#which is also why i think there's so much dex love

[softmoonlightmelody]

so i've seen a lot of people in the fandom going into the keefe and fitz discourse, respectively, how fitz and keefe are hated.

but here's the thing. i think a lot of you are mixing up dislike with disregard (for lack of better terms).

okay, i'll explain a little more. dislike is when you dislike a character. not because they're a bad character, simply because you find yourself not enjoying reading about them. that's me with keefe! he's not a bad character by any means, and i recognize he has trauma that he should heal from (and also that he has an important place in the series). but i also find myself disliking him when he's on page.

now disregard is different. disregard is when you link your personal dislike of a character with how they are written. this is where you get people saying 'i hate fitz, he's such a badly written character' and likewise for keefe. they're not badly written by any means. in fact, keefe and fitz are very strong characters!

so that's my two cents. people are confusing characters they dislike with characters who are badly written. you can dislike a character. but disliking a character does not mean a character is badly written.

[synthetic-sonata]

one day ill post my pokemon games + spinoffs tierlist that im slowly chipping away at and have been since, like, june or july . but i dont think people are ready

[dexaroth]

somwhat currently inspired to try and develop my own little worldbuilding despite all the horrors.. debating whether i should make it public or not on dexcentral. i dont have much figured out of course so im afraid that people wouldn't check the page again for updates and would only remember the unbaked parts so itd be better to post when its at least half-baked. then again it feels like im having ice crystals growing from inside the grooves in my brain when im reminded of how little creative stuff i make and post anymore that itd be a temporary relief to know that at least part of the worldbuilding is public and such. im trying to let go of only posting finished stuff but to no one's surprise it is very hard

[galesdevoteewife]

Gale may not be so typical squishy wizard/scholar?

-My Galeology study note-

Looking at his character sheet in the Deluxe pack gets me thinking, maybe our wizard is not exactly designed to be the typical squishy one...?

[Act2 spoiler warning]

2 things caught my eyes:

1) Great physical fitness, and good reflexes. (For your reference, Gale & Wyll are the two companions who have the highest Con: 15. I put everyone's sheets at the bottom of the post.)

His Con and Dex are... very high?? I mean, higher than Karlach and Lae'zel...????

Note 1: I suspect it could have something to do with his background as Mystra's chosen, as they are somewhat "transformed" when they agree to become the goddess's chosen. A topic for another day since I haven't quite figured it out yet, for anyone who is interested there's a chapter about it in The Seven Sisters. Also, I have little clues on how much chosen lore credit Larian was taking into account while designing him, or how Mystra's "taking back the given ability" works. Note 2: Again, Mystra's chosen are often sent on missions that involve a lot of traveling according to Elminster's series. Mystra also mentioned that Gale and she used to have adventures together, which leads to an assumption: despite his preference he might be traveling quite a lot until he was cast aside and quarantined himself in his tower. Might be the type of scholar who is very keen on field studies?

Note 3: Can someone undress Elminster to exam my theory please??xD Neh won't work I think all human might share same body model in game

Come to think of it, there was a party banter between Karlach & Gale that went like :

Karlach: Whoa! Almost slipped there. Gale: You wouldn't be the first, I'd wager. It's been some time since these walkways felt the carpenter's hammer. Karlach: You gonna catch me if I eat a brick? Gale: With my reflexes? I'd catch you before you so much as stubbed a toe.

At first I thought that was a sarcastic joke but, seems like it wasn't? Also this:

Karlach: Ready to enter the belly of the beast? Gale: It's the stairs I'm dreading. I shall close my eyes, and pretend I'm climbing my own, far superior tower in Waterdeep. Karlach: In that case, welcome home.

...So it seems when I pictured him as a homebody, I should reimagine the concept of home... His has...lots of stairs? Just walking around in the tower could be counted as a workout, sort of thing? Note: I don't think the place he shows in the Act 2 cutscene is his tower. Otherwise, aren't these neighbors pretty much doomed?

2) Not THAT smart. Well, I love him, so I will speak in his defence: [1] He has a warm(s) digging holes in his brain. [2] Poisonous magical bile running in his blood. Maybe he's just not at his best, makes sense, eh? Wyll mentioned he is nerfed after tadpole too. After all, this man obviously memorized a DICTIONARY:

Gale: You promised to stay in Waterdeep. 'Promise,' verb, meaning to swear something will or will not be done. Tara the Tressym: And I decided 'will not'. And a good thing, too. You look like you haven't had a good meal in days

Player: When I said we could be more than friends, you answered 'perhaps'. What does that really mean? Gale: If I recall correctly, the Waterdhavian Dictionary of the Common Tongue of Faerûn defines it as an adverb that conveys the meaning of 'it may be that', or 'possibly'. Gale: Sorry, sometimes I just can't help being quite insufferable. In seriousness, I'm glad you asked that question.

Along with a bunch of you-may-never-need information:

Everything about ceremorphosis? Myconid? Why in the world have him read about Cazador??? And how can he not know the distance between Waterdeep & Baldur's Gate, even Karlach ―who spent a decade, which is likely half of her life in hell― knows better geography than him. Gale either totally ignored the subject or portaled everywhere; distance meant nothing to him?? Uh, but you can't take party banters too seriously; it's buggy. How could a bug bit Karlach in the swamp? It should've been burned into ashes before it even reached her, no?

Anyway, just rambling some thoughts <3 I would have gone to Harvard if there was a major in Gale...

-DISCLAIMER- Brought to you by a brainrot wife, Galerian missionary. Be warned the article might has (strong) bias because the writer is braindead and she thinks Gale is the most awesome character in the world.

[utilitycaster]

Daggerheart Character Build thoughts!

I am actually out at work and haven't checked the version that's since come out, but I did participate in the character build beta, and the NDA is officially lifted, so here's my thoughts from that! It's definitely limited since I just made a L1 character and didn't go through gameplay, though I surmise about some aspects of gameplay.

Overall, it clearly seems to be made by people who love a lot of things about D&D 5e but wanted both more flexibility and more simplicity, which is difficult. I think they succeed.

To that end, it takes away some of the crunchier aspects (precise positioning, exact amounts of gold) and I think for some people that will be a problem, and that's valid, but ultimately this game wants to both allow for interesting mechanics in and out of combat while also not being terribly math/map/resource management heavy. It is a hard line to walk; most systems either go hard crunch or go entirely gooey.

The dice mechanic (2d12, Hope and Fear system) is fantastic; look it up but I think it handles mixed successes more gracefully and interestingly than a lot of games.

The playtest was not super clear on armor and evasion choices (or indeed what evasion means; it seems to be sort of initiative but sort of dex save, or maybe more like the Pathfinder/old school D&D varying ACs by scenario?). It was much, MUCH clearer than D&D on weapon choices (part of why I play casters? Weapon rules in D&D are annoying and poorly explained and many people rightfully ignore them) so I'm hoping this becomes clear when there's a full guide rather than just the character creation info.

The character creation questions by class were fantastic and in general, and this is a theme, this feels like it guides people towards collaboration. FWIW I feel like D&D has that information, but the way it's presented is very much as flavor text rather than a thing you should be doing. Daggerheart makes this a much more core part of creation. The Experience mechanic is particularly clear: you better be working with your GM and really thinking about background, rather than slapping it on as a mechanic.

The other side of character creation questions is that it really encourages engagement with the class, which is something I've talked about. I think either subversion for the sake of subversion, or picking a class for the mechanics and aesthetic but not the fundamental concept, will be much harder to justify in Daggerheart, and I think that's a good thing because when people do that, their characters tend to be weaker.

The downtime is designed for you to write hurt/comfort fanfic about and this is a compliment. There are a number of mechanics that reward RP, particularly one of the healing mechanics under the Splendor track. I feel like a weakness of D&D is that when you try to reward RP it's really nebulous because there's not actually a ton of space to put that - you can give inspiration, but, for example, the empathy domain Matt homebrewed actually feels kind of off because it's based on such fuzzy concepts amid mechanics that are usually more rigid. Daggerheart comes off as much cleaner yet still RP-focused, and I'm excited to see it in action.

A judgement of Candela and I suppose Daggerheart might be that it's designed for actual play. I've mentioned before that I know people who are super into the crunch and combat and numbers of TTRPGs and are less story-oriented, and again, that's valid, but actual play is just storytelling using a ttrpg and so yes, a game that encourages RP while also having mechanics to support that and influence it is an extremely good goal. I am not an actual player, but I do like D&D games with a good plot and not just Go Kill Monsters, and I want to play this. (I also have some real salty thoughts about how if you modify an existing game for AP purposes that's staggering genius apparently, but if you make your own game how dare you but that's another post).

And now, the classes/subclasses. I am going to sort of use D&D language to describe them because that's a point of reference most people reading this will understand, but they are not one-to-one. A couple notes: everyone can use weapons and armor. HP is not totally clear to me but it seems to be threshold based - everyone has the same HP to start but people have different thresholds and armor, so the tank classes have the same amount of HP but are much harder to actually do damage to.

All classes are built on a combination of a subclass and two domains. There are 9 classes and 9 domains. This technically means that if you wanted to fuck around and homebrew you could make up to 36 classes (27 additional) by just grabbing two domains that weren't otherwise combined, which is fun to consider for the potential. Anyway I cover the classes and briefly describe domains within them. You can take any domain card within your domain, regardless of subclass.

There are six stats. Presence, Instinct, Knowledge, and Strength map roughly to Charisma, Wisdom, Intelligence, and Strength. Dex is split into Agility and Finesse; Agility covers gross motor skills (jumping, most ranged weapons, "maneuvering") and Finesse finer ones (lockpicking and tinkering, though also it does cover hiding). The really big wins are first, no CON score, so you don't need to sink stat points into something that grants no skills but keeps you alive. The second one is that the "hybrid" classes spellcast from their physical stat. This is fucking fantastic. The thing about ranger or paladin or the spellcasting subclasses of rogue and fighter in D&D is that if you don't roll pretty well you're locked into the core stats and CON and nothing else. (This also doesn't have rolling for stats: you assign +2 to one stat, presumably your main, and then distribute two +1s, two 0s, and one -1.)

Your HP, Evasion, and Thresholds are set by class, and there's a core ability; the rest is all from the cards you take for subclass and domain.

Leveling up is very much based on taking more domain cards (abilities) but has a certain degree of flexibility. It's by chunks: in leveling up anywhere levels 2-4, you can, for example, increase your proficiency by +1 once, so if you wanted to do that at level 2 but your fellow player wanted to wait until level 4 and take something else at level 2 instead, they could. It allows for more min-maxing, but also everyone has the same level up rules and differs only in the abilities on the cards, which is very cool.

Bard: Grace (enchantment spells) and Codex (learned spellcaster stuff; the spells available are definitely arcane in vibes) based, Presence is your main stat. The two subclasses map roughly to lore-style stuff and eloquence. Core class ability is sort of like inspiration but not entirely. It's a bard; I like bards a lot, and this is very similar vibes-wise to your D&D bards. If you like D&D bards you will like this.

Druid: Sage (nature spells) and Arcana (raw magical power spellcaster stuff), Instinct is your spellcasting/main stat. The two subclasses are elemental but frankly cooler than circle of the moon, and a more healing/tranquility of nature focused one. I really think Marisha probably gave feedback on this one, because the elemental version is really strong. You do get beastform; it is quite similar to a D&D druid under a different system, as the bard, but the beastform options are, frankly, better and easier to understand.

Guardian: Valor (melee tank/damager) and Blade (damage). Strength based for the most part (Valor mechanics assume strength) though you could go for like, +2 Agility +1 Strength to start. This is barbarian but like. 20 times better. It is, fundamentally, a tank class, and it is very good at it, with one even more tank-focused subclass and one that is more about retaliatory damage. You do have a damage-halving ability once per day, but really guardian's questions are incredible. I think Travis and Ashley likely gave feedback. Also rage doesn't render you incapable of concentration as that doesn't seem to be a thing, so multiclassing seems way more possible (you are, I think, only allowed to do one multiclass, and not until you reach level 5 minimum, which I am in favor of). Yes, you can be a Bardian.

Ranger: This is what I built! It is based on Sage and Bone (movement around the field/dodging stuff) and it is Agility-based, including for spellcasting, which is a MASSIVE help (as is, again, the fact that CON isn't a thing.) The subclasses are basically being really good at navigation, or animal companion. Most importantly to me you can be a ranger with a longsword and you are not penalized; Bone works with either ranged weapons or melee.

Rogue: Midnight (stealth/disguise/assassination spells and skills) and Grace-based. Yes, rogue is by default a spellcaster, which does help a LOT with the vibes for me. One subclass is basically about having lots of connections (as a spy or criminal might) and the other is about magical slinking about. Hiding/sneak attack are also streamlined. I will admit I'm still more interested in…almost everything else, but I think it evened out a lot of rogue weaknesses.

Seraph: Splendor (healing/divine magic) and Valor. This is your Paladin equivalent. It is strength-based for casting, again making hybrid classes way less stressful. Questions for this area also incredible; you do have something not unlike a lay on hands pool as well. Your subclasses are being able to fly and do extra damage; or being able to make your melee weapon do ranged attacks and also some extra healing stuff, the latter of which is my favorite. Yasha vibes from this, honestly. Single downside is this is the only class where they recommend you dump Knowledge. I will not, and I never will. Now that I don't have to make sure CON is high? I am for REAL never giving myself less than a +1 Knowledge in this game.

Sorcerer: Arcana (raw nature of magic/elemental vibes) and Midnight based. Yes, sorcerers and rogues now share a vibe, for your convenient….less enthused feelings. Instinct-based, which intrigues me, and the core features are in fact really good. The two subclasses are either one that focuses on metamagic abilities, or one that is elemental based. I would play this for a long-running game, though it's not my favorite, and I can't say that for D&D sorcerer (except divine soul).

Warrior: Blade and Bone, and the recommended build is Agility but you could do a strength build. Fighter! One subclass is about doing damage and one is about the hope/fear mechanics core to the game that I have NOT talked much about. I will admit, the hybrid martials and Guardian are more interesting to me but you do have good battle knowledge.

Wizard: Codex and Splendor. Wizards can heal in this system; farewell, I will be doing nothing else (jk). Knowledge-based, and you can either go hardcore expertise in knowledge, or be a battle wizard.

Other scattered thoughts: healing is not as big a deal here; there is no pure cleric class! There is also no monk, warlock, or artificer. There is not a way to do monk as a weaponless class really though you might be able to flavor the glowing rings as a monk weapon and play a warrior. Wizard, meanwhile, with the right experiences and high finesse, would allow for some artificer flavor. Cleric and Warlock are the two tough ones and I will admit those are tricky; I feel like you'd have to multiclass (which you cannot do until level 5) between perhaps seraph and a caster class and you're still going to come off very paladin.

[fulgurbugs]

What would the travelers Pokémon teams be?

I can totally see Alfyn having a Blissey. Therion seems like he’d have a Gengar, potentially.

ok. upon literally hours of deliberation and team building (i actually already had ones for the OT1 travelers but decided to revisit them and change a few picks) me and my bestie @snailcruncher have settled on some teams. i will be going in depth on reasonings for these so prepare for a long post lol. im gonna put it under a readmore because really im not joking about how long it is

we also came up with some ideas/lore for why some of these would be picked in a pokemon AU setting, so i’ll be explaining any of those thoughts if they’re relevant too.

Ophilia:

one of the only teams left untouched, I think this is a good batch for her. i’m imagining a scenario where the sacred flame takes the form of a pokemon, and it’s a lampent. frosmoth and togetic felt just like… the right vibe. Lapras and Ampharos both have associations with guiding, so they’re in. Audino is a notable healing pokemon, and it feels in line with her personality as well.

Cyrus:

Alakazam for mr high iq smart guy. duh. oranguru for his role as a teacher, and Runerigus would be a late acquisition to his team in his ch4. Flareon, Glaceon, and Jolteon for the 3 scholar spell types. i also think him having 3 eeveelutions could also be kind of like, they’re really good for demonstrations for single-type stuff, as well as being popular with others. people might come up to him and be like omg you have a flareon i love flareon pleaseeee tell me more (flirtily) which of course would go over his head and he would start telling you flareon facts. I feel like Cyrus would excel in double battles.

Tressa:

Meowth: the pay day signature pokemon. this is as close as i can replicate to tressa randomly finding money. Skwovet (she can now take her pet squirrel with her in a pokeball)

Gyrados for sure. one, she lives along an ocean, so she should definitely have a water type, two, i’m imagining a scenario where she buys a magikarp cheap, seeing the potential in it, then raises it into a real powerhouse. just like her!

carbink: really funny scenario me and the bestie came up with that instead of eldrite the treasure was diancieite. the carbink is from the same cave. tressa did try to evolve it with the diancieite. it didn’t work.

pidgeot… felt like she needed a flying type (wind magic rep) and i feel like she’d gravitate to the humbler normal types… doesn’t get much more straightforward than pidgeot. Dhelmise… maybe it used to be captain leons, maybe she fished it out of the harbor in rippletide herself. either way, she thinks it’s cool

Olberic:

Aegislash: sword form, shield form…. this pokemon itself is the unbending blade. obviously i have given him several other sword based pokemon, too.

gallade, escavalier, and sirfetch’d badically all fit this. they’re knight-like, so they feel fitting i think to him.

as for conkeldurr and garganacl, they feel kind of… solidly built. like him. ( ⬇️ garganacl pick lore)

Primrose:

almost all of her pokemon can learn some kind of dance though their level up. Oricorio is the obvious choice, dragonair reps dragon dance, beautifly reps quiver dance, and lilligant… well they can learn so fucking many. we couldn’t decide on which one to give her, so we ended up giving her both. they’re her backup dancers or whatever.

mawile just feels very primrose to me. its cute or pretty or whatever, and you might underestimate it… but watch out. it bites.

Alfyn:

he feels like a guy who loves a big fluffy dog. and stoutland has also been used in games for its ability to sniff out items, so it feels like it’d be a good pick for an apothecary looking to sniff out herbs and such. Comfey is an obvious pick, i mean its signature move is. floral healing. meganium also has mentioned in its dex entries its healing and calming properties. it’s also a cool as fuck dinosaur so i think alfyn would like it.

chatot. does this even need explanation

we also wanted to give him an ice type, and settled on cubchoo. it has a perpetually runny nose… even Alfyn can’t fix it, try as he might.

as for leavanny, we had some trouble picking the last slot on this team. we were looking through friendship evos, and leavanny caught my eye. it’s dex entries mention that it’s very gentle, it also shows no mercy to foes who target young pokemon. seems fitting… we decided alfyn got it as a swadloon (maybe it could be taught to use its sewing abilities to dress wounds?) and it evolved during his ch3.

Therion:

I think Krookodile, mimikyu, and klefki are quite obvious picks, so i won’t go too in on them. Ninjask and Shedinja…. Ninjask is super speedy, so it felt right to give one to therion, but also i feel like.. he’d keep the shedinja around. even with 1 hp and one billion weaknesses… it’s still a part of his team. it and ninjask were born from the same nincada. he couldn’t abandon it like that.

and applin lol. something about therion gives me “guy who’s going for a cool as fuck hydrapple and ends up with an appletun actually”

H’aanit:

If anyone’s allowed to have legendaries, it’s the hunters. Chien-pao is as close as we can get to a snow leopard. and yeah maybe it’s a little evil but H’aanit is built different. Decidueye feels like an obvious pick, and spirit shackle is a great signature move for the h’aanit vibe. trapinch for. leghold trap. kilowattrel is literally a thunderbird. and ariados… well, it has the ability sniper, to reference hunter’s crit boosting abilities, as well as having some trapping moves like webs. for the Hunters, I’ve left their last spot blank, but this just means like, a “flex” spot that would be different each time you battled them. H’aanits got boxes of options to choose from.

now, onto the OT2 ones!

Ochette:

I’m sure you can see what i’m going for here. it’s just the closest i could get to Akala/mahina and her 3 story beasts. and again, like H’aanit, the last spot is “flex” not empty, so imagine her bringing some different new bullshit to every battle.

Cassti:

i wanted to do a few things with Castti: obviously, give her some healing-y mons, but also a few oddball picks that might have you looking twice. picked Shiinotic because of its ominous dex entries, and then. toedscruel because i realize shiinotic actuallt doesn’t get spore i think? and i think castti “put em to sleep right in the street” florenz should have a mon with spore. (edit. i actually just cant read the bulbapedia tables and shiinotic does get spore. anyways she gets two spore mons i guess cuz what if she’s gotta knock out two people at the same time. or whatever. dustox emits toxic powder from its wings, which seems like it could be something castti would want to keep on hand for poison axe. these three might seem a little weird tho, and reinforce her bad first impression in canalbrine, even though i’m sure they’d all be very well behaved and nice. Blissey and Arboliva are straightforward healing picks. I feel like these would be common for apothecaries to have in general.

and then galar-slowking. poison-activated brain nonsense. i feel like she acquires this one post-amnesia. they feel a kinship with each other.

Throné

Throné’s team is half-blacksnakes dedicated, half catered to herself. Every blacksnake has a seviper or an ekans, as well as probably most of them also having other grunt-esque pokemon, like zubats and such. throné’s taken care of hers, though, and friendship evolved it into a crobat.

chose furfrou because i think throné would like a prissy little dog she can dress up cutely. milcery, which she’s waiting on evolving until she can figure out what alcremie form she wants, and a shade-cherrim.

oh, and zangoose, of course. the natural enemy of sevipers. one appeared to her right after she left new delsta. what a sign, right?

Osvald:

Osvald we had some interesting stuff to work with, I think. we decided that most of his pokemon were newly acquired after his prison escape- not on purpose. they seem to just take a liking to him and start following him around.

the avalugg helped get him out of the frozen water at cape cold, and then stuck with him.

the teddiursa.. also just stuck with him. we wanted to give him something that felt a little oddball for him… so this doesn’t evolve. it stays cute and unevolved forever.

the shuppet was found hovering around the ruins of Osvald’s house. he was reluctant to take it, but if it was formed out of some semblance of his desire for vengeance… he has to be responsible for it.

the Indeedee is the only one of osvalds old pokemon, out of this lineup. since indeedee are so helpful to people, it was kind of a family pokemon acquired after elena’s birth (dex mentions they’re good at babysitting.) Osvald could probably also trust it with simple lab assistant tasks like moving stuff around. was a very beloved pokemon within their family. anyways, following his sentencing, clarissa managed to get ahold of the indeedee and took care of it all this time. when osvald returns, it’s clear it wants him to take her with him.

the drampa was acquired after the events of montwise, having shown up and basically just forced itself to go with osvald. somehow it seems to know what’s going on and who it can trust…

and slowking.. well, smart guy needs a smart pokemon. it’s another one that took a shine to him, though at that point he was getting used to this happening.

Partitio:

Talonflame: partitio’s aptitude for fire magic and the “chickadee” nickname made this an obvious choice for an ace. I can imagine a young partitio’s first pokemon being a fletchling, for sure.

bramblegast. the funny tumbleweed. put it on the team immediately.

Milotic: Paritio picked up a feebas. having a knack for seeing the potential in pokemon, he wasn’t wrong, and now hes got this thing. it’s very popular with other people, though it seems an odd pick for partito at first glance to strangers.

armarouge: ok this one’s a little convoluted so i will explain it later. kind of vibes based pick tho lol. revavroom kind of. uhh. steam engine. (we can pretend)

there ain’t a more partitio pokemon out there than gholdengo. everyone say thank you scarvi for giving partitio most of his team.

Agnea:

hey, it’s another oricorio! i think you can guess why.

volcarona: learns fiery dance, but we thought up even more lore on this one. the larvesta was a family pokemon. mostly belonging to Garud (we ended up deciding that the Bristarnis had a lot of bug types, who help out with the sewing stuff and larvesta does give a little bit silkworm, lol..)

anyways, part of his blessing for sending agnea off was telling her to take the larvesta, who also turned out to be a dazzling star in the end too… after a lot of hard work.

altaria and leafeon rep dragon and swords dance. i just feel like they’re good picks for her energy, too. lunatone reps the moonstep. I’ve also opted to give her a sunny cherrim, which i think would be cute contrasted with Throné’s gloomy one.

Temenos:

temenos has quite the oddball lineup for a cleric. but hes kind of an oddball cleric so i think it works.

Absol. man. a lot of shit happens to temenos. this absol is stressed tf out 24 fucking 7. sorry man.

Clefable: felt like we had to give him a healer-adjacent pokemon and this one evolves with a moonstone. feels fitting for mr night-ability mistral tbh.

Lokix. alright. another scenario based pick. Temenos caught this thing on the pilgrims way as a nymble at like level 2. probably rustling in the metaphorical tall grass, crick is all “get behind me, it could be dangerous” and then. lvl 2. nymble. doesn’t even need to be fought to be caught. and then temenos is all hey crick, it’s a “crick”et pokemon! (we’ll ignore that the dex says grasshopper) he’d keep it just to mess with crick, but it ends up sticking around.

Houndoom. well, temenos is the pontiff’s hound, so we did need to pick a dog for him. it’s a houndour in the beginning, houndoom by the end. probably evolved in a moment of crisis (in ch4?) the yamask is from crackridge.

wooloo. this is actually Crick’s. it wasn’t helping with the little lamb allegations… after the events of stormhail, Temenos takes it in.

Hikari:

Kingambit: i mean. come on. gotta get a kingambit for the future king.

Gardevoirs dex entire mention that it is dedicated to its trainer/cause to the bitter end, and would do anything to protect it. perfect for Hikari.

Morpeko and Zweilous. some literally two-faced pokemon. (maybe he feels a little bit of a kinship with them in that way) i also really wanted to give Hikari a pseudo-legendary, and i think that his zweilous would probably evolve just in the nick of time to kick some ass against mugen. Hydreigons might be notoriously destructive, but something about the personalities merging into one brain in evolution seems to have mellowed Hikari’s out. it’s remarkably personable, for a hydreigon.

lucario: i really wanted to give him a pokemon that learns copycat, and lucario fits that bill. plus, he definitely needed a fighting type.

Cerudelge: formed from bitterness of old cursed armor, but also an extremely skilled sword fighter… one of hikari’s aces.

I also like to imagine that a lot of hikari’s pokemon are quite difficult to deal with (his ceruledge in particular is quite belligerent and mean) but they all have utmost respect for him as a trainer, once they’re on the battlefield. but onlookers sometimes worry… how the hell does he deal with it all?

other notes about some of the picks :

Partitio’s amarouge. Paritio picked up a. charcadet later on, and hikari personally warned him that it might be difficult to deal with. (his charcadet and later ceruledge were super hard to train for him) of course, partitio did end up in possession of the cool nice armor that evolved it into the better mannered and nobler armarouge… but honestly, even his charcadet was far better behaved.

paritio and tressa both get those shitty fish that get cool. must be because they both have an eye for a diamond in the rough.

agnea and throné’s cherrims are best friends. throné rarely got to see her cherrim sunny-form until she left new delsta… she wonders if maybe it was upset about being so nocturnal before, with the blacksnakes.

castti and osvald, team mom and team dad somehow both ended up with slowkings. everyone’s a little concerned about castti’s, though…

after the events of his story, Osvald leaves indeedee and teddiursa with clarissa and elena. the teddiursa and elena in particular take to each other very well… when osvald finally is able to return to elena’s life, the teddiursa is really much more her pokemon.

also. H’aanit and Ochette and far and away the best battlers of both groups. i know i only have them with one flex spot, but you can imagine that they’d swap out a lot more for whatever they need to do to build a good team. they’ve got loads more options than everyone else.

you know that thing about giving someone an applin in galar? therion did trade it over to alfyn at one point. but really they have joint custody of that thing. which definitely ended up as an appletun.

we also had some npc aces sprinkled in there, so here’s some other thoughts, just as bonus!

Malaya: Pawmot (revival blessing), rapidash.

Elena: Abra

Harvey: Hypno, Bacephalon

Pala: Kricketot (formerly belonged to her and agnea’s mom)

Roque: Metagross

Kazan: Husuian Braviary

Ori: Chatot

Trousseau: Glimmora

Cordelia: ….ferrothorn

Erhardt: Aegislash, Hisuian Samurott

Z’aanta: Zamazenta

Juvah: is literally a solgaleo

Darius: Scrafy/Pangoro

Simeon: Malamar

Esmeralda: Mismagius (wanted to give her something with perish song)

Mattias: drifblim? darkrai?

Lucia: Hatterene

Miguel: Grimmsnarl

Werner: spectrier

Mugen: Kingambit. mirror match with Hikari, but mugen’s has supreme overlord while Hikari’s has defiant.

Kaldena: we couldn’t pick but maybe she goes like lusamine mode and fuses with something.

Claude: Cradily. (uh. literally fossil pokemon)

Dolcinea: belive it or not, also an oricorio. also, solrock. but her oricorio is the prettiest.

veronica: she has somehow acquired the worlds first and only female gallade through the power of lesbianism.

Crick: … wooloo….

I do wanna make some drawings for these ideas, but this post was literally already one billion miles long and has way too many images, so it’ll probably be a separate post. thanks for the ask! and sorry for talking so much, but i fucking love making pokemon teams so much it’s insane.

and a big thank you again to my bestie @snailcruncher who helped me with a lot of these picks (and did basically all of the npc picks thank you so much i love you). tysm for pokemon octopath brainrotting with me for like 4 hours.

[lavender-iced-coffee]

I’ve seen a lot of theories about the idea that Keefe and dex switched places and about the original fate of the love triangle but I think they’re off just a little bit

My theory is that dex was originally supposed to have the role that Keefe would later embody (in the everblaze-nightfall era not so much these current plots). I think everyone can agree with this considering Keefe was literally not supposed to exist for the first 20 drafts. Dex takes on the best friend role in the first book while Keefe is just kinda there with little purpose. Plus a general sentiment I’ve heard from other fans is that they either shipped or were more invested in dexphie in the first book.

Anyways as an extension of that theory I believe that the original love triangle was supposed to between dex and fitz AND dex was the original endgame love interest.

For one thing fitz’s introduction puts an initial estimate of fitz at 15 to Sophie’s 12. Even though it is later revealed fitz is only 14 it puts an image in the readers head. Even people who are lax with age gaps would probably 3 years for teens is kinda big. Besides the image of a 12 year old liking a 15 year old would probably make most readers think he’s kind of unattainable for her.

But the main reason I think this mostly has to do with tropes and general writing patterns. A second love interest would not be introduced if they were not meant to be endgame or challenge the other love interest in someway. More importantly though, is the idea of emotional vs physical appeal. Stories with romance love the trope of the girl who is head over heals for a guy who is hot who then falls in love with her best friend who meets her emotional needs. Think Tall Girl. Think every dcom. That’s not to say that fitz had no character aside from being hot but Sophie’s crush was mainly fixated around that in the first book. On top of that dex was her best friend who she spends most of the book with. Especially during the very emotionally charged climax.

On top of that, generally audiences are more prone to underdogs. Fitz is portrayed has a character who kind has it all while dex is the opposite of that. Fitz also literally calls dex “deck”.

And then when Keefe took on dex’s role in exile, I think SM realized they had more chemistry together which is why that romantic alicorn ride moment happened and it all just unfolded from there. Plus gleaning from the excerpts I’ve seen of sky fall, I have a feeling SM likes writing snarky flirty boys.

I could write so much more about the implications this ended up having for the series and I will probably make a follow up.

[animentality]

So one thing I wish we’d seen fleshed out a bit more is whether or not Gortash is actually decent in combat. The fight against him is pretty lame at least compared to other bosses and while we know he’s adept with his crossbow we don’t see it get significant use. We know that he hired Karlach as a bodyguard, implying that he may not be confident enough in his skills to keep himself safe from threats. I think she also described him as an indoorsy type at one point, or something to that effect. He relies heavily on the steel watch and guards for safety, which feels pretty par for the course for a wanna be dictator to be fair, but also suggests that he’d rather not end up in direct combat himself. Iirc he also doesn’t have a backup weapon apart from the arbalest but I may be blanking on that.

However, we also know that Durge considered the Hall of Wonders heist a means of testing his mettle in combat, and the fact that they went on to work closely with him suggests that he proved himself in one way or another. The fact that he got his start in Baldurs Gate in a gang before moving on to smuggling and arms dealing seems to suggest a likelihood of some type of fighting proficiency, even if just in knowing how to brawl. And while we don’t know much about the Mephistopheles heist, it’s hard to imagine Durge walking into the Hells next to someone who is useless if shit hits the proverbial fan.

All this to say it almost feels wishy washy as far as if we’re supposed to take away the idea that without outside help is Gortash basically all but defenseless, or he’s dangerous and would just rather not get blood on his hands. The Orin fight is a little disappointing too, but we know from the game just how dangerous she’s supposed to be, likewise with Ketheric. Part of me blames the fact that he doesn’t have an (official in the game) class for us to make better assumptions off of. In fact, all of this really makes me warm up to the idea that he should have been an artificer with a gun, because that seems like the perfect fit for his character.

ANON, Gortash makes no fucking sense stat wise.

He has BOOSTED stats even though he's like an Artificer and his best stat SHOULD BE intelligence.

He used a magical crossbow, EXCEPT HE HAS GAUNTLETS FOR PUNCHING WITH HIS BARE HANDS?

He technically belonged to a gang back when he was young, but you expect me to believe a dude who plays with ranged toys really wants to GRAPPLE with people?

EXCEPT THAT HE DOES?

Which is so weird.

Plus he seems to love traps and buffs and debuffs, and relying on the Steel Watch, but then it still doesn't make sense with the gauntlets????

So I don't know.

He SEEMS like a squishy little wizard nerd, but the game thinks he has amazing stats even though he looks like a pathetic wet kitten that spilled its milk bowl on itself.

Look at this fucker's stats???

Why does he have high strength and dex and intelligence and wisdom and charisma????

Excuse me?

This freak?????

NO.

His intelligence and charisma, fine, but his wisdom and dex should be 10.

Strength I'll give him only because I suspect he has to at least marginally lift shit to work on in his workshop, maybe.

But dex???? No.

This man does NOT get up out of his office chair. His spine is deforming.

Plus this bitch ain't wise! He's intelligent, but he's not WISE.

Just look what happened with the netherbrain. Didn't see that shit coming, now did he?

[ramiethewizard]

I have many critiques on Keeper of the Lost Cities. Don’t get me wrong, I love it as a series. But like any series, there are both obvious and unobvious flaws. Since I finally have a place online to talk about them I thought I’d share my thoughts! (Disclaimer: this is not bashing on Shannon Messenger or the series in any way!)

1. Too many protagonists

The series was fairly okay with the original gang in the earlier books. That group being Sophie, Keefe, Fitz, Biana, and Dex. There was a chance to connect with all of the characters and grow on each of them. I know I know, characters like Biana and Dex were still pushed aside a bit but they had a better chance at being involved again. But then only more and more protagonists joined. Adding Tam and Linh was iffy, but fine. Then you add Marella, Maruca, Wylie, Stina, all those people. We don’t have a chance to connect with the characters.

2. Obvious favoritism

A few people have pointed this out already, and I thought I’d do the same. Shannon has very clear favorites of the series - which is fine, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes it’s used a little too much. Keefe is a very obvious favorite. We constantly focus on him and his story. At this point, Sophie AND Keefe are the protagonists. I love Keefe, but I want to learn about the injustices and discrimination of Bad Matches from Dex. I want to learn about the expectations of being a Vacker from Fitz and Biana. See what I’m saying?

3. Little plots abandoned

I feel like there have been so many times where Shannon starts this little idea and then throws it away. If you reread the books, you seem to find so many instances where there’s something, and then it’s just abandoned. For example, Magnate Leto (Forkle) says in I think Exile how he doesn’t have a wife and he seems quite sad about it. Or the time in…Flashback I believe where we meet Tinker. Tinker is such an interesting character. She freaks out when Forkle talks about explosives and he said that he wouldn’t make her build them - ‘not again’. HUH? And we’ve gotten no more out of it.

4. Overly focused on romance

Probably my biggest pet peeve with the series is that it is so so focused on romance. Having romance in the series is fine but there’s so much. I feel like Sophie barely even has any character left. You can tell that Shannon was just really excited to write the romantic relationships because even in the first book (WHEN SHES TWELVE) there are already intense moments. And the biggest thing is that characters like Keefe and Fitz (the love interests) are so much more important than characters like Biana and Dex (the friends). It’s a weird thing because Sophie should be apart of both groups but there’s just a weird focus on the guys that she’s into.

5. Lack of diversity

This is something that I think should just be improved in general. Most of the protagonists are very stereotypical and don’t have any diversity. Most of the main characters are white - which is fine but when it gets to be that ALL of the protagonists are, it just gets a little…you know? I mean, Tam, Linh, and Wylie are not white but they’re also not focused on at all in the series. It’s one of the reasons why people headcanon the Vackers to be POC so much. There’s also no LGBTQ+ characters - which again, fine for the most part but also…people of the queer community are incredibly common and the KOTLC characters seem so…not straight. So the fact that it’s been like ten books and there hasn’t been anything is just a little eh. Same with mental health, or physical abilities. Just a lack of diversity.

I love this series a lot, but like anything, it can always improve. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

[frontierpodiatrist]

My ScarVio Jacq Crack Theory

i have to get this out because i feel insane that no one else seems to be headcanoning/thinking about this except two people, but i feel like jacq is definitely either up to something nefarious or has some sort of relevancy to the upcoming DLC and/or the hexagon pokémon from the scarlet/violet book

- he was marketed as almost a main character, one of the first few characters whose design was revealed and almost implied to be like a relevant character but in-game he is none pizza. nothing burger. go girl, give us nothing! he barely has any lines outside of his classes

- in relevance to that, he’s the only teacher that you can’t bond with. you can even bond with miriam and she doesn’t even teach a class. what’s up with THAT jacq

- his face during battle when he plays up the whole clumsy, sort of inept teacher vibe....excuse me? were you faking being a klutz for clout? (also his ace is farigiraf, the evolution of a two-faced pokémon...just saying)

- why does he have a beast ball he gives you for completing the dex...where did this come from? why do you have that? How'd you get that?

- the fact he doesn’t comment at all or express any sort of surprise about the paradox pokémon in your dex and is just extremely excited for research to study? aren’t you curious about what the hell those things are, when most people think the scarlet/violet book is complete bogus?

- as above, part of what i believe to be the case here, is the fact that in my opinion, jacq seems to imply that he worked with the professor and clavell in area zero. it’s stated by raifort in history class 6 that clavell and the professor are rumoured to have work together

and then jacq states in biology class 3 that he and clavell used to be fellow researchers “at the same facility” when we know that clavell and the professor were also coworkers, and it’s implied that the professor at least had a small team of people (and based on what raifort says, the identities of the people who were working together with the professor aren’t publicly known). and IF this is in fact the case, why does he have absolutely nothing to say about arven OR the professor? if he was acquainted with both clavell and the professor at this time, he’d surely know about arven, and is seemingly willfully ignoring his existence, as well as the death of a former supposed colleague

- his glasses are shaped like hexagons, something hassel goes out of his way to make note of in art class 3

which stands out to me given how prevalent the shape is, coming up over and over again. the exact shape covering the walls of time machine, and also the specific shape described of the pokémon from the book, comprised of hexagons. it is also the shape they repeatedly used in designs for the area zero expedition, present on the zero gate among other places

now listen, this is not a bad thing, in fact i would love if jacq was evil (or at least relevant) because then he wouldn’t be a complete nothing of a character who just gives you a shiny charm and then fucks off forever. and i do think raifort (even if she is my wife whomst i love so so so much) and geeta are a bit suspicious as well BUT

[taylor-swift-fosters-it-again]

Omg Taylor Swift and kotlc

YESSS I ALWAYS LOVE THIS

so i’ve always headcanoned that sophie was a swiftie before coming to the lost cities, but given the timeline i saw, it was probably taylor’s older music. her ipod probably has some classics like picture to burn and should’ve said no. she’s definitely a fearless gal at heart (*jumps off a cliff to teleport* “head first fearless”)

fitz feels like a red guy, purely from all the angry vibes we get from him. also the revenge side of reputation, which i know isn’t much but it still feels like something he’d scream his heart out to with mr. snuggles

keefe, however. buddy, you are a reputation guy. he’s such a hopeless romantic (in my head anyway) but like your mother wronged you? your father hates you? your crush is dating your best friend? *turns volume all the way up* THEY SAY I DID SOMETHING BAD *you kiss her* THEN WHY’S IT FEEL SO GOOD???? he’s also a ttpd guy because of the ✨ emotional damage✨

biana feels like a speak now girl. independent and she knows her own self worth!! also i feel like she’d be a good singer, so she could totally do the high notes in enchanted. and she’d definitely jam to better than revenge after nightfall!!

dex is probably evermore because they’re both getting forgotten (i’m sorry). also after the crush cuffs fail he’s sitting on a bench in coney island wondering where did his best friend go. that’s all because i need to stop 😭

tam. we may all think he’s a reputation guy, but he’s a total softie and a huge folklore stan. but i won’t sit here and tell you folklore is so light and happy! there’s some dark stuff on folklore, but also that “i know i miss you” kinda stuff. not to mention that element of always being there and watching (official tam cam activity)

linh however feels like a lover girl. i’m so sorry but she is a hopeless romantic 🩷 i love her. again there’s also the “i hope i never lose you” aspect. but she also just feels so happy and optimistic that i can’t not say she’s a lover girl.

marella feels like a midnights girl, and it’s not because of all the gossip and the song paris (ok maybe it kinda is). also her flavored air. that stuff has to be, like, kid-friendly smoking. she also gives off the vibe that she never sleeps.

stina is debut because i feel like i’d give her a country accent. (“so yer fearless moonlark ain’t got no plan, eh?” i’m so sorry.) and she SO gives off picture to burn and should’ve said no vibes! read: angry country

maruca gets 1989 for two reasons. a, we haven’t had a 1989 yet, and b, she just feels like the kinda gal who’d live in new york and be a city girlie. i don’t know that much about her so i’m sorry i feel like i didn’t do her justice 😭

*checks to make sure i didn’t miss anyone*

bored? send me an ask!

[whoredmode]

kind of a headcanon/lore dump?? idk whatever you wanna call it. whatever it is. dewynter sisters stuff no one asked for but they’ve been on my mind and i don’t think i’ve really shared much of my hcs for them.

so if you keep up with my rewrites/my canon, you know that kiki and viola are mercenaries sent by ultor to kill loren (and later dex). here’s some more basic lore. this is all barely scratching the surface of all the lore and thoughts i have on them, so by all means feel free to ask me stuff. and honestly i’ll probably end up making more posts like this in the future (for them and others) if people are interested.

father: hendrik dewynter

mother: akane dewynter (née ueno)

their father is dutch and french while their mother is japanese and filipino.

as far as their general background goes, they were born in the netherlands, traveled with their parents for their work a lot, and were raised in both europe and the united states. both twins are fluent in dutch, french, and japanese.

both parents have been working in the criminal underworld for decades and have essentially been training the girls to become the mercenaries they are since they were young. hendrik and akane work primarily in illegal arms deals, and they use their cover as high society people to facilitate that. all this led to some familiarity with some syndicate members pre-loren’s leadership, but more so through their high society connections. worth noting i don’t believe the syndicate leaned as heavily into arms dealing until after loren became head of it because that was his area of expertise as well. regardless, hendrik and akane and their network got into illegal arms trade and espionage predominantly within western europe. when they had the twins, they were trained from a young age to become the perfect spies, assassins, whatever. this unintentionally made it so the girls really only trusted each other. they are not a close family. the dewynter’s see their relationship with their daughters as more of a business arrangement. almost transactional. they’d argue that what they put them through was for them to succeed, but in turn it just dissolved any chance of a meaningful relationship between them. despite this, or perhaps because of this, they became extremely adept mercenaries. keep in mind though that all this shit about the dewynter family was not widely known. hendrik and akane still had their regular careers as covers, and it’s why the twins have their backgrounds in economics and art.

regardless, loren was delighted to have them working within the syndicate—however he did not know that them asking to work for him directly was because they were being employed by ultor to sell secrets and eventually kill him. it also helped that they could speak dutch and french to him; there were many instances of the three of them having conversations that matt and killbane could not understand (which bothered the latter to no end).

the twins themselves only have a sense of loyalty to each other, and they do their work based on who’s paying best and what they believe they should do with their information they’re given. it’s why viola switches sides so easily after the death of kiki. money may have been their endgame, but the one thing they put above that is each other.

fwiw, viola does go back to doing mercenary work after the events of my sriv rewrite conclude. she’s one of several characters who leave the saints at the end. she allows them to keep in contact with her though. this whole thing kicks off a bit of a cat and mouse game she and shaundi have, but that’s for another post (oh wait i already made one kinda. happy shaunviola saturday).

this is getting away from me. also i wrote this all while really tired so apologies if it’s a little scattered. i love kiki and viola.

[lotusishere]

1.) Open Arms = Edaline

Now this might catch people off guard but please hear me out. I choose this song for Edaline for multiple reasons. One of the things I love about her is her patience and compassion. In majority of the books she has constantly been by Sophie’s side. She might not understand or believe to imagine what Sophie has been through but she is always giving her advice. She tells Sophie to focus on not just being the moonlark but by being a child to. She offers her aid to listen to her and have her tell her anything she needs to if it’s too much. Edaline knows deep down even if Sophie doesn’t say anything. She sees it in her face the hurt, trauma and guilt going into her head. Similar to the way Polites talks to Ody. Let’s break down the lyrics

“Try to relax my friend”

Edaline asks Sophie a lot of time how she is doing and even tells her to take a deep breath in. It shows her worry and empathy like how Polites knows the hurt Ody is feeling without even saying it. It’s to let them both know to relax and enjoy the moment even if you have a lot going on. (Which Sophie DOES have a lot going on and a lot of overthinking she does)

“This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms. Whatever we face, we'll be fine if we're leading from the heart. No matter the place, we can light up the world. Here's how to start Greet the world with open arms,”

I think we need more appreciation on how Edaline and Grady remember to treat Sophie as a child. They don’t try to invalidate her intelligence or stop her from being who she is. But they also remember to remind her of her age. Sophie and the very first book is 12 and at that age she was already going through a lot. A elf child hidden in a human world created by a secret organization to attempt to change the elf world. That right there is already a lot of pressure to be put on. And then to add on we have another organization group that is trying to do the opposite of what Sophie was created to stand for. She’s been through loss, of losing her human family. She goes through the grief of not being able to fit in when she first starts her elf school. She feels the awkwardness. There is awkwardness with a new family, a new family that might understand the feeling of loss but still feeling that she feels left out. Even with friends she struggled with. Though she technically had Fitz at the time Biana was being…special. She only had Dex and a new partner in crime that was always in detention with her. She had Marella but that sadly didn’t last long when she started going to turnibals every 2 seconds for little mistakes. She even has suppressed. Memory is given to her by her secret organization. Again, she’s only 12 and this is only the first book (and it’s not even all of it). The point that I’m trying to explain is that at the very young age of 12 she was always put through this kind of pressure. And now as a serious goes on, and Sophie begins to grow the higher the pressure on her chest. She’s faced loss, sacrifice of someone she found dear to her and a council member. She’s been kidnapped along with watching her best friend be kidnapped and tortured alongside her. She has seen firsthand how the elves treat each other with discrimination whenever someone is different. But even though Sophie was going through so much Edaline reminds her to still have fun. She reminds Sophie that yes she’s been through heartache but it’ll all be okay.

“This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms. I see in your face, there is so much guilt inside your heart. So why not replace it and light up the world? Here's how to start. Greet the world with open arms. Greet the world with open arms. ” (Polites)

“Greet the world with open arms,” (Ody)

“You can relax my friend”

The entire ending of Open arms really pushes of why I choose Edaline for this song. Not to song like a broken record but the deep down understanding Polites has with Ody is strong. Polites might just be a close friend but he is a true friend that cares about him. He doesn’t just care about him physically but emotionally too. He wants his friend to be able to smile and love the world. He doesn’t want him to hold all this pain and pressure in the world when there’s so much he can love. The song open arms (for me) also means opening your arm. To be able to greet the world you must be willing to first take the first step to open your heart. Just like Sophie and Edaline, yes it’s a bit different because Edaline is Sophie’s mom it’s the same meaning. Edaline wants the best for Sophie. She wants her to be safe and happy not only with her decisions but with herself as well. She doesn’t shame Sophie for how she’s feeling or apply a pressure on her. She does the opposite. She tells Sophie that it’s okay to relax and be a teen. It’s okay to like boys and have questionings about the boys. It’s okay for her to be herself and not have to worry about the constant heartache she goes through. It’s okay for Sophie to live her life to heal and more on. Like the second to last line when Ody repeats after Polites because he’s starting to feel and understand what he’s talking about. It’s the same way Edaline and Sophie are in Stellarune. Sophie is learning things about how she’s feeling and she’s growing before our very eyes and Edaline’s. It’s such an important moment and that’s why I choose Edaline for this song.

[dr-futbol-blog]

Trinity, Pt. 1

So, Trinity (S02E06). The title of the episode refers to the triune godhead of the Christian religion, being the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, but that seems to have little bearing on the plot. Much more relevant is the fact that Trinity was the code name of the first nuclear explosion created by man which was a major step along the path our species has taken toward self-destruction, and in fact the Manhattan Project is mentioned in the episode multiple times.

The name of the test is likely a clever way of referring to TNT (TriNiTy), the yield of nuclear explosions enumerated in kilotons of TNT (Trinitrotoluene), albeit J. Robert Oppenheimer later waxed poetic about having named it after John Donne's Batter my heart, three-person'd God.* Given that the nuclear test and the fallout that follows is an obvious metaphor for what happens in the plot of the episode, the poem may hold some insight as to where Sheppard and McKay are left after the resolution of the episode. It is a definite turning point in their relationship, and while it takes a long time to mend what is broken here, this also allows them to reach a deeper understanding of who they are in relation to each other. What happens is heart-breaking but very necessary down the line.

But at the outset of the episode, everything seems fine. Everything is normal. The team is in the jumper out on another mission, and again we find McKay and Ronon getting to know each other, McKay trying to make nice with the new guy. And as they did in the previous episode, food seems to be their common denominator:

McKay: I'm just saying as a team veteran to the new guy, heavy lunch before mission departure: bad idea. I mean, even with the inertial dampeners, this whole flying thing is best done on an empty stomach. Dex: Yeah, well, I've got a pretty strong stomach. McKay: Hey, I can eat frozen dinners without thawing them. It's not as if it even affects me.

Now, McKay may come across as a bit of a know-it-all here, as though he is trying to assert dominance and secure his own spot on the team by offering to show the new guy the ropes. But his tendency to use his knowledge and experience to lord over others stems from his poor self-esteem. Because he thinks that his ability to do things for others is the only thing that people appreciate about him, why they want to keep him around, in sharing his knowledge he is trying to offer people the only thing about him that might be worth something. It is easily misunderstood as having an ego, thinking that he is better than everyone around him, when it is trying to mask the fact that he thinks the exact opposite of this is true. He is worthless, and it is only if he can do something useful for someone, like giving Ronon hard-earned advice about away-missions, that he may gain a modicum of acceptance.

Food is frequently a metaphor, symbolic of love and sex. McKay boasts of his ability to eat frozen dinners without thawing them out but this is actually pretty concerning. This is precisely the kind of thing he occasionally mentions offhand that (unintentionally) reveals some rather dark aspects of his past that he seems to think are perfectly normal. The fact that one would even have needed to try this out speaks of worrisome times in his past when he has either been working so hard so as not to even have time to microwave food or that he has been so poor so as not to be able to afford electricity, either as a student or some part of his childhood. The way he says it, he has eaten more than one frozen dinner without heating it up in his life. It seems as though there has been some food insecurity in his past and given that he is a hypoglycemic that needs to eat regularly, there must have been some tough times in his past. And it makes it understandable that he tries to make sure that he receives regular sustenance now that he is in a place in his life where it is possible. His need to feed himself is shown in a comedic light multiple times when the root of the issue may be nothing of the kind.

But at the same time, that is just what a frozen dinner eaten cold is: sustenance. It sustains but gives no pleasure, to flip what the wraith told the Magistrate in the previous episode. It is enough to live by but it is not much of a life. A frozen dinner is a quick and emotionless handjob here, maybe getting some head there, and one may think that their needs are being met but it is a far cry from having sex with someone you love, from making love. That is a multiple course dinner at a nice restaurant. That is a sandwich lovingly made by someone that cares about you. They are very different, and it is sad that McKay has had to resort to this. It is sad that it appears so familiar to him as to seem normal.

We see Sheppard listening in on this discussion going on behind him, and he seems rather upset. It is unlikely that he is upset about McKay and Ronon chatting, as that is probably something he likes to hear and may even have encouraged. He wants McKay to get to know Ronon and he wants Ronon to get to know McKay. And while it is true that eating frozen dinners without thawing them out must be very alien to his own history, there should be nothing upsetting about the concept as such. His upset is more likely directed at the implications of what McKay was saying. It is possible, even likely, that he knows enough about McKay's past to understand just what he is referring to, and it may even be that he is able to put two and two together better than McKay himself can. He may be able to see aspects of McKay's past clearer than he can see them himself just because he is too close to the events of his own life and hence is unable to look at them as a neutral observer. And while Sheppard is far from a neutral observer, it does upset Sheppard that McKay's past is so clearly one of the things that he knows he can't protect him from. And so he sounds gruff as he finally engages him:

Sheppard: McKay. Are you reading anything? McKay: Nothing. Life signs from the planet are negative.

In spite of the appearance of everything being normal, it seems as though again something has changed since the previous episode. Sheppard called him Rodney almost throughout the entire episode, only switching to McKay by the end. And now, he again seems to feel the need to put some distance between them by calling him by his surname. Not only that, but Sheppard seems to interrupt McKay in the middle of his discussion with Ronon as though he is either impatient or annoyed by what he is listening to. But it is difficult to determine whether his apparent attitude is caused by the present situation or whether there is some underlying reason for him to interrupt McKay in the middle of his rather relaxed chat with Ronon. Of course it is possible that he just wants to draw the man's attention back to the mission at hand but that is not something Sheppard seems to have ever felt the need to do previously. Much more likely he cannot handle the fact that McKay's attention is on someone other than him. It is also possible that he feels jealous of the easy and relaxed way McKay seems to be talking to Ronon, when everything between the two of them is so complicated.

Of course it is possible that something has taken place between the episodes but it may also have been his almost complete failure of keeping McKay safe, in spite of all of his efforts McKay being saved from wraith bombardment by only a hair's breadth, that makes him feel like he needs that distance. Another reason may be the presence of Caldwell on Atlantis during this time which would probably also have made him feel like he needed to keep a distance to McKay. If he seemed to feel more free among his own people during the previous episode, having a superior officer on base was certainly enough to warrant feeling more cautious, would make him feel more unfree, and referring to McKay by his surname across the board while the Daedalus was on Atlantis was a safe bet. But it isn't just Sheppard, either. The way McKay responds to him is very professional and to the point, cool to the point of almost being cold. He is merely giving Sheppard the information he requested and nothing more, using military parlance to do it. If it is Caldwell's presence that has made Sheppard withdraw anew, McKay certainly seems to feel some kind of way about that.

The team appears to be exploring a planet that they have found in the Ancient database on Atlantis and upon approach through the space gate, they come across debris in the upper atmosphere of the planet. We get some exposition to set the mood:

Teyla: Then it is a shame. From what we read in the Atlantis database, the Dorandans were a wonderful race of people. McKay: Well, the database is over ten thousand years old. You can bet things have changed around here. Sheppard: OK. That's not something you see every day.

Like he did in the previous episode, we see McKay leaning over Sheppard's shoulder trying to see out of the window. But their disposition toward one another is very different. Where on Olesia it seemed like their attention was at least as much on the other man as it was on the space craft they were watching, it now seems as though both of their attention is squarely on the space debris before them. Now, for Sheppard it is reasonable to keep his focus on flying through the debris (although we frequently do see him do unreasonable things when it comes to McKay) but again it is perhaps even more noticeable that McKay seems to give Sheppard very little attention, to give him the proverbial cold shoulder, really turning his attention on Sheppard for the first time only as he starts talking about holes.

Teyla: There was a great battle here. That is a hive ship. Dex: That was a hive ship. Sheppard: Something put a lot of holes in it alright. We should check it out. McKay: Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa! What if whatever put the holes in it wants to put holes in us? Sheppard: Well, you just said, a lot's changed in ten thousand years.

The fact that something has changed is lampshaded here. Something between them has changed. Here, Sheppard does not respond to McKay's amusing way of phrasing his concern for their safety, and given that McKay being McKay and McKay's safety are usually some of the main attractions for Sheppard's attention, this also is somewhat curious. There is no reason to think that both have suddenly vanished without a trace, so this can be explained by Sheppard purposefully distancing himself from his emotions and his instinctual behaviour or as the result of him feeling supremely tense for some reason. If in the beginning of the previous episode he seemed relaxed and at ease, not unlike a man that had recently had sex, here he seems almost the opposite of that. They are both pent up and irritable, even though they are trying to remain neutral.

McKay: That would explain the lack of life signs. Dex: This is what usually happens when you fight back. Sheppard: These folks took out a fleet of wraith ships. I'd say they did a pretty good job of fighting back.

There is a lampshade here also: there is a distinct lack of life signs that have an explanation. We see barely a hint of their connection here but there is a reason for it. This episode is using negative space to tell us things about Sheppard and McKay. If there is any meta commentary here, it may be that there had been some resistance to pursuing this storyline between them behind the scenes which is further commented upon toward the end of the season, and as discussed previously, on episodic television there is often a chance for course correction toward the mid-point of the season where we do see another change in how the narrative is approached. Meta meta aside, this episode is also that "first fight" about which they learn to laugh much, much later that is referenced in Harmony (S04E14). And such fights can lead to near total devastation because there is so much emotion involved.

It seems as though the mystery that is unfolding around them is enough for both of them to start getting excited about the mission, and they are able to put what ever it is that seems to be chafing between them temporarily on pause. They are professionals, after all. And in his excitement, McKay again leans over Sheppard's shoulder, getting very close to him as he points at where they should go.

McKay: Hold on. I'm picking up faint energy readings coming from... there. That would explain how they were able to put up such a good fight. Sheppard: How? McKay: Because... they were Ancients.

And as McKay leans over Sheppard, the tone in which he speaks, almost in a whisper in reverence of the scene before them, does tell us that there is still definite sexual tension between them. What McKay says and how he says it are so divorced that he might have said anything at all to Sheppard in this tone and had an effect on him. And it is unlikely it was McKay's intention to be seductive here, his excitement over having discovered an apparent Ancient outpost merely made him forget that he isn't supposed to be like this around Sheppard, that they are not this anymore. As he whispers, he even turns toward Sheppard, speaking the words into his ear. And hearing McKay's tone, Sheppard also does finally turn to look behind him at McKay having starved himself from looking at the thing he most wants to look at up until this point, although even here he is definitely trying not to react to McKay at all. But McKay is not making it easy. There appears to be a scent of something cooking that is drawing him in, and it is not from a frozen dinner served unthawed.

Continued in Pt. 2

-*

Batter my heart, three-person'd God

Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend; That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new. I, like an usurp'd town to another due, Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end; Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend, But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue. Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain, But am betroth'd unto your enemy; Divorce me, untie or break that knot again, Take me to you, imprison me, for I, Except you enthrall me, never shall be free, Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

[penny-hartzs]

one day anon here. So good, right? I’m all for an adaptation making changes when necessary but the movie was too condensed/rushed. I also thought AH was a mismatch for Emma. The series worked so much better allowing the viewer to go along on the broader journey with the characters. I LOVED that the series included the garden maze scene which the movie did not, one of my fave moments. Thought the way the way the writers interspersed quotes and broke down the decades was laid out perfectly. I had seen LW in white lotus but his performance as dex shattered my heart. Every time tears flowed off his face you were wrecked along with him. Brilliant!

You've said everything so perfectly! I remember liking the movie when it came out but I never revisited it and as much as I enjoy Anne Hathaway's work, I don't think she was exactly the right choice for Emma. I spent too long trying not to get distracted by her pretend accent and couldn't connect to her character that much, which was a shame because I loved book Emma. Ambika Mod on the other hand was phenomenal, she completely understood the assignment and brought Emma to life in such an accurate way. As for LW, i think he was a perfect choice for Dex, with the way you cant help but feel for him even at his lowest points.

The fact that they turned it into a mini series was such a big advantage to a story like this one because as you said, it really allows the viewer to take this journey along with the characters and understand how much they had to work to earn their love. Which is why the ending ends up hitting you so much more.

My only tiny complaint is that they didnt include the iconic line "i love you so much, I just don't like you anymore"

[the-way-astray]

hi! if i can try to humorously convince you with some meta of why exactly at least i think keefe would have a crush on you, please bear with me

i think that keefe would have a crush on you specifically because you recognize his flaws and would (if he was real) inspire him to work hard and become a better person '''''so that he could be worthy of you''''' (no one said he was rational, sensible, or possessing of healthy ideas about love). i feel like he likes sophie for similar reasons, even though she doesn't challenge him or point his flaws out as much as you do seeing as she actually likes him. but you (and sophie) *also* recognize the good aspects of him, and besides defend them (see: your recent and beautiful keefe defense essay), which basically never happens to him given his general environment and society's (and his parents') expectations of him. so that would make keefe crush on you all the more.

however, i agree with you in that you do not like him *at all*, and if he fell in love with you he would suffer in unrequited love forever and be very miserable indeed (if that brings you any satisfaction lol).

hmm, this is pretty good (vibrating with excitement at meta! because kotlc meta!)

unfortunately i disagree.

“keefe would have a crush on you specifically because you recognize his flaws”

no . . . he would not . . . whenever someone points out his flaws, he apologizes because of the external consequences of his actions (like sophie getting mad at him, or his transformation) but he never actually self-reflects, realizes he’s wrong, then puts the work in to fix the base problem (hijacking plans, running into danger). he instead does it again and again. he would not respect the fact that i recognize his flaws, so much as he would try to get me to believe he’s truly changing when he’s not in actuality. so i doubt keefe would like the fact that i would quickly get frustrated with his fake apologies.

“inspire him to work hard and become a better person '''''so that he could be worthy of you''''' (no one said he was rational, sensible, or possessing of healthy ideas about love)”

alright i can see what’s up here lowkey. keefe only apologizes in nightfall because he’s scared of losing sophie. however this would require him to actually have a crush on me first before he would try to prove himself worthy of me. but we haven’t even reached that first step. so still wrong.

“you (and sophie) *also* recognize the good aspects of him, and besides defend them (see: your recent and beautiful keefe defense essay), which basically never happens to him given his general environment and society's (and his parents') expectations of him.”

well there are a lot of people besides sophie (in series) that recognize there are good sides to him. like i'm sure most of the characters in the series know that keefe is pretty much a good guy that is just extraordinarily stupid a lot of the time. alden and della. biana, who had a crush on him. edaline. linh, dex, marella. all these people know he has a good side. people act as if sophie is the only one that understands keefe is good or treats him well, but it's actually many people in series. so i would not be anything special here (and neither is sophie to be honest, except for the fact that she's keefe's crush).

"however, i agree with you in that you do not like him *at all*, and if he fell in love with you he would suffer in unrequited love forever and be very miserable indeed (if that brings you any satisfaction lol)."

ANOTHER ANONYMOUS SUPPORTER (halfway. we'll take what we can get at this point)!!!! and yes it brings me much satisfaction that you understand that i don't like him. however it would not bring me much satisfaction to see him suffer in unrequited love because i just know that whatever narrative is around would still fall at his feet and continue the pity party onslaught. so that would not be fun for me.