from the book is turned into a proper, religious attitude; she does abide by the Bible, she condemns very little her other companions (I mean, she still judges Vera over her youth and her inertia, she judges Armstrong's lack of calm, she judges Lombard because well, because of his Existence™ lmao) She is, of course, judgmental and vain and arrogant, but this is less cartoony and more realistic. More importantly, because her beliefs are much more ingrained in her life, she is afraid. She is genuinely afraid and that is an important, key change that I genuinely like.

Miss Brent has faith, at first, that they will leave the Island, so she stills acts very coldly at first and of course, she still denies her guilt, she still claims she did the right thing and Beatrice caused her own undoing. But, the show pursues the idea that Miss Brent, upon being reminded of the event, starts to feel guilt: when she is praying she hallucinates Beatrice (hallucionation was a choice they did to convey these feelings, but you could just claim that's a memory in her head); and more importantly, before her death - which happens the day after she hallucinates - her demeanor changes entirely. She goes from trying to stay calm and resolute before the tide, to feeling weary. That's important because unlike Book! Emily, she is fully aware she has committed a sin, and now whether that is her neglect of Beatrice's pleas or her own feelings for her, that's beside the point. The point is this woman realises she is very close to meet her maker and the burden of having sinned wears her down.

Miss Brent also adds "It's only wool" when Vera is pouring her coffee (which I had to crop cause Gif size), which is her redirecting her distress to something mundane (in another scene later, Vera mentions how doing the dishes is a mundane task, which she finds soothing. In fact, seeking a sense of normalcy is a recurring theme for the show, but also for the book) and ordinary. Vera, of course, notices her distress over being hunted; she shares the feeling, and I don't want to focus too much on Vera because I'll talk about her eventually later, but this shows how Miss Brent changes drastically.

On their first conversation after the dinner, Vera's impression of Miss Brent is of an uptight, self-righteous, straight-up cruel woman and she avoids her if she can help it, and truth be told, Miss Brent does act very badly and says bad things, Vera is not being touchy about it. So when Vera lays the coffee tray, she is ready to walk away before Miss Brent addresses her (she even makes a dry remark on "There is no milk, I'm afraid", which is meant to spite Miss Brent's earlier attitude over asking for perfect eggs after Mrs Rogers died and so on), and Miss Brent talks so unlike herself, a weariness that makes Vera reconsider and come back, to pour her coffee. She feels sorry for Miss Brent, because she finally cracked like the others; Miss Brent knows now that no amount of faith might defend her from this killer, because this killer has got nothing to do with a justice kill.

She stays seated, knitting again, but when she reaches for the coffee she hesitates. She realises Vera could have poisoned it (before entering the room, since she watches Vera pouring the coffee), and then she puts it down. There is a sense of danger in her, and she has no desire to die, unlike in the book where she so casually just stays behind, unafraid in her own attitude of superiority. I like this change a lot; I think showing her fear before her God enhances her religious mania a lot more, because she truly fears Divine Judgement, because she understands, deep down, that she did a bad thing; maybe not murder - I mean, it wasn't murder after all - but she still did a morally bad thing. If there is a Heaven, it won't be for her.

[flightofaqrow]

mini-metas: volume 7

in b4 hiatus and vol 8 start. i want to do them for some smaller random things I think of each volume but not all of them were happening tonight, so the older volumes can wait. these probably float in between meta, headcanon, and prediction status. i probably could go deeper into some, but i’m on a time restriction at this point.

1. the scarecrow has his brain back. WoZ has always been about the companions realizing what they had was there all along. qrow going sober is him finding his mind again. i still believe this is also symbolized by the discarding of his portate cross. i do not believe the reference means losing his mind at the end of the volume. by his crying, the body language and facial expressions alone, we watch him starting to go through grief in a healthy way. not that he isn’t effected at all, but i don’t see him compromising his wits over it. consider also his exchange in chapter 2 with Ironwood, being able to explain the tactics behind plans soon as they were mentioned. on point.

2. qrow is starting to differentiate what is and isn’t due to his semblance. this is a little carry-over from vol 6, but i’m putting it here to go with the next point. i think the change from traveling alone ( where it was really easy to fall into self-fulfilling prophecies and have nothing and no one to challenge his beliefs) to traveling with others ( where it gets more complicated with more people involved; it’s also easier to see from an outside view where other people’s actions might have consequences, not just his own ) started to show him some things. this comes to a head on the train when Grimm attack, and we see Blake trying to blame herself (”Just my luck”) and qrow taking it on instead (”Not yours”). BUT then we find out from Ozpin that it’s the relic’s fault. i think qrow’s surprise not only comes from having something new Oz was hiding revealed to him, but a real, undeniable, tangible contradiction to something he believed was his fault. he has to face that, he has to accept that. and with him being as smart as he is, i believe that opened his eyes at least a tiny hint to start looking around at other cause and effects before he blames himself.

3. (to me) we see a huge example of 1 and 2 with Forrest’s murder. you know what blew me away? when we find out Forrest was killed. because i fully expected qrow to react in some manner of “oh no this person who was in the vehicle, who crossed paths with me, is now dead. i wonder if that’s my fault? i should feel guilty!!” except that wasn’t even close. he looks as surprised and concerned that someone’s dead as the rest of them do, but he recovers quickly. and instead of trying to blame himself, looks at the bigger picture and immediately and correctly pins the fact that someone is out there trying to frame / politically sabotage Ironwood. ( “ Your opposition in Mantle dropping dead isn’t exactly a good look for you, huh?” )  

4. his snooze in the transport vehicle was due to lost sleep from dealing with withdrawal symptoms. we all know there had to be at least some, and this is the only scene of him being really off, aside from maybe arrival in atlas when everyone was tired. it was probably just meant to be a joke about early mornings and boring rides, but it’s all we get so i’m taking it.

5. qrow didn’t mind that Ozpin kept secrets, but was hurt over being lied to. this is a vol 6 topic, but i put it here because i don’t think it becomes clear until vol 7. this belief is a combination of “don’t lie to [Oscar], Ruby. we’re better than that” and “there were a lot of [Ozpin secrets] back in our day.” the latter (and the wistful but calm way it was said) seems to imply he knew things were being hidden, but trusted Ozpin to have his reasons at the time. obviously there is more to unpack in this topic, but i just wanted to point out the impact of that particular line.

6. this is just me complaining that i wish we knew what qrow did with his night off. ( i have several wishes and guesses but no evidence for any one over the others so happy headcanoning i guess. )

7. he doesn’t blame himself for Clover’s death (mostly). in the cosmic sense of “everyone I get close to seems to have something go wrong”, qrow probably wonders. but (see number 1 and 2!! ) i think it’s very clear he’s blaming Ironwood for putting Clover in the position of having to fight, and not himself or his semblance, overall. ( how he feels about the details of it all, and him technically being an accomplice by the end of the fight, remains to be seen.)

this also leads into:

8. “take the fall” does NOT mean qrow intends to KILL James. he has a vendetta to fulfill, for sure. and I don’t think he’s against it involving James’s death if it has to. but i believe this line only implies that qrow wants to see consequences/justice for what’s happened; for James to fall from grace and lose his power and authority, because clearly he’s not making (what qrow believes to be) proper decisions as a leader anymore.

[post volume 8 edit: alright, this one was off. he had murder on the mind. but I am going to take credit for it being where he ultimately lands, morally. and for calling that Robyn would talk him down. :] ]

9. qrow's not going to relapse. definitely not in volume 8, but i hope not at all. i’m not 100% about it, and i wouldn’t die on this hill, but considering all of the above (and the support he has around him), i do believe it enough to say it’s what i think.