#than some entirely new human being we've never seen before

[blacktycoon]

obsessed with trying to figure out who sent baxter this e-mail

there’s not a whole lot to go on...... about all I can piece together is that whoever sent it has a mouse motif going on 🐁 based on the pfp and the 3 “ears” on their emoticons... and this lady is the only person I feel like I’ve seen that has that going on even a little bit

Which SEEMS perfectly plausible, if a bit of a stretch... it feels a bit odd, though, since she’s a member of the cult.

I guess that’s not that unusual, though. The death cult is SECRET, so it wouldn’t be THAT weird for members to have friends on the outside who seem to be completely oblivious to the supernatural goings on in Mayview.

[hotdaemondtargaryen]

TOM GLYNN-CARNEY INTERVIEWED BY DECIDER MAGAZINE.

I THINK THE MOST WHOLESOME AEGON MOMENT EVER WAS WHEN SUNFYRE GREETED HIM BEFORE ROOK'S REST. KIND OF LIKE A DOG NUZZLING ITS OWNER. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE BOND BETWEEN AEGON AND HIS DRAGON AND WHAT IT MEANS TO HIM?

"I think you’ve just done it very well."

"I think it is like a dog and his owner."

"It was interesting."

"My dad was talking to me about how that scene was very touching and stuff."

And I was just like, 'You know what? You know what I felt when we did it on that day?'

"When the amazing puppeteers came over with the big, blue dragon head that would later be CGI-ed into Sunfyre."

"The way they were moving and breathing with this big piece of set was just like, it just reminded me of my dog, Ziggy."

"So, yeah, I fully leant into that and imagined it was him nuzzling me in the chest."

"And he’s sat with me right now, and that’s how it felt on the day."

"So, yeah, I’m glad that came across."

SUNFYRE IS CONSIDERED DEAD NOW IN THE STORY, BUT IN THE BOOKS, AT LEAST, A HUGE TURNING POINT FOR YOUR CHARACTER DOWN THE ROAD IS WHEN HE'S REUNITED WITH SUNFYRE. ARE YOU HOPEFUL THAT WILL INDEED PLAY OUT IN THE SHOW? AND WHAT DO YOU THINK A REUNION LIKE THAT COULD MEAN TO AEGON?

"Oh, we’ll see."

"Well, I’m not sure."

"I’m not sure."

"I mean, that’s not up to me either, is it?"

"But, yeah, that would be lovely."

"It would be lovely."

"I think it’s important for a dragonrider to have a dragon with them and have a companion in that sense."

"Yeah, there’s just that sort of extra connection, that sort of deeper connection that you have with your dragon, in the same way that you have with your dog, than with all human beings."

"Your dog knows so much more about you than most humans do."

"[Laughs] So, yeah, I think it’s the same thing."

WHEN I SPOKE TO MATTHEW NEEDHAM BEFORE THE SEASON BEGAN, HE HAD MENTIONED THAT HE HAD ALWAYS FELT THAT LARYS AND AEGON WERE CONNECTED IN THE SHOW AT LITTLE AEGON'S NAME DAY. NOW I'M CURIOUS. BECAUSE RIGHT NOW LARYS IS KIND OF AEGON'S ONLY FRIEND, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS BONDING THESE CHARACTERS FROM AEGON'S PERSPECTIVE?

"Yeah, I think there’s definitely common ground with Aegon and Larys."

"There’s now this shared experience of being, you know, physically impaired."

"This is something that Larys has had to live with his entire life, but it is very new to Aegon."

"So any advice or any talks or anything like that that Larys has to give Aegon, Aegon is listening to him."

"For the first time in a long time, he’s listening to somebody and trusting them."

"Aegon feels like Larys has Aegon’s best interests at heart."

"Yes, there may be some personal gains eventually, but for now Larys seems legitimate and like he will actually help Aegon help in his pursuit to survive and thrive."

"I was talking to somebody before about it, and I’m saying, out of all the bad options that are sort of laid in front Aegon at the moment, this seems to be the least damaging and most likely to help them survive a little bit longer."

YOU MENTIONED AEGON'S PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT. OVER THE WEEKS, WE'VE SEEN JUST VARIOUS STAGES OF MAKEUP ON AEGON, AS HE'S BEEN IMMEDIATELY IN THE AFTERMATH, AND NOW HE'S BEEN IMPROVING. WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO DEAL WITH ALL THE PROSTHETICS? HOW DID IT CHANGE FROM WEEK TO WEEK? AND DID YOU HAVE A FAVORITE OR LEAST FAVORITE LOOK?

"I mean, for a start, it was an experience I’ve never had before."

"Being clad in all that prosthetic, it takes a lot of time."

"It takes a lot of patience from the artists themselves and a lot of skill."

"I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, you know, I get the easy job."

"I just have to sit there and have it put on me in bed."

"People are getting up at ridiculous hours of the morning and preparing everything even before I arrive."

"Then once I’m sat in the chair, they spend six to seven hours applying it."

"At which time, I get to fall asleep or read a book or listen to a podcast."

"I get the easy side of things, but, yeah, it’s definitely an experience I’ve not had before."

DID YOU SAY IT WAS SIX TO SEVEN HOURS?

"Yeah, sometimes."

"That’s my least favorite part of it, the amount of time spent in the chair."

"But also, it does get quicker as the healing process improves."

"For example, like the initial burns where the armor was being peeled out and you could see, you know, torso, arm, face, neck, all that… That was six to seven hours."

"Really raw burns."

"But as that starts to heal, we shaved a couple of hours off it."

YEAH, ONE DETAIL THAT TOOK ME BY SURPRISE IN THE FINALE WAS TO REVEAL THAT AEGON LOST A KEY PART OF HIS MANHOOD IN THE FIRE. SO AT WHAT POINT DID YOU KNOW THAT WAS AN ELEMENT TO HIS INJURIES? AND HOW DRASTICALLY DOES THAT CHANGE HOW HE SEES HIMSELF?

"[Chuckles] Yeah, yeah."

"What a shame."

YEAH, HIS POOR PENIS. I WAS LIKE, 'OH NO!'

"Understatement of the year! I first realized that was a part of his injuries in the read-through week."

"[Both laugh.] Around the table with everybody."

"So that was interesting."

"Actually, you know what? Who knows what he thinks?"

"I haven’t had that much time to think about it."

"I don’t think he’s had that much time to think about it in great detail."

"I don’t think a lot of his injuries have really sunk in yet because he’s been laying in his bed."

"I think they’ll really start — particularly once he starts moving around and using his body again and being physically more engaged in his body — that’s when he’ll start to realize what damage has been done."

"Yeah, I think that will all become clear as Season 3 unfolds."

"But, yeah, I don’t think he’ll be spending much more time in Flea Bottom."

I WAS JUST SPEAKING WITH EWAN, AND HE MENTIONED OFFHANDEDLY THE AMBIGUITY OF THE SCENE IN WHICH AEMOND PRESSES THE KING'S BALL FROM THE SMALL COUNCIL INTO AEGON'S CHEST. HE SAID IT WAS VERY AMBIGUOUS ON HIS END. DID IT FEEL AMBIGUOUS ON YOUR END? DOES AEGON CONCEIVE IT AS A THREAT, OR DOES HE SEE IT AS POTENTIALLY HANDING THE KINGSHIP BACK?

"I think, as Aegon, I just saw that as Aemond playing little sort of status games with him and trying to be threatening, but really just sort of… I’ve taken a personal dislike to Aemond."

"[Chuckles] Yeah, I think he’s a little weasel that needs punishing now."

WHEN I SPOKE TO YOU BEFORE THE SHOW CAME OUT, YOU MENTIONED THE PHILIP LARKIN POEM, 'THIS BE THE VERSE' INFORMING AEGON'S RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS PARENTS. THERE IS THIS HEART WRENCHING MOMENT WHEN AEGON IS FIRST COMING TO AFTER ROOK'S REST. HE ONLY SAYS 'MUMMY,' AFTER ALICENT LEAVES HIS SIDE. CAN ALICENT STILL REACH HIM? DO YOU THINK THAT RELATIONSHIP IS COMPLETELY RUINED? AND WHAT DOES AEGON NEED FROM HIS MOTHER AFTER ROOK'S REST?

"I don’t think they really ever had a relationship to ruin, to be honest."

"There’s always been fractures in it."

"There’s always been a severe case of approaching things from totally different angles."

"Neither of them really have the tools or the know-how to give the other what they need."

AS A FOLLOW UP, HE LEAVES KING'S LANDING BEFORE RHAENYRA ARRIVES IN THIS VERSION OF THE STORY. SO HE HAS NO IDEA THAT ALICENT HAS BASICALLY BARTERED HIS LIFE OVER. DO YOU THINK HE WILL DISCOVER THAT HIS DEATH WAS PART OF ALICENT'S BETRAYAL? AND DO YOU THINK THAT WOULD FURTHER JUST PUT THEM AT ODDS?

"Yeah, of course."

"I think the writers are clever enough to pick up on those little details and to use those as ammunition."

"I mean, I hope so."

"That’d be great, wouldn’t it?"

"But then again, I’m not a writer, and those guys are absolutely phenomenal."

"So I will leave them to do that, and I’ll do my job."

YOU'RE NOT A WRITER, BUT DO YOU HAVE ANY HOPES FOR WHERE AEGON MIGHT BE NEXT SEASON? DO YOU WANT TO HAVE A BUDDY ROAD TRIP MOMENT WITH LARYS? DO YOU WANT TO GO TO ESSOS? IS THERE ANY AREA IN WESTEROS OR ESSOS THAT YOU REALLY WANT TO EXPLORE WITH MATTHEW NEEDHAM NEXT YEAR?

"Do you know what? Me and Matthew spend the majority of our time, if not all of our time on Season 2, in the studios at Leavesden."

"So I think we’re both just grateful for any opportunity we get to be on location, have some fresh air and see some new places."

"These beautiful landscapes that literally every other actor got to experience on Season 2, but we didn’t."

"So, yeah, anywhere that takes us away from the studio would be fantastic."

YOU'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT HOW ROOK'S REST GIVES AEGON SO MANY PHYSICAL AILMENTS, BUT IT ALSO SEEMS TO CHANGE SOMETHING IN HIM. DO YOU THINK THERE'S ANYTHING TO A 'PHOENIX RISING FROM THE ASHES' METAPHOR THERE, WHERE AEGON IS SORT OF GETTING A NEW CHANGE TO ASSERT HIMSELF AS A DIFFERENT KIND OF LEADER, RULER OR MAN?

"Absolutely, Meghan."

"I think you’re absolutely right, for sure."

"The phoenix rising from the ashes is a great image, and I think that’s spot on."

"He becomes colder."

"He becomes more driven."

"He becomes less attentive to how people receive him."

"I think he’s in business mode now."

"There’s been too many people taking advantage of him and whoconsider him useless or ineffective."

"So, yeah, he’s now going to I think he’s now going to buckle down."

"That’s perceive him, anyway."

AND IS HIS ULTIMATE GOAL JUST THE IRON THRONE? OR DOES HE ALSO WANT TO ENACT REVENGE ON THOSE HE FEELS HAVE HARMED HIM OR NOT TAKING HIM SERIOUSLY?

"Yeah, I think he wants to inflict pain now at that point, and I don’t know if it will make him feel any better, to be perfectly honest."

"I don’t think revenge ever fully does give you that peace."

"He’s a man with nothing to lose."

"In the sense that, of course, he has the throne to lose, but it’s not really his throne to lose."

It’s much greater than him."

"You know, it’s his family name."

"It’s his pride."

"It’s his manhood."

"It is everything."

"Somebody has come and killed his child and then he’s been attacked by his own brother."

"You know, there’s nowhere to turn that’s safe."

"So, yeah, he feels very much like a one man band — with the added assistance of good Lord Larys Strong." [Chuckles]

[not-too-many-eyes]

Unexplainable Tragedies

(Also Known as: Reverse is a story about the apocalypse)

I always found the concept of The Storm fascinating. When I started playing Reverse I messaged a friend saying that I was really upset that I didn't think of it first since the concept of it is so interesting. A storm of time that (usually) brings the world back in time. It's such a compelling concept for a time travel story.

As a result, I've done a lot of thinking about it and it's place in the game's narrative. So, I have now decided to write this post so that I may articulate my opinions and feelings when it comes to it.

So, with that out of the way:

The Foundational Blocks of Society

Reverse depicts a world in which society is never safe. It's a world where at a single drop of rain the entire world as we know it can be destroyed and reverted back to a "backwards" version of it. Nothing is sacred because nothing ever stays minus a few pockets of the world that were lucky enough to be safe from it.

The Headquarters of St. Pavlov Foundation exists in of those pockets and it has existed even before The Storm. As a result it's a bastion of Pre-Storm Society. They are Worldwide and seek unite humans and arcanists so that they may return the world to it's "normal state" the one they used to exist in before. The one before all this tragedy occurred.

This, on it's surface, is an altruistic venture. But, considering the name of this place comes from Ivan Pavlov. The one who discovered Classical Conditioning. I think the intentions of these people should be questioned, just a tad.

The Foundation have consistently shown themselves as comprised of bad actors and feuding parties. Bigotry runs deeply in the Foundation's...foundations. Their modus operandi for "recruiting" Arcanists is to find the youngest ones who are disenfranchised and "teach" them what is proper in SPDM. Where they are taught the Foundation's ideology. That:

(Chapter 4 Part 2: Frog and Toffee)

Sonetto: We are born to die Martyrs

Later on, Matilda remarks that she was almost refused from the school because she's too old.

(Chapter 4 Part 10: O' Captain)

Matilda: My name is Matilda Bouanich! I am the most senior transfer student in the school- in fact, I was too senior to be taken in, if nor for that special approval. That is to say. I remember the outside world a lot more than you do...

She remembers things that she shouldn't.

Outside of this. Arcanists from the outside world who know the Foundation are critical of them. A lot of the ones we've seen like Regulus and Kakania don't want anything to do with them, and the ones inside have...mixed feelings on them as a whole.

Ms. Mossian: Although the Foundation is well-known for their effective ways of teaching, they always overlooked each student's character and personality. Hmm… I find their teaching philosophy difficult to comment on.

Even Sonetto and Mesmer Jr, some of the most ardent members of the Foundation have Undoubtedly been negatively affected by them. With Sonetto always wanting for freedom, and Mesmer Jr having and being on the verge of a mental breakdown every second of the day.

The world The Foundation creates isn't a just one. But this was Always part of it's institution. It's premise of wanting to unite humans and arcanists has Always had the asterisk that says "as long as we humans rule"

(Revival! The Uluru Games, Part 10: Let's Play House)

Spathodea: Make life better? Get out! You think I never saw the ad of Laplace? Spathodea: "Guide arcanum with science, tame the orderless power with sense." That's what you tell the people!

This isn't a new change. It wants to return the world to how it was before, and the world of 1999 doesn't seem to have been in the hands of arcanists.

They justify themselves, say that arcanists are inherently more emotional and that's why they Must exist. Without them the world would be out of control.

But, frankly, this is a bold fucking thing to say from a Institution who's vice president has beef with a teenager.

Humans cannot claim to be reasonable compared to the "irrational" arcanists when so much of this game showcases human irrationality. Even before the Storm people were competing to make it big in the stock market. Even before the Storm people burned witches and panicked in the streets over Y2K.

As much as arcanists perceive and understand the world differently, any existing evidence in perception or emotion sensitivity is greatly exaggerated to fit the narrative that The Foundation (that Humans) Must Exist to control them.

Greta Hofmann says it best in this chapter.

(Chapter 6 Part 15: With Hope Rekindled)

Hofmann: We have all heard it, humans are more rational and arcanists are more emotional. Hofmann: Their sensitive to the darkness of the world, so they can easily become absorbed in their own emotions and ignore reality Hofmann: But, if we put a human child in the position of an arcanist, who always takes on the world because of his uniqueness, who is never understood for his talents... Hoffmann: Maybe he too will become impulsive, sensitive immature and unstable Hoffmann: And that's why it sometimes dwans on me that if we put an arcanist child in the position of a human being who receives enough love, education, and positive feedback... Hoffmann: These 'instabilities' might be controllable. At least enough to keep them from hurting themselves or others.

This the world the Foundation wants to return to,the one unaffected by the changes that The Storm brought. The one where humans and arcanists were together but we all knew who was Really in charge.

"This the true path to the future!" They say. "We just need to return to the past. The beautiful past that was taken away from us!"

However, The Foundation isn't the only organization in this game.

The Rapture.

The Manus Vindictae are the arcanist parallel to The Foundation. A group of arcanists dedicated to arcanist supremacy in the same way The Foundation is dedicated to human supremacy. They believe that the Storm is actually a cleansing of impurity. Eliminating the bad habits of that era.

The also believe in The Guiding One/Arcana, and that arcanists are the ones Chosen to lead the world into a brighter era and leave this world of humans behind. The chosen ones of the new civilization that will bring everything to a new era of peace, they just need to go far back enough in time until:

(Chapter 1, Part 14: The Eye of The Storm)

Vertin: Which past do you want to return to? Fifty years ago? A century ago? Or... Forget Me Not: The past with the right order, of course

Of course this is rather...unethical, to say the least. However, this is not unique to the Manus in the slightest.

Again, The Foundation wants to return to the past before the Storm, and Matilda was almost refused from the school for the crime of being older than they would have liked her to be.

As the arks of the Foundation become more filled, less people are allowed to enter, and a lot are refused entry due to similar unethical reasoning,

(Chapter 4, Part 18: Road of a Puppy)

Sonetto: Schneider...a friend we met in Chicago Sonetto: She once chose to join The Foundation under the pressure of both the "Storm" and Manus Vindictae. Sonetto: But instead of offering any solution or help, you just gave her a rejection letter. Sonetto: I found this letter in her suit pocket. Sonetto: It had a small line written on it, "Paupers fuck off" (...) Sonetto: I do not understand...why there was such wording on it. Sonetto: Was it because she did not pay enough "shelter fee" to qualify for sheltering? Sonetto: Or was it because the wand she used was transformed by arcanum, which made you think she was an arcanist?

Really, the Manus are just more "honest" about their intentions. There's not much to discuss when there so open about it.

Still, there's a sort of, religious leaning to the way the Manus and it's affiliates talk. The idea that it's a trial, the idea that this is salvation, the idea that they are the ones chosen.

When the Y2K bug was something people were panicking about there was an expectation for it to be an Apocalyptic Event. Religious groups and similar organizations were all about being the ones chosen.

What the Manus exhbits here is it's own form of rationalization, which is funny considering how much they insistent that rational is a human thing.

If a tragedy occurs, then it's a tragedy in the favor of your organization. You will be rid of a world where cruel things happen and be brought up to one where your holiness will be confirmed and you will be happy forever as everyone who has ever committed evil rots below you.

It's a joke to think The Storm cares though.

The Pre/Post-Apocalypse

Something I've been leaving out about The Storm until now is that we do know Why it starts.

It starts due to:

Vertin: Community conflicts, turbulent history, new technology...all of these may lead to the "Storm."

Y2K, The Great Depression, World War 1. All important moments where time reversed, and all events that caused fear, panic and instability in the world.

Y2K isn't even disastrous, nothing actually apocalyptic Happened at the turn of the millennium. But it was such a terrifying concept it made the world go backwards before it could continue. We never see the after of these events, only the start. The panic is enough for a Storm to be caused.

It's a joke to think the Storm cares because the Storm isn't a person. It's an event, a tragedy, a change in the world. A moment in time that consumes anything that's within it's radius. Trying to explain it through something inherent is silly. Arcanists may be able to see through it but they still get consumed by it all the same.

You can formulate theories, maybe even pin down exactly what caused it, but that doesn't change what it did. The characters have been living in the moments before an apocalypse and the moments after one for ages now. You can't bring the world back to how it was before because that world simply doesn't exist anymore.

The Manus may accelerate it but really if it wasn't them it was going to be someone else. You can't keep everything in static normalcy forever. Especially a normal that's so cruel to people. Eventually someone is going to say that this sucks and try to change it, for good or for ill.

But, the beautiful past where nothing was wrong also Doesn't Exist. It's a fiction. But it's one that's easier to believe in than the future full of tragedy and suffering.

(Chapter 6, Part 20: War and Peace)

Isolde: Heads full of holes! Heads covered in shrapnel! Empty Stomachs! Even the ghosts of little children...I can see them all! Cities bombed to the ground, and trains full of people headed straight to death! Isolde: It is coming! IT IS COMING! By then, the guts hanging from the trees will be more vibrant than spring flowers. There will be bullets, helmets, gauze! Hahaha! Isolde: We have no future, doctor!

Everyone in Reverse is marked by that existential terror in a way. That the world is ending, that the world is going to end, that the world has already ended and they just have to pick up the pieces. That nothing really matters because nothing is permanent and nothing can be truly understood.

The Foundation and The Manus believe that:

Sonetto: As the instructors have told us, to live is to lose things around us until the day we lose life itself to death. That's why we should only focus on the supreme missions.

And, if they are right, if to live is to lose things around us. What Should we do? Do we do as they say and focus only on things larger than us? Survive the Storm by detaching ourselves from the world around us?

...

I'll let the end of Chapter 2 present my counter-argument for me.

[larluce]

I want to talk about Arthur's reaction to Merlin being a sorcerer in magic reveal fics.

There are the ones that portray a very violent and cruel Arthur. Fisically injuring Merlin on impulse or trying to supress his magic with cold iron. Almost killing him by accident due to outburst or ignorance for him to feel very guilty afterwards. I get why they do it. The angst and drama. And, while there are very well written fics with these prompts, I don't actually believe Arthur would react that way. No matter how betrayed, angry and hurt he feels.

True, there were occasions where Arthur reacted badly, or really, just two occasions: when Morgause told him the truth about his birth and he almost killed his father, and when Gwen "cheated" on him with Lancelot and banish her. However, in the first scenario he genuinely believed his father had killed his mother just out of selfishness, the mother he never got to meet and blame himself for her death all his life, and then killed thousands, not really out of guilt or revenge which probably was Uther main motive, but out of pure hypocrisy. Honestly, even the most kindhearted and nonviolent person would react that badly! I don't think we can compare learning your best friend lied to you about being a sorcerer for years with that. When it came to Gwen though Arthur was actually merciful. As King he should have had her executed, he couldn't NOT punish her in some way because there were witnesses and he couldn't be look as a weak or unreasonable King. And even as angry as he was, he let her explain herself, he was willing to listen to what she had to say. Looking a little backwards, when Arthur found Gwen kissing Lancelot and went on full rage, he never draw his sword at her and is actually when she put herself between Lancelot and his blade that he stops. The woman he loved betrayed him, made him look like a fool infront an entire council and probably the entire kingdom as well and yet he never once insulted her. The much he did, besides banish her of course, was shaking her by the arms in his anger but it's short lived and he quickly apologised after that, because even after what Gwen did to him he can't bare the though of hurting her.

Then there are the fics were Arthur reacts too nicely to the news. He is understanding, he doesn't even get mad at all. He is fine with Merlin being a sorcerer right away. While these fics tend to be cute and all fluff, they make less sense to me that the first ones I mentioned. Arthur still was raised to hate magic, that doesn't go away just in a minute. Also while he can be a very reasonable man, he is a very resentful one too, at least when it comes to trust. We've seen this through the series, nothing breaks his heart more than someone he cares for betraying his trust. Returning to the previous example, while he let go Gwen unharmed after the infidelity, it took him a long time to actually forgive her. Also, while not being a violent man normally, Arthur can be very hurtful with words when he's upset. He threathened Merlin with banishment when he was still hurt about Gwen and Merlin kept reminding him about her. When Merlin decided not to go with him to the most important battle in his life, he said his famous "I always though you were the bravest man I ever met... I guess I was wrong". He didn't actually mean the words, but he's hurt so he hurts others to appease the pain. Was he being unfair and selfish when he said these things? Yes, he's not perfect, he has flaws but that makes him human.

So, how do I actually believe Arthur would react if he had found out about Merlin's magic before Canmlan? Not so different really. He would have said hurtful things, would demand to be alone, for Merlin to leave (not banishment), but he wouldn't fisically injure Merlin in any way. He also wouldn't arrest him at least there were other witnesses and he had to keep appearences, because he's still king of a kingdom that bans magic. But even then he would late let Merlin explain himself and make sure he has a fair trial, a trial Arthur would definitely arrange in a way Merlin is found innocent, or he would give him a royal pardon, and he would make sure Merlin is not harm while he's in the dungeons. Banishment would be a last resort if the council is firm about Merlin being punish, because laws and mentalities can't be changed in a day after all.

But if there're not other witnesses, Arthur would simply not require his servicies for a while, ignore him for some days, weeks maybe, but not a long time really. Again, he can be a resentful person, but not an unreasonable one, he would eventually call for Merlin and be willing to listen to him. The intesity of his anger and hurt, and how troubled he feels about his believes on magic, would depend on which season the magic reveal happens. But, generally, the actions he would take would be the same. Let's remember that even when he found out about Merlin's magic in Camnlan, after all the betrayals he suffered, when Merlin left him alone with Gaius, he ordered Gaius, not for Merlin to be arrested or to disclose to someone Merlin was a sorcerer, but to have Merlin take a word to Gwen! To his wife! If he really believed Merlin was evil, that he could hurt him, he wouldn't dare to do that. Also, as soon as he learned he needed Merlin to have a chance of survival, he accepted his help, reluctantly yes, but he did let him take him to the sidhe when he could easly refuse and demand Gaius to do it or refuse to do it all together cause going to the sidhe would mean using magic on himself and put faith in a sorcerer. So, no, I don't believe he ever planed on taking Merlin to the dungeons, much less kill him, even then. He just wanted to be left alone for a moment, he needed Merlin to leave because it hurt to see him after the revelation, after the betrayal.

Anyways, those are my thoughts. What do you think?

[the-valiant-valkyrie]

i see a lot of interpretations of zor being this otherworldly, anomalous presence- larger than life, practically non-human. and i, too, like perceiving zor through this veil of anonymity. i think making them too tangible or perceivable really detracts from what's been established about their character.

but, i personally really, really like the thought of zor being human. mortal. but terrifying to the point where you'd be forgiven for forgetting it.

i think one of the things that i adored about ieytd before the third game dropped (and honestly made me a little disappointed when it was changed later on) was the fact that the agency never had a face. it just... was what it was. it had facets- granted, the EOD was always the only one of any relevance. but, really, think about what we know about the agency between all three games. compare that to how much we know about zoraxis.

there's something really appealing to me about zor being who they are... they're probably the most wealthiest person on earth. they had a monopoly that quite literally gripped the world in their first- as their emblem would suggest. they hire some of the most lethal minds in the world- chemists, inventors, engineers.

and yet... despite it all, they're just one person. to me, their anonymity is a shield against the fact they are a person. they hide behind the lethality and prowess of their elite operatives- not to mention we've seen how clever they can be when it came to manipulating prism. they're by no means useless.

but what would they be without their anonymity? what would they be without the weapons they didn't design, the lairs they didn't build, the employees they use as human shields? the second zor is gone, zoraxis crumbles. they are the support pillar of their entire corporation.

... but what's the agency's equivalent? even post morales being a character, can we be certain that he's the glue holding the entire organization together?

think about zoraxis' most lethal schemes. seizing control of the world's atomic weaponry. striking targets anywhere on earth's surface with a giant laser. exploding the brain of every telekinetic agent on the planet. are they really seeking to cause as much damage as possible- to the agency specifically, collateral, or otherwise?

or do they not know where to strike. zor's tactic- for as high the stakes have been escalating- has always carried a similar motif. cleave and strike indiscriminately until the threat is neutralized.

but it never works. zor is lashing at a hydra- sprouting new heads where the old ones have been lopped off. they don't seem aware of how to destroy the agency other than exterminating each and every one of them off the face of the earth, in whatever way is most convenient at the moment.

i just think there's something to be said about zoraxis- and by extension, zor- always being seen as this oppressive, near-otherworldly force, constantly applying pressure on phoenix... when for all we know, zoraxis could be perceiving the agency in the exact same light.

zor, ultimately, has one beating heart. the agency has thousands. and all of them are dispensable.

[aceofnace]

Nancy's eyes are full of hope and optimism for the future when she stares into Tristan's. Kennedy is so talented to create these distinctions, but I do think there is a new type of love portrayed towards Tristan since the reincarnated soulmate concept was introduced. Nancy feels enamored with him, but in happy way. But when she interacted with Ace it was in a tortured way, feels like writers purposefully made Nace really upset together and to highlight how light and happy Nancy is with Tristan. I need to see how this all ends, but like Kennedy and Henry are giving their all and the chemistry is pretty amazing - very talented actors!

Wow, haha, I have an entirely different perspective on Nancy and Tristan than you do! I haven't actually seen the "hope and optimism for the future" that you have seen when Nancy looks at Tristan. To me, when she looks at him now (like in their last scene together in 4x10), she looks more like she's in a trance. Like she's under a spell. I tweeted a comparison yesterday showing the differences in how she looked at both Tristan and Ace the moment right before touching foreheads with them, and the difference was pretty obvious to me:

In the screenshot with Tristan, she looks...intrigued, maybe? And why wouldn't she be? Now she's thinking maybe he's her literal soulmate. She also looks curious to me. Like she's got a new mystery to solve. Which, again, would make sense. However, in the screenshot with Ace, she looks like she's getting lost in his eyes. You can actually see the love and yearning on her face. The girl is down bad for him there.

Now, of course Nancy's interactions with Ace this season have been tortured, but it's not for the writers to highlight how light and happy she is with Tristan! It's for the writers to highlight just how badly Nancy and Ace want to be together, and how miserable it makes them to have to stay apart. If the writers wanted to make it look like Tristan was the better option for Nancy, or that there was any chance she would choose him in the end, then they wouldn't have made Nace so tortured over this death curse. They would've just been able to part ways, stay friends, and move on. However, it has taken the black door altering memories to get Nancy to finally stop shedding tears over not being able to be with Ace.

Sure, Nancy has had some light, happy moments with Tristan, but they paled in comparison to how light and happy she was in her hallucination with Ace. As an example, here's how light and happy she looked when she thought they'd finally gotten together:

Talk about hope and optimism for the future. That's why this death curse has been such a torture especially for Nancy—because she knows now exactly just how happy being with Ace makes her. We've never seen her smile like that any other time on the show. Ace truly makes her happy. And if you go back and look at past interactions with them over the first 3 seasons, they were never tortured, even when they were jealous over other love interests. I've seen a few people this season talk about how "toxic" Nace is for each other because they make each other "miserable" and it's like, no, they don't make each other miserable, their death curse makes them miserable. Big difference. Remember:

And here's the thing with Tristan: he's been such a small player in the season. In his actual human form, he's only been in four out of ten episodes so far, two of which he was only in briefly. His other two episodes he was featured predominantly in, but it's interesting to note that in 4x06, Nancy still wasn't romantically interested in him. She thought he had hot arms, and she really appreciated him saving her life. And their slow dance at the end was a sweet moment for them, but the writers made it very clear that while Tristan was all in while dancing with Nancy, as soon as Nancy heard Florence's engine, she was taken out of the moment and was distracted. And then in 4x10, she started showing some interest BUT this is two episodes after she went to the black door, and now memories and feelings have been altered. Had she not gone to that door at what we assume was the end of 4x08, she wouldn't have had that moment with Tristan at the end of the episode, because her feelings for Ace would still be at the forefront.

To me, I don't detect anything sweet or romantic when I see Nancy and Tristan together, and that's not even my obvious Nace bias talking. I get the weirdest vibes from Tristan and the whole storyline altogether. This whole season has felt off to me, in an intentional sort of way. Like things are not as they seem. At this point, I'm not even convinced Tristan is real. There's a big twist coming that's going to explain everything and we'll know then if I'm right or wrong. Either way, the odds that the writers suddenly decided to give Nancy a soulmate who wasn't Ace and are purposefully trying to make it look like Tristan makes Nancy happy while Ace makes her miserable are very slim.

And obviously, Kennedy's chemistry with Henry is good because her chemistry with literally everyone on this show is exceptional. You could put her in a scene with probably anyone in the world and she'd have you believing they were soulmates destined to be together. She's just that good.

[steelthroat]

I have helped my school with open days many times during these years and every time is one hell of an experience, I could literally start a column about it in the future... but the latest one hit me in the feels so hard-

Look- I'm a simple person, I love it when I explain something to the middle school kids coming at my school and they have this sparkle in their eyes and ask me questions and are genuinely curious about the things we do and study.

Seriously it makes me want to cry because on one hand it's my last year here and as I'm about to enter the next chapter of my life, these kids are just starting this one and this leaves me all teary-eyed and weird because omfg that's the "adulting" millennials were all nervous and weird about- but that's my turn now. Fuck

Also, I wasn't like that at their age, because middle school almost broke me completely in a way no higschool or university could ever do. I'm so happy they get to be so happy and hopeful for their future and I'm just ahdhfjgjgjgjh

Now listen- this is killing me- what the fuck! people born in 2010-11 are starting high-school next year????? HOW? WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN????? GO BACK DON'T YOU DARE GROW UP???? You should be 4 not 14! When did these 10 years pass??????

Like there was this little guy with his mum and I was explaining all the labs and the things we do and I couldn't hold him in a single room for more than 10 minutes because he wanted to visit the entire school and LIVE IT.

and holy shit I was gonna cry, I swear he said "I'm so happy I come to this school in 2 years! I'm gonna get these shoes under a glass bell because I got to walk in the corridors of [insert school here] with these"

Oh my god- too wholesome, it was gonna kill me I swear, please never grow up, never become a cynical and edgy teenager because you're literally my new embodiment of my hope for humanity. Please I'm gonna become your personal shield nothing will ever harm you ever again.

Amd then there was this other older girl who just befriended me on the spot and lead the conversation and I was just nodding along like "I've never seen you in my life before and you're interacting with me like we've known each other since we were kids-" EXTROVERTS ARE A MENACE I'M TELLING YOU, how-

I'm not an introvert anymore but even *I* wouldn't be able to do that????? Some people are just born with the ability to befriend the world. Scary shit- really.

So this whole ramble is to say, fuck you! gen alpha is okay, if they're not it's the parents and their shitty parenting's fault (as always) and don't be fucking mean to kids. I'm serious! I will not be held accountable for my actions if I get to see y'all being mean to kids on the internet or irl. Millennials don't be fucking hypocrites you're the parents now.

[ijusthavesomanyblorbos]

rotb

hi guys. so i saw rotb. unfortunately i fucking hated it. lemme talk about why. (spoilers, obviously. be warned this is very long.)

first of all, lemme preface this by saying two things. number one being i did not have high expectations for this movie in the first place. because lets be honest, this is the transformers fandom, and hollywood has almost never done us justice. also, the trailers and teasers weren't exactly encouraging. number two being i am a huge fucking movie nerd. okay. i love movies. so just keep that in mind.

i think it's worth pointing out that my number one critic of this movie is that for almost the entire runtime, it's something worse than bad: it's boring.

i mean, how do you make giant robots boring??? how is that even possible? let's unpack that.

first of all, it has the most generic, cookie cutter action movie plot ever. we have to get the.... thing! you know, the thing! and we have to do it before the.... other guys! who are working for the BIG guy! and if we don't... the world will end! wahhh!

how is anyone supposed to be invested in that. there are no stakes. there's no tension. there's nothing. we've literally seen this exact plot played out one million times. THERE'S NOTHING NEW!!!

furthermore, the characterization of literally everyone is dogshit. the villians are bland, and have absolutely no motivation behind "darkness and evil." that's NOT INTERESTING!! there's no backstory! i literally could not even tell you the NAMES of the three main antagonists that are on the screen for half the movies runtime. that's how unimportant they are.

and god, the autobots are even worse. first of all, optimus prime and mirage are the only actual characters. i can't remember a single line any other robot says. not one.

but optimus is so under-hyped. they claim he's some big warrior (optimus primal even goes "i'm named after you") but we don't get ANY backstory. we don't know anything about cybertron, or the war, or even what the hell they're doing on earth. we know they "crash landed 7 years ago, and haven't been able to get off since". and they "have to get back, or cybertron will be destroyed!" do they ever tell us WHY cybertron might be destroyed? NOPE!

now we, as an informed audience, can reasonably assume it's because of the war.

but.... what??? friends, the decepticons are never even MENTIONED.

lemme repeat that. the decepticons are never. even mentioned. SO WHY WOULD ANY AUDIENCE BE INVESTED IN THEM RETURNING TO CYBERTRON? THERE'S NO STAKES!!!

back to the autobots though. also mirage is just annoying. he's literally just a"POP CULTURE REFRENCE" machine. that's it. that's all he does.

i... i can't even address what happens between him and the human guy (literally can't even be bother to remember his name) in the finale. i can't. i need to leave that alone or we'll be here all day.

god, i have so many things to say about this movie i need to speedrun a couple okay let's go

humans. boring. why are these movies about giant robots so determined to shove human characters in our faces they DON'T COMPARE EVER!!! the two humans are? fine? but the dude is literally just hero fantasy and the girl is. unimportant. nothing in this movie is important. you could cut any of them.

the action. mediocre. impossible to enjoy when "GENERIC ACTION ONE LINER!" is being crammed down your throat literally every five seconds.

why did the movie market so heavily with arcee wheeljack and bumblebee. they literally have like 15 total lines of dialogue. i can't express to you how much they don't matter.

and you know what. all of that could have even been forgivable. if they had just bothered to put some classic characters in there, with classic character designs, and make a product that actual fans could at least appreciate in aesthetic/homage, if not writing!

but they didn't. they used random ass characters who NOBODY cares about and gave them all SHIT designs too!

and it's so tragic when you consider all the amazing source material that they have to offer. i mean, i have been begging for YEARs for a movie set on prewar cybertron following megatron. the political conflicts and class wars! the origin of megatron is literally the MOST INTERESTING PART OF HIS CHARACTER! BUT IT HAS NEVER A SINGLE TIME BEEN ADDRESSED! HE GETS REDUCED DOWN TO BIG MUSCLE SCARY GUY WHICH IS LITERALLY!!!!!!!!!!!! THE VERY THING HE REBELLED AGAINST!!!!!!!!!! ITS THE WHOLE FUCKING REASON FOR THE WAR AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

can you tell i have a lot of feelings about this. wow. okay this is so long. i'm sure nobody's acutally read this far. alright. what's left.

what'll i'll say is this.

there is literally no appeal to this movie. NONE. it isn't watchable as a fun, transformers piece come to life. it's not watchable as a quality action movie. hell, it isn't even worth a hate watch!!!!!

and somehow. some fucking how. it is still the second best transformers movie. OUT. OF. SEVEN.

friends. how is this possible. how could this have happened.

to all the fan creators making fan art and writing of this movie. you guys are fucking heros, alright. you are taking this incomprehensible garbage, and making actual art. you guys make this franchise worth staying in. thank you, and i wish someone put you guys in charge instead of MICHEAL. FUCKING. BAY.

in conclusion. fuck hollywood. someone give money to the people who actually care about this franchise. or i'll die.

thank you and goodnight.

[shibalen]

synopsis: sculpt your own dreams <3

warnings: none, unless you fear the short and sweet

word count: ~1.4k

...

..

.

It wasn't the loud pattering of the rain that awoke him. No, in fact, as he gazed up at the grey skies, Kazuha was quite sure this very same rain had lulled Milly and him to sleep a few hours ago. The sound had become too familiar and comforting to disturb him, although he had to admit the rain in Sumeru's rainforest was more intense than that of the other seven nations.

Next, his eyes fell on Milly who was peacefully napping on his lap. Her arms were tucked underneath her head for extra comfort. Thankfully, her soft features and relaxed brow told him she was having pleasant dreams. Nevertheless, it flustered him slightly that she had dozed off on his lap although it had already been two months since he read his sonata for her aloud. Butterflies still fluttered in his stomach like on the day he'd met her. He silently held his breath whenever they shared such moments of intimacy, and Kazuha doubted she would ever cease to stir such feelings in him. Not that he wanted her to stop. Archons, he prayed she wouldn't.

For a moment, Kazuha allowed himself to admire her like this. She must've been exhausted after they had set off from Port Ormos so early in the morning. Both of them had wanted to do a few days of exploring before sailing with The Crux again, and Milly was especially excited to learn more about the creatures of the rainforest. She was exploring every nook and cranny before the sudden downpour had forced the couple to take shelter underneath one of the forest's magnificent trees. The journal where she had marked down all her findings was now safe in her satchel.

"You've worked hard," Kazuha mused and gently pulled the blanket back over her shoulders where it had slipped off. If he wasn't trying to be careful of waking her, he would've kissed her head too. For now, he settled for combing his fingers through her hair, brushing a few strands from her face.

Then, if it was neither the rain nor Milly stirring, what was it that had woken him?

Kazuha listened again, searching for the vague sound. They were not in danger, that much he could sense but upon careful listening he knew they were being watched.

Seconds later a patch of moving grass caught his eye…Those were cabbages? Mushrooms? Plant spirits? They certainly didn't appear like the fungi they had dealt with previously. They seemed smaller, more full of life. He watched them with both curiousity and interest as the creatures moved towards their campsite—one slim orange mushroom and one green cabbage. Every now and then they made a few pauses, however, stopping as if to dance and sing in the rain.

Once close enough, they dropped several fruits just beside their bags. Zaytun peaches, he recalled.

How fascinating. Were these adorable spirits bringing them gifts? Hopefully they did not think the two of them were some evil humans that needed to be appeased in order to prevent them from wrecking havoc. Before he knew it, a chuckle escaped his lips.

Unfortunately, that alerted the creatures. "Red nara is looking!" the orange one panicked. "Quick, go before tiny nara wakes up!"

And just like that the spirits waddled off and disappeared without a trace.

Kazuha had never seen such a peculiar sight. "Is this… a dream?" He would've been entirely convinced of it had it not been for the pile of fruit that was still in front of them.

"Hmm, what is?" Milly groggily turned on her back, meeting her sleepy brown eyes with his.

Seeing she had stirred awake, Kazuha's face melted into a soft smile as he reached out to caress her cheek. "Sorry, did I wake you?" She shook her head no, and Kazuha glanced back at the fruit. "I think we've had visitors."

Following his eyes, Milly inclined her head and looked over at their new refreshments. She squinted through her blurry vision. "And you didn't just get them while I was asleep?" she asked.

"I am much too devoted to my current job. I don't think I could stray a step from it," he replied light-heartedly.

"I had a rather fine sleep, thank you. I'll have your payment ready." Milly laughed and sat up. She stretched her arms high above her head, taking in the fresh forest air. It was so crisp from rain a whiff of it already energised her, washing away most of the drowsiness. She may have also found her new favourite spot to sleep; she hadn't had such nice dreams in ages. Then she gave the mysterious occurrence another thought.

"Maybe an aranara brought them."

Kazuha tilted his head. "Aranara?"

She nodded. "Yes. They're tiny woodland spirits in Sumeru's folklore. Only children can see them, because they can dream, and there are plenty of stories from the kids about how the aranara have helped them."

The further Milly explained, the more Kazuha began to believe what he'd seen were the aranara. He also explained this to her, and of how he'd been awakened by the sound like rustling leaves and singing.

They passed time discussing why and how the aranara had shown themselves to him but were left with more questions than answers. It was meant to be a light conversation really, nothing serious, yet the two ended up wondering about the boundaries between reality and illusion; what would it feel like to consciously be able to shift between dreams and the real world.

"I think every person's concept of dreams and consciousness is a little different," Milly said, taking a bite of a zaytun peach. "The way placebo works: if you want to believe the existence of something, it will become a part of your reality regardless of whether the thing is actually there or not."

Kazuha hummed, his own peach in hand. "You are right. The borders of dreams and reality are thin as thread in the end."

Milly wiped her hands into a clean cloth. "Honestly, I wish this rain was a dream." She sighed, plopping her back against the three's wooden trunk. She loved nothing more than talking with Kazuha, whether it was about a pretty leaf in his hair or the meaning of life, but she was itching to do some research before it got dark.

Kazuha observed her longing gaze towards the lush vegetation. He admired her passion yet at the moment he wanted nothing more than to bring a spark into those gorgeous eyes. He thought back to the aranara he'd seen dancing among themselves, and their conversation with Milly. Perhaps all they needed was a change of perspective.

Standing up, Kazuha bowed his head and offered her his hand. "May I have this dance?"

Milly blinked up at him, amused. "What are you doing?"

"Shifting our borders of dreams and reality." He smiled.

From those words Milly seemed catch onto his little idea fast. She huffed a chuckle of disbelief, but Kazuha found her embarrassment cute. "In that case, you may."

She took his hand and Kazuha led them from the shade of the tree into the pouring rain as though it were a grand dancefloor. They were soaked in seconds but neither of them had felt so refreshed in a while.

"It's colder than I thought," Milly said.

"Come closer then. I will dry our clothes later." Standing chest-to-chest, Kazuha pulled her to him by her waist while the other hand still held hers in a soft grip. This was ridiculous and very childish, yes, but also the best decision he'd made that day when she lifted her head to look at him with that precious shine in her eyes, with that irresistible smile. There was no use trying to conceal the drumming of his heart.

A harmonious hum on his lips, Kazuha carried them into a graceful waltz. Milly joined in with a tune of her own, and soon it felt like the whole world was spinning around them alone. Indeed, their worlds had shifted into a different reality, a dream. Selfish as it was, this time Kazuha wished nothing would awake him.

Yes, let the call of birds and the rhythmic melody of rain last. Let the wind hum and the forest dance alongside them. And please, let her not stop laughing.

…

..

.

Behind the roots of the ancient tree, two aranara watched the humans waltz. Their smooth movements eventually turned into a game of hopping in puddles though. How silly, but at least they never let go of each others' hand. Slipping was dangerous. "Nara not tired anymore. Nara know rain bring happy memories."

[iratusmagus]

Grak't could not understand what they were hearing. They tapped the translation device mounted to the side of their scaly head and motioned for their human counterpart to repeat their statement.

Brittany, a human scientist, sighed, "We just finished early work on what is essentially hardlight."

"I am afraid the translator does not like this combination of words. How is it that light is stiffened?" Grak't tilted their head inquisitively as they scratched their neck with a claw, a common gesture of puzzlement in their saurian species.

Grak't and Brittany had been friends for many cycles so she readily understood the gesture and explained further, "I won't bore you with the details but the part you will like is that it slows down bullets and can block out many forms of radiation."

"Bullets being slowed is usually good, stopped better. The radiation blocking sound like Yillid projection shielding for ships."

"I always forget you were a spacer before you came here," Brittany smiled up at her friend. Grak't was a Makitian, one of many reptile-like species collectively referred to as saurians, with Makitians being known specifically for their size and strength. A species relegated largely to more physical positions such as labor, or combat; Grak't was a seeming rarity in that they had pursued high education and secured a decade of service as security aboard a space faring vessel. This had made them perfect for working as a guard for a then newly built research facility. Most species had found a niche or two where they fit in on the galactic scale but not humans. "The technology is based on Yillid designs, but we've focused on making it man portable. It's not perfect yet but, we know we're on the right track. In a few years we'll have proper prototypes to show the Alliance scientists."

"This is sounding like it will be another Walker situation," Grak't said, a tone of admiration clear in their voice. Grak't had always been enamored of the human made Walkers. The technology for them had been around in many societies and known by many names: vertical tanks, mobile gun platforms, and walking assault vehicles were a few of the more popular naming conventions. The idea had been scrapped by most as impossible to produce in a meaningful way until humans came along and combined the technology of at least twelve different species to create the modern Walker, though humans insisted on calling them mechanized armored chassis or mechs for short. This became a runaway success and changed so many fields at such a rapid pace that entire industries on a galactic scale had to shift design to account for Walker usage. Such revolutions in technology had become the human's hallmark. While they rarely were the ones to lay down groundwork, they had proven ad nausem that they were able to adapt, expand, and perfect any tech left within grabbing distance of their five-fingered hands. The Makitian drummed their claws excitedly on the cafeteria table, before they suggested with a polite cough, "I am willing to ah, test, some of this if extra hands are needed, yes?"

Brittany paused before the spoon reached her mouth, "Of course Grak't, as always."

"This is good! I am very excited, new shields for Alliance members means better safety measures, and better safety, fewer casualties." Grak't paused before continuing in a more conspiratorial tone, leaning their body lower and closer to Brittany's, unable to disguise their joy, "The Yillids will be so angry they did not make first, oh-ho the little buggy faces will be filled with chitterings and moanings of the numbers needed for 'review'."

"That's the plan!" the human laughed with her Makitian friend. Brittany knew Grak't had a bad history with a Yillid hive but had never seen them so excited at the prospect of humiliating the insectoid beings. Then again, the Yillid announcement of a new propulsion system had ruffled more than a few feathers, literal or otherwise, across the science NetBoards. A new technology being built up from something they had left behind might be to some the perfect way to get a leg up on them. Brittany winked as she gave an exaggeratedly evil smile, "And you know by the time they've finished their review we'll have gotten a hold of those new engines of theirs, maybe even corrected a flaw or two!"

"This why I took job here, humans always looking to make things best. Like with metal, always refining, adapting and overcoming always. That why humans have best standard of living this side of galaxy. I wanted piece of mind and way to make the oh-so-smarts blink in frustration," Grak't gave a rumbling laugh as they stood up from the table, "Tell the team I offer service as assistant should they need, I know a few others in security team who would be interested."

Brittany nodded and waved as their companion left the table. Being able put 'Makitian tested' or 'Makitian proof' was shorthand for durable as all hell and if they can get a few others on board, the launch of the new shields would do wonders to advance human aligned interests. Humanity may have found themselves lacking compared to insectoid intelligence, saurian strength, felinid grace, and a great many other traits that other species in the known galaxy might boast but, it doesn't matter if humans can run technological circles around everyone collectively. "Adapt and overcome indeed."

Turns out that humans are painfully average compared to the rest of the galaxy. This fact is so embarasssing that humanity starts rapidly advancing technologically just to show those aliens who’s boss.

[letadlock]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2

I have never heard of this game before but to my understanding Xenoblade Chronicles is a game about trying to restore civilization.

The characters of this game have faces and facial expression that closely resemble the anime look we've seen in previous shows and movies throughout this semester. But other than this the 3D rendering is pretty distinct from the 8 and 24 fps animation style.

From the beginning there is a stark divide between humanity and nature where the only lifeforms we see are Rex and his Titan among the vast and seemingly barren sea of clouds. While it seems the ecosystem is almost entirely wiped there are some forms of life but only present atop the Titan's backs including the plants Rex is cultivating atop Azurda's Back.

So a clear call to action is presented in the first couple cut scenes where we hear about this bountiful land of Elysium that sits atop a tree and where life prospers. Here we see that this world and it's inhabitants used to come from a thriving ecosystem but now tit is confined to a small space among a vast sea. To me, this sea felt like a representation of the future from our real world climate issues. Our distance from nature and the pollution we've emitted has led to rising sea levels globally and even the fear of the world being covered in water.

Only in later cut scenes do we see this myth of a prosperous land is false. Once Rex and the other Blades have finally arrived to Elysium they are met with a sad reality. A land of dust extends for miles with no sign of civilization but rather ruins of what it once was. They meet the creator who explains why he wiped out the world and the new system he created.

The creator has completely stripped the land which is why we see Elysium in the barren state it's in. But he did create a new system of creating life in the sea of clouds I thought to be without life. Core crystals bonded with the structure of the sea of clouds to collect genetic information passed onto Titans who create new lifeforms.

So to me this whole journey seems almost pointless. Rex and the blades set out to this paradise of Elysium only to find it is completely barren and that lifeforms will continue to exist so long as the Titans exist. I suppose the final solution is then to protect the Titans as much as they can to ensure life continues. Perhaps this is a broader message that we need to preserve what already exists and let nature be as it is.

[fvck-around-find-out]

Also, on the subject of these ppl, they are so. Like I don't know how to describe them except for fucking mean. Like our roommate system and our sister's system are fucking mean.

We might be moving altogether to this house in another province. It's not that far from here, but like we've never been there. We've never seen the house.

Lou was talking about potentially going biking around midnight tonight, and one of them (roommate, some of my sysmates are dating members of this roommate's system) was like oh isn't that dangerous?

Which like. It's not. We live in a safe area, and we go out after dark often. They go out after dark occasionally. Before they moved in with us, 90% of the time we were hanging out it was three in the fucking morning. I don't know why they're pretending like it's some strange concept and why they're acting like Lou is being stupid.

But like whatever, moving on.

Later, our sister made a comment about how we wouldn't be about to go out biking at night in the new house, because our roommate's dad said it wasn't the best neighbourhood. Lou said "we'll see."

That's it. "We'll see." Because? We'll literally fucking see. We'll see when we go to the showing what kind of neighbourhood it is. We can look around and ask the showing agent and what the fuck else.

And they literally fucking just started dog piling him, acting like he was stupid. Telling him that it was close to downtown and no he wouldn't he able to go out at night and it's dangerous and whatever.

They stressed him out and upset him so badly by not listening to him and treating him like an idiot that he had to leave the room. One of them started asking if he was annoyed, but he obviously fucking had to say no because if he said yes they'd make it into a big fucking deal. The roommate would get hurt and be like oh no I'm a monster and be all clingy and sad, and the sister would get fucking annoyed back or triggered or whatever.

And he was googling it, saying the area ranked high for walking and bike-ability, and that he couldn't find anything dangerous about the area except that there could be petty crime like vandalism. The wide area, he said, had some drug use and prostitution, but they didn't fucking know that. Lou didn't fucking know that. He literally just said that we would see if going out at night was safe.

And they weren't being nice about it. If they were telling him their concerns that's one thing, but they were cutting him off and being rude and telling him he was wrong when they did not know anything about the location at all. They literally didn't fucking know anything. They just decided that.

They're not fucking safe to express any negative emotion to. They make it entirely about themselves every fucking time. It's so rare they listen, and they literally only listen if Lou is actively crying which is fucking rare, or if he delivers it so calmly and concisely to them like they're fucking children. Or someone in my system tells them off, which we are almost never permissed to do.

And like this isn't even the first time they've done this. It won't be the last.

A couple of months ago, Lou was talking like literally joking about traveling to Mongolia and camping there. Because he'd always been interested in traveling there and there are laws that allow you go settle anywhere. And my fucking god the way it blew up into a full on debate.

They were acting like he was moving to Mongolia the next fucking day. They kept telling him that it was so dangerous there and they'd human-traffic him?? Because he's white???? Like what the actual fuck. They would not understand why he wouldn't just believe blindly that this foreign Asian country was inherently just so fucking dangerous for no reason. Like he literally researched it on the spot and it wasn't any more dangerous than like. The United States. They wouldn't understand why he wouldn't just be like yeah babes youre so right Mongolia is so dangerous and scary ill never go there. Because that felt fucking needlessly racist to him. They even brought up the fact that Mongolia has a history of colonialism, like that's even fucking remotely relevant and like we are not living in a fucking country that's colonialist and loves fucking genocide.

And he doesn't want to bring it up because theyre not going to fucking listen to him! Mark my fucking words, they're going to pretend it's about being worried for his safety. It's not about our safety. We are not going to fucking Mongolia, we are 22 and poor and disabled and living in fucking Canada. We are not walking our bike out the door of our new house at 3 am as we speak.

Choosing to be fucking awful to your friend/partner/boyfriend or brother over a distant fucking HYPOTHETICAL that was not even brought up in a serious, considering manner, is not something that happens out of fear for someone's safety. It happens when you want to be right. This was about their want to be right, and for Lou to be wrong. There's no other way to look at it.

And when your want to be right comes before your want to be kind, then you've made a fucking mistake and I don't want you around us.

[marinersubmariner]

I don't normally like to show WIP/sketchy/unfinished artwork because my process is a complete mess and I'm embarrassed by how bad it all is before I reach a point where I'm satisfied enough to call something done. That being said, as the AI inundation is upon us, it feels valuable to share the human trial and error and my own manic desperation that goes into making art. I always spend too much time on stuff that ends up looking like it should not have taken that much time, but I REALLY overcooked my last drawing and fried my own brain. Trying to draw a speeder bike was torture. Here's some of the goofy shit I did!

I really had intended to simply draw an existing speeder bike, but as I considered the ~aesthetic~ I wanted and examined the standard ROTJ-style bike, it wasn't working for me. In terms of motorcycles they're too much like choppers for my taste when I vastly prefer the chunky '80s futurism/cyberpunk/mecha anime look (clearly, since this started out as an Akira reference). But. I have zero expertise in mechanical design or even concept art itself. I do not know how vehicles work or how to draw them. And referencing either real or fictional motorcycles isn't a huge help because they have wheels to focus the design around, which of course hover bikes don't have.

So obviously trying to both design a speeder and draw it in perspective was really difficult to wrap my brain around. I started out by photographing one of my old '90s Micro Machines for reference, but it wasn't exactly useful for extrapolating the shape into a new design:

I sketched out some profiles, but, again, tough to convert to 3D using only my very weak power of imagination:

The only 3D-adjacent tool I know well enough to use is After Effects, which is a poor substitute for a real 3D modeler because it can really only do flat planes and basic shape extrusion, and it was too cumbersome for this. I started to try it and it sucked:

"Just learn a 3D program," you say. "Blender is free." WELL. Maybe someday. But not today. So I resorted to building it in miniature out of cardboard:

This is less mortifying than taking pose reference photos of myself (which I have done a lot! it's a great way to make yourself feel like a complete lunatic!!!) but it was also more work, so. Still makes me feel like a lunatic.

Thankfully it did make it possible for me to finally draw something. The design isn't groundbreaking, and I still have absolutely no idea how to create convincing mechanical details despite poring over mountains of concept art… but an attempt was made. My perspective is probably still out of whack because, despite having studied art throughout my entire academic career, I never officially learned all those multipoint perspective tricks, drawing cubes inside of cubes, etc. I've always preferred and been much better at organic shapes than anything mechanical or architectural.

My initial iterations were more X-Wing/BSG Viper-esque, but I kept being unhappy with the nose shape. I wanted it to be pointy and triangular but I couldn't add enough detail to make it interesting. Even after building it MULTIPLE TIMES I didn't like it, so the shape I ultimately landed on… wasn't one of the prototypes I built. LOL. It was just so hard to tell in the earlier stages, so I had to go through the whole refining process just to land on "nah." It looked alright in cardboard, and then translating it to line art, and then once I colored it I didn't like it. It would have been a lot easier if I could tell at an earlier stage than that!!!!!!

There wasn't any one ship/vehicle I referenced, but things I looked at for inspiration included: the Akira bike (obviously), Tron lightcycles, every time we've ever seen a speeder bike in any piece of Star Wars media, actual motorcycles, X-Wings, A-Wings, U-Wings, Jedi Vectors… etc.

Once I had settled on the split nose, I tried adding vertical stabilizers to the tail section for some more interest back there and to balance out the front, but even though I liked them I thought they made it too busy. It also started to look too much like a miniature ship instead of a bike, like he was riding one of those coin-operated kiddie rides. No!!! I wanted this to look cool!!! So I stuck with the nondescript tail section.

Pose and likeness referencing aren't very exciting but just know that I use a mishmash of references for literally everything. Normally I would pose myself (even though translating my own blobby female proportions into those of a large man is another layer of awkward difficulty), but riding a speeder is a tough action to recreate so I downloaded the "MagicPoser" app on my phone and used that instead. The basic version is free and you can move around limbs and joints in their normal range of motion—some of it gets rubbery, but for the most part it did what I needed it to do.

Also just had to make up an excuse to put him in a pilot helmet! The shape is based on a Y-Wing helmet—a personal favorite of mine—which made sense to me for using on a speeder since it has more face coverage like motorcycle helmets tend to have. (not that I drew him actually wearing it on the speeder, haha. safety first, kids!!—UNLESS you're a dumbass space wizard, then just do whatever looks cool.) I really waffled back and forth on what color to make the visor, because I'm extremely partial to the pink from the Y-Wing helmet, but ultimately I went with the more traditional yellow-orange. Either one looks good with blue and white so I still like 'em both.

This all feels like it was an enormous waste of time, but I did realize the thing that was in my head, so. I guess that's an accomplishment. Unfortunately the problem with making art for myself is that I invariably end up hating my own work, and being in a dead/dying fandom on a dead/dying platform means there is very little external validation to counteract the self-loathing brain worms. Agony!

[pesterloglog]

Harry Anderson Egbert, Vriska Serket

Page 194

HARRY ANDERSON: so...

HARRY ANDERSON: um. vriska?

VRISKA: The one and o........

VRISKA: (Ughhhhhhhh)

VRISKA: I mean, yeah. That's me!!!!!!!!

HARRY ANDERSON: i've heard a lot about you. my name's harry anderson egbert.

HARRY ANDERSON: but my friends just call me harry anderson.

VRISKA: And what do incredi8ly hot and 8adass alien girls call you? ::::)

VRISKA: 8ecause there's no way I'm saying Harry Anderson every time. That's like... 8 whole letters too long.

VRISKA: From now on your name is just Harry.

HARRY: o... k?

VRISKA: Gr8.

VRISKA: So what's your deal, Harry?

VRISKA: If I had to 8et, I'd say you're the thing that pup8ed after a 8ar8aric act of human sexual intercourse 8etween John and some Lalonde or other.

HARRY: ok.

HARRY: ew.

HARRY: i do NOT want to think about that.

VRISKA: Too 8ad, chief. It's 8asically all I've 8een dealing with today.

VRISKA: "Welcome 8ack, Vriska. Your friends have spent the last who-knows-how many sweeps producing an army of freakish offspring, all while steadily getting uglier and LESS COOL."

HARRY: lol. gottem.

HARRY: but um, yeah. john and roxy are my parents.

VRISKA: Ugh, "parents".

VRISKA: I didn't care a8out all this alien shit when John first tried to tell me a8out it, and I DEFIN8TELY don't care any more.

HARRY: hahaha...

VRISKA: What?

HARRY: i don’t know, i’ve just never talked to a troll who didn’t grow up around humans.

HARRY: you sound like vrissy, but if vrissy was from like...

HARRY: ok, so have you ever seen the musical calamity jane?

HARRY: i guess you probably haven't.

HARRY: but so there's this part at the beginning, where the title character comes back from chicago, and she talks to all of the old-timey locals about how bizarre and new-fangled everything was, and

VRISKA: Godddddddd it really is like talking to teenage John all over again.

VRISKA: No I haven't seen Chastity Jane or whatever the stupid title was. It sounds like a total snooze!!!!!!!!

VRISKA: And anyway, what are you trying to say?

VRISKA: That I sound outd8ed?

VRISKA: There WERE no humans on Alternia, okay? There were no humans, and no human "musicals", in my entire UNIVERSE.

HARRY: it sounds like a horrible place. ):

VRISKA: Yeah, it 8lew so un8elieva8ly hard.

VRISKA: And while we're at it: don't compare me to Vrissy either!!!!!!!! She's no 8etter than the rest of you.

VRISKA: She's soft. I can tell.

VRISKA: None of you weenies would have survived even a day, 8ack where I came from.

HARRY: i bet i would have.

VRISKA: HAH!!!!!!!!

VRISKA: No way, kid.

VRISKA: I mean, I can tell that you think you’re hot shit, and I can respect reckless 8ravado.

VRISKA: 8ut only if you can 8ack it up. :::;)

HARRY: i can back it up.

VRISKA: Oh yeah????????

VRISKA: Ever killed any8ody????????

VRISKA: Ever even thrown a P8NCH?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

HARRY: well... no.

HARRY: i mean, we've done stage fighting before, but never the real stuff.

HARRY: but i bet i could learn. i took kickboxing with my mom for a month and half when i was nine.

VRISKA: Pffffffff.

VRISKA: Well, at least you aren’t a coward. I’ve known guys softer than you, 8elieve it or not.

VRISKA: John, for instance!!!!!!!!

VRISKA: He totally freaked out the first time I told him I killed some8ody.

HARRY: haha, that sounds like my dad.

VRISKA: He came through, though. I guess. When it actually counted.

VRISKA: He was there to punch me in the face when I needed it most.

HARRY: hehe...

HARRY: ...

HARRY: wait.

HARRY: like... literally?

VRISKA: Yup!

HARRY: not to cast doubt on any of these stories about my dad that you're telling me vriska, but he's probably going to freak out a bit about this whole clown situation.

HARRY: as well as... you even being here?

VRISKA: John already knows I'm here, num8nuts!!!!!!!!

VRISKA: And as for the stuff with Gamzee,

HARRY: no, listen, i mean the fact that you're HERE here. the fact that you're involving any of the rest of us.

HARRY: my mom probably won't be happy about this either!

HARRY: i'm not allowed ONE vriska in my bedroom.

HARRY: i don't even want to THINK about how much trouble i'll be in if she finds out i had TWO of them up there.

VRISKA: Hahahahahahahaha oh my god. And you expect me to 8elieve you'd survive on Alternia?

HARRY: well, i'm not there right now!

HARRY: right now i'm in my mom's house with my girlfriend, her boyfriend, and another god damn version of my girlfriend, and all of us are probably now on the run from the fucking GOVERNMENT!!!!

VRISKA: Ooooooookay, so YOU'RE freaking out a8out it now. Cool.

HARRY: of course i am freaking out vriska!

HARRY: i'm freaking out what i think is probably a good amount about this. the fashionable amount of freaking out.

HARRY: the coolest possible amount of freaking out to be doing about the present situation, is the amount of freaking out i'm doing right now.

VRISKA: >::::|

HARRY: but my dad ISN'T cool!!! he just spent like an hour on driving me around in his car and talking about emotions and stuff.

HARRY: he's going through some kind of personal epiphany at the moment. he even shaved off his MUSTACHE before coming here.

HARRY: this is really serious, and now i'm implicated in it as well!

HARRY: you guys were at my school, so he'll realise immediately that you were trying to meet up with me!

HARRY: he's going to absolutely flip his fucking lid if he ever finds out about this!!

HARRY: or worse, it might just make him as miserable as before, and he'll be really disappointed in me, and then he'll just leave again, or... or SOMETHING!!

HARRY: and that's not to even MENTION--

BECAUSE JELLICLES CAN AND JEEEEEEELLICLES DO JELLICLES DO AND JELLICLES CAN JELLICLES CAN AND JEEEEEELLICLES

HARRY: oh fuck.

JELLICLES CAN AND JEEEEEEELLICLES DO JELLICLES DO AND JELLICLES CAN JELLICLES CAN AND JEEEEEELLICLES

HARRY: it's him.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

This was central to Tumblr leftist philosophy as recently as 2014. I remember it well. I can't help but feel like this is in no small way down to the rise of TERF-ism.

But also a phenomenon that happens literally everywhere you get humans interacting about anything at all, which is the creep towards the binary. You start with, for example, a very good position like "The bulk of social discussion should be intra-community, because those are the people actually affected." And then that drifts, just a little, into "The opinions of the directly affected people have more worth than anyone else", which... isn't quite the same thing? And then it drifts more and more, until by the end it's "Unless you are directly and incontrovertibly in the affected group, you must entirely be silent and never speak on this topic AT ALL, not even to express a personal preference for an aesthetic e.g. which of the 27 lesbian flag designs you personally like best (genuine discourse I have seen)."

And like, obviously I get it. I've sat through plenty of cis men weighing in on feminist stuff with the most moronic and ignorant takes imaginable. But I actually think my leftist husband, a basically cis-man, has considerably more valuable thoughts on the role of gender and feminism than some tradwife creep who wants us all to return to a world of one baby and zero orgasms per year because she hasn't understood that she could just do BDSM and then she'd still get her own bank account.

I think the main area I'm personally seeing this in on Tumblr atm is in neurodiversity discourse, actually, and in particular as it pertains to autism. We've now gone rapidly from "ND folks are an oppressed group by an NT social majority and we should discuss all those avenues of social nuance to push for equity" to "ND folks are unique and perfect unicorns who always without exception get along perfectly with each other and are never ever at fault for anything or capable of being assholes, and literally all asshole behaviour on the planet is done by those evil mean NTs who shouldn't be allowed to raise children anymore. Also if anyone ever dislikes someone ND it's because they're an evil ableist sea witch (all genuine discourse I have seen)."

And again! I get it!! God do I get it. When you have been made to feel ashamed your whole life of who you are, Christ there is so much healing in instead being proud. In particular, in taking aspects of yourself that others have denigrated, and saying no; these are objectively good, actually. And it is tempting, isn't it? To take that extra step? To say these are BETTER, actually.

And then before you know it you have posts circling with thousands of notes claiming that if ND folks live together they all magically do each other's accommodations perfectly without a single clash but not a single NT has ever successfully provided accommodations in their lives so we should segregate the population (no, bro, the eugenics is good this time I swear), and anyone who disagrees gets the "Boooooo you're an evil ableist who hates autistic people" treatment that OP talks about here.

It's the same phenomenon you get with terminology too. People learn a new term for a thing, and then it drifts as it creeps to the binary. Gaslight, Karen, trigger, sustainability, cancel, literally, queerbait, special interest. Nuance is lost as the heavy cudgel of easy meaning comes down. And, I think, it's also tied in with the urge to form a rigid and highly parochial community. We see this particularly in the queer community, of course - for a social movement that's supposed to be about removing the boxes, so many queer people are absolutely obsessed with making new boxes and then gatekeeping/enforcing them as strongly as cishet society ever did. It's a stupid and mean part of human nature - we're a social species, so when feeling threatened, we want the support of our tribe around us, but that means needing to define exactly who the tribe is ("Queers only! But not those icky trans people, and aces are basically straight somehow, and bis are dangerous greedy posers trying to look like us and prey on us..."). Once you've got your tribe, then it's easy to identify threats ("Straight people! And those gross other queers, who might make us look bad in front of the straight people, who might then hurt us!")

And then THAT means that anything at all that shakes that perception of the world is itself a threat. "If queer people bully a straight person for being straight - a thing that absolutely does happen - that is harmful and unacceptable." "HOW DARE YOU SAY THE STRAIGHTS ARE OPPRESSED BY THE GAYS. I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE SAYING THIS ONE PERSON BEING BULLIED IS THE SAME AS SYSTEMIC HOMOPHOBIA. I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU HATE GAY PEOPLE. HOW CAN I, A QUEER PERSON, POSSIBLY BE HARMFUL TO A STRAIGHT PERSON. I'M GOING TO DOXX YOU FOR SAYING THAT."

(Genuine discourse I have seen. Including the doxxing.)

Anyway. Sorry OP, I've been thinking about this for a while, so it was your post that got the addition!

Actually turning things over in my brain and yeah, I'd say that's probably my feeling on a lot of these conversations. The wrong thing is getting blamed.

White people do experience racism. The problem is when people hear that they think "people of color have power over white people" and not "under white supremacy, there are white people who are regarded as Not White Enough".

Men are oppressed. The problem is that people tend to think the ending of that sentence is "by women" and not "under the patriarchy, men are forced into a very specific and often harmful role and are heavily punished for any deviance from that role".

And the well has been poisoned by bad actors, so it's hard to get any amount of conversation about this going without either attracting said bad actors to totally derail the whole thing or without having kneejerk suspicion from the getgo due to said bad actors' previous actions.

[zelda-photography]

Trailer Analysis

Yup, that's right, it's my turn to try and analyze the new trailer. I'll be keeping it under a read more so people who are trying to stay as blind as possible don't see anything. Also, I'll warn you right now that I'm not sure I have anything new to say, and also while I haven't read any in depth analyses yet, I haven't totally missed them so if I say something someone has already said I'm sorry and also no I didn't you're imagining things.

Alright, enough stalling, let's see what kind of brilliant clarity I can bring to this new pressing issue.

Alright, opening shot that I'm pretty sure nobody knows what to think of it. I've seen some people say it could be Hylia, but honestly I think this is going to be an entirely new deity. I've seen people point out the triangles under the eyes are kind of similar to the sheikah eye, and we defo don't know enough about to sheikah, so maybe this was an ancient deity that they worshiped before they were part of Hyrule and fell in with the royal family? That's my crazy guess. My second crazy guess with even less baring on anything is, what if this is the real fierce deity? Food for thought.

This was the shot that for me solidified that this was Zelda (I mean I knew it was but also confirmation never hurts you know). It's interesting that all the bokoblins have the big horn that we saw in one of the earlier trailers.

There's also very clearly two different humans portrayed here. Either it's just showing both men and women fighting, or I would guess hylians and sheikah? Sheikah usually have that bun on the back of their head, but the uniform the people with the buns are wearing doesn't look like anything the sheikah wear.

Again we see whatever the new deity-figure is (am I the only one who thinks it looks like a bunny?) clearly on a floating island amidst the clouds, with what sort of looks like one of the gates over to the left. They're also surrounded by seven spirals - can you say Zonai? - but also that usually connects to the seven sages usually seen in zelda games. I'm very interested to see if there are going to be sages, or just like seven things to gather.

I also didn't point this out before, but a possible connection between This Thing and Dehydrated Ganondorf is they both have an eye on their forehead, so idk keep that in mind.

Putting these right next to each other. I've seen people say they think this could be Ganondorf, and I get where they're coming from, but I agree with @the-east-art (they have a post with a couple of explanations) that this is more likely to be Zelda. Now time to say something crazy: I think this is a Zelda who was born to the Gerudo. It's why she has a gem on her forehead. It would also possibly provide an answer (eventually) to the seven statues in the desert (Them being like, previous seven sages to a Gerudo Zelda).

Also, bad news, looks like Zelda may be officially damseled considering she's shown falling into the malice, and that's not something one easily comes back from :( I mean obviously I hope there's some kind of Zelda subplot but I'm losing hope.

In the bottom picture, however, there are two of the spiral mcguffins above two people holding hands. Which leads to theory 3 (4?) of who these are: they just depict A Sage, not anyone specific, and the spiral depicts the power that person has. I don't think it is, but it's possible.

I skipped the picture I had of the door - there's osme big spirals and two dragons on it, It's way more boring than I expected. Here, we get a good view of a gate, which we've seen in previous trailers, and uh I still dont' know what it is, or where link is, but hey he's in his champion's tunic so that seems relevant.

Here, we can get a bit of a better view of what the islands look like, including a weird temple int he middle that looks like it's upside down - in fact, when Link dives down, I think you can see the 'top' of it, all pointy n stuff. I'm kind of hoping that there's going to be, like, people living on these island, or at least some kind of sentient species to interact with. A lot of the islands in this shot are taken up by the yellow trees.

Also, you can't really see them well here but I was getting tired of trying to get a good shot of them, but Link does have those like eight vials on his belt, half of them filled with strange green liquid. It's hard to say anything about them at this point, but I've seen people say it's a vessel to collect tears, and that sounds about right. I also think it could be the device used to get up and down from the sky, I believe when we saw it do that last trailer it was that same color.

Everything is black and white, and I just figured that'd mean that time is stopped or something, but oddly enough that weird bat thing in the background is still flapping as Link uh,,,, rides this rock back to the heavens? I'm just happy to see what looks like a new enemy out there.

Link with a new ace looking weapon, so that's fun. It's good to see they did go to the effort to make new weapons. Also he's in that outfit that make people think there's time travel in this. Honestly, I can't say one way or the other. It's probably just An Outfit, but uh what if he has to wear it during certain trials or something? Like, the clouds below look like the mist in the Lost Woods.

Here, we can see that the floating islands are kind of scattered around some, but more than anything, we can see the Eldin Volcano has the same malice-stuff coming off of it as Hyrule castle, and Hyrule castle is really not floating as much as I expected it to. It's probably fair to think that the other four corners of Hyrule are in a similar state.

It makes me wonder how they're going to deal with the divine beasts in this sequel, like do they just do nothing now? Are they taken over again? Deactivated?

And of course, now we have our paraglider evolved into a hawk glider thingy. Personally, I think he looks nice. Also, it's nice that we can see where we are and can recognize the layout. Also there's a weird glowing rune, but if you turn it upside down you can see that it's a similar depiction as the people from earlier in the trailer, but this one doesn't have a gem on the forehead. Maybe a sage? Maybe a recharge place for your vials/hawk glider?

AAAAND TITLE! Tears of the Kingdom, makes a lot of people think of the tears you collect in silent realms, and I have to agree. You can see the zonai-style dragons in the circle around the title, very interesting. However, I'm more interested in what's behind it - namely, we just barely don't get the full picture we saw a snippet of earlier: the 'Zelda' standing under two spiral mcguffins. Now, we can see the other person was Mystery Deity all along.

I'm not sure what else to say, I'll probably just pop out some theory or other like at random in the next eight months. Right now, I'm just gonna say, uhhhh, I think Link will end up aiding the Mystery Deity and and does manage to fight off the Malice with it, but in doing so strengthens the Mystery Deity, and they become the new big bad. Bonus point for if at that point in the story, Link gets damseled and now you play as Zelda.

Anyway, let me know if you agree, disagree, have theories of your own, anything! i wanna talk Zelda!