#re. rhea ↳ meta

[erad1cator]

tag / drop !

[made-this-cause-why-not]

How I would re-write Supergirl Season 2/3

(as some one who stopped watching after season three, and also has not rewatched the series since 2020) (reign arc and heroes of the week will remain unchanged)

So, starting off strong, at Alex and Maggie would not have gotten engaged. Season 2 finale would have been Maggie realizing she was rushing into things, Alex being all "no I love you, I know I do" and Maggie being like "there is a whole gay world for you to explore... go do it." This would lead to sadness, a bit of tears (Chyler and Floriana would be AMAZING- daytime emmy nominee worthy performance).

Rhea would reveal Kara's identity to Lena in the finale. It would be casual too, she would be like "you are much better for my son Lena, that kryptonian isn't worth her weight in dirt here. I can't believe he would settle for a lowly slave." And then Lena would be all "reporter" and Rhea would be like "Yes Kara Danver's, former slave to a, Cat Grant I believe her name is" and then Rhea would continue on her spiel and there would be a cut scene as the camera focuses on Lena taking in the information

They save the day- Monel leaves for what ever reason he had to leave- don't remember, don't care. Also, Kara and Mon-el would have never dated, he would have just pined for her and James and Winn would be all "join the club"

Season 3

Alex mourned over her first lesbian relationship over the 6 month gap between seasons, Lena hasn't told Kara she knows.

First DEO scene of Season 3 is Alex talking to Kara (and invertedly Winn and James) about her most recent date on an app. It went bad, Winn chimes in like "what was it this time" and Alex is like "she was weirdly into ___" then J'onn walks in, like "Alex I am sorry to interrupt but there are pressing matter to attend to- there is a meta human down town" (que hero of the week intro)

Lena and Kara hang out, audience find out that Lena hasn't told Kara cause Kara has to leave to deal with a alien and does the usual "uh, I hear my named being called, ugh bye" and Lena just smiles and nodds, and sighs wistfully, staring after her (supercorp shippers go crazy)

Ep 2 or three we first see Sam and Ruby in line for Noonan's or something (why did they establish that as a brand, just to immediately ditch it after season 1???) and it's just a cute simple little "Hi, I'm Alex, let me help you out" but Sam is endeared and Ruby just smiles because (I love Ruby but honestly) she didn't have that much of a personality early on in the season

That same ep we see Lena reuniting with Sam. After that, when ever Sam and Lena meet each other (I don't remember when or how) Kara and Lena are like "you two know each other" and Alex is all blushy like "yeah, Kinda, I mean, not really" and Sam is like "yeah, Lena she is the girl from the place". Sam and Lena share a look (agent reign shippers go crazy)

Sprinkles of supercorp here and there- Just Kara and Lena doing their normal friend shit but Kara being like "woah, I am feeling things maybe"

At ep 8 or so Kara is at the bar with Alex and ask her how she knew with Maggie, that she liked Maggie. And Alex is all "well, I guess I always knew I liked girls but it was always objective. Like, I would think, she is so kind and smart and beautiful and amazing, any guy would be lucky to have her. But something about Maggie just forced me to realize that I was the one feeling these things, not some guy. I don't know, something about her just made alot of things clearer. Like, I realized I was the one driving the car, not a passenger. She made me stop being so passive in my own life" and Kara is quiet the whole time. Alex then ask "why" and Kara is all "no reason". Cut to Lena at L-Corp working on something relevant to the plot (supercorp shippers go crazy) (that conversation inspires Alex to ask Sam out- they then start to date)

Next ep, Kara goes to Lena's office, and is all, "there is something I need to tell you" and Lena is all "I already know" and Kara is shocked an all "how do you know" and Lena is like "in hindsight it was obvious. *list of things that hold double meanings cause miscommunication trope*" "Lee- I would have told you earlier but I-" "It's fine, I get it. You were doing it to protect me" "protect you???" "yeah- you're supergirl". Que Kara sighing and then freaking out, Lena saying Rhea told her, Kara being pulled away by some kind of supe situation, and Lena being all "go get them supergirl"

Kara admits her feelings at the end of the episode. Lena is shocked, but agrees. They agree to go on a date, a real romantic date and not a friend one, but oops- it's ep 9 which means Kara fights reign, goes comatose and then we get angsty, driven lena being like "we gotta fix Kara"

From then on, the show goes like usual, but Alex and Sam are dating and Kara and Lena are as well. The show ends with Season 3, Alex leads Deo, Winn stays but James leaves to help in the future but it really doesn't matter because the show it over. Supercorp is canon, Alex and Sam have a daughter and everyone lives happily ever after.

Edit: forgot to say this orginally but more Cat cameos. I love that woman so much- she has to come back at least twice in season 3 and be like "I leave the city for five minutes and you let her do WHAT? Agent Scully, why on EARTH would you let your sister fight a world killer??? Have you no brains under that thick skull" or something. I just want for her to be there, see Kara and Lena together and pull out of peice of paper from her purse that says "gay" and be like "I knew when you first walked into my office. No straight women would willingly be yelled at that often" or something. Idk, she was just very deeply missed

[ajentmm]

Goddess’s Servants Weapon Refine Theorycraft

There was one regular hero banner after the “Three Houses CYL” banner, and we got another three houses banner. I couldn’t complain at the time cuz I love Three Houses cast, but I’m always respectful to the old hats. Coincidentally, we had two 3H banners each year since 3H was released until last year, where we only got one (Rearmed Ingrid). This was because Engage got two banners, as it was released last year. So I expect one 3H banner this year and a second Engage banner, with the royals of Solms. Back to today’s topic. This banner has the theme of all of Rhea’s close companies, the knights of Seiros and the two green hair faculty members. Does Flaynn count as a staff member if she’s locked in the castle by Seteth?  

Catherine: Thunder Knight

Lvl. 40 5 ☆  43/39/41/30/23                      Max Invest: 52/48/50/38/31

Thunderbrand: Grants Spd+3. At start of combat, if foe's HP ≥ 50%, grants Atk/Spd+5 during combat, neutralizes effects that prevent unit's follow-up attacks during combat, and also, if unit initiates combat, unit can make a follow-up attack before foe can counterattack.

Draconic Aura - Swift Sparrow 3 - Lull Spd/Def 3

The pre-promote swordmaster from the Knights of Serios, is here. She introduced the concept of relic weapons in the 3rd chapter, Thunderbrand. While this is a brave sword in 3H, but in FEH, it gives Nfu Desperation. This gives her a unique way to bypass the new “Reduces damage from 1st and 2nd hit if foe has Brave attack”, but it does mean she can’t quad-attack. If we give her an affect that lets her brave attack, that’s 4 attacks in a row, and that sounds to good for a refine. Instead, we can increase the damage she deals with those two attacks. We can also give her more defenses, so she isn’t a sitting duck on enemy phase.

Thunderbrand: Grants Spd+3. At start of combat, if foe's HP ≥ 25%, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+5 during combat, neutralizes effects that grant foe a guaranteed follow-up attack or prevent unit's follow-up attacks during combat, and also, if unit initiates combat, unit can make a follow-up attack before foe can counterattack.

Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1). If unit initiates combat or is within 2 tile radius of an ally, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+4 during combat, deal damage = X% of unit Atk (if foe is a Dragon, Beast, or Armored, X = 20, otherwise, 10) and reduce damage from foe’s first attack by 40% (*Brave hit exception).

There. She’s going to get AS, full NFU, Dive-Bomb, +9 to all stats, 40% DR, and true damage. The AS and true damage is there imitating the combat art, Foudroyant Strike, which grant +6 Mt, +30 Hit, +30 Crit, and effective against Armored and Dragon foes. I could have used her higher Spd stat, but I figure this emulates the effectiveness bonus.

Flayn: Playing Innocent

Lvl. 40 5 ☆  40/39/27/21/35      Max Invest: 49/48/35/29/44

Caduceus Staff: Calculates damage from staff like other weapons. Reduces damage from foes' attacks during combat to allies within 2 spaces by 30%.

Rescue+ - Deluge Balm+ - Dazzling Staff 3 - Ground Orders 3

Flayn was a unique staff flyer, and a 5 star, meaning she can actually get a refine! Flayn was also unique to provide damage reduction to allies in an area of effect. This was when we learned that DR was multiplicative rather than additive, and we all had to relearn 6th grade math. Some people made Aether raid teams that stacked caduceus effect with Dodge units or Brave Dimitri. Surprisingly, the staff meta has changed drastically, and Flayn got a Fall alt that adds much more to her staff and her kit. With Halloween Flayn providing Special Charage +1 in addition to 30%, this flayn can provide just defensive effects.

Caduceus Staff: Calculates damage from staff like other weapons. Grant allies within 3 spaces the following effect: Grant Def/Res+4 to unit, inflict Special cooldown charge –1 on foe, and reduces damage from foes' attacks by 30% during combat. If unit is within 3 spaces of an ally, grant Atk/Res+6 to unit during combat, inflict Special cooldown charge –1 on foe, and reduce damage from foe’s first attack by 30%.

Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1). At the start of combat, if foe's HP ≥ 25%, grant Atk/Res+6, a guaranteed follow-up attack to unit, and damage +7 to unit during combat.

So the base effect has change to a 3 tile radius, gave Flayn the same effects (with some different stats and a 30% on first hit only), and added Guard and Def/Res+4 to the effect list. Then, the special effect is just Special Acceleration, along with Atk/Res+6, guaranteed follow-up, and a fixed 7 damage.

Seteth: Seiros Adherent

Lvl. 40 5 ☆  44/36/36/32/24      Max Invest: 53/45/45/40/32

Spear of Assal: Grants Spd+3. If unit is within 2 spaces of an ally, grants Atk/Spd+4 to unit during combat and neutralizes foe's bonuses to Atk/Spd (from skills like Fortify, Rally, etc.) during combat. Grants Atk/Spd+4 to allies within 2 spaces during combat.

Swap – Brazen Atk/Spd 3 – Drive Atk 2

WOW! A Lance Flier! That rides a wyvern! And is a man! And he’s NOT a GHB unit, he’s a 3-4 star!? AND he has a perf!? AND it has Lull Atk/Spd built in, which restricted from fliers?! It’s a miricale.

Spear of Assal: Grants Spd+3. If unit is within 3 spaces of an ally, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+4 to unit during combat and neutralizes foe's bonuses (from skills like Fortify, Rally, etc.) during combat. Grants Atk/Spd+4 and “neutralizes foe’s bonus” to allies within 3 spaces during combat.

Effective against Cavalry. At the start of combat, if foe's HP ≥ 25%, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+4 to unit during combat, grant addition Atk/Spd = penalties active on unit’s Atk/Spd x 2. Calculate stats independently. At the start of combat, if foe's HP ≥ 25%, restore 7 HP to unit after combat.

So, why isn’t this weapon effective against Cavalry? It’s effective in Three Houses. Along with that, Seteth grant “Lull” to all allies, now in 3 tile radius, similarly to Flayn. He’s also getting +8 all stats, Unity Atk/Spd, and healing 7 HP. The restoring HP is a reference the healing at the start of turn that Spear of Assal has in 3H. Why we haven't gotten another weapon with this effect, or even a Renewal 4 is likely because it promotes stalling and makes Reciprocal Aid more useful. 

Shamir: Archer Apart

Lvl. 40 5 ☆  41/40/40/25/24      Max Invest: 50/49/49/33/32

Survivalist Bow: Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1). Effective against flying foes. If unit is not adjacent to an ally, grants Atk/Spd+6 during combat, and also, if foe's HP ≥ 80% at start of combat, foe cannot counterattack.

Moonbow – Atk/Spd Solo 3 - Null Follow-Up 3 - Rouse Atk/Spd 3

Ah, Shamir. A prototype Rita from Pokémon, if you will. We don’t get many colored bows, unless it’s for a tomboy 5 star archest. Her personal skill in 3H is Survivalist, inspiring the name of the bow, and it granted more Str/Spd for one turn after defeating a foe. FEH doesn’t have any “defeat foe” skills, not even Galeforce had that. So FEH was like, “we can give her the solo condition”, and throw in “cannot counterattack”. But Feh already has Elenora’s Mirage Long Bow for “no counterattack”. This bow has the advantage of Accelerates Special trigger, so it can be more powerful, but the HP condition can still be there. I will lower it to 50%.

Survivalist Bow: Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1). Effective against flying foes. If unit is initiate combat or if the number of allies adjacent to unit ≤ 1, grants Atk/Spd+6 during combat, neutralize penalties on unit’s Atk/Spd, and also, if foe's HP ≥ 50% at start of combat, foe cannot counterattack.

At start of turn, if Special cooldown count is at its maximum value, grants Special cooldown count-1. At the start of combat, if foe's HP ≥ 25%, grant Atk/Spd+5, neutralize skills that inflict “Special Cooldown –X" during combat, deals damage = X% of unit's Spd when Special triggers (X = unit's max Special cooldown count value × 10, + 20; excludes area-of-effect Specials), and after combat, if Special cooldown count is at its maximum value, grants Special cooldown count-1.

So if Elenora is going to deal two hits of high damage, Shamir is going to nuke with Moonbow (or Deadeye if you have inherited it). She also gets half – tempo so she can charge Deadeye for the second hit, if you wanted to by pass DR Specials. Then there is Spd based true damage on Specials for more nuking.

Nemesis: King of Liberation

Lvl. 40 5 ☆  43/39/23/37/34      Max Invest: 52/48/31/46/42

Dark Creator S: Grants Def+3. During combat, boosts unit's Atk/Def by number of allies with HP ≥ 90% × 2 (max 6). During unit's first combat in player phase or enemy phase, reduces damage from attacks during combat and from area-of-effect Specials (excluding Røkkr area-of-effect Specials) by percentage = number of allies with HP ≥ 90% × 15 (max 45%).

Dragon Fang – Chill Atk 3 – Savage Blow 3

Why can’t this guy stay dead? Nemesis is back to be the bane in everyone’s . . . what’s that? His weapon sucks? Well, he’s back to be the bane for the first time ever. With a weapon condition that requires his team members to not take any damage to get only Atk/Def +6 and 45% DR. This was novel at the time, but now everyone has at least 40% DR on first hit. If one of his three allies gets hurt, it’s only Atk/Def+4 and 30% DR. This makes him better in Aether Raids where there’s 5-6 allies, but that’s where the Lightning Towers are, making his weapon useless. Oh, and it’s only the first combat encounter that the DR is available, meaning you won’t be tanking the whole team. So, how do we change it.

Dark Creator S: Grants Def+3. During combat, boost unit's Atk/Def by number of allies with HP ≥ 50% × 2 (max 6). At the start of combat, if it’s the unit's first combat in player phase or enemy phase, or if unit's HP ≥ 25%, grant Atk/Def/Res+5 to unit and reduces damage from attacks during combat and from area-of-effect Specials (excluding Røkkr area-of-effect Specials) by percentage = 30 + number of allies with HP ≥ 50% × 10 (max 60%).

For starters, I made the Atk/Def boost it’s own separate thing, from basic stat increases. Instead of being ≥ 90%, I when with allies with HP ≥ 50%, making it like EarthFire Boost, but without the proximity to those allies. I added the unit’s HP ≥ 25% condition, so he can tank more foes on enemy phase. Plus, if he is at 1 HP from an AOE or Lightning Tower, he will still get stat and DR at least once per phase. I gave him the usual +5 to Atk/Def/Res, cuz he will need the Res. Then I just added 30% DR as the minimum amount of DR, making the maximum 60%.  

Foes with Range = 1 cannot move through spaces adjacent to unit, and foes with Range = 2 cannot move through spaces within 2 spaces of unit (does not affect foes with Pass skills). At the start of combat, if foe initiates combat or foe’s HP ≥ 75%, grant Atk/Def/Res+5, a guaranteed follow-up attack, restores 7 HP to unit after combat.

And to make it so you need to use AOE, Lightning Towers, etc., I made his secondary effect Bulwark, so he can be the frontline defender and keep his allies safe, instead of being the final foe. You got to protect your allies, even if they function like your Horcruxes. On top of that, with the enemy phase standard condition, he gets another +5 to all stats and a guaranteed follow-up, which he desperately needs. Best skill to give him now is afore mentioned EarthFire Boost or Atk/Def Finish, and Gambit, for more damage and DR.

[lananiscorner]

This one had me cackling. Thoughts below:

"Is Claude JUST now figuring out that taking out the Kingdom is a bad idea for the Alliance?" - Here in Germany, we like to say "better late than never", but, um... yeah, that is pretty fucking late.

"IDK, I just love the idea of a Dimitri willing to sacrifice anything - even his sense of right and wrong (since leaving Rhea to die when all she's done is help him IS wrong) to spare his people pain." - Since you already finished the game, I can safely say that it's hilarious to watch GW give someone what they actually want for a change... and it's not even about the Deer LMAO.

Also, why does Claude not just take out Edelgard? Because we can't have the game end after 4 chapters, I guess.

No!!!!!! My Leorenz ship!!!!! This game really seems determined to give absolutely fuck all for any of my favorite ships.

As for Balthus... I mean... at the risk of being thirsty on main for five seconds, I wouldn't mind seeing him and Dimitri in shirtless hand to hand combat...

"Dimitri with his smaller army and surrounded by enemies is doing a better job than Edelgard with her massive one lol." - *cough* Dimitri proving that it's not about how much you've got, but how you use it. *cough*

Hapi can be so good at cutting through bullshit. Unless it's about the Church. She's massively biased on that topic.

Also, agree that it's nice to see characters miserable when they get recruited out of their usual house/home. It's something that was sorely lacking in Three Houses.

#GoShez!

Did Ingrid live at least? Please tell me she lived. (I assume so, since there would probably have been a bunch of sobbing emotes otherwise.)

"Hapi's like if you're bitching, why not just quit?" - LMAO, #GoHapi!

"Bernie supports Dimitri" - Very interesting! Also reminds me I was hoping to finish a Bernie & Dimitri support fic before the year ends. x_x

Also, kudos to you for giving Lorenz skills to match his ego. That's actually great meta gaming there and it just gave me an idea for a new Verdant Wind run.

Eh... I'm a loot goblin, so, since it's not RL, I'm with Leonie's mercenary buddy on this one.

Oh man... yeah Claude's lines in this chapter re: the welcome they get from Faerghus are really some of the dumbest shit ever written into a videogame script.

Re evacuating citizens, I don't know about 3 Hopes, but in Houses Claude evacuated Derdriu when the Empire attacked, if I remember correctly. Edel did fuck all to protect the citizens of Enbarr and I believe one of your people even points it out when you attack.

Dimitri is OP, even in-universe, and I'm living for it.

"At least Annette and Sylvain are still alive." - We'll take our silver lining where we can get it. Same for Dedue.

Golden Wildfire Ch 12

My thoughts below. So, about Claude . . .

MAIN STORY

Please just tell me I don't have to kill Felix, Ingrid, Sylvain, Rodrigue, Annette, Gustave, Mercedes, Dedue, or Dimitri :(

Oh, Arval. Forgot about all of that lamo.

Are we circling back to TWSITD and the origins of Shez's powers? It really hasn't played any role in GW so far. In AG, Shez brings it up all the time (with Dimitri always saying it doesn't matter) and in SB the whole "we only promoted you bc we don't trust your power, sorry now we do" thing.

Nadar . . . doesn't want us to call off the attack. He's really a bloodthirsty jerk, isn't he?

Is Claude JUST now figuring out that taking out the Kingdom is a bad idea for the Alliance?

At least Claude's not stupid enough to not realize Edelgard won't take over the Alliance next. Begs the question then, why?

That's what I mean. This is all potentially interesting, I just think Claude's plans are all really stupid.

So, Claude sided with the Empire because he hates the church that much and actually believes all that shit? Or does he really think Edelgard will stop her war when Rhea's dead? (because she definitely does not in Houses when Rhea's captured in her prisons)

I DO like this for Dimitri though. I'm REALLY curious to see what he does. Is it too much to hope that he'll dump the church to rescue his people from war?

IDK, I just love the idea of a Dimitri willing to sacrifice anything - even his sense of right and wrong (since leaving Rhea to die when all she's done is help him IS wrong) to spare his people pain.

But I'm predicting he'll be too stubborn or not trust Claude or Sylvain furious at his father's death will ruin it

But it's also really cool to see Dimitri kinda backed into a corner with no "good" way out.

I can forgive Hopes giving Edelgard a boring af plot, writing Claude like a moron, and making me kill Blue Lions members, but if they miswrite Dimitri here (or Sylvain, kinda worried about that too tbh), I'm really going to be pissed

Also, like if Claude's plan is really just to gank Rhea to stop Edelgard's rampage, that means he really did all this twisting around just to try and stop one woman's murder rampage - why not just, like, take her out? If this is all really about the least death possible, isn't assassinating Edelgard the fastest way to keep more people from dying?

God, please, please, please have Dimitri dump Rhea to spare his people (I'd feel awful for Rhea, but I really, really hope Dimitri proves to be someone who would spare his people any pain, even at the expense of himself - when he's sane at least lamo).

On the flip side, I'm dying to play GW. It's plot may not make any sense and my opinion of Claude has tanked, but you can't say it's not entertaining.

LORENZ & LEONIE B SUPPORT

Kinda sad they only go to B. They were cute together in Houses. Seems some of the ships got turned up to 11 and others got dialed down.

Lorenz is contemplating his existence in a world where commoners don't rely on the nobility.

He's struggling to see from the commoner's POV, so he wants a commoner to serve as an advisor. Honestly, Lorenz, pretty good call.

The way Lorenz talks about Leonie and her choices, it makes it sound like history was trending towards commoners and nobles not being so rigid without Edelgard doing anything.

Leonie turns down Lorenz's offer because she wants to be a mercenary.

LORENZ & MARIANNE A SUPPORT

Lorenz wakes up after getting injured. Marianne thinks it's her fault, which I saw coming.

Lorenz thought he imagined Marianne asking for help, but she actually did.

Marianne realizes she wanted to live, hence why she called for help. So she's feeling guilty that the end result is Lorenz got hurt.

Lorenz is encouraging and is happy Marianne opened up to him.

Honestly, a better support for him than a lot of the Hopes ones.

CAMP/SIDE MAPS

Balthus is . . . really hung up on the idea of wrestling Dimitri, isn't he?

So some NPC talked about how the Kingdom is getting attacked on all fronts. I can't be the only one who finds it amusing that Dimitri with his smaller army and surrounded by enemies is doing a better job than Edelgard with her massive one lol.

When Hapi proves way smarter than Claude, knowing how massively stupid Claude's plan of "let's kill everyone they love and then force whoever is left over to listen to us! I'm sure they'll be thrilled." Hapi's like, eh, not sure this will work.

Man, Ashe is just miserable when you recruit him. I do find it kind of heartwarming in a weird way how miserable all the recruitable Lions end up being (even in Houses, moreso than the other houses at least). Ashe and Felix taking the cake, but Mercedes was regretting her life choices the last SB chapter too.

Aww, Yuri is worried about Ashe and finds Claude cruel for forcing him to fight against the Kingdom.

Holy shit, Shez really spitting facts to Claude's face, telling him his plan is a giant disaster (Dimitri won't fall for intimidation tactics, and Edelgard won't stop attacking people even after she runs out of excuses.) As insufferable as all of the Golden Deer are in this game, at least we've got stuff like this pointing out how cruel and stupid they're being.

Lamo, take only one unit into the map, as if that's a challenge. I literally only use Lorenz. This'll be easy in AG too bc Dimitri's such a beast. Dreading it in SB though.

Annette is still alive here at least :( And Rodrigue. And Gustave. (we're with the Blue Lions discussing Claude being ... GW!Claude)

Sylvain thinks Claude's an idiot lol. Dimitri and Sylvain are sussing him out.

I love how Dimitri is the only character who's goal is to avoid bloodshed among the lords. The other two are, uh, yeah.

Oh.... is Dimitri actually going to run over the church? Like I wanted? When Dimitri's the best character in GW lol.

Dimitri looking out for Sylvain, knowing how angry he is with Claude.

I had to fight Ingrid :(

SHEZ & LYSITHEA A SUPPORT

Lysithea catches Shez assuring a younger girl that she doesn't seem like a child, but an adult.

Predictably, Lysithea gets angry, because it's Lysithea, but to be fair, she's upset because Shez said the same thing and thinks Shez is being insencere.

Shez admits that it's not cool, what she did, but she's bad at advice and keeps using the same lines she's learned from stories lamo. I love Shez.

Honestly, Lysithea is kinda right to get mad here, at least I get it unlike some of the times with her.

Lamo, Shez can borrow another line from a story. I'm gonna piss her off bc I can lol.

Lysithea buys it. I wonder if it's the same line lol.

SHEZ & SHAMIR C

Having mercenary talk. I had Shez choose to ask for help. Shamir offered once she's free.

Shez comments how mature Shamir is. Shamir comments how relaxed Shez is (but it's a positive thing, not like a judgment).

They bond over having lost trusted allies, including the ones at the beginning for Shez.

Kinda boring, but honestly these two are almost too well matched, like not enough tension and just too normal lol

LYSITHEA & HILDA A

Hilda wants to gossip, but Lysithea only goes on about how awesome Holst is, so she's not interested.

She thinks he should be more careful as head of household, but Lysithea points out that he has no choice.

Hilda is worried who Holst is married. There's an ick here where Lysithea thinks that's because he's too focused on Hilda.

Hilda just talks about who Lysithea might marry, which, yeah...

Hilda offers to help Lystheia out, and some, um, implications that she'll be Lysthesia's new family - she says big sister, but there's def some ship teasing

They made Hilda really flirt with all the girls this time lol

CLAUDE & HAPI B

Hapi finds Claude easier to talk to than Edelgard and Dimitri.

Props to Hapi for telling Claude not to unload his trauma on her.

Hapi's like if you're bitching, why not just quit? Lamo.

Hapi says she'll support him.

MARIANNE & BERNADETTA A

Honestly don't remember if I've seen this in SB already or not.

Bernie likes Marianne's painting, but not her own. This is true vice versa, because of course it is.

Marianne compliments Bernie's horsemanship.

Two shy girls compliment each other, then get shy.

Then Bernie asks what Marianne wants to do after the war and Marianne becomes a Disney princess, wanting to sit in the woods with animals. Bernie wants to finish a story. Honestly, both girls picked amazing options I too want.

Bernie's story is about Marianne lamo. But Marianne isn't mad, she just wants to read it.

I really find their friendship cute, ngl.

Also, Bernie supports Dimitri, so there's no way she's NOT writing fanfic about his life because it's a never drying well there.

LORENZ & RAPHAEL C

Lorenz asks Raphael why he didn't just stay at his family's inn instead and joined the war instead

Raphael wants to keep his family safe, and thinks that following Claude will bring peace to the world (lamo) so that's why

Lorenz is more grounded, saying that all he's doing is exposing his family to the dangers of war

Which, Lorenz isn't wrong, but he also starts prattles more about nobility need to do everything and commoners nothing

But like, does Lorenz really think you can make an army out of nobles only, because, like, that just doesn't happen

Raphael is touched lamo, thinking Lorenz is concerned

Raphael just challenges him to a muscles competition

It is amusing to see Lorenz try to give his spiel and Raphael just keeps doing his own thing

Like ALL of Lorenz's supports in this game is this though, he's more repetitive than Bernedetta at this point

LORENZ & CONSTANCE A

Lorenz is bragging about himself, Constance is in the sun so she's . . . not

You know, I was thinking just how insufferable Lorenz would be in my playthrough because he's like 10 levels ahead of everyone, a god on the battlefield, always MVP - he like trounces everyone so he's be bragging and he'd be right - I wish Claude had to deal with this, watching Lorenz win the war for him and have to put up with Lorenz being Lorenz over it

They overdid it a bit with her sunshine personality - like Dimitri and Marianne are very realistic about a lack of self-worth, but Constance just comes across like a joke (and maybe that's all she's supposed to be)

Poor Lorenz is just confused and wants the normal Constance

I do have a soft spot for when male characters are desperate for the snotty side of a female character to come back (like, really just talking about Rutger and Clarine)

This is going on for too long though without any change

LYSITHEA & LEONIE B

Lysithea mistook a mercenary Leonie talked to for a bandit

But he's just someone who loot dead bodies on battlefields

I always found that kind of distasteful

Lysithea feels torn because she wants to learn about commoners more, but doesn't seem comfortable talking to people who steal coins off dead people, which same

Lysithea of course wants to know about commoner sweets

And Leonie talks about how they can't afford noble treats and likes commoner snacks (hopefully different from Chole's folk food lamo)

SHEZ & YURI C

Shez is snooping on Yuri's letter. I love that Shez is a snoop.

Yuri's pissed though, lamo. He threatens Shez's life though. That's a bit . . . much.

I'm going to pretend I didn't read it lol.

OMG YURI HAS A MOM. SOMEONE IN THIS GAME HAS A MOM.

She's ill so he was visiting her.

He's a bit needlessly sometimes.

IGNATZ & LYSITHEA B

Lysithea thinks there's something wrong with Ignatz.

She guesses right that he's unhappy, but guesses wrong that he wishes he ran his father's company instead of his brother.

He slips up that he admits he's only a knight to please his family.

Awww, Lysithea offers Ignatz the opportunity to live in Ordelia territory and does whatever he wants to afterwords.

She was actually really sweet in this support.

Also, anyone else realize that Ignatz is proof that the church/crests/inheritance isn't the one forcing children to do things they don't want to? It's human greed?

CLAUDE & HAPI A

Claude left a meeting because he was bored of people arguing. Hapi also left a meeting.

Oh, interesting, Hapi asks Claude if he would walk away if someone could take his place. Claude says no that he wants to get a lot done and can't let anyone else do it. So a really uninteresting answer.

LEONIE & LINHARDT B

Linhardt got a gift he doesn't want so he offered it to Leonie.

Lamo, Linhardt forgot the meeting he set up with Leonie.

He gives her a notebook already full, so she wants to give him something in return.

She gives him a rock that turns out to be part of an ancient relic and he gets thrilled.

Linhardt comes to the conclusion that they value the complete opposite things, but they decides they're actually not a special pairing lamo.

MAIN BATTLE

Ugh, not looking forward to this.

Wow, imagine that, the Kingdom isn't bringing them a welcoming party. Like, did Shez really expect that?

They're a bunch of psychos. They're all excited to go kill people because they're strong warriors.

"Let's see if a crushing defeat can get through Dimitri's thick skull." Because you like tried talking with him so many times before???

What is Claude smoking? He's never tried anything but bloodshed of innocent Kingdom people to accomplish anything in this route?

I see what people mean when they say this is one of the most unlikeable casts ever.

Gustave's middle name is Eddie. Not Edward. Eddie. Suffering through GW is worth knowing that.

Also, fuck, I don't want to fight Annette and Gustave, who are only defending their home.

Thank fuck, Annette retreated. Having SB flashbacks where I had to kill Annette. Annette.

And thank God that Gustave did too.

On the flip side, I sort of wish GW wasn't so wish-washy and they all died. At least SB has the guts to show there's consequences for your character's actions. But GW like to pretend only Annette and Gustave matter and it'll be ok to slaughter thousands of low born people of Faerghus every single level because they're not named.

Dimitri evacuated his citizens. I think he's literally the only lord who did that lamo. (I remember distinctly Edelgard not doing that in VW, and I don't think Claude did in CF or AM? Could be wrong about Claude).

FUCK. Dedue. If he doesn't retreat, I swear to God I can't finish this.

Oh, God, not Sylvain too.

Wait, what the fuck, Claude. His "defense" against Sylvain accusing (rightly so) Claude of invading his home and murdering his parents is that "we're all risking our lives here." I guess Faerghus is 2-for-2 whenever someone is actually allowed to criticize people who are invading them.

At least Sylvain retreated.

Dimitri appeared to defend Faerghus. I swear whoever wrote this game didn't care at all about the Golden Deer.

Oh, a cut scene. Also pretty sure Shez called Dimitri Faerghus' strongest soldier.

Well, at least Dimitri being an utter and complete badass in this game continues since Claude admitted that he could never win against him. And he needed Hilda and Lorenz to just push him back, not even defeat him.

Oh, great, more backtracking. Claude has to retreat. Does this mean I have to fight Dimitri again?

You're right, Hilda, it's the same thing all over again. God, this gets old.

It would be funny if it was the Empire, but it's probably just TWSITD. It's pretty funny Claude is the one who learns the least in Hopes vs Houses.

At least Annette and Sylvain are still alive.

Gotta love also how damn badass Faerghus is in general, fighting a 3-way battle and not losing.

Dedue is here too, my beloved.

I love seeing Claude taking another L and having to retreat again.

xxx

[lyteupthelyfe]

girl help why are the relic combat arts like that

theory brain not go brrr atm but i was browsing the wiki and found it interesting that all of the heroes' relic combat arts are named like...actually really concerningly???

like we have Foudroyant Strike (devastating/calamitous strike), Beast Fang (which is honestly the tamest, how ironic), Ruptured Heaven, Heaven's Fall (the Dark Creator Sword's CA, makes sense, Nemesis killed Sothis/wants to kill Byleth), Ruined Sky, Atrocity, Burning Quake, Apocalyptic Flame, Dust, Raging Storm, Fallen Star, and Eviscerate.

~ analysis below the cut besties ~ (cw mentions of death + genocide)

The only one that isn't alluding to the literal end of the world is Sublime Heaven, which afaik basically means something along the lines of a...surreal heaven--heaven, the celestial vault, supposed realm of like, perfection or whatever, is broken--shattered--with Ruptured Heaven. well, more like a seam has burst open. with the sword of the creator, its horrific origin in the murder of sothis violates what was known, the status quo of nabatean (and fodlish) society--the world, even (lmao gotta throw in that arcana link). but fusing with sothis, knowing the truth of who she is (but with her "not having acted like a goddess", is like, the most important aspect--it made sothis relatable, a fun, enjoyable, human character, who also has all this responsability, past, and trauma) allows for, even if the sky is ruptured escaping from zahras, the ultimate repair of the world (regardless of route). and like. a sublime heaven is one that...is real. its magical, insane, world-saving, but real because not only does the sword realise its true power, not only does byleth accept the sothis within then, but they...allow for all this heady, large, grand plot of the nabateans and foldan's truth (whatever that might be in each route) to become close and real to both the player and the characters. becomes, well, sublime.

anyway, beyond that, on all the other combat arts, there's no real link to the arcana (or crest) (or dragon) (fyi in the order above its tower devil world world death strength chariot wheel of fortune empress high priestess (devil) moon and sun)--they all just seem rather morbid. like it's the end of the world. and, well, for the nabateans that were murdered and warped into each weapon, it was. like to go for a rather morbid theory, it's almost like each combat art is related to the way its dragon was murdered; i.e. "goneril" was burnt alive, "dominic" was made dust, Chevalier eviscerated, at least partially (given that he relatively survived to become an Apostle) (names in brackets, the dragons weren't actually named that obv, some were probably actually named Luca, Iris, Bernhard, Gajus, Wilhelm(?), Marcelle and Simone, but that's not for this post, rather a post on rhea's trauma coping) (wait no i just had a theory. but not for this post. another one.)

ANYWAY my essential point is that through the combat arts we have a continual remembrance and recreation of the red canyon tragedy--these are like, weapons used to kill people, were made through the killing of the nabateans, ofc the combat arts are named such they are living memories of the violent, unjustified and brutal end of a world. if we were able to meet the actual nabateans in-game, and similar things to the sothis fusion moment happened, then maybe we'd get happier ones, but they can't ever be sublime because the tragedy of their re-creation is the sad remembrance of each as victims of the tragedy and nothing more.

honestly this is probably a tremendous factor in rhea's own survivor's guilt, the only people in fodlan who probably actually knew the other nabateans are rhea, flayn, seteth, indech and macuil

now i don't want to get meta but something something the 1181-1185/6 war is built on the bones of the ""war of heroes"" and something something the past no matter how distant still affects fodlan in myriad ways, some more overt than others

something something ignorance of the truth leads to the repetition of history and condemns the fate of the word to a self-fulfilling prophecy carved in bone

oops ty for listening to my rambles, 'd love to hear your thoughts, g'night!

[childofaura]

So I tested Canto Control Limstella in Summoner’s Duels

I wanted to make a post about my findings of Canto Control Limstella because part of me feels like I just overpowered it with meta-breakers, but the other part of me feels that it was primarily Limstella that messed with this person.

So I just had a battle against a relatively standard Summoner’s Duels team:  Regular Peony, Reginn (Merge 4), Mage Reinhardt (Merge 10), B!Eirika (Merge 1), and B!Hector (Merge 10). Reinhardt, Reginn, and B!Eirika of course all have Canto abilities.

The team I decided on so far:

Limstella, Def/Res Ideal, no B-skill yet, Canto Control, and Bracing Stance 2 seal

Regular Nifl, standard build no merges and Distant Guard 3 seal. Used for damage reduction on Limstella

Askr, standard build no merges and no S seal. Wanted to get that sweet Opened Domain stat boost for Limstella

Fallen Rhea, standard build no merges and Fury 3 seal

Reyson, Steady Posture 3, Renewal 3, Ground Orders 3, and Earth Dance 3 seal

Now you’ve got an idea of my team, so I do wanna figure out if this is just because I ran three meta-breakers (Nifl, Askr, and Fallen Rhea).

Anyways, I don’t think this person realized I had Canto Control on Limstella until they set B!Eirika, Peony, and Reinhardt top-left of the map above where I placed Limstella, Rhea, Nifl, and Askr. Only during Turn 3 where they tried to fruitlessly move B!Eirika with Drawback do I think they realized “... Wait... is that Canto Control?”

Limstella attacks B!Eirika, doesn’t kill her because their Speed sadly is not high enough to double-tap, but it’s a chunky amount of damage. Sure it takes a little chunk out of Rhea’s HP but with the Beast and Dragon allies + Reyson’s healing abilities (Reyson refine when, IS?), she can cut off the Fury seal’s damage by regaining at least 1 HP.

B!Hector cannot attack Limstella due to Rhea’s placement, and instead moves directly in front of Askr, who manages to take down B!Hector untransformed. B!Eirika tries to attack Limstella but is taken down by Rhea. Reinhardt desperately tries attacking Askr to no avail (no damage, and Canto Control prevents his retreat. Nifl takes down Peony, Limstella takes a chunk out of Reinhardt and Askr finishes him off, leaving poor Reginn to try to flee. Alas, it is to no avail as Nifl moves, then Reyson gives her another movement, then she destroys Reginn.

So (and you can answer honestly and brutally, I will accept the criticism and maybe try to work the team to be a little less cheap and a little more fair), do you think this win was attributed more to the meta-breakers, or to Limstella, or to both on a somewhat equal scale? Because my logic was as follows:

> Place Limstella.

> Get a Near Save to protect Limstella, let’s go with Rhea, given her healing ability and built-in Null Follow Up

> We’re gonna need a Beast or Dragon unit to give Rhea the healing ability... Let’s stick in Reyson, since he’s a singer.

> Let’s add Nifl for damage reduction.

> Oh, Askr has Def/Res boosting, that could work for Limstella.

[gascon-en-exil]

A while back I had asked you about Monica. You said that you think she was just intended to be a joke character, not too much depth or taken too seriously. Since then, I have seen a number of takes about Monica. Some think she's as bad as Tharja/Faye. Some think she's obsessive/stalker. Some think she's harmless. Some think she's cute with Edelgard. And some think Monica haters are just anti lesbians and have no other reason to dislike her. Do you feel any different about Monica now? (1/2)

Also re: Monica, I heard someone say that her obsession with Edelgard is no different than Dedue and Dimitri, Catherine and Rhea, or Hubert and Edelgard. But I very much disagree. Dedue, Catherine and Hubert all stand out as characters for themselves. They shouldn't be reduced to simply an obsessive character and they're certainly not stalkers. I was wondering if maybe you might be able to explain what makes those Lord and retainers have a different feel than with Monica and Edelgard. (2/2)

I've seen various opinions on her as well, but my own hasn't changed much. I still dislike how much her attraction to Edelgard (and Dorothea) is used for uncomfortable humor, and that the writing avoids potentially interesting areas for relationship development - particularly in Monica's non-reaction to Edelgard telling her that she'd been willing to let Monica die if it had been more convenient - because they might appear to be too critical of Edelgard. It reminds me of Byleth having only sympathetic dialogue options when asked about Edelgard in SS/VW, or the conversations some mutuals have been having about how Claude is criticized in GW 's writing for some of the same things that Edelgard does (without criticism) in CF.

The comparison to those other characters doesn't hold up, because I can't think of a single time when their devotion is played for laughs. Even the most popular Dimidue meme is about Dimitri's strange eating habits, and not Dedue being overbearing. Monica does have moments where she feels less one-dimensional, namely her paralogue with Bernadetta and her appearance in Part 2 of AG, but those moments aren't integrated well with the rest of her character. Monigard (is that the ship name?) also has an uneven energy, in contrast to the cold professionalism of Edelbert or the mutually codependent passion of Dimidue, which makes it much harder to gauge how much Edelgard really cares about Monica. (Of course, then comes in the meta understanding of how Edelgard has always been written to have only one true love: the player-as-Byleth....)

[legendspun]

sitri and rhea writeup

old meta from my other blog! since im rping them both here figured i'd put down some of my first thoughts re all their STUFF in game. all of this is subject to change based on partners, of course - but here's some default thinking on the deeply messed up pair (from rheas view. for sitris... stay tuned?)

(spoilers for the entirety of fire emblem three houses. cw for dehumanization / general existential themes)

Working on headcanons page and Sitri started to take over so she gets her own post! In a different format too so I can address the many thoughts I have *laughs*

 So canon does not give us much information about Sitri besides her being Byleth’s mother but what we know is:

She was the twelfth creation of Rhea’s in one of many attempts to bring Sothis’ soul back into a material form using the Crest of Flames crest stone.

She was born frail but with a soul of her own and lived for forty one years as a nun at Garreg Mach (she was born in 1139 according to her gravestone).

She fell in love with Jeralt during his time in the Knights of Seiros and twenty one years before the games events gave birth to Byleth and died during the process

I think a few things are important here. Firstly, that Rhea lies in the game. She lies a lot. But her lies are usually well scripted in the fashion of the Seiros scriptures. When it comes to emotional topics like her mother/the goddess and Byleth’s eventual awakening she actually lets slip an excessive amount.

“Just as the goddess blessed you with her own power... I, too, received her divine protection. Long, long ago. Though different, our fates are entwined.”

- A support dialogue (seiros who)

So when she says this to Aelfric when she asks him to stop in his attempt to bring Sitri back to life yeah she is probably just saying stuff as his immediate rebuttal implies.

But I find it harder to believe she pulled all of this out of nowhere as neither in the Japanese or English does it sound rehearsed (and honestly she probably wasnt going to tell the player at all but u know kinda had to in order to own up to stuff #smh):

“Sitri looked upon me as though I was her mother, and I wished for her to have a bright future... I would not have her buried in the cold, dark soil. Prior to her funeral, I arranged for a fake burial. Afterward, I brought her body to Abyss, where I would sometimes visit her.”

In fact, Rhea caring for Sitri as a daughter seems congruent across both the DLC and Silver Snow. Aelfric says that Sitri’s body was deep in the caverns of Abyss and that it was kept alone. If putting bodies in dragon cryogenesis was a thing Rhea did for all of her past vessels I don’t see why all twelve of them wouldn’t have been there.

Rhea speaking to Byleth in SS calls the vessels that came before them “failures”, a word that carries a lot of weight if you’ve played CF and I think that’s probably true so far as her other attempts go. She considered her other creations as failures when they were unable to revive the goddess’s soul and so got rid of them but Sitri was different, special to the point Rhea still wanted to see her even after her death.

We know from the Crimson Flower route that the one thing to make Rhea emotional and completely lose her head is the loss of her loved ones whether from more permanent causes or simply what she sees as abandonment. Her only true family left are Seteth and Flayn and it is only when they leave her that we get to see how much that means. She’s held herself above them all this time, so the fact Rhea admits that Sitri is a vulnerability of hers makes me think it is the truth.

Another hint as to Rhea considering Sitri special is this: while she may not have ever left the monastery Sitri was still walking around with the Crest of Flames in her fragile body for *twenty some years. That certainly isn’t a very long time in Rhea’s perspective but based on how fiercely protective she is of her mother and her sheer desperation for Sothis to return there really isn’t a good reason for Rhea to have let Sitri live if she hadn’t become so attached.

She could have been working hard on the thirteenth vessel or trying something else with the Crest! But she didn’t because she knew that would mean losing Sitri which brings me to my final (and honestly most interesting re: viewing the game) point:

Byleth was the result of Sitri and Jeralt’s choices and had nothing to do with Rhea until Sitri asked her to help revive the baby. In fact, it isn’t hard to read between the lines and see Rhea really did not want to take the crest out of Sitri but did so under emotional duress.

There is a lot that can be said about how Rhea treats Byleth as an object, but learning that she really never wanted Byleth to live or even exist at all really puts it into perspective. Rhea says that Sitri “loved like a person” and in the Japanese implies that she, Rhea, learned to love her in the same way. Sitri though born as an empty shell became a fully formed individual and despite her intentions Rhea learned to love her for it.

And then she insisted on having Byleth who was just another empty shell, but this time an empty shell who took Sitri from her.

Rhea knows mcuh of design but she is never logical about herself and her own emotions. It’s one of the reasons I find her so interesting, because she wishes for control so fervently but cannot even keep herself in check. The cycle of trying to bring her mother back and finding only despair was halted when Sitri came into the world and brought joy instead. And then Byleth happened and they took Sitri away from her and then of course Jeralt ran off with Byleth and the only thing left that really mattered to Rhea: the Crest of Flames.

So yeah. As illogical as it may be I do think Rhea resents Byleth for their mother’s death and that she distanced herself from the child, well, at least until the Crest of Flames awakened within them.

I don’t plan on rping this without permission from any Byleth I interact with, of course, but I wanted to express that if Sitri comes up in any of Rhea’s posts she is looking at her as a mother who lost a daughter. I really like this for her, because it does not excuse Rhea’s previous experimentations and creating of life in eleven other literal people just to snuff it out but instead makes it even more horrifying in a way. Sitri is the only one of those Rhea considered her true child, after all.

[bardicindignation]

Reasons Why the Master Should've Been the Timeless Child

Okay, so I was re-watching some Doctor Who the other day, and I got to thinking about all of the problems I had with Chibnall's writing with the Master (rip Missy's excellent character development) and the whole 'Timeless Child' thing in general. And then it occurred to me that it would make way more sense (and, in my opinion, far more compelling) if the Master had been the Timeless Child instead of the Doctor.

and then I talked to @rhea-imagined about it and decided that I would make my first attempt and a semi-coherent meta post:

It would make the Master going absolutely apeshit and destroying all of Gallifrey even after all of the progress Missy had made make, just, so much more sense

Ruth and the whole 'past regenerations that the Doctor doesn't remember' thing can totally stay. Maybe the Doctor was one of the original Timelords to receive regenerations but didn't know where they'd come from. They find out and, being themself, rescue the Master, steal a Tardis and run away.

That could go a long way to explaining why the timelords hate them so much, plus the whole "wanted for a bunch of crimes thing" bc god knows the Time Lords wouldn't let them go easily and wouldn't put setting the Judoon on the Doctor beyond them at all. Plus, it's the Doctor, so they're running into all sorts of trouble along the way anyhow

(just now realizing that, technically, this would make the Master the Doctor's first companion, which is extremely funny)

And the Doctor and the Master spend who knows how long running from Gallifrey, planet to planet, world to world, causing and solving problems in equal measure, and they're the best (and most chaotic of course) of friends

and the Master still chooses the name Master, but it's really short for (or else it just doesn't quite come across in translation) 'Master-of-One's-Own-Fate'

But then the timelords catch up, and it's over. But the Master is so important, and the Doctor so brilliant (and therefore useful, and also as leverage), that they can't just kill them and so they erase both of their memories entirely.

And all of this would go a long way to explaining the Doctor and the Master's relationship, as well as why the Master is Like That because

everything that happened would result in, just, an enormous amount of trauma: rage, hurt, fear, emotional pain, the whole kit and caboodle, which wouldn't necessarily go away with a memory wipe

what the memory wipe would do is take away any means that the Master would have had to deal with it: speaking from personal experience, it's almost impossible to deal with that kind of emotion in any kind of constructive way if you have no idea why you're feeling it

So what you end up with is a genius (who, to be honest, might not have been the most stable of beings before the memory wipe) with a near-bottomless well of all of that mess of emotion and trauma with no direction for it whatsoever. Add to that the High Council electing to send back the signal to save Gallifrey and driving the Master mad at age eight...yeah, they pretty much screwed the Master (and themselves, and the Doctor) over with that one, on top of all the other ways they'd already been screwed over

So: insane, incredibly traumatized genius who's filled to the brim with rage with no direction. Why does he fixate on the Doctor? because of their interactions in the past:

He loves the doctor because they were friends, and the doctor tried SO HARD to save him, and he HATES the Doctor because the doctor should be able to save him, should KNOW and UNDERSTAND him better than anyone and it's like they don't REMEMBER HOW

(Which, of course, isn't rational, because them getting caught wasn't the doctor's fault, and it's not the doctor's fault that they don't remember anything, but, again, if you don't know why you feel something you can't cope with it, suss it out and deal with it)

and then meanwhile, you've got the Doctor, who's also got an unhealthy dose of trauma from everything just, perhaps, somewhat less severe, and they haven't been driven insane by the drums.

What the Doctor's got is this perpetual feeling of guilt for failing the Master, even when stuff happens that isn't in any way shape or from their fault, or even having anything to do with them, because they tried SO HARD in that past life to save them, and it didn't work. Helloooo, guilt complex (that they probably already had, this just makes it worse)

(Also goes a long way to explain the whole insane amount of mercy and forgiveness and love the doctor had for the master)And so, even when the Master becomes Missy and the madness is gone, there's still that rage, and still with no direction, because she CANT REMEMBER so she takes it out on what she always does: that which is important to the doctor

Which, incidentally, is WHY the whole basement imprisonment stuff was beginning to work, because Missy was finally starting to figure out that she isn't actually angry with the doctor at all, doesn't hate them

also, I'd like to think, that after the Master finds out the truth, the whole O thing, would have gone VERY differently

Like, still would've been a total shitshow, but maybe not so much with the world domination and they trying to kill the doctor and her friends because he's finally found where his anger actually goes (and had already begun to figure out where it DOESN'T while he was Missy)

(He still doesn't explain anything useful, bc he still (rather pettily) hates that the doctor forgot and wants her to figure it out herself, rip)

And maybe, when the Master is the timeless child, he doesn't burn all of Galiffrey. Maybe he leaves the civilians, the ones who aren't time lords, who didn't know, didn't benefit the way the Time Lords did. Maybe he leaves the children, who didn't know better, because he's seen what these people DO to children, and its not their fault. Maybe he leaves the Doctor's adopted family and any of their kids/grandkids who are still alive, bc they always cared for them, both of them, and they never knew either

Maybe he only burns the old, callous, cowardly and cruel timelords who got them into this damn mess in the first place and did nothing to fix it, those high handed bastards who would have seen him and the doctor utterly destroyed and gladly profited from their pain

(maybe he waits for the Doctor to figure stuff out, and they make a bonding experience out of blowing up the Citadel or something and then leave again. If Romana's still around, she can be in charge lol.)

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[starry-skies-116]

Elizabeth/Vanessa/Vanny Playing Fire Emblem Three Houses (The Sequel That Literally NOBODY Asked For :’D):

Plays as F!Byleth, recruits Sylvain immediately when arriving at the Monastery even though she doesn’t really need him- “free unit lol”

*Fodlan Winds starts playing on the first level* “DOOT DOOT DOO DOO THE FIRST LEVEL~” (Michael/Freddy’s ears are destroyed by her terrible singing lmfao-) 

IMMEDIATELY becomes an Edelgard stan and joins her army of simps: “Adrestian Empire, the obviously correct choice.”

*takes one look at Hubert and turns to Glitchtrap* “He reminds me of you, Daddy…” (William inside: ‘I’ve been compared to a goth kid by my own daughter… heart been broke so many times y u do dis to me ;-;’)

Is suspicious of Rhea from the beginning, but the archbishop’s motherly nature kind of makes her miss Eleanor, her own mother *cries*

“Black Eagle Supremacy all da wae, ride or die lol”

Yells “ZA WARUDOOOO” every time she divine pulses

Hilda cannot be recruited on the Black Eagles Route *cue Liz being held back by Michael from breaking her switch lol*

Doesn’t know how stat-buffing items and weapons work, so she just does some random bullcrap combinations and hope that they work-

“How does one bait mage aim without my squishiest character dying please help me.”

“The hell is def and res level-ups” (doesn’t know how instrumentally that’ll help her down the line even with how many times she gets screwed over)

Axes and Reason Magic, the ONLY correct choice. :)

“HOL UP DARK SPIKES INSTAKILLS THE DEATH KNIGHT!? Y’ALL ALREADY KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS”

“WE KNOW BITCH, YOU ARE FERDINAND VON AEGIR.”

“KAHEEHEE DARK SPIKES T TIME BOIS”

“Ooo glowy bone sword what it do- DAMN SON IT’S A WHIP”

*gets sniped by that one mage halfway across the map for the uptienth time. Again.* “How is Evan so good at this game”

Doesn’t trust the Crest System in the slightest, agrees with Edelgard on her later conversations and supports. Later learns about Edelgard’s past (spoilers so I won’t mention it), and basically brandishes the dagger she got on her utility belt <3

“Bernadetta do be sniping everything in sight tho never listen to the meta kids”

*having a mental breakdown mid-map* “AHHAASDGHAAHAH I CAN’T DO THIS"

Evil laughs alongside Hubert every damn time he evil laughs, 10,000% ships him with both Bernadetta and Ferdinand (I just think they’re cute together okay??)

“Miklan’s map is shit uwu- WHAT THE HELL IS THAT KILL IT BURN IT OH GOD”

“The hell are gambits”

“I wasted like four divine pulses and restarted my save file two times just to stop Lindhart from dying”

Least favorite characters: ofc Catherine and Cyril bc she’s young and opinionated lmfao

Actually builds a healer, unlike her brother, but that only helps her a little bit since she still doesn’t have her tanks and dancers- (its Lindhardt lol)

“FIRST PARALOGUE BABY LET’S GOOOOO- wait wdym I can’t control allies on main story maps what kind of tomfoolery is this”

“Holy Tomb map is shit and I hate it uwu- wdym protect the Crest Stones does this look like the face of a remotely decent strategist to you I hate this game”

“ᵒʰ ᵍᵒᵈ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ'ˢ ᵃ ᶠᵒʳᵏ ᶦⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ʳᵒᵃᵈ”

Obviously protects Edelgard lol

Crimson Flower uwu <3

*trying to be sensible for once and scanning enemy stats pre-battle* “Dedue Molinaro stay the hell away from me”

“SHE’S SCARED OF RATS THAT’S SO CUUUUUUTEEEEEE”

Obviously very much pissed at the artificial difficulty of the final boss map, but begrudgingly agrees that it makes sense due to Rhea’s true nature as per the game lore (again, spoilers so won’t talk about it here)

Almost sacrifices every single unit she has due to the entire map being on fire and the knights flanking Rhea with their stupid stats, but Edelgard’s her closest thing to a tank and Lysithea snatched Thunderbrand from Catherine, and Lindhart chillin in the back so she’ll be fine lol (except for the GODDAMN ARMORED GOLEMS, OH BOY WE LOVE GOLEMS DON’T WE??)

S-Supports Edelgard bc she a disaster bi/pan

“Why don’t we get more chapters I wanted to see Skillrex sountrack and ICBM’s at Shambhala come on guys”

*Edge of Dawn end credits theme starts playing* “y’all mind if I praise the lord…?”

[crystalelemental]

“el-jarado: I'm still wary. Fallen Edelgard's kit is held in check by the fact the AI is too stupid to use her right, something people overlook a lot. Fallen Rhea has a lot of the same stuff but her kit is so effective even the AI can't fuck it up. But perhaps I'm just overreacting because I got so sick of people acting like FEdel was the biggest problem in the meta when horseshit like LSigurd and Yuri still has exactly one decent counter and isn't likely to get more soon.“

That’s not entirely untrue, but the AI will also throw Rhea into attack mode and let her die that way just fine.  Her biggest issue is the same issue that’s always existed: Saves are bullshit.  Unless you can get her alone, or handle all her allies in enemy phase (impossible at this juncture), she is just going to sit there and not die.  This is where that extra 40% of foe’s Res as damage comes in; if that pushes her over the edge into “One-shots B!Erika,” then she’s definitely a much larger threat than F!Edelgard.  If it doesn’t, they’re effectively comparable.  Both have no advantageous or disadvantageous matchups by weapon triangle, both have the denial of follow-ups and the strong retaliation via special, and both go down like a sack of shit to these hyper offensive armor counters that can blast them and heal back up with Surge Sparrow.

[handlewithkara]

I know I’ve been radio silent for a kind of unacceptably wrong time, but actually I have been writing. I have even sent stuff off to the beta (1 fluffy established relationship smut, one angsty one night stand and the entirety of “All The Boys I Used to Love”) and I have real hopes about posting them. 

Anyway, I’ve also been thinking a lot about various Karamel things and there are some things I really need to get off my chest. So sorry about long rambling and bad screenshots. 

Mon-El:  You should, uh, know that you deserve the same compassion that you show others.

Kara: I forgive you. 

I think there is a reason why I and I'm sure many other Karamel fans found this moment to be absolutely beautiful. Because even beyond getting to see them on screen together again, getting to see them talk, have a real conversation, a lot of this moment made me want to pump my first and shout "Yes!!! Exactly!". Because there is just so much TRUTH in that statement, in that scene.

This scene also made me want to go back and talk again about the reveal of Mon-El's true identity and Kara's subsequent forgiveness. Now I will be the first to admit I get why some people are unhappy with it and I'm sure there are many Karamel fans who would have welcomed it if it had taken Karamel longer to reconnect after the truth came out. But just because it can be argued that it was rushed or that it wasn't great that the moment of forgiveness happened essentially on another show, I feel like going back and remembering and even defending that nonetheless there were some really good touches in how the storyline of Kara's forgiveness played out.

1.) First I think it has to be acknowledged that Kara is a deeply forgiving person. Something we have seen over and over again, even long before Mon-El entered the scene. I think it is stressed the most in season 1 when Alex is clearly worried that Kara will hate her for taking the life of Astra, one of Kara's few living relatives. And instead Kara completely and unquestionably embraces Alex instead (a moment that I think is very well mirrored in season 5 when Kara doesn't have even an ounce of grudge or hesitancy when Alex lashes out at her after Jeremiah's death). But we have seen this in smaller ways as well, whether it is Kara reaching out to, showing empathy with, connecting to or befriending people, who would be "rivals" in other shows (Lucy), or straight up villains (Leslie, Rhea and Sam/Reign come to mind, to showcase that this attitude is pretty much independant of deservedness). IMO even her clearly seeing past Cat's abrasive or insulting behavior and still seeing the good in her is a clear example of this.

2.) How Kara acted when she found out.

First I want to say: look, Kara knows what it is like to find out that a person you are emotinoally close to lies to you, to find out they were somebody else from what you thought they were and they have been keeping that from you.

And look how she didn't come up with a complex plan to screw Mon-El over and "make him feel the same kind of pain she felt". How she didn't lie to him and pretend to be okay and continue to relationship just so she could stab him in the back, steal from him and carry out a scheme to lobotomize the entire world just because she got hurt.

But I do want to stress, that isn't because she wasn't angry or because she is Kara and as such some kind of benevolent forgiving saint.

The very first scene after she finds out is her having dinner with the Daxamites. And Kara is passive aggressive pissy. And petty. There is this scene where she steers Mon-El into having to fess up and explain himself in front of everybody, something that he is clearly uncomfortable with.

Heck he even vocalizes it. 

Mon-El:  I'd rather not.

Kara:  No, no, Prince, by all means. Please tell us of your heroic escape.

What woud have been the 100% "saintly" reaction? I don't know. Maybe to cry and run off the moment she found out the truth? Or to immediately turn down dinner with the slave owning autocrats? But that's the kind of nuance I love about Kara as a character. Yes, the is good and forgiving and strong and awesome, but she also has a temper and she absolutely can be petty.

But the thing is... Kara's petty phase doesn't last long. By the end of the very same episode, Kara does the sane thing, the fair thing.

She demands an explanation. She cares about the details (”Were you ever gonna tell me the truth?”) She listens to what Mon-El has to say. She is not convinced. 

And she cuts Mon-El out of her life. THAT is the non psychopath thing to do when you are disappointed in somebody. When you think that they will just hurt and disappoint you again and you want to protect yourself.

Kara:  He lied to me about who he really is - for nine months. -  I can't shake it

Kara:  I don't even know who he is anymore.

Kara (about Winn’s girlfriend):  You're just going to forget about it? Aren't you afraid she's gonna hurt you again?

3.) Why Kara forgave him aka The Crossover.

I'm not going to pretend the crossover is perfect. There are many things worth criticiziing, whether it's from a meta level (was it a good idea that Karamel making up took place on a different show? should the focus have been more on Westallen?) to a structural one (the conflict Westallen have doesn't really match the conflict Karamel have all that well, nor does the problem of "Tommy" from the music world have that much in common with the real Mon-El, Musicmeister's action are really random and lack motivation). But going back to it I wanted to talk about it on a pure character level. Namely: What is the reason Kara forgives Mon-El? What motivates her?

Is it Musicmeister reminding her that she luuuves Mon-El, is it just because Musicmeister says so, is it jealousy, is it because she doesn't want to be single again, is it Mon-El having a good explanation, is it her being touched that Mon-El followed her, is it that she came close to dying?

No.

To me it is pretty clear that the focal point of the episode is this one.

Kara:  I think you're being a little tough on your son. [...] it's obvious why he didn't tell you right away. I mean, look at the way you're reacting. Maybe if you just listen and and hear his reasons and try to see things from his point of view maybe maybe you'd understand why he didn't tell you before now.

And that's why Mon-El's words about Kara's compassion for others ring so true. Because this is at the heart for why Kara re-embraced Mon-El. She gained some distance, looked at the situation from a different perspective and started thinking about it differently. Kara put herself in Mon-El's shoes and came to a conclusion about how he felt about the whole situation. That's why at the core of Kara's forgiveness is empathy and compassion.

Mon-El's motivations didn't change. They are still really sucky reasons. But Kara put herself in his shoes and empathized with him anyway and had compassion. All things she said are still valid, that she didn't deserve to be lied to, that Mon-El didn't give her a chance to react.

And that's why it felt so good when in s5 when Kara regained her spine, she stresses this. That her motivations do matter (and mind: Kara did listen to Mon-El's motivation and she did care about the details even before Musicmeister entered the scene). That the compassionate thing would have been to care about why Kara did it. Because when she shoe was on the other foot, that is exactly what Kara was willing to do. To first listen to Mon-El's explanation and then put herself in his shoes and empathize with how he got there and have compassion for him as a flawed person. Who did screw up but Kara is pretty damn bighearted. And that's why she rocks.

4.) So Mon-El's lie = Kara's lie?

So was Mon-El's lie about his identity basically the same thing as Kara's lie about her identity? I don't think so. I think there are both aspects that make it worse and aspects that make it better.

First the obvious one:

When Kara lies about Supergirl (or when Alex lied about working for the DEO), she is not lying about a morally bad thing. She is lying about a morally good thing. There is nothing morally reprehensible to most people about saving others or working to protect others.

By comparison, being the Prince of Daxam isn't just something many people would find morally objectionable as long as they knew the details of it (imo picture it less as fairy tale prince and more like "actually my dad is Saddam Hussein/Bashar Al Assad/Kim Jong Un"), it's also something that Mon-El specifically knew Kara disapproved of.

So regardless of whether one agrees with that Kara's blanket dislike of "The Prince" was justified, Mon-El knew that she had a strong opinion on this and hence knowing about this aspect of his life would be something she would reasonably want to know about, care about and it might have a big influence on her opinion on him.

Secondly, after the nature of what Mon-El is lying about, there is the is the aspect of motivation. Let me stress once more that the story has made it clear that motivation is something Kara does care about. That's why she cared about asking Mon-El to explain himself (after some encouragement from Alex and Winn). it’s what Mon-El talks about in 100, that Kara’s motivation matters and that's why in season 5 when she puts her foot down she makes it clear that her motives to lie do matter. 

And the thing is: Mon-El doesn't have a good explanation for it. There is no "well the government told me to" or "I did it for personal safety or to protect the safety of others", no "I lied becasue I was trying to save the life of my bother", no "well if I told the truth our parents would start a mob war", there is only "I was lying, but I wished it was true" and "I was worried about what your reaction would be". (let me note here: I actually like that about the story, that there is little attempt of the story to muddle the waters here and justify it. Mon-El screwed up, Mon-El is contrite, Kara is willing to give forgiveness despite there not being any excusing additional aspects).

So far, so reprehensible, right?

Well to me there is one thing that makes Mon-El's lie about his identity different than Kara's lie about being Supergirl/an alien, that I think has a meaningful influence on why Kara was willing to forgive and embrace. At this point in the story, "being the prince of Daxam" wasn't really an active part of Mon-El's life. It was part of his past.

Yes we can discuss whether you can ever truly shake off that kind of privilege or what you were taught, but the base point of it is that Mon-El didn't really lead a double life with Kara. He didn't pretend to be the perfect little boyfriend with her and then turned around and snuck off to lead a life of Daxamite privilege and decadence. When he said he was going to work, he really went to work. He had no access to that life of privilege anymore and he made no moves to regain it. All the things that Kara cared about: his feelings for her, him being flawed but trying to be better were still very much there (Alex: “Maybe he's just a guy who's ashamed of his past, and he's looking for a fresh start.”). 

Similarly, all the flaws that Kara might associate with being the prince (like promiscuity, laziness, cowardice) were still visible and present in Mon-El before she knew he was the prince.  

When Mon-El lied about his idenity, he lied about a part of himself that he at the very least had mixed feelings about and eventually grew to actively dislike and try to get rid off. A part of himself he didn't actively engage in and that he eventually went to great lengths to reject.

By comparison when Kara hides that part of herself, she hides something about herself that still very much takes up large chunks of her time, that is very meaningful to her and that she has every intention of carrying on, of keeping up.

Mon-El lied about his past, Kara lied about her present. That's why I think if somebody dealing with Kara found about Supergirl, they could reasonably say "Wow, I feel like I only know like 50%" of you. While with Mon-El, with the kind of insight Kara had into him at that point, finding out that he used to be the prince of Daxam is a lot more like "Wow, I feel like I only know 90%" of you.

That's why I think that upon realizing that, considering Kara's general attitude towards forgiveness and considering that she knew, felt and believed about Mon-El it was reasonable that she came to the conclusion that their relationship was worth preserving, at least for now/while she was still evaluating him and seeing how he would behave in the future, in regards to her, his parents and heroism. It was still a leap of faith of her to do that, but considering what we know of Kara's personality, I think it makes sense that she is the kind of person who would make this leap of faith.

So to recap, the top reasons why it made sense that Kara forgave Mon-El:

1.) Kara has shown over and over again that she's a very forgiving person whether people deserve it or not

2.) Kara herself has also lied to/deceived people she liked or cared about her identity (ie Cat, Lena). AND she has also previously been lied to by people she cares about about having a whole other identity (Alex). Because of this Kara imo clearly and staunchy believes that a lie about one's identity does not invalidate the connection you have with a person, it doesn't mean that it invalidates the interactions you have with them or that you don't really care abuot them, that the relationship you have with them isn't real.

Obviously Kara still considers herself a friend to the people she didn't let in on her secret and obviously Kara thought that her relationship with Alex was more meaningful than the fact that Alex had a secret second job.

3.) The encounter with Musicmeister above all stressed empathy, namely Kara relating to Mon-El and how he probably felt.

4.) In the end, Mon-El's lie was fundamentally about the past, it in retrospect didn't really have that much to do with what Mon-El was at this point and with what he was inside Karamel's relationship. It's pretty clear to me that at that point Mon-El had already emotionally seperated himself from his role as the prince and from his parents.

I believe that Kara sensed that and put trust and faith in that and she ended up being proven right about that (Kara: ”we found a connection.Through the kindness in our hearts”)”. If you look at the scene where she breaks up with him, imo she doesn't get hung up on the lie, but she does lose faith, she worries that longterm Mon-El won't have the moral fortitude to be a hero or a good boyfriend. ("You just want things to be easy, Mon-El. But being a hero and falling in love, those are not easy things. They're hard and they're messy. And they hurt sometimes.") This is what matters to her, whether he will have the strength of character to stick with being a hero. 

Mon-El refused to rejoin his parents, essentially cut them off, staying away from them even beyond what Kara expected or wanted (Kara clearly was supportive of Mon-El reconnecting with them as his parents), to the extent that was wiling to support Kara and stand by as Kara kills his mother and unleashesh a dangerous attack on the rest of his people, is willing to join the fight against them and even after being split from Kara shows no signs of returning to his life as a prince.

It's pretty clear to me that Mon-El basically cut off that part of his life,  that at that point it wasn't an active part of his life anymore and that in the future he did everything to minimize that part of himself (compared to Supergirl being a sizable, ongoing part of Kara's life that is important to her and that she intends to carry on in the future).

That doesn't mean that his lie wasn't a big deal or that Kara had no right to be mad about it, but I do think it lends some believable weight to why Kara was willing to take the plunge and accept him.

Again, this is a character aspect we have seen many times in Kara, that she is willing to encourage and embrace people to turn their life around, even if they have gone pretty damn far into their road to villainy (again, Livewire, Rhea).

One last thing I want to say, I have read people claim that they found it "out of character" that Mon-El became a good and attentive boyfriend after this experience. I personally always read this as a clear and natural progression. This event of Kara's forgiveness imo clearly left a big impression on Mon-El. He didn't just almost lose her, I think he also truly got that Kara not just forgiving him but being willing to re-embrace him and give him the benefit of the doubt was a big. fucking. deal and that probably the vast majority of people in her position wouldn't have done it. So it makes sense to me that he was on his best behavior and eager to show both his gratitude and she wasn't wrong to gift him that.

Conclusion: Kara is a kickass awesome person and character and the story of her forgiving Mon-El is more nuanced than people give it credit for

[artemispanthar]

This is such a neat article. I had always assumed, being a prequel series, that the show had a bottom-up goal-driven writing process, since, you know, they have a specific place they need to go and a certain amount of time to get there, but it's actually more character-driven.

Also, apparently my premature eye rolling re: Kim wasn't too off the mark since she was initially included without much thought beyond "potential love interest" and "moral compass" so she really could've so easily gone in the cliche and thoughtless way a lot of female leads are written if not for the strength and insight of the actress and the openness of the writing crew to let the role grow.

I'm also just always enamored with the performance or energy of the actor influencing how that character is beyond how they were intended to be. Like in the SU pilot Pearl is very much a stern big sister-type but in the series proper she has a much more mom vibe because Deedee Magno Hall just radiates mom energy at all times. And in general it's just always neat to hear actors talk about their characters and the characters' unspoken thought processes

Also also, I've written things with characters who I intend for a specific role only to basically have that character stop me and go "oh no, that's all wrong" and completely change where I'm going. And honestly from a meta perspective it's, like, super in-character for Kim to basically take charge and ownership over how she's going to be portrayed in this story

[inyoursheets]

1, 6, 17 for the asks!

Tell us about your current project(s) – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

my current and only baby is warm water, which has got seven chapters up as we speak and it’s been a while since ive updated it. it’s a roommates!AU with a friends-to-lovers arc & some heavy mutual pining, self-indulgent fluff and the occasional bed sharing (to be published). progress is going messy af and im feeling sad about that, bc i really enjoyed working on it before and spending time on my first proper multi-chapter fic, whereas now the writing’s just not working? ive got a few chapters written, but the ones that aren’t written fully yet need a loooot of work and for some reason i can’t seem to actually do it, as ive just complained about here. what i love most about it is that ive actually managed to accidentally process some things through it that i didn’t know still needed processing, which was a fun surprise

What character do you have the most fun writing?

i think i had the best time with the instigator’s rhea. she’s invited to my fantasy dinner party!

Do you think readers perceive your work - or you - differently to you? What do you think would surprise your readers about your writing or your motivations?

oh, no doubt, no doubt. other people’s perceptions of me and my work are something i think about far more often than i should. i can’t control people’s perceptions of me, which is a lesson i keep having to learn in all of life. also -- different people perceive things in different ways! which is one of the most fun things about being human, and something i actually love to explore through writing, but also one of the most difficult things to remember and to truly, fully grasp on a day-to-day basis. i worry about what other people think of me a lot, and im trying to stop doing that, bc i like i said, i can’t control it, and can’t please everybody bc different people have different wishes/needs/preferences. i tend to think i annoy just about everybody on this site, but what do i know? also, i might annoy different people for different reasons, some of which i may anticipate (like how incredibly long my ask responses are) and others i may not see coming.

as for how my work is perceived -- i honestly have no fucking clue. the fact that it is perceived at all is mind-blowing in and of itself. somebody even mentioned it on twitter, asking if anyone else was reading warm water, completely unprompted, and people responded???? said they read it and loved it???? WHAT???? ive never even engaged with the good girls fandom on twitter and this just happened? WHAT????????

i keep being pleasantly surprised by people’s reactions to my work. the fact that people read it at all, and sometimes enough to let me know how they feel about it, is wild to me. im shocked to learn that some of my fics have made people reread or refer to them as one of their faves. that is so incredible, bc -- i do that a lot. im a big fic re-reader, and i love fic so, so much, so to know that something i wrote inspired that same thing in somebody else? W I L D. but how people perceive it exactly, im not even sure. id say that most comments i receive don’t include interpretative statements about the fic itself, so id be very curious to know how exactly people do interpret and perceive my work!

i think maybe some readers would be surprised to know how often i use fic to work through my own shit and how much i project onto characters. through writing warm water i suddenly realized (as i hinted towards above) that i actually know what it’s like to be in love with a close friend! something i lowkey forgot about/repressed lololol. i know what it’s like to overanalyze the smallest of things and interpret signals a hundred different ways and swing from ‘it could never mean to you what it means to me’ to ‘.....or could it?’ again and again and again. it is so satisfying to not only accidentally find a way to process that, but that other people actually enjoy the result of that! fic is so cool! i love writing! aaaaah! 

thank you for asking!!!! meta writing asks!!!!

[darrowsrising]

Do you think Octavia and her furies had anything to do with the death of Lysander's parents?

Nonnie! You have come to the right blog!🤗💖

Yes, yes, I do!

Sometimes, I wish I was one of those blogs that can link to their previous posts like it is no biggie, but let's be honest, that would have made me too powerful (and a brave hero would have to kill me to save tumblr for my mad, tyrannic hold on the internet).

I don't really know about her Furies, but Octavia surely had a hand in Anastasia au Lune's demise.

Here are a few things that enable me to say so:

1. The over all story is that it was an accident. 😒 lame, much!?

2. Lorn au Arcos gave up on his Rage Knight title and broke every possible link with Octavia. Basically went in self-imposed exile away from Luna. He also seem to insist that it was an accident when Darrow probs him about it. Denial (The Nil) isn't just a river in Egypt, folks! Besides, grief is grief, but...turning your back to the Society you protected for so long can't have such a shallow reason behind it. Lorn au Arcos had three sons. The first two died in battle (Iron Rains and such) and he still fought for the Society. Brutus dies in an accident - he gives up...itmakes no sense! He gave up because he felt betrayed by the system. An actual accident is no betrayal.

Here's what I think happened: Lorn turned his back on the system, because both parties involved - Octavia, on one side, and Brutus and Anastasia, on the other - put him in an impossible position.

Brutus is his son, his youngest and his last live one. But hid son and his daughter in law are planning the demise of the Sovereign he swore to protect (and he has done so numerous times and even stayed with Octavia after the destruction of Rhea at her orders). Octavia killed them to protect her throne and hid it under a lame pretext. He simply can't go on serving Octavia, but he wouldn't go against her, because Anastasia and Brutus wanted to kill her (treason - basically what Octavia did to her father, but they call it conquest, not beheading or treason).

Of course, he can't admit that, even to Darrow. He'll insist on the pretext for personal reasons.

3. Anastasia and her husband, Brutus au Arcos were both killed in that ship accident, while Lysander was perfectly safe and sound home. There were already rumours about Anastasia planning a coup against Octavia (a.k.a. she wanted to take her throne by conquest/beheading) at that time. The Lunes death wasn't that much of a surprise.

Their death occured in 739 P. C. E. And Lorn dies in 741 P. C. E. It was a recent thing, Darrow was at the Institute in 738. (These dates are according to the RR wiki, the sources they sent to are pretty much accurate).

4.Darrow alludes us to the killing two times in Golden Son. Once when he probs Lorn about it, but it's never mentioned again. And once when Octavia talks about it just a little by saying something along the lines of 'I did not apologized to my father when I beheaded him. I did not apologized to my grandson when his parents' ship was destroyed by Outriders. I did not apologized when I destroyed a moon.'

Why did she not? Because she killed her father and ordered Magnud to burn Rhea. She lists her daughters death among her own killings. That's why I think one of those (the accident) was exactly like the others (the beheading and the burning).

5. After Golden Son, it is not mentioned again. In Iron Gold it truly becomes Chekov's gun. Lysander side-steps around the issue - his parents died when he was young, he's still affected about it. But he never links their deaths to the rumours or his grandmother. Not even to debunk the links.

6. Bonus: Aja says that Magnus taught the Furies how to treat with treason. So I guess that maybe not the Furies per se, but Magnus surely had something yo do with the Lunes' demise (and the Furies watched it happen).

I had to re-read the part of Golden Son when Octavia talks with Darrow (and holy Reaper of the Vale, I had a bookgasm at the bloodydamn attitude of Reaper!).

You can bet the arses of all the Pixies in the galaxy that I'll have something to say about those chapters soon. 😎

Thank you so much for the ask! Really got me pumpedfor some new...meta? I'm nowhere as well versed as some meta writers are, but let's go with that.

Howl on!

[daggerzine]

Mr. Bungle- The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo (Ipecac)

Before Mr. Bungle became the widerangingly experimental and strange rock band it became known for being its members started the group as a death metal project while still in high school. This album is a re-recording of the early 1986 demo along with covers of “Hypocrites / Habla Español O Muere” by S.O.D. and “Loss for Words” by Corrosion of Conformity.” On the charmingly titled “Anarchy Up Your Anus” (with Rhea Perlman doing the narration) early Bungle is clearly channeling a bit of its roots in Slayer and the first wave of death metal and grindcore. This is made slightly meta by the fact that Dave Lombardo (Slayer/Dead Cross) plays drums on these recordings and Scott Ian (Anthrax, S.O.D.)) lends his sharp-edged rhythm guitar to the mix. The most Bungle thing the band could have done now is to release an album of its juvenilia cast anew with the expertise of veteran musicians rediscovering their joy for and reconnecting with the music that set them on their path.

What is obvious from this edition of the album is that the band even that early on had a healthy sense of the absurd and conceptual, irreverent humor. You hear in Mike Patton's vocals a sense of irony because how could you sing “Bungle Grind” and take it seriously with its cartoonish sexuality even if you're a teenager. “Methematics” is oddly reminiscent of the sort of metallic turn hardcore bands were taking during the dawn of “crossover” without sounding like a cheap knockoff of DRI. The vicious precision of the guitar work is almost ridiculous except that it comes off as earnest, creative and imaginative within the realm of death metal. In “Eracist” one hears echoes of the first Killing Joke album, which was an obvious influence on thrash through Metallica who famously covered “The Wait.” By the end of the album one is struck by how the songs aren't just gloriously blunt and efficiently crushing, they swing and turn with an elegant nuance on impressive dynamics that bring an irresistible energy even if you're not that into the genre. The anthemic vocals are bolstered in the same way so many of the great hardcore songs were of that era so this record hits on multiple levels and seethes with life rather than come off like a museum piece grab at past glory.   www.ipecac.com   TOM MURPHY