#yes at first that guilt seems to be only on jacob's side (rightfully so)

[fenixburned]

anyway i'm just thinking so much about reckless & the whole "guilt is a strong motivator, sometimes stronger than love" theme & how pivotal it is when it comes to will's relationship with jacob specifically :))))))

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

How do you think a Erika friendship TLSQ could work?

(Cracks knuckles) Let’s do this. 

First and foremost, the primary roadblock to Jacob’s Sibling and Erika Rath becoming friends...isn’t their Quidditch rivalry. It isn’t even the events of Season one. No, the greatest obstacle here is a Scottish heart-throb with blue highlights. I know, I know, I’m not supposed to bring up Skye in Asks that don’t involve her. But this does. In order for MC and Erika to become friends, Erika needs to accept that MC didn’t target her. Which would involve coming to the understanding that it was all Skye. At which point, she might justifiably argue that MC shouldn’t continue to be friends with someone so terrible if they want to be Erika’s friend. Likewise, I don’t see Skye being okay with the idea of MC and Erika becoming all buddy-buddy. She’d hate it. 

Which is why I’m firmly convinced that if Erika and MC are going to be friends, Erika and Skye will also need to find common ground. Or at least see some progress in their rivalry.

To that end, I can see the TLSQ starting with MC perhaps having another altercation with Erika and deciding once and for all that they need to make amends with her. Skye would naturally hate the idea, Murphy would be all for it, and Orion would advise MC to do what they think is right. This could foreshadow a choice the player makes at the end. 

Cue Erika getting injured. Let’s say her broomstick had a hurling hex placed on it by someone, and it threw her off. MC sees an opportunity and goes to visit Erika in the Hospital Wing. She rejects their hand of friendship and accuses them of being responsible. She lets slip that MC’s efforts are “hardly the first time” someone has come after her. 

MC meets with someone else (probably Penny or Andre) who reveal that Skye was seen leaving the Changing Rooms a few moments before Erika grabbed her Broom for practice. With a jolt, MC remembers the time that Skye placed a hurling hex on their own broomstick. Here, they also begin to notice the pattern of how they’ve been taking the fall for Skye’s actions. Needless to say, MC is upset. They could be asked if they believe Skye is guilty, and have a dialogue choice.

They meet with Skye, who angrily denies any guilt and gets angry at MC for showing loyalty to Erika over her. There will be some throwaway explanation for why she was in the Changing Room. This could be a better place, actually, for the player to have a dialogue choice about whether or not they believe in Skye. Hell, for fun, we could have her echo the line “Are you doubting me, Curse-Breaker?” In some way. MC doubting Skye is something of a motif here. This scene could take place in the Great Hall and toward the end, MC gets a letter which explodes in their face before it can be read. No actual harm is done but MC is spooked. Skye suspects Erika, of course, and MC is only further rattled.

Next we have practice, and a gathering of the gang of four. Tensions are running high, and Orion insists upon some kind of mental exercise. He also deduces why MC is uncomfortable, and tells Skye what they have thus-far been hesitant to say - every time Erika blames MC for something, it’s a rippling effect from Skye starting that “war” with her in season one. Skye predictably doesn’t take this well, and angrily storms away. 

Erika would then send for MC with one of those little owl messages. She meets with them and informs them that the culprit was caught. It wasn't Skye. Who it was doesn’t really matter to the story. What matters it that here, Erika elaborates on her slip from earlier. It’s backstory time, and Erika has been bullied since she first set foot in Hogwarts. This is why she ultimately embraced the image of being scary - at least people usually leave her alone now. MC can sympathize or call her out. After all, even if unintentionally, one could argue that Erika has been bullying MC herself this whole time. The scene would end with MC being once again reluctant to point the finger at Skye. At this point, the choice to do so has not been given to the player. But it will soon enough. Erika still refuses to call MC a friend, but the degree of respect between them is slightly higher now.

Next, someone (Murphy, Face Paint Kid, could be anyone) comes to tell MC that Erika and Skye are in a fight in the Courtyard. They’re arguing and wands are about to be drawn. When MC arrives to break it up, Skye reveals that Erika did send the exploding letter. Erika admits to it, but insists it was an accident. Murphy can rightfully point out that Erika seems to have quite a few “accidents” under her belt - two of which were hitting bludgers at his friends. Skye is furious that Erika is targeting MC when they didn’t even do anything to her. Erika can shout back that MC has been targeting her. Here, the Player can choose. Tell Erika that it was Skye? Or take the blame. Regardless of the choice made, Skye will finally take responsibility and admit to her guilt. Erika will be ready to duel her again, but MC will stop them. A teacher shows up and the conflict is broken apart. 

Later on, Orion calls MC to the pitch. Turns out, he called Erika and Skye there as well. Orion declares that it is time to bury all hatchets. Erika refuses - she’s rightfully quite mad at Skye, and Skye is also angry about not being able to play in the S1 Quidditch Final. No matter what she says in Season 2, I don’t think she ever quite forgave Erika for that. If we want, we can have these two reveal that they knew each other before all this, but it isn’t strictly necessary. Erika decides she’s ready to forgive MC and be their friend - but not Skye. She insists MC choose between them. Someone like Orion or Murphy can point out the fallacies here - Skye is MC’s teammate - they need to be friends. But Erika and Skye can both appeal to MC, who can choose:  Skye, Erika, or “I’m not picking sides” if an Attribute is high enough. Regardless of the choice, the scene ends with someone upset.

Final Scene: Erika again calls to meet with MC. No matter what they chose, she will respect them for it. Either because they did the right thing and sided with her, because they were smart enough to see that both Erika and Skye were being petty, or because they refused to abandon their friend for someone else. Here, Erika can reveal more about her backstory and her life. Maybe elaborate further on the bullying. Erika can ask if MC believes her about the exploding letter being an accident. MC can say yes or no. Whether or not Erika did do it on purpose...well, either way can work. Regardless, she’s genuinely sorry. But the scene ends with Erika saying she can stomach Skye Parkin for MC’s sake, because she’s realized what a good person and a good friend they really are. “A friend...?” MC asks hopefully. “That’s right MC. You’re my friend.” In bold letters so the players knows - it’s confirmed! Of course, Erika is still a rival on the Quidditch pitch, and she takes no prisoners. But off pitch? They can grab a butterbeer now and then 😇

Oh dear, I went overboard again didn’t I? But this was fun! Thank you for sending me this ☺️ Jam City, if this doesn’t convince you to hire me, I don’t know what will.

[calamity-bean]

top 5 favorite things about American Gods 2.08

So, season 2 of American Gods! It’s done! It’s over! It had some things I loved and some things I didn’t love and I’m glad I was more involved in the fandom this season than I was during the first one, cause meeting new people and discussing week to week has been great fun! I’ve loved talking with y’all. As far as the finale episode goes, here, too, there were things I loved and things I didn’t. For now, though, I wanted to focus just on the positives and highlight a few aspects of “Moon Shadow” that I wholeheartedly enjoyed. (Listed in roughly the order they happened, not ranked by fave.)

1. The whole conversation between Shadow and Laura in the cemetery. In addition to being filmed in a really beautiful way (visually, it’s almost like a conversation between lovers looking at each other as they lie side by side in bed... except they’re lying on tombs, with a great gap between them, surrounded by death and decay), this convo hit a lot of important notes. I particularly loved that we got to see the backstory of Shadow’s nickname — a rare glimpse into what their relationship was like when times were good. And I loved that Shadow remembers this cute, funny little moment, a moment from when he was deeply in love with Laura... and then looks at her now and tells her not to call him puppy. For two seasons, Laura has been clinging to this idea of fixing things between them, and Shadow has loved and missed her enough to at least warily entertain the idea... but they’ve both (rightfully) gotten to a point now where it seems ridiculous to pretend that their relationship could simply go back to the way it was before. It’s good that Shadow be allowed to acknowledge his pain and his anger and to distance himself from her. It’s good that Laura be made to see that though she can still care about Shadow and try to protect him, he’s not her puppy. I don’t think this conversation gave full closure to their relationship, but it was a long time coming and an important step.

2. Salim. Everything about Salim. Salim buying liquor for Sweeney’s wake, and how cute and fumbling he was as he did so, and the way he referred to Sweeney as a friend. Salim’s outrage and horror at the idea that Wednesday and Shadow might actually have committed the crimes the media claimed. Other characters seem a bit amused at his panic, but frankly, that just highlights how out of touch many of the gods are from normal standards of behavior. It also highlights the fact that Salim's kindness and goodness are not rooted in being a doormat; they are rooted in a strong, deeply felt sense of morality that goes hand in hand, imo, with his strong and deeply felt devotion to his faith, which he is quietly but unapologetically courageous in his love for even when others criticize or tease him for it. Salim’s long-suffering loyalty to the things and people he believes in is not a sign of passivity or naivety, but of standing resolute in the face of a frightening and unjust world.

3. Technical Boy is BACK and he’s had a SOFTWARE UPDATE and I have some mixed feelings about what direction they might be taking him, but overall, I can’t deny how happy I was to see him?? As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, one of the weirdest surprises of this season for me is that I’ve actually grown... shockingly fond of Tech Boy. The big reason for that, I think, is that compared to many of the other New Gods, he has so much personality! A smug, bratty, annoying personality, yes, but a personality, and it makes him feel vastly more real and HUMAN than, say, Mr. World. What we’ve seen so far of Tech Boy 2.0, on the other hand, feels... less human. More remote. More uncanny. And more chilling. I did enjoy that, in a way, and I really enjoyed his scenes with Mr. Xie — especially the point in the discussion about Jacob and the angel at which Tech Boy turns on Xie, suddenly becoming so much more ominous and threatening than the “old friend” he’d always been. I’m definitely interested to see more of new Tech Boy... I’ll just be sad if he’s lost all of his old personality.

4. Laura committing Grand Theft Sweeney, which still leaves us in suspense (though I’m pretty confident the showrunners wouldn’t have had her take him if they didn’t at least intend to bring him back to life) but is such a compelling development in Laura and Sweeney’s always compelling relationship. The fact that Sweeney has feelings of some sort for Laura is kinda old news; I think a lot of us have figured as much since season 1. But one thing I’ve truly appreciated about season 2 is how it’s started to show us that Laura cares about and is drawn to him as well. Getting to see Laura stoically refuse to show her grief and anger in front of other characters, yet secretly be SO upset, was great. I also love how apparently not one of the six other people in that funeral home (nor the police converging on it from throughout the area) noticed her marching outta there with the world’s giantest dead dude slung round her neck like a feather boa. It’s difficult for me to imagine cool, composed Mr. Ibis being surprised by anything, but I reckon walking back into the mortuary after Salim and the Jinn left, only to discover an empty slab, might’ve raised an eyebrow or two at least.

5. Last but not least... We’re headed to Lakeside, y’all!! Obviously, this was just a last-minute little detail, so there’s not too much to say, but I did like the way the show uses the Mike Ainsel drivers license not only as a disguise but also as a subtle suggestion to Shadow himself, cluing him in about where he should go next. I don’t know how effectively that hook would come across to people who haven’t read the book, and I have a lot of questions about how the Lakeside arc is going to function in the show, but for now, suffice to say that I’m very excited for it, as it’s one of my favorite settings/subplots in the book.

Honorary mentions also to Shadow’s grief and guilt and torment over Sweeney, which I’m glad came through so clearly — I’ve got a lot of feelings about those two as a pseudo-brotp, and Shadow’s soft little line about how “sorry doesn’t change anything” was ouch — and to the opening sequence dealing with the infamous 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds. I actually have... mixed feelings about that sequence within the greater context of the episode, the season, and the show; I think the narrative arc that it’s linked to has problems with pacing and with lack of actual development / follow-through, and ultimately, I think this episode was similarly anticlimactic in that respect. But that subject definitely merits its own post (assuming I feel up to writing one at some point), and as a standalone, I think that sequence was a very effective and entertaining way to set the stage.