#the truth more complex and real which is why its the only part of the drawings that's got texture

[dandelion-roots]

Helena Eagan, VIOLATION (2025)

[ID: a digital drawing of mark s and helena from severance next to a heater. helena is lying on a blanket that says lumon over and over again. she's entirely ice blue, with only the mask she's wearing being warm orange. the mask is of helly r. her smiling face is drawn on with sharpie that has smudged in places, and her hair is angular like it was cut from paper. mark s is over her, his hand cradling the mask. we see the back of his head and a crack in it in the shape of an anatomical heart. helena's hands are at the edges of the crack, pulling it apart, and the exposed brain is pink in the middle and blue around the edges of the crack. a needle with a tear on it is going into his brain. mark s is also in warm colours like helena's mask and the heater. in the background are design elements- the elevator with the down arrow, ms casey's turned away face, shrouded figures and eyes. End ID]

[mad-hunts]

as far as jack could tell, jervis was really out of it; and it made him wonder it was due to something that had happened while he was out with his father, or when they'd gotten here. perhaps both. jack gnawed on his bottom lip, his eyes darting to jervis's hands, which were flexing like he was struggling with something. an eyebrow rose as jack contemplated asking whether he needed some pain medication.

since he didn't receive an answer to his question yet, jack figured he might as well introduce himself. ❝ uhh, well, you don't have to talk to me if you aren't feeling up to it. my sister told me that you fainted in front of her out there — so, i understand if you're still feeling sick. my name is jack, ❞ he scratched at the back of his neck as he continued to observe jervis. whenever the man tried to get up, jack approached him and was about to caution jervis that maybe he shouldn't by lightly touching his shoulder.

but he remembered matilda telling him something about the other really not liking to be touched, so he merely was going to verbally tell him. up until jervis laid back down himself, anyhow. jack couldn't hold himself back from frowning at his poor present state before venturing out of the room with a 'i'll be right back.' and indeed he had been, with two different vials, alongside a few syringes to inject into that IV bag: should jervis want to be medicated. jack figured it'd be easier to just do that rather than forcing him to swallow anything.

he placed those also on the table before tilting his head at the quote jervis had said until it clicked a few seconds later, ❝ that's a quote from through the looking glass, isn't it? and one that the red queen said in the story if i remember correctly. she was basically teaching alice that staying in the same place is falling behind, right? ❞ jack squinted his eyes at that before a thought came to mind. a soft snort left him, but one that was done of an innocent sort of amusement rather than malice. ❝ that is a kind of roundabout way of talking about survival of the fittest. but hey, lewis carroll was all about the whimsy of things, i guess. and its no big deal. ❞

jack pretended not to see the tears that the other shed for jervis's own sake. the blood on his lips was something he couldn't ignore, no matter how hard he tried, though. jack grabbed a washcloth from his pack and held it out towards's jervis's hand. once it was out of his hand was when jack set down that teacup, the slightly too long stripped pants he wore swaying across the ground. ❝ mm, you and dad were both asleep for nearly four hours. sure — i don't think that's silly at all. i keep something on me all the time from when my brother, julien, was still around. ❞ the bracelet he showed the other on his right wrist then seemed to be made up entirely of tiny conch shells.

julien was a big fan of the sea, which jack thought made his death all the more crushing. after seeing the state that the stuffed animal was in, he figured that that bunny must've been really loved; though it didn't really matter by whom it was. the end result was the same, as love changes you. jack knew this well as he'd never wanted anything more than to be embraced by the warmth of it.

he quickly shook that thought off, only to grab the two vials he got from the fridge once more. ❝ eh... the four hours actually went by rather fast. ❞ jack cleared his throat then, ❝ you know, i couldn't help but notice that you aren't looking so hot still, and so i grabbed some meds for you. but i won't force you to take them. i have a pain reliever as well as something that relieves vertigo. are either, or both of these, something you want? ❞

Eigengrau.

A faint hum buzzed in his ears; his mouth was so dry it felt like he’d swallowed a wad of wool.

The thin sheet beneath him brushed his fingertips as Jervis flexed his hands, cracking his eyes open a sliver. The room tilted, everything blurring at the edges. Ah… so he had fainted. Just as he’d suspected. No glasses, then.

"Hey. Ahh, you're awake… That's awesome. How are you feeling?"

The new voice was barely a whisper, young and uncertain—belonging to a boy, maybe sixteen or eighteen by the timber. Was this another of Barton's assistants, a friend of Matilda’s, or perhaps her brother? Jervis couldn’t quite remember; hadn't Barton mentioned something about having more than one child?

He winced, his body feeling heavy, leaden; aching everywhere. Slowly, he exhaled and tried to push himself upright—tried being the keyword. The effort brought only a wave of vertigo, dizzying and blue-hot, making his vision swim.

… ohh, god…

He swallowed thickly, curling into himself. Something wasn’t right. His glasses and gloves weren’t the only thing missing. He was in his socks, jeans, and a now damp charcoal t-shirt, his body slick with cold sweat. His graying auburn curls clung to his neck in tangled ropes. His boots were beside the cot, his messenger bag on a desk across the room. His overcoat and maroon button-down were draped over a chair.

A flicker of discomfort in his right arm. Burning. Tugging.

Jervis glanced down at the source: a plastic tube. A peripheral IV catheter.

"Ah, you know... 'It takes all the running you can do, to stay in the same place,'" he muttered, his voice clipped and hollow; Bermudian accent casual, almost detached. He turned his eyes to the boy; offered him a faint, strained smile. "Keeps things interesting, I suppose... but I appreciate your concern, lad."

He lifted his fingers to his cheek, feeling the moisture trickle down—salt on his lips. Tears, sharp and stinging. Jervis flinched and quickly scrubbed them away with the heels of his hands.

Cold metal pressed into his spine, tight around his neck—the chain with his and Sylvie’s wedding rings twisted against his skin. He must’ve been thrashing in his sleep. There was blood on his lips.

"Forgive me…" His vision swam as he watched the boy set a teacup on the small table beside the cot, just within view. "But I'm afraid I've rather lost my sense of time. How long has it been since I…?" He paused, his voice barely steady. "... if... if you don’t mind, could you please reach into my coat pocket? You'll find a small cuddly toy. A rabbit..." He rubbed his mouth, lowered his eyes. "It sounds foolish, I know... but it... it was my daughter's, you see..."

The boy nodded, moving quickly to retrieve the toy from Jervis’ coat pocket, and placed it on the table beside the teacup. The bunny was missing one of its button eyes, its white fur faded and matted. A pink satin ribbon around its neck was frayed and tattered.

“Thank you,” Jervis said hoarsely. “I must have been out of it for quite a while.”

[genderqueerdykes]

Idk if this is the right place to go but I'm not quite sure where else to put this. I'm very sorry if it's not the right place!

As a trans guy, I just have to wonder just how bad my luck is with trans women blogs and my general interaction with trans women IRL???

I'm stating it now that every single person can be an asshole. No matter their gender. I know I'm just having severely bad luck. Trans girls are forever my sisters and I'll back them up if I need to.

But also, why am I only encountering trans women who unironically want to put trans men and trans masculine people's heads on a spike.

I've close genderqueer friends but never managed to become friends with a trans girl yet (I know a few I'm acquainted with, as an art student in college - trans people of all shapes and sizes are a dime a dozen here) because at some point the fact they fundementally hate trans men comes out into the open. It's scary. Why are we in-fighting? Why does my sheer existence hurt you? The cousin of my crush is a trans girl, and she threw such a fit when she heard her cousin was going to go on a date with me. Not that it matters, relationship didn't work out (we're great friends) but I had never talked to this woman!! Ever!!!! My crush just relayed to me at the time that she did not like me because they told her I was a trans guy!!!!!!!

Trans men who hurt them obviously should be held accountable. They're pieces of shit. Again: every gender can be a fucking asshole. But why generalize? Why would you suddenly ostracize me if I revealed myself as a trans guy to you instead of a butch woman when we've had nothing but pleasant conversations up until now?

I feel like I'm being oversensitive, or that I'm making a big issue out of something so minimal. But why are we in-fighting? Why? Why, why why???

you're not being over sensitive, this is a genuine problem right now and it's affecting people in real time. what people don't seem to care about is that this deeply hurts and affects the people who are being ostrasized. which is something people should care about

you're not imagining things or anything like that and your experiences are very important to be discussed. it is quite literally "the right thing to do" or "cool" or whatever to shit on trans men right now. like currently, in 2024, almost 2025, we are seeing now more than ever, people who proudly hate trans men. this is transphobia. people NEED to care. you're not alone in feeling this way. even i feel this way, and i'm an intersex trans wo/man. i shouldn't have to feel this way, i'm literally a trans woman and i'm made to feel weary about other trans girls suddenly hating me when they find out i'm also a trans man because gender is complicated and being intersex is a complex experience

people will gladly openly hate on trans men. we are now the sacrificial lamb. we are now the punching bag. for a while people really hated cis gay men. like really hated them. the "im twinkphobic" shit was literal overt homophobia and nobody cared. everyone was on board with hating cis gay men for one reason or another. a lot of people were calling feminine cis gay men transmisogynistic, or transfem eggs. now things have shifted and its trans men who are the big problem.

rad feminism is taking over large parts of our community and people refuse to talk about it. people are happily rad fems, and a lot of trans girls identify as transradfems, which is just about as transphobic as you can get. it's never progressive to hate someone for their gender. ever. it's always transphobia. i don't know how so many trans girls got it in their heads that rad feminism just needed to accept trans women and trans women only for it to be a good ideology. i've said it before, but the unfortunate truth is a lot of trans women are desperate to feel validated in their womanhood, and some see man-hating "lesbian" women as the most "woman" thing you can be, as it's the "direct opposite" to being a man. trans women will gladly walk down this path for the sake of gender euphoria and attacking trans men because they're taking someone else's gender personally.

it doesn't matter if you don't see trans men as trans- we are. trans men are trans. transgender, transsexual, transvestites- doesn't matter. trans men get called trannies, too. trans men get misgendered. trans men face corrective rape. it's seriously not cool to see trans men as "copying" trans women, or whatever. i've seen people claim that trans men are really just masculine girls, and that it's okay for women to dress masculine so we should just do that instead. i've seen people say that trans men literally aren't trans because who would want to transition into manhood? i've heard people say that trans men just transition to hurt people. i've heard that trans men aren't "real" trans people and "Aren't trustworthy" sources of information on trans experiences

it's ridiculous. people are completely blinded to what the real problem is. the real problem is the queerphobes above us. i'm with you: why are we infighting like this again? what's the point? the entire point of the queer community is to accept people who step outside of the cisheternormative panopticon we've invented and enforced. it's such a broad array of people. not all experiences will be the same. manhood is desireable, just like womanhood. manhood is not inherently toxic. it's not something everyone wants to escape.

i sincerely hope people wake up and start realizing this is doing nothing but helping conservatives, terfs and transphobes. it's not helping other trans girls. some trans women are also trans men. intersex trans women exist. multigender trans women exist. genderfluid trans women exist. some trans women are also men and we're shooting everyone in the foot by behaving this way.

like do people not realize there are trans women who are also men? you're alienating all of these women with all this man hating. you're not just hurting cishet and trans men here: you're hurting every possible group of person. not every trans woman despises the concept of manhood. wanting to transition out of manhood doesn't mean you have to hate or condemn it. manhood being bad for you doesn't mean it's bad for everyone else

i hope you start to feel better soon. you are more than welcome to come back any time, it's really pervasive right now, but we have to stick together and challenge it when we see it. we have to remind ourselves that this is absolutely unhinged entitled behavior that doesn't reflect how trans men are treated in the real world and how we operate and function. it's shitty but fortunately there are lots of trans women who are allies to trans men. it's a very vocal minority that hate trans men that badly

[paigeswiftsea]

Why Star Stable Online Has Lost it's Players (And How to Fix It) (An Analysis)

Introduction

I've been playing Star Stable Online (SSO) for a long time—around 8-9 years. My older sister introduced me to it during our shared horse phase, and for years, it was an exciting escape that we were both obsessed with. We eagerly awaited new main quests, wondering what the next big story update would bring.

But lately? The magic is gone.

Some might say it’s just nostalgia, that I’ve outgrown the game. While there may be some truth to that, I believe SSO itself has changed in ways that stripped it of its former charm. I used to fight my sister for our family computer just to get my one hour of gameplay each day. Now? I barely log in, only returning for big updates like Christmas, the Medieval Festival, and the Home Stable revamp. I still participate in the fandom and write fanfiction, meaning I engage with the lore—but the actual gameplay? It’s boring.

After reflecting on this, I realized that SSO has lost what made it special. The intrigue, mystery, and excitement have faded, leaving behind a game that feels repetitive, predictable, and uninspired.

And the worst part? It didn’t have to be this way.

The Main Questline

One of the biggest reasons why SSO has lost its mystique is the shift in the main questline.

Back in the earlier years of the game, the main story felt like a real adventure. It had danger, secrecy, and high stakes.

For example, the dark core quests, saving Justin, meeting Fripp for the first time, hell even the opening screen.

They got rid of the first opening screen for a mediocre riding island tutorial. It also contradicts the plot because Lisa and Anne are supposed to be missing at the beginning of the game, yet there they are, welcoming a random new rider to the island? It doesn't make any sense.

And again, The quests now all follow the same formula of:

“Oh no, something bad happens! Quick, MC, do all the work! We believe in you! Yay, friendship! The Dark Riders scowl and leave. Quest complete.”

There’s no real challenge, no real mystery, and barely any tension. The game has become too afraid to put the player in real danger, so everything feels safe and shallow.

Even the Dark Riders don’t feel like villains anymore. They show up, taunt you, and then leave. They don’t feel like an actual threat.

Dark Core? Completely incompetent. The same organization that once kidnapped and brainwashed Justin and had an eerie, powerful presence now feels like a joke.

The stakes are gone. The story is dragging. And at this rate, we’ll still be waiting for the final battle in 2040.

Nothing ever feels genuinely difficult or tense.

Where’s the mystery? Where’s the challenge? Why does it feel like nothing truly matters anymore?

Even the Fort Maria quests, which should have been an exciting addition, were a letdown. Instead of diving deep into the Keepers of Aideen’s past or discovering secrets and lore, we got... daily quests that never gave us any new lore, just MC doing all the work, again. The primaeval tree was interesting I admit, but it also felt like it came out of nowhere, and I still don't really remember the point of those quests. The only interesting parts of those quests to me were opening the portal, which then led to more daily quests while SSE came up with more filler.

Catering to a Younger Audience Backfired

SSO has always been a game for kids, but in the past, it never talked down to its audience. The earlier quests had a level of complexity and emotional weight that made them enjoyable for all players.

Now? It feels like SSE has sacrificed everything that made the story compelling in favor of appealing to a younger audience in the most uninspired way possible.

But here’s the thing: you can make a game appealing to kids without making it boring for older players.

Plenty of games manage to be engaging for both younger and older audiences—think of Minecraft, Pokémon, even certain Roblox games (Dress To impress?). These games balance fun and accessibility while still providing enough depth for older players to enjoy.

Meanwhile, SSO is stuck in an identity crisis. It doesn’t know if it wants to be a fun horse game, an epic fantasy adventure, or a horse shopping simulator. And instead of balancing all of these elements, it’s failing at all three.

The Economy Is Awful (And It’s Driving Players Away)

Let’s be honest: SSO’s in-game economy is a disaster.

Jorvik Shillings are practically useless because items are priced absurdly high, making it impossible for non-Star Riders to afford anything. Even Star Riders struggle because shillings are capped, meaning if you’re maxed out, you’re forced to waste shillings or spend Star Coins. This also doesn't help when you're a free player, and every single item is 9990 shillings.

Star Coins are ridiculously overpriced, and SSE knows it. Prices have gone up, but the value of what you get has gone down. New horses are more expensive than ever, tack and clothes are absurdly priced, and with weekly Star Coin allowances being so low, the game constantly pressures you into spending real money.

No one wants to feel broke in a game. We log in to escape reality, not to feel like a struggling stablehand who can’t even afford a pair of boots.

SSE seems to think they can make more money by increasing Star Coin dependency. But guess what? If the game was actually fun, people would be happy to spend money on it. Instead, more and more players are quitting because it’s just not worth investing in anymore.

SSO’s Most Successful Moments Were Events—So Why Did They Get Rid of Them?

Think about the most active times on SSO in 2024—probably Christmas, main quest updates, and the Equestrian Festival.

What do these all have in common? Limited-time events.

People log in for seasonal events because they’re fun. But instead of keeping beloved events like:

The Birthday Festival

The April Fools Car Prank (ICONIC)

The Pride/Cloud Kingdom Event

Midsummer Festival

Easter

…SSE removed them in favor of shopping/bazaar updates and the permanent Medieval Festival.

Why? Why take away the things that made the game feel alive? Seeing Jorvik change with the seasons, experiencing new limited-time adventures, and collecting fun event-exclusive items were some of the best parts of the game. Removing them just makes Jorvik feel static and lifeless.

New Owners

In 2021 I believe, The game was sold or bought out, something along those lines ( feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on that). And I found this quote from a website about an interview from Stacy Place and CEO Johan Sjöberg. (This is from 2021 so things may have changed but I doubt it.)

“Players want things to do, and the story has to be continued,” Stacy agrees. “There’s definitely a hunger for more endgame content, and we want to deliver that.” Stacy explains that there has not really been a dedicated “Quest Team” at SSO recently, and that as a result, the people who could have been working on that, would keep having other tasks assigned to them. “It’s always about juggling resources,” Stacy goes on, “between new horses, events and updating environments and character designs, it’s been difficult to get resources allocated for the creation of new quests.” But here too, the future is looking promising: “I actually have a meeting on that later today!” Stacy adds. “We need to move this forward in a healthy way.” That does not mean we should expect fewer new horse releases in the future though. “Horses are our main business. They are what keeps the game afloat – and we take them seriously!” Most recently, Star Stable has added the updated American Paint Horse and additional coat variations for six popular breeds.

This just confirms what a lot of players have already suspected—SSO has prioritized horse releases over actual gameplay content. It’s not even a secret anymore; they outright admit that they haven’t had a dedicated Quest Team for a while.

The problem isn’t just a lack of quests—it’s that the entire game feels stagnant because everything revolves around pumping out new horses. Yes, horses are the game’s main source of revenue, but without meaningful content, why should players stay?

They’re acknowledging the issue, which is something, but words don’t mean much if we don’t see real change. A meeting about quest development is great, but will it actually lead to consistent story updates? Or is it just another vague promise to keep players hopeful?

And the fact that they’re still saying, “Horses are our main business” just reinforces that new breeds will always take priority over everything else. That’s not inherently bad—but it shows that story progression, worldbuilding, and forgotten areas like Dino Valley will always come second.

At the end of the day, if the game keeps prioritizing short-term profits (horse releases) over long-term player engagement (quests, events, and actual reasons to keep playing), more players will leave.

They need to have dedicated teams for each sector of the game, not people who work on everything all at once. Quests, horses, other game updates like area updates, character updates need to be specific groups where a team focuses solely on one thing at a time.

Later in the article they rephrase this by saying,

"An addendum, because this part of the article appears to be misunderstood by many readers: That there hasn't been a dedicated quest team does not mean that nobody at SSO has been working on Quests in recent months and years. “When we say we don’t have a ‘dedicated quest team’, we mean that we haven’t always been structured to have a team that specifically works only on quests,” Stacy clarifies in a follow-up email to this article. “Instead, we have multiple teams that work on delivering the game. So the team working on quests doesn’t only work on quests, which are complex and touch many other areas of development.”

This just further highlights the core issue—SSO doesn’t have structured teams dedicated to specific aspects of the game. Instead of having a Quest Team, a Horse Team, an Environment Team, and so on, they have a general development team that has to juggle multiple responsibilities at once.

And this lack of structure shows in the game itself. Quest updates are slow and inconsistent, while new horses get released like clockwork. Environmental updates happen occasionally, but areas like Dino Valley and the old abandoned doors remain untouched. Character updates have been sporadic, with some NPCs looking modern and polished while others still look like they belong in 2015. (long necks anyone? :0)

Their explanation makes it clear: quests are not a priority. If they were, SSO would have a team dedicated solely to working on them, instead of splitting development resources across multiple tasks.

If they really want to fix the game, they need to stop treating everything like an afterthought and start forming specialized teams:

A Quest Team to work exclusively on new storylines, side quests, and meaningful updates.

A Horse Team to continue designing new breeds and variations.

An Environment Team to focus on updating neglected areas like Dino Valley and Epona that don't change the whole game, like Steve's farm, Silverglade village, and the vineyard.

An Events Team to bring back beloved seasonal content and add new, engaging activities.

Without this, we’re going to keep seeing slow, repetitive updates where new horses come first and everything else falls to the wayside. The game needs balance, not just new models.

Speaking of new models,

One of the biggest issues is that our character model doesn’t match the NPC models at all. Some NPCs still have the old, low-poly look, while our characters have a completely different art style and proportions. This makes us look like giants compared to some NPCs, and the contrast is jarring.

SSO shouldn’t have updated the player model without also updating the NPCs. It creates an unpolished experience where the game feels disjointed. If they’re going to revamp one part of the game, they need to follow through and make everything cohesive.

And while body diversity is great, the range of body types still feels limited. There’s no truly skinny option, and while it’s not the biggest issue, true inclusivity means representing everyone. If they want to keep improving, they should expand the customization options—not just body types, but also things like facial features, hairstyles, and animations to make the character feel more natural. And it doesn't help that they promised more to come with the first character update which was when? almost 2 full years ago? They are dropping the ball in multiple areas.

Marketing

SSE does not market as the actual game. It advertises fun and adventure, a silly game for kids when in reality it is nothing to that. It doesn't give that magic or mystery of the old ones. I went and found commercials from different years. There's this old one, and then this short one on youtube I found. Now, let's compare.

That short is so fuckass. like why are they making Darko into a redditor? Plus, it gives major spoilers as well so like if it reaches someone who was thinking about playing the game, it's like an automatic spoiler.

has a completely different tone. It presents the game as an immersive adventure with mystery, danger, and excitement. The stakes feel high, and it showcases the fantasy elements in a way that makes Jorvik feel like a living, magical world.

This shift in marketing reflects the identity crisis SSO is currently facing. It used to be a horse adventure game with strong storytelling, but now it’s marketed as a simple kids' game, which doesn’t align with its actual gameplay or longtime audience. This disconnect contributes to player dissatisfaction and dwindling engagement.

Let's also discuss the tik tok account. I think any tiktoker will remember the pocket Sabine series? The marketing team series they post on tiktok as well are super dumb and cringy as well. Maybe this is really nitpicky, but I think their marketing team should focus a lot more on listening to feedback. This shift misrepresents what SSO once was—an immersive adventure with high stakes and rich storytelling. And, by downplaying the fantasy elements, the marketing alienates the older audience and misleads potential new players about the actual content of the game. The lighthearted TikTok series and other marketing materials have missed the mark, making the game seem trivial when it should be portrayed as the vast, magical world it was originally intended to be.

Updates and Slow Bug fixes

Unresolved Issues Persist: Players have long expressed frustration with the slow pace at which critical bugs are fixed in Star Stable Online. Persistent issues like broken quests, NPCs not triggering dialogue correctly, or horses not responding to commands may go on for weeks—or even months—without resolution. This lack of timely fixes can disrupt the immersion and enjoyment of the game, especially for players who are heavily invested in completing quests or building their horses’ stats.

Performance Problems: Many players have reported performance issues, such as lag, crashing, or long loading times. These technical hiccups are especially detrimental to players who are trying to enjoy the game on a more serious level. Despite these long-standing issues, they are often left unresolved for too long, giving the impression that the development team is more focused on new features than maintaining the current ones.

Impact on Gameplay Experience: The slow patching of bugs and glitches not only frustrates players but can also affect gameplay. For example, if a quest-breaking bug isn’t fixed, it can prevent players from progressing in the game or earning rewards, which could dampen their motivation to keep playing. Players who have experienced the same issue repeatedly may even feel neglected, leading to a decline in player retention.

(psa this was written before the cheating ban update so idk if anything changes here i haven't been online)

Pacing of Updates:

Inconsistent Release Schedule: There is often a lack of consistency in how updates are rolled out in Star Stable Online. Some months may see frequent updates with new content, while others might see a long dry spell where the community feels stagnant. When there is no clear pacing or roadmap, players might lose interest as they wait for new features or events. This inconsistency also makes it difficult to keep players engaged, especially if they feel that updates are sporadic and lack depth.

How SSE Can Fix This

Realistically, will SSE ever see this? Probably not. And even if they did, would they listen? Unlikely. But here’s what they could do to actually make the game engaging again:

Bring back the sense of mystery. The game doesn’t need to be horror, but it does need stakes, suspense, and excitement. Let Dark Core be evil. Make the Dark Riders feel like a real threat. Give us a story where we feel like we’re actually fighting for something.

Stop dumbing down the quests. Kids aren’t stupid. Plenty of kid-friendly media has deep, engaging stories that people of all ages can enjoy. SSO can, too.

Fix the economy. The current system is frustrating, predatory, and making people quit. Lower item prices, increase Jorvik Shilling rewards, and stop making everything feel like a cash grab.

Bring back seasonal events. Festivals, pranks, special decorations—these things made Jorvik feel alive. Removing them was a mistake.

Actually update the main story regularly. One to three main quest updates per year is not enough. The story is dragging, and at this pace, we’ll still be looking for the light ceremony pages in our 90's.

Listen to player feedback. The community has been vocal about these issues for years. Maybe it’s time SSE actually pays attention.

At its core, Star Stable Online has lost its identity. What was once a game about mystery, adventure, and meaningful storytelling has been reduced to a predictable cycle of overpriced horse releases and low-effort updates. The magic of Jorvik, once thriving with high-stakes quests and immersive seasonal events, has been replaced by a shallow, directionless experience that lacks the structure and ambition it desperately needs.

Instead of expanding on the compelling lore they already built, SSE has dragged the main story to a crawl while simultaneously making the Dark Riders and Dark Core feel like minor inconveniences rather than formidable threats. The economic decisions have only worsened the situation, making player engagement feel transactional rather than rewarding. The game’s reliance on overpriced horses and recycled events, coupled with its failure to deliver meaningful gameplay improvements, alienates both new players and longtime fans.

It didn’t have to be this way. With proper development structure, dedicated teams for different aspects of the game, and a renewed focus on engaging storytelling and gameplay, SSO could reclaim its former glory. But as it stands, it feels like SSE is more interested in short-term profit than in nurturing the world they created. If they continue down this path, Star Stable Online will remain in a slow decline, remembered more for what it could have been rather than what it actually became.

I don’t hate SSO. I wouldn’t be writing this if I did. I love the world, the characters, and the potential that’s still there. But right now, the game is failing its players. It’s losing old fans, struggling to keep new ones, and if it doesn’t course-correct soon, it risks fading into irrelevance.

SSO can be an amazing game again. But only if SSE actually puts in the effort.

[chuckwon]

"Throughout [season 15]. . . Dean is placed at the very center of his family’s struggle for freedom. This is not accidental, and it’s tied to the importance of the inherently queer themes. The very fact that conformity needs to be pushed upon Dean specifically implies that he, just like Cas, is distinctly “other.” The heart of season 15’s story is about all of the characters questioning who they’re meant to be, but it is especially positioned as the question of “Who is Dean Winchester?” The answer is the point to all of this, and just as Dean needs to find certainty in the truth of his identity, so does the audience.

We are shown how Chuck tried to make Dean forget, eliminate, or doubt parts of his identity to get Dean to conform to his expectations and act out a predetermined ending. In the real world, the network/executives needed Dean to be a certain kind of character that conformed to their expectations in kind, and to fit into the ending they wanted for him. Ultimately, Chuck won, and so we know those executives were successful in denying Dean a story in which he lives openly in his truth. This makes it all the more evident that the answer to “Who is Dean Winchester?” – understanding the totality of this character’s identity – is worth knowing, as well as why it was silenced in the end.

As Dean struggles with this aspect of his journey, it calls attention to the details of and nuances in his characterization. If a higher power has been controlling the story the entire time on some level, what is real? Who is Dean as a person? Does he know, and do we know? The answer is abundantly clear when the show is examined as a full body of work.

From the very beginning, Dean Winchester has been a character tied to classic elements of American masculinity. He was introduced with a superficial veneer involving those elements, but almost immediately the early episodes provide a look at the complexity of his character underneath it. Over the years, that complexity was further explored, and he came to embody a study in things society would often have us think should be incompatible contrasts: the gruffness and grit of hunting life and its associated masculine iconography, paired with his open and deep emotional care for the world; unabashed love for classic rock, superheroes, and horror movies, as well as unabashed joy connected to TV dramas, chick flicks, and childhood favorites like Scooby-Doo; life on the road with a muscle car, but the desire for a home base with creature comforts he can make his own; motivation to always help people, but the clear longing for balance with personal domesticity and relaxation so he could save not only others but also himself.

As a whole, his character functions as an effective deconstruction of toxic masculinity and stereotypical American heroism. And while much of Dean’s most masculine traits and interests are said to come from his father’s influence, part of his journey is loving those parts of himself on their own merit not because he ever had to but because he wants to. He is not his father, and he redefines those valued parts of his identity so they are his and his alone. He also crucially learns to recognize and joyfully embody that those masculine traits were never all that he had to be, working through and overcoming shame and hesitancy along the way. The result? He’s “good with who he is.”

He and the audience are encouraged to see that there are no rules his identity and interests must subscribe to, on a micro or a macro level. The message is to disregard predetermined destiny or duty. Free will means his life is his to determine, his family can be what he makes of it and how he defines it, and what he needs and wants do not ever have to be mutually exclusive. Dean’s journey is about freedom from outwardly-imposed limitations–whether those limitations come from his father’s example and the God altering his story, or from the pervasive societal ideals and network/executive interference outside of it. Dean can and should contain multitudes, all at once.

In this way, Dean’s story is a powerfully queer narrative that acts as metacommentary. In the fullness of its execution, it is also specifically a deeply bisexual narrative.

The not-so-hidden truth is that Dean is canonically a bisexual man. His story was afforded something that’s rare for most characters and almost nonexistent for queer ones: fifteen years of lengthy, nuanced development. As part of that, the well-established media tools of queer subtext and queercoding were used to makes Dean’s bisexuality clear as crystal, and sometimes it’s even overtly textual to a startling degree. The valid canonicity of the deliberately full picture is indisputable. Over the course of the show, he flirts with and is flustered by both women and men; has crushes on female and male celebrities; is tricked by both women and men who feign attraction to him; enjoys sex with or mentions enjoying sex that involves women and men; and makes niche queer pop culture references. Dean’s various and nuanced non-platonic relationships with both women and men are also often central to his plotlines and instrumental in his character development, including Cassie, Jo, Lisa, Benny, Robin, Crowley, and Lee. (Each is deserving of its own essay.) And, as the very fun cherry on top, he proudly sings in front of bisexual lighting in the final season.

Again: Dean’s identity journey is about how he can and does contain the capacity for multitudes, and it’s part of what makes him such a compelling character. He can like “this” and “that.” He can be attracted to women and men. Or, as writer Ben Edlund and director Phil Sgriccia said in a DVD commentary, Dean has “the potential for love in all places.”

Whether or not Destiel was a factor, the above would all still be true and intrinsic to who Dean is. But of course, as an extension of all of the above, it’s abundantly clear that Dean is written as being in love with Castiel to the point of desperation.

Implying or insisting that Cas is in love with Dean in canon but not vice versa – simply because Dean’s love is not conveyed through an explicit “I love you” – is the equivalent of bragging about missing every moment, line of dialogue, parallel, and romantic arc that indicated otherwise for at least a decade’s worth of storytelling. Until or unless the documentary we deserve about the making of this show is ever allowed to be made, we’ll never know for sure exactly where and when Destiel crossed over from “fortuitous dynamic with interesting hints of potential” to “baked into the plot by the writers with intention.” But you can keep looking back at the show’s canon, and at every turn it holds up in the big and small details: Their divorce arc is in season 15. Cas makes the deal with the Empty in season 14. Dean’s widower arc mourning Cas is in season 13. Dean gives Cas a personal mixtape as a romantically-coded gesture in season 12. Amara uses Cas’ heart to find Dean in season 11. Dean and Cas are paralleled to Cain and his wife Colette in season 10. Their split in season 9 is treated like a breakup, and Cas gives up his army to save Dean. Dean hallucinates Cas like a mourned lover and helps break Cas’ brainwashing in season 8. Etc., etc., etc.

The cohesiveness is a triumph. The endless list of plot elements, romantic arcs, and significant moments that form their love story are not accidents or inconsequential details, nor are they one-sided. They were constructed to build upon each other and the show at large. Dean’s side of the story was not allowed to culminate in the way that every narrative cue indicated it should have, but the writers are clearly not to blame for that. We can see that Dean was forced by higher powers into becoming someone he isn’t and denied the chance to express who he truly is, because everything in the story cleverly tells us that was the case.

It also doesn’t mean that what is in the show – all of the subtext and coding and storytelling that blatantly points to Dean’s bisexuality and his love for Cas – somehow “isn’t enough” or “doesn’t count.” Dean’s bisexuality and the reciprocity of Destiel are not somehow less canonical simply because the expression of both was heartbreakingly denied the ability to be brought to full explicit fruition. By the same metric that we can know Cas is canonically in love with Dean, the reverse applies – and the same people who wrote Cas’ love and took its culmination as far as they could also did the same with Dean’s.

–THE PURPOSE: The Significance of Real-World Censorship Part 7 of the Chuck Won analysis

[gyarustarrr]

LORE LORE LORE!!!🗣️🗣️🗣️ (This is super long and my English is horrible for a native speaker so bear w me)

ILL BE REAL I DIDNT PUT MUCH THOUGHT INTO A REASONABLE BACK STORY but bcuz shes a self insert i had to make a mention for my bestie who can EASILY be in the pressure universe fr <3

Pre-lockdown: I think itd be unique that if Sebastian was used to give humans gills then Phanny can be used to find immortality cuz who doesnt love when a corrupt corporate entity tries to find the cure for death, happens all the time lol. I say for the important parts shes fused with an immortal jellyfish, my favorite jelly which im extreme jelly of 😼😼😼😼, and i would say that its possible that she could live forever IN THEORY with the dna of that jelly but that would have to be tested lmaooo.

I believe because shes also able bodied (mostly) she would be given similar jobs as Sebastian so shes not depressed, rotting, or lashing out. Not sure if they'd work together but she's observant and being a psychologist, she def psychoanalyzing the hell outta everybody in the facility out of boredom. She seems happy but ofc its a coping mech to make the best out of the absolute horrors around her, still emotional unstable and freaks tf out frequently. Once Sebastian frees everybody, she's free to roam and sees what Sebastian is doing. She asks to assist him in his goal but she only plays a part once Seb handles BIDNESS on land during lockdown. Post lockdown she scavenges for data and whatever here and there but shes mostly left alone or out of most of his operation, yk,,,working with Mr Lopee and all. She really tries to get close with Sebastian (despite emphasizing hes a married man, YEAH SURE BUDDY YOU'RE LIKE 32, WHATEVER MAKES U FEEL BETTER💀) and being the drama fiend i am, i think having a "moment of weakness" would lead to their complex semi romantic possibly toxic dynamic.

Fight: And as i did my research its highly debatable if Sebastian is telling pAInter the truth about getting them both out. Phanny would believe this without question cuz if he can make a plan and has all these skills and resources, he should be able to take everyone (this also includes other peoples inserts and ocs who are experiments because it makes the setting more lively and interesting). I even thought of a cool ass line my homie thought was cold asf for argument dialogue between Phanny and Seb about taking everyone back up to the surface.

Just to summarize: Phanny mentions how noble Seb is after making progress with his escape plan, assuming that he'll take at least as many people as possible including Phanny. Sebastian at this point is already trying to push her away post weakness moment and he know damn well he's just doing this for himself and never accounted to leave w/ a whole damn facility of sentient experiments. He just wanna see his mom again and hes already working in private with Mr Lopee i mean this is a one man escape plan. This ofc shatters Phanny cuz from what hes saying, nobody and he mean NOBODY is getting out of here with him. Hes not a savior and hes not responsible for people he dont even know or fuck with like tf?? And Phannys like OKAY? Nobody's asking you to be JESUS but can you at least be Moses?? Free us so we can all get justice! Explain why you can't take a handful and come back once u take this damn company down?? What about your promise to pAInter? To ME.

Ofc it ends in a big brawl, think Mark getting his shit rocked by his own dad (Omniman from invincible) and they just have this heartbreaking dialogue and they split ways.

Post fight + breakdown: After this, Phanny is basically losing it. I even have a vision for this if it was actually in game and she was an actual character with weight to the gameplay. Like crying and wailing in the vents and pipes, shit breaking, Phanny not being seen for a majority of the game until shes physically stopping u from going through doors and rushing the player. Not to kill them, she loves the expendables and protects them but if she really has to if it means Sebastian can get out/she gets to see another day then...

Plus i drew what that would look like in my last post where shes just standing in the dark in the corner blocking the door. Even if shes not blocking the door she's obviously going through something and can't be interacted with, she just follows the player with her eyes and breathes heavily. If its not that then shes crying by the the water and interacting with her gets the player a DEVIOUS side eye or no response.

Pre-breakdown + if she were actually in the game: I can't really explain why she would help the expendables WITHOUT knowing removing the crystal will indirectly end their lives, i actually havent evaluated that yet but shes friendly to expendables, takes free trade in exchange for shiny objects, and can be seen hanging out with or talking to Sebastian, or passing by in the water/halls. She's capable of killing the player entirely by accident due to her tentacles hanging from the ceiling which she chills in and dying to her makes her scream or apologize (before Sebastian says something snarky) since shes strictly against killing and never willing.

Announcing ur presence helps her know shes in the way. Typical interactive npc shenanigans. Maybe even saving expendables from certain attacks but these are rare interactions in the game. She's overall friendly and if she were real, she'd prolly be a fandom fave (ofc not on Sebastian's level, LETS BE HUMBLE YALL😭) because shes so polite and her tragedy comes near the end where the player isnt even aware of how she became hostile in just a few hours of the run. Her story would hardly happen in game and itd be one of those things a creator would have to mention outside of their game for fans to know abt yk?

Its typical for creators to just drop the craziest lore ever about a character but they're purposefully vague or literally like oh yeah time constraints so we scrapped it lol.

ALRIGHTY CLASS, ANY QUESTIONS? (typing this on my phone was so crazy guys ik its a lot but trust me its DECENT lore </3

[tempestmothstorm]

I’m thinking about the whole "you are not your feelings" theme the side stories have and how that contrasts with the main game

Like the two talks in reflection where Sayori and Monika tell the others about how their emotions don’t have to define who they are and don’t make them bad people. This theme of singular traits not defining who you are/not controlling who you want to be is backed up by the rest of the side stories, which exist to show how the characters are multifaceted and human. They aren’t tropes or defined solely by their thoughts or actions. They aren’t perfect nor pure evil, only people trying their best. They’re real, complex people, and the ‘you are not your feelings’ phrase is proof of that.

The side stories’ goal of presenting these characters as human go directly against a ~certain someone’s~ goal of flattening and dehumanizing them in the main game. Its clear Monika here doesn’t really learn the ‘you are not your feelings’ thing in this world, something that happens with a lot of the lessons learned in the side stories (i.e. the ones in each title). Due to the whole disillusionment with reality thing, her attitude to the rest of the club is pretty dismissive, seeing them as one-dimensional characters tropes, making whatever flaws they have as their defining trait.

I'm going to focus on the CANYOUHEREME.txt though cause it pretty easily sums up her feelings so I'm just gonna put it here

Beneath their manufactured perception - their artificial reality - is a writhing, twisted mess of dread. Loathing. Judgment. Elitism. Self-doubt. All thrashing to escape the feeble hold of their host, seeping through every little crevice they can find. Into their willpower, starving them of all motivation and desire. Into their stomach, forcing them to drown their guilt in comfort food. Or into a newly-opened gash in their skin, hidden only by the sleeves of a cute new shirt. Such a deplorable, tangled mass is already present in every single one of them. That's why I choose not to blame myself for their actions.

All I did was untie the knot.

This poem is interesting because it does make them out to be more human compared to the anime tropes Monika says they are in the act 3 talks, but replaces the empathy found in the side stories with disgust, painting the club as gross, immoral, and everything the girls fear themselves to be. Monika sees the stuff they hide, all the complex feelings and less savory traits, and sees it as their truth, their whole being. Their feelings define them, what they think is their worst is all they've ever been, and that these things make them awful people. When Monika forcibly brings these things to the forefront, it's their fault alone when act out, because their darkest thoughts are all they'll ever be.

She knows they’re more than that, but she’s actively in denial about how much she actually cares, and the epiphany absolutely destroyed her ability to see her friends as actually complex people beyond their programing.

I think that's part of why comparing her to side stories Monika messes me up so much because she's like!! So nice!!! Mature!!!! And understanding!!!!! And she sees her friends faults and all!!!!!! And she loves them anyways and understands their goodness!!!!!!!!!! But main game strips that away from her and makes her cynical!!!!!!!!!!!! And she can't see the goodness in her friends anymore because they aren't real and they're scripts made to appeal to a dumb dating sim and she!!!!!!!!!!! Can't see them as people anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So their flaws turn into THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

. . . And that concludes today's Monika analysis.

[ultimateloserboy]

you seem like the kind of guy who just understands them better than anyone else, so i’m curious: what do you think about how old they are? you don’t have to give specific numbers, i just mean like who’s the oldest and are they young adults or middle aged or even older? i used to be a fan of yellow guy as a child, but after seeing people say that was infantilizing and he’s probably just autistic or something i like that better (makes him feel more human and relatable and have more depth)

thank you very much for trusting me with these guys. Now, i have many opinions on this— please read my whole opinion before getting upset (not directed at you but everyone because i think people might be upset at me for this one, sorry guys…)

first off let me address the yellow pig in the room. i feel people project onto yellow so much that they forget— from becky and joes own mouth— he is “the stupid character.” yes of course hes more than that, and definitely supposed to be more human as the series progresses— but he absolutely isnt intended to represent autism or any real diagnosis. as a matter of fact if that was the intention i would be criticizing it because of the way they talk about him in QnAs and such. of course hes very relatable but the truth of the matter is that it was not intended. i fear that people claiming it was is actually a bit harmful in this case. (though im not saying its bad to relate at all!)

calling him a child is not infantilizing, because hes implied to be multiple times, along with the fact hes the only character with a dad in the picture that paints him as the only one not old enough to be around on his own. i feel they make this very apparent. He doesn’t understand adult things and by GOD HE CANNOT CONSENT!!! Ive seen people use this discussion as an excuse to draw inappropriate shit and i dont approve of that. Hes unable to learn how to read in his usual state so he DEFINITELY cant fucking consent!

And this is the part where people bring up his clean-battery counterpart. Who I also think is a child. The difference is that he’s not impaired by his batteries and can see things more clearly with his thoughts together. I think what a lot of people fail to realize is.. kids are people??? And kids can be complex and understand way more than you think!!! Hes not less human by being a kid!! as a matter of fact i think thats an important part of him!!

I think that red and duck are both old enough to where their families are completely out of their lives. (i dont believe their families are real, but just in a figurative sense that theyd be old enough to grow away from those who would raise them)

i think that red and duck are so bitter and cynical because they never got to be children— they were created to be always be pushing 40 while yellow is forever a child. He never becomes cruel or cynical because hes too lost in wonder of the world. he still cares about things that adults grow to be apathetic towards. he manages to find the stairs and lesley and all of that, in my opinion, because hes a child in a house with loser adults whove given up on life

Now with that being said, I do not think their mental and physical ages align. i think theyre physically the ages of their puppet, which changes drastically because their bodies can be replaced. i also think yellow can easily be an adult age even in his puppet, but hes still forever a child anyway. His mentality is of a child, which makes him a child— Their physical ages are impossible to guess and also probably inconsistent.

TLDR i absolutely think that yellow is a kid and i think the fact people think he cant be because hes human or because hes smart sometimes is exactly why i think he is— i feel thats the point.

red and duck are forever stuck in a limbo of pushing forty if not already forty. i think red could easily pass as a younger guy but i think he and duck are the same age mentally.

Adding on a slightly related note though— I do think red and duck are yellows guardians but i dont think theyre good nor are they parents. I see them more as older brothers (Which by the way red calls yellow!) or at the very least theyre his uncles that Really DID NOT fucking want kids. Theyre absolutely not his parents but they do have to take care and watch him. They treat him as older siblings being cruel to a younger one. Duck calls yellow a pet because he doesnt see him as his son but he still has to care for him. its definitely dehumanizing but its said for a reason. which goes hand in hand with what i was saying— people dont see children as people because they cant do anything on their own. but again, yellow absolutely can still be a complex and human character while being a child

if you disagree im not hating— i would love to have a discussion. i personally just dont believe its problematic to call him a child when the only reason that would be a problem isnt canon in the first place?

[storysprite]

Resplendor of the Gods - Gloria Matri. Gloria Filio. In Saecula Saeculorum.

About Resplendor:

(Part 1 of 3)

The anniversary of Raiden Makoto's death was for Ei the most painful time of any year. A reminder of when, as far as Ei is concerned, Inazuma lost its true light. Of which, in her mind, she is only a shadow.

It did not help matters that her son was also first awakened on the anniversary of this tragic day, which to Ei was a foreboding sign.

For this reason, she had at first not released to the public the divine name of her firstborn. As though to shelter it and therefore her son from the fate of the world.

It was not until she realised that on the worst of days, and through any pain her son felt, that Ei's smile was able to restore life and light to his countenance. That to her son, she was not merely a shadow. But the very light of his life.

As such, on one particular anniversary of Makoto's death and the celebration of the boy's life, the Narukami chose to reveal to her son a divine secret.

"Resplendor?" asked the young lad, sitting at the table of Tenshukaku's secluded garden which overlooked the whole of Inazuma City.

"That is correct," said Ei setting down a plate of homemade Tamago Kake Gohan. She smiled seeing that her son no longer recoiled at the sight of her cooking. A sure sign of improvement ever since taking lessons from her familiar Yae Miko.

"You mean light?" asked the boy chomping down his rice, just before correcting himself with a 'sorry' for talking with his mouthful.

Ei reached across the table and gave him a gentle pat on the head in acknowledgement of his ever-growing sense of etiquette.

Then she answered him: "Resplendor is more than light. That's just how most in the mortal world see it before they get to understand what it is. If ever."

The boy finished his third bite and then asked, "So what is it then?"

"Resplendor is the Poetry of Life made manifest," answered Ei.

"The Poetry of Life?"

"The Poetry of Life is the enchantment born of what the world is and how we experience it. A power at the very cusp of reality that rests in between life and lore. Dreaming and waking. Truth and tale," said Ei. "It lives in the love of two infatuated young people who can't help but see the other as perfect. And the love between those who've been together for years, who see each other's flaws as part of the tapestry of their life together and delight in the beauty of a bigger picture.

"It lives in the toy that to others is just one among many. But to a child, it's an irreplaceable gift given by their parent. The Poetry of Life lives in the legends people cling to that are more important than the events they recount. You experience it all the time without realising it.

“Resplendor is the power of Gods to experience this sublime poetry as a real world in and of itself. To see and experience parts of reality in a way mortals can't. But also to bring parts of that bountiful realm into the world to beautify reality and bring about new works on the tapestry of fate. That's why stories of the Gods and their powers sound so mystical. The stories themselves are a part of that Resplendor. And the divine light mortals often see is the most accessible form it can visually take."

(Part 2 of 3)

In awe of his mother's sayings, perhaps captured by the Resplendor of the moment the boy had long forgotten his meal and sat spoon in hand lingering on her every word.

"Woah," he finally managed to say. Ei smiled. Had this been any other child she would have imagined that her words had gone over their head.

But her son was a bright boy who had more 'whys' on his lips than the number of Sakura petals in all of Inazuma. And each answer he got would normally be followed by a question more complex or insightful than the ones before.

"Can every God use Resplendor?" he asked.

"In other words, is this something you can use now. But I'm going to tell you to wait till you're older. But you're going to try anyway and then hurt yourself and I'm going to have to ground you over and over because getting hurt the first time won't be enough to stop you trying again?" asked Ei.

The boy held a serious face for a few seconds. But the mask quickly slipped as he left out a sly smirk.

"Using Resplendor can occur naturally. But most of the time deliberate use takes years of practice," said Ei.

"Do you use it a lot?" asked the boy.

"I use it more now since you've been born. But in the past, that was my Raiden Makoto's area of focus. And we still see it today reflected in the beauty of this land, its people and culture," said Ei. "But using Resplendor saps from the same kind of divine life that Gods pour into the more commonly known manifestations of power. Particularly the kind you see in battle. As a seasoned warrior who has spent much of her life in defence of Inazuma against outside threats, my divine power has turned more towards manifesting this kind of force in the real world than going into and drawing from the realm of Resplendor."

The boy looked confused. "But there are plenty of warrior Gods who have stories filled with Resplendor or mystical powers. You as well," said the boy.

"Yes but these types of Gods tend to have less of them than other Gods," answered his mother. "And their Resplendor tends to manifest in the heat of battle. Which has its unique flavour of glory. But it's the kind that if you indulge in too much without the right heart, will lead to that deity having a Resplendor that tends more towards pure terror than awe. Darkness rather than light.

The dark and tainted glory of monsters, malovent spirits and beasts of the deep. Which is why Gods who don't focus on battle, tend to have a Resplendor that are more... uplifting."

"Like Uncle Venti or Aunt Nahida," said the boy.

"Exactly," answered his mother. "But for Venti often that's just him being jolly after a few drinks, rather than Resplendor. Although... it may be a unique sort of his own making."

(Part 3 of 3)

The two shared a laugh in the garden, warmed by the rising sun which heralded the dawn of day as bright as their smiles.

But soon after, the brightness on Ei's face dimmed down to a more sombre tone.

"So later on..." she started. "When we get our royal portrait done, you'll be able to use it in the future to recapture the Resplendor of our time spent on this day. A lovely Memento should the time come when I'm no longer around."

"Erosion..." said the boy with a heavy heart. He lifted his head towards the sky and narrowed his eyes with disgust at the island floating far above them.

"Yes," said Ei. "It seems that Erosion is a dark Resplendor cast upon the world by The One Who Came."

"Can't you cast it off with your Resplendor?" her son asked, desperate for any sign of hope on her face.

"Perhaps... If I cut myself off as much as I can from the throne of the heavens, forsook the mortal realm entirely and secluded myself for ages to come in deep meditation then there is a chance that this might be achieved," said Ei. "But the chances are slim and should they be altered of this because I made a mistake by not being detached enough, Inazumans are the ones who will face a most terrible curse just like... No.

“My heart is too close to the world for me to achieve it. Were I still grieving Makoto perhaps I'd find the strength to do so. But... Now... I have you."

The boy did not look comforted by these words.

"So it's my fault that you can't get stronger?" he whimpered.

"Fault?" said Ei. Immediately she rushed to his side and took him into her embrace.

"You are no fault," she said. "I have willingly poured into you the best of my Resplendors. That you may grow and nurture it and one day be free from the power of the One Who Came. That is my desire. For you to be happy and free. And to my surprise, I discovered that by giving myself up for you in this way, I have poured a Resplendor that transcends the laws of this world and planted within you the seeds of your redemption. And perhaps of Inazuma and all of Teyvat as well. You are no fault, my dear boy. If anything, you are my strength. And perhaps one day you will find others in like spirit as yourself."

"Don't worry Mother," said the boy, taking his turn to pat her on the head for once. "I'll help save you and all of Teyvat. Then we can be together forever."

Ei smiled at her dear and precious son. "Of that," she said. "I have no doubt.”

[soapywankenopy]

I'm watching the Death Cure movie for the first time and I have some thoughts

First of all, I'd like to say I never finished the book series. I've only read Maze Runner and Scorch Trials. but something I noticed on my last attempted reread of Maze Runner was that Thomas is such a bland character. I think he's definitely better in the movies, thanks in large part to Dylan O'Brien's performance because he just has so much raw charisma and he imbues that into every character he plays no matter how bland the source material is. but Thomas is a bland character even in the movies, even with what little personality Dylan was able to infuse. and I think that's in stark contrast to Katniss in The hunger games (in the books) and a big part of that is because her story is told in first person so we are actually in her head, and it gives us a lot of insight into her psyche, she feels like a real person. she has real emotions. she is complex. but in the books Thomas's story is told in third person and it removes you. it takes you out of the character's head and we don't get a sense of who he is. but beside that, he's still very much a blank slate and I think that this contributes to him having a little bit of main character syndrome, Mary Sue-ism, whatever you want to call it. like he's a born leader, he's Super smart. he's literally the Death Cure, like his blood is the Cure, like that's op as hell.

and even the main premise of the story you know like, it's called The Maze Runner series. The maze doesn't make sense. why were they in a maze? I still don't get it. And I don't know if my theory can be backed up by truth, but my theory is that James dashner had this cool idea for this post-apocalyptic zombie story and then the success of hunger games happened and he was like all right, i have to gamify this. how can I make this a gimmick, what's the catch. thus, the idea for the maze was born because if you think about the story as a whole, it really does feel tacked on. I was thinking about it the other day and I was like, it really does feel like the Maze Runner movie/book, that section of the story (the maze trials) is detached from the rest of the story. it feels tacked on in my opinion. it's so unlike The hunger games because everything in The hunger games is intentional, the games aren't just games you know like The Maze Runner had its gimmick divergent had its gimmick, but the games in The hunger games had a purpose in the story. it all goes back to the point that Suzanne Collins was trying to make. and I think that's why so many of the copycats fall short. their message was a bland one and it wasn't strong enough to come back to. it wasn't the center point of the story. the copycats boiled The hunger games story down to its basic parts and in doing so they missed the whole point of the series.

and I'd like to go back to comparing Katniss to Thomas because they're both the main characters in their series, but they have the opposite impacts because Katniss is a character who is not a leader but everyone makes her out to be one. Thomas is claimed to be a leader but it falls flat on a meta level because he doesn't inspire, Katniss worked as the rebellion's spearhead because she inspires. she literally leaks empathy like she has this facade of apathy, of being completely closed off but she is a kind and giving and she is passionate and fiery and that's why the rebellion chose her to be the Mockingjay. her kindness and peeta's kindness was the crack in the capital's dam. kindness was the instigator that propelled the movement forward. but with Thomas it just seems like he is a leader out of happenstance, which is a fine story to tell, but I don't think it was told in the right way because he doesn't feel like an actual leader, and maybe, maybe in the books, he does feel like more of a leader and I just haven't gotten to that part yet. or I am misremembering, it has been a while since I read them. but in the movies we don't get very many examples, we are told and we are not shown. it's hard to feel anything for Thomas because he doesn't feel real. he feels like a cardboard cutout of what a lead character should be.

So those are generally my thoughts. if I have more I might reblog this with them later. if you have thoughts about this reblog it or comment I want to know what people think, especially people who actually finished the book series because I do feel bad for critiquing a book series that I haven't finished, and only watched the movies. I'm always hounding people for not reading the books and just watching the movies so I do feel like a little bit of a hypocrite. I want to know what people think. I don't mean to start any fights if Thomas is your favorite character, he is also my favorite character out of the series. I just can't turn off my critical thinking brain even when I want to because this was supposed to be a chill watch, something to enjoy because I love Dylan O'Brien but alas I cannot turn off the critical thinking right now and can't help picking things apart, so here we are, writing an essay when I should be folding laundry and watching a movie.

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Disclaimer: This post is an interpretation of some of the Barbie movie's themes and messages, particularly struggles men are faced with. That's its focus. It is not exhaustive of all possible takes or understandings of the film, either mine or others. If talking about men as equal human beings is a problem for you, feel free to ignore this post and then block me. Otherwise, carry on.

One of my favorite parts of Barbie is when Gloria is doing Barbie's makeup toward the end and they're talking about overturning everything that the Kens have done to Barbieland, where Barbie expresses how she just didn't expect her Ken to act out so drastically. Gloria tells her it's because he has feelings for her, hinting that creating Kendom is how he tried to express those feelings and his upset with the constant rejection he's gotten. And when Barbie starts to say she's afraid of hurting him by going behind his back Gloria stops her.

I could praise that moment alone for showing how women need to stop apologizing for the feelings of others, but this is really key: Gloria doesn't trash talk Ken. She states the bad things he did but she never equates those actions with who Ken is, because they're not. I feel like any other film would've gone the route of "He's an asshole/You don't need him/Dump the douchebag/Why do you care about him when he's treated you like this?" (and to be fair I have a huge tendency to go that way myself)

Gloria doesn't even know Ken! But she was right not to immediately act like he was garbage. I don't know if she got that understanding from Barbie herself or just from being a long-term Barbie doll lover and employee at Mattel, but it stands out to me. We even see proof that none of the Kens are truly bad! In the beginning of the film they're just dudes (Just Kens, lol, I set myself up for that)! Dudes that don't even know what they don't know and can't be blamed for it.

Because the truth is that men are not inherently trash and their actions do not come from an innately evil place. Unfortunately for men, especially in the west, society has come up short in teaching them how to deal with and properly express how they feel in favor of power and saving face. Emotions hold bigger weight than they even know, but the modes they've been allowed are generally aggression, romantic passion, and cool. Nothing outside the lines. Imagine trying to sort a giant ball of complex emotions into one of those three things and stay normal.

Gloria understands that the lack of emotional maturity and regulation is where Ken's dramatic tantrum stems from. While she has experience with the patriarchy and knows how to deal with it because of the situation in the real world, I find it fascinating that her character is the one to understand both sides because she also has experience as a matriarch. (I could be wrong, but it seems like she's the breadwinner of the household. The role of her husband I have no commentary on other than que Dios lo bendice, el pobre no se puede hablar español).

So while Barbieland agrees to barely give the Kens back any power (an extremely accurate reflection of what women get in the real world), the film and its characters ultimately don't villainize or punish them further for their wrongs. Punishment isn't always the right action when someone is wrong (insert commentary on Barbie and Ken constantly getting put in jail in the real world vs. no such thing happening in their own). Sometimes it's simply helping them understand what they're dealing with and guiding them through the ordeal step by step.

Painting the Kens as all bad would've ignored what a Ken is. He is a doll just like Barbie. Ken's issue is that he's unloved and the only form of love he has been given to accept is romantic love. What he and all the other Kens begin to discover at the end of the film is self love, which is just as important, if not more.

Now I'm going to rephrase that last paragraph.

Painting men as all bad ignores what a man is. They are humans just like women are. Most men's issue is that they are unloved and the only form of love they've been given to accept is romantic love. What the men of this world need to discover is self love, which is just as important, if not more.

[rius-cave]

About the topic of Luci giving Eve the apple (I'm the same anon who wrote that they didn't like each other back then btw)

I kinda feel it was mostly Lilith's doing tbh. Just think about it. The apple itself doesn't "give" free will. It's the apple of knowledge. It most likely just made Eve aware of the situation she was in. Which can both mean the whole concept of the garden (as many like to compare it to a "prison" where humans live mindlessly, provided with everything) AND Adam's controlling nature. And the fact that they only gave the apple to Eve makes me strongly believe that it's mostly the latter option. My personal hc kinda goes like this: Lilith ran away from Eden because she thought Adam was controlling and she had a strong enough will to go after her own head and ideals (this is why I think she herself never ate the apple, she already "gained awareness and free will" in a way by not wanting to submit). Lilith obviously disliked Adam so when she heard about Eve she wanted to give her a chance to get away from that guy too whom she believed to be controlling and just simply a dick lol. She wanted to "free" Eve from Adam because she experienced his nature (or at least, how she saw him in her own perspective, mind that we only know her story, we don't know what Adam exactly did aside of being "controlling", perhaps he was really an asshole, but maybe it's more complex). So, she asked Lucifer to help Eve and give the apple to her. Lucifer, being the idealistic dreamer he was, agreed to it, with the pure intention of helping humanity, showing them what they can be capable of and freeing them. Eve accepted and we all know how it ended. However, I love to hc that Lucifer would've included, or at least tried to include Adam too if he had the chance. Yes, perhaps they didn't like each other, but I see angel Lucifer kinda like Charlie is now, not giving up on people and trying to convince them, help them, forgive them and all. I believe he would've put up with Adam for the sake of it, but he couldn't since everything went south when Eve received the apple.

At this point it feels so much like I'm villainizing Lilith lmao but that's not my purpose actually.

It's okay anon we love villainizing Lilith in this house

Jokes aside I think that's really interesting. If I recall correctly, the little Eden flashback depicts both of them offering the apple to Eve, yes? But I think we should all agree that that story is unreliable at best and just a plain lie at worst.

It's interesting to think that Lilith was the mastermind of it all, really. If we're real, Lucifer definitely got the shortest end of that stick right? After Lilith became a demon, the story says that she just gained a lot of power while Lucifer lost his will to dream and all that, which is interesting.

To be honest I'm confused about what exactly the apple did. Bible tradition says it gave them them the knowledge of good and evil, some people think it made them aware of their nature and all that, and then Hazbin says it was how evil came into the world. I think it's kind of open to interpretation but I really want the show to tell us what the deal is in its canon.

However, I do think Lilith has a bigger hand on it than we think, I know this is just me, but GOD I WANT HER TO BE MANIPULATIVE, not even necessarily in an evil sense, I just want her to do some morally questionable things to reach the goals that she thinks are the best! In the case of the apple, it doesn't matter whether or not that was the right call, the important part is that Eve *knew* she shouldn't eat it, she SAID she wasn't allowed to eat it (at least in the biblical tradition), and Lilith, or Lucifer, or both, manipulated her and then manipulated the truth to suit their cause, even if they didn't realize what consequences that would bring.

It's a bit murky because we don't have a lot of details and I think this is something that could change depending on context. Really hope we get more info on this in the next season

[velvet-vox]

The dark side of Steampunk: Nox (Part 2)

Milien spent the entire night obsessively analysing the artifact, instead of sleeping with his wife, and in the morning, he was forced to face the consequences.

Fully immersed by the possibilities given to him by the Cube, Milien is already at work to capitalise on them in order to get out of the vicious cycle he's gotten into by borrowing money to keep himself afloat.

Here's where the milk gets finally spilled and the truth starts to knock on the door. Milien's ego, up to this point, was only the fruit of an inferiority complex set by the inability of his inventions to catch popularity; but now, it's finally revealed that Nox's obsession for the cube and it's constant need for validation from his family is also a result of Milien's antisocial behaviour probably rooted from a societal lack of care for individuality and creativity.

Ironic, since, by this very statement, Nox undermines other people's individuality and creativity to place his own higher. This is a major extreme of Steampunk, when either the society or the industry reigns over the other, the outcome can only be disastrous, as true balance can only be found when the two sides support and complement each other.

This isn't too much of a major flaw for Milien, as long as it gets addressed, it's pretty common for his archetype and it's often overcome by the end of the story.

Ah. S##t. He doesn't overcome it.

These GIFs speak for themselves; the ego boost given to him by the artifact allows for the insanity to take place, even his wife, who he has been shown capable of repressing his negative traits for, can't calm him down anymore; the next time she visits him, Galanthe tries to get Milien to throw away the Cube and go back to his family, but in response, Nox shuts her out of the door, since what she is suggesting would rekindle his inferiority complex and bring him back to square one.

Briefly touching on this particular moment, Noximilien knows the Cube's real name, despite the fact that he apparently shouldn't know what it was right until his confrontation with Grougaloragran 200 years later.

It could just be a continuity error, but I want to give tot the benefit of the doubt this time and assume it's instead intentional; back when we had only season 1, the Eliacube was this mysterious, corrupting entity whose origins were never made fully clear. So, for us to not be able to find any sense behind this discovery of his, leads us to be unnerved by the eldritch horror vibes that were originally backed into the Eliacube's concept.

As time goes by, Galanthe decides to take away her family from her husband, in hope that this will force him to get rid of the Eliacube and go back to them.

And for a brief moment, her plan almost works. Milien is taking the situation seriously, and it's about to abandon everything to go join his wife, but then... Nox doesn't.

I don't really know the meaning behind that owl shot with one weird eye, but by judging the fact that the very next shot is Noximilien's laboratory emitting smog into the air, I'll interpret it as a metaphor for pollution brought by the industrialization of Nox's operation, mindlessly destroying the planet without a person's notice.

I really like how the ticking sound of clocks gets faster before turning into knocks at the door, it makes it feel like an unfathomable amount of time has passed.

As for the reason why the beggar decides to check up on Nox and inform him of his family, I've actually come up with a way better explanation than just simply "the beggar was actually a good person, just a little short tempered and grumpy", which works well enough, but it could be much more compelling;

You see, in the previous part I've said that the beggar is the representation of the strict Victorian society and Milien the freeing Industrial revolution, their clash and tension is what gives Steampunk its meaning and charm; so here, it's almost like the beggar is saying "Bro, WTF? Shouldn't we clash against each other? I haven't seen you in months? What happened?" since, if the clockmaker doesn't want to free himself from the claustrophobic expectations of society, then... what is his purpose in the narrative?

As the rage, regret, and madness of the ensuing moment unfolds, the Steampunk narrative is completely shattered:

No longer Noxy wants to advance society to the next level of evolution; now, he just wants to bring everything back to how it was.

No longer Nox is going to use his inventions to bring wonder and joy to the world; now, he's going to use them to destroy lives in order to restore his own.

Steampunk is dead, and its rotting corpse is now being used as a vessel for the Eldritch Horror narrative that is about to ensure.

Milien is dead; a legend is born.

A terror is born.

NOX.

<<<<Previous part

Qilby analysis

Oropo analysis

Want more Wakfu's analyses? Give your vote here.

[good-beanswrites]

Hello! Are you still doing requests for the drabble game? (If not it's still okay!!)

I've been browsing the milgram tags and I keep seeing your drabbles here and there and I've been so in love with each and single one of them. You characterize them in a way that feels so canon I wish it was actually real. Your stories are such a delight to read!

I'd like to request Lies + Kazui and Yuno, or Kazui with anyone really. He's been a liar through and through and I'd like him to talk with someone about it, and Yuno's the only other prisoner who can truly understand him. Especially with Kazui's trial going on and him leaning guilty, he would be more antsy than usual. (But if there's another scenario you'd like that's totally fine as well ^^) Thanks!

Aww thank you so much, I'm so glad you enjoyed! :D And thank you for the request, these two are so interesting !! I imagine that Kazui can tell from the voices he hears that he's leaning guilty, or at least very close in the middle. Here's him and Yuno, following an instinctual lie that she just can't leave alone...

“I’m doing fine,” Kazui said, perfectly accustomed to lying about himself. He was used to putting on a smile when his insides were yanked into knots. He was used to ignoring signs under the surface for the sake of others. There was one thing he wasn’t prepared for, though, and that was Yuno Kashiki.

“Mmm, no you’re not.” She said matter-of-factly. She braided her hair in a complex pattern, hardly even looking at Kazui. Instead, her eyes stayed fixed on the tiny handheld mirror she’d propped up on the table in front of her.

It wasn’t the first time she’d caught him in one of his lies. She’d been merciful in the past, allowing the group to laugh it off and move on. Now, in private, she seemed much less forgiving. She wasn’t the only one in an unforgiving mood (which, conveniently, brought him back to the root of the problem.)

“What are you doing with your hair?” He peered over from behind. “It looks nice -- what’s the occasion?”

Her voice lilted as she said, “oh, well I’m so glad you asked! I’m celebrating the day that prisoner number seven tried and failed to hide his true feelings from me after I asked him oh-so politely how he was doing!” 

He returned her smile with a pained one. “I’m not hiding anything. I’m doing as well as any other prisoner. Better than most, for that matter.”

She returned to her task. “That’s a pretty low bar.”

“Heh, I guess.”

“So? What’s eating at you?”

“Just annoying young women who can’t leave an old man alone…” 

He thought they could leave it at that. Yuno disagreed. 

“Come on, it’s just us. Be honest.”

After a pause, he furrowed his brow. “Why?” 

Yuno wasn’t the nosy type. She could have probably gone through all three trials without knowing a single thing about the others’ sins. She’d been even more solitary this trial, forgoing the usual gossip and conversation. For some reason, she seemed unmovable on this request.

She caught his gaze through the mirror. He could only see one of her eyes, but from her angle she probably saw most of his face. “Because it hurts, to lie.”

It did. It had hurt for years. Even when his act became second nature, when the words flowed easily and his body moved without pause, the truth was still somewhere deep inside trying to eat him alive. Here in Milgram, he continued to feel its ache. Now, on top of the same old lies, he was trying to play the part of the calm and collected adult. Yuno was right about the bar being low -- the prisoners were in a sorry state. He had to be strong for them. She herself wasn’t doing well; despite the airs she put up, she was struggling just as much. (She wasn’t the only one who could pick up on someone else’s well-worn mask.)

So he couldn’t be honest and falter in front of her, either. Aware that his silence would be equally telling, he asked, “are you speaking from experience?”

“I’m not letting you change the subject,” Yuno pursed her lips, “but I’ll never miss an opportunity to talk about myself.”

She shifted in her chair, now turning away from the mirror to look at Kazui. He was taken aback with how smoothly the confessions spilled from her. “Yes, I know firsthand what it’s like. I know how much it hurts to lie to someone who loves you. I know what it’s like to wait until the last moment to say something, realizing it’s too late, and you’re screwed. I’ve had to cover up my pain in front of others, pretend like it’s all fun and games when it’s clearly not. And most of all, I know what it’s like to be caught in the middle of the warden’s judgment.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” He did. 

Being named guilty is the worst fate for a lot of reasons. The thought of being forgiven, though, felt worse. There was no winning. Just another thing to claw at him from the inside out.

“It hurts, Kazui. I know you feel it. I realized how much all that secrecy tore me apart inside, so I came completely clean to the warden during my interrogation. I thought maybe it could help you, too.”

His expression softened. As much as Yuno wanted to be independent of this whole situation, there was always a part of her that wanted to treat others right. Seeing her intentions were pure, he felt himself relax under her gaze. 

“Telling them the truth… and being forgiven afterwards… will it help this ache, then?” He placed a hand on his chest. It was easier to direct his questions at her, but it was clear he was curious about his own fate. “Do you feel at peace now? Can you forgive yourself?” 

She turned back around. Her eye watched him from the mirror once more. 

“Yes,” she told him, and Kazui knew he wasn’t the only liar here.

[cathumanwarriors]

Ivypool and the subversion of what it means to be "strong"

Ivypool in this AU is very very different from what people normally see her as, even in the books proper. She's often drawn as buff and muscular, with sharp eyes and the taller of her and Dovewing.

So it's probably jarring to read that I don't see Ivypool like that. In my head, she is small, slight, muscular yes, but with no real strength. She is round-faced and looks a little childish, with downward tapering eyes that make her look sleepy more than anything. She is also very pale with dark circles under her eyes.

This very distinct image has persisted for over a decade now, and I wanted to delve a little bit into my reasonings for seeing her this way, and the story I'd want to tell with her character.

While I like Ivypool and her arc in OotS, I think at times it was directionless and we have a more nostalgic idea of the books than when we actually read them. There was a story there hidden about discovering what true strength was, and what Ivypool wanted most in life. I liked she was awful to her sister as an apprentice, and I liked that she behaved immaturely and didn't consider her sister's feelings because she felt so inferior. But I wanted this to have direction and thematic parallels that tie the sisters together.

Which is why Ivypool in this AU is albino. She has a myriad of vision and health problems, and her growth is stunted by all the energy she has to extend to dealing with multiple health issues. And to top it off, she almost died during her birth. Whitewing had a very difficult pregnancy where they were only expecting one child, not twins. And while Whitewing loved her children dearly, she did have to treat them differently because of their conditions. Ivykit could not do everything Dovekit could, and Dovekit saw and experienced things Ivykit could not experience. It's a prime situation for resentment to form, and that resentment be turned into malice.

So it's more complex than simple jealousy Dovepaw gets to do stuff she can't, because there is a layer of truth to it. Both girls are in situations where they are being separated and unable to communicate with each other about how they feel. And Ivypaw cannot grasp that Dovepaw has her own struggles and frustrations because she's been set up to be a perfect paragon or the Clans explode. There is a distance between them that they cannot reach.

So this is where that idea of "finding true strength" comes into play. Ivypaw believes if she were stronger, if she were "better" she wouldn't be looked down upon. And a developing teenager can easily be manipulated, especially when their feelings are validated and they are told what they want to hear.

Ivypool isn't strong, so she believes if she trains hard enough with Hawkfrost, she can attain that strength. It's the exact same internalized concept that only the competent succeed in life. She doesn't have high muscle density, and she's not tall or has broad shoulders, so she has to compensate. She uses speed and reflexes instead, a high battle IQ that can adapt quickly to a situation. She is so formidable a fighter because she is in perfect tune with her body and its limitations.

But it's only after she attains that strength does she realize it comes with a price. She realizes she's been manipulated, and might be part of a death cult now.

So she starts risking her life every night to "atone", she believes, out of her own guilt. Dangerous, self-destructive behavior because she has "lost" what purpose was driving her. She realizes she's been unfair to her sister, but cannot process that emotionally in a healthy manner.

It's not until TFW, when she is able to speak to someone who has also spiraled, who also feels guilt for what they've done that she is able to find true purpose and what drives her to keep going. It's compassion.

She is strongest when she can protect the next generation so they can grow and become strong. Her natural inclination is not cold rage and apathy; that is a coping mechanism brought on by the trauma of the Dark Forest. She is naturally a protector and defender. That is what her warrior name, Alexis, means. "Defending men."

So the strength she was looking for all that time was the strength to be kind to herself. It was only then she could unlock her full potential and surpass her limitations.

[nebulouscoffee]

Favorite alien species and favorite villain!

Thank you friend!

Bajorans and Cardassians are undoubtedly the two species I've spent the most amount of time thinking about, so I'm going to have to put them in for a tie- I just can't look at one without the other! DS9 is very much a show I enjoy for its postcolonial themes, and their histories and societies and foremost issues are deeply intermingled. There are so many fascinating contrasts between them, in the starkly different yet occasionally similar ways in which they approach concepts like freedom, love, devotion, truth/reality, memory, community, family, and sacrifice- I could chew on it forever. There are so many terrific characters like Kira, Garak, Kai Winn, Dukat, Bariel, Ziyal, and more- plus, the static setting of DS9 allows for so much cool worldbuilding, and I feel like there's a ton of nonwestern influence in both (yes, both) cultures that borrows quite heavily from real-world ones (including their issues) which allows me to write a lot of self projectey fanfiction haha. (Honourable mention to Trills though! I have soooo many headcanons about them I could talk about Trills for hours :D)

As for my fav villain, I'm leaning towards Kai Winn here! I think she's absolutely tragic and fascinating. She loves her people and her planet, but then there's this love of power and control that runs at odds to it. She comes so close to redemption, so many times- yet, she just can't seem to let go of her desire to be The One (that saves Bajor) long enough. She has these deeply heartbreaking moments of humility, and then this painfully performative mask of politeness she slips on to get away with awful things. She's too mistrustful to accept the help of multiple people actively offering it, but spends her whole life begging for acknowledgement from gods who were always going to ignore her.. and the saddest part is, there's plenty of good reasons why she is the way she is. (I'm very grateful for the recent wave of Winn appreciation on this site, but I honestly still disagree with some of the positive meta I see about her too- I don't think calling her purely a victim with only Bajor's best interests at heart is an accurate read of her either; her politics and creative interpretations of Bajoran prophecies in ways that serve her (plus her willingness to throw fellow Bajorans like Neela under the bus) very much mirror real life corrupt and dictatorial politicians across the third world who use their trauma (specifically colonial trauma) as a deflection and shield all in one, to cover up what their true priorities are (her actions in 'Shakaar', for example.)) Winn's crises of faith and deep personal insecurities (and Louise Fletcher's complex and layered performance) make her a deeply sympathetic villain to me, and I don't think her orthodox beliefs, corruption, or refusal to share the spotlight even at the cost of her people should be ignored either- they're what make her so fascinating!! Though I do understand the urge in an environment that's historically been so needlessly hateful towards her lol. Anyway- Winn Adami my beloved!!!