#so the logical thing is that God's people were expanded?

[doja-reve]

I wonder if it is coincidence that the first reading (for Roman Catholics) for Christmas day mass is Isaiah 52:7-10. It is, from the very brief amount of research I did, a passage that tells Jerusalem to rejoice for it will be freed from destruction and captivity. It explicitly mentioned the mountain Zion (a bitter shock to see in the current times even if it was really only a mountain then). The readings during mass are (as far as I know) predetermined and I do not want to propagate conspiracy or these sorts of coincidences in spite of being religious, yet I cannot help feel that it is a suitably ironic passage that supports the Palestinian resistance. Does God have a favorite "people" or are we all not included in that? If there is only certain people that God loves, then why should others like me who are not included in that group believe in that God or support the exclusive group of people that God loves? Before all else, our faiths must be human ones--when we rejoice over freedom of a people from captivity and destruction that means any and all people.

[ganondoodle]

totk thought

i feel like totk (as unfinished and duct taped together as it feels, which is wild given the time and everything) missunderstood what was so appealing about a direct sequel to botw, at least in my opinion

i have talked in length about what good of a foundation botw built to keep going with its world and characters and mysteries, and how totk needlessly, bafflingly, throws ALL of it away instead (and i do mean all of it, to me other than their models being the same no character feels like that character anymore etc), which is connected to my next point

alot of people were worried about them reusing botws world, some really didnt like it, some thought it would be fine as long as they changed enough (which they didnt..), and i thought it was really appealing bc i was excited to see this world progress, grow (not size), to .. change, but not how totk did 'change', its all rather surface level anyway, but the change i was interested in was seeing locations i loved be expanded, built upon, developed- and i feel like that is what they should have focused on, if you reuse the same world you CANNOT get it to feel as new and exciting as it did the first time for returning players, which id say is most of them, so you need to shift focus

aside from its mysteries and story potential of botw to be built further (which totk does not, you cannot change my mind, dont try) soemthing i was THRILLED about was just to see how the world has grown- i hoped to see the towns maybe expanded, new buildings in hateno added, someone perhaps painted their house, someone built or IS building a new additional room to their home (maybe you could help finish it?), some thing that made it feel like time passed and people lived there, sure, adding some mushroom stuff is change .. but its rather surface level, like all other changes

in taburasa (tarrey town?) there could have been new houses, maybe they tunneled into the mountain and built cellars there, have some buildings be attached to the sides, the narrow pathway secured with stonewalls, something that felt .. logical? instead they ,,,, removed ... buildings??? homes you literally built a few years ago?? just to make way for kiltons little figurine project, which was funny, but also a little? why remove buildings to put him there, couldnt it have been on the other side of the bridge?? or like a balcony on the side of the cliff?(even the forest .. well the forest is mostly gone and its now an ugly to look at playground for a short little building thing, it all feels so ..... idk, forced? pasted on, this isnt there bc it makes sense, this is your playground)

same should be said about the main regions villages (though my idea there is to actually change it via devastation aka death mountain collapsed and gorons forced to move or adapt, or the zoras dried out and them being forced to go elsewhere, rito being trapped in an actual dangerous blizzard so cold you need special gear for it an cant glide etc bc its damn stupid to put the points of interest in the EXACT same location as last game and then neither change them signifacntly, permantenly, NOR use anything existing as the base for the new dungeons, like making the water temple be an ancient cistern or .. waterworks underneath the now dried out lakes instead), the village of the zoras isnt expanded or anything, its got mud there and an insulting statue change but the mud goes away and then its the same as ever, just like all the other things are undoable and it all goes back to before (aside from death mountains lava)

WHY would the stable in that big empty field just ... vanish? esepcialyl that one?? there isnt anything like a dramatic change there, there is not bossfight there, theres nothing, its just gone and its empty footstep replaced with a semi annoying quest (that is also reused ....)

why the fuck did malanya move???????? the horse god????? leave them there and have the way to them now built in awe of them or soemthing, show that people are travelling there now having found their spring, have it overgrown with flowers that have funny horse shapes or something, even if they dont show up for other people, let them give you a quest that introduces new kinds and colors of horses instead of one random old guy in the spy post after which suddendly there is new pattern??

the statue of in the gerudo highlands, instead of having a very specific puzzle suddendly pasted on, toppled over or broken to reveal an entrance to a new or old shikah/yiga base, or an old gerudo town that shows there was a group that once lived up there (maybe ganondorfs followers???? those that stayed loyal or soemthing??)

akkala fucking fortress?? prime material for a dungeon revealing disgusting secrets of the shiekah persecution or something? no its .. a cave like any other in the door. somehow. in the dirt. (what what waHT WAT)

castle town rebuilt, that farm ruin rebuild! maybe to let all your horses roam there in a big space?? a central tavern hub for the recovering land! ruins that felt like untold stories or teasers to be given a purpose! the fairy fountains being in the same place but their lair expanded, a larger flower or now like a little lake, people actually manaing to visit them now and there being little shrines or offerings, decorations! maybe one of them had to flee (if the "cataclysm" actually .. did anything) which would make that impact much stronger, no, they are just picked up and plopped into the next best place to create the surface level illusion of change without understanding how that comes across, they have to be unlocked again, for some reason, and now its music with the most annyoing quest attached than even the sign guy- why?

how cool would it have been to find a spring and the fairy not being there, her spring is, its open, but she isnt there, a kidnapped fairy somewhere in the udnerground? a corrupted one? since its reusing the same world what you need to do is think about how to surprise the player that grew accustomed to things and attached to chaarcters, and significantly mix up the main points, focus on the characters and narrative to hook them without making it feel forced, its diffcult yes, but so is game making, and botw was such a great basis that imo its not even that hard to come up with compelling things

im not saying there arent any changes, or there was no attempt, but it falls flat or utterly missunderstood WHAT needed to change, the spypost is the biggest attempt at that, but even that doesnt feel like it was done bc it made sense, like the things they wanted to happen where the first thought and the entire thing built just to support that, so all it serves for is to give you that 'hub', even though that position is weird? the place chosen a little disrespectful imo and not very save either, hyrule castle was cleared after clam gan was done for, why would you built a SPY post on the ground level directly in front??? well ,, that was bc the cataclysm happens and the castle is AGAIN the place of the boss, and AGAIN poisoned, the people there couldnt have known it, it makes no sense even if you say well the ground was so poisoned from botw still they wouldnt built there, .. but then right in front? in the middle of a flat field? you could have used the farm ruins for that hub? put it on the hills that are all around?

even characters, instead of like expanding on their character and continueing or challenging their ideals its just so flat, all of them have abilities they never had before, that were never hinted at, other than being vaguely genetically connected to the champions, excuse me, those dont matter, the SAGES i mean, you see riju struggle like, once, with a power she didnt use to have and it only really serves to make her power used by you not her herself (the others didnt need that excuse?) tulin makes me the most mad and his cuteness only worsens it bc he was a little side NPC in botw, now suddendly the main guy (instead of teba?? i guess he was too old, sorry teba, only kids can be blessed with powers or something) he has no character arc and .... he can just use almost an exact copy of revalis storm, just sideways, which is both boring and insulting given how much revali struggled to learn it (which also explains his attitude!!) other characters just seem to forget part of themselves bc its not relevant, robbie has de-made cherry into a little bucket size thing, washt she important to him? purah doesnt have any interesting beat to her either, she just .. offscreen made herself the perfect pretty age with the tech that supposedly vanished as soon as clam gan was done? what? and only serves you to tell you where to go over and over, its sad (not saying botw gave her a super intersting arc or sth, but it built the basis for it, you could have expanded on it? have her reunite with impa? anything?) (and not all shiekah tech is gone, its still there, aaaaaaaaaargh it doesnt make any sense!!!! but its to serve you so, it serves YOU, PLAYER CHARACTER)

the entire game is awfully plagued with that problem, nothing it does feels logical or lived in bc it only serves YOU (and their new favorite thing that everyone loves and should obsess over, sonau/zonai! who doesnt love everything being THEM TM), and once you have checked it off your list it ceases to be anything, theres is no thought about why a contraption is there or what purpose it once served, bc it never has, it serves only to fling you somwhere; to some extent that is fine, like the snowy mansion dungeon in twilight princess is a weird way to build a mansion/fortress but you know its a dungeon so its gotta be that way, back when dungeons where dungeons, but you can easily overdo it, i think its good to think about the world and how to make it interesting for the player at the same time, there needs to be a balance of believability and deniability; a character telling you to press a button is gamestuff, a little weird but ok, a dungeon being built a little weird, well, its a dungeon- people walking around in normal ass summer clothing in the region thats frozen solid? that makes it less believable, even if the game joke about it that they are freezing or explains via 'these people dont feel the cold' or whatever (pokemoooooooooon)

especially with botws foundation, you could have achieved that, easily at times, theres so little restriction anymore, the wasted potential and needlessly thrown away 'everything' still hurts

[bestiarium]

The Liqimssa and the Duuga [Oromo mythology, Ethiopian mythology]!

It is said that the Oromo people – an ethnic group in Ethiopia – once lived on a wonderful mountain called Walabu (also called Ulabo). There lived a white species of cattle which was plentiful and yielded huge amounts of meat and milk, so that the people never had to sow crops or plough land. The Borana people (a subgroup among the Oromo) have a myth about a horrible, cursed beast that drove them away from this place: the Liqimssa.

Liqimssa was a shapeshifting monster that swallowed all humans in sight, one by one. Its name is derived from the verb ‘liqimssu’ which means ‘to swallow’. As such, its name translates to ‘the swallower’. In modern illustrations, the creature is usually depicted as a monstrous elephant, but I was unable to back this up with a source.

It is possible that the tale of the terrible, all-consuming monster that drove the people to flee their country might actually have arisen from a real historical event. It has been proposed by historians that it could refer to a conflict with people from Somali or Sidama, but there is no evidence to support these hypotheses. It has also been proposed that it might have been the armies of Amda Seyon, emperor of Ethiopia in the 14th century, who expanded his kingdom into the territory of the Oromo.

But the link between the military threat and the folktale, however likely it sounds, hasn’t been proven either. In fact, the Liqimssa might not even have been an invading army but perhaps some kind of natural disaster (like a catastrophic drought) or perhaps an epidemic. Whatever it was, it was destructive enough to inspire a folktale that survived across generations.

Among the Borana people, however, there is at least one major variant of this story: in this version, there were three great beasts, called Duuga. They could talk, like men, but they were horrible monsters. As the people of the land knew they couldn’t fight the monsters, they decided to give one human being to the Duuga to eat every day.

One day, this task fell upon three brothers. They were told to choose one brother among them and bind him to a tree for the monsters to eat. But the three siblings loved each other dearly and could not decide: ‘choose me!’, yelled the oldest brother, ‘let the monsters devour me.’ But the middle brother argued ‘choose me, so that if I die, our parents will still have their youngest and oldest sons.’

‘No,’ the youngest brother disagreed, ‘you should bind me to that tree. As the youngest sibling I was always given the best clothing and food. If I was destined to receive the best things because I was born last, then logically I should also receive the worst punishment.’

Now their time was up, the three Duuga were nearing, and the oldest brother came to a decision: ‘if all three of us have to die, we shall fight back and try to destroy these monsters!’ After this, he sat down and prayed to Waqa, the creator god. Suddenly, he gained a bright idea, and he ordered his brothers to heat two spears in a fire.

Then he approached the Duuga. The monsters were confused, as a human being had never before willingly walked towards them. They demanded to know whether he was their meal for today. ‘Yes’, the brother said, ‘but before you eat me, I want to ask you some questions.’ ‘All right then,’ said the monsters, ‘ask your questions’.

The man asked the first monster ‘what part of me will you devour?’ to which the fiend replied ‘I only drink the blood.’ ‘Then you are a fool!’ the man said. ‘Human blood is terrible, but human meat is delicious!’ and so he convinced the monster to eat his flesh. He then asked the second Duuga the same question. ‘I will eat your flesh’ it replied, which the man approved. Then he asked the third monster, and it replied ‘I will devour the bones.’ Again, the man convinced the Duuga that skeletons are terrible food and that he should eat his flesh instead.

And so his time was up and the monsters prepared to devour him. Usually, each monster only devoured one part of their prey but this time they all wanted to eat the man’s flesh. They bickered among themselves and their argument eventually erupted into a violent battle. Now that the monsters were weakened from the fight and their legs were broken, the two other brothers came running with the red-hot spears and impaled all three Duuga, killing them and finally ending the menace.

Also, the Tulama people have a variant of this tale in which the creature that drove the Oromo people away was called ‘Amma Wayyii’ which translates to ‘the giant’. As a final note: the southern Oromo people have a somewhat similar story of a creature that swallowed people. Supposedly, this monster’s territory was located to the south of the Oromo people’s land, but I am uncertain whether this tale is related to that of the Liqimssa.

Sources: Baldick, J., 1997, Black God: The Afroasiatic Roots of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim religions, Syracuse University Press, 184 pp. Hassen, M.,1983, The Oromo of Ethiopia, thesis submitted for the degree of PhD, University of London. Hassen, M., 2015, The Oromo and the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia: 1300-1700, Boydell & Brewer. Grottanelli, V. L., 1972, The peopling of the horn of Africa, Africa: Rivista trimestrale di studi e documentazione dell’Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente, 27(3): 363-394. Andrejewski, B.W., 1962, Ideas about warfare in Borana Galla stories and fables, African language studies, III, p.127. Tuffa, T. Z., 2021, The dynamics of Tulama Oromo in the history of continuity and change, ca. 1700-1880S, submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy in the subject of history at the University of South Africa.

(image source: Criptozoologia e seres míticos)

[budd-ie]

Desperately need to break down two people and one cup of water because I have like 10 drafts about xianle trio that I Can't Post because they all feed off of conclusions from each of their answers, except we haven't established what those conclusions are yet. So this is where that starts.

I once had a wake up in a cold sweat realization (the first of many) that the three of them represent three different paths in their respective answers, and how these answers give us so much insight into who they really are and how they typically act. And I realize this is probably a very basic and prevalent thing (especially come book 3) but I haven't seen it broken down recently, so I'd like to. But mostly I need it as my context and support for my other future claims or else they might not make any sense haha. So I’ll be relating these answers directly to events in book 3. Let's get into it.

“Two walked the desert, about to die from thirst, and there was only one cup of water. The one who drinks lives, the one who doesn’t dies. If you were a god, who would you give that cup of water to— don’t speak yet, I’ll ask the other two and see how they answer.”

Mu Qing's answer:

“May I ask who those two people are, what their natures are like, and of their merits? A decision can only be made once all the details are known.”

Feng Xin's answer:

“I don’t know! Don’t ask me—tell them to decide amongst themselves!”

Xie Lian's answer:

“Give them another cup."

TLDR:

When faced with a choice such as this...

Xie Lian will try to save both parties at all costs, even if that cost is himself. His sense of justice is the strongest above all and believes that innocent people should never have to suffer.

Feng Xin will put someone else in charge of the choice and act on their behalf. He isn't as good at making decisions, and feels most comfortable standing behind someone else he trusts.

Mu Qing will choose whatever option brings the best/most desirable outcome that is within his control without sacrificing himself. He is a logical thinker above all else and is used to making moral sacrifices to find the optimal yet most realistic outcome of a situation.

(Book 3 and some book 6 spoilers ahead)

We know that Xie Lian's desire to expand the resource is beautiful but impossible, and we know that giving equal amounts of half the cup of water to both people will still leave them both as dead as not giving it at all. We also know that he learned his lesson the hard way and doesn't stop learning it even 800 years later. We know how Xianle fell and we know that it was doomed from the beginning; there was no saving it, but even if there was, he would have to choose between Xianle and Yong'an. Finally, we know that when he has nothing left to give, he will give himself up for the outcome he desires. We spend so much time with Xie Lian that I won't focus on trying to prove what's already been proven. Instead, I'll focus on the other two.

Mu Qing's answer is unpalatable to most people, because it sounds like he accepts being put in charge of answering the question "who deserves to live and who deserves to die?" It's easy to judge him for his willingness to make these kinds of sacrifices, but this is the exact nature of the question, and the exact situation they find themselves in so often. By both this answer and patterns within his actions, I think Mu Qing can best be described as an extremely logical thinker who will choose whatever option brings the best/most desirable outcome without sacrificing himself too far. That doesn't mean he'll never push his luck, but this is the algorithmic way we most often see him thinking.

By the terms of the riddle, the most logical option is that one person gets water and one person doesn’t, and the giver will decide who gets it to avoid conflict. And Mu Qing doesn’t choose randomly, either; he wants to choose based on their characters, their backgrounds, their merits, etc. So the other two may be treating everyone equally, but sometimes that’s just not within your control. Mu Qing is an incredibly logical person, so to optimize the good that can come from this action, he will make the choice. It’s not easy, and could end either way, but at least someone is guaranteed to live. In fact, this is the only outcome in which someone is guaranteed to live. I'll summarize some other examples of his thought process in the future, but I'll focus on the most relevant example for now.

In book 3, Mu Qing is the first one to suggest cursing Yong’an with human face disease in order to save Xianle. A "despicable" choice as they conclude, but Xie Lian, I will add, does thoroughly consider his suggestions before declining, and while the persuasion is ineffective, it isn't 100% ineffective. In the end though, Xie Lian is weighing the option of “people in the capital probably live and the people of Yong’an as well as the dead suffer for it” and he isn’t willing to make this bargain in the end. He doesn’t know if it could backfire and isn’t satisfied with the amount of bad that could come from it. Mu Qing, on the other hand, is adamant about this decision and gets frustrated that Xie Lian won’t make it. He's even excited about his answer, not because he wants people to die, but because he found themselves a viable way out. It feels so easy to him, because he’s weighing the net good of “we fucking live” and “we fucking die.” Turns out living is a lot more appealing than dying, especially for a character who canonically loves his life and is terrified of death. Isn’t this the same mindset as the rest of the common people?

I've established before that Xie Lian is not the common people. Growing up poor though, Mu Qing is like, common people extraordinaire. Unlike Xie Lian, he’s long since accepted that not everybody can be saved, not everybody can be placated, some people are good and nice and some people suck and are not. Mu Qing is used to making sacrifices for the greater good, ignoring morality to a digestible extent, because it’s something that common people have to do to get by. This situation reminds me of this quote from when the townsfolk are getting admonished for mutilating themselves to get rid of human face disease:

“Your Highness is invincible, so of course you'd call us foolish. But aren’t our conditions so desperate that we had no choice but to try foolish methods?!”

And maybe we fixate a lot on “not everybody can be saved” but I think what matters to Mu Qing is more that some people can be saved. Why are we dawdling doing good because it’s not enough good? Don’t we learn from this that just one person enough? Mu Qing understands that in order to have a chance at saving themselves a decision must be made, and he tries to make his point clear when he says the following:

“Before they reach their bad end, we will have already perished! You don’t have a third path and there is no second cup of water. Wake up, Your Highness! You’re running out of time.”

The amount of suffering the common people have endured until now allows the average person to surpass the moral debacle and choose life above all else. Why did Xie Lian try to steal during his first banishment? Because he was so desperate to save himself and his family that morality became the lesser merit. When faced with the threat of human face disease and the solution of killing just one person to save themselves, the people who stab Xie Lian live, and the one who refuses the decision dies a horrible death. Does Mu Qing make a little more sense now? He saw not only a way to survive, but the expected solution to the problem, and he jumped at it. We as the audience can fixate on the moral implications of his decisions because we aren’t the ones making the decisions, nor are we affected by either outcome.

Speaking of a person not making decisions, this is where Feng Xin becomes relevant. His answer is to make no decision at all, leave it up to them to decide who drinks and who doesn't. While he's absolved from the moral quandary, this path doesn't really solve anything. There might be a chance where they choose peacefully who should drink, but it's much more realistic to expect them to slaughter each other over the resource before either of them have the chance to drink it.

So when faced with a major decision like this, what is Feng Xin most likely to do?

Entrust it to someone else, like Xie Lian.

As much as I love him, our poor boy's arrows are a bit sharper than he is. What’s he doing while Xie Lian and Mu Qing talk about curses?

At first, Feng Xin had listened to their argument glumly, and because he couldn’t contribute any better ideas, he didn’t join in.

Not a whole lot. Actually, he stands silently until Mu Qing insults Xie Lian. After that, he shoves Mu Qing back and suddenly starts going off on him, saying things like

“With an apathetic person like him, you don’t usually see any sign that he actually cares about the Kingdom of Xianle. But now suddenly he’s anxious?”

and especially:

“You really think I can’t tell that you think His Highness is a fool? I can tolerate your sarcasm and those rolling eyes, I can tolerate you always standing where you shouldn’t in the Upper Court. You like to show off and it’s hardly the first time you’ve pulled this shit, so fine, go show off, you’re not good enough to wow the heavens anyway. His Highness doesn’t mind, so I don’t give a shit either. But since you’re gonna cross the line, I’m not gonna hold back. Listen up! I’m not surprised you’d leap at the chance to use despicable means, but His Highness is His Highness—no matter what he decides, you better respect it. Don’t you dare be so critical, and don’t forget who the fuck you are!”

This is only an excerpt of the rant because the first part isn't as relevant but this whole scene is so crazy. Crazy because it's so raw (that last line is so jaw dropping to me like actually. If someone said all that to me I’d go rogue) and also because it tells us so much about them.

First, "despicable" is actually a word Xie Lian used earlier when he said the following:

“Absolutely not! Don’t forget what we called them when they attacked the innocent civilians of the capital: despicable. If we do the same thing, won’t we become just as despicable? How would we be any different?”

Which means this isn't completely Feng Xin's own judgment. Right now, he's just using Xie Lian's opinion as an in to justify his own personal rage. Xie Lian isn't even calling Mu Qing despicable; he fully believes in Mu Qing, understands how he came to his conclusion, and doesn't blame him for having a temper (he already knows he's sensitive and prone to it, he defends him saying he’s “just anxious over the current situation”). While we do know it definitely reflects Feng Xin's moral opinion on attacking innocents (“If it really was them, then I’ll lose respect for them. Fight honestly on the battlefield if you have the ability; don’t use shady tricks to harm innocent civilians!”), it's less reflective of his intentions in this specific instance.

Second, this whole rant is fueled by nothing but pent up rage that was sparked by Mu Qing insulting Xie Lian, giving him a hard time, and going against his decision. Feng Xin judges him hard for his "despicable" choice, but Feng Xin doesn't even have any other opinions on how to solve the actual problem at hand. His opinion is whatever Xie Lian decides, for his highness is so smart and virtuous, clearly that must be the right one, especially when compared to that of a humble servant.

But what would Feng Xin do if Xie Lian decided Mu Qing was right? What if Xie Lian decided that they desperately needed to curse all Yong'an citizens to die so Xianle might be able to live? Would this still be a despicable decision to Feng Xin if Xie Lian decided it wasn't so bad? I have reason to believe that his sense of morality, though great, may be slightly lesser than his sense of loyalty (assuming the person he is loyal to is virtuous and acceptable to him, such is Xie Lian). This is supported by how in the revised book 6 scene, Feng Xin doesn’t leave because he’s questioning Xie Lian’s morality, he leaves because Xie Lian relieves him of his duty and he obeys the order. He’s surprised when this happens and seems hesitant, despite it all. While we don’t really have any specific instance testing this hypothetical, my hypothesis is that any moral complications he could have would come after acting on his highness's word, and if Xie Lian said this was the right choice, he would rationalize it (I also think there’s a graph with an intersection between his morality and loyalty after which morality will start surpassing loyalty when the situation is pushed far enough to warrant it). In any case, the consequences of their actions will not fall on Feng Xin's shoulders, so he doesn't think too hard about the implications of the actions, he just excels at following orders from the boss; that's why its so easy for him to make these judgments.

I also think this explains the way he acts during book 1 where he always looks like he has something to say and never chooses to, always looking just a little lost at what he’s supposed to be doing. He’s given a choice of talk to Xie Lian or not talk to him, but he genuinely doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do and can’t figure it out on his own, so he chooses the safe option of doing nothing. He’s always looked towards Xie Lian to make decisions, but he doesn’t have that anymore. We actually see him start getting more confident in decision making as the book goes on, like when he congratulated him for his 3000 lanterns (I like how he doesn’t question where they came from though!).

Anyways, I forgot how important book 3 was for characterization of these three because everything they do can be drawn back here. The number one reason I like this story is the way every single character is so individual and has very specific motivations and personalities that can and will clash in very specific ways with other characters, which is how a lot of the conflicts arise in the first place (instead of throwing people at a plot and hoping they can carry it). It makes it so interesting when you know why they act the way they do. Also, this isn't a complete character summary by any means, there’s obviously more to these fellas that I didn’t talk about. I can think of other instances that support these conclusions, but because this is already such a long post maybe I'll make a masterlist or something and link them when I finish them (thanks!)

[mywitchyblog]

Adressing the Race-Changing Discourse

It seems that a debate has been stirred up within the Shiftblr community, and my recent posts might have unintentionally added fuel to the fire. So, let me clear up where I stand.

First off, do I race change? No, I don’t. It’s just not something I’ve felt the need to do in my shifting practice. But do I support others who choose to race change? Absolutely, as long as they’re doing it with respect and not for some fetishizing bullshit.

There are two things everyone needs to keep in mind when it comes to this whole controversy:

Respect for Opinions: Everyone is entitled to their own damn opinion. If someone doesn’t like the idea of race changing, that’s their business. But what we can’t stand for is bullying, harassing, or insulting someone just because they see things differently. Everyone’s perspective deserves respect, even if you don’t agree with it.

Diverse Preferences: Just like some people don’t like using face claims or prefer not to mess with certain Desired Realities (DRs), some people don’t like race changing. And that’s perfectly fine! It’s called freedom of speech and opinion, and it’s a fundamental right—only limited when you start screwing with someone else’s rights.

Now, here’s where things get real problematic:

If you’re cussing people out, insulting them, or harassing them because they disagree with you, you’ve crossed a line. No one has the right to attack others over their opinions. Period.

To those who oppose race changing: I get it. I understand that you might feel uncomfortable with it, and that’s completely within your rights. HOWEVER, it’s crucial to recognize that not everyone who shifts to a different race is doing it to fetishize or sexualize that race. That’s a fact that needs to be acknowledged, no ifs, ands, or buts.

Yes, there are people who misuse the practice of race changing, but you’ve also got to recognize the other side of the coin—the respectful and beneficial aspects of this practice within the shifting community. Here’s the thing: nothing in reality shifting is inherently good or bad, black or white. It’s all shades of grey, full of infinite nuances.

And let’s be real—some of you are being downright hypocritical.

Yeah, I said it. You can argue or debate in the comments all you want, but the truth is, some of you are cool with people shifting to become Mermaids, Animals, Aliens, Na’vi, and whatnot, but then you turn around and label anyone who changes their ethnicity as weird or wrong.

That, my friends, is the textbook definition of a hypocritical double standard. It’s the same damn thing.

If I were to ask why you shift to become a Na’vi, a dragon, a god, or an alien, I’m sure your reasons would be rooted in curiosity and exploration—not to sexualize or fetishize that race, right? The same logic applies to those who shift into a different human ethnicity.

You can’t claim that one side of the apple is bad while the other is perfectly fine. It doesn’t work that way. If one side’s rotten, the whole damn apple is.

Yet, while shifting to become a fictional or non-human race is often celebrated as a form of exploration and creativity, shifting to become a different human race is slapped with labels like wrong or offensive. This criticism completely ignores the potential for personal growth, empathy development, and deeper understanding that comes from experiencing life through the lens of a different racial identity. Just like with age changing, race changing in shifting can be a powerful tool for healing, exploration, and expanding your consciousness.

The hypocrisy here is glaring: the same people who criticize race changing as cultural appropriation or fetishization often have no problem with the idea of embodying entirely "fictional races", which can involve similar, if not greater, levels of stereotyping and romanticization. Keep in mind that in the context of reality shifting it is not fictional nothing is.

Imagine if someone discovered that you shifted to be their race and they are discriminated and persecuted and you shifted because of it (looking at you Avatar shifters that shift to be a Na Vi you are litterally shifting to be Native american but with a blue paint on top be fucking for real, you cannot ignore the fact that they litterally inspired at 99% by Native culture and their struggle against colonial forces The remaining 1% is the fictional setting, remove that and its just human history from this reality).

If the argument is that adopting another race’s identity is wrong because it involves stepping into experiences not your own, then the same damn logic should apply to any form of identity transformation in shifting. But it doesn’t—and that’s where the double standard lies.

This hypocritical double standard also reminds me of how teenage shifters react when they hear about adults aging themselves down to be minors. They immediately assume the worst—yet have no problem aging themselves up to 30-something parents in one DR and then being 16 in the next. This inconsistency shows a deeper misunderstanding of what shifting truly involves and how it allows us to explore different aspects of identity and experience with respect and intention.

[cakerybakery]

It’s just fun where you can get inspiration from. Comment section of a business insider post on YouTube about jobs some one wrote “hell has no men”. Took the logical conclusion “So hell turns people into women? Alright. Guess everyone is the devil’s bride in hell.”

Which lead to, “so what if, much to Lucifer’s annoyance, everyone that was sent to hell was Lucifer’s bride. Every soul is made as an offering to him, he turns them all down and the curse of being his bride is lifted. Then Adam turns up.”

Lucifer sat down in his throne and the daily parade of brides began. Each one begged, screamed, and cried.

“This is a mistake! I was a good person!”

“It wasn’t my fault!”

“Why do I look like this?”

Much to his disgust some were children. Those he took pity on. A child didn’t deserve to be in hell because they didn’t believe in a god they didn’t know. He hates that heaven thought him so lowly that he would trade Lilith for a literal child.

That’s what this truly was about. For their own reasons heaven regretted Lilith’s fall. Perhaps they regretted creating Eve and the children she bore. Blaming her for the fall of Cain and murder of Abel. In their desperation to get Lilith back they offered every human soul that went to hell as a replacement. A new bride for Lucifer to have.

Thousands of year passed like this. Lucifer’s day being taken up by denying bride after bride. Heaven never thought he would stay so loyal. They never believed he truly loved Lilith.

Even after Lilith left him, brides. The deal heaven struck with him bound them both to this eternal drudgery. The exact purpose of which was likely even lost to heaven. Day after day he rejected thousands of brides. He wasn’t sure how many he had gone through that day when one caught his eye.

They were familiar. In looks but they were also the only person to spit at him and go, “the fuck is this you sick little creep? Heaven will fucking kill you for this when they find out what you’ve done to me. And I can’t fucking wait.”

“Adam?”

Adam looked, different, to say the least.

He laughed and laughed and laughed until he was out of breath and brought to his knees.

Adam lived but not only that, but whether heaven knew it or not they were trying to trade the first man for the first woman. Whatever heaven’s plan this hardly seemed like a trade in their favour.

A thought dug into Lucifer brain. Perhaps he could end this annoyance, heaven would still be losing out, and he was going to get to just fucking torture that douche bag until he got bored.

A win-win-win for him.

—-

God dammit it. Okay add it to the idea pile because the scene that takes place after this in my mind gets way too graphic for tumblr and is a much more work then I’m putting in here

The pile has finishing Commitment, punishing Adam is Lucifer’s punishment in hell, maybe expanding that temptation story, one about Lilith and Eve as part of the Consent story, i have a fun idea for that prison AU going around, plus this. Plus like there or four little things I’ve posted would fun to turn into full stories. I think I am going to cannibalize the epilogue I started turning into a one shot between the epilogue and a one shot. Like I did for a different epilogue I started writing during Communication.

[fulcrumstoried]

Ex Diris and the Card Spread

Just read the Ex Diris lore entry exotic grande launcher from the season pass and haven't seen anyone try to do a breakdown of the cards and how they align with cartomancy yet, cause I am gnawing at this.

So, the Deck of Whispers is an oracle deck (think tarot, but the cards and meanings are different).

One of the ways that people engage with cartomancy is by developing spreads, aka the order you draw the cards, and the places that you put them, add to the meaning of the cards.

Eg, a three card spread of past, present, future. The first card you draw represents the past, the second is the present, the third is the future.

I don't believe Eris' spread has an exact match (please let me know if it does), but it is very very close to the Celtic Cross Spread, particularly the expanded version.

I'll break down the spread, the meanings, and the cards below. There's very little theory crafting, but a lot more meaning finding, so I hope you enjoy!

The Labyrinthos link above is a very good full breakdown, but tl;dr, each card in this Celtic Cross Spread has a different meaning, which I'll get into (at a basic level), and it looks something like this:

Card 1 - Your current situation [Blades]

Eris interpretes this to mean Sword Logic. Yes, but I think it's also about the First Knife, and the Final Shape, aka this whole fight / saga is centered around whether or not the Witness is right.

Card 2 - The Challenge / Obstacle [Adherent]

Eris clearly sees this as Xivu Arath. I agree, an Adherent could also be known as a Disciple. The meaning also supports it: she's the threat of the season, the thing we have to overcome first.

Card 3 - Foundation / Cause of the situation [Sisters]

Eris clearly sees this as the Hive God's first selves. I agree, as the meaning supports this: who the Hive Gods once were is the foundation of who they have become.

Whilst this feels like a limited meaning (there are more causes than just them), I think it's a deliberate choice to set up the next card:

Card 4 - The / Your Past [The Harbinger]

Eris can only see this as herself. The spread meaning becomes tenuous here, perhaps because she is the Oracle and from the past she foretells the future? Perhaps it is her card because it is her past that is in play? Or perhaps it's because the writers wanted to have that very interesting line

Perhaps now she counted among those sisters. Savathûn, Xivu Arath, and Eris Morn. A game between siblings. A love that sharpens.

I've got a bit of a crack theory developing about this (particularly with what implies about her role as a Navigator), but that's for later.

---

This is also when the normal spread and Eris' differ. Traditionally, you then place Card 5, which represents the present. Eris skips this (perhaps because she doesn't need to know what's happening now), and goes straight to

Card 6 - Near Future [The Lie]

Eris wonders if this is the Guardians, or maybe the lie of the Deep. From a simple standpoint, perhaps it could just mean that the future is a lie, or that to know the Future is to know a lie? Or, following the way each card is an entity, perhaps this is the Witness? After all, they're going to be in our near future.

---

This is when the normal and Eris' spreads diverge again. Sometimes, at the end of a reading, people add three or four more cards across the bottom, which shows the more subtle influences around the person doing the reading. Eris does this halway through, creating:

Because she does it halfway through, I think Cards 6, 7, and 8 are clarifiers of the three columns beneath them, rather than the reading as a whole. (I'm also toying with the idea that they could also represent the Surface, the Sky, and the Deep, but eh)

(Lmao I've just realised that because I made the second graphic, now the numbers don't align, and I'm going to repeat Card 6 and now use the numbers from Eris' spread, sorry!)

Card 6 - aligned with Harbinger/Eris [Liminal]

Imo these match, Eris is currently occupying the liminal space between Hive and not-Hive, Light and Dark.

Card 7 - aligned with Sisters [Ascension]

Again, a match, their rise from being sisters to godhood.

Card 8 - aligned with The Lie [Lacuna]

Now, a lacuna is a gap, particularly where there should be, or once was, something. Eris saw it as part of a Guardian's Light, but I think it's specifically her Light - and the fact that she no longer has it.

She had not held it for centuries. The Hive sisters below beckoned more loudly than the Light did.

Aligned with The Lie, either she is tempted to fill it with the Lie (aka the Darkness), or the fact that she doesn't have it is the Lie (?).

---

Then we get to the final four cards, also known as the Staff.

Card 9 - Current approach / Your influence [The Witch]

Eris is torn between Savathun and herself, and I think that's reflected in what the meaning of the card could be. I'm leaning towards Savathun, because it's highly unusual to have two cards representing one person in a spread, and because she is, you know, the Witch Queen.

Also, that which is influencing us and dictating our approach right now is Savathun. So if we continue with our current approach, we will continue up the staff/column of cards to:

Card 10 - What you need to know / External influence [The Truth]

This is a fun card because it states The Truth, then Eris goes and says

There were too many truths for any one to triumph.

This is a very interesting line to me, and immediately brought to mind the final Veil Log, the Von Neumann-Wigner hypothesis mentioned, and this breakdown from Reddit. Tl;dr the Light is about creating possibilities, and the Darkness is about collapsing all possible states into one reality.

I also find Eris' use of the word triumph interesting - what will the final truth (final shape) of the universe be?

Card 11 - Hope / Fear [Lament]

Eris sees this as Oryx's death. I immediately thought of The Lament sword from Beyond Light. The sword was a gift from Clovis Bray to Banshee, due to his regret at not caring about the living whilst he was alive. In it, he states

Stay alive. For legacy.

However, when we activate the Clovis Bray AI, he threatens to kill Banshee. His initial lament is forgotten. Similarly, Savathun and Xivu Arath both once died, and Oryx brought them back.

So, these combine in two interesting ways; that of fear of total loss then rejection upon regaining it, and perhaps a fear/hope of sword logic being true.

Card 12 - Outcome [The Wish]

The particle The Wish feels important, and my immediate reaction was The Last Wish or Eris' Wish? Now Eris' was in the past, and I think both the meaning (Outcome) and Eris' interpretation suggest that this is something that will occur.

Eris had wished before. It had led her here. Would she be asked to wish again? What else would her desire wrought?

This post breaks down those lines really well. Or perhaps it is about the Last Wish, fulfilling it, that of the fireteam wishing to keep the Dreaming City / Awoken/Humanity safe?

A wish is desire, the greatest power in this universe.

Which is pretty much a direct quote from the Last Wish cinematic. This also reminds me of the reddit post, as being able to choose your reality feels like a pretty darn great power.

---

Eris' interpretations of these cards are built on each other, like a tower working up. A Witch, from whom Truth flows, which causes Lament, to the final outcome of The Wish.

This could be the story of Eris, actually. She asked for the way out of the tunnels under the moon (knowledge, and truth), losing and gaining something in the process, to obtain the wish of being free.

But also, according to Labyrinthos, with the staff (this column of four cards),

We learn how the context of this situation can affect the reader's life outside the situation, and also - how to change it, if desired.

I think these cards are not just for Eris, but for the story/season - the wider picture, and also how it may change later.

---

I also think that these cards do a really good job of bringing together a lot of different areas of Destiny story together - from Forsaken and the Last Wish, to Lament and Beyond Light, with the Hive and Witch Queen.

This was an absolute blast to try and read into, so hope you all enjoyed my red string nonsense!

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

I’ve seen people state that Dana Terrace has a tendency to emasculate the characters she doesn’t like, especially villains . Like often making them be defeated incredibly easily or making them do things that go against their established characters. From what you’ve seen do you think this is true?

Honestly, I think you can make the case that she does this to characters she DOES like as well; not the emasculation part, but the out-of-character moments. The most recent offender is The Collector who was previously established as enjoying watching Belos abuse and murder grimwalkers and is looking forward to the Day of Unity, but in For the Future, none of these malicious traits are present, and he seemingly does a 180 in his characterization. They're just a Lonely Kid with superpowers instead of the chaotic god child who apparently delights in misery.

It's one thing to present a character one way and gradually reveal the layers underneath but such a drastic change with seemingly no explanation is not character development, it's a retcon.

The show also has a problem with setting up how some characters change: Darius was initially presented as being contemptuous of Hunter but warms up to him once he stands up to him. Considering his history with the previous Golden Guard, shouldn't Darius know what Hunter goes through instead of assuming Hunter is spoiled? Darius' rebellion against Belos is also muddled; he becomes a fully-fledged CATs member because he cares about people and is suspicious of the Day of Unity. Except, I don't believe we're ever shown why this is the case. Darius is a Coven Head and it's his job to get more recruits and was trained by the previous Golden Guard. Logically, he should be a firm believer, but instead he uses his status to climb the ranks to act as a mole. This is a great starting point but we're missing what triggered this in the first place. The only hint is that the death of his mentor is what started his rebellion against Belos. But this isn't really expanded upon and it raises more questions. How did he find out that it was Belos who killed his mentor? How much did the Golden Guard tell him? If the death of the previous GG is what made him turn on Belos, then why does he treat Hunter poorly? If you're going to have a character act as a mole, then at least explain what their motives are and how they were developed.

This shows how fundamentally flawed the world-building in The Owl House is; characters only follow Belos when it's convenient to the plot. So in the end, you have characters who oppose Belos because they're on Team Good Guy (Darius, Raine, Eberwolf), the ones who support him because they've always been Evil (Kiki and Terra) and the rest of the isles who either celebrate him at a parade or denounce Eda's potential execution because two teenagers said so.

Anyway, onto the villains...

Odalia is essentially a war profiteer who doesn't care that her entire species is about to be wiped out by the DOU, even though logically she should. She cares about her company and a company can't profit if the majority of your customers are dead. She is tyrannical, cruel, and greedy and it's fun to watch her be reduced to a mere servant. I don't mind this development for Odalia, however, it does point to the trend of taking powerful enemies and reducing them to a shadow of themselves for comedic purposes.

Kikimora was presented as a terrifying enforcer of the Emperor's laws but she got progressively more pathetic to the point where she had to impersonate a teenager and serve as the right hand to Boscha, a character we haven't seen properly since Season 1. She is presented as power-hungry, pathologically ambitious, and has an intense desire to earn Belos' favor, but when he turns against her, she helps King find the Collector, effectively helping defeat Belos. But recently, she is back to her Season 2 shenanigans by taking over Hexside and the question is why exactly? We saw her world crumble before her and she reverts back to her previous traits instead of actual characterization. A common interpretation is that she is just THAT obsessed with power that nothing can break it, which isn't...realistic. FtF doesn't show why Kiki does this, she just does. Perhaps because of the psychological damage of Belos betraying her she decides to continue with what she's always done, except that this isn't telegraphed clearly. Instead, she just comes off as a mini-boss before the final showdown.

That leaves Belos as the only real credible threat and while he is terrifying on a personal level, we never see him at his full power; for apparently being the most powerful "witch" in the isles, his magic doesn't really stand out from what was seen before. And in King's Tide, he was just playing with Luz. He is ultimately brought down by his own hubris and misplaced trust, and an over-powered god child. Belos' defeat is thematically appropriate so it's not as egregious as Kiki's but it does fall into the category of "Easily Defeated." Obviously, we'll have to wait for the finale to see if that trend continues.

Belos' defeat by the Collector seemed to set them up as the new threat in town, that Belos, for all of his power, was ultimately nothing and the mysterious Collector is a force to contend with. But no, the Collector is largely kept in check by King. So Belos' defeat doesn't do anything for either character; we don't get any reaction from Belos about his centuries-long plan blowing up in his face and the Collector isn't even bad, just misguided. As for the misunderstanding between King and the Collector and their "new game"? I don't think the Collector will actually do anything that will have lasting damage, not while Belos still breathes.

And that's a common problem the villains in this show have, any attempt at interiority or psychological depth is explicitly rejected by the show (remember Kiki and her family, how she was worried about being disowned? Psyche! She'll drop everything for even a smidge of more power!) and the lesson seems to be "these characters have always been Evil and nothing will change that."

It can be fun watching villains go from intimidating to pathetic, but if that's all you do with them then it becomes boring fast, at least for me. Ultimately, I think the biggest problem with the villains is that you're supposed to take them at face value: Belos, Kiki, Odalia, are Evil for petty reasons and will do anything for power. Not all villains need to be nuanced with complex characterization but if all of your villains are just Evil all the time and the text explicitly does not want you sympathizing with them or even showing a different side to them, then that's just a wasted opportunity to flesh out your world with interesting characters.

[reinekinthos]

fine milkers — about sirius, obsessing over her moony's tits (pt.1)

lesbian wolfstar | hogwarts | getting together | it will definitely get explicit.

—

“Why do tits get bigger on your period like, Merlin, why,” Jamie whines exaggeratedly, palming her tits with a pained expression as she storms in the room.

Remus winces but refuses to lift her eyes from her Potions textbook and hopes her friends takes her as example.

They don't. Of course.

“It’s to attract mates,” Sirius says mildly from her bed, where she has been lying for the last half hour seemingly engrossed in her own Potions textbook. “Your body is preparing for the following week when you’ll be so horny you’ll be humping your pillow and screaming Evans, Evans, Evans!”

“Sirius!” Remus reprimands her, mostly because hearing her moaning Evans’ name is giving her the chills.

Remus inhales slowly. Sirius doesn't even bother to look guilty; her eyes fall to the flex of Remus’ ribs as her chest expands, follow the way her breasts moves with her breath.

“Wait,” they hear Jamie say, and Sirius drags her gaze away from where she has been struck dumb. Jamie is still massaging her breasts in the middle of the room. “Is that true? My boobs are huge because my body wants to attract suitors?”

For fuck’s sake.

Remus brings her hand up and massages her brows, pinching the skin together as she assesses the words she wants to say. “Of course not, Jamie,” she starts but at the same time Sirius scoffs, “hah, huge she says, you wish!” and loses the other girl’s attention.

“Mean, Pads,” Jamie counters, pointing at her, eyebrows raised. “Why would you say that?”

“I’m just saying, your tits are just tits, alright?” Sirius says before she gestures vaguely in Remus’ direction. “But those tits… Those tits are huge! Enormous! Massive! Gigantic! E—”

“Sirius!” Remus yells, her face burning. “You’re making me sound like a cow!”

Sirius sighs dreamily. “They’re fine milkers, Moony.”

Remus opens her mouth and then closes it. Milkers, she thinks looking pointedly off to the side, not meeting Sirius' eyes, oh my God.

Jamie shakes her head, dropping her hands and looking fairly depressed. “Now Remus, why would you interrupt her? I wanted to see how long she could keep that up.”

“Jokes on you,” Sirius huffs, tilting her head and flashing a charming, thin-lipped smile. “I can describe her tits for hours.”

Remus can feel the flush spreading across her face and down her neck, even slipping beneath her night shirt.

“For God’s sake, Padfoot!” Petra cries horrified, pushing the curtains around her bed open.

If she were braver, she would look at Sirius straight in the eye and say, don’t pretend to be attracted to me. It's cruel. And you're never cruel. Not to me.

If only Sirius knew.

Sirius is the prettiest person she has ever seen, no doubt. This fatal combination of sharp grey eyes, cute nose, doll lips. It’s impossible not to notice. She stands out anywhere, turns heads even when she's keeping her own down, which is rare, because Sirius is fierce; she puts up with people talking shit about her and responds with a confident grin. She's also smart and reads tons of books, folds over the corners and underlines words, careless in every way that Remus wishes she could be.

Remus is a below average teenager who never really let go of the fact that Sirius is perfect. Easy.

It’s Sirius' fascination in her that is beyond comprehension. Remus is… Remus.

There is an attempt to be logical. Remus is well aware that her mind is a cruel thing; she’ll convince herself that she’s unworthy no matter what, it’s just who she is, built for pain.

Though this time it's not self-sabotage. Sirius is entirely out of her league. Remus has known this since she was an eleven year old scrawny girl in an unfitting crowd, zeroed in on the laugh of an impressive little rascal. She was in awe of this girl from the very first moment. It just got worse with every sight of her, every new piece of information to tuck away, every sweat inducing conversation. She knew it when she thought she was straight, when she became well aware of her crush, to when she realised she would always be a little in love with Sirius Black.

Sirius is oblivious. Completely unaware of her internal turmoil. She hangs out with her, shares her books, buys her chocolate, gives her hugs. The luxury of intimate moments is not something that Remus deserves, and yet she gets them, and still finds something to be unsatisfied with.

She tells herself she's lucky enough to be Sirius' friend.

Remus takes a breath. She has done this before, but now she’s blushing. It’s unfair. She tries to get a grip, clenching her jaw and looking into Sirius' twinkling eyes.

She sets herself up for heartbreak.

Sirius smiles lazily as she watches Remus get up from her bed and shove irritatedly her feet in her winter slippers. “I’m leaving.”

The library is the rooting spot for Remus' unjustified mourning so she gathers her things. “There’s a book I need to look up for an assignment. I’ll probably be there until curfew. Bye.” In a blur of motions, Remus flies out the dorm room door. The last thing she hears is Jamie deadpan: “So smooth Pads, she wants you sooo bad.”

[sleepy-aletheas]

I'm t h i s close to losing my mind over Teyvat's history, origin story, and cycles of eras, and it's the fault of the world's architecture and Simulanka's Narration Footnotes quest of all things. Tonight I've been running around for 3 hours just through Mondstadt, Liyue, Underground Chasm, Enkanomiya, Seirai and Tsurumi Island, and already I'm ready to gnaw at a brick.

Genshin never hid the notion that there were different eras of population in places. It's explained away easily enough - time changes, people change, the rise and fall of civilizations is inevitable, especially with the history the characters personally touch upon. But when we got more elaboration through the Narzissenkreuz questline about the cycles Teyvat is going through, it expanded upon the little exclamation point at the back of my silly head, because it made me scrutinize all the places that made me pause with a confused "huh" for a long time now.

(Wolfy is also at fault. Or better said, all the recent quests and events are heavily dropping future points and the lore of the past in very flowery metaphors and allegories that would be easily brushed away if they didn't point it out over and over and ov-)

The thing with the design of the world is, that it's very deliberate. I mean, sure, we could chalk most of it up as reusing assets and retroactively giving them meaning, but the architecture follows a pretty consistent logic that we can map out physically (digitally?) in-game by walking from place to place.

And because of this logic, I've been losing my mind for months now, because I couldn't put my finger on what was really bothering me, cause whenever it sparked in my mind, I never wrote it down and then promptly forgot because something else caught my attention. Now I don't have that problem, cause I write stuff down in a journal, so I can brainrot through all of it to my heart's content (and to the chagrin of my eternal migraine).

Anyway. Teyvat's history timeline is a mess. It makes sense if you skim it or take it at face value in the moment, but the more one tries to think about it, before the Archon War, it's nonexistent, really. Paimon herself was in shock that there was anything before the gods that walk the earth (that was through the conversation with Enjou at the end of Enkanomiya's main quest where we got Before Sun and Moon and found out about the Dragon Sovereigns and Primordial One).

The book was held at a high esteem, because in-game logic dictated for a good while, that the book (or anything from Enkanomiya, really) cannot be tampered with from outside forces, and that because a scribe wrote down what Istaroth herself told him, it must be 100% true. But, because this is Unreliable Narrator: The Video Game, I wanna hold it with a grain of salt for a bit, cause if Sumeru's desert quests have taught me anything, it's that no one is outside the realm of getting things wrong through misunderstandings, assumptions, or outright lies (and that counts for Gods and Sovereigns too btw).

The thing is, the game deliberately tosses clues and leads around across the spectrum from obvious to throwaway lines or visuals. The foreshadowing is being put into place all along, and it's not just "oh, what will happen next patch?" or "this is the new area, right?" specific things either. There are quests and books and characters that are mirroring something that happened once upon a time (or in the present), but a person has to deliberately listen for this to catch, otherwise it just becomes a fun tidbit that maybe connects sooner than later, or it just completely slips the mind and comes back seemingly as new information.

Okay, back to the point of Teyvat's architecture in connection with civilizations and cycles of eras shenanigans.

There is this one specific architecture that keeps popping out across every single nation, you know the one. It has triquetra and intertwined lines (would braided be a better word for it? plaited?), with the stones big and smooth, the edges blunted. It truly is everywhere one tries to look, but it's interesting where it lays and where the region-specific architecture intertwine or avoid each other.

We could assume that that was the United Civilization, the first before it got split apart, laying across Teyvat in unison. That should be the original style. But then we got the Underground Chasm and Enkanomiya, and it throws a wrench into the whole neat fact, it makes one question what is going on.

Enkanomiya was thrown away from surface Teyvat, cut off from any connection to any divinity or other people, stuck with vishaps in the dark. And yet it's the same architecture as the Chasm, they even have the same glowing stones inside their square pillars, their walls have wavy lines carved out, it's all very angular and the stone also is more white than grey. And then there is Clymene (a shade in Enkanomiya, the ward of the Sunchildren) that says something along the lines of "I haven't seen someone dressed like you in a long time" which raises so many questions, and we never got back to it (shaking my fist at the sky, this lives in my head for years now). And on a lesser note, both reside underground, where you can see the cave arch high above and reaching deep beneath the areas. (And on another sidenote, it's interesting how similar Enkanomiya, Chasm, and Remuria have their architecture, lots of massive white stone and gold)

Old Mondstadt had actually a wider reach than expected. It wasn't limited only to the hollowed place that is now Stormterror Lair with high cliffs all around, but we can see the ruin leftovers stretching to Cecilia's Garden and all the way to Dawn Winery. Old Mondstadt had a combination of rose stems with thorns, moline crosses (or that's the closest I could compare it to), what looks like lily of the valley, domed roofs, and again the big smoothed out stones. The biggest mystery that stand out to me are the two smooth pillars in by Cecilia's garden that don't fit anywhere (it doesn't even fit the ones around the Thousand Winds Temple, where they're carved again with wavy criss-crossing lines).

Speaking of Thousand Winds Temple, that one's also coming up around in different places across the places I looked at. It's obviously across the east of Mondstadt, the secret forgotten island where the other sundial rests (and there are interesting symbols too, like the stylized infinity swirling around, the pedestal before the sundial reminiscent of the light realm sigil associated with Tokoyo Ookami, and a knot in the middle). If anything, there are other symbols that resemble the triquetra close enough to be chalked up as the same thing, but they're differently depicted that I can't unsee. Then there is the pavement, and oh my god, that haunts me. Because it can be found on the forgotten island, Thousand Winds Temple, but it's also in the underground ruins on Seirai Island (Amakumo Peak, where you first have to solve puzzles to drain the water levels), and around Tsurumi Island in general (the buried architecture reminds me of Vinagnir, I wonder if they're from the same time or not, the wall drawings would fit on their own). Istaroth had to have a direct hand in many places, because she just keeps popping up.

And Liyue has a pretty clear distinction between what Morax ruled and where he laid Guili Plains (pretty square structures with distinct symbols) and what was probably before. Bishui Plain pretty much is connected through the large grey stones, triquetra, and wavy lines, with a distinct detail of a lattice symbolism in the salt carrying pillars in Sal Terrae, or the dragon statues situated across Wuwang Hill and Qingce Village. In Jueyun Karst, where we have to drain the water to reach Tiashan Mansion, there is a similar mechanism as in Old Mondstadt (just a fun detail). It's also a fun thing to note, that in Guyun Stone Forest, the space where the geo hypostasis rests, the ground has again a resemblance to the light realm sigil, so that's fun to look around for later. All that to say, it makes me personally curious when did Morax and Guizhong become allies, because it had to be during the Archon War to make any lick of sense.

All of this to say: I completely lost the plot. I'm so sleepy, I stayed up the whole night again. I digress.

It's obvious that there is some time shenanigans going on, where there are crashes of architecture and history. The conflicting ideas of who came first - dragon or human (probably both, cause everything most likely is a dream (which i get is annoying for many people, but i think the game is trying to not use it as a copout to drop all meaning out the window once it's over like all the bad dream based stories did; they're really hammering in that even if something is just a dream or a fantasy, it's still an experience lived through and its meaning has equal value as reality)), and what the changes of cycles look like or work like. Like we know they exist, and technically one can go from one cycle into the next one (like golden bee Sybila (later known as Phobos)), but otherwise we don't know what happens at the end of one, or how the transition works or looks.

Next time I have any grain of energy left, I need to crawl through the rest of Teyvat to sate this need to know stuff. But that's for later.

I should stop talking, nothing is making sense to me anyway and I'm not rereading any of this (will i still toss this out here? apparently yes. there is no restraint when i can barely keep my eyes open, and i choose to not care).

[zoobus]

I'm not normally a victim of FOMO tactics, nor do I usually let being late to the party stop me from chatting about a piece of media but I'm genuinely sad I didn't get into Obey Me/Nightbringer earlier. It makes me want to write a million essays but the disposable and decentralized nature of gacha kind of makes it feel like you missed your chance to talk about it. I keep coming across years old, unrepliable comments that I want to jump on sooo bad but I can't because the moment is gone and most of these people have likely moved on to less overtly money-hungry games.

Which sucks! because one essay I want to write in particular is how this game is extremely skilled in arousing your desire to create, to actively engage with the characters and worldbuilding, to do fandom shit, and I find this enormously fascinating in itself. The story isn't good but to a certain extent, it's not supposed to be; it functions as an elaborate set of writing/art/rp prompts for its audience to expand on and tailor to their needs.

And I think Obey Me does this well! Amazingly well. I find discussion of narrative structure fascinating, the study of how we define writing as effective, good, or as failures, so I'm drawn to this story full of contradicting lore, one-note characters, and half-finished plots. The story isn't good but that hardly matters because it's not here to be a good story; it's here to throw you into imagination boot camp. It compels you to speculate what it could be, what this character could be, what a slightly different tone would look like, what other people think about it. It feels distinct from the average popular show fandoms where, to an extent, creators congregate simply because that's where the people are. Creating for your own sake is nice and all but validation is usually a stronger force. Usually.

I keep coming across old high effort researched posts about abrahamic religions and occultism from fans setting themselves up for inevitable disappointment. I keep coming across creators leaving notes on their work like "I haven't written a thing in ten years, but,". I keep losing it over heartfelt posts defending x and y canon story decisions with their whole chest, oblivious to the fact that they're misremembering their personal tweaks/headcanons as what happened in the game, like it's seriously so cute when they're so passionate and completely wrong.

I have no idea if fandom actually plays a role in the lucrativeness of a franchise (though as a personal anecdote, I 100% started Obey Me after a single piece of horny Mammon fanart crossed my dash), but it makes more sense to me now, less a projection of wishful/haterful thinking from those with strong opinions about Fandom. Maybe it really does matter.

---

Other essays I missed the boat on:

A Casino Right in Your Home: goddamn is the pre/sequel's gacha obscene

Satan: how to put a mid character into S-tier with one simple trick (make him insane)

Sorry Belphie defenders but you're imagining a better psycho than you were given

Solmare added a shiny new rhythm game but didn't fix the now four year old coloring error on Levi's hands lmfaooo the disrespect is crazy

Remember when you saw the Nightbringer trailer of them glaring in bdsm gear with freshly blackened wings, and you thought "ah, so this takes place right after they fought god and lost. After they went to war to protect their sister only for her to die anyway. After one brother in particular saves someone, but not her, the focal point of the war. They will finally take these to their logical, guilt despair rage pain and grudge filled ends." And you were correct until that very last sentence? lol

Remember when the Ruri-chan event gave you the option to tell Levi you're not cheating on him and then the rest of the event was just making out with his brothers? Then it ends with you kissing him in front of them? Bring that energy back!!!

[couldaromanticismsavethem]

Warning! Spoilers for Pokemon Reborn! Like. Major spoilers. You've been warned!

TITANIA ANDERSEN FROM POKEMON REBORN

Justification: “BOY HOWDY DID YOU ASK THE RIGHT PERSON!

This has MASSIVE HUGE spoilers for the entire plot of Pokemon Reborn, and two major plot choices you can make, and slightly more minor for the other two paths.

Okay, so Titania is the steel-type gym leader. Her gym's theme is fairy tales. Her ace is an Aegislash that she wields like a sword to kill people.

When she was younger, she was friends with Julia, Florinia, and Amaria. Julia was consistently out exploding things and dating boys. She was not around for most of the Amazing Toxic Yuri Incident. Amaria is Titania's ex-girlfriend. Back when the four were still friends, Amaria struggled with self-harm, depression, and attraction to Titania. Titania realized that there were two ways this would end: Amaria killed herself or they started dating. So Titania decided the best course of action would be: fake dating. She "confessed" to Amaria, they got all romantic, and Amaria was no longer in mortal danger!

Were there doctors in Reborn city? Yes. However, the one doctor is transphobic and electrocutes children, so Amaria couldn't really see him. (He's very dead now. The orphans are all being well-taken care of.) So due to the state of mental healthcare, Titania did believe it was the only choice to make.

She also wanted to protect Florinia, and so she had a fake breakdown and started screaming about how no one liked Florinia and she should stay away from them. This, needless to say, did not protect Florinia. She repressed her emotions heavily and began speaking like an academic paper, much to the chagrin of everyone around her.

Titania and Amaria ended up living together, by a waterfall. Amaria was gifted Sapphire Bracelets by Titania, who found them in the ashes of a burned down house. These bracelets were one of four keys that could open up a door into a place called the New World. The region's "evil" team, Team Meteor, wanted the Bracelets to let forth the New World.

Lin, a child trapped in the New World, also wanted to escape. She recruited her sister Terra to Team Meteor, joined herself via god-puppet-thing (which I shall refer to as Meteor Champion Lin,) and rose the ranks. When Terra started, she was known only as "T." This was later revealed to be short for Titawin. (In Team Meteor, most admins and those in important positions have false star-based names.)

Amaria heard of this. Amaria had also seen Titania talking to a Meteor agent. Titania was feeding the agent false information in order to protect Amaria. Amaria, however, thought Titania was Terra and part of Team Meteor. When the player character (I will refer to them as Decibel, since there are 6 options) "talked" to Amaria, she revealed this and began to look through Titania's things. (Decibel cannot fully talk. They're also a god-puppet-thing, but have more free will. ((technically? it's never expanded on)))

She found her diary and saw that Titania had been writing a fairy tale about someone with a curse, and that someone was fake loving her, but the only option was to let her go. This was Titania letting off steam from the massively stressful relationship she was in. Amaria thought it meant that Titania's love had been fake. Which, like, it was, but come on man. She just skimmed one page of a notebook and drew her own conclusions.

Anyways, Amaria ended up confronting Titania. She ran out of the house, went onto the edge of the waterfall, and leapt down. Titania was very confused by Amaria's marathon leaps of logic, but jumped down after her.

The waterfall led to the Water Treatment Plant, which had been taken over by none other than Team Meteor. Decibel couldn't follow them since they didn't have the Waterfall TM. One gym fight later and Decibel leapt down to see that Titania had been stuck for three days and had killed every Meteor in sight.

One massive annoying puzzle and a couple of stabbings later, an admin took the Bracelets, gave them back because he didn't want to be a part of Meteor, and left for the desert.

When Amaria woke up from her fall, she had lost some of her memory. She didn't remember Decibel, or Titania's ""betrayal,"" or her attempting suicide.

Depending on actions taken against the admin in the Water Treatment Plant, Amaria will attempt to drown Decibel. Titania saves them, yells at Amaria, and runs to her gym in the desert. Amaria also reveals that she knew Titania never loved her. She kept her around because Amaria needed Titania, as she would constantly stay with her when she got really depressed. She had hoped that she could simply love Titania, and that would be enough.

Titania also mentions wishing that feelings would come for Amaria.

After doing other things not related to the Amazing Toxic Yuri Gang, Decibel goes to the desert. In the same route that Amaria tries to drown Decibel, the admin, Taka, will ask to join them in the desert.

Eventually, Decibel and Taka show up at Train Town.

Reborn City's primary mode of transportation is trains. There is a massive train scrapyard in the desert. Nestled inside is a town. Taka, as he wishes to hide from Meteor, stays there. It would have been a fantastic plan if not for the fact that Lin, the leader of Team Meteor, used the power of Arceus to control Decibel, and thus can see what they see.

Decibel shows up at Titania's gym. Meteor Champion Lin kidnaps them and also Taka after hiding as a knight.

They awake in a tower. Stone. Cold. Alone.

But not for long! Taka's there! He's confused but continued on the set path. Decibel does as well, and is given the Bracelets by Titania.

Fun fact, the Bracelets are called the Key of Love. The sapphire in Reborn's crest is for all kinds of love.

Decibel proceeds through the gym. They fight a stone Reshiram/Zekrom. On the route you fight Zekrom, an armored knight appears and begins to speak like MCLin. Titania stabs the knight!

Uh oh, bad decision, Titania!

It was Taka. Taka dies. MCLin appears and holds her over lava.

And there is only one who can kill the dragon: the one to whom its back is turned.

Her Aegislash then stabs and "kills" MCLin. Decibel pulls up Titania. MCLin comes back because you can't kill a puppet. She alludes to her and Decibel working together and dips.

Decibel fights and wins against Titania and gets their gym badge.

The plot has progressed and Terra has taken over a building and trapped, among others, Amaria and Titania together. She forces them to fight. Titania revels in how nice it is to hear Amaria fall silent. She also mentions how, essentially, Amaria made her emotions other people's problems.

Later on, all the keys are gathered, the door to the New World opens, depending on choices you can fight Lin and lose or fight her and leave her to the dogs, we're going with the "Lin is still there with Arceus power and you didn't throw her into the void" path for this one, and then Lin just starts opening portals and spawning like, 14 Genesect for fun.

Lin's New World has an affect on people. It causes them to shout out a distorted version of their true thoughts and feelings. This is called Umbral Energy.

One of the portals has a Groudon and Kyogre in it.

Titania has red hair. Amaria is the water-type gym leader.

Titania and Amaria get their corresponding legendary, get Umbral, and start beating the shit out of each other. Decibel fights them both, gauntlet-style. Lin throws Amaria into the lake. Titania begrudgingly drags her out.

They leave the cave as exes.

(Julia and Florinia leave having rekindled their friendship and being happy with each other's company.)

(Also, Florinia gets help from a Lin-spawned Latias and makes an effort to let herself feel emotions.)

Titania is EXTREMELY aro-coded. Using romance as a tool is, as far as I can tell, the universal aromantic experience. Titania obviously cares for Amaria, and did do what she thought was best to protect her at the time. I know realizing she was aro would help her. You walk up to Titania and slide an article to her and she comes back with a white ring and 20 years added to her lifespan. Being in a romantic relationship is extremely stressful for her. Being out of it is good, but she's not gonna be the same again. In the route I didn't detail- the one where you fight a Zekrom- she stays with Amaria and mentions that it's her personal hell.

Romance is a burden for Titania. She hates being in a false relationship just to support someone she cares about.

And that is why Guardian Princess Titania Andersen is aromantic. If anyone has objections I am plugging my ears and screaming. Thank you for listening!”

[queer-advice-hotline]

To the anon who is struggling with their faith and identity, hi. I get you. I’m in the same boat in a lot of ways. (Discussion of anti-science rhetoric, lgbt-phobia, and conservative Christian stuff for anyone who doesn’t wanna read that)

I was raised Christian, and taught that evolution and the Big Bang were false. I was taught that dinosaurs were real and the earth was billions of years old, but we were still creationists.

I was also taught that being gay or trans was sinful and that gay marriage shouldn’t be legalized. My family was never outright hostile (my uncle is gay and we always loved him, even though “we just don’t agree with his decision” ugh), but clearly bigoted.

I was also raised in baptist churches, who absolutely love to quote the same three verses over and over in order to tell women (like myself) that our whole purpose is to shut up and bear children and take care of the house, that we are to obey our fathers and husbands in everything and cannot teach men at all. Fortunately my parents at least hated that BS, and after every sermon regarding that point my mom would lecture us that that was the only thing she disagreed with with our church, and that me and my sisters could be whatever we wanted to be. She continually pointed out the instances that contradicted what our churches had said about women’s roles.

When I went to college, I made friends, met people with wildly different backgrounds, and began to form my own opinions. I am a supporter of lgbt rights (I believe that there is strong evidence that wording was changed to condemn homosexuality, and that even if it’s a sin, we are called to love each other first and foremost, and that we cannot force our religious beliefs upon anyone else, and that respecting someone’s sexuality and pronouns is just basic fucking courtesy. I’ve even convinced my trump-supporting grandparents to use peoples preferred pronouns and respect gay marriages, with the logic that “you believe it’s sinful, but they don’t, and you can’t force your religious perspective on them. There is nothing loving about making them uncomfortable just because you disagree.”

I also strongly believe in scientific theories like evolution and the Big Bang. There’s plenty of evidence, and if you read genesis with fresh eyes it’s pretty clear to me it’s highly symbolic, not literal. I can believe God created the universe and that he did so through the Big Bang. I can believe God created humans in his image through the process of evolution.

As I was expanding and changing my worldview, I also realized that I was aroace. I’ve never been interested in dating, I don’t find men good looking at all, and my appreciation for women’s beauty is more similar to how someone would appreciate a painting, not someone they want to date or marry or have sex with.

And I don’t believe it’s a problem for me to stay single either. When I told my mom she immediately told me that the Bible says that singleness is, for many, a gift, and only a different path, not a wrong one.

I often don’t know what God’s intention is, but I do know that Christians are called to be the light of the world. So I will always be kind and loving, because that is how you be a light. I always pray for better understanding of how I should do things, but in the end the most important thing is to be kind.

Sorry if that was rambly, I just wanted to let you know that you aren’t alone in these struggles, and that you can believe different things without being a bad person. Personally, my family doesn’t know that I’m now fairly liberal and that I believe in evolution and the Big Bang and such, but I’m okay with that. If they find out, I’ll tell them more or less what I just said here. Best of luck to you and to anyone else in a similar situation 💛

Thanks for sharing, I’m sure this will be helpful for a lot of people.

[brideofbriar]

since glomas is coming up id like to say somethings specifically abt rollo

him hating mages is not racist as mages may be low in population but they're not a minority group as they usually hold high places in the world. faes on the other hand are a minority as they're discriminated against. rollo hates magic nd its users, not faes.

but he is also implied to hate fae. by his logic a person js a sinner only if they activly use magic, which means he has nothing against faes that don't use magic. except faes need maic to live nd so far we havent gotten any info abt faes who dont use magic so this point is debatable.

the only reason why people think that he is racist becuz he is twisted from frollo, a racist priest who has committed ethnic cleansing nd becuz twisted wonderland's writing is twisted wonderland's writing (aka not the best).

he can get redeemed if he faces judgement, punishment nd consequences for his actions nd truly grows as a person. also he should learn that the death of his brother was no one's fault nd that he cant discriminate against people becuz of an accident nd that his trauma doesn't excuse his actions. but knowing twst this probs wont happen.

edit:: i forgot to add this but he wants to wipe magic out completely which means wiping out faes nd fairys but the way he is presented shows that he isnt thinking of the consequences of his actions nd only the "positive" outcome, which makes sense considering he is eighteen.

also another thing that confuses me is that his thinking is not explained well because why would a teenager's first thought after loosing his younger be to exterminate magic? that makes no sense unless it was to get rid of the self blame or influenced by a third party. maybe if we get chapters abt rsa nd nbc after b7 it could be expanded on.

also also, rollo himself is a mage that hates magic, which is similar to sebek who is a half fae that hates humans. not completely the same as faes r a minority nd mages arent but both half internal conflict abt who theyre which causes them to have negative feelings abt that part of them. (idk if i explained this well)

also also also, in twst there is this whole parallel between that characters nd the villians theyre based one. the villians r evil while the twst charas r js traumatised teens with reason behind their behaviour, with rollo's reason is that HE believes that wiping out magic is for the best. we dont know anything bout rollo's parents so they might not be around or maybe theyre the ones who put this idea in his head.

another thing that people tend to forget is that rollo is 18. he was younger than that when his brother died nd no one ever tried to tell him that his thoughts r bad. blaming him for his trauma induced thoughts that were never shut down is not rlly the best thing to do. do i realise he is fictional? yes. but this is something many teen go through including myself. not the attempted genocide but still.

again js like in nrc, no one in nbc ever picked up on his behaviour nd tried to talk to him or stop (at this point bruv js blame the adults). crowley never picked on the struggles of his students until they overblot and the head of nbc didnt pick up on rollo's behaviour.

does this mean he is a saint. nah literally the opposite. nd to prove that imma list down all the things he did.

attempted murder

tried to kill the prince of brair valley which could cause a war

discrimination

generally a bad person with a bad attitude (nd a bad haircut)

plotted against malleus simply because he is one of the strongest mages

endangered innocent students

arson

attempting to justify his actions

nd even after all of that he got no punishment. at least he shouldve been expelled. at worst? probably jail or a mental hospital.

does this mean u cant hate him? nope. does this mean u cant like him? also no. do as u like, im js trynna educate. plz dont try to kill me 🙏 nd for the love of god js stop arguing.

[teecupangel]

After the Solar Flare Desmond lives, gets sent into the past but he opens a restaurant because for some reason it's really popular in whatever time he's in so he just expands and before he knows it, he's written down in history as the most successful restaurant owner (could be whatever ship, could be harem)

Harem it is!

So, for this idea, let’s set up the restaurant first.

Let’s say that, after the Solar Flare, Desmond is in the Gray with Clay who got there because a digital copy of him was sorta encoded into Desmond (“What were you planning to do? Slowly hijack my body?” “I was thinking of transferring my copy into your sperm and getting reborn as your child.” “That’s… that sounds weird?” “Really? Ancient aliens created mankind, you’re the chosen one and messiah and martyr all in one by said ancient aliens, we have technology that can read genetic memories in our DNA so we can relive our ancestors’ lives AND my plan is what makes you go ‘sounds weird’? Come on, Seventeen.” “I didn’t say it was the only weird thing I’ve ever heard!”)

So Desmond and Clay are getting along swimmingly then there’s a pop and Layla’s there. Clay just go “Ah, another dead person ‘rewarded’ by the Isus, come, join us.” and Layla’s just “???” because last she remembered, she gave up her life to save the world and Desmond just goes “Oh, a fellow martyr! Welcome, welcome!”

So they’re just chilling in the endless void called the Gray (and I Spy has been banned since the only thing they can actually ‘spy’ is each other and they got creative with their questions which includes “Is it someone who has the hots for his ancestors?” “Yes.” “That doesn’t help. Both me and Clay have hots for our ancestors!” “I blame our untreated daddy issues.” “Oh my god.”) until Minerva appeared and tells Desmond that she was able to screw with the Calculations before she died. She gives Desmond some kind of ball (that looks like a stone version of the Apple) and tells him that it contains the power to create a pocket dimension, very small, perhaps just a one-story, maybe two-story building, but it should be enough to connect it to the Calculations itself for a brief moment to stabilize it.

Minerva’s idea is that Desmond could use the pocket dimension to exist in the world, at any point in time, and interact with people (but only in that pocket dimension… “Like a portable Gray?” “……… Yes… I supposed you would be correct in that, Innkeeper.” “Did you… did you just literally translate my last name???”)

Minerva tells Desmond to think of a building that the pocket dimension can take the form in and her calling Clay ‘innkeeper’ reminded Desmond of how he wanted to own a restaurant. How, before he landed a job in Bad Weather, he actually helped out in the kitchen of a few diners, sometimes just washing the dishes, other times, cutting ingredients up when things get too busy, and sometimes, a kind cook/owner would teach him an easy dish or two that he can cook if things get super hectic. Then he remembers how the warmest memories he had of his childhood were helping his mother cook when she had the time to do such ‘mundane’ things.

So everyone is surprised when the pocket dimension looks like a restaurant. Layla was expecting him to create a bureau or something similar. Clay expected him to recreate Bad Weather. Minerva just stares at him as she says, “So this is your choice. Very well.”

They checked the restaurant and there was a second floor with bedrooms (with separate bathrooms) that seemed to already been ‘furnished’ to their liking… even Minerva’s. It’s kinda creepy because Layla’s room looks like a fusion of her childhood bedroom and her apartment’s bedroom. Clay guessed that the pocket dimension heard Desmond’s idea of ‘everyone should have their own rooms’ and used their memories to create it.

Strangely enough… there are also a lot of locked rooms that they can’t open. Minerva guessed they are meant to house either ‘guests’ or future ‘employees’. The 2nd floor defies logic as it seemed to be bigger than the first floor but Minerva insists that it would look ‘normal’ on the outside. (“So what you’re saying is it’s bigger-” “No.” “What?” “No. We are not making that reference. Shush.” “Oh, come on!”)

Okay, so Minerva was taking a wild guess here because she didn’t test out the pocket dimension (“Why not?” “I died before I could.” “… yeah, okay, that sounds like a legit reason.”) but she believed that the pocket dimension took Desmond’s desires and rolled it all up into one thing which was this restaurant-in-the-first-floor/living-quarters-in-the-second-floor. This meant that they were meant to ‘get’ more people.

Clay and Desmond turned to stare at each other because, yeah, they already have an idea of who some of those people are.

When they check the restaurant, Desmond is super excited because the pantry is fully stocked with sooooo many things that he wanted to ‘play with’ and Minerva noticed that the perishables were placed in some kind of device that looked very similar to the Isus’ stasis pods. This meant that anything they put there would remain in the state they were when they put it in until they take it out then time will resume for them normally (no sudden aging though so if they plan to age meat, they gotta do it the old fashion way).

Layla is the one who noticed the ‘vending machine’ looking thing with an entire touchscreen just covering the front of it next to the pantry and she tried using it, eyes going wild when she realized what the touchscreen was showing.

It was some kind of online shopping app but the ‘price’ was showing something called “Points” instead. There was some kind of trashcan-like thing attached to it and Clay just dumped a bag of green peas from the pantry into it (“Clay!” “What? No one likes frozen green peas! It’s a stasis pod, WHY would it even have frozen green peas?!”) and the app gave them 3 points for the green peas. Out of curiosity, Layla dropped the 20 dollars she was hiding in her boot and it gave them “2000 points”. They would need to experiment some more but it seemed like actual currency gives them more points than items (or maybe the app just doesn’t like frozen green peas).

Then they saw another touchscreen in a room that looked to be some kind of meeting room and it looked like… a map? No. It was like one of those big screens in meeting rooms and… it was showing a list of years.

Each year was grayed out and next to it were points.

Desmond’s eyes widened as he saw the first year he recognized.

1191 was grayed out and it had “200,711,170,000 points” next to it. He tried to click it and it gives an error of “You have insufficient points to travel to this year. Please add more funds.”

And then Layla went “Oh, oh, oh! 431 BC! It’s not grayed out!” and Desmond clicked it instead.

It then gave them locations. All of the locations were grayed out with Athens needing “10,000 points” and Lakonia needing “30,000 points”. There was only one location that wasn’t grayed out: Megaris. When they clicked that, the only option it gave them was an unlocked “Magara”.

“It seems the pocket dimension is giving this to you as a ‘freebie’.” “Or a tutorial run.”

They tried giving more items from the pantry to the ‘trashcan’ but it only gives them measly ‘1~5 points’ so, yeah, Desmond wasn’t unlocking 1191 anytime soon. It was even the cheapest of the three years Desmond wanted to pick too!

Left with no choice (and 2 coins from Minerva did give them ‘20,000 points’ total), they decided to open a restaurant in the only place they can travel to and get enough money to unlock the other years.

(Oh god. I unintentionally created an isekai OP system for them…)

You know… I said first but, goddamn, that took a while.

Anyway…

Unorganized Note Related to the Restaurant:

Desmond is their main chef with Clay being his sous chef/kitchen lackey, mainly because Desmond did have a bit of experience with cooking (he has the most experience among the four of them anyway) and Clay used to part-time for diners too during his college years.

Layla’s specialty is college-approved cup noodles. She is only allowed to help cut stuff up and stir things until they’re sure she can handle more.

Minerva burned water. Her defense of “I never considered a need to cook” was not accepted (together with the implication that she had human slaves to do it for her) and she has been barred from the kitchen.

This means Minerva is their waitress and Layla tried to get her to smile but she just stares at her. Because of this, Layla has been conscripted to manage the front end and make sure Minerva doesn’t insult anyone by mistake.

The pantry needs to be restocked if they were going to use it, of course, so their points will also be used to make sure they have the food they can serve and sell.

The touchscreen in the kitchen gives a list of food that they can check (thankfully no greyed-out ones). Most of them have warnings of “Desmond Miles is not experienced enough to make this yet. There is a high chance of failure. Will you still risk it?” and “Necessary support not yet acquired. Please try again once necessary support is available.”. All those that give warnings have a red triangle for the ones that have a high chance of failure on the left side of the recipe name and a red x mark for those that need ‘support’ on the same left side. Some even have both x and triangle.

QOL for the kitchen touchscreen: it automatically takes items from the pantry and it appears on some kind of dumbwaiter-like hole below the touchscreen. It will also give messages of ingredients that need to be bought first and poking ‘buy’ also sends those newly bought ingredients to the hole. Very convenient. (like someone who had been so annoyed about having to go thru so many menus to find information on the ingredients necessary for their synthesizing had developed this feature)

They realized what support means when Clay clicked on “Pomidorówka” because he remembered making that with his grandmother. A message of “Support member: Clay Kaczmarek is necessary for this dish for now. Continue?” popped up and they poked ‘yes’ and Clay recognized the recipe as the exact recipe that his grandmother taught her. So… apparently, the necessary support is someone who would know the recipe more than Desmond.

Because there are a lot of recipes, they decide to have a revolving menu instead. If Desmond likes the customer enough, he might be willing to take off-the-menu requests.

Unorganized Notes for the timeline and stuff:

Technically, the restaurant can time-hop to any year they have unlocked at any time (unlocking is a one-time payment, I’m not that evil). It seems that the nearer they are to 2012, the more points they would need.

The restaurant would change the front-end design to fit what is ‘possible’ during that time period. The backend (kitchen + meeting room + 2nd floor) remains the same with the exception of cutleries and utensils that their customers would use.

Desmond is the only person who can leave the pocket dimension BUT all the touchscreens are unavailable if he’s not in the pocket dimension and shows a time limit of 1 hour (which can be ‘charged’ by expending points, 1,000 points = 1 minute). The second floor is also inaccessible when Desmond leaves and anyone on the second floor is teleported to the meeting room the moment Desmond steps out.

It seems that actual currency (regardless of the year) will always give x100 amount of points. (ex: 50 florins will give 5,000 points). Ingredients and other items from the online shopping app seemed to be forever 50% of its original real-life price (by their estimate). There’s also sales and flashsales. The app’s sales have weird titles like “Not Gonna Make A Racist Joke Sale” (no that’s really the name of the sale) for sales on ingredients not normally available in the US and “I Can’t Believe It’s Butter Sale” for all kinds of butter and products with butter or made from butter. Their favorite is “I Don’t Get Paid To Do This So I Wanna Play A Game” sale where everything has a 70%-90% discount but the caveat is that the sale only last for 15 minutes from the moment they tapped ‘Let’s Play!’ from the message.

Their restaurant would become ‘legendary’ because of the good food that might be strange or unfamiliar to a lot of people but the taste is definitely to die for (thank you, modern convenience).

Time flows as normal when they’re in a specific timeline but anyone in the pocket dimension doesn’t seem to age.

Minerva believes that there is some kind of Apple-like mind manipulation at play in the pocket dimension. It’s nothing big, just a simple “this is a normal restaurant with normal-looking employees” and maybe a bit of “you will not think anything is weird here.”.

Desmond would sometimes go to the front when it’s slow or Clay tells him to take a break and that Clay can handle things on his own for a while. That’s usually when he interacts with the customers.

While they can only ‘take’ a few as employees, their actions in the timeline do change things… a bit. Maybe some who were meant to die don’t, maybe they get a different ending… etc.

Unorganized Notes for the Layla Trilogy:

Kassandra does notice that something is weird about the restaurant but Layla seems friendly enough so she keeps coming back (maybe even starts to flirt with Layla?).

Kassandra finally sees that something is weird about the restaurant after she returns from Atlantis. This gives a message of “Kassandra’s room has been unlocked” in all the touchscreens. They bring Kassandra to the second floor and she opens the door. The room looks like a mix of her bedroom when she was a child, when she was in Kephallonia, and the home she had in Ionian Watch. On the bed was a box which she picked up. Inside is a note that says “If you drink this, you will become part of this dimension. A copy will be created to ensure that your remaining tasks as dictated by the Calculations will be fulfilled and keep the timeline stable. Warning: becoming a denizen of this dimension will mean you will be unable to leave.” and inside the box is a small bottle with an unknown liquid inside.

Considering Kassandra is effectively an immortal in canon so it's up to you if she drinks it or she's like the regular who pops in and out regardless of when the restaurant is at the moment.

The ‘cheapest’ year around Bayek’s time is 48 BCE (20,171,027,000) - Alexandria (20,000) - It is also the cheapest year in general.

Bayek becomes a regular because they buy the meat he takes from his kills for a good price, especially if it’s fresh, and also give him a discount on the food. (They don’t really need the meat but Layla insisted they try to find ways to help Bayek and this was their… ‘compromise’)

Eivor’s cheapest year is 873 (20,201,110,000) - Ravensthorpe (20,000). Strangely enough, all the people in Ravensthorpe seem to believe that they had just opened up shop. Randvi even tells Eivor that they were constructing the restaurant while Eivor was away building an alliance. Hytham vouched for them and tells Eivor they are allies of the Hidden Ones. (More mind-bending stuff from the restaurant apparently)

Minerva and Eivor… may have a thing? Minerva knows Eivor is Odin’s Sage and she remembers how Odin slept with her and used her but, at the same time, the attraction is there.

Any feasts and such are now done in the restaurant and Eivor and Randvi pay for ‘catering’.

Mandatory ‘employees’: Bayek and Eivor

Possible mandatory ‘employee’: Kassandra

Potential optional ‘employees’: Hytham - 890 (20,201,110,000), Aya - 30 BCE (20,171,027,000), Alexios (Deimos) - 422 BCE (20,181,002,000)

Unorganized Notes for the Desmond Saga:

Alright, here comes the main harem (I mean, you can totally add anyone to the harem but these are the big three that are mandatory XD)

The cheapest location in 1191 is Jerusalem for 100,000 points (“What the fuck.” “I think the pocket dimension knows what’s in ‘high demand’.”) and Desmond left to check things out (get a feel on when in 1191 they were in) and took around 1 hour and 20 minutes (costing them an additional 20,000 points).

He came back with a barely hanging in there Kadar and the touchscreens all pinged a “Kadar Al-Sayf’s room has been unlocked” and Desmond realized what the pocket dimension was trying to do. He gets Kadar to his room and opened the box, revealing a small bottle with a note attached to it that says “If Kadar Al-Sayf drinks this, he will become part of this dimension. As his part of the Calculations have already been completed, no replica will be made however, as a denizen of this dimension, Kadar Al-Sayf cannot leave this pocket dimension.”

Desmond asks Kadar if he wants to live no matter what and Kadar nods. Kadar is saved but he’s stuck in the restaurant now. He doesn’t seem to mind and admits that he became an Assassin because it’s what was expected of him. He likes cooking and helping Desmond. Kadar is a possible harem candidate but not mandatory.

Kadar also unlocks a few of the recipes and he’s the reason why Desmond realized that some of the ‘necessary supports’ have “????” in the recipe. One of them was noted as: “???? Kadar Al-Sayf ????” and Kadar mentioned how his brother could make that specific food better which makes Desmond believe that the “????” are other possible supports and it’s a hierarchy of who can make it best (from best to worst(?)/meh(?))

Kadar waits until an informant he trusts goes to the restaurant and asks the informant to tell Malik that he’s here but to not report it to anyone else and Malik visits. Kadar lies to Malik, saying that he is hiding in the kitchens so Al Mualim wouldn’t know he’s alive… because he doesn’t want to be an Assassin. This does drive a wedge between the brothers but Malik keeps quiet about Kadar’s survival and becomes a regular.

Altaïr visits the restaurant because Malik wasn’t in the bureau and he’s annoyed. Minerva and Altaïr starts glaring at each other because Altaïr is rude and Minerva is more rude so Desmond goes out to take care of Altaïr’s table while Malik is in the private tables (usually used for big party) so he can talk to Kadar and he wants Altaïr to wait… for a while.

Once it becomes clear that Malik was planning to make Altaïr for quite a while, Desmond just gives up and sits with Altaïr and talks to him (“Flirt with him.” “It’s not flirting.” “Uh-huh, Layla…” “Definitely flirting.” “Eivor.” “The stars in your eyes do not lie, Desmond.” “Minerva.” “Yes.” “Any objection from the peanut gallery? No? In conclusion: flirting!”)

After that, Altaïr becomes a regular, even going to Jerusalem on the way to his next mission even if it’s… not really on the way.

Altaïr is the first person to receive a takeout box (“I think they call that a bento box of love.” “No, it’s not.” “Desmond… you ordered the goddamn bento box from the app. It's even one of those expensive ones that keeps the food warm for hours.” “It was on sale.” “Uh-huh. You have anything to say, Kadar? You helped him make that bento box.” “It’s not a bent-” “I made the heart-shaped carrots!” “KADAR!” “I got your back, Desmond! ( ´ ▽ ` )b” “Oh my god.”)

Anyway, uuuhhh… Altaïr and Desmond start a relationship and Altaïr’s room is unlocked after Al Mualim’s death and he visits the restaurant on his way to Acre (it’s… it’s not the optimal route to take, Altaïr.) to talk to Desmond because the Apple showed him a vision of Desmond. Altaïr drinks it without hesitation and his copy is created in the room itself. It asks for Altaïr’s Apple and he gives it to the copy. They watch as the copy leaves the restaurant then… decide that the restaurant is closed for the day since their head chef was ‘busy’ celebrating.

Depending on which Ezio you’ll like to add to the restaurant/harem, the cheapest year would be AC2!Ezio: 1476 (200,911,170,000) - Monteriggioni for 100,000 points, ACB!Ezio: 1503 (201,011,160,000) - Rome (Tiber Island) for 100,000 points, ACR!Ezio: 1511 (201,111,150,000) - Constantinople (Galata District) for 100,000 points.

If you choose AC2!Ezio: he and Desmond start talking whenever he visits. Once he sees Minerva’s message, he recognized her as the quiet waitress Minerva and that’s when he’ll learn the truth from Desmond and the others. That’s also when he learned that the guy he had been flirting with was in a relationship with the legendary Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad.

If it wasn’t AC2!Ezio, Ezio would learn of Desmond early on because he recognized Minerva. Minerva likes to call him ‘prophet’ too so the jig is up before it could even begin. Ezio is a bit wary at first but he keeps coming back anyway because he has questions. Also… he just likes talking to Desmond. He’s a regular and knows about Altaïr but also knows that Altaïr seems okay with him flirting with Desmond. He and Desmond start a relationship around the midway point of ACB/ACR and is the first non-’employee’ to ever visit the second floor. (Not counting Kadar)

His room unlocks after (AC2) recovering the Apple and returning to Monteriggioni, (ACB) letting gravity take care of Cesare, and (ACR) visiting the library underneath Masyaf seeing the bones of Altaïr’s replica.

The cheapest year for Ratonhnhaké:ton is 1776 (201,210,300,000) - Davenport (100,000). Like Ravensthorpe, the people of the homestead seemed to believe that they helped build the restaurant.

Ratonhnhaké:ton becomes a regular and visits every time he returned to the homestead. As if to counter the lack of customers/regulars, the sales they get in this time period have a x1000 modifier instead. (“Where was this in Ravensthorpe, huh?!” “Stop shouting at the touchscreen. Randvi and Eivor kept us afloat and profiting, remember? Achilles can’t do that here.”)

Desmond tried to save Haytham but was unable to because of the limitations.

Ratonhnhaké:ton’s door unlocks when he gets the Apple from Washington and he joins the restaurant after trying to look for his village for three more years.

Ratonhnhaké:ton only starts a relationship with Desmond after he joins the restaurant.

Mandatory ‘employees’: Kadar, Altaïr (mandatory harem member), Ezio (mandatory harem member) and Ratonhnhaké:ton (mandatory harem member)

Potential optional ‘employees’: Adha - 1190 (200,802,050,000), Malik Al-Sayf - 1226 (200,711,170,000), Maria Thorpe - 1228 (200,711,170,000), Darim Ibn-La'Ahad - 1260 (201,111,150,000), Sef Ibn-La'Ahad - 1226 (201,111,150,000), Federico Auditore - 1476 (200,911,170,000), Yusuf Tazim - 1512 (201,111,150,000), Aveline de Grandpré - 1777 (201,210,300,000)

Hey, teecup, why are there a lot of AC1 characters??? Ah, it’s not that there are a lot of AC1 characters, it’s that there are a lot of Ibn-La'Ahad characters. I wonder why.

Unorganized Notes for the Unnamed MC Saga:

Alright, all mandatory employees here are possible harem candidates but not mandatory harem members. (actually, the same can be said for anyone that can become an employee of the time-hopping pocket dimension, especially Haytham and Edward)

Speaking of Edward Kenway! The cheapest is 1717 (201,310,290,000) - Nassau (100,000) and the restaurant sorta takes over the already established tavern there. Anne Bonny seemed to believe that she works there from 8 to 5 as a waitress and everyone just rolls with it. Especially since she calls Minerva ‘Minnie’.

Edward and the rest of his pirate ‘friends’ are regulars. Edward starts getting close to Ratonhnhaké:ton who keeps quiet about their blood relation.

They actually time-travel to 1725 (201,310,290,000) - London (100,000) and Edward is happy to see them and seemed to believe that they have opened shop in London so they stay for a while… saving up for their next time-hop. During that time, Edward and his family became regulars and young Haytham likes following Ratonhnhaké:ton around. Edward’s room finally opens on December 3, 1735 and Ratonhnhaké:ton tells him the importance of the date. If he returns home, he will die, Jennifer will be sold off and Haytham will become a Templar.

Edward refuses to drink the bottle and leaves the restaurant. Ratonhnhaké:ton knew he would pick that choice and he accepts it… then notice that the box was empty. Edward had taken the bottle.

Edward manages to get Jennifer to safety but he’s too wounded to do anything else. Desmond gets there in time to help Edward drink the bottle, hoping that it would do something. It didn’t and Edward dies in his arms instead.

When he returns to the restaurant, he learns that Edward appeared in his room and his last memory was Desmond helping him drink the bottle which meant that the Edward Desmond saw died was his replica.

They stayed to make sure Jennifer was safe (who gets taken in by the Brotherhood and smuggled out of London while Tessa and Haytham Kenway are taken by Birch to an unknown location) before Edward requests that they try to save Haytham.

Minerva warns that they cannot make any big waves. This pocket dimension wasn’t meant to change what will come to pass. It was always meant to give Desmond a reward that he desires. Desmond argues that what he desires most is to save as many people as he can so he agrees to Edward’s request.

The possible year they thought of is 1756 (201,411,111,000) - New York (100,000). One of their regulars is Shay Cormac and Ratonhnhaké:ton knows him although they seem to have to wait for a bit for Shay Cormac to meet Haytham Kenway. They asked Shay to give a message to Haytham.

So Shay kinda becomes… a tagalong to the entire Kenway drama and learns about the ‘magic’ of the restaurant after Edward shows up and Haytham recognized him as his long dead father.

I have no idea if Shay and Haytham should have rooms. It’ll be a bit awkward if they do. If they do get rooms, Haytham’s room will unlock the day he is about to meet Ratonhnhaké:ton for the first time while Shay’s door unlocks after Haytham’s death and he returns to New York because he assumed the restaurant was still there (it was… but that’s because they need more funds before they can time-hop again).

They time-hop to Paris (100,000) in 1789 (201,411,110,000) because… uuuhh… someone bought Les Mis in the app and now a few of them wants to know just how accurate Les Mis is? IDK, man, it’s getting late and I want to finish this before I go sleep. Future!me will think of a nicer reason. Or you know, keep that reason ‘cause my tired mind thinks it’s funny.

Okay, so… for this one, it would be fun if the restaurant takes over Café Théâtre and Arno’s headquarters is transferred next door. Technically, Arno would become their ‘landlord’ (“Oh god, we’re renting now???” “Capitalism.” “That is not a reason!”)

Ezio takes Arno as his ‘budding investor’ student. Clay gets roped in because Ezio believed that he and Clay should have family quality time. Arno thinks they’re cousins.

Arno’s room opens after he returns to Paris after the Dead Kings DLC (they can also time-hop to Saint-Denis in 1794 for 300,000 + 201,501,150,000 points. Their call.)

They go to London (100,000) in 1868 (201,510,230,000) because Edward wanted to check on what happened to the Kenway mansion, I guess? Anyway, because they saved Jennifer, her descendant is now the mentor of the London Assassins but the Kenway mansion has been abandoned because… well… Templars.

It doesn’t really change Syndicate’s plot all that much. Only that Jayadeep is reporting to the mentor who had specifically told him not to do anything because Starrick has dug his claws too deeply in London already. Trying to assassinate him now (and his allies) would only fuck them up later on if they don’t have a fallout plan in place.

The Frye twins don’t have a fallout plan in place but that’s really not all that important to the restaurant plot, I guess?

Anyway, the restaurant gets the Rooks as regular. If we’re not making Arno or/and Jacob harem members, Jacob flirts with Arno badly and you can spin this as FrenchFrye. If they are harem members, FrenchFrye is also possible and it’s a case of FrenchFrye + Desmond. Go wild.

God, I may be getting too sleepy, I think this block might be more ‘suggestions’ than actual plot points, sorry, nonny

Anyway, Evie’s room opens after Starrick is dealt with. (and she might have an extra bottle for a special someone, hhhmmm?) Jacob believes he’s not been ‘chosen’ but that’s fine with him.

They might have time-hop somewhere else for a while then returned to London (100,000) in 1888 (201,512,150,000) where they learn that Jacob is missing.

Desmond takes Evie’s place since she’s stuck in the pocket dimension and Jack the Ripper DLC happens. At the end, Jacob’s room opens and he joins the restaurant.

Mandatory ‘employees’: Arno, Evie, Jacob

Possible mandatory ‘employees’: Shay, Haytham, Jayadeep (for Evie)

Potential optional ‘employees’: Anne Bonny and Mary Read - 1721 (201,310,290,000), Adéwalé - 1758 (201,402,180,000), Élise de la Serre - 1794 (201,411,110,000), Lydia Frye - 1919 (201,510,230,000)

Modern Day Era and Other Unorganized Notes (Honestly I just cut the notes up because blocks have a character limit and an entire list is considered 1 block)

If you think the whole ‘can’t leave’ part is too much, it’s a lie. There’s an item in the shopping app that does let them ‘leave’ in the sense that they will have the same limitation as Desmond does. It’s a tacky-looking bracelet called “Break Time Pass” that can be purchased for “99,999,999,999,999” points. It’s one of the most expensive items in the app, it does not appear if searched or if they use the ‘highest price first’ sort in the ‘all items’ page, its ‘store’ can only be found by going thru a lot of pages and it will never go on sale BUT it can be purchased as many times as they want and anyone can use it.

I know there are too many people for a restaurant but… you know… shifts and stuff.

Potential optional ‘employees’: Basim Ibn Ishaq - 2024 (20,231,012,000,000), Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane - 2025 (20,091,117,000,000), Lucy Stillman - 2012 (20,071,117,000,000), Lucas Clarkson (possibly also Darcy) - 2029 (20,201,029,000,000) (Possible timeline anomaly, Minerva believes that this year is an offshoot of some kind and not the main timeline that they came from)

[afreakingdork]

Finally caught up to the latest chapter and!! BRAIN AND BRAWNS DUO!!! They are so severely underrated as a dynamic in the show so I savour every bit cooked by the fandom-

Gosh, Raph is one of the biggest MVPs in Weak Spot. He's been carrying his family's sorrows for far too long by the looks of it and by god he deserves a long rest and a cold pillow.

ALSO!!! "We don't NEED you here, but we WANT you here." made me bawl for some reason, it's the message!!

-reader stan

Reader stan! I hope you're still improving health wise!!

Omigosh, that is for sure. Raphie is my second fav Rise boy, but I put a lot of thought into how the dynamics go in Weak Spot. I think most people would think Mikey would be the logical choice to get closest to Donnie first because that's how the dynamic goes in the show, but it was hard for me to see that for Weak Spot Donnie. When you grow up with a hyper person, you have an easier time dealing with them (my bestie knows this with me without question), but when you don't have that experience, it can be hard or exhausting later in life.

Trauma shaped the Weak Spot turtles and by extension their personalities. It was important to me to keep their cores the same so they'd read as the same characters, but also they had changed in undeniable ways. For Raph it was eventually deciding to separate himself from the family while also honoring it in the only way he could. He runs the Lou Jitsu School of Ninjutsu and brought it back from the brink so it is now one of the most thriving dojo chains in NYC. He went the route many older sibling do when it comes to trauma and that was take that 'I have to take care of the younger ones' mentality of responsibility and marry it with the mentality of 'I can't keep giving my life to them because I need to break away.' I'm rambling, but this made him the quiet, most thoughtful, and overall most genuine of the group which, even as a bad guy, Donnie is drawn to. Especially when Don is loudly and obviously averse to how fake he thought the others were being in trying to fold him into the family, Raph having never overtly done that and having given up trying to the fastest already meant something. Then in their time together that view only expanded until Raph decided to obviously quit the team which for Donnie was a great show of where the eldest stood. Raph then upheld that promise which cinched his character in Donnie's eyes. We'll see how they act going forward, but I imagine great things for the pair~

Anyway, I love Raph! Thanks for giving me a chance to rant about him!