#this is just my opinion feel free to disagree

[distort1xn]

today, i want to talk about pit fighter!vi.

yes, okay, alright *insert relatable lesbian jokes here*. the montage was pretty dramatic, i agree.

what i really want to discuss, though, are the details. so, here follow my thoughts (side note: this is a discussion, so please feel free to disagree and/or add your own thoughts in the reblogs/comments!):

vi didn’t dye her hair to fit in with the brawler crowd or because she was depressed – she dyed her hair to hide from herself. every time she looked in the mirror, she looked too much like the woman who fucked up her own life to herself to deal with. so, she dyed her hair to change that. it’s a classic trauma response. for example, i grew up being told i look so, so, SO MUCH like my dad, and, when he passed away, my own reflection would startle me because all i could see was him. so, i dyed my hair pink.

the black grease paint, in my opinion, served two purposes: to make her even more unrecognisable to herself and to hide her tears. we know vi as an extremely emotional person. she knows this about herself, too. she knew she was crying nonstop after, to her knowledge, she’d ‘lost’ everything. but she couldn’t show weakness in the pit. she couldn’t let her opponents know they had an in to beating her. she also isn’t someone who makes a production of her big feelings. she shows them to people she feels she can trust, and the only person at that point was maybe loris, and even him she mostly kept around to drink and party with.

vi was, for all intents and purposes, trying to kill herself, but she refused to succumb to the weakness (in her mind) of doing the job herself. Hence all the drinking, the pushing her body to its limits, the refusal to heal before more fighting. We see this when she’s uncoordinated and delirious. We see this in her excessive training and the blood she coughs up. We see this in her refusal to stay down, even when she’s in no condition to continue a fight. she’s grieving the life she feels she’s lost – the last person she thought cared about her. she fights and drinks and sleeps, living her life in either self-induced or trauma-induced dissociation. if she can’t die, she at least doesn’t want to feel.

yeah, pit fighter!vi was hot. no doubt about it. but she was also: sick and suffering. in stark contrast to jinx, who wore her suffering like armor, vi let hers strip her bare and raw like an exposed nerve.

there’s also something to be said about vi just needing to know someone cared for her to pull through and jinx knowing everyone cared and alienating them because of that (“everyone that gets close to me dies”), but that’s a discussion for a separate post.

[pouletaulait]

I don’t mind the conversation either. I always enjoy having a discussion with people who have a different point of view and who are open to having a discussion, like you are, so I appreciate your reaction. My reblogg wasn’t intended as criticism, not at all. I just wanted to point out that personally I can’t quite see why this story would be distorted into something it’s not intended to be if we approach it under a romantic lens. Like I said, personally I think it’s intended to be a romance, albeit not a banal or a „simple“ one but you’re absolutely free to disagree. I understand realism as a fictional portrayal that’s intended to be realistic, in the sense that it attempts to portray a situation in a fashion that stays as close to a possible reality as possible and in which the author seeks to represent this portrayal in an objective manner. A romance, in this context, I understand to be an unrealistic, idealised portrayal of love/a relationship. (Do our understandings differ on this?) But like you pointed out in your original post (if I understand you correctly) what we deem realistic or unrealistic is ultimately influenced by our subjective perception of reality, which might explain why our opinions on this differ. It seems like I didn’t explain my view very clearly; There are many aspects of the manga that I do find realistic in it’s portrayal, such as the CSA, what I don’t find realistic, however, is the portrayal of love, the romance. I find it very idealised and romanticised for the most part (i.e the falling in love at first sight (I’ll get to that), Doumeki being Yashiro’s exact type, Doumeki happens to be impotent which allows Yashiro to develop feelings for him, the fact that Doumeki is completely accepting of everything Yashiro does regardless of how Yashiro treats him, the fact that Doumeki is still in love with Yashiro after he shot him the leg, maybe he even stayed in the Yakuza world just to be near him (although who knows why exactly he did that?) Idk maybe it’s just me but I find it very unrealistic. It’s this romantic idea of „there is this perfect person out there who accepts you just the way you are and you don’t have to do anything to keep them happy, you can even shoot them in the leg and they’ll still love you, they’ll stick around no matter what it takes to be with you“. Idk, to me personally this doesn’t seem like the author seeks to portray a realistic relationship here and to me that’s what it boils down to when I’m saying that to me it reads like a romance (of course this is just my opinion, I don’t know anything about Sensei’s actual intentions)

What I meant by „she’s toying with the idea of idealized romance“ is the fact that most, but not everything ,about the romantic aspect is idealised, hence my example that Doumeki’s love doesn’t cure Yashiro’s trauma. Maybe „toying“ is not the most accurate expression to use in English in this case… but what I mean is that Sensei is ,like I said, employing many aspects of an idealised love, imo, but that she doesn’t fully „commit“ to it if you know what I mean; the way I see it she’s building it up to be this fantasy, this ideal of almighty love, but then she defies our expectation by creating a climax (Chapters 23-25) that’s the opposite of what you’d expect from a romance; instead of Doumeki’s love being the answer to all of Yashiro’s problems and them ending up together, it ends in a disaster (in the sense that Doumeki ends up hurting Yashiro deeply and that they part ways). So, I think she’s taking a more realistic approach in that sense but I think the story remains anchored in the idea of the ideal romance, because that seems to be its point of reference imo. If there was no idealised romance at the core of it (which to me seems evident in the exposition) there’d be no expectation to defy in the first place if you get what I’m saying. I hope I explained this in a somewhat understandable way… but maybe this is not making any sense to you since you seem to have a very different opinion on Yashiro’s feelings. Just to clarify: You don’t think he’s in love with Doumeki? Or do you think he doesn’t want to be in a committed relationship with him, or something else entirely? The way I see it, there certainly was an instant attraction to Doumeki on Yashiro’s side. I guess you could argue that it wasn’t „love“ but just sexual attraction, that’s certainly debatable, but the way I see it, he at least started developing feelings for Doumeki very quickly, hence his interference with Doumeki’s sister, his jealousy, etc. so, yes, the „falling in love at first sight“ part comes down to interpretation but personally I find it likely and my assumption is that he wants to be in a committed relationship with Doumeki (that’s purely my assumption based on my interpretation which obviously heavily influenced by the fact that I understand this to be a romance) Anyways, what I meant by problematic: If I’d look at this story as a entirely realistic portrayal of a relationship or love, I’d find a lot of aspects of it very problematic (how Doumeki is completely devoting himself to Yashiro, how he’s basically stalking him, how he keeps going after Yashiro despite him shooting him in the leg, etc.) That’s what I meant by I wouldn’t root for them to end up together if I’d look at this as a realistic portrayal. It wouldn’t be an irredeemable situation for me either but it’s just nothing that I’d be interested in reading, that’s my personal preference. I’m not opposed to realism in general but, like I said, in this specific case, it doesn’t make sense to me personally. Honestly, I don’t think our opinions on this are entirely different because I agree that Kou Yoneda sensei appears to be taking a quite realistic approach in many respects. I think where our opinions differ seems to me to be the point that you seem to regard this as a work of realism, while I think of it as a romance that challenges romantic ideals in some ways but that ultimately stays anchored in an idealised romanticism. But like I said I think I’ll only know for sure once the story’s been told in its entirety.

An example of novel that follows the literary realism tradition but is sometimes approached under romantic lens, and therefore distorted into something else entirely - maybe because of the (bad) movies adaptations? because of the marketing and the covers? I don’t know but I will link this no longer rebloggable post for you to check - is Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.

I read Lolita when I was seventeen, felt deeply discomforted but I liked the book, understood what it was doing with its narrator, but I have to add, before reading Lolita, I had already read Flaubert (Sentimental Education, didn’t finish Madame Bovary) and Émile Zola to name a few. I think that growing up I have read more books in this genre than others? I don’t know considering that back then I had to read a lot classics for school.

But long story short, I think something similar maybe it’s occurring with Saezuru. To be clear, I am not saying that you have to read it in a certain way, please I don’t really want to even imply that. Read it for yourself and your pleasure first. What I am saying is that, like Lolita, to me Saezuru makes total sense if we assume that it is written with a realistic intention and therefore not exactly bound by the rules of romantic novels that tend to present more positive and idealized views. After all manga are divided into demographics more than their genre, so authors draw very different stories. I still want these characters to find happiness! But I also want to be able to buy the eventual resolution and therefore I appreciate that the development of the story feels organic.

Anyway just a thought. Nakobov himself wrote (in Strong Opinions):

Reality is a very subjective affair. I can only define it as a kind of gradual accumulation of information; and as specialization. If we take a lily, for instance, or any other kind of natural object, a lily is more real to a naturalist than it is to an ordinary person. But it is still more real to a botanist. And yet another stage of reality is reached with that botanist who is a specialist in lilies. You can get nearer and nearer, so to speak, to reality; but you never get near enough because reality is an infinite succession of steps, levels of perception, false bottoms, and hence unquenchable, unattainable. You can know more and more about one thing but you can never know everything about one thing: it’s hopeless. So that we live surrounded by more or less ghostly objects— that machine, there, for instance. It’s a complete ghost to me— I don’t understand a thing about it and, well, it’s a mystery to me, as much of a mystery as it would be to Lord Byron.

As for marketing, if you check the link and think about Saezuru: the covers and merchandise vs the content of the chapters, vs the story as it’s told, the parallel with Lolita makes sense to me. The cover only has one imperative: to sell. But once you are alone with the story, you see that stylistic choices, tone, everything suggest that you read it in a critical way.

The way Yoneda Kou draws is also quite sober, discarding decorative details and paying attention more to frame and pov. The way she presents what happens is objective and detached, neutral I’d say, making us impartial observers most of the time, letting the actions speak without commentary being made. The dialogue is hard for our translators because it recreates the speech patterns of the various characters faithfully. And these characters are common yakuza that live harsh realities, the gritty social aspect of it is visible and part of the story, as well as social injustices and personal trauma, and keen and realistic attention to human behavior.

I guess all this clued me in to reading the story the way I do, and probably also why I chose it in the first place. Realism is the genre of fiction I am more read in, although I am expanding my horizons more and more.

[clarissaweasley-10]

Here's my analasis on the character of Fitz Vacker aka Wonderboy(even tho no one asked)He's sadly one of the most disliked characters in the entire series and though l get why you guys may hate him,let's try to understand...

The fact that Fitz was born into one of the if not THE most influential family in the lost cities has a LOT to do with his character.Plus,he was the golden child of the family.His parents obviously favoured him from the start.He was perfect...or so he hoped.Growing up the way he did,he HAS to be perfect.Be the perfect child,the perfect student carry the family's legacy and make his family proud.That was what mattered the most to him it was part of how he was raised as the golden child.Now,in Stellarlune during the Cognate Inquisition,Fitz himself has admitted to Sophie about how he often feels a little jealous of her.Well not exactly "jealous"but yk he used to be the best in everything before Sophie came and now she is always better than him and he is left to be the second best.Like imagine being the best in everything,with everybody looking up to you and then suddenly it all just goes down especially after Alvar's betrayal.That would suck so hard.There are two events which are the turning points of his character development:Alden's mind breaking,and Alvar's betrayal.You may ask why l put Alden's mind breaking here(the other one is obvious),the answer is, it was the beginning of events leading to total chaos in Fitz's life.His father who he looked upto,the one who shaped him and has a lot to do with who he is,one of the strongest people he ever knew..broke.lmagine how that would feel,especially to elves who are just not in terms with the idea of loosing someone close to you,and Fitz just lost his father all of a sudden with no prior explanation.And the explanation is his father had gone to Exile with a girl he knew for a few months at most(tho he and Sophie were very close)without taking his own son with him,and the guilt of seeing the son of a guy he had helped arrest and whose life he had virtually destroyed,finally broke his mind.Imagine how incapable,unworthy and angry this would have made Fitz feel.So he took out his anger on Sophie,though he had no right to and blamed her when HE WAS IN FACT BLAMING HIMSELF.Yes.If only his father had trusted him enough to share this information with him,then maybe Fitz would have made him understand or he and Sophie together could have saved him.But now Alden was gone and who was to blame?But Fitz also knew the consequences of the guilt he was feeling,saw it in the form of his father.If he lets the guilt of not being there get to him then,soon he too would be in Alden's position imagine how hard it would hit Della,Biana and....Alvar(strictly Fitz's pov.)So he did what he could and used his anger as a shield to protect himself and the rest of his family.

I also want to talk about the whole matchmaking thing because that's one of the most controversial aspects of Fitz's character.As l've said the fact that Fitz was born into one of the most influential families of the lost cities has a lot to do with his character.He was trained to uphold his families reputation.And we've all seen how bad matches are treated in the Lost Cities.Sophie who has literally spent her whole life outside the Lost Cities couldn't completely accept the fact that she was unmatchable,so what do you expect from Fitz who has spent his entire life being treated like royalty.Ofc he would be upset.Now l am not justifying all the rude and jerky things he said to Sophie l want to give him a solid shake for that,but he is only human(well no but yeah figuratively yk)and his perfect family was basically a broken sandcastle now so let's try to be a bit kind to Fitz too yeah?Now you may say that,Keefe also spent his entire life in the Lost Cities but had no problem from the start about Sophie being unmatchable.Well for this(and a lot of other things)Keefe deserves a LOT of extra points for the whole Sokeefe vs Sophitz thingie but he and Fitz had very different upbringings and characters.Keefe doesn't give a f abt what others think,the only thing he cares about is how Sophie feels,so get yourself a man like him...He had raised himself to be a rebel and went against common norms.And hence has no regards for what the society thinks.He only wants Sophie and if people scorn upon them for being a bad match then they should remind themselves that they would never get a relationship as good as Sokeefe.And he is THE man for this.

[casscainmainly]

The Feelings About Dick Grayson Alignment Chart

Open to change.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Gaslighter? I hardly know her!

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[violetwolfraven]

Wait wait wait remember that post about how Team Starkid/the Lang brothers are going to be comparable to Shakespeare 500 years from now and it was mostly played for laughs like yeah lol you’ll need a paragraph of footnotes to explain the zefron poster but like

I don’t think that’s actually far off from how Starkid’s place in theatre history might play out and here’s why. Just hear me out

Why is Shakespeare so popular today when he definitely wasn’t the only playwright from that era? When he’s not even the only playwright from that era from England that we have surviving works from?

Two main reasons:

1) Shakespeare’s work is (relatively) universally relatable. The characters do things that are so fundamentally human. They make jokes at their friends’ expense. They complain about being awkward in front of their crush. They have daddy issues. The plot lines of the plays aren’t too complicated. The dick jokes land whether you’re watching in 1611 or 2024, and they probably still will in 2637. Shakespeare’s works are timeless because he didn’t try to outsmart his audience. He wrote about things everyone could relate to rather than trying too hard to peacock his intellect in front of the nobility. This is not true of every playwright.

2) Shakespeare was really popular right around the time England started colonizing everything in sight. Copies of his work got shipped all around the world, translated into dozens of languages, performed probably thousands of times. Setting aside the moral implications of this, the important thing to note is that Shakespeare was about the most easily accessible English playwright during a time of rapid, intense globalization.

Meanwhile, Starkid:

1) Invests hard in meaningful, relatable character arcs instead of spectacle and expensive sets or costumes. Also, lowbrow, immature humor and dick jokes that make A Very Potter Sequel funny and enjoyable regardless of if you’ve ever seen any other Harry Potter media in your life.

2) Posts professional recordings of their musicals to YouTube FOR FREE, making their shows about the easiest, best quality musical theatre you can get pretty much anywhere in the world, regardless of if your area has an active theatre scene. Proshots from other companies are rare and usually not free. Bootlegs are all well and good, but even if the video quality is alright (and that’s a big if) the audio is usually garbage. Starkid has been posting the best quality free recordings they can afford since 2009, shortly after the birth of social media, another time of rapid, intense globalization.

In short, I’m not saying that theatre historians in 500 years won’t remember any our current Broadway faves, but I am saying that in my opinion, Team Starkid is probably going to be more accessible for the general public. If you’re a 26th century English teacher trying to teach your class about narrative structure in 21st century theatre, what are you going to show your students? A bootleg of Hadestown with blurry video and garbage audio? Or the professional recording of Twisted, parts of which they will probably even enjoy, because even long after no one remembers Disney’s Aladdin anymore, your class of 26th century 16-year-olds are still going to laugh at “No One Remembers Achmed.”

[billiuspendragon]

When it comes to shipping Makoto with Kusuke, I have two very different opinions on it depending on how seriously I'm taking it.

Because, realistically, they would be toxic as HELL. I mean, we've got one guy who's canonically clingy, possessive and jealous over his loved ones - and this is assuming he somehow gets over his sister complex in the first place which is uhhh gonna be difficult - and one guy who gets off on competition and conflict. That is going to be one hell of a train wreck.

I don't think them being together would solve their issues, in fact it would possibly make them worse. They're both awful, and if they're put together that awfulness is gonna be multiplied to fuck. It's just gonna be a great big mess.

On the other hand. It would be really fucking funny.

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

CLASSES - a comprehensive guide

The first thing that needs to be said is that there is no such thing as a "bad" class. All of them have the potential to be a great detriment OR great boon to the rest of the team, depending on how far along the journey of self-actualization a party member is. Some may have steeper challenges, but this corresponds with greater rewards.

The second thing that needs to be said is that all players are part of a team, and all personal journeys and playstyles are interlinked. No class is truly "solo." Even the smallest viable session is still two people, and even the most suitable classes for solo play are stronger when they're in a party.

The last thing that needs to be said is that the game wants you to succeed. The game, inherently, wants every player to reach godhood, wants every player to self-actualize, wants every player to win. It respects free will and free choice, so it will allow for failures (and, indeed, doomed timelines are vital to the alpha one existing), but Skaia is ultimately optimistic, and tries at every turn to ensure that a golden ending is possible.

Because, after all, SBURB/SGRUB - and Homestuck itself - are about children growing up, maturing, and learning compassion for each other. About fixing their flaws and rejecting the negative aspects of the society they came from. It's about how it is our duty, our responsibility, to become kind, mature people who care about one another, because we will one day be responsible for creating a new society.

And so, without further ado:

ACTIVE (-) Classes and PASSIVE (+) Classes are described with the dichotomy of "powers working for the self" vs. "powers working for others," but I believe this to be an oversimplification of what the active and passive split is. Both active AND passive classes benefit from being in a party; however, an active class will gain fewer party benefits in exchange for being more suited for solo play, while a passive class will be less suited for solo play, but confer much greater benefits to party play.

This is reflected in their personal quests: while active classes and passive classes will both require intervention, empathy, and guidance from their teammates, the struggle of an active class is usually one of grappling with internal flaws, and the struggle of a passive class is one of grappling with interpersonal or societal relations. In other words, the personal quest of an active player will usually involve getting therapized, while the personal quest of a passive player will usually involve addressing a systemic societal issue. Often, both will be required, but whether a class is active or passive will indicate an area of focus.

KNIGHT - / MAID +

PARTY MANAGEMENT

one who wields [aspect] or leads with [aspect] / one who distributes [aspect] or manages with [aspect]

KNIGHTS (-) are a very flexible and versatile class; "wielding" their aspect does not necessarily mean they are skilled at DPS. It actually indicates the way a knight interacts with their aspect, a very straightforward relationship of tradesperson and tool, or soldier and weapon. Similarly, while a knight does not always take up the "leader" position in the party, they will be the "spearhead," a point behind which the other players rally, a beating heart keeping the party together.

This straightforward relationship between a knight and their aspect leads to knights finding little difficulty mastering their aspect once they've begun. Many knights are, in fact, instinctively drawn toward utilizing their aspect, in the same way that they are naturally drawn toward roles of importance or heroism.

Knights often struggle with their perceived place in society, as well as with their innate sense of self and self-worth, seeing themselves as outcasts, resenting the responsibility placed on their shoulders, and fearing vulnerability. Unaddressed, these issues will lead to knights who actively become a detriment to party success. For example, they can dismiss valid concerns, shirk their duties, and in the worst case scenario, actively lead the party down the wrong path, invoking their natural ability to lead for ill.

Therefore, a knight's journey is one of accepting themselves and accepting their duty to better the world. It is about coming to terms with their own insecurities and learning to rely on others. It is about learning to take responsibility, and accepting the banner of a just and glorious cause.

A fully realized knight will be the center of every charge, the guiding star behind which the other players rally. They can provide clarity and guidance to those still on their journeys, and peace and comfort to those who are struggling or in pain. Where the knight goes, the party will follow, as a unified and united front.

MAIDS (+), meanwhile, tend to be on the backlines. If the knight is the forward march, then the maid is the supply line, an incredibly vital role whose absence is disastrous, even if its presence is nearly invisible. Maids have a nearly infinite well of their aspect to distribute, and are uniquely talented at managerial duties - keeping players on task, patching up the holes in a plan, sourcing and supplying resources, so on and so forth.

This is not to say that maids are relegated to support roles - a maid is usually capable of holding their own in combat just fine, especially if they've been endowed with a more combat-suited aspect. Both knights and maids are extremely versatile. That being said, maids truly shine when they're able to take on these backline roles, and many maids are more noticeable by the devastating effects of their absence rather than the invisible touch of their presence.

However, they are the class that most often starts in subservient conditions - low status, strict duties enforced upon them, so on - and their personal journey is a constant struggle against the control of others. Maids whose parties fail to grapple with and undo these shackling forces will find their maids succumbing to the influence or control of malicious entities; in the worst-case scenario, a maid can become an actively hostile enemy or saboteur, invisibly pulling the party's strings and setting them up for failure.

Therefore, a maid's journey is about rejecting societal oppression and throwing off the chains that bind them. A successful maid rises to become the head of the household - nothing occurs within the game that does not first pass the maid's inspection, and their touch ensures that there is a place for everything, and everything is in its place.

A free maid, who belongs to themselves, incomparably increases a party's efficiency. Every communication line is clear, every distribution route is clean, every mystery is solvable, and every plan is airtight. A maid guarantees that nothing can ever go too wrong.

PAGE - / HEIR +

TEAM BONDING

one who must earn [aspect] or inherits the mantle of [aspect] / one who is beloved by [aspect] or awakens to [aspect]

PAGES (-) start the game with the fewest benefits from their aspects, but the greatest potential for growth. Theirs is a constant battle with the self; they are often cowardly and naive. They possess sensitive souls, and while it is incredibly easy to hurt a page, it's much more difficult to build them up. Because of the difficulty of raising this class, it's practically defined by its journey - a constant struggle against the self - rather than its destination, and the powers the class confers.

Pages, like heirs, are classes of inheritance. A page is promoted by trials and tribulations and comes to inherit a greater power than they begin with; in the same way, the class will one day come to embody its aspect, although the road will always be turbulent and long. Moreover, it is a journey without end; pages, being as sensitive as they are, are the most prone to backwards progress, even after reaching their peak.

They prone to staying weak throughout the entire game, never self-actualizing past being the party joke. They attract the obsession and ridicule of stronger-willed players, and their mistreatment can become extremely divisive. A page can easily become a party's albatross, the epicenter of massive interpersonal conflicts, which can tank an entire session.

Therefore, a page's journey is one of the most difficult of all - that of teaching others how to care about other people. Pages rely on great patience, kindness, and understanding. Their sensitive souls must be carefully nurtured and propagated with love and attention. In the same way that a page can tear a team apart, they can bring a team together, all in the name of compassion and empathy. A fully-realized page is the symbol of a party that has linked hands with one another.

Self-actualized pages, as a result of the difficulty inherent to the class, are incredibly powerful and versatile when fully realized. Inheriting the mantle of their aspect, they become pure embodiments of their aspect, capable of achieving impossible feats of raw, unfiltered power, and inspiring all those who gaze upon them.

HEIRS (+) begin the game very strong, but have a difficult time becoming stronger. This is because their usage of their aspect is very instinctual to them, even at times being entirely beyond their control, hence, "beloved by" in the class description. However, because of how naturally their aspect comes to them, it makes taking further command of their powers difficult.

An heir "awakens to" their aspect because their natural, intuitive control often renders them too comfortable to grasp the greater implications of their class. As an inheritance class, heirs can come to embody their aspect, transforming entirely into it. Their challenge lies in breaking out of their comfortable shell and learning how to utilize their powers in more active, intentional ways.

This is reflected in their personal quests. They are often set to inherit great privilege or wealth prior to entering the game, and are thus naive to the realities of the suffering and pain of others. Without a supportive party willing to challenge their views, heirs can perpetuate that pain by submitting to their place in the world, becoming a divisive force within the party, or, in the worst case, losing themselves to their inheritance, and submitting so wholly to their aspect that they become lost to the rest of the team.

Thus, an heir's journey is to question the stratification of the society they belong to, so that they can recognize and address its flaws. They must learn to interrogate their inheritance, separate it from themselves, and reconcile with it. Theirs is an arc of examination and understanding, descending from their position of privilege and peace to learn about the suffering of others, and deciding that they wish to do something about it.

With full command over their aspect, and a clear vision for how it ought to be distributed, the party gains a new and powerful ally - the aspect itself, which will come to embrace the entire party as family. A fully-realized heir connects the privileged and underprivileged, spreading their inheritance to all.

MAGE - / SEER +

GUIDANCE

one who invokes [aspect] or is drawn to [aspect] / one who comprehends [aspect] or is guided by [aspect]

MAGES (-) are a class of prophets, although saying they "see the future" is misleading. Rather, mages "invoke" the future, collapsing causality to align to their desires. Most mages remain unaware that they are doing so until well into their journey. While all players weigh on the scale of causality, affecting both past and future events, and which sequence of events is the "alpha" sequence, mages have the most direct effect.

Because of this ability to invoke future events, mages possess powerful buffing/debuffing abilities. Furthermore, as one of the two knowledge classes, a mage usually has a very deep understanding of their aspect, and an intuitive knowledge of how the flow of time and causality function. They are "drawn to" their aspects in this way, instinctively searching out points where their influence can affect the flow of events.

However, with great power comes great cost; the mage class is usually assigned to those who are stricken by tragedies and prone to negativity and self-loathing. Mages often begin the game as a detriment to the party, "prophesying" future events that leave the party - including themselves - at a disadvantage. In the worst case scenario, a mage can invoke certain doom for their party or themselves.

Therefore, it is vital that a mage address their tragedies and be given a chance to heal and grow. The ones most struck by tragedy, theirs is a journey of reclaiming lost joy and rediscovering lost hope. However, the transformation is powerful once completed - as the one who suffers tragedy and loss most intimately, a mage can also come to be one of the most empathetic and compassionate members of the team.

If a mage is uplifted, and capable of believing in a kinder and gentler world, then their ability to invoke the future - and the aspects of their aspect that they are drawn to - become kinder, as well. Pain and suffering still have their place, but the ending will be a happy one. With a fully empowered mage, the future will always be better than what came before.

SEERS (+) see multiple branching paths. A mage determines where a road will be built, but a seer tells you where a road CAN be built. They are also often gifted with knowledge of the game and its mechanics, and are especially uniquely gifted with understanding of their own abilities. In this way, they "comprehend" their aspect.

Seers themselves are not particularly gifted in combat through their classpect alone; however, in exchange, they often play a vital role in steering the party. They are the game's built-in guides, with an intuitive knowledge of the game's victory conditions, as well as an instinctive desire to lead others along their paths. Seers are, therefore, one of the most important classes in the game, when one is present.

However, the ability to see is a burden as well as a gift. Seers find themselves paralyzed by choice, and often doubt their own abilities to choose "correctly." They are prone to becoming mired in what-ifs, and struggle with political or ethical debates with no clear answers. In the worst-case scenario, a seer may feel so cursed by their sight that they self-destruct, and deliberately choose poor or incomprehensible answers, in an attempt to free themselves of their sight.

Thus, a seer's quest is, ironically, to see the world beyond the purview of their aspect. They must come to have a more comprehensive understanding of the world they live in, and what purpose they are trying to achieve, so that they can feel confident in the choices they make. A seer is often blind - their journey, therefore, is that of regaining their vision, by connecting with the world outside their inner sight.

A seer with a clear vision for the future will always know exactly which path to choose. A party with such a seer in it will never be stuck and never be lost. If there exists a path to self-actualization, the seer will know it. And if there exists a path to a breathless and perfect victory, a fully-realized seer will light the way.

THIEF - / ROGUE +

UTILITY

one who steals [aspect] from others or steals with [aspect] / one who steals [aspect] for others or steals from [aspect]

THIEVES (-) are a very difficult class to play. They start out with almost no passive abilities regarding their aspect, and their ability to actively use their aspect is contingent on their ability to first "steal" it from someone else. Thus, they are always playing a game of resource management, and there is always a chance for them to be left helpless after a heist gone wrong.

However, their gimmicky nature allows them to overtake other classes even in that class's specialty, if they can set up the exact right circumstances and manage their resources well. This makes them incredibly versatile, especially when a thief is working together with a party, and thus able to count their party among their potential resources. It takes great cunning to play the thief class well.

However, this also makes the thief a potentially dangerous element to the rest of the party. Thieves are often egotistical and self-serving, willing to see enemies and allies alike as resources and tools. Unaddressed, their reckless, selfish natures will earn their teammates' distrust and enmity. In the worst case scenario, a thief running rampant can severely harm the party, or earn so much ire that the party turns against them.

Thus, their journey is that of realizing that their selfishness and ego are flaws - the classic parable of "money doesn't bring happiness." Beneath their uncaring surface lurks genuine emotional distress; a thief must come to realize that their greed and selfishness is an active detriment not only to the people around them, but their own selves. Only then can they heal from their injured souls.

A thief that has undertaken this journey is one who has realized that they are stronger when they are working with others. Their versatility, creativity, and cunning are incredible assets once harnessed toward the will of the party. No situation will ever be inescapable, no safe uncrackable, and no problem unsolvable - not if the thief has anything to say about it.

ROGUES (+) are similarly difficult to play. Unlike the thieves, rogues do see passive benefits from their aspects. However, their active abilities are much less straightforward, and rogues often struggle with understanding them. A rogue's role is to redistribute wealth - thus, "stealing for the sake of others."

A rogue, being able to steal directly from their aspect, truly shines when given enough time to prepare. If a thief must fly by the seat of their pants, then a rogue is a heist planner - they have an infinite box of tools to pull from, if only they know what tools they'll need for the job. This makes them incomparably versatile, even if not necessarily in the heat of combat.

Rogues take on the mantle of challenging the status quo. They usually begin the game already in opposition to their society, seeking out better alternatives and considering unorthodox options. However, not every party is ready for a rogue's radical ideology, and not every rogue has considered the full consequences of their belief in change; in the worst case scenario, the rogue can become outcasted and disregarded, or cause an upheaval that proves disastrous, rioting for the sake of rioting.

It often requires the help of others for a rogue to understand how to use their powers. In the same way, it requires the party's honest communication and exchange of ideas to help a rogue grasp exactly what form their rebellion ought to take. A rogue knows instinctively that something must change; their journey is learning how they ought to go about it.

Once they do, a rogue - given enough time to prepare and plan - is the ultimate utility player, having the right tool for every possible situation. Their abilities are only magnified in a party setting, as their teammates become variables that unlock new possibilities. A party with a fully-prepped rogue always has a perfect plan, a way to solve any problem that they might face.

WITCH - / SYLPH +

AREA CONTROL

one who manipulates [aspect] or achieves dominion through [aspect] / one who nurtures [aspect] or creates a land of [aspect]

WITCHES (-) carry with them the winds of change. A witch manipulates, changing properties of their aspect and their aspect's effect on others, creating a "territory" over which they rule. They see few passive benefits of their aspects, in exchange for their active abilities being so all-encompassing and overwhelming.

Once their territory has been established, witches make the rules. Their changes can be permanent, temporary, massive, and miniscule. However, a witch "achieves dominion" with their aspect - this means that they must first struggle to create this domain, and it's difficult for their abilities to manifest until they do, often leaving younger witches weak and vulnerable.

Witches have strong feelings for how things should and should not be, but not necessarily grounded ideas for how to implement them, often due to some "outsider" status in society. Unfocused witches become dangerous for the party, as they are easily manipulated; in the worst-case scenario, they can fall in with malicious forces, who can sway a witch's turbulent heart and utilize them as a force for negative change, rather than good.

Thus, a witch's journey is that of interrogating right and wrong. A witch must struggle with morality and ethics, and come to clarify their own beliefs; only then can they know what sort of domain they wish to establish, and what sort of rules they wish to enforce. Once they know their own hearts, they can shake off the insidious whispers of malicious external influence.

As if a reward for their struggles for autonomy and independence, the witch is the one whose will is most imposed on the world that comes after them. Just as an evil witch putrefies the world around them, a fully-realized witch who has decided to use their influence for good can create a near-utopia.

SYLPHS (+) call to mind the images of fey folk who sprout plants where they walk. That is how a sylph "creates a land" of their aspect - merely by existing, the world around them becomes suffused by it. A sylph's mere presence nurtures, grows, and heals their aspect; unlike witches, who manipulate what is already there, sylphs can create something from nothing.

The establishment of their domain comes naturally to them. Those caught within it are on the receiving end of their aspect, whether they want to be or not. In exchange for such powerful passive abilities, a sylph's active abilities are weaker, and usually unsuited for solo combat, generally being of healing, buffing, or debuffing nature.

A sylph is prone to selfishness - to luxuriating within their own land, their own aspect, their own mind. They often have difficulty connecting with others and understanding why their own personal world may not be to the liking of the world outside of themselves. Often, they are aloof. An unrealized sylph can cause great harm to the world around them, their domain choking out and smothering their party; in the worst case, they can mire their party within it, leaving their party unable to proceed.

Thus, it often requires the outside world to breach their safe haven in order for a sylph to grow. They must be made uncomfortable, and then made to accept that uncomfortable things are also important - maybe even more important than comfort, at times. Growth often requires pruning; a sylph's journey is to come to understand that good intentions may lead to harm, and, vice versa, that harm can often lead to true growth.

Sylphs can provide the greatest compassion and emotional comfort within a party, encouraging - if not enabling - their teammates' growth in their personal journeys. Once a sylph understands when it is appropriate to encourage, and when it is appropriate to pull back, there is no refuge safer for the party than the sylph's domain.

PRINCE - / BARD +

OBSTACLE REMOVAL

one who destroys [aspect] or destroys with [aspect] / one who allows the destruction of [aspect] or allows destruction through [aspect]

PRINCES (-) possess the ability to annihilate, a destructive class not limited to physical or tangible objects. Princes also enjoy auxiliary benefits as befits their royal titles - many princes start the game with great talents, great status and wealth, or both. They are also endowed with royal presence; their very existence provokes strong emotions from those around them, for good or for ill.

One of the more straightforward classes in the game, a prince's ability to destroy most commonly manifests as DPS. However, their abilities encompass a greater scope than mere damage - the prince's ability to annihilate figurative or metaphysical concepts makes them capable of directly removing any obstacles that stand in their way. As if hungry to consume their aspect, they are naturally drawn towards where it congregates.

However, with great power comes great responsibility: princes are often the most psychologically maligned within the party, and their destructive talents can very easily become self-destructive instead. Usually the result of societal pressure, trauma, and suffering, a prince is prone to embodying the lack of their aspect, rather than its presence. In the worst-case scenario, a prince spreads this misfortune to the rest of their party, destroying the presence of their aspect from their session altogether, often taking themselves along with it.

A prince must be shown compassion. Though they are often viscerally unpleasant to engage with, turning a blind eye to foolishness, loneliness, and suffering - which a prince embodies - is one of the worst things that a party can do. Though the effort at times seems undeserved, to heal a prince requires a staunch belief that there is good to be gained if we are kind to each other. This kindness will be returned; once you are counted among a prince's "people," they will do anything to keep harm from befalling you.

A prince, once shown this grace, is incomparably powerful. To destroy their aspect or with their aspect is the ability to destroy nearly anything, including concepts such as despair, death, and doom. As if proclaiming a royal decree, a fully-realized prince can banish misfortune and ill tidings altogether, leaving nothing standing in the party's way.

BARDS (+) are a wildcard of a class, often responsible for a party's improbable victory, abject defeat, or both. Their abilities are not very well-understood, even by the bard themselves, and they often utilize both passive and active abilities intuitively, unaware that they are doing so. The morale of the party is deeply tied to the bard's own, and it's unclear which side is cause and which is effect.

The ability to allow the destruction of their aspect, or invite it through their aspect, is actually something of a debuff rather than DPS - the bard's ability is to break unbreakable shields, tear down unclimbable walls, and nullify unstoppable forces. Rather than dealing damage themselves, they allow for damage to be dealt that would otherwise have no effect - in other words, by nature, they make the impossible possible. This is the true source of their ability to evoke "miraculous" situations.

Bards are inextricably tied to society - after all, their tales only hold as much value as their relevance to the audience. This means those with the bard class are invariably molded by the worst aspects of the society they come from. They serve as living embodiments of the most unpleasant aspects of society, and living reminders that leaving these elements to fester only means they will multiply in severity. If these beliefs are allowed to go unexamined, bards will always steer a party towards ruin.

Therefore, a party must engage with the bard earnestly, compassionately, and openly, and help them see the errors of the past. A bard must be led, with gentle guidance and genuine openness, to discard their harmful beliefs, and sing a new, more beautiful tune.

A bard that has been brought back into the fold is a worker of miracles. When every other possible option has been exhausted - the knight and maid in disarray, the page and heir unable to keep the party together, the mage and seer blinded, the thief and rogue out of action, the witch and sylph with their territory lost, the prince no longer able to function - this is where a bard will step in, transmuting abject defeat into a perfect and breathless victory.

[juicybeetz]

It pains me to see people calling Beetlejuice the worst of the worst things/him being a creepo whenever they talk about his relationship with Lydia in the original movie.

Lydia is like the one female character in the film that Beetlejuice doesn’t outwardly objectify. He kisses Barbara, he winds himself in snake form between Delia’s legs, he gropes that lady in the waiting room… if anything, he’s incredibly non-sexual towards Lydia. He does mention feeling “anxious” after mentioning “Edgar Allen Poe’s daughter” to Barbara, but in the context of the movie I always chalked it up less to him being sexually attracted to Lydia and more to the adrenaline rush he got after waiting so long to finally scare some humans… that energy’s gotta go somewhere! 😆

Even in the scene where he meets Lydia, he’s initially illuminated with the red light of the Inferno Room, but one he uncovers his eyes and leans forward to look at her, the light becomes white. I feel that it’s a clear indication that he’s not interested in her in that way. It’s deeper than that. I think he’s just interested in the fact that she’s a living being so in tune with the dead that she can see him without him having to be summoned, and he’s completely infatuated with that. Smitten, even.

You could also argue that his “marriage” towards her isn’t to get into her pants but is instead a two fold thing: to get him out of the world of the dead but to allow her to enter the world of the dead. Because she wanted it! She told him so earlier in the film! He’s basically granting her wish (in the spookiest way possible that also benefits him, but still). Like, yeah, okay, the Maitlands rightly save Lydia from the marriage and she’s better off for it, but I think in a weird twisted way, Beetlejuice at that point is endeared to her. If the sequel indicates anything, he straightens himself out, starts a business, perhaps even helps with Lydia’s show… he becomes soft because of her.

I’m sure the Maitlands reinforced just how terrible Beetlejuice was to Lydia as she grew up around them, but I wonder if, with her adult eyes, and if there was a third movie (which there should be UGH TIM you and your cliffhanger!) she could understand how truly special he thinks she is. It’s just so clear to me and I don’t know how it isn’t that way to others.

[wishingstarinajar]

Gonna throw out my thoughts and opinions about Earthspark Season 3. A fair warning that it isn't all that positive.

Spoilers under the cut!

What I liked about season 3:

Frenzy and Lazerbeak, fuck yeah! They were funny.

Prowl, for the most part.

Mopey and pouty Megatron (though perhaps that was a bit too much for too long).

The beef between Prowl and Megatron, which I'd have liked to last for far longer than it did in S3.

Agent Schloder, I miss you.

Beryllium baloney!

My gripes:

The new studio and writers.

The Quintessons felt like a not-thought-through plan to add a 2nd Big Bad to the series while cashing in on nostalgia. They were poorly executed. Not terrible but still not great.

The Chaos Terrans also felt like an afterthought in season 3.

The way I see it, we lost the Decepticons because the cast grew far too large for the climax thanks to the 2nd Big Bad of seasons 2 and 3 and new cast additions.

Because of the huge cast, characters often had to get hurt or be set aside for the dumbest reasons, all so that others could have their few seconds of spotlight/attention.

Why does this studio have such an issue with animating mouths?

It seems they couldn't get a hold of Keith David for Grimlock (or didn't have the budget to pay him) for this season. The awkward silences with Grimlock were, yeah, awkward.

While logical, Shockwave was too soft of a Decepticon leader and frankly, doomed all Decepticons to stay stuck in the dome. Though of course, the dome was a plot device to keep the Decepticons separated from the Quintesson plot line.

Breakdown's betrayal of Bumblebee was ?????.

The Quintesson ship was a drill! Why did you use the ship's screw shape and turn it vertically only not to use it like a drill a la 80s movie fashion?? screeee--

The writers tried to make Cosmos a silly little guy but missed the mark. Sorry Weird Al, at least you're funnier in other cameos.

Showing Starscream's silhouette behind the Titan's optic a few times as if he was going to be of importance later was a bit insulting, especially after it turns out he lost his marbles and held tea parties in the Titan's head with the "corpses" of the Chaos Terrans. He got to do nothing. Thanks, writing team.

Stiff action scenes compared to Season 1.

Nobody asked for a whole episode dedicated to Fairmaestro in an already extremely limited season 3. Nobody.

Prowl was fine and an interesting addition to the team until the 2nd half of the final episode. Another victim of "rushing the plot".

Elita-1 and Arcee are too similar in personality and fighting spirit and, while I have no problem at all with tough strong women in a series, I'd have liked at least one softer lady in the cast. Not all women have to kick butt.

Megatron's propellers are deemed "too old-fashioned" for a mission requiring flyers, so Cosmos and Prowl (who has two cool but "flimsy" thrusters) were put on the case instead. Fair, I guess? Yet the moment Prowl is out of commission, Nightshade replaces him. I mean, what makes Nightshade stronger than Megatron?

Optimus makes a big deal toward Prowl about taking the spark revival key with him after leaving Cybertron, implying it is an important artifact, but he is totally fine with Mo nabbing it AND holding onto it like an oversized necklace.

The underwater fight scene with Robby and Mo on the Quintesson ship was boring and had bad sound mixing.

Why was Dottie reduced to Megatron's "army support human"?

I know I complain about the cast being too big but where was Tarantulas and when will he and Nightshade interact again?

I get Witwicky is a town in the middle of nowhere, but I don't think there is any forest or wildlife left with Terratronus stomping about.

Dafak was that snow rendering and animation?

Dafak was that drive-in theater episode?

Dafak was this season??

[iridescentpull]

Actually, I'm gonna ramble about Pac and Ramón for a bit:

Pac knows how it feels to be abandoned– after all, he was abandoned in the orphanage after his parents' divorce. He knows the trauma of waiting for that person to come back, but ultimately never coming back, and feeling like maybe it was his fault for that, and the need to prove you deserve to be loved.

They both had to grow up quickly, albeit for different yet similar reasons. Pac had to grow up quickly because he had to take care and protect his best friend, Mike, and at the same time fight for their survival after the orphanage shut down. Ramón had to grow up because his other father, Spreen, didn't like how childish he was (the moment with the boucy ball comes to mind**) and then he lost his 1st life, which meant he had to be extra careful.

They both also only have had one other person for most of their lives, someone they can trust 100%. It has always been Fit and Ramón & Pac and Mike for the longest time. Of course, other people have come and gone, but in the end, it has always been the two of them.

I think the reason Pac is so affectionate and caring of Ramón is because he knows, he understands him. He wants Ramón to get to experience all the things he couldn’t. Have a big adoption party? Yes, of course. Have two lovable parents who cherish him? Done and dusted. Have domestic and relaxing activities with close family? That can be be arranged, just say a day.

All in all, I think them being in each others lives heals them respectively. Pac being able to love and take care of Ramón helps him heal his inner child. Ramón being able to get the second parent he always wanted (while also making sure Fit is not alone) helps him get to feel like a silly kid once again.

I think that's beautiful.

(** If you dont know, Ramón once had a slime ball he used to play catch with. One time, he gave the ball to Spreen in hopes of playing with him, but Spreen scolded him for being childish and that he had to grow up. After that, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ramón with the ball again [i could be wrong, though!])

[twinstxrs]

the gorgug-porter conversation is interesting to me because like. yea for the overwhelming majority of the conversation porter’s being shitty & trying to fit gorgug into a box that gorgug just does not fit into by trying to make gorgug’s relationship with his rage more focused on the aggression aspect of it. but then there’s also this specific thing that brennan brought up again in the ap, which is that gorgug’s relationship with his rage is wholly “this is a tool i use to protect my friends.” which isn’t a bad thing! but that’s his Whole relationship with it, & gorgug seems to place next to no value on his rage in relationship to himself. which is problematic, because it’s first & foremost his rage.

being raised in a household with a sort of toxic positivity largely meant that, whether or not it was his parents’ intention, gorgug internalized the message that more traditionally “negative” emotions such as anger are the wrong response to something. part of the reason he prioritizes his artificing is probably because it’s “fixing” things. in comparison to being a barbarian, which gorgug associates with “breaking” things. good vs. bad behavior, in his eyes.

it’s a totally unacceptable bar to measure a 16 y/o by, but i do think part of porter’s reasoning for not letting gorgug multiclass is him recognizing that gorgug generally does not value anger as a valid emotional response to something, at the very least for himself. & that directly conflicts with what being a barbarian is, because whether you like it or not, that rage is what fuels you. but again, barring a kid from pursuing something they deeply care about in part (not entirely, porter has a lot of more bullshit reasons) because of their fundamental values & world outlook is crazy.

so yes, 98% of porter’s reasoning is pretty shitty, immature, rife with a toxic view that there’s only one proper way to access rage, & generally not a good thing to do as a teacher, but also within that reasoning is the 2% of ‘there is a fundamental part of yourself that you only value if you can use it to take care of other people & you need to accept that as something that can take care of you, too.’ but that’s something to discuss with a therapist or a guidance counselor, not something that should hugely impact gorgug’s academic future.

[hoarah-babylon]

can i have a little ramble about dlc lore/discourse without anyone getting mad

if we accept the idea that the radahn/miquella story was planned from the beginning, i feel like they purposely left out any mention of them interacting in the base game to avoid people figuring it out long before the DLC even dropped. because they know what we're like and the way people figure things out from the most tenuous things is impressive. but it seems to have had the unintended consequence of it feeling like a rug-pull rather than a welcome surprise by the community, because elden ring is a game that rewards you for exploring, for uncovering the tiniest hints to lore in item descriptions, coming to your own conclusions on the story. so to feel completely blind-sided in this way about main story characters that we've formed opinions on for years doesn't feel like it fits with the base game's ethos at all. i get the feeling that players feel played with ironically lol? i'm also not sure fromsoft have ever done anything like this in their games before, where they've brought back main characters from the base game as a final boss, so i think that's had an affect too.

[powerfulscribbles]

Hot take: Even though I love that he beat the Miquellallegations, pre-dlc Mohg was so much better and had a lot to go for in terms of power, potential and how conniving and dedicated he was to achieve his goal. I miss him.

Also the premises for a Lord of Blood ending were right there. It would've been an interesting alternative option where you as a player, not only as a Tarnished, are giving up both your role as main character and your quest to become Elden Lord, thus letting someone else seize that opportunity.

I understand Miquella's plan for godhood and the creation of a gentler world (which is still ultimately destined to fail if we intervene and avoid having our heart stolen by him), but it removed so much agency from Mohg in particular, in my opinion.

[afterartist]

I can’t believe I have to say this:

SWADMARE IS STILL INCEST

Just because they’re from different universes/multiverses does not change that fact

Same goes for other ships (bledgeup, palletjam, ect ect)

Even if they’re not related by blood but have grown up viewing the other as a sibling, or have grown up siblings in a separate universe, it’s still weird, the term Emotional Incest exists for a reason

So yes, Swadmare is weird and creepy, I hate the Swap-Dream universe in general solely because of this ship

Please stop asking me to draw Swadmare, please stop tagging me in Swadmare content, PLEASE stop taking my TikTok’s and using them IN Swadmare content

(This also, not as commonly, but goes for Mafiafell as well)

[666jevil]

The thing i hate most about Arcane is how little effort they put into Sky's writing. We only know three things about her,

1. She works with viktor and jayce

2. She has a crush on viktor

3. She had "big dreams"

We didnt even know if she was from zaun until it got confirmed on twitter by a writer. And thats supposed to be viktor's love interest? I just wish SO bad that they put more thought into her.

Just for clarification, I dont dislike Sky, I don't have a strong opinion on her because she's not a strongly written character.