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nagaytoe · 2 months ago

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THE KID AT THE BACK

-theories

Did i sit down and analyze this game for 3 hours straight because I'm hyperfixated on it? Yes, yes i did.

This isnt proof-read and long as hell so buckle up for a joyride, y'all (by the way, there's another TKATB fanfic in the works as we speak and also some fanart, though I'm not sure wether to post it or not... well, we'll see!)

Some of these might not seem all too thought through (??) Since i was kind of grasping at straws here (and it was like 2 a.m. lmao), so if y'all have questions/need me to elaborate or have theories of your own feel free to share!

(There's some inspiration here from other people in the Fandom, most of them from the community section on itch.io which isnt available any more)

Sol knows the player longer than we think

My theory ->

-Fantasia stated that one of her 3 biggest inspirations was the game AMNESIA

-In amnesia the mc loses her memory in an accident. One of the love interests is her childhood friend and also the only yandere in the game (at least from what i could find out)

-She already drew Sol with Forget-me-nots and in the valentines day special the boquet sol gave us also contained Forget-me-nots

-In the book (this gallery thing with all the cutscene images) on the top of sols page is written 'Remember Me' which implies we forgot about him

-Annabel Lee Poem:

+The poem contains the line 'I was a child, she was a child' which furthermore implies that Sol and MC knew each other as kids

+Except for the last two paragraphs the poem is written in past tense, which could be talking about sols POV with us

Perhaps MC had an accident, as mentioned above, and MCs father (highborn kinsmen) tore MC away from Sol to the countryside

+The poem mentions angels killing annabel lee which could also mean something like this: MC doesnt die but, however, gets amnesia. That way, the MC sol knows and loves is dead because MC no longer exists the way MC did before (also the fact that she forgot him)

Some people theorize MCs farm is near the sea and that is the reason why sol hates the sea (i believe the city is near the sea and that's where MC 'died' (maybe MC almost drowned and got Amnesia that way?(apparently its possible for people who almost drowned to get amnesia)))

+"The speaker loves annabel lee to the point of death and even after death" (MCs view how to interpret the poem) (-> Sol loves MC to 'death' (the day they got amnesia) and even after 'death' (after MC got amnesia and 'died' in a sense, as a person))

-sol says he thinks death is beautiful, i didn't really know what to make of that, the only conclusion i came to would be: If MC actually did drown and lose their memories due to that, sol might have been involved in MC drowning (or at least blames himself for that) but viewed MC losing their memories as a 'second chance' with them, since they can start from anew (perhaps he made some mistakes with MC in the past which all eventually built up to MC drowning (it could be that we were already teens at that point)

-sol states afterwards: "But people refused them to let them be together, as if fate refuses them to die together" which supports my theory that MC was taken from Sol by someone (most likely the father after he witnessed Sols behaviour and his final straw was MC drowning because of him) the 'let them die together' could mean something like their relationship 'dying' and then starting over again or perhaps he tried to die with them, who knows (all this is really far fetched i am grasping at straws here lmao)

-in a really quick scene right after he mutters "I'm won't let it happen to me... not again" (some people view this as Sol already lost someone he loved dearly but it could also be the MC who was taken from him

ANOTHER THING I COULD IMAGINE -ABOUT DYING TOGETHER COULD BE:

MC almost died, Sol went after them but they were already saved, Sol just didnt witness that and almost died himself/wanted to die but was saved from that by someone (maybe hyugo? Though, he is an exchange student)

-Another theory on hyugo. It's canon that he is an exchange student, however i do believe he is from this city (since he knows about the hierarchy and his brother Geo apparently is no exchange student), moved away and is now back for business (relating to his 'mafia schemes' but under the disguise of being an exchange student)

Maybe he moved around the same time MC left or some time after that

-Hyugo mentions on the rooftop that we remind him of someone and the pronoun of the person he refers to changes based on the one the player picked for the MC in the beginning. It could mean we remind him of someone else entirely, someone maybe not even related to sol (though i doubt that) or to the MC and he knows them from back then but maybe thought MC died as well and cant believe they actually survived (maybe he want to spike MCs memory by doing that)

-A dream within a dream: MC mentions that this poem, at least to them, talks about the uncertainty about something, like life (which could also imply that they might be uncertain about some things in their mife because they simply forgot them due to amnesia)

-THE SECOND DAY 'THE KINGDOM'

+some people think the kingdom (by the sea) refers to MCs farm and implies its near the sea, however in day 2 we find out about the hierarchy in the city and considering my theory that MC actually is from the city and almost drowned there, i believe the kingdom by the sea is the city. MC does mention in the beginning that they lived on the farm ever since they were a child, however, it could very well be that we moved there right after the incident that caused MCs amnesia (if MC was akid when it happened it would really matter because then it would still fit with the fact that they lived there since theyre a child, however if they were already a teen, perhaps the father moved there immediately to cut off all ties to Sol and told us we have always lived there on top of that (considering the previous theories)

The father also didnt seem fond of the idea that we go to the city (the fact that he is is indebted to someone from high class could imply he might be from there), that could be because he knows how dangerous the city is (and how we could potentially meet sol again)

-maybe the reason for the debt is that MCs father suddenly bought the farm land to get us away from the city as soon as possible and had to take on a loan from one of his contacts in the city

-we know that this is MCs last year at the university, if we say shes minimum 22, and was already in the school for 4 years that would mean she got there at 18. If the 'drowning theory' events took place when MC was a teen (like 16 maybe) it would explain why the father was indebted (i also think 2 years is an believable timeframe a higher class person would give someone to pay off their debt)

-at the end of day 2 sol says he's sorry for leaving us and "i dont know what I'll do if..." which supports my theory that he lost us once (and he blames himself as the reason (again, MC drowning?))

-inspirations:

+ https://www.tumblr.com/sweet-herbal-peach-tea/746168072919023616/tkatb-theories?source=share

+ https://itch.io/t/3749638/whats-the-secret-between-hyugo-and-sol

Another theory:

Sleepy Hollow and The kid at the back

-In the nicknames the boys have for MC (fantasia released that on twitter and tumblr) sol calls MC pumpkin (like the pumpkin of the headless horseman (also in the gallery there is a pumpkin above the book)) and Crowe calls them '(star-crossed) lover'

Star-crossed lovers are people who love each other but can't be together

I believe this might imply that, even though Crowe is the second romance option, MC can't be with him no matter what they do

I also found out that the nickname is a phrase from romeo and juliet (which furthermore implies crowe will die)

We know what romeo and juliet is about: romeo and juliet cant be together because their families are enemies (some people believe Crowes father might be them man MCs father owes money to(i personally doubt thah though but it would support this romeo and juliet situation)) and at the end romeo thinks that juliet died, kills himself and then juliet turns out to not be dead but kills herself after seeing romeo dead

-Jericho Ichabod is a character from Sleepy Hollow, along Katrina (the FMC who owns a farm (what a coincidence)) and Brom Bones (its implied he is the headless horseman). In the story, jericho courts Katrina at a party, she rejects him and on his way home the headless horseman kills him (in the scene where Sol accompanies MC to class he says 'it's always been you ichabod' which could furthermore imply that crowe or his family have something do to with the fact that Sol and MC arent together)

In the library scene with Crowe he asks MC about their opinion on marie Antoinette and when MC says something negative about her, his reaction seems kind of strange. MC also brought a book about torture devices and execution methods and in that book is a picture of 'The Executioner' and he has scars on his arms, wears a mask and a chained collar. This correlates with some of sols features. He has scars on his arms (as seen in one of fantasias drawings), wears a chocker (he also wears a mask when he breaks into MCs room but that's really something anyone who does that would do). This implies even more that he will kill crowe.

#tkatb sol #tkatb vn #the kid at the back #solivan brugmansia #Crowe #jericho ichabod #Crowe ichabod #sol brugmansia #yandere visual novel #yandere #yandere vn #tkatb #tkatb theory #tkatb crowe

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thewertsearch · 13 days ago

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Ask Comp 10/12

Anonymous asked: Scratch: Won't anyone think of the children!! If you're gonna be smooching then get a room!!! also Scratch: Time to go manipulate more children into destroying their relationships! @manorinthewoods asked: There are two events in which Scratch has, so far, gained emotions: one, when he discovered that the Serkets stole an incredibly important magical item and hid it for centuries or millenia; and two, romance in his workroom. ~LOSS (20/9/24)

@manorinthewoods asked: "Is it because there’s a ‘good’ and an 'evil’ way for a God Tier to die?" On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate this brain fart? ~LOSS (20/9/24)

Wait, is that a brain fart? Because to me, it still scans.

Prospit, the 'good' moon, would naturally be associated with heroism, and vice-versa for Derse. Am I missing something really obvious?

Anonymous asked: Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Death's Bell grows ever nearer. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. But will it determine whether the thief is trully a sinner? Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Honk. I guess we'll see :o) @ben-guy asked: The showdown between Vriska and Terezi really is one of the watershed moments of HS imo. You've questioned if Vriska has matured enough to escape death by mysterious transcendental judgement engine… but let's not forget the meanings of the words in question, and their inherent linguistic and philosophical ambiguity. What if her death being caused by her pursuit of a heroic (albeit foolish) plan tragically makes her growth the cause of a permanent death instead? What if Terezi's decision to kill her is just regardless of Vriska's motivations, making her growth a moot point? Of course, this feels a lot less mutually exclusive, which goes against the implications of the clock imagery. […]

How did Scratch phrase it again?

The terms of a God Tier permadeath are defined according to the case of the individual - which implies that Heroic and Just are subjective, even to Sburb. It sounds like there might not be any ironclad rules, and that everyone's ruling works differently.

Yes, Scratch appears to be outlining some universal examples here - but what does, say, 'corruption' really mean? There are many equally valid interpretations, and a lot of them are contradictory. Maybe each death uses the definition that makes the most sense to that player.

In any case, I think Vriska's fate is currently meant to be unclear. She's designed from the ground up to be a complex, morally ambiguous character, and you could construct a valid argument for either outcome.

For my part, I'm fully convinced this will resolve as Just. I've been predicting Vriska's death for most of the Act now, and it's extremely fitting for it to happen at Terezi's reluctant hands. All those Incidents are finally coming full circle, and they're coming for her.

@morganwick asked: Note that Scratch starts talking about dark pockets and needing to speculate immediately after Vriska sees Karkat and Terezi's corpses. That's all Terezi needed to see, which means it's all Scratch needed to know - and all Hussie needed to know as well.

True! The fight that Scratch couldn't call was part of a doomed timeline. Its outcome was completely irrelevant to the story - and therefore, there's a good chance that Hussie didn't bother to decide on the victor. Author Theory survives another day!

@relaxxattack asked: i dont know if this counts as spoilers (it's a quote from andrew hussie) but i think your theory on scratch's omniscience is basically spot-on! "Doc here refers to the dark spots, the pockets of void on which his vision is built. These hint at limitations to his omniscience. As an alt-author figure, his omniscience makes sense, since the author has sweeping knowledge of story details as well. Because I "know everything," he "knows everything" too. Of course, as I write the story, there are plenty of things I don't know yet, and the "not knowing" is always an important part of the process in this largely improvisational medium. The known gaps are worked into the story, evaded through time skips and other tricks, filling out the surrounding narrative until certain answers become clearer, and then revealed at the right moment. The voids are built around, and in a real way, become foundational, almost load-bearing gaps in knowledge, just as he describes. Pillars of shadow. So his dark spots are not only a limitation to an otherwise ridiculously overpowered villain that can be exploited, they're a feature of a specific type of "authorial omniscience" copied into his profile." -- Andrew Hussie

...and it's officially Hussie-approved! Let's fucking go!

Anonymous asked: One kind of less obvious thing he says about circumstantial simultaneity is that it weaves together perfectly disparate chronologies such as a pair of distinct sessions, so it seems it is at work when there is communication between sessions, such as conversations between humans and trolls. ie: The troll sending the message is circumstantially simultaneous to the human receiving the message. Ditto for the memos. Anonymous asked: Posting for someone else again. -DJ || I interpret Circumstantial Simultaneity to mean a very simple thing: "those events happens at different times, but at the same meta-time". Especially if the things happen in different worlds, and so happening at the same time is impossible, because different worlds have isolated timelines. - RM

That makes a lot more sense than my interpretation. I think I was thrown off by Scratch's insistence that Circumstantial Simultaneity is 'not fully comprehensible to a mortal mind'. His use of such phrasing led me to assume that the concept was more complicated than it appeared, leading me to try and puzzle out the 'real' meaning of the term.

So, in a nutshell, circumstantial simultaneity is when multiple sections of reality are linked by shared events, allowing their local timelines to synchronize. Seems straightforward enough.

Anonymous asked: i don't think scratch technically lied. there are multiple ways in which scratch could die in the same way that there are multiple ways in which anyone could die - an axe could theoretically kill you, but that doesn't mean there has to be a timeline where you get killed with an axe

The semantics here are pretty interesting.

Scratch has stated that there are multiple ways to kill him, which could mean:

That there are multiple scenarios which have a non-zero probability of killing him.

That there are multiple scenarios that would hypothetically cause him to die, if they actually occurred.

These two statements have fairly similar meanings, but, as anon pointed out, there's an important distinction between the two. Statement 1 requires Scratch to actually die in some timelines, but Statement 2 doesn't require him to ever die, in any timeline.

Scratch has stated that he'll only die in one timeline, which means that there is only one scenario that will ever lead to his death. All other scenarios will never lead to his death - and thus, even if they could 'hypothetically' kill him, the probability that they will kill him is zero.

@heliotropopause asked: Never change, Noir. is that the oil jug WV uses for his mural in act 2? how'd it get to Scratch's lair?

I don't think it's the same jug, for the simple reason that both Carapacians emptied out the whole thing for their respective shenanigans. This ain't no Alchemy Jug!

abysswarlock asked: I like to think that the meta joke with the disks are a parallel of how the kings scepters hold small instantiations of skaia that exist within skaia itself, in this case the story of homestuck exists in disk form within the narrative itself.

Perhaps, but the Scepter's recursion is explained to be a game mechanic, whereas there's currently no explanation for the disk's existence. I guess Hussie himself could have put it there, but, like... why?

Anonymous asked: ‘His army thus inspired would spearhead a major re8ellion. Surely one at least on the scale of the sectarian revolt crushed 8y the High8loods, who thereafter for8ade its mention, or any invoc8tion of the heretical sym69ls at all, even in private journals.’ do you have any theories about this line?

Karkat's leadership shines in times of immediate crisis, which is part of why he struggled to keep his team together in the Veil. He doesn't know how to motivate people without an immediate, in-your-face threat - but since his ancestor was leading a rebellion, that probably wasn't an issue for him. The threat was omnipresent.

In short, I think Karkat Senior was always in Vantas Panic Mode. He'd have spearheaded Alternia's first rebellion with vim, vigor, seemingly infinite stamina, and sheer, bloody-minded determination - and if he was anything close to as likeable as Karkat, folk heroism was virtually inevitable. I can't wait to learn more!

@semaphoricwave asked: w.r.t. learning Mindfang dates the Summoner: it makes you wonder if Vriska's obsession with Tavros was the Alternian equivalent of comphet. She had no respect for his agency in the scenario (not difficult to develop when you're able to mind control people), but also she didn't seem to hold much stock in her own agency in all that, either. It's not even a cueball fortune, she just seems to want to be true: this boy she wants to 'make better' (but doesn't know how) is meant to make her happy. Anonymous asked: so with the revelation of the summoner, this makes TWO characters that vriska canonically was in/pursued as part of a romantic relationship that were descendants from her ancestors romantic partners. girl is inventing new kinds of comphet 😭

Vriska, for god's sake. Terezi is right there.

@iknowitsgreen asked: I find it so interesting that there's now an implication that Vriska literally expected Tavros to grow wings and fly to safety when she threw him off that cliff. The question is, did she simply resent Tavros for proving her fantasy wrong, or did she convince herself that Tavros chose to be paralyzed over showing his wings to her? It somewhat recontextualizes her early treatment of him either way

Layers upon layers upon layers. Vriska was fucked up about Tavros from twenty directions at once, and should never have been let within a thousand feet of the poor guy.

@manorinthewoods asked: Since trolls growing wings is apparently some sort of mythic event, presumably the God Tier wings of Vriska specifically tie into this. A God Tier troll gaining wings would be much more significant to the troll than to the human reader, as their culture places incredible emphasis on the meaningfullness of such - and perhaps the God Tier ascension could be likened to such a 'pupation'. ~LOSS (10/9/24)

It would explain why both Vriska and Aradia got them, but John didn't. The trolls have a lot in common with insects, so it stands to reason that in their culture, an insect's metamorphosis would be associated with divine apotheosis.

Anonymous asked: It’s super fascinating riding along as you go through this sequence because when I first read homestuck literally all the mind games went over my head haha. I saw what happened, and had a decent grasp on the characters, but the idea that Gamzee was manipulating Terezi? Never occurred to me. Everything about “why didn’t Terezi suspect Gamze” was just a mystery I never solved (mostly because I never understood gamzee, and still don’t) So Thank You so much for helping me understand better, years later! It’s so wild to look back and know what happens, but still have a limited grasp on why it went down that way.

Thank you for the kind words!

And yeah, a lot of Gamzee's schtick seems to be focused on obfuscating what he's actually doing. The real smoking gun there was the near-complete loss of Terezi's deductive abilities, at the exact moment Gamzee should have entered her radar.

@skelekingfeddy asked: ive always seen the grand highblood as not a troll, but like, the head of the imperial drones. when asked why his blood is black hussie said ‘Because he’s a huge gross monster? I don’t what sort of answer would be meaningful.When the highbloods were setting up the judicial system, they said ok we’re going to need some judges for this thing. Then they said ok how about these massive brainless monsters, that would be so perfect.’ […] its a headcanon of mine that hht is technically the same species as the mother grub. same with the imperial drones. if the mother grub is a queen bee then the drones are…well, drones. and hht is, like, a drone foreman, or sergeant, or something. i imagine that trolls and the drones’ species evolved a reproductive symbiosis, but then the empire took advantage of it and co-opted the drones + hht as enforcers

There's such an interesting untold story here, about how the early trolls might have cyberized a formerly symbiotic species, and essentially made them its slaves.

I've always been interested in how, exactly, the trolls developed their symbioses, and what they might have looked like before Alternian civilization became what it is today.

Anonymous asked: terezi tries to play disc 2 on a gramophone because she literally doesn't know how a cd works - sgrub is all run via grubtech, and most of her humanning has been with mr turntables who even if asked would probably describe a cd through obtuse metaphor likening it to a vinyl record

Oh, good point. Terezi's from a civilization which left CDs behind a long, long time ago.

Hey, come to think of it, why does the Veil even have a…

...oh, right. The room isn't 'canon', so I probably shouldn't be trying to theorize too hard about its contents. It's not really part of the story.

@catlikeascendant asked: I had the impression that just like mindfang was vriska's FLARP character, Redglare was terezi's. That would explain terezi having the outfit and responding to the name, at least @somebody0214 asked: Terezi did roleplay a lot as the Redglare so it would make sense she would respond to Redglare. @dissonancies asked: I'm honestly not sure Terezi does know about her ancestor. […] Vriska had the journals, but she tries to keep her cards close to her chest- remember, "Mindfang" was Vriska's roleplay name. Who's to say she didn't just "casually" "suggest" Redglare for Terezi's character, without telling her why?

Vriska, just how many of your friends have you been molding into their ancestors?

I won't be mad - I just want to know.

Anonymous asked: Equius Sr being fit to Inherit the cueball due his passive Voidiness is another point to sharing classpects with Equius Jr, the Heir of Void. @cationicflood asked: now that youve met the Expatri8, you know now why Scratch didn’t know Vriska had the cue ball until Terezi told him — it’s spent untold centuries ensconced in Zahhak-flavored Void aura. Even when it was in Vriska’s possession, it so happened she was quite literally neighbors with Equius.

We've talked a lot about how I believe Scratch's 'dark pockets' represent information that Hussie hasn't decided on yet. It's admittedly a little difficult to reconcile that with the fact that Void, an in-universe Aspect, is strongly implied to be the source of at least some of these pockets.

Maybe Aspects can work on a meta level, as well as a literal one. Like, perhaps Void is the aspect of author uncertainty, and therefore, anything that Hussie hasn't decided on out-of-universe is canonically 'hidden by Void'.

Anonymous asked: Mindfang warning Vriska about looking into the cueball…. So what you're saying is that Mindfang warned Vriska about the *stares*

It literally keeps happening!

@wolygan asked: So based off of the troll Ancestors we have seen, what do you think the rest might be like? also what do you think of the ones we have seen, since we don't know much about them yet. @absinthe-and-alabaster asked: Hi! I'm wondering if you have any updated thoughts from your initial ancestor theory post about the ancestors we haven't seen yet, given we know a bit more about troll history now

Not a lot! I'm obviously curious about the others, particularly Karkat's, but it's hard to come up with any concrete theories, other than 'their experiences and personalities will parallel those of their descendants', which is a freebie, based on the Ancestors we already have.

Anonymous asked: To be fair to EQ,Nepeta was far and safe when Gamzee attacked, and she could easly hide out of harm way with her skills. He just miscalculated and didn't realise she would follow him and attack Gamzee after he died.

True - but at the same time, he knew that Gamzee would still remain at large after his death, and that he, Equius, would no longer be able to protect Nepeta.

Even if she hadn't attacked him immediately, Gamzee would have remained a significant danger to everyone else on the Veil, Nepeta included. Had Equius fought back, he could have ensured that Gamzee would never be able to harm her.

@martinkhall asked: It's obvious to us that's not Vriska's handwriting. But just because Terezi can smell what the words say doesn't nesisarily mean she can smell the difference in how they're writen.

Plus, would Terezi necessarily be familiar with Vriska's handwriting? After all, most of the trolls seemed to communicate exclusively through modern technology. Would they really have any cause to pass notes to each other while FLARPing?

Anonymous asked: I would push back on the assertion that Heroic and Just deaths are the only way stories can work. One can be slain by a villain but not be a hero, and that can still matter to the story. A certain event from A Song of Ice and Fire springs to mind.

Oh, for sure - that's definitely correct outside of Homestuck. But within the comic, they really might be the only ways to die that Sburb considers 'dramatic' enough to be permanent.

Outside of the God Tier system, though, anything goes. After all, Equius was slain by a villain, and he didn't exactly die a hero.

@flerponius asked: Not really relevant to anything that's going on right now, but I thought you might find it interesting. In the Homestuck physical books, AH comments that the 4 grist types unlocked by default at the beginning of the comic (not including build grist) are related to the players quests; specifically, each grist type is a blight on the land it's found on, and the players quest would involve removing it from the land. I don't think this was explained anywhere else in the comic.

Oh, interesting. I wonder what they were supposed to be for?

Like, how does Rose's chalk relate to bringing life back to her oceans? Did Hussie have different Quest in mind for her, back then?

@manorinthewoods asked: The human session is shaping up to have lasted for less than a week due to Jack's interference, while the trolls slogged through over 600 hours (probably 612, to be specific, or 25.5 days) of relationship drama, powerleveling, and the production of inane yet somehow powerful weapons. Which of these is a more 'normal' length for a session? Did the trolls take too long, or were they rushing? Do bigger sessions last for longer? ~LOSS (2/9/24)

I'm pretty sure the troll session was closer to a 'typical' length.

According to Karkat, the human Reckoning arrived significantly sooner than normal - I assume this was due to Jack's double regicide.

If the human session had gone more smoothly, I imagine that it, too, would have taken several weeks. Like the trolls, the kids would have been able to hang out in person - and unlike the trolls, it probably wouldn't have devolved into multiple homicides.

@cheyj05 asked: Hey, just so you know it's pretty much impossible to read your liveblog in order on mobile. Searching the act 1 tag doesn't work so you pretty much would just have to scroll ALL the way back, which is impossible @cheyj05 asked: Ignore my last ask, I figured out how to do it

Mind sharing how, actually? I've been assuming that this was impossible, due to the Tumblr app's, uh, unique issues. If there's a way to browse the tags properly on mobile, I should probably add it to the pinned.

Anonymous asked: What do you mean "barely wind-themed", John made a car fly with his wind powers, why is a boat less believable?

You're not wrong. I guess I meant more that the boat's Breath energy looked a lot less like actual wind, and more like the abstract idea of Breath. It might just be stylistic, though.

@wolygan asked: I read another liveblog for Homestuck, and they just got to meeting Jade and then wrote a short essay on how they are convinced that Jade is the seer of light, just thought you might find that funny to know.

I do find that funny to know! Hussie got 'em again!

#asks #full liveblog #act 5.2

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wingedshadowfan · 26 days ago

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⚠️arcane s2 act iii spoilers // criticism ⚠️

i kind of hated the end of arcane. hear me out.

i don't wanna rain on anyone's parade but we can all agree season 2's pacing was super breakneck. not a lot got explained or was given the proper time to develop or be addressed (at least in front of us, the audience, that is - but even then, some things could've been hinted at better) and this goes for both lore, motivations and interpersonal character relationships. (and i can give many examples such as the black rose, maddie's true motivations, caitlyn and vi's fight, jinx rallying up the undercity, viktor and ambessa's plans diverging, etc. but instead, i'll tell you what i think went wrong with what we got to see in the last three eps)

seeing where ep 7 left us made me think "okay ep 8 will start from the same exact spot and we'll see from there" and ofc my expectations were defied but that's not my main problem. i needed to know what happened to ekko, jayce and heimerdinger but even more than that, i wanted to see jinx grieve isha in her own way (by herself and not through being asked or guilt tripped to help someone else's agenda bcuz she clearly had little intrinsic motivation to unite the undercity over a common goal after silco's death) and internalize what she'd meant to isha - and that becoming jinx's catalyst to rally up the undercity. i wanted her to understand why this orphan from the undercity's mines sacrificed herself to save jinx - the symbol of a cause greater than her. i needed her to see what unifying zaun and making tangible institutional change to the undercity would mean in a way sevika never would've been able to show her. it would mean no more powders, no more ishas. not one more. breaking the cycle of violence, poverty, oppression, somewhat like what silco said in ep 9 (which she interpreted as 'you're the problem, so kys' and she attempted to until somehow ekko convinced her to help. how, why and did she even unite the undercity at all or just make her big hot air balloon late-to-the-party entrance with the firelights to a stray kids banger while sevika did all the work down in zaun?).

anyway, ep 8 threw us in for a loop in an alternative universe (and i loved it, don't get me wrong, but considering there were only 2 normal length eps left, it scared me just as much). instrumentally to the plot, we got to see ekko's main ability develop, and we saw jayce's reasons for shooting viktor. the main conflict of the show, the piltover/zaun one, if those 1,5 seasons so far were anything to go by, just got set aside for the time being. over halfway through the season, we've got a new big bad - the possibility of everyone getting possessed by the viktor/hexcore and becoming part of The Glorious Evolution™. it felt like a movie about racism and police brutality added aliens in the last 5 minutes to force oppressed and oppressors to (not all that successfully) work together, massive losses were suffered by everyone, and then the overarching motif wasn't about love or humanity or rebuilding (things that have come up repeatedly in other episodes, including the one ep literally called 'the messege hidden within the pattern'), it was "bad things happen sometimes, but good things happen sometimes too. it is what it is. i guess." like. duh?? as a viewer, this was quite the disappointing ending takeaway from such a masterpiece of a show but more on that in a second.

narratively, we saw a butterfly effect situation in ep 8 that answered the question of 'what could've been?' but even that answer confused me. the undercity was already oppressed and in socioeconomical peril before jayce's hextech - vi's death during that last job (which makes me believe zaun was the same in both universes because why else would they be poor enough to steal from piltover?) prevented it from being invented and thus stopping other things in piltover from happening but how did it lead to progress in the undercity? what happened and what was the key to it all along? why did shimmer not get invented, how did zaun and piltover seemingly unite, why were zaunites all of a sudden seemingly so much materially and culturally richer and better educated in just a few years? (that aside, i love ekko's determination to get back and save his universe's zaun. i loved the alternative jinx and i loved how everyone was wearing vests 10/10)

then, ep 9 felt like a bunch of confusing things happening one after the other to the point it almost overwhelmed me and i was left thinking i didn't understand a single thing from it (except maybe that one scene - that, i understood spiritually). and the first maybe 90% of ep 10 felt like i was just repeatedly getting hit, and again - no time to breathe, no consolation, no resolve, just receiving bad news after bad news, like getting beaten to the ground with stones.

and at the very end, after some of the ends get tied, caitlyn has her speech, which to me, sounds more depressing and hollow than anything else. she talks ambiguously of history and of ups and downs and of a story not yet over, but there's no promise for the future, no motivation to keep going, no bigger picture, no lesson learned. we're not shown much work being done either (and i'll make a separate post examining why it felt that way to me and a separate one abt how i interpreted her conversation w/ vi at the very end). i was left a bit confused, somewhat unsatisfied, and very, very sad.

did anyone else feel that way too? what did i miss, did i misinterpret or misunderstand something? please i'm going insane i had two different friends tell me they had no idea what i was talking about and that the ending was everything they wanted and more

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rohansdisciple · 1 year ago

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𝔬𝔩𝔡𝔢𝔯 ☀︎ .

summary : you and astarion sneak of into the forest for a night of fun .

warnings : romance / smut / nsfw . fem / afab reader . established relationship . nipple play . oral (fem reviving) . orgasm denial / edging . pet names used . erm tears / crying. aftercare / cuddles . and i think that’s it ! tell me if i missed something ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ !

word count : about 2.1 k *

reading time : about 10 minutes *

other : 16+ ** . i don’t have bg3 so i don’t play it however i think interpreted astarion character as well as i could so i’m proud of myself ! and this is set after the act 2 romance scene but inspired by the act 1 romance scene. may have some minor grammatical errors && the entire story is written in lower case and the punctuation has double spacing in between the words * .

a/n : i went through the 5 stages of grief while trying to get an idea for this fic…however i had fun writing it and studying astarion’s character in the process and growing to love astarion even more ! anyways, enjoy :> !

credits to @ rookthornesartistry on tumblr and @ angelwhispersunknown for the dividers !

after a long day of adventuring , sitting by the fire and staring up at the stars is just what you need to relax , but when you feel a hand on your shoulder , you are jerked out of this state of serenity . " hello , sweetheart , you look lost in thought , " astarion says as he takes a seat beside you . when you hear and see astarion , you can't help but smile . " not necessarily ; i was captivated by the stars , they're lovely , " you say , gazing up at the stars . " it's a lovely night , isn't it ? the moon and the stars are beautiful , but not as beautiful as you , love , " he whispers while looking up at the sky , his hand finding its way to your thigh .

" a perfect night for two lovers to sneak off and have some fun , no ... ? " " it's been a while since we found some time for intimacy , after all ... " astarion says suggestively . you then quietly laugh and say , " your offer sounds enticing , my love , so I'll take you up on it . " " excellent , dear ! i actually put some thought into this , so I set something up in a secluded spot I happened to come across , " he says to you , sounding very proud of himself , as he stands up and brushes the dirt from his hands ; you do the same . " we'll set off when the others are asleep then , " you reply , looking into astarion's crimson eyes . he gently takes your hand in his and kisses it , " i can't wait , darling ... " he murmurs seductively.

once astarion knows the others are fast asleep , he comes to get you . " come , my sweet , let's venture into the forest , " astarion states as he extends his hand to you . " all right , my love , " you laugh . " i'm really looking forward to seeing what you've prepared for us , " you say to him , taking his hand in yours . astarion chuckles , and without a word , he whisks you away into the forest .

after a bit of walking , astarion leads you to a secluded and grassy spot in the woods that's far away from the others so they won't hear too much of the noise you two will be making . you noticed he had laid out a sheet on top of the grass ; he also seemed to have placed some purple flowers he found on the sheet as well . astarion looks at your face to see what your reaction is , he's quite nervous about it , and he says , " surprise , darling ! it's not much , but ... "

you then stopped him before he could finish his sentence . " it's cute and thoughtful ; thank you , astarion , " you comment , your eyes filled with affection for him . " i — uh — thank you , my love . i'm delighted that you like it , " astarion says to you , with a somewhat flustered expression . " i tried to make things a little more romantic — you know , to set the mood , " he adds as he lays down and motions for you to join him on the sheet . when you join Astarion , he softly pins your body beneath his and passionately kisses you .

" well , looks like someone's eager , " you tease once astarion breaks the kiss . " of course , i am ! it feels like it's been an eternity since we've had some alone time , darling , " he states with a playful pout while he wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you closer . " i ... love you , y / n . " astarion mumbles , his words trailing off as he looks at the curves of your body . there's a lustful glow in his eyes as he draws you into another passionate kiss .

during the kiss , astarion touches your body , his hands slipping under your shirt , unclipping your bra , and then breaking the kiss . " you won't need this anymore , sweetheart , " he says as he removes your shirt and bra , tossing them aside . astarion lays you on your back and looks at you as if he's about to devour you . he then starts kissing your neck , moving his lips lower and lower till he reaches your breasts , leaving a path of little hickeys on your skin . astarion then begins to softly suck on your nipple , occasionally nibbling at it . "ah ... gods ... a - astarion ... " you moan as his tongue slides over your sensitive nipple , pinching and rolling the other between his fingers .

astarion loves seeing you squirm and moan because of his touch ; one can even say it feeds his ego and boosts his confidence when it comes to pleasing you . once he had enough of teasing your sensitive nipples , he pulled away and looked at you with a playful look in his eyes , knowing you didn't want him to stop . " c'mon , why'd you stop - " you whine as the cold breeze hits your saliva - slick nipples . your whines and pleas for him to continue fall on deaf ears . then astarion says , " i do love this sensitive body of yours , dear ; you always have the cutest reactions . " He chuckles . " maybe I can get some more reactions if I touch down here , too ... " he continues teasingly while tugging at the waistband of your pants . you can tell he's going to take his time with you simply by hearing him say that .

he slowly strips you of your last pieces of clothing , tossing your pants and soaked panties aside with your shirt and bra . astarion then opens your legs and gets in between them , and you swear you heard him snicker . " you're so wet , darling ... all this for me ... ? " he teases as he spreads your pussy lips with his fingers , thumb grazing your clit as he does . a quiet moan escapes your lips . " mmph ... astarion , please , " you moan . " please what , y / n ... ? " astarion asks you , touching your aching clit once again , earning another moan from you . you groan , knowing that if you don't beg — at least a little — he won't do what you want . " i - i want you to eat my pussy ... pretty please , astarion ... " you beg . luckily for you , astarion loved the way you begged for him to please you . " alright , i'll do it since you asked so nicely , my love ... " he says with a smirk , then placing his tongue on your clit .

you feel astarion's tongue moving softly and slowly over your sensitive bundle of nerves . " g - gods ... that feels so good ... please don't stop ... " you moan as your hand moves and grips onto his white curls instinctively . the feeling of his tongue lapping at your clit faster drove you insane ; he always knew which spots to lick and suck on , to the point where you didn't even care how loud you were moaning or how lewd you sounded . you feel the knot in your stomach getting tighter ; you really want to cum — you want him to let you cum so so badly . " mmph ! astarion , please ! i - i'm gonna - " you moan out desperately .

astarion stops lapping at your clit , not wanting you to cum just yet ; he wanted to deny you your orgasm for a little while longer . " ah , ah ... not until i say so , darling , " he says , voice dripping with lust . then an idea comes to him , and he adds , " i need you to hold it in for me until i've had enough ; you can do that for me , right , my love ? " he asks because he knows that if you're desperate enough to cum; you'll comply with whatever he asks of you . " y - yes ... i'll hold it ... i - i just wanna cum ... " you whimper out desperately .

after a few minutes of antagonizing waiting , astarion goes down on you again , except not letting his tongue touch where you want , simply to tease you for his pleasure . he would pull away just as you were about to cum , refusing to give you the orgasm he had repeatedly promised you if you just " held it in " . you've lost track of how many times he denied you your release ; you think it was his fifth — no , sixth — time doing so . " a - astarion , please , p - pretty , please . i want to cum ... " you beg him , practically on the verge of tears .

" shh , my love , it's alright . you can cum this time , okay ... " he says lovingly , wiping the tears streaming from your eyes . through your teary eyes , you watch astarion slowly rid himself of his clothing and tossing his clothes over to the side with yours . his cock looks painfully hard , leaking with pre - cum , and his tip a rosy red , even twitching a bit . astarion gets on top of you , and you wrap your arms around his neck before he moves and puts you on his lap; it's his favorite position since he enjoys seeing your face while fucking you senseless . " i'm going to put it in now , darling ... can I do that ... ? " he asks you in a hushed tone . " yes ... please , fuck me astarion ... " you whimper .

astarion then slides his cock into your sloppily - wet cunt pretty easily , and he lets out a low groan . " g - gods ... your pussy feels s - so good around my cock - , " he murmurs in your ear , trying his best not to thrust up into you . after a few short seconds , you start to become restless , beginning to move on his cock slowly . " l - look who's the desperate one now , y / n , " he says with a quiet moan escaping his lips as he grabs onto your waist , taking the lead and speeding up the pace a little . " ngh ... f-fuck s'good ... s - shut it and just go faster - " you manage to say through your moans . the faster he bounces you on his cock , the more uncontrollable your moans became , and the closer you felt to cumming .

astarion can feel that you're close to your orgasm from the way your walls are clenching around him . " g - gods ... y / n ... p - please cum for me ... you can do that for me , right - ? " he moans while he thrusts into you at an a rough pace , wanting to feel your warm walls clench around his cock some more . he starts to rub your clit with his thumb to get you there , and after a few rubs , you feel the knot in your stomach starting to unravel . you moan so loudly it is practically a scream , " mmph ! i - im cumming ! " your legs begin to shake violently , and you could hear astarion panting heavily in your ear . you can tell he's trying his best not to cum inside you .

" that's a good girl ... " he murmurs as he pulls out of you , a ring of white visible around the base of his cock . astarion flips you on your stomach and harshly squeezes your ass . " ass up , darling ... " he tells you while he caresses your waist . your legs feel weak and they're all shaky , but you do what he asked of you . " mmh ... yes , astarion ... " you say , sounding completely out of it .

you can hear a husky groan escape astarion's throat as he puts his cock back inside you . " y - y / n ... ngh ! " he whimpers . astarion grabs your waist and pounds into you from behind as quickly as he can to reach his orgasm . he's not sure how much longer he can hold it in , and he doesn't want to stop fucking your warm and sloppy pussy ; you feel too good . but , on the other hand , he does want to cum . " f - fuck ! s'too much ! " you whimper , now in tears from overstimulation.

the sound of sex is the only thing that can be heard in the forest ; astarion's thrusts are becoming animalistic and rough . when he feels his orgasm approaching , he immediately pulls out of you . " mmph ! y/ n ... shit ! a - ah gods , i - i'm cumming ! " astarion moans loudly as he strokes his cock , cumming on your back and ass . you collapse on the crumpled sheet underneath you while astarion calms down from the rush of his high , breathing heavily .

once astarion calms down from the rush of his very intense orgasm , he wipes your back off with a handkerchief he brought with him . " you did so good , darling , " he says sweetly , pulling you close and now resting with you on the sheet . " i wasn't too rough with you or anything , right ? " astarion asks . " no , no , of course not ; it was perfect , astarion , " you softly say , kissing his cheek . " well then you took it well , as you always do, my love , " he says cheekily .

astarion then moves his body so that he is now lying on top of you , right over your heart . he then lets out a content sigh . " i love you , y / n ... " he murmurs , his attention focused on your heartbeat . " i love you more , astarion ..." you say affectionately as your fingers run through his hair , and astarion's eyes close , falling asleep almost instantly . when you hear astarion's soft snores , you laugh quietly ; he's the cutest thing when he's asleep . " sleep well , astarion ... " you say before falling asleep with him in your arms , the sounds of the tranquil forest calming you both as you rest .

𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔫�� ☀︎ ...

read the second part here 🧛🏻 !

#bg3 #bauldur’s gate #bg3 astarion #astarion #bauldur's gate 3 #bauldur’s gate astarion #astarion x reader #astarion x female reader #astarion x black fem reader #astarion x black reader #astarion fluff #astarion x fem reader #baldurs gate 3 #astarion smut #dungeons and dragons #astarion bg3 #rohans fanfics ☁︎ …#Spotify #rohansdisciple

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pyrettawychwiggin · 5 months ago

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SFW Alphabet (Romantic) with Crow (From Destiny 2) - Crow x Guardian, Gender-Neutral

Summary: this is a SFW alphabet for Crow from Destiny 2 (in the scope of a romantic, non-platonic relationship, but there are some friendship-building details scattered in here).

Paired With: gender-neutral for basically any type or gender of guardian. I've kept the physical descriptors of 'your guardian' to be relatively ambiguous.

Rating: GEN/TEEN — SFW - with some vague references to what could be considered mildy suggestive, but very little.

Warnings: slight mentions of trauma/hyper-vigilence/coping mechanisms, etc.

Note From The Author: I love reading these little SFW (and in some cases, NSFW) alphabets for fictional characters. It's so cool to see how others interpret the characters and how they would handle things. So here's my own rendition for one of my favourite characters from the Destiny universe (and one of my current obsessions) - Crow (very specifically not Uldren, but that should be obvious, I think).

The entries are long. So be prepared for a lengthy read, y'all. I pulled out all the stops on this. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did making it! Okay. Eyes up, guardians.

(Image Credit - Kathi Langley / owlcath)

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show their affection?)

Crow is... careful at first. Very careful. So careful, in fact, that you assumed he either greatly disliked you, or even feared you - even well after he'd realized he'd started to like you.

Considering how he'd been treated by other guardians regarding the whole 'Cayde' situation, he was understandably one of the most guarded people you'd ever met, and it's not that he didn't want your affection, he simply didn't feel as though he deserved it (even when he does start to show affection, and even when you have reminded him countless times how much you adore him. Deep down, he still doesn't feel worthy).

His affection works more like a dance; you lead, he follows the silent boundaries you set.

It started small.

It started with a friendly wave. As you happened to pass by him during an event at The Tower, he assumed he would be ignored by everyone (and that would have been the best case scenario as far as he was concerned); but still, you locked eyes and gave him a genuine smile and a friendly wave as you passed by - as if you were actually happy to see him. This was a tiny gesture that caused him to overthink the short interaction for the rest of the day. The next time he passed by you days later, he bucked up the courage to go as far as saying 'hello,' and the friendly greeting you gave him in return made him feel warm and fuzzy for the rest of the day.

This would set the pace for the rest of your relationship. You were the first to start complimenting him; so he started doing the same for you. You were the first to put your head on his shoulder; so he put his arm around you to pull you a little closer.

That being said, the one thing that he was the one to instigate was the first kiss - but we'll get into that later in this post.

Finally (and adorably), much like his name ironically suggests, he is always keeping his eye out for little trinkets he thinks you may like; interesting looking stones, pieces of wood he's whittled into unique animals or shapes, little tokens and tools from any marketplaces he's come across - he's always got a space for you on his mind.

B = Best Friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

As was mentioned under 'Affection,' it really started with a simple wave and a smile. From there, you slowly became one of his only friends outside of Glint and Amanda.

Once he trusts you, he is a fiercely loyal friend, and he has your back no matter what. He's a fantastic listener, he's incredibly considerate, and despite his introverted disposition, you are one of the only people he can spend lengthy amounts of time with without feeling as though he needs to mentally recharge afterward.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

The first hug shared between you two was not specifically romantic. He had told you about something that had happened to him that was, in a word, incredibly traumatizing. You didn't know what to say, so you just gave him a hug instead.

At first, he didn't know how to respond, and put his arms out as if he were afraid to touch you, but after a few seconds, he realized you weren't letting go. He remembers feeling your warmth and your heartbeat against his chest, and slowly, he wrapped his arms around you in return for a long hug that he so desperately needed.

Some time later, much farther into your friendship, he came to you with the intent of venting to you, or asking for advice, but as he tried and failed to find the words to describe what he had been going through, he gave up and just pulled you into his arms for another much-needed hug.

As he has gotten more and more comfortable with you, he has become more bold with you, and has gotten to the point where he always wants to be in some form of contact with you - be it holding hands, curling an arm around your waist, or his personal favourite, touching his forehead to yours.

Even if you're in a situation where you need to be more professional or reserved, you'll find that he's subtly standing shoulder-to-shoulder with you.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

As much as Crow enjoys wandering and exploring, seeing new things and having new experiences with you, he can also be quite the home-body.

You two start living together pretty early in your relationship. Not on purpose, mind you; you just found yourself spending time together, and having him stay with you that it just naturally happened on it's own. At first, it was an open invitation from you to raid your fridge (even though he would still always ask for permission), then it was a couple spare drawers in your dresser for a few of things. Then it was a keycode so he could allow himself in whenever he pleased - things just kind of happened from there.

Being together as often as you were just felt right; natural.

As for his 'domestic skills,' he's not particularly good at cooking, but he's not necessarily a 'bad cook' either. He has a handful of his favourite dishes that he's pretty good at preparing (and later on into your relationship, he went out of his way to learn a couple of your favourites, too).

That being said, he makes some of the best drinks that you've ever had; be it coffee, tea, hot chocolate, smoothies, cocktails, you name it - he could open his own little café for that reason alone (he is shockingly talented at latte art, and likes to top your drinks off with a little 'bird' symbol).

He is a very tidy housemate, however. He naturally just kind of picks up after himself. He's not one to keep everything 'spotless,' but things never look messy, either. The one thing you will find is little collectables and kitch that the two of you have picked up over time scattered all around your place.

Living with Crow is easy and in a word, effortless.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

If he were ever to end things with you (which is unlikely - but hypothetically), it truly would hurt him as much as (if not more) than it would hurt you. He wouldn't do so without a very good reason, but he is the type of partner who would always rather work things out with you than call it quits.

BUT. If he ever did, he would try to do so gently and privately, and would most likely go little-to-no-contact with you outside of obligations like missions and large events. Not because he wants nothing to do with you, but simply because being around you but not being with you is nearly unbearable to him now.

It will take him a very long time to move on, and even when he does he will always have a bit of a sore spot for you, regardless of how the two of you parted ways.

F = Fiancé (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Commitment comes naturally to Crow. Once you two become an item, you are never not on his mind in some fashion.

As for marriage, this is a different story. It's certainly not that he doesn't want to get married. He sees his relationship with you as a 'forever' situation already, and after such a long period of time where he felt as though he didn't deserve a happy relationship, much less a happy marriage, well... it just hadn't crossed his mind.

After a few years, someone ends up asking him about it, and his response is:

"I'm not sure. I haven't really thought about it; our relationship just feels so natural as it is. Do you... do you think they'd say yes if I asked...?"

After that, it's in his head rent-free, and it's really only a matter of time before he asks you.

It's nothing flashy, but one day, he arranges a small, low-stakes mission with you at your favourite spot (be it The Dreaming City, Neomuna, Europa - some place where you personally like to spend time, or a place that is significant to the two of you).

You do your thing as you would during any other mission; an unstoppable duo - effective and efficient. That night, you both decide to set up camp.

As you're chatting and enjoying a quiet moment together by the fire, he seems to be fidgeting with his hands more than usual. You're about to ask about it when he abruptly says:

"Oh! I, uh... I downloaded a new projection for Glint. It reminded us of you, so I couldn't resist. Glint, would you be so kind?"

You turn your head to Glint who chatters and nods excitedly; above his shell, hovering in the air, is a light blue projection of what appears to be a diamond ring. At first, you're confused, but as you turn your eyes back to Crow, you see him crouched on one knee, and in his hands is a small wooden box that he'd carved himself.

He doesn't even have time to get the question out, much less even open the ring box before you've tackled him to the ground with a resounding 'yes' that brings him a wave of relief.

When he does show you the ring, it turns out to be made of obsidian, and set with a small cutting of your favourite stone.

The wedding itself is intimate - only your closest friends are permitted to attend; and it's perfect. He's a nervous wreck up until the moment he turns to see you walking down the aisle, and his heart melts; all he can see in that moment is you. Your vows have his eyes glistening with tears; and as for his...

Crow's Vows:

"My beloved. When we first met, I was empty; just jumping from one situation to the next, waiting for things to fall into place. It felt like every time I thought things may be getting better, the rug would be pulled from under my feet, and I'd feel as though I was right back where I started. Like I was in an endless black pit, trying to move toward any trace of light I could find.

Then there was you. You were warmth. You were pure sunlight. You were - are, everything. Even after all this time, there are days where I look at you and I find myself expecting to wake up to find that this has all been a beautiful dream. Yet still, here you are.

I'm watching you become stronger, wiser, better... I'm in awe of you every day, and when you look at me the way you do, I realize that I have become a better version of myself, too.

I was born a new man in an old vessel under the Traveler; and I have become a different man all over again just by being by your side. I can't wait to see who we become, and how we grow together in the vast eternity before us; and I can't believe how lucky I am to get to be the one who gets to go on this adventure with you. I love you - more than yesterday, less than tomorrow - forever."

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

There are times you could swear Crow thinks you are made of glass. He is always checking in with you to make sure you're comfortable, and the very thought of ever hurting you is entirely foreign to him.

Emotionally, he's very in tune with the reactions of the people around him (due to his hyper-vigilance around others as a defense mechanism and trauma response), so with you, he can't really help it. Sometimes he may overdo it a little; he may ask if you're okay or if he did something wrong when he feels like you haven't spoken for a while, constantly worried that one day he'll mess this up. So obviously, he needs a fair amount of reassurance from you.

That being said, he can read you like a book the rest of the time. He notices the little things; the way you slightly part your lips when you're taken aback, the way your pupils dilate when you feel a twinge of fear, the way you shift your weight slightly to your other foot when you're anxious, the way your brows furrow when you're focusing, the way your eyes light up when you're excited - he notices it all.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it and what is it like?)

At first, Crow couldn't have cared less about hugs - until you gave him his first hug he could ever remember receiving, and he then realized just how touch-starved he was. It was like medicine for him - no matter how bad things were, a hug from you would never fail to bring him some much-needed comfort and security.

When he starts getting comfortable enough to be the one to initiate them, you realize he gives great hugs. He manages to hold you securely in his arms, but never too tightly so as to make you uncomfortable, and he always lets you decide when to stop; he's never the first to break a hug with you. He's especially fond of resting his chin on the top of your head when he's hugging you.

I = "I Love You" (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Crow knew that he loved you before the two of you even started a more romantic relationship; in fact Glint was the one to point it out to him one day, and the realization just clicked into place for him.

However, knowing this and actually telling you are two very different things. He kind of agonized over it for a while, worried that if he tried to say it too early, that it may either end in you pushing him away or feeling pressured to return the phrase if you didn't feel the same. He came close to saying it many times, but losing his nerve each time.

A few months into your relationship, and much to his surprise, you said it first.

You had been sent away on a long mission on Europa where the two of you were apart for months. You were able to use the comms to stay in touch for the first week or so, but as things got more and more intense, there were little to no opportunities to continue doing so. When you and your fireteam were successful and finally made it back, he was there to greet you at The Tower.

You dropped your pack and immediately rushed forward to throw yourself into his arms. You were so relieved to feel his warmth after months of bone-chilling temperatures, to feel his weight of his chin resting on your head, and to feel the reverberation of his soft chuckling in his chest at your reaction - it just kind of slipped out, muffled into the fabric of the mantel of his cloak.

You felt his entire body immediately tense for all of a second before he let out a sigh of relief and an:

"I love you, too."

He was riding the high of that moment for weeks after that, and frankly, so were you.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they get jealous?)

Crow isn't one to get particularly jealous or petty, but he does like to make it relatively clear that you're with him, and he's with you. Nothing crazy, he's not one to be a meathead about it, but when you're out together, he like to keep in physical contact with you.

At first, he would keep quiet and distant out of fear that you would be judged harshly if others saw you two being too close and showing any kind of affection, but once he realized you were proud to be seen with him, he couldn't keep his hands off of you.

He trusts you implicitly, and he never feels the need to worry that you'll give him a reason to feel jealous.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

At first, Crow's kisses are delicate and uncertain. In the beginning, he spends the majority of the relationship waiting for you to decide you've changed your mind about him, and he almost seems as though he's trying not to scare you off by being 'too much,' as he puts it.

As he gets more comfortable, however, he kisses you with more certainty; still gentle, but he allows more of that heat and passion to come through. You can literally feel how much he adores you through every kiss - and it always leaves you a little light-headed.

His favourite place to kiss you really is your lips; he finds your mouth hypnotizing most of the time, but aside from that, he's especially fond of kissing your collarbone and neck area (and during spicier times, he especially likes to kiss your inner thigh, but that's a detail we can explore another day).

As for him, he takes any affection and kisses he can get from you, but he's discovered that he loves it when you raise his hand to your mouth to kiss the inside of his wrists and fingertips; something about it just puts him on cloud nine every time.

L = Little Ones (How are they around children?)

Crow feels as though he's awkward around children, and says he never knows how to respond or talk to them, but children (whose views on him have not already been tainted by their parents) are naturally drawn to him.

Something about him makes them curious; fascinated. They feel safe around him, and they enjoy being around him because he doesn't talk down to them, but rather, talks to them like he would any other person, just with even more patience and understanding.

You once happened across him at The Tower to see him giving a small group of children piggyback rides, each of them clamoring to be up next. You found yourself chuckling, and stopping to watch them for a while before continuing on your way. You're not sure whether or not he saw you, but you decided not to bring it up.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Mornings with Crow are warm and tender. When he's the first to wake up, he likes to watch you as you dream away beside him, drifting his fingers gently over your jawline, careful not to wake you right away. If you're the first to rise, whenever you've decided to wake him up, he always pulls you into a groggy hug with a huff and a sigh. It can be a challenge to get him to fully come to, mainly because he feels like he could just stay curled up in bed with you the whole day if he could.

After that, he's up making your favourite morning drink, whatever it may be (he has an affinity for it, after all), while you get started on breakfast. He loves to try to sneak in a few kisses during the process, though.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Nights with Crow range from warm and cuddly to passionate and spicy, depending on his emotional needs. Either way, he likes to take some time to ask about your day while he does something nice for you, be it rubbing your shoulders, or even just holding you. You two have been known to chat all hours into the night - but time means almost nothing when you're together.

Though he will never turn down a massage from you, he loves to give you massages every night - it's almost as much for his own enjoyment as it is yours; but you have to admit, he is fantastic with his hands (take that however you'd like).

O = Open (When will they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or do they reveal little things slowly?)

At the beginning, Crow is an island. Always quiet, always mysterious, always completely out reach; and he keeps it that way for quite some time before he starts noticing your kindness is a pattern not born of pity or habit, but simply because that's who you are.

After that, it's breadcrumbs; his process of opening up to you is painfully slow, but all the more rewarding as you continue to get to know him, and in turn, watch him learn to become more and more comfortable in his own skin.

P = Patience (How easily are they angered?)

Crow is seemingly more measured to the naked eye, but he's more hot-headed than people think, and despite his calm demeanor, he has quite a temper deep down.

You've learned to notice the signs; his chest rises and falls a slightly heavier than usual, his jaw tenses a little, his eyes seem to take on a brighter tinge of orange, and most of all, you can feel the heat off of him.

He is, however, very adept at managing his anger; he is terrified of ending up just like Uldren Sov, allowing his anger to turn him cruel and tyrannical, and he refuses to allow this to come to pass.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every detail or forget the minor things?)

Sure, he forgets things on rare occasion; so does everyone. Still, he is a wonderful listener who genuinely wants to know everything about you. In fact, the only one who knows you better than Crow is your own Ghost.

He knows all the basics; your favourite colour, how you like your coffee (if you even like coffee in the first place), your favourite place to be alone, your favourite weapons... he could go on about you for hours to anyone who would listen.

Above all else, though, he knows your touch and scent in a room of hundreds. He could be blindfolded and know how your hands feel on his skin immediately.

R = Remember (What is their favourite moment of your relationship?)

Crow has many moments that could be considered 'favourites.' Your first two-person mission together, the first time you stood up for him against another guardian who saw him as nothing more than Uldren reborn, sharing a round drinks with you and Amanda as friends, the time you accidentally fell asleep and rested your head on his shoulder; there are endless examples.

Still to this day however, your first kiss takes the number one spot for him.

You were on one of many missions together, and the two of you hadn't started anything romantic yet (though you had both been dancing around the idea for a while at this point). You had been separated from the rest of your fireteam. On your way back to them, the two of you encountered one of the biggest squadrons of Vex you'd ever seen. It was going to be a long, difficult fight - but you both fought together as if you were born to do it.

It was almost as if it were a choreographed dance.

The fight ended with you and Crow - practically nose-to-nose, each letting out one final shot to two approaching Vex goblins from behind you.

Chests heaving, the two of you locked eyes in a breathless moment of silence - then his lips were on yours. He quickly started to pull away with an apology before you pulled him back in.

As a broken Vex goblin twitched on the ground beside you, he loosed a final shot from his handcannon into it before tucking it away and wrapping his arms around you; sharing a kiss with you that would put most movie romances to shame.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Crow is highly protective of you. He's protective of all his friends, really, but he truly fears something happening to you. He wasn't particularly used to the idea of protecting or being protected himself when he was first resurrected. Working under Spider wasn't exactly the kind of employment that inspired selflessness.

However, not only were you instrumental in getting him away from Spider, he remembers the first time another guardian attempted to attack him during one of his earlier visits to The Tower, and he was left in awe when he watched you tear a strip off of them and lay them flat.

You protected him on many occasions, even when he told you not to worry about it - you simply wouldn't tolerate that disrespect under any circumstances.

At one point, the two of you were on a mission where you had been separated, with you having crash-landed your ship in a crater field on The Moon. There was no response from you on the comms, but you were stuck under a piece of the wreck, and badly injured. Even more concerningly, there was no response from your Ghost, either. Crow immediately started following the trail of smoke to your location on his own.

When he arrived, a group of Hive had started to advance on your location. You were completely unconscious and to his horror, he watched as a Hive knight wrapped their claws around your then-battered, and barely-responsive Ghost. The knight started to attempt to crush them before Crow severed the arm and retrieved your Ghost faster than the Hive could blink.

Your consciousness started to return just as Crow was in the midst of fighting them off. You had never seen Crow fight as ferociously as he had that day. You had seen him in the field before, and he was very impressive in his own right, but it was nothing like this. This was one of the only times you could recall seeing him enraged.

T = Try (How much effort do they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

This man has so much try. Every date, he's practically breaking his back to try to pamper you in every way he can (even though you tell him he can just relax and enjoy himself). He insists this is part of enjoying himself - taking care of you makes him exceedingly happy.

"I know we're together, now; but don't think that means I'll ever stop trying to win your heart all over again."

Anniversaries are special to him - it marks the day where your adventure together started when you took things to the next level, and he likes to reflect on how fortunate he feels to have made it another year with you. He prefers to plan anniversaries with you rather than surprise you; planning trips or escapes together with you brings him so much excitement. He does, however, but a great deal of effort into finding or creating something special for you, and he somehow manages to outdo himself again and again every year.

Gift-giving is one if his love languages; especially when it comes to things he finds or makes himself. Sure, he'll bring you things he's bought on occasion, but he especially likes to bring you interesting trinkets he's hunted down or created.

As for everyday tasks, he's subtle; when you two start living together, you both have your own little 'tasks' around the place that you do to keep the place tidy and liveable, but sometimes, you'll have gotten home feeling particularly exhausted, and he makes sure you're fed and comfortable before quietly finishing the task himself, insisting that you relax tonight.

"You'd do the same for me."

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Crow, though he's consistently working on this, is painfully doubtful of his own worth both as a guardian and as a partner. This leads him to be habitually self-sacrificing even when there's no reason to be. He sees the value and strength in all others, but he's blind to his own, and though he does get a little better at it as he goes on, he has a hard time accepting compliments.

On a lighter note, he also can not hold his liquor; his tolerance is incredibly low.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

He tries not to let it show, but he gets a little bit insecure about his appearance, and he does fret about his looks more than he cares to admit - especially now that he has you. He knows you would never judge him for his physical appearance, but he can't help but want to look good in front of you.

He's already an effective hunter in his own right, but if he's teamed up with you, he is a little flashier than usual in a subtle attempt to show off for you a little bit.

A comment had been made once about his haircut, and it wasn't long before he'd decided to change it. If you were to ask him why he made such a decision, his response would simply be:

"No reason - I just felt like I was ready for a change, that's all. Why? Do you... do you like it?"

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Entirely. He had started to accept his solitude before he met you - before he met Amanda. There was a time he'd decided that some guardians weren't made for fireteams and comraderie- that some guardians were meant to accomplish far more on their own.

Once he started to realize that he was worthy of friendship, respect, understanding, compassion, and love, he realized that his connections with the people closest to him made him feel complete.

Of course, losing any of his friends and teammates would weigh heavily on him; but especially once you two grew closer, he knew that losing you would leave a deep wound in him that he would never be able to mend. It would, in a word, shatter him entirely.

He would do his best to move on, but it would be a very long time before he would feel like himself again.

You are his lifeline - and he is endlessly devoted to keeping you safe at all costs.

X = X-tra (A random head-canon for them)

Crow likes to collect things; little interesting trinkets and things he comes across during missions and excursions.

Being a relatively anxious person, he also tends to fidget - a lot. He feels like he always needs to be doing something with his hands. Sharping his dagger, doing little knife tricks, tinkering with something, writing in a notebook, whittling pieces of wood into interesting shapes; he's never completely still, even if he always seems outwardly calm.

He is also just very good with his hands in general, and as far as you're concerned, gives the world's best massages.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn't like, either in general or in a partner?)

Generally, there are a few things Crow doesn't like; unnecessary conflict, and he's not huge on eggs (for the texture, not the flavour, he says). Most of all, crowds - he does not like crowds. They make him feel unsafe and overwhelmed.

He is able to enjoy crowded events and celebrations to an extent, but he's usually one of the first to be ready to leave, and he will be in need of some quiet solitude to recharge.

As for partners, he has a few pet peeves; loud chewers would be one of his more minor ones, but he couldn't tolerate a partner with no compassion. He fully understands that sometimes difficult decisions need to be made for the greater good, but someone who can easily be callous and heartless for the sake of progress or personal gain is not a person he feels safe around.

"I know I've made some bad choices in my past - we all have. But at least I have the decency to feel some way about it when I do. It eats me up inside - and I think it should. I think it makes us less likely to take those decisions too lightly in the future."

Z = Zzz (What are some sleeping habits of theirs?)

Crow is a borderline insomniac and a very light sleeper. He's always been plagued by nightmares, but they'd gotten much worse after The Season of the Haunted. Despite finding a certain amount of closure by the end of the season, his nightmares remain an issue, and he's simply been learning to deal with them however he can - Glint would usually wake him up so he could get himself calm enough to try to sleep again.

Having you to cuddle up to at night has not made them any better, unfortunately, but waking up to feel you there beside him has made the process of finding his footing in reality much faster and far more pleasant. Despite his nightmares, he wakes up feeling far more rested than he ever did before; and he's eternally grateful to you for that.

(Image Credit - Wesley Gardner)

That's all, folks! Thanks for reading. See you next time, o guardian mine.

~ Pyretta Wychwiggin

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jayceshammer · 21 days ago

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The subtext in Jayvik

Viktor has now changed, merging with the Hexcore. He admits he doesn't feel "coldness", but rather senses an electric pulse. This could indicate he doesn't experience emotions, but this is contradicted by what happens in the later episodes, so I won't comment much on it. Regardless, Viktor doesn't feel positively about this change of events:

"I was supposed to die, you were supposed to destroy the hexcore"

This is the final breaking point of their relationship. The truth is coming to light, and Viktor finally confesses that the Hexcore killed Sky. We see a vision of her in Viktor's point of view. Some people point out that it’s the Hexcore manipulating Sky, I’d argue there’s still a piece of herself that remains.

In response, Jayce tries to salvage what he can by telling Viktor he'll resign from the council. He affirms he "understands now" that his true place was always in the lab, alongside Viktor.

"I understand now. We'll make this right, together"

This is a pivotal part in their relationship–Jayce is acknowledging, for the first time out loud and to Viktor, how important Viktor is for him. So much so that he doesn’t need anything else, cementing Viktor’s irreplaceable role in his life. It can be seen as a declaration of love because there’s a romantic motif; the idea of finding home or belonging in another person.

The word use is also peculiar. The use of “always” makes the viewer feel as though there’s an inevitability, implying that their connection was destined to be. It also plays into a common romantic trope, where a character realizes their romantic feelings for another when faced with their absence.

Jayce’s willingness to give up his political position is a selfless act, akin to that of Viktor’s in season 1. He’s giving up everything he’s worked for and his position of power to prove to Viktor that he’s someone worth sacrificing personal ambitions for.

However, Viktor's far too gone and proclaims his final goodbye. When confronted with their partnership, we get a hint of something we have suspected was there all this time:

"Our paths diverged long ago"

"It was affection that held us together"

This can be analyzed in a platonic light, but it can also be interpreted romantically. Jayce's finally coming to the understanding of his faults with Viktor, and he’s ready to sacrifice everything for him (in exchange for forgiveness). It could be said that his feelings for Viktor are deepening as he's faced with his departure, realizing a little bit too late what he's lost.

It's also worth mentioning that he calls Viktor his "best friend" in this instance, drawing distance from the word he used in season 1 (brother). This shift in language marks an evolution in their relationship.

"You think it’s so easy? To turn your back while your city looks to you for salvation? To cling to principles while your best friend bleeds out in your arms?"

"I never asked for this"

This can be read as an apology. Jayce might be indirectly addressing his neglect towards their relationship; he’s finally expressing the pressure he has felt to take responsibility and lead the city, which has distanced him from Viktor.

In Viktor's scenes, we can hear Sky's voice guiding him. In my opinion, she symbolizes Viktor's guilt, and is used as a way for Viktor to "redeem" himself in his own eyes through the act of saving others. Sky presents herself in a different way at this point. As others mentioned, it could be because she’s a projection of Viktor's idealized memory of her, shaped by his collection of her notes and her book. This is quite a different Sky from the one that we got in season 1, much more assured and confident. Of course, this might have to do with Hexcore's influence as well. I do believe there’s still parts of her true self in there.

We can see he’s seeking her approval as a way to alleviate the burden of her death. It's also worth noting the religious imagery that's used with Viktor, which I feel there's no need to explain because the iconography is evident. Regardless, here are a few images for reference:

Episode 3

Ekko, Jayce and Heimerdinger are transported to different dimensions after the Hexcore is corrupted, encountering a "wild rune" (according to Ekko). There is no Viktor scene in this episode. I will not be discussing the episode as there isn't much to say in regards to Viktor and Jayce's relationship.

Episode 5

Fast forward to this episode, Jayce is teleported to the Hexcore again, where he encounters Viktor, now in the form of Salo. We can see how disheveled Jayce is, in comparison to Salo's pristine form. After a brief talk, Jayce kills Salo.

Scenes

When Jayce confronts Salo, we can see the visions he gets from being in his alternate dimension:

He asks him how he's able to walk, to which Salo responds with: "Who do you think could mend such a broken creature?"

There's a certain subtext within this line of dialogue. First, Viktor is positioned as a saviour in Salo's eyes. He also uses particular words: mending the broken. This is what Viktor believes he's doing: fixing the brokenness in people.

The brokenness and faults he perceives within himself is something he seeks to heal, and this drive to "mend" is extended to those he considers flawed or in need of salvation.

Then, Viktor takes control of Salo's body in order to speak with Jayce.

"I'd feared I wouldn't have the chance to speak with you again"

We can see the marks in Salo's face. Jayce's reaction to hearing Viktor's voice is somehow hopeful and defensive at the same time: though the tone of his voice sounds like disbelief, he grips his weapon tight. Jayce longs for Viktor's return but is also wary of the changes that have taken place.

While they “catch up”, Jayce asks Viktor this:

"Is salo's still in there?"

We know this is just setting up their future arc in regards to Viktor taking people's autonomy away after "curing" them. Salo himself shows a deep devotion to Viktor, declaring he "owes him everything".

We also get these lines of dialogue:

"I thought you were done with Hextech"

"And me"

In this instance, the word “me” is being emphasized as it’s set apart by a noticeable pause. This pause conveys Jayce's remorse towards Viktor abandoning him; he’s implying that Viktor's abandonment goes beyond their Hextech partnership (which is why they're separated grammatically). Somehow, Viktor leaving their partnership feels synonymous with Viktor leaving him. It’s not uncommon for this to be a trope in romantic rivals to lovers relationships, where one character yearns for the other. We’ve seen it before.

"Because you left me"

Even though in the previous episodes Viktor has said he didn't feel much but an electrical pulse, he uses a different excuse this time:

“I was clouded by emotions”

Jayce attempts to confront Viktor, trying to reach a peaceful resolution, which doesn't work:

"We have to end it Viktor"

In regards to this, Viktor notes that Jayce is different, and deduces he has touched the Arcane. Jayce's response?

Episode 6

Summary

Viktor tries to heal Vander. After Jayce comes back from his alternate dimension, he attempts to kill Viktor.

Scenes

In one of the first scenes, we can see Viktor replaying the moment Jayce killed Salo. He appears concerned, saying:

"That isn't Jayce"

He doesn't really mention anything about Salo, like Sky. This is another point where we can see he’s no longer in touch with his humanity, or his past morals.

He claims there's another will at work within Jayce, which he describes as a "singulation (...) simultaneously self-replicating and self-annihilating". He doesn't realize at this moment that he's talking about himself. Sky mentions they've never seen complexity like this, to which Viktor responds:

"Flawless, exquisite chaos"

Near the end, when Jayce arrives at their commune, Viktor leads him with the help of one of his followers, a child. The child's actions are marked by confusion, yet unwavering acceptance towards Jayce. These could be interpreted as the child's actions on their own accord, without Viktor's influence; regardless of the case, Viktor probably knew that Jayce was coming, as we've seen he's aware of everything his followers sense.

Parts | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |

#arcane #viktor arcane #jayce talis #jayvik #arcane analysis #arcane s2 spoilers #arcane s2 #arcane theory #jayvik nation #long post

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vickyvicarious · 5 months ago

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Today's entry is really not Dr. Seward's best on display. He's matter-of-factly drugging his patient and rifling through his belongings. He's daydreaming about a cause worthy enough to justify even greater breaches of ethics than he's already doing. But in amongst these musings, there's some interesting foreshadowing too.

How well the man reasoned; lunatics always do within their own scope. I wonder at how many lives he values a man, or if at only one. He has closed the account most accurately, and to-day begun a new record. How many of us begin a new record with each day of our lives? To me it seems only yesterday that my whole life ended with my new hope, and that truly I began a new record.

Seward's interest in Renfield's skillful reasoning "within [his] own scope" and subsequent curiosity at how he measures the worth of men is of course ironic. He himself has been guilty of reasoning that only goes so far because of his own bias (about this guy in particular, in fact) and also values lives differently depending on the person. Or at least in different ways - we'll see the distinct difference between how he cares for Lucy in her illness (even when there is a question of potential 'madness') versus how he has behaved with Renfield. Obviously, there's other factors at play there too, but I can't help but think of the distinction here, particularly when it comes right before he moves on to thinking more directly about Lucy.

Renfield ends his first account when Seward denies him a cat, and eats all his birds to put a close to the whole process. But then he begins anew the next day. Seward muses about endings and beginnings, and claims that to him it feels like only yesterday that his life "ended with [his] new hope." This refers of course to Lucy rejecting him, and his beginning again was our first introduction to his audio diary. By his count, we're already on his second record. And those of us who have read the book before can recognize that a third will be coming up. Once again, a loss of Lucy will mark the end of his account - according to him, but then he will have to start again when he's inducted into the vampire-hunting. And that's when, as I've seen other people joking about, he gets his "strong, unselfish cause to make [him] work" - but it's far from happiness. (Though he in particular does get a line about savage delight in killing vampite!Lucy, it's another instance of unfulfilled potential in a way. The statement is anticipatory, and when it comes time to actual kill her, Jack is firstly the support, and secondly recognizes it as a terrible task. If he were the one staking, would he take a savage joy in doing so as he expected, or would it be a burden he bore out of love for the woman she was, as Arthur did? He actively participates in beheading her afterwards, in filling her mouth with garlic, in sealing her up. We don't hear his thoughts on any of that in any depth, and that happened after she apparently returned to her former self in death anyway, so... who knows.)

So it will be until the Great Recorder sums me up and closes my ledger account with a balance to profit or loss.

This line is also really interesting. In line of what happens later - both in how important records are throughout this story, and also in the epilogue making it clear that the entire book we've read is a preserved account.

But it also draws a comparison with Renfield's notebook. When Seward looked in it previously, he directly compared Renfield to an accountant, balancing numbers representing what we now know represent lives. This wording is kind of placing Renfield in the position of God; at the least imitating a Godly approach. That also goes along with what happens later on with Mina being burned by the Host and the characters seeming to interpret that as God deeming her unworthy (marked down as 'a loss') for no fault of her own.* It could link back to that line about reasoning within one's own scope again. I'm reminded of this excellent meta by @animate-mush which talks about how transgressing or occupying multiple roles is key in so many ways throughout this book. Staying within one's (typical/expected) scope is limiting, while Doing Both is strengthening. A madman's reasoning only goes so far - but then again, so does his doctor's. In that sense, having a straightforward binary of profit/loss is unhelpful. But of course, all this is happening within the context of the Good People fighting Bad Vampires book. As a rule, the novel doesn't delve too deeply into realizing moral dilemmas, even though it raises the question of them multiple times. So this whole line of thought I've been led down by these lines is kind of another instance of that, and there's no clear resolution to it. But it's interesting to think about.

*Pretty sure I've read at least one meta suggesting the mark was actually a warning to instill the necessary sense of urgency they needed to motivate them to save her before it became too late. That it was never meant as a mark of shame at all. In this case it's fully the characters' own limited view affecting their understanding of the situation, and the accountant view of a God tallying up more 'objective' pluses and minuses is lessened.

#dracula daily #jack seward #dracula daily spoilers #just... thinking aloud i guess #fitting response to a seward entry #dracula meta #sort of

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mswyrr · 2 months ago

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i love agatha and wanda because they're complex women who are people -- and therefore they do genuinely morally grey or even outright wrong things. and they're in an operatic, comic book world, so the scope of their moral complexity is operatic too. it's great! they've both genuinely hurt other people and each other; i love it. i want to eat them both up with a spoon they're so delicious.

which is why -- i think it's kind of important that, though agatha might not have known exactly what was going to happen, she chose to flip from trying (futilely) to convince billy that she hadn't wanted to hurt alice to intentionally provoking him into losing it. intentionally provoking him into (as far as she and he knows) killing jen and lilia.

and she was pleased that he did, i believe -- people say she was simply being forgiving and full of maternal love in that scene where she's projecting all over him. but my take is different. i think she's pleased that there's someone like her; that she brought him to her level, down from the self-righteous pulpit he was condemning her from.

"you're just like you're mother" is agatha setting off a bomb she'd been keeping in reserve - on purpose. she's not that naive! she knows what happens when you make a maximoff witch blow up now. the whole "you have the same tell"/"and that is?"/"convenient for me" moment fits with this too.

i think they are going to have a complex mentor and mentee relationship more (as much as the mcu can stomach letting a woman be complex) like a platonic view of cooper and lucy on fallout than a loving mother and child relationship.

there's a dynamic, of cooper wanting to drag lucy down (or shove and push, if necessary) so he can prove that he wasn't somehow uniquely a bad person to fall. or where don on mad men was cruel to peggy because he saw himself in her; or how haymitch mentored katniss pretty roughly. someone with massive self-image issues and an addictive/damaged personality (a magical drunk/addict basically???) seeing themselves in you and *projecting* on you is not a comfortable or fun experience necessarily...

i can see elements of that at play here and i love it. we'll see how it turns out in coming weeks - but i think it's a valid interpretation right now that she's not just telling billy what her mother never said to her--being a good mother-- she's saying what she wants and needs to hear and she's, on some level, glad he's just like her now.

are we really supposed to believe that the centuries old master manipulator is totally on the back foot before a naive 16 year old from a very comfortable suburb who has never had to develop street smarts or much survival skills re: other people???

i don't think her not being a devoted mom to him makes her bad. i think it's part of how she's interesting. and it could be the foundation for a fascinating mentor/mentee relationship, which really shouldn't be simple and wholesome in such a situation if it's ic. it should feel earned -- and fraught -- and i am looking forward to that.

#agatha all along #agatha all along spoilers #why can so many male mentors in fiction be messed up and psychologically damaged and outright cruel to young female mentees and it's worthy #art but a woman has to be overflowing with mother love the moment a teen needs her?#even joel gets to be more mean to ellie than people are willing to allow agatha to be to billy #i have no idea what the show itself will do -- but there's some potentially crunchy stuff here imo

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moxie-girl · 3 months ago

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DRDT EP 13/14 ANALYSIS/THEORIES

I said I'd do this once I collected my thoughts! haha Warning! This is super long…

To start, I'm going to pick apart all the stuff I predicted for ep. 13 (I'll try not to make it too long…)

Levi's Secret

Well. Levi sure did admit to. All that! I think this eliminates any last doubts I personally had about him being the killer… (your honor just because I'm a serial killer doesn't mean I killed that specific person /ref) I really like that he isn't shown as a bad person just because he lacks empathy, and he's actually actively trying to be a good person… the fact that he just admitted his secret because he thought it was the right thing to do is so funny though, there go all my theories lol! (I'm still a little worried about rule 14 though…)

Ace's (Almost) Murder

Yeah!! This is probably what we're gonna spend episode 14 talking about, with murder method and alibis, etc. I still don't think it was Nico though! (I want to say I called that it'd be relevant, but it felt a little obvious…)

The Murder Method

I think we can say this has been all figured out, with the method being exactly what several people much smarter than me all figured out.

The Possible Culprits

Rose was still acting a little odd, but I think Whit on the other hand, despite whatever all that was, is off the hook for now, so my number 1 suspect is still Hu! I'm like 90% sure she was the one who tried to kill Ace, at least, and that's become very important now!

Secrets

Well, we got all the secrets figured out! (Hu :( ) The fandom interpretation was pretty much correct, except for Teruko's (we'll get to that later…) I do hope that after this trial, some of the secrets that are not relevant/haven't really been discussed do get adressed, because I could even see them becoming motives for murder again. But also, I just want the characters to talk about them! (gimme that juicy juicy angst…)

Ace

He didn't re-open his injury or really freak out like I expected, but we got some vulnerability (and a new sprite!) from Ace, and considering next episode is probably gonna focus a ton on him, I'm still expecting at least one of the two to happen…

Teruko

Luckily for Teruko, we didn't have anything unlucky happen to her this episode! But she sure did get her time in the protag spotlight anyway, I'm glad she didn't let the mistake from last episode get her down!

☆ ☆ ☆

Also, my bingo card! I got a bingo!! (ft. my messy tiny notes if you want to read them)

A few of my other bingo predictions I'm still going to hold on to for the next (few) episodes, but now, onto some new stuff!

Final Arei Flashback

Whoooah boy was that scene a doozy. I'm starting to think David's murderous rage towards the blackened at the start of the trial was genuine, because me too, man. I'm really glad Arei got at least a little bit of closure before she died, though! She also had an interesting take on the "good person" role, something that has been very important to this trial thus far and will likely continue to be. (I'm thinking that the killer may have had a "good person"-related motivation for killing, which is why it's the chapter's overarching theme?)

Also, to adress the elephant in the room… EDEN??? Well, no wonder Xander "didn't expect her to attack [him] like that" - and from her expression I wonder if she expected it either - I'm really looking forward to learning more about what, exactly, happened before the killing game that involved them! I didn't really believe in Mastermind!Eden before this, but it's starting to look pretty plausible... (Also Xander is the king of haunting the narrative oh my god lol)

Teruko's Secret

Many of us, myself included, were hoping/guessing/assuming that when all the secrets were figured out, David would reveal that he actually had Teruko's, not Xander's. While that didn't happen, the way he reacted after she claimed "her" secret essentially confirms it, as does a lot of other evidence:

That secret being hers would complete a secret circle of Teruko -> Rose -> Whit -> David -> Teruko and a secret pair of Xander <--> Min, which makes sense considering all other secret swaps are either circles of four or in pairs.

Xander and Min would have each other's secrets logically since neither of them can receive secrets, so theirs would probably be separated from the rest.

MonoTV's line about not knowing whether they're all correct feels like a reminder/a hint that some of the secrets are incorrect, and those two feel like the most likely options.

Teruko apparently has no idea which secret is actually hers, so may have just guessed the one that sounded more like her, except we know she never knew her parents and only had one sibling (as does Charles… I wonder if he'll notice)

EDIT: I cant believe I almost forgot, but I feel like David’s attitude towards Xander (and Teruko) makes more sense with these secrets, because why would he idolize Xander if the killing game was his fault, but he would idolize him if he thought Xander was trying to end the killing game by killing Teruko, the person David now thinks/knows is at fault.

However, since David didn't claim out loud that Teruko was lying, it's likely that this piece of information will become relevant much later in the series, and he'll be keeping it to himself for now.

Veronika and Hu

When did Veronika and Hu make their pact? And how did Hu, presumably the one who wanted to make the pact, know that Veronika had her secret? Also, what on earth do you mean, Veronika, that your secret isn't the worst thing you've done???? This little section with the two of them could just be entirely innocent and a way for the dev to get the rest of the secrets on the board, and let Veronika be a little unhinged as she tends to be, but I get the feeling at least some of this is relevant. (I'm betting on either Accomplice!Veronika or Veronika's actual "worst thing" being important to a later trial…)

David

Ohhhhh, David. I feel like Veronika with how much I want to psychoalanize this guy. He is on the verge of a breakdown, and I can feel it! The question being, of course, whether Arei's death was enough to make it happen this chapter, or whether this is something that's gonna last another chapter or two before coming to a head. My money's on the second option, because I think this trial is about to be about Ace and his impending breakdown :)

I do hope after this trial we do get to see a little more of what David's actually like beyond his facades/the roles he's been playing! Also, as much as I'd like to see David survive and have to deal with the consequences of revealing his "true" personality on live television, I think it's more likely he'll go the way of DR antags trying to end the killing game via self-sacrifice.

(We also better keep a close eye on anyone who tries to befriend or help David in Ch3, because they're gonna die next! /j)

J's Morality

This is a short one, but I just wanted to comment on another analysis I saw point out that J has been one of the most vocal people anytime murder has been brought up. I think that behind her rougher personality, J is a more empathetic person, and/or has very strong morals, making her a narrative foil to Levi now, so I do hope the two of them interact in Ch3!

Whit??

Whit. Whit why do you know so much about hanging??? Being serious though, I saw someone else bring up that his mother might have died by hanging and he researched it afterwards as a coping mechanism or something? That's the saddest possible explanation, but it does make the most sense by far… I honestly don't think that Whit is the killer, because then why would he be being so helpful in figuring out the murder method, but he's still so weird and suspicious sometimes.

Nico!

Even though I still don't think it was Nico (crime scene makes more sense if seen as Nico trying to help Ace, they may have just admitted to it because it was the less confrontational option, next ep is def not the last one and I think it'll be about proving who it was other than Nico, and if you look at Nico's secret quote…) I still do hope they get the chance to get mad! Get mad at Ace! Get mad at David! Get mad at whoever the (attempted) killer was for putting the blame on them! Idk I just want them to have their moment.

☆ ☆ ☆

And finally, here are my new bingo cards for the next episode:

(I can't believe ep14 is gonna be 40 mins + there's a "non-spoiler" thumbnail rn oooooh I'm so nervous)

#godd i missed being in a fandom w weekly episodes + theorizing its soooo fun #drdt #drdt spoilers #danganronpa despair time #hu jing #nico hakobyan #ace markey #arei nageishi #teruko tawaki #david chiem #drdt theory

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dyaz-stories · 4 months ago

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okay so i fucking hated the airport scene and i need to exorcise it by explaining why and making it everyone else's problem

jujutsu kaisen spoilers up until chapter 236

Okay, so to preface this, my main issue is that this part of the chapter strongly clashed with my interpretation of Gojo's character and, in my opinion, isn't a suitable farewell to him. I know that some people will read this and think "Oh, so you're just mad that things didn't go the way you wanted" and... yeah. You know, I didn't like that something I didn't like happened. That's not unexpected, but if you're not interested in reading that, I totally get it! I just want to go into more detail about why I wasn't happy with the way this went.

I also want to add that I have no qualms with Gojo dying. I'm not thrilled by the way it happened, but this happening is fully expected within shonen codes. I get the significance of it and why it needed to happen for the story Gege wanted to tell. That's fine by me.

Now, to the airport scene.

We'll start with the first panel, mostly as an illustration. This panel shows, from the uniforms to Gojo's glasses and his expression, that we are in the presence of "high-school Gojo". This is reinforced by the presence of Geto, particularly because the only time when we've seen the two of them interact normally was during the Hidden Inventory Arc.

On top of that, Gojo, throughout the airport scene, acts more 'naturally' than he does in the manga, Hidden Inventory Arc excepted. I'd argue that with his students and with everyone following Geto's defection, he tends to have this 'wall' up (both literally and metaphorically). He doesn't talk to them with this kind of ease.

My issue with this is that it very much reads like character regression. It's been a decade since high-school for Gojo, give or take, and for his farewell I don't find it interesting to portay him not as he was, but as he had been.

The obvious answer to that is that this depicts Gojo in the time period during which he was the happiest. I don't wholly disagree with that — especially considering the emphasis in this arc about 'the loneliness of the strongest' and the fact that this was likely the only time when he didn't feel lonely.

I just regret the lack of distance with this idea. Even if it was the time when he felt happiest, he wasn't his teenage self anymore. I wish this had been reflected more. Like I said — this, to me, doesn't feel like a farewell to who he was at the moment of his death, because I'm not seeing the Gojo I'd seen throughout the manga.

Another, less obvious counter-argument could be that this emphasises that Gojo was stuck in the past and couldn't move on from his years in high school. I don't think this is particularly proven as true through the manga. The importance he gives to training his students and his belief that they can become stronger than him seems to show an interest in the future, not the past.

This is the next one. My issue isn't with Sukuna being stronger than Gojo (I don't care about that). Considering the central part Mahoraga plays in Gojo's demise (as Sukuna states right after)

the line about the Ten Shadows feels icky to me, but whatever on that front as well. No, what annoys me about all of that is that considering all of Gojo's confidence up until the end, it... makes him look like a cocky idiot? Which, okay, isn't that far off when it comes to his characterization, I'll give Gege that, but it was always warranted up until that point. Being unable to see danger coming to that degree, especially with the Six Eyes, is kind of ridiculous.

It also lessens the importance of Sukuna's supposed admiration for him, imo.

It cheapens both his death and his character to me.

I'm fully aware that people have used this as proof of Gojo's selfishness and essentially as showcasing his adrenaline addiction, and I get that it would make sense if that was your read on his character, but it came out of left field for me.

Another answer to that argument could be that this is Gojo's perception and doesn't reflect the reality — maybe he thought that but Sukuna didn't — however considering the timing I can't help but feel that we, as readers, are at least supposed to receive it as fact.

This one is less of a criticism and more of a note. It's not uninteresting as far as characterization goes. I think it doesn't come as a huge surprise that Gojo would feel that way but I do regret that this was never explored before. I'm not convinced it was hinted at all that well either, and it doesn't help that the one example we have of him being 'adored' is Miwa being a fangirl. Once again, I regret that we don't see anything about his students here. I think it would have been warranted.

This is probably my favorite panel out of the bunch, which I don't think is going to come as a surprise. This feels like a callback to him being a teacher. I like it.

Okay, this is probably my least favorite part of this. Nanami has said things of this nature before, he's called Gojo egotiscal,

so it's not new that he believes that. However, that is echoed by Haibara (and other people apparently, hence "we all thought that") and also by Geto, since he's the one who concludes "was just proven right by your actions a second ago". I have to assume Geto, in saying that, is referring to Gojo's fight against Sukuna.

I kind of fucking hate that. First of all, what Nanami says is something that I considered to be blatantly untrue in the manga. As far as I'm concerned, Gojo was constantly portrayed as caring deeply for his students, wanting to leave them a better world, and while I don't think he wanted to protect people the same way Itadori does, it's not like it's absent from his motivations either.

(The second panel is him asking about the people that got trapped in his domain expansion, while in Shibuya. This showed he was worried for their well-being. His decisions in Shibuya were also motivated by his decision to limit human losses.)

Geto essentially agrees with what Nanami is saying, which I think is intended to tell the audience that Nanami is right. That's who Gojo is, the person who knows him best even tells you that. Again, this feels very high school Gojo, without the decade of character development and of caring for kids that he has necessarily done since then. It's also telling us that Gojo fought Sukuna because he thought he would enjoy it, not for any sort of higher purpose (I do also hate the "I had fun" panel that comes earlier, in case you were wondering lol).

I also think that this removes any notion of responsibility which Gojo would have shouldered by choice, which I think contradicts other parts of the manga. Honestly, to me, Nanami's take here is so far removed from what I had received from the manga up until that point that it's kind of jarring.

As mentioned before, due to Geto's intervention, I don't think this can be interpreted as "just Nanami's opinion". Due to Gojo's lack of disagreeing and the fact that this chapter is his last, I do think it's intended as the 'true interpretation' for Gojo's character, by the author that is (is it going to stop me? No, but I think authorial intention is interesting to look at/try to find).

This one I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt to, because considering Gojo's conversation with Nanami at this point, he could be talking about Nanami. If he is talking about himself (and I do think that is the case), I want to put it on the record that I also hate it! Again, Gojo not caring about the students he's leaving behind, to me, does not feel 'right' or in character, and they're not mentioned once save for that one throw-away line about Megumi.

I'll discuss this real quick before concluding: is it a dream? I don't think it's that important here. Regardless of whether that's Gojo's hallucination in his final moments or truly the afterlife/the antechamber before reincarnation, considering the position this half-chapter occupies in the story, I don't think it alters my reading of it.

With that being said, I'm leaning towards it not being a dream in part due to Nanami's line about Haibara, which echoes exactly what we saw when Nanami dies.

This line is for the audience in my opinion, not for Gojo.

So where does that leave us? Well, to me, the heart of it is what I said earlier: this feels like a goodbye to high school Gojo, not the one we see through most of the manga, and that was who I wanted to see, and the one who I believe deserved this farewell.

On top of that, for the most part, the characterization of Gojo as done by other characters borders on character assassination, in my completely personal and admittedly biased opinion. It's not at all what I would have wanted him to go out on. Leaves a very bad taste in my mouth and makes me feel silly for caring.

What a sad way to go.

I typically conclude these kinds of posts by saying that I'm happy to discuss what I've said if you disagree, however for this one, I hope I've made it clear that my issues lies with the disparity between my interpretation of Gojo and this scene, as well as just what I would have liked to see, and it's therefore very personal. I do think that if Gege wanted me to have this interpretation of Gojo he didn't do a good job of getting me there, but if you disagree and you liked this scene, you know, more power to you. I don't think that means you're wrong. I just had a bad time reading it and I wanted to talk about it. With all that said you can 100% disagree obviously, but I'm not looking for a debate.

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #gojo satoru #jjk manga spoilers #jjk spoilers #jujutsu kaisen spoilers #spoilers #my analysis #dya thinks thoughts #spending several hours writing this was a very healthy response to chapter 236 methinks

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theguyinthemathexamples · 2 years ago

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been a long while since I've been back, so here's something before i disappear again ✌️

so here and now, i would like to introduce to you all,

The Levels Of Self Awareness in SAGAU

(aka, the ones I've seen so far)

Warning(s): Cursing(probs), possible misinformation?, not really accurate?, my opinions, my humour and experience, and more.

Not proofread, we die like Guizhong in the Archon War.

1. None. Just- Just none.

As the name suggests, none. Just your average game.

No, literally, there's nothing to worry about here.

No worrying about getting sucked in while you're sleeping or anything of the like.

Nothing strange happens (for now) while you're playing, nothing like that.

No extra items, no extra friendship exp, no extra anything.

It's best to savour it while you still can.

2. "Since when did i get that??"

This is when the "getting extra stuff" and/or "extra luck" happens.

Either your characters have been doing some offcam grinding themselves, or you've just been collecting stuff for a while now and haven't really looked into your bag other than to switch gadgets.

Normally, you probably just caught one crystalfly, and yea it shows that, but either 1. it shows you got multiple, or 2. you have a tiny bit/alot more crystalflies in ur bag the last time you checked.

Maybe that's what they want you to think, who knows.

You'd also probably get lucky with a pull or more - usually nothing more than ten or so.

Your characters would also glitch a lil. Things like the sudden cancelling of idle animations, not switching onto the character you want/need, accidental skill/burst activation, and more.

Though, those only happen on occasion. It's not common enough for you to notice and just interpret as misclicks, but also rare enough to set off a raised eyebrow or red flag inside of you.

Nothing happens out of the ordinary outside of your phone.

Apps like Youtube, Google, Chrome, Photos/Gallery, etc. aren't tampered with.

You're good ... As long as the characters don't break through the 636f6465, that is.

3. "Yo," - Kaeya, 2022

It's probably time to delete and redownload Genshin at this point.

You might see hints of you - i.e statues, your favorite color/thing appearing here and there, characters mentioning someone by "Their/His/Her Grace" or some other title, etc.

Your Gallery might be affected, a few photos of a character and/or a view from Genshin.

Getting extra stuff also (probably) gets more frequent

Either you get them through mail or it just gets sent to your storage/bag directly.

The character glitches also happen a lil more frequently.

Oh, you wanted [thing] but didn't have the chance to do so? Don't worry, we'll get it for you, Your Grace. Just occupy yourself with some other miscellaneous tasks and you'll have it in no time.

Your luck also increases a lil more.

The character you've wanted for some time now but didn't get the chance to get them before? Yep, you guessed it, you lost your 50/50 atleast 4 times now.

Lmao I'm kidding

But seriously, if it's what you've been wanting for some time now, you're at least bound for one or a few 50/50 losses (unless you're guaranteed)

It's also why you (probably) get that one unwanted 5* because you wanted to try your luck/build pity.

Jealousy runs in the family, as they say. It's almost unavoidable, really. (looks at my lost 50/50s)

Hey, don't blame them! They were just... excited that you wanted to even pull on their banner, y'know?

Level them up and ascend them to level 20. I dare you.

I mean hey, atleast you'll get a free acquiant fate after you ascended them.

It only takes 7 Hero's Wit, 1 Wanderer's Advice, and their ascension mats.

It's basically a win/win, is it not?

You get a free fate, they get strength. It's fair for everyone.

You don't even have to give them a new weapon or any artifacts! Just leveling them up will do the job, will it not?

4. Caught You Slippin'

Oh, and if the Barbatos statue at Mondstadt actually changed into you, it's best if you just, yk, just look at the first • on this #.

It's too late to turn back now.

This is the "isekai" part of SAGAU, aka, where most fics take place.

This might be a major jump from the previous #, but hey, i started making this at 5AM.

But besides that, what AU you end up is all based on chance.

I'm sure you get the gist of this #. If you don't, i don't blame you.

Remember that one machine in Albedo's cave? That big rectangle/oval one? You don't? Good cuz neither do i.

Either you got sucked in and woke up somewhere in Teyvat, or you woke up to a bunch of hot people staring at you.

This part of the post is very sensitive to change, so I can't really say much here.

Just know that if you manage to find yourself at this point, you probably don't have a chance in getting back to your normal life without getting atleast a tiny bit of trauma.

C/N: Yea, it's me Your broy, chips ahoy, Cake.

Didn't expect me to post, did you? Well, you probably did, but hey, i like imagining nonexistent things

Anyways, have this while u still can cause i'm going back to nap again

Oh wait right i just remembered i haven't done my commissions

Nevertheless, thank you for all of your patience.

Peace — ★

#fool's flour °#scaled vanilla extracts °#silver lined strawberries ♪#stellar-borne cookies and cream ♪#genshin impact #sagau #genshin impact sagau #what else can i tag #i got lazy at the end #sorry lol #still thinking about those times scara and alhaitham said smth that wasn't part of their voicelines #oh well #i made this instead of sleeping

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schraubd · 6 months ago

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Losing Your Chevrons

Somewhere, an environmentalist wished upon a star: "I hate big oil. It's a blight on the universe. If only Chevron would disappear forever!" and a monkey's paw curled once. I was steeling myself to write about Loper Bright and my official welcome on behalf of the Con Law professoriate to the Admin Law professors joining the "burn all your lecture notes and start from scratch club", and then Trump v. United States came down. Even though the latter is a more immediate big deal and is closer to my expertise wheelhouse (I've fielded far more inquiries from former students asking "what is going on!" with respect to the Trump decision than any ruling in my entire career, Dobbs included), I really don't have all that much to say at this moment. That may change -- in fact, it almost certainly will, as I try to work this blog post into an essay -- but for now I'm going to lay off and just write what I planned to write about the demise of Chevron. My short version take is this: in many, many cases, we'll see little difference between before and after. This prediction, however, should not be confused with sanguinity. Rather, it is a recognition that judges are human, with the normal assortment of human interests, talents, and vices. In most deep-weeds administrative law cases, where judges neither know nor care about the difference between, say, nitrogen oxide and nitrous oxide, they aren't going to actually do a deep dive review of the law from scratch. These issues are hard enough for a team of subject-matter experts with Ph.Ds in the hard sciences grinding away for months. For a judge with a J.D. from Hofstra who last took a statistics class in 11th grade? Forget about it. In practice, no matter what the doctrine purports to demand or what they claim to be doing on the opinion pages, judges will end up deferring to reasonable agency interpretations of the law unless they're howlingly off-base -- which, of course, is why we ended up with Chevron in the first place. Any objective observer of courts sees this sort of thing from judges all the time -- there are all sorts of cases where nominal "de novo" review is the furthest thing from, because judges simply find the topic boring, repetitive, or impenetrable (you can usually spot these cases by their use of the phrase "after careful review ...."). This will be what happens for many if not most cases on obscure rules in unremarkable issue areas. What will change is in those administrative rules on hot button issues of high-salience. Here, Loper Bright doesn't make judges any smarter, but does give them a green light to start substituting their judgment for expert agencies who at least have some measure of accountability to the political process. In other words, Loper Bright won't universally result in the substitution of inexpert judicial policymaking for the judgments of administrative agencies; rather, it will result in that substitution on an ad hoc and arbitrary basis whenever the judge who happens to be draw the case has an idiosyncratic or ideological hobbyhorse to ride. The administrative state will be able to carry on, with a cutaway for partisan judges to meddle more openly whenever partisan proclivities instigate an urge. So there's your consolation about the end of Chevron. Feeling better? I thought so. via The Debate Link https://ift.tt/ow8Pq4G

#administrative law #judiciary #supreme court

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raayllum · 1 year ago

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also cause I'm not there yet in my 5x08 liveblog but because even just a whiff of "Callum gave Finnegrin the spell" made the fandom troll come running into my inbox to say otherwise, just wanna clear up a few things for peace of mind before we get there

The first is that I know it was the fandom troll because of the timing & presentation, not necessarily because the now deleted/blocked ask had the "Callum purposefully gave Finnegrin the wrong spell" take. While that was an indication to me that this was probably the fandom troll since they seem to take issue with my characterization of Callum in particular, perfectly smart reasonable people have also proposed that possibility of the spell ingredients being not entirely accurate as purposeful; it's not exclusive to crappy people by any measure.

With all that in mind, I want to discuss how I view the scene (and indeed how I think it's meant to be interpreted per a casual viewer reading) as well as why I think Callum giving Finnegrin a not word-for-word accurate actually kind of makes his choice more morally questionable, not less

So let's begin

1) I don't think the scene's intended takeaway is that Callum gave Finnegrin the wrong spell

I think Callum panicked, and he folded, and he would've told Finnegrin anything the pirate had asked for in that moment to try and spare Rayla's life. While TDP is an immensely detailed show in many ways (hell I have a tag dedicated to just those details), every scene still has to ultimately work for a casual viewer. I don't think this scene is any exception. One of the first things in the series that we learn is that humans took down the King of the Dragons with dark magic and it's a repeated fact throughout most of the first season, and into the third when we see the events that transpired exactly.

So when Finnegrin mentions it, we're probably going to remember that was a thing that happened and it involved Harrow and Viren, but we're probably not going to remember the specific ingredients. Therefore, like Finnegrin, most audience members are going to take Callum at his word, especially since throughout most of his conversation with Finnegrin, Callum is arguably far more honest than he needs to be (fessing up that he did dark magic at all, mentioning that he studies all the primals, that he did the spell to save a friend at all - which is exactly why Finnegrin sets him the hand cutting test to try and break him, etc). The scene - again, for the audience's benefit - even as Callum clarify for those that wouldn't remember why he was spouting things about dying breaths and unicorn horns, because again, I do think this is the Intended Takeaway:

Part of the reason I think Callum panicked (other than Jack de Sena's wonderful voice acting and uneven breaths) is because, if Callum was thinking clearly enough to withhold information purposefully, he could've considered 1) that Finnegrin is bluffing about threatening Rayla (Callum cannot see her or any of the others, so that could be the case) and 2) Finnegrin would have limited means to know that Callum was lying if Callum said exclusively the wrong ingredients and sent him on a wild goose chase. To give as much as he did accurately was dangerous (but we'll talk more about that in a second).

We also know from instances in the previous seasons and just the prior episode that Callum doesn't have all sky spells (ones that he can do whenever he wants basically) memorized either, and that it's not out of the realm of possibility that Viren would've fudged a little to Harrow about some components of the spell (such as emphasizing love and hatred) because he was actively trying to convince - somewhat guilt-trip and manipulate - Harrow into doing something didn't really want to do, but ultimately couldn't say no to.

However, one of the things that's the most fun meta is reading into things deeply, looking at various character interpretations, and seeing what we can find below the surface level / casual viewership read. Just because something may not be the 'intended takeaway' (which can already be hard to define) doesn't mean it's not a real possibility, especially if enough dots connect, and doesn't mean it's not worthwhile and or without merit.

So let's look at the scene from the assumption that Callum is giving Finnegrin a not totally accurate spell On Purpose - what does he omit, what does that tell us, and where does that leave us from a character standpoint?

2) Haha, jk, unless...?

First things first, let's look at what Callum says vs what Viren says

No, no, wait! A dying breath. Blood filled with hatred. And a unicorn horn. That's the dark magic you want.

In her final moments, I captured something that I hoped we could use later. It contains her dying breath. [...] Claudia captured a unicorn and brought me its horn. The dying breath. The unicorn's pure horn. There's one last component I need. The undying hatred of one who loved the victim. Your blood.

Now, even Viren's stance and the circumstances of the spell isn't entirely clear. We don't know if any dying breath would do, or if it had to be Sarai's (and had to go her killer, as opposed to someone else). We don't know if the spell requires the unicorn's horn to be 'pure' (I'm assuming not already corrupted somehow with dark magic) or if it would work regardless. And we don't know whether the hatred or love is more important, or just one, or if they're equally important. It's quite a list, after all.

Which is why I think in some ways Callum's lack of specificity actually makes what Callum told Finnegrin more dangerous, whether you read the minor omissions as intentional or not.

Cause think of it this way, you're a pirate lord and you want to kill your enemy. You heard from this mage kid that any dying breath would do. What's your next move going to be? You're probably going to murder a random member of your crew and collect the breath because you were never told it had to be your loved one's final breath (which would make the spell impossible).

So that's one murder down, bare minimum. Then you're going to either send people out or word that you're looking for a unicorn horn at a port where people already canonically smuggle dark magic supplies (Chasing Shadows, TDP reflection). This will either lead to you hiring people to eliminate one of the - it appears to be - few remaining unicorns that still exist to bring you the horn, or if you've put out a reward, multiple dark mages / mercenaries may try their hand at killing one and bringing the horn to you. That's probably 1-5 unicorn murders as a result, if the mages are working not in communication with each other and all vying for the reward. This is also assuming that none of the mercenaries or mages come back empty handed and get harmed or killed because of Finnegrin's anger at their failures.

You also might torment and torture someone else to get them to hate you before you drain them of blood / take their blood for the spell, again not realizing that 'love' has to be a facet of it. At best, that would maybe be what you do to the crew member before you kill them for their final breath.

Then, once he has all the ingredients (and he'd need some sort of incantation, because dark magic is a lot of steps and processes) there's two main avenues.

Either these all work and he successfully has his weapon of vengeance needed to kill Domina Profundis, because what was given was enough. This would mean Callum's actions led to about 2-3 successful murders of mostly innocent people and possibly more political upheaval at the death of another archdragon (the ocean would certainly be out of whack, but it's not clear how much, if any, political power Domina still holds).

It doesn't work and Finnegrin, stubborn as he is about control and loathe to admit he can't commandeer something (magic and wills included), figures that something went wrong and tries again, having to collect the ingredients all over again. Depending on how many times he'd try (I feel like maybe 2-3 max), this could put those murders up to maybe nine innocent individuals, assuming Finnegrin's worsening temper over his failures doesn't increase the tally.

Rattling off the accurate spell ingredients could've actually minimized the damage, because any of the specifics might've stopped Finnegrin in his tracks. If Finnegrin just needed hatred of one who loved the victim, he could've fulfilled that on his own with some of his own blood ("I loved that crab" and her definitely hates Domina Profundis). The one that could've entirely halted his plan is if the dying breath had to come from the victim, in which case the chance to avenge his beloved crab is long gone. Finnegrin could've heard the list of very specific ingredients, deduced that he would not be capable of carrying out the spell, and been on his merry way to use Rayla as revenge fish bait.

But by giving Finnegrin an 'imperfect' list, Callum made the pirate captain more likely to engage in the violence required to get there, without an actual textual guarantee to the audience that what was given wouldn't have worked, either (aka we have two ingredients list and without a third to tip the scales, it'll always be a technical 50-50, maybe 60-40 read in favour of Viren).

So where does that leave us?

With these two readings in mind, you have two options:

Callum is willing to sacrifice Domina Profundis', and a few unnamed innocent lives/creatures, to save Rayla and thereby gave Finnegrin a dangerous in its own way, if not more dangerous because of potential increased collateral damage, list of spell ingredients, because he acted entirely out of emotionally fuelled panic where he wasn't totally thinking clearly

Callum is willing to sacrifice unnamed innocent lives and creatures, but not Domina Profundis', in order save Rayla, because he decided on purpose to give Finnegrin a more achievable sounding list of ingredients that would increase collateral damage, but not let him kill the dragon, because he made a calculated decision on purpose that those lives were worth less than Rayla's and Domina's to him (for some reason, as she's a stranger to him)

To be clear, I would love the second option as an interpretation because I do think Callum can be calculating and I do think that's the far more Viren-like option - choosing what to sacrifice for other people in the mindset of harm mitigation ("A thousand men and women are prepared to fall protecting you tonight, but you won't let one sacrifice their lives for you?" / "If you must choose, choose the egg").

But again, given the framing of the scene I think the first reading is 1) more sympathetic and speaks to Callum's more compassionate emotional nature and 2) is the intended takeaway, but if people want to read it as Callum strategically deciding that certain lives - other than Rayla's - were worth sacrificing that so she and Domina Profundis wouldn't be killed, that is absolutely a valid prerogative.

It's just not mine

#tdp #the dragon prince #mini meta #analysis series #5x08 #s5 #arc 2 #analysis #dark magic #tdp callum #tdp meta #callum #like at most if you do the purposeful read he spared domina #but that just means he still threw under strangers under the bus #and decided this one stranger meant enough he'd send finnegrin on a wild goose chase #which is valid! of course he doesn't want to cause more harm to more people than he has to #but if you read it as on purpose i do think that's actually making him far more calculated / selectively loyalty #than he already is #& saved the ask just in case it's insinuated for some reason that i am lying (just i would not put that above ppl)

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