#plus it allows you to play with the morality of killing and what ways to fight are ok

[weedle-testaburger]

unpopular opinion but actually i love when heroes refuse to kill their enemies and no one is gonna make me not love it

[teeth-cable]

Why Lucifer being a good person is fucking stupid:

So in the show canon Lucifer and Lilith were kicked out because they were dreamers and gave Eve the fruit of knowledge. Based off the lore of Helluva Boss Lucifer 99% is the sin of Pride. In the show Lucifer is just a quirky theatre major who just wants to reconnect with his daughter...

Ok so lets analyze why this does not make sense in the worldbuilding. Lucifer is the King of Hell, a.k.a. a place full of homicidal maniacs and various other people. And since angelic weapons can harm angels (which is stupid btw) and sinners have been stealing weapons left behind by angels... Lucifer logistically cannot be a good person because these people could just decide to try to murder him if he was too weak. He needs the sinners and populace to fear him or respect him. Since Helluva takes place in the same setting Lucifer must have put in the social hierarchy of hell, approved it or doesn't do anything about it. Which means he plays some part in Stolas and Stella being forced to wed and the imps plus hellhounds being treated like garbage.

Then we get into story construction problems. Like if Charlie and Lucifer have a good relationship instantly then almost all the problems in the show can be solved at a snap of a finger because of Lucifer's power level. Its a similar problem with Alastor but worse because Lucifer is stronger. Like Alastor tho is implied to be weakened and forced to do this so there is intrigue storywise and limits on his personality and power. Lucifer is angel and can just like idk zap the Vees. Theres no threat, risk or anything now.

Also this Lucifer may have slept with Eve which either implies he cheated on Lilith or Adam was cheated on twice and Lucifer also agreed with genocide

And what wouldve been better is Lucifer being a shitty dad or person WHICH WE HAD IN THE PILOT. Like Lucifer being awful is actually better for the previous reasons and Charlie's own character. Like Charlie is supposed to be an underdog despite being princess and has an impossible task and if her father doesnt believe in her theres another personal level to then and maybe some of the audience could connect with her. And if Charlie's dad hates her or something you could easily write in and make Charlie struggle more by having him cut off her resources. Heck if her dad is awful then you can write in how Charlie feels about being so morally different. Then slowly build up to when we see Lucifer for the first time and actually have it feel special

This just makes me missed the pilot even more. While it did have it's own problems with the worldbuilding and characters, a majority of its ideas were still believable.

A better angle for Lucifer would be if he was a morally grey character. He can still be a decent father but a terrible ruler. Of course, that angle wouldn't work because everything in this show has to be black and white, where it literally tells you in a song, "Cause the rules are black and white" despite the same show critiquing its Heaven for the same black and white thinking.

I'm not against the idea of Lucifer being a decent father because there are still other ways the show can create conflict between him and Charlie. For example, he does get her the meeting into Heaven but it's at a cost. If she's unable to convinced Heaven, she has to abandon the hotel. Or maybe he is skeptical of Charlie's idea so he makes her overcome the hotel's problems, like the Vees, alone, to prove how strong and passionate she is. Of course, if they hurt Charlie, he can easily kill them, but it can serve as a great character moment for the both of them. Charlie learning Hell is brutal, Lucifer now hating the hotel because it will hurt Charlie, and create a new conflict where Charlie and Lucifer are against each other. Or the fact Lucifer was the one who allowed the exterminations to happened and Charlie has to undo her father's actions.

I'm only focusing on Lucifer being a "good" person through parenting because almost everything else, he's a bad guy. Not only was this the same man who allowed the yearly genocide of the sinners but also he created the classist, racist social hierarchy and system in Hell, and let the pride ring become so awful, the overlords, a group of powerful sinners, are taking advantage of regular sinners daily.

[alwaysyouuuuuu]

Wolfstar Marvel AU

Folks.

Consider, consider, consider.

1940s.

Sirius as Steve Rogers and Remus as Bucky Barnes. And I mean it in a very, very vague sense.

So starting off like the comics-ish. So, Sirius is drafted a year before Remus is. (he wasn't allowed to, at first, because his family is practically HYDRA royalty, bffs with Voldemort (=Schmidt) and they kept tabs on him. But then Dumbledore (= scientist Erskine) lets him in after hearing his convictions etc.) And he is good at the stuff, a good soldier, good morals.

Remus joins up the next year, and he is in intel (like the Space AU haha) or in the Defense force. They barely get to see each other sometimes but they love each other and persevere (Wondering about period typical attitudes)

Situations get tougher and it is decided (by Erskine=Dumbledore?) that Sirius gets to take the Serum because it enhances the qualities of a person, right? So it has to be a person with strong ethics, i.e., Sirius.

There they meet James (=Howard Stark) and Agent Evans (Peggy Carter) and they get on like a house of fire.

(I am still figuring out where Peter fits in. It's been a while since I watched the movies.)

Sirius becomes the public face of the war, and now they are being sent on longer Missions. They need someone who knows every crook of the enemy bases, so Remus is there too (besides he is ruthless in a fight, did I mention that? when he does, he fights to kill.)

They are a formidable team when they work in together, and at a point HYDRA notices how protective they are of each other. Captain America is ruining a lot of their plans plus together they are a nightmare to HYDRA. Voldemort (= Schmidt = Red Skull) is not going to come out in the open for a common leech and they do not have another super soldier to subdue Sirius (can you imagine voldemort giving the horcrux idea to his death eaters?). But they can break him, right?

So they capture Remus (why is that a common theme in anything i think of) (We could have the whole him being kidnapped and rescued and then he falls off a train thing here. But I would be here typing the whole day, so.)

Anyways. After intense searches involving James (= howard stark) and Lily (= agent carter), Remus is assumed dead. Sirius is catatonic. He becomes single minded. He doesn't know what is to happen of the War, what he does know, is that Voldemort needs to lose the Tesseract. They confront each other, Voldemort manhandles the tesseract, gets pulled into space and the plane is damaged. The plane can't be saved, and Sirius wouldn't have even if he could.

*falls into the Arctic* and James finds his body and the tesseract in the permafrost.

And NOW we have the best part.

When he wakes up after 70 (?) years, Moody (=Fury) offers him the SHIELD initiative. And he accepts, of course, because what else does he have? He is dedicated, devotes himself to missions tirelessly, doesn't dwell on how the world has changed, doesn't dwell on the past if he can help it.

And then Loki brings trouble, and Moody gets him to the *Potter Industries*. The first time Sirius sees Harry, he almost has a heart attack (they might have a bit of an issue working together, because c'mon the past is hitting Sirius on the head.)

Another person he meets is a 20 something year old Agent Elena Chernova. Brown hair, grey eyes. Calls herself the Black Widow, fights every fight like it is her last, and is incredibly private. Well, Sirius can respect that. He doesn't give it much thought and they get on very well. And it turns out they fight well together, too. So well, that he gets whiplash sometimes from back the way he and Remus worked. Nope, he doesn't dwell on it.

Later, they hang out together. Sometimes, they play soccer. Sometimes, they rant about SHIELD policies to each other. Sirius joins *that* group therapy club and she does too. Fast friends, and they grow to rely on each other.

A few years later, Elena collects data from a ship's computer, Moody discovers SHIELD has been compromised, and is shot by

... the Winter Soldier.

and they discover SHIELD has been compromised. They start to gather data with help from Neville (=Sam?) and during a car chase, the Winter Soldier's mask slips.

And surprise, surprise. It's Remus.

Sirius' world is shook to the core and he probably would be rooted to the spot except. Elena sees him too. Now Sirius understands why he is standing there letting himself get beaten bloody by the love of his life who he himself saw fall to death and then mourned 70 years ago. He has seen a ghost.

What he doesn't understand is why Elena is standing there frozen and looking like she has seen a ghost.

[fushiglow]

I wonder what would happen if Saturo hadn't killed Suguru would he be expelled or banned from the jujutsu school?

The higher ups would only be shooting themselves in the foot by doing so. I don't think they'd risk someone as powerful as Gojō becoming a curse user by alienating him like that. Plus, although they don't see it this way, they *really* need him on their side because he's their strongest weapon against the 'wave of power' that's approaching — until his students are strong enough to take it on themselves.

The relationship between Gojō and the higher ups is incredibly fraught. They despise him because he actively works to undermine the status quo, but they're powerless to stop him from doing so. He despises them because they needlessly throw away lives, but he knows that forcing compliance through fear won't achieve anything in the long run. So, they're in a stalemate until Gojō can build up 'strong and intelligent allies'.

Because of his overwhelming strength, Gojō can afford to only carry out orders that he wants to. That includes refusing to kill Getō, despite the execution order. I think Gojō only takes on so many missions to protect his students — hence why the higher ups go out of their way to distract Gojō so they can send the first years to the juvenile detention centre and, hopefully, their deaths.

If Gojō just decided not to bother exorcising curses any more, can you imagine how many more students would die like Haibara every year? Gojō is almost the one man army preventing the prospective 'pile of corpses' that drove Getō into becoming a curse user. The mayhem that breaks out after he's sealed in the Prison Realm is evidence of that — exactly like Ino predicts!

So, on the one hand, I can't actually imagine they'd choose to banish him and, on the other hand, I can't imagine he'd pay the order any heed even if they did. Everything we've seen suggests that Gojō could have found and killed Getō at any time, so I think they could have already banished him on those grounds if that was what they wanted to do. It just isn't convenient for them — but having him trapped and powerless inside the Prison Realm is, which is why they put all those measures in place to *keep* him in there.

Although your question is based on a hypothetical, I also want to add that I personally don't think there was any scenario where Gojō wouldn't kill Getō at the end of Jujutsu Kaisen 0. As much as I love fic and art which explores an alternate timeline where Getō is welcomed back to jujutsu society, it could never happen and Gojō knew that. I think his decision to kill Getō was entirely his own in the end, and it comes down to two reasons:

1. He didn't want anyone else to do it

Getō was heavily injured and there was a risk that someone else would find him and finish him off if Gojō let him go. There's a popular headcanon that anyone else killing Getō is an unthinkable idea to both of them, and while I like playing with that idea, I actually don't think Gojō wanted to be the one to kill Getō at all — because of the below panel:

I think it really comes down to the fact that Gojō would allow Getō far more dignity in death than anyone else who found him, aside from perhaps Yaga, Shōko, Nanami etc. We already know he went out of his way to prevent Shōko from having to deal with Getō's body, so I can see Gojō coming to the self-sacrificing conclusion that he's the only person who can execute Getō, both for Getō's sake and for the sake of their friends and allies.

2. Gojō couldn't look away from his crimes any longer

More importantly, I think Getō finally went far enough that Gojō could no longer justify turning a blind eye to his actions. While Gojō *is* more morally grey than most characters in Jujutsu Kaisen, the one thing he always seeks to protect is youth. I think he probably resigned himself to the fact he could no longer avoid the issue as soon as Getō declared war, knowing the death and destruction he would cause.

Because of that, I've always thought there's more nuance to Gojō's words here than simply an expression of long-standing trust in his best friend:

I think Gojō *did* trust Getō not to kill young sorcerers, but does that excuse what he did to Gojō's students? To Maki especially? I don't think so, and I actually don't think Gojō does either.

I think it's possible to read his words about 'trust' from a purely pragmatic standpoint. Gojō is an incredible tactician and I actually think he played on Getō's weakness here, sending his own students to certain defeat on the basis that he *trusted* Getō not to finish them off. He trusted that Getō's desire to create a world of sorcerers would prevent him from needlessly killing his students — and he was right!

That doesn't make his actions any less uncomfortable to think about, which is why Getō implies Gojō is cruel — despite the fact that *he's* the one who beat up a bunch of kids lol. I don't think reading it this way takes away from the feeling between the two of them, but I think it's important not to overlook the ability to be cold and calculating in either of them.

From a less practical point of view, I think Gojō making the decision to kill Getō is a painful metaphor for Gojō finally choosing to 'free' himself of the 'curse' called Getō Suguru. I've talked before about how Gege Akutami parallels Gojō and Getō with Yūta and Rika and this is perhaps the biggest parallel — both Gojō and Yūta make an active choice to 'free' themselves of the curses of their pasts (bearing in mind that it was written before the main series which calls that into question on Gojō's behalf at least).

I went a little (a lot) off course, but I hope you don't mind! Jujutsu Kaisen has such fantastic politics and I wanted to paint the full picture in my answer! Thanks for the question ♥

[purplemninja]

Little Nightmares hot takes

[Feel free to comment or reblog with hot takes of your own]

Someone on the LN subreddit asked for people's hot takes and I commented a bunch of spicy ones that I have, which I will copy and paste here (though the last one will have something added to it):

1- People who say that Mono is an uwu-softboi or portray him as such are awful and are doing him a disservice. Like, you can not look at his battle against the Thin Man and pretend that he's a pacifist, not to mention the other kills he made in-game. His fight against the Thin Man and moving the tower towards himself is his most badass moment and these rougher edges to him make him a much more interesting character. So by taking that away and acting like he wouldn't hurt a fly really doesn't do Mono's character and arc any favours, it just ruins it, so people have seriously got to stop thinking that he's a 'pwecious widdle angel' when he clearly isn't, especially when it hurts his character and story.

2- I'm pretty sure that people are expecting this one but the fandom needs to lay off Six, and way the fandom makes it so that Six must either be totally good or totally bad and is not allowed to be morally grey (in between) is so irritating. Just like with Mono, taking away Six's rough edges or smooth ones hurt her character and make her way less interesting. Also no surprise that I say this but the way that the anti-Six people treat her is so awful.

3- In addition to what I said about the golden child Mono stans in number 1, the way that the FNAF books treat Henry is very much like how the fandom treats Mono - only his suffering matters, screw everyone else. Or some go even stupider and treat all of the characters in LN except Six sort of in the same way that the FNAF books treat Henry, basically like "Six and her suffering? She should shut up and suck it up" or even going as far to say that she deserves her suffering. While just about all the other characters (Mono most especially) have their suffering dealt with a gentle hand.

4- I'm pretty sure this is ghost-pepper level spicy but it's so dumb that the fandom claims that Roger is nice. Like bruh, he literally has blood stains on his vest, chases kids, you can hear one that he catches whimpering as he takes them away, wraps them up to be taken to the kitchen, and there's a bloody guillotine in vicinity. Just because he doesn't kill Six or RK on-screen means he's nice? What?

5- They should've made a LN2 DLC where you play the game as Six and get to see her perspective of everything that happened, especially that scene. Make them step out of their Mono/Thin Man tunnel vision and focus on Six and her suffering too for a change instead of making Mono's overshadow everything.

6- Six being the Lady would be disappointing AF and lazy that they're recycling Mono's fate. I'd be better off if Six was the next Lady and not the same one encountered in LN1, but I still prefer a different way for her story to go (or maybe make my new depressing interpretation of her ending (where she's not the lady but is still stranded at sea with no innocence or humanity left, making everything she went through all be for nothing in the end) the actual ending for her).

Plus, you're telling me that the remaining staff on the Maw (The Twin Chefs) were like "Oh, this kid that we tried to murder earlier is our boss now" and Six is like "Oh, I'm not going to kill these guys who tried to add me to the menu earlier. Plus I'll hire an exact copy of the Janitor and get a replacement for the one and only mirror I was able to fight the Lady with since it broke and try to board it up in the same room that I found it in. Yeah, it tooootaaaally would prevent another me from being able to get it in the exact same way that I did".

Not only that but they also put a child in charge of dealing with other business-related stuff on the Maw like shipments of coal and vegetables (or maybe someone else did that)? So stupid.

7- Runaway Kid's name is not seven!

8- The ridiculous double standards of self defence. Why are Mono and Runaway Kid allowed to defend themselves from monsters trying to kill them but Six isn't?

Mono - Smashes a bunch of bullies, pulls the trigger on the gun to shoot the Hunter, beats some living hands to death, probably burns the Doctor alive, kills some viewers by electrocuting them to death or luring them off of a ledge, and probably broke every bone in Thin Man's body before Thanos Snapping him.

Fandom - Eh.

RK - Electrocutes the Granny to death and disintegrates the Shadow Kids with his torch.

Fandom - Whatever

Six- Helps Mono shoot the same Hunter that kidnapped her and locked her in his basement (and she didn't take the gun off the hooks, Mono did), kills one bully after being kidnapped, tortured and hung upside down by them for who knows how long (which will eventually kill you), cuts off Roger's arms with a door when she was cornered, eats a rat when there's no other food nearby, eats a Nome instead of a sausage that she knows is made of human flesh, eats the Lady when there's no other food anywhere, and kills some guests who are reaching over to try and eat her on her way out of the Maw.

Fandom - Monster.

Now, I'm not saying that what Six did was good or what the boys did was evil, but people have to stop acting like it's okay for one character to kill to save their own lives but not the other.

9- This stems more from a certain artist that I won't name to avoid people going to harass them, but on top of the self defence standards, people also have to stop with the double standards of bad things happening to a character due to another character's actions. What I mean with this is that while yes, Mono had no way of knowing that Thin Man was behind the door and getting Six kidnapped by him was a mistake, that does not, however, undo the fact that Six still got kidnapped or that her kidnapping is not that big a deal all because it was an accident on Mono's part. Especially when people won't give Six the same leniency when it comes to Mono becoming the Thin Man. Six had no way of knowing that Mono would survive the fall, let alone him being stuck in a room on a chair for decades and turning into the Thin Man, yet that is a big deal despite her not knowing but her kidnapping isn't because it's also an accident?

And lastly,

10- Another ghost-pepper level spicy but AUs where Six pulls Mono up yet all the suffering she has to go through before that is 100% the same as in-game makes her a way, waaaayyyy better person than Mono. This goes double for AUs where Six realises that he's the Thin Man (you know, her kidnapper and tormentor) but decides to pull him up anyway. Like, Mono as Thin Man decides to kidnap and torture an innocent version of Six, cursing her with the hunger and making the child Mono have to torture her to save her, but Six decides to pull him up despite all of the pain he put her through. Even more so when she realises that he is her kidnapper. That makes her a much better person that him. Though it also makes her kind of spineless. I'm not saying that she should drop him, but in-game the player can abuse Six in some ways (running when holding her hand, which makes her stumble, throwing stuff at her, bash her with weapons (even if they don't do anything to her) getting her to fall off of stuff (yes, she respawns or teleports, but still), blinding her with the torch) but not once does Six retaliate until Mono attacks the music box, making her a bit of a doormat TBH. Yet some people in the fandom portray Mono as the doormat instead, it's like the fandom goes out of its way to get Mono and Six as backwards as possible.

Additionally, fan content where Mono doesn't apologise for getting Six kidnapped in the first place, or torturing her during his fight against her monster self makes him a huge jerk. Like, this girl has to suffer because of his actions (unintentional, perhaps. But as I said, that doesn't make the pain Six suffered go away or not matter) and he doesn't even have the decency to at least say sorry for the hurt he caused her? It pleases me whenever there's fan content where he does apologise, because not being sorry for hurting Six makes him a huge jerk.

It's long, but those are my hot takes.

[astridthevalkyrie]

so idk how mha is gonna end but obviously the moral of the story we’re going for here is that everyone deserves to be saved and heroism is about saving people no matter what. that’s great! i’m guessing some or all of the league is going to survive and be put into some kind of rehabilitation center (toga and spinner seem the most likely to me for now but who knows). and i’m fine with that i like the overall message of it.

but how are they going to deal with the fallout from the league’s victims? i get the feeling that they’re not, or it’ll be a one-off like “some ppl were upset we didn’t jail or kill the villains but the heroes calmed them down” or something like that. i mean. whoever in the LOV it is would have to show remorse eventually, for one thing, for them to be any different than the corrupt hero system. but even then, all the families of whoever machia trampled on during the war arc, are they just gonna be cool with this? mind you I don’t think that anyone in the LOV should be killed or jailed rather than rehabilitated, but i wonder if the show is going to bring up that anyone who dabi or toga killed won’t get a second chance. they won’t get rehabilitated, they’re just gone. how are their families and friends going to deal with what society deems as an appropriate punishment for them?

i think this message also could’ve been conveyed better if we had more prominent “corrupt” heroes aside from endeavor and hawks. the top ten minus them and the irrelevant guy who retired after the war arc are all portrayed narratively as good people. iida’s brother is attacked by stain for no real reason at all aside from not being all might. all might’s heroism ends up being bad for society overall yeah, but so much of that is because of who toshinori is as a person rather than hero society (which does play a part but if toshinori just hadn’t pushed himself to be the best and number one savior for everyone there wasn’t necessarily any society forcing him to until after he’d already showed them he could do it).

PLUS the existence of afo offsets this message. everyone can be saved…..besides the real super evil people?? if, and I’m not saying they do, shigaraki and afo had the same kill count, is the lack of a sad childhood the only thing that makes afo beyond redemption? i mean he might not be gone gone if he’s still inside shigaraki’s mind or whatever, but that doesn’t change the fact that the heroes were trying to kill him too. narratively, why was all might in the right for killing him all those years ago when hawks was in the wrong for killing twice? because twice was kinder? because twice was neurodivergent??

mha also a little bit contradicts itself because. hero society is exposed post war arc. civilians have every right to be mad that their current number one is an abuser and that the heroes failed and couldn’t protect them. but theeeen, we have ochako’s speech in which she yells at scared civilians that “the heroes are the ones who are getting dirty!” which is like. yeah. they are. but during and post the war arc civilians also very much died. i feel for izuku but at first glance if someone promised you a safe haven from being attacked and then said oh never mind we’re actually going to bring the one guy shigaraki can absolutely track and hunt down here because he’s tired of fighting, getting upset with that is not totally unreasonable.

and I get that civilians are supposed to get mad at heroes for being corrupt, but not for failing, because heroes should never have been put up on such a high pedestal. they should be seen as humans who are as fallible as everyone else. that doesn’t change the fact the average innocent person would be rightfully scared, because it’s not just the heroes who are getting dirty. people are getting attacked. the heroes are not saving everyone. they shouldn’t have to and there’s no way they realistically can, but picking and choosing which aspects of hero society people are allowed to criticize feels…meh. if there’s gonna be fallout, fallout that endeavor and hawks if not the rest deserve, there should be proper fallout.

i don’t think the UA kids should be treated as full-fledged heroes because they’re not, but their age should not be the one thing that makes them better than the current heroes. they’re liable to the same mistakes and the same fallings. or they would be had they not all been portrayed from the beginning as one big happy hopeful crowd who just wanna save the day! there was opportunity to show who was in it for the right and wrong reasons and somehow ochako who has been so poorly written for several seasons actually had the most relevant arc (besides bakugo) about being in the hero business for the right reasons. ochako should have interned with hawks ochako should have interned with hawks ochako should have interned with there should’ve been more students in it for the glory, for the money, for the fame, but even monoma from class b and mineta are apparently true heroes! is being a high schooler all it takes??

anyway this is all jumbled and a mess but mha should’ve made hero society far more corrupt to justify its dismantling is my point. right now we’re getting a vibe of “the heroes are just as bad as the villains if they don’t save them too” and that’s just like. objectively not true. if hawks was supposed to be an assassin for hire for the hero commission, we should’ve seen him kill people aside from the guy who could’ve turned the tides of the war, at the very least actually kill best jeanist to finish his mission. if toga wanted to preach about how the heroes are just as bad because they killed jin, it falls flat when she’s on machia’s back stomping on people and then killing an old lady to talk to ochako. the heroes should try to save everyone including the villains because that’s what heroism is, but they are not equally as bad as the villains for trying to stop the villains.

the hero commission in general is just like afo, a vague villain we can blame so that we don’t have to blame the underlings. if people discriminate against animal quirks we should’ve seen it way earlier with shoji and tsu and tokoyami, maybe really expanded on it once mirko and hawks and even the dog cop were introduced. if sooo many heroes were in this for the wrong reasons, where are they? the current “failings” of the hero system are all might, endeavor, hawks, lady nagant and bakugo. everyone else is fine! there was a chance to show that someone like mount lady isn’t a real hero because she only cares about fame. there was a chance to show that aizawa is a good hero compared to others because he doesn’t try and seek glory. but these points are only halfway done and then kinda left there.

[cilil]

Mairon x Ar-Pharazôn - I know you ship it, but tell me why :)

*rubs hands* Ah it's time for the Mairazôn manifesto. I'll put some of this under a cut because I will have to discuss some dark stuff later on, as you can already guess, but for everyone else - tw captor/captive, non-con and just the fact that these two are awful men.

So first of all the entire canon scenario around these two is super interesting. We have a political intrigue plot and really get to see the "Deceiver" part. Mairon is so good at making men thirst after him that he works his way from prisoner to advisor and high priest, getting an arc that parallels Melkor's Valinor arc while also being even more "egregious" in terms of deception. We have this huge corruption arc, we have fucked up religious undertones, we have essentially a Garden of Eden narrative and most importantly we have juicy power dynamics.

The power dynamics are particularly interesting to me because on one hand Ar-Pharazôn is "the man in charge", but on the other hand Mairon is vastly more powerful than any individual in the kingdom. If he wanted he could break/melt those chains, kill the king and everyone else he hates and escape before he gets overwhelmed by numbers (plus not everyone may have a weapon that can hurt a Maia as powerful as he is, especially since he has the One Ring).

He could have also avoided capture in the first place, I doubt mortals are any good at chasing Ainur once they cast off their fána and just leave or have anything like Angainor available. But no, Mairon chose to let Ar-Pharazôn capture him and is playing the long game (well, long for mortals anyway). He wants to ruin that man and wants to do it thoroughly.

Ar-Pharazôn is canonically a rapist, at least in the version of the story where he took Míriel to wife by force (there's also one where she loved him... girl, your standards, please), and my headcanon is that he wanted Mairon as well and ended up having sex with him that he allowed, but didn't want. A very muddled consent situation to say the least.

Aside from juicy dark fic and kinky porn (and everyone is welcome to read it as just that and not more), I like taking Mairazôn (as well as Tulkas/Melkor) to really challenge society's "perfect victim" nonsense. Mairon is as "imperfect" of a victim as it gets: He's a man/male-presenting, he's a literal angel, he's evil, he's more powerful than Ar-Pharazôn one on one and known to set people on fire, he's seen it coming and maybe even "provoked" it in some way or at least acquiesced, so that people might say: "He was asking for it". They may also enjoy seeing him get raped as a sort of a justice/punishment thing.

By showing how he experiences these unwanted encounters with Ar-Pharazôn I want the reader to think about what they consider to be just and how their perception of sexual violence differs in regards to different victims. Do you think it becomes "okay" at a certain point if the victim has "allowed" themselves to get into a situation or if they're a bad person themselves (also while Mairon is to my knowledge not canonically a rapist, there is some fanon around and in my opinion it's not exactly far-fetched or OOC)? How do you perceive the power imbalance in this and can you see it going both ways? Are you willing to face the tough and morally challenging situations of victims becoming perpetrators and perpetrators becoming victims? Where does your compassion lie? How do you feel about revenge?

And this entire mess becomes even messier with my headcanon that Mairon thought he as an Ainu, a shapeshifting spirit being who wears physical forms like clothes, would be above being affected by such an act committed against him. Hell, depending on how the individual reader sees past Angbang it may have happened to him before. What does this do to his psyche? Just how far is this man willing to go for his perfect revenge? And where does it leave him in the end?

So yeah. Tldr: For me, Mairazôn is dark, messy and asks the tough questions. It's an excellent ship to explore all of these themes.

[oddlittlestories]

42 + 44 for House, 27 + 37 for Wilson!!

- Housethemd (can’t ask from a sideblog, how annoying)

@housethemd

Ooh making me work for it with Wilson

House

3 comfort items:

The softball canon answer is (1) his ball of unknown origin (2) his motorcycle and (3) his instruments. (Add to that his t-shirt collection, his favorite fruit apron, and his assortment of desk items collected randomly over time. House is a secret collector. He loves his things.)

But I think I can push it further with 3 fun headcanons / fan ideas.

1. Favorite book—maybe Moby Dick (for obsession and a flight of fancy, characters who are even more intense than he is as a way of release) or Twelfth Night (yearning and gender fuckery plus you know he was that kid who devoured Shakespeare in middle school just to prove he could). For a genuinely “really, Bee,” option—the collected works of Sherlock Holmes. There are lots of Sherlock adaptations House wouldn’t relate to but the original works are not one. Anyways whatever it is it would be some old fancy volume with paper thin pages and a leather binding. Smells great. Feels great. Looks great on the shelf. He’s read it so many times he can quote from it so he doesn’t pull it out much anymore.

2. Weighted blanket. This man would love and needs a weighted blanket, but maybe he has one already. He would use it an unreasonable amount. Imagine the Ducklings rolling up to ask him a question and he’s in Thinking Mode but with a weighted blanket.

3. French press. He likes the way it makes coffee, it’s copper and he likes the way it looks. He likes the ritual of it. Yeah. French press.

Also he should have a tiny comfy (as much as possible) folding chair in his kitchen. Just saying.

His happiest memory:

I think this strongly depends on what time in his life we’re talking about, so I’m gonna play with that a bit.

Pre-infarction: the paintball game with Stacy. Can you imagine the sexually-tense snarking? The glowing feeling of meeting someone who implicitly understands you - or at least can match your blunt deviousness? A fun way to meet someone so much like you.

Post-infarction to s3: I like to think that somewhere in there was a fun & tender moment with Wilson that something reminds him of and makes him smile on occasion.

s4-5: his whole relationship with Kutner tbqh. Kutner blowing up patients. Kutner switching to no. 9. Screwing with Kutner in the cat episode.

s6: when Wilson buys the organ.

Thereafter I think his happiest memory is doing the spud gun thing with Thirteen and when she tells him that promising to kill her was the best way she’d ever been loved.

Wilson

Guilty pleasure:

I’m just gonna redefine this as “embarrassing pleasure” for my own sake.

Canon: Telenovelas. Look at his defensiveness. Look at the plea in his voice when he begs for the season finale. This man is not learning Spanish. He knows Spanish. And loves telenovelas.

Headcanon: stuffed animals. He doesn’t keep any in the house for a long period of time, but he buys them as gifts as often as possible. He can’t help but anthropomorphize them and likes to hug them and do funny voices. If he was more able to allow himself to do what he wants and fly in the face of convention, he’d have quite a few. (Not hundreds or anything, bc he’d connect with each one, but maybe four or five. They’d live on the bed or the couch.)

What he really thinks about himself:

See now this is the tough one. So many (all?) of the House MD characters are layers within layers, and Wilson is tough bc he’s often unaware of what’s going on with himself. So what he *really* thinks of himself? Hmm.

I think he thinks he deserves better in so many situations. I think sometimes he might be waiting for someone to save him, that if he’s good enough maybe he’ll deserve it & it’ll happen. I think he believes he has to be as giving of a person as he can be or else he is committing a crime / causing harm / not fulfilling his moral and ethical responsibilities. I think he knows he goes above and beyond but is terrified that isn’t true. (And I do think the one hc that he has moral perfectionism OCD makes a lot of sense.)

[burningexeter]

[PITCH]

Incredible Stories

What is it —

An anthology series with high quality CG-animated wraparound segments hosted by Helen Parr/Elastigirl, voiced by a returning Holly Hunter, and covers the different genres of horror, fantasy, sci-fi, mystery and adventure.

PREMISE:

Like with most anthologies, the series follows an entirely different setting, story and cast of characters every episode although some subtle details do genuinely connect the stories in an implied shared universe without ever hitting you over the head with it.

Every episode features a different age-ranging cast, meaning one episode will focus on kids, another will focus on teens and another will focus on adults, in a fantastical or scary situation that they brought on themselves and involve various unique takes on ghosts, aliens, witches, zombies, vampires, werewolves and several other monsters while at the same time balancing not just the horror and sci-fi but also the enchantment of it in a Spielbergian sort of way.

Another thing is that despite this, the storylines are way darker and some episodes serve as very dark morality tales. Plus, the threat of death is not implied, being both clear and permanent. In addition, death in the show is not limited to antagonists and minor characters with some stories even ending with the main protagonist(s) being killed.

EPISODE IDEAS:

The Midnight Madness — A cynical and sarcastic goth girl finds herself terrorized by a shadowwoman in her sleep. With no where or no one else to turn to, she must rely on a daydreamer classmate to help her put an end to it.

Ghosts On The Highway — A retired drag racer, still haunted by a severe accident that left his pregnant wife and others dead, refuses to let his son follow in his footsteps as an illegal street racer and finds himself confronted by the literal ghosts to let go.

Fear No Evil On The Battlefield — Set in World War II, a group of soldiers find themselves in a mysterious yet unexplained time loop where they must relieve an assault on the Germans again and again until their mission is a success.

Brush, Brush, Brush — A struggling comic book writer and artist discovers a magical pen that allows anything he draws to come to life, including his newest creation - Lucius Blackwood, a supernatural serial killer who makes his creator next on his list of victims.

Freakshow — A snobbish girl with a fear of carnivals after a childhood incident is targeted by a sinister carnival owner who has taken a certain interest in her which is made clear when she begins growing claws out of her fingernails.

NOTES/TRIVIA/DETAILS:

• Helen here, as the host, is given a dry and often witty sense of humor while keeping an almost playful tone.

• The tone and style for the series is best described as a cross between Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories and the Hub's R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series.

• Micheael Balfry will serve as the series cinematographer.

• Kevin Smith, Doug Liman, Greg Mottola, Michael Lehmann and Stephen Herek will direct episodes.

• Clancy Brown will play the carnival owner in the episode Freakshow.

[esther-dot]

Fans are stating that Jaime killed the Mad King. So how he could go back to another Mad Queen. Like as if Cersei wasn't his twin sister, lover and mother of his children for years. Also Jaime killing Night King was way different than what he is in books now. Plus he killed Aerys to protect his father Tywin who sacked KL and killed Elia and her children. Also why was there rage when he going to kill another Mad Queen. Do they forget that Dany wanted to kill Jaime for killing her father?

Men killing their lovers is gross and I keep saying no one wants to read /watch that, but it isn't true for this fandom, is it? They were very enthusiastic about it and wanted it, just for some women, not others. They wanted Jaime to strangle his sister/lover/mother of his children, declared it character assassination when he didn’t, but then said it was sexist that Jon killed Dany to stop her from carrying out her stated intention of attacking other cities/castles. 🤦🏻‍♀️

As for Jaime's morality regarding "mad kings" and "mad queens," I do think the books and show made it pretty clear that Jaime wasn’t exactly a picture of virtue. I mean, he was fucking his sister, he was down for a little kid killing (sorry, Bran), even though his big dishonorable act is revealed to have actually been a good thing, it doesn't change his characterization over-all. I don't remember anything specific that made me believe it, other than a general, "born together, die together" idea, but I always thought he would die with Cersei. When that happened on the show and fans had a major meltdown, I argued he was a better man for trying to save his lover than if he hadn’t. And, I appreciated it too, because, as riddled with nonsense as s8 was, what made the show (more so, ASOIAF), compelling was that the characters weren't standins for us. They surprised me because what they did wasn't what I wanted, but what they wanted. Jaime's feelings for Cersei were real, the lust, betrayal, anger, obsession...it made for an immersive experience because I couldn't project or predict. I treasure that. I admire that aspect of Martin's writing so much.

Let's think of it this way, what is the point of a POV story unless we accept that every character has a personal history and limited perspective which will impact the choices they make? It made total sense to me that people in Westeros would reject Dany, she's invading! So, Jaime deciding to try to take her out makes sense not only because he must keep up his tradition of Targ killing, but also, who would welcome someone who shows up with monsters who can just...burn an army alive? Destroy a city in a few minutes? Why would you think that person has good intentions? Why would anyone think, "I don't know, maybe they'll be nice." Add on the fact that her dad was intending to burn women and children, it isn't plausible that Jaime would think well of Dany, not when he just witnessed her burning countless men alive. Attempting to kill her makes an awful lot of sense for him.

And, I should add, I don't take issue with Dany wanting to have him executed either! The fascinating part of having a huge cast, having people with histories that have them on opposing sides is to allow them to interact in that context, not to dismiss it as soon as it will make things interesting. I can't defend how D&D wrote any of this, we've all criticized it endlessly, but tbh, a good portion of the fandom had worse ideas. Worse interpretations of the characters, far more cliché ideas of everyone getting along, far, far more insulting dream endings.

But, I suppose that was largely a result of how D&D were playing games. They didn't understand that emotionally manipulating your audience into siding with (or against) characters by undercutting or rewriting characters at whim would result in absolute confusion about the moral framework of the story.  You can't have a satisfying ending if that ending supports ideals you've deleted from the story and condemns the ones you've been celebrating all along.

[wingletblackbird]

You know, in To Kill a King, the question Merlin asks of Gwen is really lacking in context. It’s understandable, as Merlin can’t exactly tell her everything, but it also means that Merlin is, (once again), acting on poor information. Whether or not his decision is right or wrong can be debated. It’s a tough choice. However, I think the show waters down the murkiness of it all, and presents Merlin’s choice as morally superior without even giving us a truly good reason for this.

The crux of the argument comes down to Gwen’s answer when she is basically being asked by Merlin: Would you take revenge and kill Uther if you could? She is horrified at the idea of killing someone, anyone, for such a purpose. She thinks it’s wrong. It’s the classic “it makes us no better” and fair enough. Unfortunately, vengeance is barely what this is about so the answer is somewhat lacking for this scenario.

There is another angle at play here: Uther is a threat to a great many more innocents. His laws guarantee the death of innocents. There is no way to prevent all of these deaths. Granted, killing Uther will not change these laws. However, Arthur is at least more lenient and reasonable than his father. There will be fewer unjust deaths under his rule. At the bare minimum, children, like Mordred, aren’t likely to be killed under his rule.

So, Gwen, is it okay to kill the man who killed your father to stop him from killing more children? More innocents in general (like your father)? Especially when said man is above the law and cannot reasonably, (short of a coup), be stopped in any other way? Will you kill a child-murderer, who gets off Scot-free otherwise, to prevent him ordering the murder of more children?

And this is a significant part of where Morgana is coming from. She’s fought with Uther tooth and nail over his cruelty and injustice. Morgana, at this point, knows Arthur is a better man than his father. She’s outright said so. It’s a part of her decision-making process even! Arthur has spoken out against punishments that don’t fit the crime, like when Gwen was falsely accused. He helped with Mordred. He let Morgana out of the dungeons. He risked his life for Merlin, (and proved willing to accept Morgana’s influence in doing so). Morgana can see that things will be better under his reign, so killing Uther can be justified.

Plus, there is also the element of self-preservation. Why does Morgana change her mind in the end? In her own words: “I thought he cared for me.” Morgana, at this point, suspects she has magic. She is scared of Uther knowing this. Choking her and being sent to the dungeons confirmed that he would not spare her. If he can kill even his almost daughter over a disagreement, he really knows no limit. Now it is her life on the line too. She’s not safe. Is it not just to kill in self-defence?

So Morgana’s logic is not just revenge. She is choosing to kill Uther because she knows it will protect children like Mordred, avenges Gwen’s father, Morgana’s father, and countless others. And it ultimately keeps her safe. Arthur, after all, won’t likely execute her like Uther will. Innocents will be safer under his rule. Knowing Morgana is not even safe, cannot even influence Uther anymore, is the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Morgana changes her mind when she is given reason to. She understandably wrestles with the decision to kill, (let alone someone who helped raise her), and Uther at the gravesite gives her the indication that she is a) safe from him, and b) able to influence him, given his apparent regret of Tom’s death; (hence possibly allowing her to also protect people without killing him. In the Middle Ages, it was even the woman’s expected role to counsel the king to mercy.) Morgana is rather let down by these hopes in the end, and by S2 regrets her hesitation in killing Uther.

But, yeah, sure, we’ll boil all that complexity down to “killing him makes me as bad as the evil people.” 🤦‍♀️

[emmatgc]

"Oppie"

There are only 3 movies that highlighted 2023 for me. To be fair, this year I only managed to watch maybe more or less, 10 current movies , my fewest, ever. I had so many challenges faced this year that 2023 feels like a freaking nightmare and the problems never stop. 🤣 But anyways....

Oppenheimer is one of the 3 movies I liked this year. The best for me but not my favorite, my favorite is Air: Courting a Legend then Journey to Bethlehem.

This is not a total or intricate review of the movie. Everybody played their role great esp Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. Hence, their nominations are well deserved.

Only a few 3 hour movies will keep me glued, this is one of them. Im always interested about the atomic bomb and warfare policies, history and such. When this was announced, I became so interested esp the actors in it.

For me, Robert Oppenheimer is both a hero and anti hero. A very conflicted man but not an innocent one, he knew what he was doing, he made his bed and laid on it. His moral compass has always been there and to be fair most, most scientists are in no way morally upright. They value science more than anything. Weird, nerds-they are exactly like that. Geniuses, extraordinary intellectuals with flawed, egoistic character, not to mention their not so perfect love life- the messy ones like any other.

Robert is a very complicated man. He is just good at compartmentalizing. He did his duty as he sees fit but yes,he also aimed for glory. Why not? Are politicians and war mongers are the ones only allowed on Time magazines? scientists greatly deserve it, too. The movie made Robert human and not just focus on his brain cells and the atomic bomb. It is both a gift and curse to mankind.

A gift to science and breakthrough but a curse to people. However, as much as ideally speaking, we can always say Robert has a choice, if he doesn't want blood on his hands, he could have walked away but no, he knew. He changed his convictions later on but he still made the bomb that killed hundreds of thousands. There was a war and in wars, you have to pick a side. He chose his. He made a bomb but doesn't want the bomb to hurt anyone? Ridiculous, right?

Both Oppie and Straus made sense. Oppie just had the better resume for a war hero plus, Straus was really vindictive and jealous, too. Scientists, majority of them rallied around Oppie because the system sucks. One day you are a hero, the next you are not. The government has always been an enemy for some but at the same time,the standard of excellence and success. Oppie wanted the masses to know, wanted his theories to be for the common people and good.

Oppie as he said became a bringer of death. As much as I loathe wars, old people deciding wars killing innocent ones, a war or fight sadly, is part of our DNA, whether as a system or among ourselves. We are all conflicted, Oppie just happened to be conflicted more.

The bomb to end all wars is also a bomb that starts a war. They are all soldiers. If Robert didn't make it, others will. That is a fact. Robert and America just wanted to be 1st. It killed a lot and saved a lot, too but I know killed more. That's why in war, it is always unfair. Christopher Nolan wanted to show the bad side, the conscience of Oppie, the government's trait of using people for their benefit trope but in the end, the movie still projected Robert to be the hero majority of Americans view as. He did what he had to do.

I oppose wars and fights by all means, but growing up as a child of a man in uniform, we are fighting for what we believe is right. We protect people we love esp our homeland and mostly at the expense of a lot. Unfair as it may seems, our freedom is not absolute and mostly, we choose a side. Robert did, too. History will continue to judge him and the movie? Well, for me is a masterpiece of story telling.

He made his bed until now he is laying on it even after his death. Robert was unapologetic. Even though he was conflicted, he didn't reason out himself as "i didn't know it will be in the wrong hands". No, he owned it through and through. The right and genius thing to do. Let the people decide. But I guess Oppie wanted that, too. To be deemed a hero, a villain and a victim. To be an eternal debate. Nonetheless, to be remembered, forever whichever side you are on.

Oh, lastly, give Cillian his fookin oscar next year!

[teeth-cable]

One last note on worldbuilding issues.

If there's a threat of assassination pushing Hellborns to reproduce why is Charlie an only child? Like I remember reading that Lilith can't have kids except in a few weird specific legends where she mothers the succubi or has a kid with Asmodeus in Abrahamic lore but i will need to double check but if that's what Vivziepop is going with that checks out on her end.

But Lucifer in pop culture is meant to be hot and this stems from ancient people trying to decide if Lucifer after he was cast out if god would punish him by taking his beauty or if his beauty remained and that's how he tempts people. The issue with the latter and a source of debate was why would god allow Lucifer to tempt people easily and not punish him?

Lucifer is also seen as a root of all sin if you don't count the forbidden fruit and would probably cause people to violate the 10 commandments.

Like I can't see Lucifer no matter how much he loves Lilith being loyal to her. Like it doesn't make sense for a being who lost everything because if his refusal to accept humanity to have similiar morals especially when he is surrounded by the worst of it for all eternity. Why would Lucifer choose to uphold any of the commandments written by his father and not cheat on Lilith.

Also if Lucifer needs a backup heir in case Charlie dies, is a disappointment or to forge alliances he has an option.

I am still confused about Viv saying sinners are infertile but Lilith and Lucifer had Charlie? To be fair, maybe they didn't make her naturally and she's a doll but Charlie as far as we know is the biological child of Lilith and Lucifer. Another thing I'm confused about is the assassination of royalty Hellborns. I might be nickpicky here but why can angelic weapons kill royalty Hellborns too? Those weapons should only kill sinners because they were tailored for them. I'm having a hard time believing angelic weapons can kill royalty Hellborns too when they are a different rank from sinners and have some sorta of magic power and blood type that would make it hard to kill them with an angelic weapons meant to kill the average sinner. Plus why would Heaven even need weapons to kill royalty Hellborns? As far as we know royalty Hellborns just stay in Hell and only cause chaos in Hell. Also why is there a Hell supply of angelic weapons and who is suppling them? Even if the Arc Goatias are keeping and suppling them, how would they even get the angelic weapons in the first place? I doubt the angels they stole them from wouldn't be protective or can be easily kill or harm to steal from either.

Honestly I don't mind Viv's portraying Lucifer as this loyal husband who loves his wife and daughter. I can understand why people will find this portrayal of him annoying and out of character but Viv's Hellaverse is a reimagining of Hell and the character from those religions and she has made it clear she does not plan to stay faithful to the original source material. Lucifer being this guy is the tamest writing sins she was written. At least you can play with the idea and still make it work with Lucifer's character without breaking the lore and worldbuilding. Lucifer can still be this guy who is the root of all sins but now he has somewhat of a soft spot from when he was an angel in Heaven and struggles to keep it a secret. Maybe that's where Charlie get her kindness from and it's a point of conflict for Lucifer. He has worked all of his life to be known as the ruler of Hell who is rude and malice to separate himself from his heavenly roots but he will alway have a part of him refused that title because he is still the son of God. Charlie is just a reflection of the angel he once was and it's hard from him to deal with because his daughter is the manifestation of that hidden part of himself and they both are opposite in so many ways. Lucifer wants to keep Hell a punishing place for sinners while Charlie wants it to be a second redemption for them. Lucifer wants to protect Charlie because he knows the reality of who Charlie is, Heaven, and Hell will break her but she isn't ready to listen to her father and believe she has a chance.

[tharkilm]

Orion, Lantana, Blue, and Stretch for this ask please😌

What would they be like as a daddy? (Ofc seperate with their own kid)

✦ Orion - Loving father with scary dog privileges.

Orion might have skewed morals at times, but there is no doubt that he’d be an absolutely doting and loving father. He wants a family, preferably with at least three children, and wants to play with them, teach them how to take care of themselves, how to hunt, how to cook – read them cute bedtime stories and kiss their little foreheads goodnight. He wants them to come to him for comfort and reassurance, plus if they need help with someone who’s bothering them; he won’t scare them... too much.

He’d be a very good father, whom might find it difficult to say no at times; unless it’s a serious matter, then he’s unmovable.

✦ Lantana - A good but strict father.

Lantana wishes to have at least two children, someone he can care for and teach all that he knows. He’d love to share his knowledge for gardening, and how you make a house into a proper cosy home. He’d be strict; where it’s necessary. Pouty faces and adorable pleas won’t affect him at all, even for small trifle matters, though if it’s innocent enough then he may bend into allowing them to occur.

He may struggle with showing softness in words, as he can be very bold, but you’ll see it in his actions. He’d tuck them in gently, softly stroke their heads, make them nutritious and grand lunchboxes, spend quality time with them... He’d love to have children of his own one day.

✦ Blue - A fun father.

Play! Lessons disguised as play, chores disguised as play, hikes and other activities made into play; he’d love to always make his children smile. Whether he has one child or more, it doesn’t matter, all he wants is to make that little bundle of cuteness grin and laugh with joy.

Blue might need to be held back a little by his partner so he’s not too much all the time, but he’d have no trouble in helping his children release their childish energy upon the world. They can spend it together!

Still, it’s important to know that he can slow down when it’s needed, and he wants his children to know that they can always talk to him. It takes a lot to make him angry, so any child of his would know that he isn’t one to yell or scold them unnecessarily.

✦ Stretch - A chill father.

He’s the father who didn’t want a child but would kill anyone who dared to harm them. He’s chill, laid back, a bit loose with the rules but you’ll know what you can and cannot do either way. He may not be the best at playing around or having enough energy to be what he believes he should be, and while that fills him with some regret, he still tries his best.

He’s not a good cook, he relies on his partner for that, though if there is none, then he will still try. It’s not a gourmet meal, but it’s made with love, and really, that’s all that matters.

He’s a father who tries to be good, but doesn’t always succeed. Still, he’ll love his child with all of his soul, and he’ll only want what’s best for them.

[dendrophalaen]

can we talk about baldur's gate i've been dying to talk about baldur's gate

(spoilers below, mostly about act 3 and the ending)

i'm sure these points have already been discussed MANY times and by people who are better at articulating their words than i am. BUT I GOTTA TALK ABOUT THIS STUPID GAME CONSUMING MY MIND (brain worms (real) (tadpole) (not clickbait))

very rambly

i am a cut content truther

i did not play Early Access but bring daisy back!! i think she is more interesting than what the guardian became

daisy can still be the manifestation of the tadpole and the guardian is there to steer you away from its influence. plus down by the river gets to make sense again

obviously the guardian is the emperor, who does have an interest in convincing you to embrace the tadpole powers in canon HOWEVER. in my silly little fanon, the emperor wants you sane and/or manipulatable enough to work with him to defeat the elder brain, so he would discourage the use of the tadpole

why would he NEED tav to be a mind flayer too? 🤨 like buddy what if i'm a STRONGER rogue illithid than you are and i ruin your plans?

there should've been actual consequences for consuming tadpoles/using the powers (even with the emperor's/orpheus' protection) → as in: you start to lose control and your sense of self because you are accelerating ceremorphosis

not sure how that would work game mechanics-wise, but it gives more weight to the dilemma of choosing to use the tadpole or not than just "raaa i am upholding my morals and values i want to stay 100% non-illithid raaaa" (which i think is a valid reason but feels a bit flimsy)

speaking of orpheus, i think he should've had a more active role earlier on in the story than being reserved for the very very end, whether that be actually being freed from his prison or just a way for tav to interact with him

just some way of getting to know him better instead of just taking voss' and lae'zel's word for his character (i guess taking the gamble on if orpheus is trustworthy IS part of the story and my tav was stupid enough to do that, but i feel like there are many companions/other tavs who would rather make a more informed decision) lol

emperor... what a guy (it/he)

it would've been so funny to play up his straight man/Only Sane Man role, especially for a tav who is easily distracted off doing side-quests

no fun allowed (emperor) vs yes fun allowed (daisy)

anyway he is SO frustrating like he says he's Special and not like other mind flayers because he still has his personality, but at the same time he says "i can't help it i'm a mind flayer"

WELL WHICH IS IT (this may be the point. to cast doubts over trusting his words. i am still allowed to hate it though)

was balduran already an asshole. is that why his personality stayed

ooohhh OOOOOHHH BALDURAN/ANSUR. WHY DO THEY GOTTA BE DIVORCED OLD MEN (affectionate)

dear ansur.... i'll always be your balduran....

I WOULD TREAT ANSUR RIGHT

(← dragonborn tav)

let me ride this undead dragon into battle just to kick the emperor's ass

SPEAKING OF kicking the emperor's ass, i hate how freeing orpheus makes the emperor throw a tantrum about trust and join the netherbrain

mfer i can trust you WHILE ALSO disliking the idea of imprisoning and exploiting a whole ass PERSON

YOU SAW WHAT I DID FOR NIGHTSONG

i've seen people speculate that it's because the emperor believes he has a higher chance of survival by siding with the netherbrain and willingly allows himself to be dominated by it

but i think it is so. stupid 😭 cmon man it can't just be two binary choices for you (get killed by orpheus vs join the netherbrain) i'm sure there's a secret third option we can work out

it would've made more sense to just have a fight in the astral plane right then and there over the netherstones (but he wouldn't initiate an unnecessary battle where he would be outnumbered lmao)

plus that choice/ending should've factored in more of what your relationship with the emperor was (making overall positive/cooperative choices over the course of the game → chance of convincing the emperor to stay on your side or something)

IT'S JUST SO SUDDEN

i had more things to say but i forgot them all. the emperor scrampled my brain and i would let him do it again

also i'm still early in act 1 in my dark urge playthrough, so i do not have thoughts on how durge aspects fit in with everything yet :]

i love this game i like to think about it

[twdmusicboxmystery]

I just read some interesting rumors about how Carol will be back for the spinoff in Season 2. And it's looking like there will be a season 2. And idk I feel like many details keep changing for the spinoff that on top of it all, I'm no longer feeling very hopeful Beth will return :( It feels like there hasn't been a concrete plan, which makes me anxious overall lol. I just wish the show would premiere soon, so I could get a sense of the story's trajectory!! Why is everything so hard to determine with this spinoff. I'd lovee any Team Family interaction but I'm guessing it'll mostly be Daryl for season 1, with any interactions from other known characters appearing in the final season 1 episodes/leading up to season 2. Just hope it gets here sooner rather than later!

I haven't been able to find these rumors of Carol or Season 2. Would you send me the URL for where you read them? I'd love to read more.

I wouldn't mind if there was a season 2, though things seem to be heading more toward a re-convergence of all the characters eventually, what with Fear ending. But we'll just have to see. I can see them extending any of the spinoffs for a season or 2, the way they did with TWB. Doing the various spinoffs allows them to focus in on various character stories without cluttering up the main narrative for all.

Plus, it gives them the ability to put out shows almost year round, which is also good, both for us and for them. (Let's not forget that Tales of the Walking Dead is still in play.)

I understand your concern, and to each their own, but the fact that they are being so secretive about everything tells me we're in for some big reveals from these spinoffs. I mean, by now, most of the GA is on board with the CRM. They understand that more CRM storyline is coming. So, why are the showrunners being so secretive? Why not show us that the CRM will be a large part of the plot line?

Unless there are big reveals they don't want us to know about yet.

And France? There were signs for it, but only very subtle ones that were only picked up by very observant viewers *coughs* TD *coughs* but in the grand scheme of things, between D.C. and Ohio and the CRM, France is a REALLY random choice. The only reason to do that is for something that's been planned for a long time and that they're looping back to.

The only obvious answer is that Jenner mentioned France in episode 1. But think about that. Really think about it. Jenner randomly made a passing reference to the French in ep 1. Eleven season later, they're taking Daryl to France. Morales disappeared in S1. They brought him back briefly (albeit only to kill him off) in S8. Beth's body disappeared mysteriously after the most weirdo and nonsensical sequence in the entire series, and yet people persist in saying it's too long for them to still be bringing her back.

All I can say is, I strongly disagree. And the evidence really is on my side here.

Anyway, at this point, I'm truly down for whatever format they put the show in. If they want to do multiple season of the Daryl spinoff, I'm here for it. If they want to only do one and funnel him back to a more central show with all the other characters, I'm here for that, too.

I'm just sitting here waiting for whatever goodness Gimple is going to bring me. Xoxo! ❄️💖