#this is kind of a reverse of her parents alignments

[luxettenebra]

no -- no listen -- Revan being raised at a Laterano monastery and eventually she ends up working for the Notorial Hall (which she only does because she was convinced by her brother), but circumstances cause her to fall in the wake of breaking the Law and she decides to head to Kazdel to learn more about the forgotten Prince that was her father

[killedbyfrank]

Inside Out Iceberg

Inside Out is an amazing movie with a deep message and a dedicated fandom, or what's left of it. While the movie explores Riley's mind far and wide, it still leaves a lot of questions unanswered, some simple, some dark and complicated.

So I made this iceberg to explore the dark side of Inside Out. The iceberg concept is a metaphorical framework often used to illustrate the idea that what we see on the surface is only a small fraction of a larger, hidden and often disturbing reality.

This iceberg includes some known facts, known and lesser known theories and even a couple of headcanons, just for fun.

The Surface

Emotions Shipping: Just like in any fandom, fans usually ship characters together and Inside Out is no different with ships such as Starnerve, Brickoli, Joyness and more.

Sleeping Quarters: A simple yet difficult question to answer. The emotions are shown to reside in a tiny little house up the ramp in HQ. What's in that room? How big is it?

Glow: Joy and Sadness are the only emotions that glow, with the former being much more visible. A theory states that Joy's glow intensity depends on her mood.

Fanfics: Inside Out has a lot of rich and diverse fanfictions, with a few becoming iconic such as Intercom and An Emotional School Year.

Mind Candy: Some simple but cute snippets of the emotions interacting alone or with each other.

NSFW: Artworks that depict the Inside Out characters engaging in sexual activities or gore and mutilation. Some should be banished to the shadow realm.

Below the Surface

Parents' names: Riley's dad is named Bill, while Riley's mom is named Jill. Nice one, Pixar.

Pixar Shipping: Even those at Pixar ship Inside Out characters together. I wonder if some ship Brickoli...

Surprise?: Surprise was supposed to be in the movie, but was cut off due to being too similar to Fear. Maybe Inside Out 2 will bring it back.

Riley's clothing: Throughout the movie and not only, Riley wears different shirts representing her state of mind. During the first day of school she's seen wearing a yellow jacket, forcing Joy upon her. At the end, her mood darkens, reflected by a black hoodie.

Easter eggs: It not uncommon for Pixar to put Easter eggs and cameos in their own movies. Hard to notice at first.

Advertisement Campaign: Inside Out had a pretty aggressive marketing campaign, sponsoring brands such as Clorox and Subway, even encouraging fanarts. Pixar was trying to hype it up.

Into the depths

Fear & Joy outside of HQ instead of Sadness: Originally, Pete Docter intended to explore Fear, since he as a teenager was mostly afraid.

Alternative Titles: In Latin America, Inside Out is known as Intensa Mente. In Spain, they called it Del Revés (Reverse). In Russia, it is titled головоломка (Brain Breaker), and in China, it is 玩轉腦朋友 (Fun with Brain Friends).

Emotions had names: Initially, Emotions were supposed to have proper human names. Fear for example was known as Freddie and so on. Joy is the only one that kept this idea. In the Italian dub, she's known as Gioia, which directly translates to Joy and is also a proper Italian name.

27 emotions: The movie initially was supposed to have many more emotions. This idea seems to have been picked up again for the sequel. Bad idea.

Unlikable Joy: Joy was supposed to be very unlikable, saying things as "We should spit on that girl's face". This was done on purpose so that the viewer would align with Sadness.

Nightmare Productions: Dream Productions is in charge of Riley's dreams and nightmares as well. In theory, they could give endless nightmares to Riley and all kinds of nightmares. Some may call this sadistic.

Into the Abyss...

The Subconscious: This is where Riley's worst fears are kept. They're locked behind a flimsy wooden door, lightly guarded and protected. This could mean Riley is weak minded or very susceptible to her fears. If everything escaped from there, it would certainly mean apocalypse.

The true villain: Joy's aggressive need of control, leaving behind Sadness, causing destruction within Riley's mind, forcing happiness upon every situation, using a ladder of imaginary boyfriends sentencing them to fall into the Memory Dump... These are just some of the things Joy did throughout her journey. Her philosophy crumbled like a house of cards.

Disgust/Joy rivalry: These two probably aren't the bestest of friends. They often have disagreements, and are the opposite of each other. As shown in some clips, Joy seems to enjoy it when Disgust is having a bad time.

Parents' jobs: We don't currently know what their jobs are, how they maintain the family. I've seen a theory that Riley's father used to be an US soldier, due to his mind resembling a Cold War nuclear submarine.

Genderfluid Riley: According to some individuals, Riley is genderfluid, due to her having different gendered emotions. This is highly unlikely.

Schizophrenia: Riley can actually hear her emotions talking, even see them. She's imagining everything in her mind...

Flesh mech: Riley has no control over herself... she's simply a meatbag controlled by her emotions, not guiding but controlling Riley's every single movement and action. This is especially shown in the "5 seconds rule" clip.

We all are the same: There is no divide between the mind workers and the emotions. The mind workers have probably never even seen them. There's no hierarchy, just work, work endlessly for Riley and nothing else matters. What exactly is everyone working for? What are they driven by? Are they all... expandable?

The Bottom...

Anger is the antagonist: He causes Riley to be angry, he often abuses Fear, yells at everyone, dislikes everything. He indirectly caused Bing Bong's demise by destroying the various islands of personality, making it harder for Joy and Sadness coming back, KNOWING that him touching the console would have destructive consequences. What if he did it on purpose?

Stalinist Dictatorship: Riley, Riley, Riley and nothing else. Everyone works for Riley. Everything else comes second. There are cards with her face on them, her initial on Goofball Island, everyone works constantly, every day, all day for Riley, with possibly no retribution. Endless amounts of workers, in a society where Riley is everything to them, similar to a socialist state.

Emotions can't quit: Quote by Disgust. They were never meant to leave Headquarters. They are meant to stay confined there, without ever having the chance to go outside their residence. Why else would the Headquarters be suspended on the Memory Dump, with one way in and out? There is no escape.

There is no happiness... none. Riley was never truly happy in her life. No happy life with only sad moments in between, but a sad life with only happy moments here and there. The true Riley was the one we saw at the end. Depressed.

[2n2n]

I really love that Tsukasa can remember very precise nitty-gritty things with Amane (suchas watching Frankenstein), but is too ambivalent or scattered to remember much about their parents care. Selective memory for what they value most is endearing....

but speaking of memory, I wonder how Nene-chan will remember today's events ... will it go into her brain as though they are hazey, childhood memories? Will Tsukasa feel like an old friend or babysitter... will it feel vague/obfuscated in general? Nostalgic? Between the good and the bad, what associations will she have deep down.... ?

It's interesting to introduce Mirai.. I was thinking that the only way to reverse this would probably be the peeling of the Yorishiro, but Mirai can send Nene-chan's time forwards if she wants, so she could bring Nene-chan back to 15; or she could turn her into effectively a corpse. So fascinating that Nene-chan's situation means she can't be made any older! If Mirai or Kako want her more orderly or sane for the courtroom, Nene-chan could be adjusted ...

I was talking to my husband about the alignment of the Clockkeepers with 'law/order/rules' and we were marveling at how appropriate that is ... time governs, time makes the rules, time makes demands. Amane's fight against time is some criminal aberration. I love what time represents to Amane; it's something you're forced to answer to, it's something enforced upon you... something threatening to tear you and what you love apart. It is cruel, it has no sympathy for your circumstance, your emotions, your pain, or wants. Like the Minamoto's judgement on all kaii, it is simply a hammer sweeping down, and it will continuously crush forward no matter who is begging and pleading. Of course a court is a property of the Keepers....

But the Red House-- operating outside of time, twisting time-- becomes some ultimate alternate force!! Tsukasa feels so infused with this timelessness. Working in that. It's soooo interesting! It kind of makes him Amane's ultimate ally, as soon as Amane starts seeking timeline interruptions again...

ah I really love how JSHK treats rules/strictures. I really love this timeless Godliness operating without regard for right or wrong. Tsukasa's chaotic capricious nature is very good as it's representation... it's not about right or wrong, it's about what you wish for. Aligned towards desire. Opposing things like time, which stand between you and desire. I love it!!!!

[nostalgicfortomorrow]

Random Taylor Swift songs that align with Harry Potter Ships (joking… kind of…)

Random TS songs that align with Harry Potter ships. 

Cardigan: Romione during Half blood prince and Deathly hallows during the lavender debacle and the locket incident. Literally that yes they were endgame and somebody got between them with a silly stupid romance that seemed ridiculous.  

The 1: Hinny during Deathly Hallows before they realised they were endgame like that *kiss* on Harry’s birthday and his whole marauders map pining thingy

August: Hinny during the half blood prince era. Not that Harry was cheating on anybody, I just like the wistful lyrics about summer love and I think that matches up with early Hinny as basically both are trying to forget everything and just live their youth now before reality catches up to them. 

Enchanted: Cho x Harry during Harry’s pining era. It’s just funny and also Cho is in ravenclaw so her skill set is enchantment. Harry’s POV btw. 

Blank Space: Bellatrix Black for some stupid reason. I dunno. Just the way she goes full mad woman on Randolphus and Voldie. 

Love Story: Astoria x Draco? IDK I guess I kind of got the reverse roles where Astoria kind of sweeps Draco off his feet and his parents don’t approve of her because Astoria is kind of a happy, life-ful person who rejects pure bloodism and they end up together. 

You Belong With Me ((edited)): I know I said hinny before but NO. YBWM is about Deamus. Seamus wants Dean. He's known dean forever. They literally live in the same dorm together and knows everything about him. And this new girl Ginny picks up Dean and they date leaving a very annoyed and bitter Seamus. Of course Dean realises who's been here all along and it's SEAMUS!!!!!!!!!!!

[dyketectivecomics]

Dont you have an old au where Renee Montoya becomes Stephs parent or am I hallucinating

YES ME N TEE’S HELENA & RENEE ADOPT STEPH AU MY BELOVEDDDDDDDDD 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

I’ve settled on a couple things (& also to catch y’all up a bit on the AU which I’m gonna use the tag at the end so y’all feel free to take a dive into it):

Helena & Renee do keep pulling Steph back n forth on the whole vengeance vs justice issue. I’m looking for Steph’s character progression to be still fairly similar to her canon arc, just through the lense of having mentors who ACTUALLY care abt getting her on the right path & giving her the outlet that she was begging for lol

Steph doesn’t die!!! She doesn’t become Robin or Batgirl either, all of them are more bop-aligned than bat-aligned but they still help when the whole city’s in Disaster Mode™️ obvsly

Speaking of, kinda still debating bumping up NML in what’s usually my personal canon/timeline amalgamation in my brain (NML being the kinda inciting Incident for Helena & Renee to take Steph in, it’s kinda Bombshells-like in that respect I think 😅 Altho it also means rip Crystal probably 😭😭😭 I’m kidding, I’m cooking up a whole dramatic reunion!!! )

Okay, now I’m thinking abt Babs pulling an uno-reverse on Bruce in this AU and after smthn War Games-like happens it’s BRUCE who fucks off outta gotham for some time!!! YA HAVE IT COMIN BRUCIE BOY!!!! PUSHIN EVERYONE AWAY IDIOT!!!!

Anyways, yea, Helena joining bop a bit sooner (I think it was originally a little while yet after NML for others to join, but I want it to be sooner/almost predating NML potentially??? Idk we’ll see) also similarly, Renee stepping away from GCPD & becoming the next Question being bumped up. (Possibly Vic mentoring her even while a detective??? I’m playin around with the idea!!)

How Helena & Renee meet prior to gaining A Whole Steph is another question I’m not prepared to answer!!! But we’ll figure it out!!!

Obligatory StephCass mention bc 💕💕💕💕💕

Omg wait 😭 Steph being like kind of an older cousin figure to Charlie instead of just a Cautionary Tale 😭😭😭 I’m in my FEELS now ahhh!!!!

I probably COULD go on, but I’ll cut it off here bc I wanna ruminate on these thoughts 💕 LOVE this au aaahhh

[viinas]

Next set of cards!! Once again, explanations below if ya wanna know about my kids~

III THE EMPRESS: Avril Zyll Fruitfulness, initiative, action, long days, clandestine, the unknown, difficulty, doubt, ignorance Reversed: Light, truth, the unraveling of involved matters, public rejoice, vacillation  Avril brings a sense of levity to the group through her cheerful demeanor and charisma but one of her defining characteristics is how she uses humor as armor. Avril deals with trauma by not-dealing with it. She buries her old blood family under her new found family without properly dealing with her own baggage. She pushes Kithara away instead of embracing her when she returns because of fears she doesn’t quite understand. All of this stems from her abandonment issues and being made to feel like she should have never been born. In her desperation to make herself useful, she, a shapeshifter, takes on different personas, losing the Avril at her core. She begins to define herself through clandestine bonds with both those around her and herself. Who is Avril? What does Avril want? Is she brave enough to take it? Her story is about self acceptance as much as it is about facing your own demons to find the light and truth that exists at the center of her vacillation.  

V THE HIEROPHANT: Stephen Craddock Marriage alliance, captivity, servitude, mercy and goodness, inspiration, the man to whom the Qucrent has recourse Reversed: Society, good understanding, concord, over-kindness, weakness

Stephen was bred to be expendable, like all the other pack orphans. A seat filler. A messenger. A human shield. Whatever Lyptic needed him to be. When the story begins, the pack needs him to be a killer. A compliant weapon. But by nature, Stephen is not a killer. He isn’t even violent. He’s a protector. He speaks up for those who are too afraid to speak for themselves and is empathetic to a fault which often is to his own detriment. He is the very picture of Caros’s vision of werewolves’ silent servitude to society which clashes head on against Lyptic’s warped ideals. He represents a thread of goodness persisting in darkness, be that through his protectiveness of more vulnerable orphans like Costanza to his loyalty to Ellard, his very best friend even after defecting. When he meets Helena and fights alongside her, he does it in part because his love for Ellard extends to those Ellard loves too, but also because her mission of creating a kinder world aligns with his ideal future. 

X WHEEL OF FORTUNE: Mason "Ace" Spade and Penelope Oliver Destiny, fortune, success, luck, felicity  Reversed: Increase, abundance, superfluity 

Our gang goes to Ace and Penelope after acquiring a memory from the Prophet. The two of them plus Kithara are able to read and decrypt it, thus, telling the crew how to negate the blood ritual that is the central conflict of the story. Their success hinges entirely upon their knowledge and the secrets they are able to uncover. Ace and Pen are, in a sense, the catalyst for that. Through their divination and intervention, our protagonists’ odds increase by leaps and bounds. Psychics are and have been invaluable allies to the spell casters in this war. Ace and Penelope, who don’t really have any interest in the war itself and just want to live normal human lives, enter the fold because of Charity’s involvement and a desire to keep her safe. For them, the stakes are high and very personal so they will contribute their power in whatever way best illustrates an ideal destiny. For their friend and for the world.

XVII THE STAR: Luna Griam Loss, theft, privation, abandonment, hope, bright prospects in the future Reversed: Arrogance, impotence, haughtiness

When Luna died, her parents lost their child, Ilum lost his twin, and Luna lost all prospects of a future. She exists in the After World for ten years, unable to let go of her own losses, afraid of what awaits her on the other side. She feels helpless watching Ilum destroy himself and just as he deals with survivor’s guilt, she has to confront her own misplaced guilt for having left him. Both of them were named after light, Luna for the moon, Ilum to illuminate. Luna, true to her name, lights a path for her brother in his own darkness, acting as his True North. To a certain extent, she does the same for Charity. She is a poltergeist and is able to bail them both out of ostensibly hopeless scenarios, becoming a hero in whatever capacity she’s able to be. Through Luna, Ilum is still the child he never got to be. Through Ilum, Luna lives the life she was robbed of. Crossing over for her means no longer being his guiding light when they both still need each other.

[dayseternal-blog]

Fic Author Self Rec! When you get this reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, or some snippets from upcoming WIPS. Let’s spread the self-love! Love ya and thank you for all you do!! 💖

:D my 5 favorite fics that I've written?? okay.

"It's No Secret" - Hinata returns to Konoha after 5 years studying abroad in the Moon Kingdom. She just wants to enjoy her last year of high school as a normal girl, but blossoming love forces her to confront her future. (Rated M). - My baby fish. A high school AU for which I was really trying all different kinds of things and making all kinds of mistakes, finding my writing style. As a fanfic writer newbie, I felt so free to do whatever I wanted! Every scene for me was gripping, and I was so immersed in the world I was trying to create. It has an original, lengthy plot that I still hope to finish one day!!! I love this fic just because it was so instrumental to helping me improve. It's definitely NOT my best work, but from the first chapter to the most recently published chapter, my growth in writing is so apparent. All of the comments I got on it, even the ones that criticized, were encouraging for me and I cherish those readers who've followed my fics since then ��

"Nightdreams" - Naruto and Hinata find comfort in each other after the war. (Rated E). - The easiest multi-chapter fic to write. Ever. Since then, I've never had quite as much fun writing a fic (I think Catskin came close). Certainly never as easy a time. "Nightdreams" had its moments of growth for me for sure, though, like the mission chapter, the argument chapter, all of the smut! It had its challenges, but the story flowed so easily, from beginning to end. I think there were only a couple of small writer's blocks. Overall, "Nightdreams" easily takes fave #2 just because it was so fun, and I think readers can tell that I really enjoyed writing it.

"Awkward Jocks" - She knows that if he were to ever ask her out, she would accept in a heartbeat. After all, he's the star quarterback and basketball player. Plus, she's liked him since...forever. But when her home phone rings, and he's on the other line, she hangs up. (Rated G). - The sweet and funny love story based off of my ex-coworker's life...bittersweet now, don't remember if I shared on Tumblr why. But I wrote this fic full of my love for her, so it takes the spot for fave #3.

"About You" - A summer job at the Dole pineapple cannery, graveyard shift 10 PM to 6 AM. A long bus ride into and out of town. Two teens, shy beside each other. (Rated G). - One of my most personal fanfics, though many of them are super personal. This is possibly the MOST personal because it's slightly based off of my parents' stories, I set it on my home island, and I experimented with writing the dialogue in pidgin. The only reason it's not higher on my list is because I somehow feel like I didn't do as good a job on it as I would have liked. It's like, the cultural/historical details are not accurate enough for me. But this is definitely a fic I wrote for myself, and it's been a joy to see other people love it, too.

"Matcha" from "Shared Vows" - Naruto calls Hiashi "father" for the first time. (Rated T). - ooooh it was a toss-up between this one or "Finally Home" from "Shared Vows," but I decided on "Matcha" as my fave #5. I love how I framed this fic, its ending reversing the beginning, and I somehow managed to communicate exactly what I wanted to say about Naruto's new family. This fic gives me such feel-good vibes, and I'm so glad it captured the feelings I felt.

I know that my personal faves do not align with readers' personal faves. Except for maybe "Nightdreams" haha. That one is easy to love. I know people loved "White Lilies," "Friend of Mine," "Tell Me of Forevers," and "Undercover," ...those exhibit some of my best technical writing, so I'm glad readers recognized that effort! My personal faves have more sentimental value, I guess, so that's what makes them special to me.

[everythingdnddd]

Miiren

Ex Lloth-Sworn Drow || Circle of the Land Druid

Background:

Llothmiira was raised in one of Menzoberranzan's smallest, most insignificant houses. Her mother was ambitious, not caring about public attention or status, but entirely focused on gaining unseen influence, circumventing the social warring of the houses, and holding power over them without drawing their ire. She was talented at this, using Miiren as a pawn at times in her larger schemes and hoping to hand them down as a heritage to be built on. Loving in her own way, she demanded excellence in all areas.

As an adolescent, Miiren was singled out from her peers. She was taller than the others, and broader (Type 3), but also faster and had a natural affinity for moving through shadows that, alongside her mother's skills, earned her the favor of the Yor'thae, Lloth’s chosen. As she grew, she became her agent of sorts, an extension of her blade, both in force and in shadow.

The Chosen was never trusting though, true to patron and culture, and eventually centered her suspicion on Miiren's closest companion, a male, who had been beside her since birth. Tav, always in her shadow, was not treated as less despite his nature or unspoken status as her second, and this raised curiosity that Miiren's natural inclinations might not align as closely with Lloth's as they seemed. Amused by the idea of testing her, the Yor'thae set a trap designed to force a choice, betraying loyalty, and when the moment came, Miiren chose Tav, and in doing so, killed him outright according to the Yor'thae's design.

Many outcomes were accounted for, but Miiren's disillusionment with Lloth ran deeper than realized, and enraged by his death, she abandoned everything and fled Menzoberranzan in a fury of grief, leaving even her mother behind.

In the absence of Lloth's protection, revoked by the Chosen, the Underdark turned on her. Landscapes she had walked with ease turned deadly in an instant and she was forced above ground, taking weeks to find an exit unguarded by her kind or Lloth's. By the time she finally escaped, she had only her life, and even that, only by a thread.

Luckily for her, Miiren came up one fateful night in the southernmost region of the High Forest, not far from a small grove of druids, and was happened across by one out on a moonlight walk. She was nearly killed on sight out of fear and principle, but her helpless state saved her instead and half wary and half pitying, the man brought her back to his leaders, passing her off on them. Even more fortunately, one of the grove's Archdruids had a history with surface drow and advocated for her, taking her under his protection against his counterparts.

With his support, she was allowed to stay.

Over time, that refuge slowly became more. It became home and that protector became mentor and friend - even parent in the cast of a certain light. Miiren found the druidic beliefs fascinating, almost a complete reversal of Lloth’s teachings, and she eventually became one of them, dropping the first half of her name formally. She spent more than half a century with them, absorbing every bit of knowledge she could find - a ravenous academic to make up for time spent in opposite environs - and eventually earned a place as her savior's second, falling into a similar role as she had under the Yor'thae, but in a much more peaceful capacity. From early on in her time rest in the grove, the rest of Miiren's life seemed set. These people became her people and their life became her life.

Things would have stayed that way, except for a nasty encounter in a nearby community which was brutalized by a spider who came topside in the night. Miiren was part of a group sent to bring home the survivors, but the scene stuck in her mind. The tension between her two lives took on an identity of its own in the months that followed. It began to bother her that she was seen as an exception and irritate her that the druidic gods turned such a willful eye to the Underdark. Her memories of the caverns below were chaotic at best and burdened by the cult of Lloth, but also nostalgic and uniquely stunning. She became adamant that darkness does not equate to evil. (Ffs, can we get past that theme in fantasy already?) Any evil there belonged to Lloth, whose influence went unchallenged, suffocating the natural order and providing the only real shelter for people as a collective.

Still holding to the rest of her Druidic beliefs, Miiren eventually decided to leave, channeling the principles of this new life into the landscapes of the old.

With her mentor's blessing, she returned and spent nearly two centuries cataloging everything she could about the flora and fauna of the dark, hiding in its shadows to keep free of Lloth and her followers. There were no illusions about her ability to overthrow Lloth's cult, but she focused instead on nurturing small ecosystems, considering that her life’s purpose, a task she willingly sacrificed everything to.

At the start of the game, she's been alone at this for almost two centuries, aside from the odd, random encounter. As she passes through the caverns near Reithwin, word reaches her that Lloth's influence is gathering above ground, aided by Shar, and she comes above ground again to investigate, but never gets to, thanks to the Nautiloid.

-----

In-Game:

Miiren is a tried and true druid, but an unorthodox one at best. She has some rusty skills in stealth and subterfuge. Terrible at all charisma- related tasks though. Two centuries alone will do that to ya.

It takes her a while to get comfortable in the group, but the early members defer to her because of age and she eventually gives up on convincing them otherwise. Of them, she finds Astarion’s opinions a bit too similar to Lloth’s for comfort and is clueless about a lot of society (a theme with my characters, because I know no DnD lore lmao), but is naturally caring enough to support everyone's autonomy and try her best to bond with them. Lae’zel and Karlach each remind her of her younger self in different ways. She leans on Halsin a lot through Act 2 and they end up being weird counterbalances. She’s a little grittier and more cynical, but also more of a genuine optimist than he is. Opposite ways of coming to the same place. All that. They become a lifelong thing, but not in a way that will ever settle down and do the cliche thing. She still has her purpose and he has his. They just find ways to stay near each other and create crossover. 

I have a bunch of OCs and post-game thoughts, but this is long enough, so I'll just say she has some solo journeys to make afterward xD

-----

On Her Appearance:

The most important thing for me with Miiren's appearance was that it be able to swing a variety ways, differing by circumstance. She's been very different people at different times and I wanted her facial structure to reflect that - easily intimidating, but also soft. In my head, her skin tone is a little darker, but no more saturated.

The tattoos came from her time in the grove, normative to their culture, but since leaving, she takes very little care of her appearance. She stays clean, but beyond that, her hair gets lopped off when it starts getting in the way and that's about it. Midway through the game (entering Grymforge), she starts tying it up again in a modified version of the way she wore it under Lloth (see below).

And eyes - I know the idea that drow dissenting from Lloth lose their red is a controversial decision Larian made, so I go back and forth on that, but considering her direct connection to the Yor'thae, I think there’s a case for it either way. Undecided. They may stay red.

(Oh yeah... and her name may continue to evolve - I think I've settled on her chosen name, but the one given at birth may still adjust slightly.)

Below is pre-leaving Lloth (top) and current (below).

[thethrobbingmembers]

THE THROBBING MEMBERS REVIEW: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Love it when a boy is doomed to be King. -Catherine

Put #1 Madoc fangirl on my gravestone. -Sarah

If I could go back in time to middle school, I wouldn't give myself any hints or information about the future, but I would tell myself to read this book. Even though it wasn't out yet. -Margo

I didn't think I liked this book and then I IMMEDIATELY read all of the sequels. -Lily

Dream Cast

Jude

Cardan

Theme Song: Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift

Summary: Spirited away to the world of Faerie after the murder of her parents, Jude learns how to adapt herself to survive, shedding kindness for cunning and empathy for ruthlessness. Her greatest tormentor is also her greatest teacher -- Prince Cardan, the youngest and cruelest son of the High King, who rips wings off of subjects and promises Jude a grim future should she not submit.

Yet not everything is as it seems. Just as Jude is about to prove herself as worthy of her place, a coup disrupts the High Court, forcing new alignments. Now Jude's ambitions rest in the safekeeping of her enemy...

And she can use that to her advantage.

Review:

I can't be objective about this book. After the horror that was A Court of Thorns and Roses I never wanted to read a book about fairy romance again. I could have died never having to hear the words "dark and mysterious and cruel" ever again and been HAPPY.

Thank God I decided to ignore those emotions and give this book a chance.

What to say that hasn't already been said? I could be clever and analytical, waxing poetic about the reversal of gender dynamics between Jude (power-hungry and desperate to better herself through strength and violence) and Cardan (babygirl helpless with a sword but cunning and insightful, able to endear himself to his kidnappers with his bratty wiles). I could talk about the cycle of abuse and how it affected Jude and Cardan differently, or the wickedly brilliant manner in which Holly Black approached Madoc (he may show up to your fencing tournament covered in blood but he will show up). Or how just like all the best books about the fair folk, they are beautiful and frightening and irreverent of gender norms -- queer and rich in a way most boring heteronormative dark YA novels are not.

But what I will say instead is this:

Thank you Holly Black for restoring my faith in YA fantasy novels about morally grey fruity cunty characters. I read this book within a 24 hour fever dream, cackling and drinking wine and experiencing a high I have not felt since I was in middle school. You're a real one.

-Smurf

10/10* stars

*I cannot be objective about this book so while this rating is not by unanimous consensus, everyone rated this book extremely highly

Additional Ratings

Hot Dad: 10/10

Madoc may be a murderer but he is such a supportive dad -- the opposite of left baby. No notes. (Honestly we forgot we were supposed to hate him)

Lore about the fair folk: 8/10

Loved the vibes, but could have done without the over-explanation of how fairies don't have periods.

Notes: Cardan is babygirl.

[glagger-true]

Howdy dear reader! I'm your host Glagger, and today I'm very excited to bring you the second intermission of my medal analysis series for Password VN.

In this intermission, we'll discuss the connection between Aquarius, Libra and Gemini, the medals associated to the three members of the cast whose shared trauma is being victims of people who were meant to love them.

Just like intermission one, it is recomended you read the individual medal sections for each medal intersected in this post first. This intermission has SPOILERS FOR THE NOVEL as well, so please, if you haven't read the novel yet and don't want to be spoiled, leave for now.

A brief intermission on the victims trio: Aquarius, Libra and Gemini, the positive aligned, repressed trio:

The first connection that stands out for these medals is that they all have air as their element, which makes their polarity positive as well. They are also route exclusive, and the characters that are connected to them all share the trauma of being victims harmed by people who were meant to protect them and love them. This trauma caused them to externalize the most repressed aspects of their identities in unhealthy ways. Another argument that supports the connection between these medals is that they are found precisely at the beginning, middle and end of the paths. This contrasts the sinners trio being the reverse, all found on the same day at the same time.

Orlando, who's tied to Aquarius, is the victim of emotional abuse. He is very expressive of his surface emotions, but reserved about his deeper feelings. This happens because the abuse of his family is based on the constant rejection of his feelings and desires. He is ignored as an individual and seen only as a recipient for their expectations, but that recipient is already full of all the things that make him who he is. Realizing he won't become what they wish, they ignore, neglect and verbally harm him, seeing and treating him as a failure for just being who he is. He always validates and is considerate of the emotions of others, comforting them when they feel overwhelmed by them, because he lacked that comfort, consideration and validation in the one instance he was supposed to receive it unconditionally. This ruined his self-esteem and made him passive and cowardly.

Hoss, who's tied to Libra, is a victim of psychological abuse. His parents use his love and devotion to family to try and manipulate him into being what they see as the correct and best version of himself. They claim not to reject his bisexuality, while also openly stating they hope he ends up with a girl, disguising their rejection and disappointment with "advice" and "worry". His parents "just happen" to say out loud that being queer is a bad example to children "coincidentally" in front of their bissexual son that loves his siblings to death. This behavior makes it obvious they are attempting to gaslight him into believing he's in the wrong for not "choosing" to do what's "best for the family". But Hoss isn't stupid, he got their true message with his talent for reading people, and is utterly tormented by the idea that someday his family will openly reject him and abandon him. Even if unintentionally, they completely destroyed Hoss' mental confidence using various forms of disguised emotional manipulation, causing him to become dishonest and insecure.

Tyson, who's connected to Gemini, is the victim of physical and sexual abuse. His mother abandoned him with an awful man, that abused of his status as a father to hurt, punish, rape, and do many more unspeakble things to his innocent son. His actions and her abandonment destroyed any semblance of kindness, trust and empathy Tyson had in his heart, causing him to develop an extremely prickly and violent shell to express all of the negative emotions he felt, and hide away his vulnerabilities so others can't abuse him again. In the wolf's mind, if his own father could do this, others are certainly capable of doing much worse. His queerness was also negatively impacted by this abuse, making him develop severe internalized homophobia and an incapacity to properly feel and express romantic affection and sexual attraction.

These three medals not only all belong to The positive polarity, but also to the same element, air. Air signs are all about communication and sociability, making it fitting that the three characters being connected to these medals suffer severely in social scenarios thanks to their traumas. The fact these three are associated in-game supports this connection. Tyson and Orlando have a very difficult relationship despite how similar their traumas are, which reflects the difference between Tyson's mutable sign and Orlando's fixed sign. Both however get along very well with Hoss since he sits in the middle with his cardinal sign aspect and middle-ground trauma. Tyson develops significant respect and admiration for Orlando after he grows courageous enough to fight back and endanger his life for the sake of Dave and the group, much like how Orlando started accepting Tyson once he showed that his change was something solid he was willing to stick with permanently.

When Roswell takes advantage of their emotional instability to kill Tyson and accidentally kill Orlando, Hoss is the one most affected alongside Dave over their deaths. These paths are the ones where Hoss' psychological state deteriorates the most, to the point he breaks down violently in fear and sadness because he no longer has his most important support pillars in the group. His death in path F could have also been avoided if Tyson and Orlando were still alive to emotionally ground him and keep him stable in the presence of Memphis' gun.

I would like to conclude by saying that abuse tends to mix together, and that Orlando and Hoss suffered both emotional and psychological abuse to different degrees, while Tyson also certainly suffered all three, however the ones that impacted them the most were emotional, psychological and physical respectively.

Banner made by Xernok on Discord.

Artworks were made by Xernok on Discord, https://twitter.com/_Gabu4Play_ , https://twitter.com/CaitNyz and https://twitter.com/hhsyan on twitter respectively.

[leahs15]

I was scrolling on instagram the other day and I was puzzled by this post from Hollywoodunlocked’s page. The headline was “Australian Journalist Names Her Newborn Baby ‘Methamphetamine Rules’” and I immediately thought this had to be fake! Why would any parent want to name their child after an addictive drug that is responsible for ruining so many lives? And the fact that the middle name is “Rules” makes it seem like she’s purposely praising the drug. However, I considered that this picture might be real because it seems to show an actual birth certificate with this name.

After my initial shock, I started my research by reading the caption which claimed the mother, Kirsten Drysdale, named her baby this as part of an experiment for a TV segment (since she is apparently Australia’s ABC journalist) to see if New South Wales Births, Deaths, and Marriages Register would reject any names - apparently this name was approved. I have been following hollywoodunlocked’s instagram page for a while now and I know it’s not the most reliable source of information because it’s a celebrity gossip page, kind of like TMZ and Theshaderoom, so I’m not fully convinced that this information is correct based on the shaky reliability of the source.

Next, I did a reverse image search on google with the screenshot above, but I couldn’t really find anything; it just brought up images of other moms holding their newborns. So instead I searched “Kirsten Drysdale names newborn Methamphetamine Rules” to see if any other sources covered this topic. I find an article by 7News, which I noticed was an Australian news site - this aligns with the story so far. Just to be sure the information could be trusted I searched “7news reliablility -site:7news.com” and no sources said it was fake news, but they did mention the news being more right-winged. Wikipedia had a page pop up for it as well, which seemed to verify it’s reliability - it’s an Australian TV news service founded in 1958 and was the highest rated in the country in 2021.

Now that I established 7news’ reliability, I read through the article and not only did the stories align, this article actually had direct quotes from Kirsten Drysdale herself and the article provided multiple different pictures from the incident. The article also concluded with a quote from the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages claiming that they have “‘since strengthened its processes in response to this highly unusual event’”.

Lastly, to fully cover all ends, I searched Kirsten Drysdale’s social media accounts and found a link to her instagram which further verified my findings. Her most recent post, in fact, was a video on the baby name and it was a collaborative post with abc, and obviously abc news wouldn’t just collaborate with a fake/ random page.

In conclusion, based on my research, this image proved to be real in the end, as crazy as it sounds. But, with context given, it’s a bit more justified and believable.

[percontaion-points]

Court chapters 44-47

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 44

“So our parent created gargoyles, and that was the beginning of the end.”

Chapter 44 summary: The bloodletter starts to tell the creation story. However, they’re quick to stop her and say that the crone told them the story. The bloodletter is upset to learn that they went to her shitty sister for help, and warns Grace to not do whatever favour the crone asks of her later. 

She says that her sister hates supernatural creatures. So much so that she trapped her sister on earth, and invented anti-magic hunters. So the bloodletter invented mating bonds, so that the supernatural creatures wouldn’t be alone in the world. Grace blurts out that it’s how the bloodletter was able to make the fake mating bond, which surprises everybody else to hear this news. 

And things were going well for the supernatural creatures… until the bloodletter’s parent made gargoyles and ruined everything. 

Chapter 45

She smiles back at me, a smile of pure rage. “He forgot I am not merely a vampire. I am the God of Chaos.”

Chapter 45 summary: The bloodletter tells them that the gargoyle king went around to each court to secure a peace treaty. He saved the vampires for last. At the time, Cyrus wasn’t king, but it was the bloodletter who was in charge. The second that their hands touched in a handshake, they were mated.

At their mating ceremony, it was obvious in hindsight that Cyrus was angry over the entire thing. He managed to convince all of the rest of the vampire council that the bloodletter was no longer on their side. Which was kind of true, since her values had now aligned with her husband/mate. She stepped down from her role as vampire queen, and her first mistake was putting Cyrus in charge. 

After that, her shitty sister told Cyrus how to destroy the vampires. He took poison and bit a gargoyle, which spread the poison to every single gargoyle. However, Cyrus forgot one thing: the bloodletter is literally a god. 

Chapter 46

“Only the Gargoyle Army can save you now. If you can be saved at all.”

Chapter 46 summary: The bloodletter puts a really heavy emphasis on the idea that simply because the gargoyles are gone doesn’t mean that they’re dead. She gets upset when she finds out that Cyrus bit Grace a few months ago, and takes a peek inside of Grace’s mind. She says that Cyrus must have sensed the godliness inside of Grace, which is what’s made him so determined to use her power. 

Chapter 47

“If you’re strong enough, you just might be able to push the poison out of every gargoyle—and shove it back down Cyrus’s throat.”

Chapter 47 summary: The bloodletter tells them that she cannot unfreeze the gargoyles, because then they would all die from the poison. However, when the vampire brothers suggest killing their shitty father, the bloodletter says that it’s also not possible. That the same time-stop she has had over the gargoyles this entire time has also been keeping Cyrus in place, too. It’s a double-edged sword. 

She tells them that when her daughter with Alistair was born, Cyrus had already poisoned all of the gargoyles. She knew that she had to hide her daughter away to keep her safe. So she used her magic to hide her daughter’s gargoyle abilities from her, forever. But it would be inside of her, to be passed down from mother to daughter for generations. She knew that one day, one of her great-granddaughters would come to her, and then it would be time. She was surprised when Grace’s parents showed up. But Grace’s mom was already pregnant with Grace, so the bloodletter simply reversed the magical hold on fetus!Grace, to let the child grow into her powers. 

She then tells Grace that she has an idea of how they can help the gargoyles and get rid of Cyrus. Grace has a connection to the gargoyles, but that connection is also tied to Cyrus. But, Grace has some lingering demi-god powers, thanks to the bloodletter. If Grace can send that goddess power down the line to Cyrus, to push the poison he tried to give to the gargoyles and shove it down his throat… 

[captain-alex-grayson]

So I've finally played DND again for the first time in a while.

So let me tell you about Impulse, my ranger. Minors Do Not Interact, NSFW (18+), it's nothing crazy but there are themes mentioned that are not suitable for minors. CW: body hair (idk if that needs a warning), mentioned blow job, death (it's dnd guys), destroying a family.

My boi is half elven half human. His mother was an elven woman and left the fey wild to be with Impulse's father.

Impulse doesn't know what kind of rizz his father had to get his mother to leave the fey wild but he hopes he inherited some of it.

HIMBO. This man is a Himbo™. He will do the stupidest shit sometimes and would not mind dismantling the local government.

He's bi, but only simps for women specifically on Wednesdays. If he didn't he'd have 3 baby mommas and several very scorned queer men chasing his ass.

I gave him bright blue hair as his natural hair. In the campaign my friend made however the natural blue is not possible so it's said Impulse has been cursed. Only the hair on his head and one singular pube (bc I can't act my age) have been turned blue per his request of whoever cursed him.

Bitch pale. I'm pale so Impulse is too.

He's 5ft 8in tall (roughly 172cm). I'm like 5ft 2in (roughly 157cm) so I don't typically make my characters very tall.

Impulse is chaotic neutral. Stab him, he stabs you. Stab his friends, he stabs you. Talk shit about his bestie, get murdered. You make a plan? Too bad, he has the Cloak of Arachnida. Fuck you, he's Spider-Man.

He's best friends with a Kobold NPC named Brobold. Brobold gave Impulse his first shiny, because he knows that Impulse likes rocks. Impulse covets this because he knows how important a kobold's first shiny is. Divine beings save whoever tries to steal/touch this item.

Impulse framed a father of 5 for a crime that Impulse very much committed. The single orc father was imprisoned and his 5 orc children are either dead or hunting for Impulse. They're not having much luck though because he is not currently in the material plane.

He will fuck your father

He probably has fucked your father

Kept bringing dead animals home to his parents while growing up. They hated that shit and don't know where or how he learned to hunt.

His first boyfriend betrayed him and his previous partner before the apocalypse was murdered. After her death he spent time fucking around and finding out. So desensitized.

He likes to do the DMC5 Devil Trigger meme dance. Sometimes he does it while following his party or NPCs.

He met his party bc the, at the time, Shadow fell member saw him dancing outside a bakery at 12am. He failed his performance check.

He met his party in a town that was entirely made of mimics.

Often fails when it matters but not when it's dire.

He met them mid campaign and has nearly died in almost every major battle they've had.

Recently made a deal with a dragur. The dragur offered to buy a really good mages staff for 20,000 gp, Impulse convinced him to raise his price. The dragur said he would but only if he could give Impulse head. Impulse agreed for an extra 3,000 gp.

He did reverse prostitution. However he got 23,000 gp and while he feels a little gross he knows deep down that the degenerate within him is proud of the fuckery.

He and the dragur did not leave the main area of the feast the dragurs and main party were having so this was v much a pubic thing.

Dragur rolled high performance check lmao. Impulse rolled a relatively high constitution saving through. This entire session was a trip and a half.

He ironically enough has the favor of a god. Which is funny bc he does not have an aligned faith.

He recently got a pet Saber Tooth Tiger. His name is Diego, it is in fact an Ice Age reference.

I wrote a note about a "funny nature sword" part of Impulse's soul is in it. When wielded Diego is constantly there.

He almost died but the DM was like "I don't want this dude's last memory to be sloppy toppy with a dragur". I was totally ready to accept my boi's fate.

[fantasyinvader]

Houses already said that the WoH was about unification.

Quote: "- Imperial Year 32: The War of Heroes -Wilhelm Paul Hresvelg, the inaugural Adrestian Emperor, raised an army in pursuit of the unification of Fódlan. With his might, he hunted and destroyed any house's territory that dared to seek more power.

I seem to recall there was something else to the second sentence in JPN. It was more of a focus on targetting houses/clans that focused on increasing their own power most of all. Putting it through google translate, it says he targetted clans who had "unrestrained power."

I think it was supposed to go hand-in-hand with Hanneman's support with Dorothea about the origins of the nobility. The ENG version makes it out that the nobility under Willy started as a form of meritocracy itself, the best and brightest who then used their power and status to cement their family's power while keeping the commoners down. This would imply that Edelgard's reforms, her bootstraps mentality, was tried before and failed. But there was more to it in the Japanese, which was more along the lines of what the nobility was intended to be. It was leaders who didn't seek power for themselves, while protecting and guiding the people under them. A far cry from the Imperial nobility in the present day.

It really does seem like the games intends for Willy's unification of Fodlan to be the good kind. The Oudou, much like Dimitri's rule in Azure Moon, in order for there to be a moral decline into hadou, which Edelgard is stated to continue on. I think the first part of the downfalls was Rhea and Willy leaving after the WoH to whereever they went. They didn't stick around to guide the Empire, leading to the original Duke Aegir to attempt to take the throne from the female Emperor they left behind in a duel. From there, we seemingly have Loog's rebellion, in part instigated by TWSITD to take down Rhea. Stories from that time paint the Empire as a sort of Melnibone-lite including killing prisoners during plays, and while that might just be fiction the people under Loog really wanted to break off from the Empire. Fast forward to the dissolution of the Southern Church, in part because a new Emperor didn't want to honor his father's promise. It also hints that, at that point, women couldn't inherit titles. The Insurrection happened because Ionius tried to centralize power on himself so he could take concubines without giving their families land or titles. Whether those women would want to be his concubines is another matter. Dorothea's past, especially tied with Yuri and the story of how Ed's parents met, would suggest that the Imperial nobility likes their women young. As young as 13, but will settle for a 14 year old boy when they can get the girl. Then we have Edelgard herself, allowing her people to be experimented on, forcing the nobility to bend the knee or die, turning a blind eye to the actions of those she's aligned with, and seeks to rule with an iron fist.

Rhea left the Empire to it's own devices, and this is what happened. Crests weren't the problem here, people were. This is the moral decline the BEs are supposed to represent, reversing it in SS or continuing to represent hadou in CF. (grabs megaphone) EDELGARD IS SUPPOSED TO BE WHAT THE NOBILITY WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE. SHE'S THE KIND OF ASSHOLE BIG WILLY WORKED TO STOP! It's why if Byleth works with Rhea post-SS, their reforms are said to be miraculous (or they're titled the "Fodlan Miracle" for how much Fodlan progressed under them).

Also, for the record, Rhea doesn't rehabilitate the Church in her shared ending. It says she worked to rebuild the Church. Thanks Treehouse!

Looking for stuff here’n’there on pegasus knight I’ve noticed Willy himself was kind of lolcalised himself both in FE16 - that we knew - but also in Nopes (act surprised!).

(do we finally know why the War of Heroes started? Eh, not exactly.)

Keep reading

[gildedmist]

So, I feel like fandom has totally been sleeping on Jewish Harry and/or Hermione.

Think about the potential!

Last night while trying and failing to sleep I had thought of a whole bunch of really interesting reasons for Jewish headcanons for both Harry and Hermione, and of course now that it’s day time I’m much less eloquent. But still, here are a few of my favorite reasons for Jewish Harry and/or Hermione.

(Also, for the record, I’m half Jewish patrilineally myself.)

For Harry:

He’d probably be half Jewish ethnically, and if his Jewish parent is James then Harry probably would have never had any idea (the Dursleys probably wouldn’t have told him if they knew, but it’s also entirely possible they never knew at all.)

There’s a whole thematic parallel there with not knowing he was a wizard, in that finding out later in life that you’re Jewish is an entirely realistic thing that some half ethnically Jewish people (especially those that are patrilineal) have to deal with.

It also parallels the wizard thing in general, in terms of having to hide a part of who you are due to persecution, something that has been (and still is in many places and situations) a very real necessity for Jewish people.

There’s more subtle stuff to explore about being half-blood and also half Jewish, the issue with patrilineal Jews not being recognized by some people as Jewish, the lower social status that half-bloods have compared to purebloods etc etc. This would be a reverse of the main parallel of the blood purity thing, but it lines up in an interesting way with the problems that half ethnically Jewish (especially patrilineal) people sometimes have in regard to not fitting into either ‘world’, an issue that half-blood wizards might sometimes face as well if they have muggle family they’re on good terms with.

Culturally, it’s very important for Jewish people to stand up for people who need help, especially those who can’t help themselves. This is for a lot of reasons, but one in particular is that because Jewish people know what it’s like to be persecuted and discriminated against, it’s a moral imperative not to stand by and let other people be treated the same way. Harry’s deep sense of responsibility in terms of fighting for and protecting others, treating others equally, etc all work really well with that, as well as lining up with the other theme of how Harry has been mistreated his whole life and yet shows such kindness and forgiveness toward others.

On a sillier note, Daniel Radcliffe is half Jewish himself (though matrilineally) so that would also make perfect casting.

For Hermione:

Her love for learning fits in perfectly with Jewish cultural attitudes toward study and learning. Seeking knowledge and understanding are important parts of Jewish culture, including learning to question even authority figures (like, say, professors) which aligns well with Hermione’s growth through the series.

Like I mentioned with Harry, Hermione’s intense need to stand up against injustice, and to fight for people who are disenfranchised, discriminated against, etc, is also a very strong cultural tenant.

The blood purity parallel was never subtle at all to begin with, but Hermione being not just muggle-born but the Jewish witch daughter of two Jewish muggles would be incredibly thematic in a story about prejudice.

The ball was dropped hard on Hermione’s situation in DH in regards to her being on the run for being muggle-born, since that danger was overshadowed a bit by the fact that she was also in danger just for traveling with Harry. But there could’ve been really interesting potential there for how she might’ve dealt with the obvious historical parallel if she were Jewish as well. 

A sillier one but although the ‘Jewish hair’ thing is a stereotype, it’s also entirely accurate for a lot of Jewish people, and Hermione having bushy brown hair could easily line up with that.

For Both:

I mentioned this for them individually, but Harry being half ethnically Jewish, Hermione being fully ethnically Jewish, and Ron not being Jewish would line up exactly with them being half-blood, muggle-born, and pureblood.

For the record, there’s nothing at all wrong with being a Jewish witch/wizard, especially not in the sense of how it works in the HP universe.

The very thought of either of both of them being Jewish would probably piss off JKR and that’s funny.

Now all of this said, I totally would understand why people would be super wary about Jewish headcanons if they aren’t Jewish themselves, and might be afraid of doing something insensitive, being wrong or overstepping about Jewish issues, etc etc and those are very good things to be cautious about! But I’d still love to see more Jewish headcanons because I feel like the idea is so interesting and has so much potential.

[okiedokievariantloki]

Part 2: Thor Novelization Boogaloo: Loki and the Genocide of Jotunheim

So, if you haven’t read it already, you might want to go back to Part 1 here.

I spent a bunch of time highlighting this novelization for research purposes (I plan to write some stories about our tricksy boy at some point) and while I know it’s Thor’s story (which has some interesting bits to be sure, especially depending on who writes him), there’s some really intriguing Loki content here, and it speaks volumes just how much is actually cut out of the book versus the movie.

I’m actually going to start off this entry with some of the information provided at the end of the book (”A Guide to Asgard & More”)

First, there’s Odin, whose description is literally: “is king of Asgard and the mightiest of the Asgardians.”

Like, I don’t know about you, but that comes across as rather sus, my friends. Nothing about his family, who he cares about, his oft-spouted “peace”.  Nope. Power.  That’s it.

There’s Queen Frigga: “Mother to both Thor and Loki. Her greatest attributes are beauty, Asgardian strength, and great patience.”

I mean, other than (gag) offering her appearance as being one of her main characteristics, sure, ok, she’s strong and very patient (anyone would be to put up with the rest of the shenanigans that Odin and her kids are constantly up to). She’s also described as a mother- an involved parent.  Where Odin is basically just like “IM KING BEYOTCHES” The queen seems to have at least some priorities that don’t focus on holding onto power.

Then we get to Thor, who is “Asgard’s greatest warrior, son to Queen Frigga and King Odin Allfather, and brother to the trickster known as Loki.  He is Prince of Asgard and is next in line for the throne.  Thor’s closest friends and most trusted allies are the Warriors Three, Lady Sif, and Loki.”

Here we learn more (Frigga gets top billing, which is refreshing), especially how Thor and Loki relate to one another.  It’s pretty telling that Loki, while being called a trickster is also considered a “closest friend and most trusted ally.”

Then we get to Loki’s entry: Loki, the Master of Magic, knows deep down that the throne of Asgard will never belong to him. Often the voice of reason to his brother Thor, Loki is the one who summons Odin to save them, the Warriors Three, and Lady Sif from the grave threats on Jotunheim, though Loki’s motives might not always be completely honorable.

Just to break this down a little.  Loki’s billed as “Master of Magic,” which means that his magic is strong and a defining trait. 

I do find it interesting that it specifically skirts around his actual parentage/throne and just specifically says that Asgard’s throne won’t be his.  Also, the way it sounds in Thor’s description is that Thor, by the virtue of being eldest, is the one getting the throne, but there’s some interesting phrasing later on in the book that makes it pretty obvious that’s not the case.

The fact that Loki (billed as a trickster in Thor’s entry) is also considered the voice of reason, it is very interesting they also note that he “might not always be completely honorable.”

To extrapolate from that phrasing, it means that he is likely always honorable to some extent, it’s just that his motives are sometimes not aligned with that of Thor/Odin.  Which, considering that he is the voice of reason....might not be a bad thing?  Plus, it is pretty obvious that the motives of most of the Asgardians are that of glory in battle, delighting in violence, and using heavy-handed displays of machismo to gain and hold onto power.  Loki grows up under this kind of socialization, so it goes to show that he might pick up on some of those cultural lessons, but figure out different ways to use them since his power seems to be more scholarly/magical than sheer brawniness.

Over and over again we see that many of Loki’s end goals are actually very similar to that of Odin and Thor.  But he is regularly derided and attacked for going about it in a way they don’t approve of (ie: making plans, using magic, gathering allies, and influencing people to get what he wants instead of calling some massive one on one duel to the death in a coliseum with spears).

Another section details information on the Casket of Ancient Winters:  “While there are many dangerous items inside the vault, the Casket of Ancient Winters is the most feared.  Taken from the realm of Jotunheim by Odin to prevent the Frost Giants from taking over the Nine Realms, it has the power to cause instant and never-ending winter.

Ok, that sounds pretty horrifying, right? It’s a weapon! It could hurt people! Odin had to take it away for the good of peace, right? RIGHT?!

NOPE! IT WAS THE APOCALYPTIC DESTRUCTION OF THEIR ENTIRE WORLD!

Here’s what the book has to say about Jotunheim: “The Realm of Jotunheim was once full of stunning cities built entirely of ice.  After Odin took the Casket of Ancient Winters, the once beautiful buildings began to crumble and melt.  Now most of the land has floated away in large chunks.  The Frost Giants wander the desolate and lonely landscape, angry and thirsting for revenge against Asgard- and their king, Odin Allfather.

Ok, so imagine you live in a world with your own cities, culture, and society, and some asshole comes to your world and basically takes away all of your technology murders the majority of your people, and destroys your world so badly that your entire people are now homeless in a wasteland with no opportunity to rebuild?  How many children died of starvation on Jotunheim? Did Odin steal and then sell or “adopt” out other Frost Giant babies to Asgardian families or sell them to other worlds as slaves?

From Ragnarok, you can see that there’s some pretty damning evidence that Odin built Asgard using slavery, so it’s quite possible that they had no trouble using Jotuns in a similar manner:

Are we actually supposed to believe that they are happy about that? There’s a truce, sure, but did Asgard go to help the other ice giants that were affected by the complete destruction of their world? Nope.  They were literally subjected to genocide and the last stragglers were left to die slowly.  If the situation had been reversed, I imagine that Asgard would consider themselves justified in trying to retaliate against Jotunheim.  But since they’re big, blue, “monstrous” etc....well, that makes it ok according to Odin.

I find it really interesting that the book doesn’t include a scene where Loki turns blue and finds out about his parentage, so that’s really interesting as well. This is turning into a bit of a novel, so I’ll save that bit for Part 3.

Thanks to everyone who liked and reblogged and chatted about Part 1. I hope you like my thoughts, and as always, I love to hear what you think about how the text informs the films.