#only for the storyline to end up relating to them on a personal level

[the-cards-she-wont-show]

TTPD Twin Storylines weaved together & double meanings throughout! ✌️👯‍♀️💕

Attention ALL Swifties (particularly Gaylors) and associates of the Tortured Poets department

PLEASE READ!! (and read with an open mind!!)🤍

Listening to the amazing TTPD on repeat this past week, I am certain that I have made an important discovery that I haven't seen talked about anywhere else yet and would like to get the coversation going, in hopes that Taylor will see that we are all finally listening to her! I'm still piecing everything together, as there is so much to unravel and am far from calling myself an expert on her exact timelines and dates, so am looking forward to hearing thoughts from others that are more knowledgable in her history.

I have been of the belief for a while now that Mastermind and Dear Reader were foretelling of her future, and also that the album title had a double meaning (evidenced by the lack of apostrophe in 'poets'). That the tortured poet would be departing. Note that I am also a believer that she has been closeted by those closest to her and is preparing to ruin her name and perceived reputation, give up the false public version of herself and come into her own true self. Everything as we know it will be destroyed and it is all playing out now, coming together as part of her plan.

Falling in line with all of the two's - the double album, the double meaning in the album name, the two sides of taylor etc, I have found that there are two intertwining stories told throughout her tracklist, AND that all songs also have a double meaning!! None of which are about the perceived muses of Travis, Matty or Joe. The 'evidence' for those relationships are all red herrings (for example 'putting narcotics into all of my songs' - but only in the songs with obvious reference to her beards), to make it seem ambiguous and open to interpretation of who the songs may be about, which is seen often throughout her discography. She uses an incredible amount of metaphors and we must look beyond those to decipher her lyrics - do not take anything at face level with Taylor. Most should realise that she is so much smarter than making obvious songs about whichever male muse she is 'dating' at the time. She has always played into that public view to cover her true self. Many songs have themes of secret and hidden love, which juxtaposes with the public 'relationships' she is seen as having.

She tells us in 'The Manuscript' that "lookin' backwards might be the only way to move forward". Therefore we must listen to TTPD in reverse, from track 31 (13 reversed!) to track 1. I believe The Manuscript also acts as a bookend for both of her stories and should be listened to as a closer after the last song of the story 'Fortnight' ends, to get a complete picture. Once we have listened to the album in reverse order, can we see so plainly that each song tells a different story of a period/situation/muse/love/heartbreak in her life - beginning at her parents meeting in The Manuscript, to current day. I think the songs may also actually have a sister song from the corresponding album/period in time, with similar sound, lyrics or theme that connects them. I believe that each song also has a double meaning and can be interpreted as messages to her fans about things that have happened to her over the years or that are about to happen, and she is trying to communicate her feelings of being trapped, which is honestly so heartbreaking. Many relate to her being caged and forced to hide her true self, in particular by one person closest to her - her father. It is devastating to listen to.

The really brilliant part I discovered next, is that The Anthology tracks also have another hidden storyline being told which intertwines and intersects in the exact right place to fit in with her life story. It includes all of the "THE" songs and is in reverse order from the parallel life story and vinyl variants order of issue (but chronological track list order).

The Tortured Poets Department

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

The Alchemy

The Black Dog

The Albatross

The Prophecy

The Bolter

The Manuscript

Rather than presenting my interpretation of the timeline and each story told in every song, I urge everyone to listen to both stories, in these exact orders, with an open mind as to what she could possibly be describing! My mind was completely blown when I figured this out!! Her mind is incredible, there is no other way to describe the album, other than a masterpiece! I feel so much for the pain she has gone through. This album explains her feelings and reasons for hiding her true self over the years for any fans that will inevitably be feeling upset and deceived. We all need to show compassion for everything Taylor has sacrificed and give her what she needs. She truly deserves love, honesty, happiness and peace. ✌️💜

I'm in the process of creating a document trying to piece all of the hidden connections together just to wrap my head around this amazing body of work, so may possibly link this when I have it completed, otherwise I will add it to this post for anyone that might be interested.

I have a couple of extra personal thoughts, theories and hopes for anyone still reading…

The manuscript of her life story may possibly be the manuscript for a future book/film.

I think one meaning of "Fortnight" is a foretelling message to the fans that havent been noticing any of her many hair pin drops - she has been trying to get the message across but they aren't listening. For the fans she loses when she comes out - she touched them with this album for only a fortnight, before she lost them. She loves the fans but staying in the closet is ruining her life. I think something big could be happening a fortnight after release? Friday 3rd May is International Sun Day. ☀️ Karlie Kloss was always 'sunshine' to Taylor. According to Karlie, their first meeting was at the 2011 Met Gala on May 2, however, there is a possibility that they could have met at the afterparty - after midnight, making the anniversary May 3! 2024 Met Gala is a few days later, could they both make an appearance? If nothing big occurs, perhaps some seeds of doubt will be planted on the 3rd? Or.. It could also be a surprise rep TV (with or without Karma and Debut - surprise triple drop?) with wlw vault tracks?! Who really knows.. I honestly have no idea, but whatever happens, I know Taylor has it all meticulously planned out and everything will happen when it is supposed to.

Taylor is chairman of the Tortured Poets department - the leader of the mass coming out we are about to see. As Chely Wright put - 'we need someone at the top' to come out and pave the way for others to do the same, and to stop the forced closeting in the celebrity world. I think Travis and the majority of her former beards are also queer and there will be many more 'tortured poets' that will join 'the department'.

Karma will be album 1 (TS12) in the 3,2,1 countdown, TS13 is 0 - the album in which she gets all of her full colour back, reclaims her glitter gel pens and finally can sing her truth proudly! She has destroyed her own name and reputation, burnt down the lover house and all her former selves.

Last of all, PLEASE BE KIND! If anyone has made it to the end of this and doesnt agree, I'd love for you to have a listen to the songs in the orders above before commenting. If not, lets just agree to disagree! We all have our own personal takes on Taylor's lyricism and I would never dream of being unkind to another just for having a difference of opinion. 🫶

For Taylor - if you somehow happen to see this - please know you are truly a mastermind, you are loved and we've got you!

🌈💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛🌈

❤️ gerimegs

#taylor swift #gaylor #kaylor #ttpd #thetorturedmusesdept #the tortured poets department #the tortured poets dept #taylorswift #swifties #taylornation #tsttpd #taylor swift eras #erastour

[jayenator565]

My Tanthamore Comfort Fics

We were talking about comfort fics in the Tanthamore discord and I realized I have too many for a normal sized reply, so here's a tumblr post instead. In no particular order i've reread these fics...maybe too many times.

I'm just gonna list em by author cause that's easier. Keep in mind we may have different definitions of the word comfort.

@commanderbuffy

650 ft2 - Ok so like envision these girls have been best friends for forever and they've been secretly pining for ages, no sense of personal space, they can read eachother like books AND they were roommates!

The Tanthamore Affair - This fic has everything, one bed, fake dating, celeb au, the fic that changed the meaning of a certain emoji and all the tropes you could want really

@badlance

We've got to find other ways to make it together - this one line says all you need to know

"It is the greatest irony of Jade Claymore’s life to be a certified genius who is nevertheless in love with an idiot."

@spybrarian

More Than Just Survival - as far as 5+1 fics go this one has me in a CHOKEHOLD

I scream at your chest for as long as I must

one night at the start of the end of the world

@ilovemyships (i think you need an AO3 account to read these gems)

you won't believe it (they think we're lovers)

don't wanna pressure (but friends don't kiss friends)

@acre-of-wheat - Acre's way with words should be studied

Network Connectivity Issues - I have never related to a character more than I relate to this Jade

The Dark

The Bite

@jlmichigan

Out of the Cuirass - one of the first tanthamore fics I ever read actually and I still come back to it every so often

@stbot

lay down your armor (come lie bare with me) - saintbot has a catalogue lemme tell ya but this one for tanthamore is just so heartwarming

@overkill-max

Escaping Fate - the Kit runs away fic that everyone needs

Dil3mma (idk their tumblr right now sorry)

A Sword And A Shield (And Everything In Between)

Deja-Brew - the loveliest coffee shop one shot

Jad3dEt3rnal (idk if they have a tumblr either)

This Daydream is Dangerous - cuddly vampire Jade, need I say more?

ana_chronistic (idk if they have a tumblr either x3)

Oops. I proposed. - fake dating x 100, fake proposal it's like fake dating to the next level and I love the growth of communication and pacing in this.

@barmaid-anon

do what you feel now

you want a good girl that does bad things (to you)

fulfill (an obligation) or keep (an arrangement)

we simply don't have time to unpack why these are comfort fics, we're just going to accept it and keep going.

@thecsquirrel

Sword and Shield - I love this look at what post S1 life could have been like for the gang, revisiting Nockmaar, seeing Galladoorn, getting into the evil Elora storyline with Graydon, spending more time with the Nelwyn and in the Wildwood it's just everything

@wigster07

What a pleasant surprise - a fic of one of my other comfort fics, I know it's like fic-ception in the best way possible. If you liked Tanthamore Affair I have an inkling this will be right up your alley

@isabrella @jade-claymore @allthefakepeople @resurrecho

those rumors they have big teeth - BAND AU need I say more? I don't need to but i'm going to, this fic has everything Kit and Jade in a band, Kit's leather pants, gay-ifying songs, MAMA MIA, totally gay best friends who have basically been dating for years but won't admit to it, Jade gets to be a bit problematic as a treat, inner band fighting, what more can you want?

@swashbucklery

meet you where the spirit meets the bones (tanthamore 90s werewolf au) - its a SERIES of these repressed gay DORKS and they're werewolves, there's such a charming way to how this author writes them I legit can't even with these two gays

@onlyshestandsthere

these walls come tumbling down - look, we don't have time to unpack why there's so many were-related supernatural esque fics on my comfort list and I know this is only 2 chapters in but I can already feel the comfort in all the hurt ok I dont even have to wait I already know i'm gonna be rereading this like monthly

I'm gonna have to stop there even though I know i'm still missing some! If someone asked me what my favorites are we'd be here all day XD

#tanthamore #tanthamore fics #fic recs #jade claymore #kit tanthalos #willow #willow 2022

[luna-rainbow]

So I was thinking about the super-soldier serum and the corrupting influence in relation to Bucky. The narrative of TFaTWS (is that the right abbreviation?) wants us to think Steve was the only person who was never corrupted by the serum.

It really annoys me because to me, its obvious that Bucky was never corrupted either and I think a large reason for that was because he never asked for it anyway. I mean yeah its theoretically possible for unasked for power to go to someone's head and for them to abuse it, but everything that happened to Bucky happened because other people were exploiting and using him for their own ends

I kept wanting to kind of yell every time someone rubbed the fact Bucky was a super-soldier in his face, John Walker, Zemo, even Sam at times because they all acted like he loved it or always wanted it or something.

If he had a choice, I dunno I think he just wanted to survive the war and go back home to live a normal life. If anything the serum was like a curse instead of a blessing for him and not something he derived a net benefit from overall.

What do you think?

I'll have no hope of finding my old post on this but yeah, lots of Bucky fans were pretty annoyed with that particular part of the storyline. It wasn't just Zemo saying "there's never been another Steve Rogers", it started with Walker saying "super soldiers don't exactly have a great track record no offence" along with Zemo talking about the Flagsmashers being supremacists (??) It's one of many examples where what is spoken doesn't match how they act, because a "one world one people" slogan is certainly not about any form of supremacy.

Erskine: The serum amplifies what is inside. Good becomes great. Bad becomes worse.

There were two ways of interpreting this: physical, and metaphorical. If the serum enhances everything physical, including the brain and its emotional centers, then yeah maybe it makes someone who is reckless more impulsive, someone who is prone to anger more aggressive, someone who is brave more fearless. I personally don't like this explanation because it seems...rather eugenics or essentialist to me, and the creation of Steve Rogers as Captain America was supposed to be a middle finger to the eugenics movement driven by the Nazis in the 1930s. It's like saying that what determines your actions and your personality is already embedded into your biology, so when your biology is enhanced, so are the good and bad traits in your personality. It doesn't seem to allow scope for personal choice as the main driver of people's actions.

The second option is a more metaphorical interpretation. The serum enhances physical strength and power (and presumably attractiveness), which tends to move people up the social ladder (regardless of whether this is the intention). And it falls back on the same motto that drives Peter Parker -- with great power comes great responsibility. When power falls into the hands of someone unscrupulous, it will tend to bring out their worst traits because the extra strength lowers their inhibitions. When power falls into the hands of someone idealistic and kind, one hopes they will take it upon themselves to use it responsibly and use it for good deeds.

So I agree, I think at some level, the intention behind becoming a super soldier does matter, because we've seen it impact on how people behave after they get their extra strength. The five Siberian super soldiers - their goal was to become better fighters and better spies, and they did, but they were so vicious they couldn't be contained. The Flagsmashers - I mean I'm not happy with their overall consistency, but you could argue their immaturity added a sense of vengefulness and anger to their purpose, which pushed them slowly onto the path of killing indiscriminately.

And Bucky? We have no indication he wanted to be any part of it. He didn't show jealousy at Steve's new bod, for one thing, just a concerned, "Did it hurt?" When Walker said, "This must be so easy for you, with all that serum in your veins." It was hard not to dislike him, because Bucky didn't choose to have the serum, and his protectiveness (in this case of Sam) predates the serum.

It wasn't the serum that turned Bucky into the Winter Soldier, as the series seem to imply at turns, although it seems to recognise at other times that it was the mind-control (and it never for a second even showed the torture Bucky went through). And aside from the Winter Soldier era, Bucky really doesn't have anything else to answer for...so yeah, I agree, I've always had issue with the way the series seem to emphasise that Steve was the only "good" super soldier.

If Bucky was "bad" simply through the serum, they wouldn't have needed to torture him to turn him into the Winter Soldier.

#bucky barnes #asks #tfatws critical

[annon-secretcave]

Sonadow, Sonamy...

OK so we all know that there's a civil mid-joke war inside the Sonic Fandom about preferences between Sonadow and Sonamy, right?

And yeah I don't care barely at all about ships or ship wars and stuff, and everyone can have their opinion! But as someone who loves to relate the lore to everything because autism I really like analyzing things and it helps me understand everything better, I thought to maybe give all the canon/non-emotions related stuff to explain how these relationships, friends or something more (spoiler alert, something more does not exist in canon), work inside canon and how they would work in the far future.

REMINDER THAT THIS WILL NOT SIDE WITH EITHER SIDE MUCH UNTIL THE END ("In my humble opinion..." part)

THERE'S ALSO AN ANALYSIS! But at the end, since it's more of a personal analysis that is not fully factual, just a study of the characters.

Yeah so here it goes...

(Everything with a "*" means that it will be explained at the end with the more "sonic" stuff, less related to the ship.)

Sonamy

Realistically, Amy was created to be more of "just an addition to the Sonic team" with more female representation. She started off as just Sonic's girlfriend or love interest, even though he never showed as much interest for her as she did for him. In short, her interest in him did show since she made her first appearance, clearly showing that that would be the main or most shown romantic relationship in the franchise.

At the beginning, she was completely a Sonic fangirl and had much interest in him, specifically shown in shows or some comics... but as they realized the potential of the character, they stopped making her whole reason to be there sonic, changing it slightly, but still firing the character. This also meant that they stopped making her be "madly in love" or that interested in sonic, who was never interested in the first place. This, outside of the franchise is clearly the creators noticing the potential of a character with a heart as big as Amy's, but inside of the franchise it was probably her maturing (going from typical teenage romance-obsessed phase to just a normal crush), which was (ok this one thing is my opinion, yeah...) a big improvement to the character, to give her a story, more personality...

Now, about the ship itself... Sonamy has always been one-sided, or at least in most cases. And this had been stated and was seen clearly throughout the franchise (ok realistically I did not watch sonic boom but that one is not really canon in the main story which is the one that I am talking about). At first, maybe it was not shown in a very modern or uh... less obvious way... but listen the 90's are the 90's ok. but they showed it nonetheless. So, respectfully, Sonamy has not been canon from both sides clearly in most of the canon storyline.

Sorry Sonamy shippers...

(further study of this ship is after Sonadow, but that is a more personal review so I understand if you are not so interested)

(I'd add a single picture of these two but all I can find is FANART...)

Sonadow

So yeah I think we can all accept that no matter how gay it looks we have no proof that they are canon with facts and from a less biased point of view...

We have Sonic's line "I heart you too, Shadow" hope that's enough to feed ya xd

Nah but seriously there is an analysis to these two, it's just not that based in facts and hints like Sonamy had.

The analysis...

Now that the factual part has been explained, let's see this from a more Sonic POV, okay?

Sonic

Sonic is a character that likes to do everything, achieve everything, and be the fastest. His quote is quite literally "Gotta go fast". Of course, in a relationship, he would, not only be interested in, but also need, someone who can "keep up", as toxic as that sounds. He does not really need someone as fast as him, just someone that he can trust to be there by his side at every fight (or most of them), someone who will be at his level enough to fight by his side, otherwise it would be too dangerous. Something else that I've noticed is that the ones he is closest with, or has shown more attachment towards, are also people that can keep him with his feet on the ground, people that know when and how to say "You are not going to do this" and convince him, or, people to just keep him company and remind him who he is when he forgets (and, hey, it's Sonic, he also likes to have a few laughs).

As coincidental as that sounds, being able to both keep up and slow him down are traits that both characters mentioned earlier fulfil (yeah maybe Shadow more specifically... but shut up this is also supportive for Sonamy shippers ok LET THEM BE HAPPY LET THEM ALL BE HAPPY)

In any case, Sonic is a free-spirited supersonic hedgehog that will go wherever he wants whenever he wants, he helps people that are in trouble if he has the chance, and will fight and laugh alongside people who were once, currently are, or have tried to keep up. But being in a relationship itself is more effort than occasional visits, and Sonic knows that; he will be in a relationship with someone that can "keep up" and stand by him for the good of both of them. Obviously, he will also give, put in the effort to make the relationship work, but he knows who, when he gives 50, can give back 50, and those are people that will keep up with his adventures.

In my opinion... (the logic of the analysis applied to my train of thought, this is more biased from now on)

Sonamy

I understand why people see these two as a cute couple. Honestly, it makes sense. She does fulfil most of the traits and he does fulfil many of her expectations, from what I have seen of her...

But it's the keeping up part. Amy is a kind, warm hedgehog who loves nature and loves protecting nature. I have always had the feeling that, at some point (when she's a young adult probably), she would get a small house, near a natural area, where all her friends are, and stay there to protect them in that area. She would stay in one place that would fully grow on her and she would spend all her life there, protecting what she wishes to fight for and taking care of nature, as well as some visits every now and then to her friends if they are far away.

Sonic does not seem to like physical affection too much, except for certain moments with certain people, and the way Amy keeps asking for affection might make him uncomfortable or even bore him most of the time. In a relationship? It might just bore Sonic too much, and Amy would not change to much anyway...

I have never been a fan of the concept of a one-sided ship, due to how toxic it can be. But there is something about the way that Amy, even with her crush, respects Sonic's boundaries, that makes me feel like this is the one single one-sided ship I find interesting and perfect as it is. Sonic is not uncomfortable with her, on the contrary, he enjoys spending time with her a lot, but when she goes to a more romantic mode, he does seem more uncomfortable in most cases.

Plus... this one small part is way more of a personal opinion, but Amy staying single and possibly being a single mother feels very in-character and sweet.

Sonadow

Shadow. As cryptic as he chooses to be at times, he has shown that he cares about Sonic before, which for the character, someone who lost everything in a person who meant the universe to him, is quite a lot. He has been open- or as open as he can be- with Sonic before, which clearly makes their friendship-rivalry slightly more different that his relationship with other people. Shadow's only "problem" is that at times he cannot express himself well.

They respect each other, even if they don't always show it. They care about each other, and even admire some actions the other does. Their rivalry is not toxic, it's just competitive.

Shadow does have the traits that Sonic would be most interested in, like Amy, but in his case, he is less feeling, but he can definitely keep up and even slow Sonic down. He has followed him when he thought he could put the world or himself in dagger multiple times, but he has not shown that well his ability to encourage Sonic (yeah no he has his own way with words and that way is not saying anything, much less to someone with Sonic's high self-esteem)

Sonic loves excitement and enjoying life to the last minute, doing everything that might sound extreme just for fun. He has always admired Shadow's power and angry determination, and found him and his powers amazing, even if he won't admit it. Shadow doesn't mind living extreme situations at all, apparently even enjoying certain activities that involve the excitement of a battle of any kind. Sonic finds that part of Shadow fun to mess with, and Shadow either doesn't care or is barely angry, but actually, in a way, enjoys having someone to fight or just spend time with that won't push any emotional talk or physical signs of affection too much.

Apart from that, my pov again for the future, both of them could make great parents, and their relationship in a family could be interesting since they already act like a married couple xd but then again, Sonic does not seem like the kind of person who will just have a kid unless something "eye-opening" or lifechanging happens to him.

Conclusion

But then again this is just an analysis that would be in case he would settle with either of them for life, so it might not be the best if we are just keeping them with their current age or a bit older xd

Plus, this is more related to their personalities, facts and lore... since I'm not the most adequate to judge how romantic and other kinds of attraction work haha (aroace nation rISE)

Also, as un-biased as this is, this still has a bit of personal opinion, so don't take it too canon and stuff

And remember everyone had the right to have their own opinions, even if we don't like them. Respect everyone and their opinions! They aren't hurting anyone anyway, right? (unless it's something highly immoral or just straight up not legal worldwide)

So yeah, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you ship Sonamy, Sonadow or something else, we're all just having fun after all, and if you insult people's opinion you're just being the angry bully in the playground who steals toys and breaks them because it's fun for them, a bitch.

Sonic's got 2 hands after all, ammaright

(this is totally official art trust not al all made in 2 minutes in board with a mouse)

#sonadow #sonamy #sth #this took a bit longer to upload I forgot for a sec xd

[erazonpo3]

Erazon's Characterisation Essay (Part 1 - Cynthia Edition)

General preface; This is me snowballing on a thought I had earlier about canon v fanon trends given that it's a pretty evergreen topic. Without getting too much into the subject itself, I made the point that you can use the source material as a starting point for analysing characterisation, but in a lot of cases it's highly interpretive; using Pokemon as an example, most of the non-player characters exist to enable the player's autonomy throughout the game's storyline, and only a small handful have their own detailed arcs and backstories.

Therefore if you want to build on characterisation for them for transformative fanworks, you only have a handful of dialogue lines and some environmental storytelling that borders on olympic levels of mental gymnastics. Things like backstory and character motivation needs to be invented, to which end the concept of 'canon' characterisation becomes pretty insignificant in comparison to the story you are trying to tell, and whether or not that characterisation is thematically appropriate and compelling. Everyone is going to have a subjective opinion about the 'essence' of a character, the core traits that make them who they are, and how integral those traits are for it to be a 'canon' or 'fanon' interpretation.

And yet there's still ways to analyse the games to draw some conclusions that aren't always obvious straight away.

I'm going to go into how I draw characterisation for Cynthia for Way Out, but keep in mind that I don't consider my characterisation perfect or the One True Depiction To End All Others etc and so on and so forth. There's things I need to discard in favour of the story– adults in the Pokemon games, including Cynthia, have a pretty laissez-faire attitude when it comes to kids handling crises so that the target audience (kids) can feel acutalised as they play through the story, but it's not always what I consider a core character trait so much as a function of the medium.

I play up a sense of responsibility and duty that isn't really depicted in the games but is nevertheless an easy takeaway in order to give her character a bit more depth and relateability. And when other people take her character in a different direction, I try to keep an open mind about what they're saying about her character in their story, because their story is not a video game for children nor a webcomic, and they will need to do different things depending on her narrative role.

(I don't have to like it, but I'm no less a subjective soul than anyone else).

I also pull here and there from other sources of inspiration, one I've mentioned before is a meta-analysis of how she's treated by the fandom in general, assuming she'd be treated a similar way as a public figure in-universe. A lot of my character work is about peeling back that legendary status and asking who the person underneath is and how she might deal with the pressures of being expected to consistently meet other people's high standards, and how to balance a healthy competitive streak without it becoming toxic.

But more to the point– here's some material exclusively from Platinum that I think collates to a pretty consistent depiction of her character, to keep in mind and interpret any which way, arranged into some key traits.

She is the granddaughter of a village elder in a traditional rural town.

"My grandma has this sort of bossy atmosphere about her. I think you'll recognize her right away. Yes, I'm sure you will. She's the elder of Celestic Town"

An overlooked aspect of her character that I think holds some of the ripest potential for her character is that we know a fair deal about where her family is from, potentially where she was raised. My personal conclusions are:

It is likely she has an ingrained sense of cultural values of humility, respect, duty, and tradition. While she may not be ruled by these traits, they would influence the way she interacts with the world.

Her interest in mythology is likely inspired the mural in Celestic town, and reflects a value of heritage and history.

It's a common 'fanon' that her grandmother was her primary guardian through much of her childhood, which isn't substantiated anywhere (just because we don't meet her parents as NPCs doesn't mean they don't exist) but this idea strengthens the connection she has to Celestic town and emphasises her position as the elder's heir.

Cynthia introducing herself as a trainer and not a Champion suggests humility; she positions herself as an equal to the player as opposed to a superior.

2. She is earnest and sincere

"...The places we are born. The time we spend living... The languages we speak... We are all different. But the presence of Pokémon unites us. We share our lives with our Pokémon and our happiness grows as we all become greater than we were alone. That is why we can battle and trade with anyone we choose..."

This is a reflection of her position as a narrative foil to Cyrus; where he dismisses the importance of emotion and 'spirit', she holds it in high regard. Thus;

She sees strong emotions as the source of her bond to her Pokemon and therefore the source of her success. While it's not to say she's an overly empathetic person, I think it follows easily that is generally emotionally intelligent (generally).

I think she's self-aware about how emotional she can be too, which is to say it's something she consciously embraces despite knowing she comes across a little overly earnest (and cheesy) sometimes.

"I love the sound a piano makes. I savor every note with my entire being. It's not only my ears; my spirit hears the music it makes... Ehehe, I made myself cringe saying that."

3. She is intelligent

"I think I let myself get carried away and talked for far too long. I'm sorry, and thank you"

This feels like a no brainer (ha) but it's also easy to take someone who comes across as emotional and write them off as being illogical or not having the depth for complex thought. To me, her emotional intelligence goes hand in hand with her analytical intelligence.

Her fascination with mythology is one of her defining traits, and her dialogue is the source of much of the lore surrounding the Sinnoh legendary Pokemon.

Her pursuit of knowledge is one of her defining traits; her interest in mythology and the distant past is referenced more frequently by herself and other NPCs than the fact of her being Champion. "My big sister is studying the myths of Sinnoh. She wants to know how people and Pokemon interacted in the days of myths."

As a Champion, I consider that she's very calculating and analytical. Even without the strategic held items given to her in BDSP, her Pokemon have perfect stats and have solid type coverage. It's not something she would accidentally stumble onto.

"When you are facing a Trainer in battle, you can learn everything about them. What Pokemon they have. What moves they've taught. What items they make Pokemon hold."

4. She is kind

"I want you to keep traveling to many far-off places. I want you to keep meeting all kinds of people and Pokémon. I came all the way here just so I could say that to you!"

A Champion in this game being kind isn't really a revolutionary idea, but it's still something I consider very integral, particularly in conjunction with the prior traits; there is diplomacy and there is compassion, and to me Cynthia balances both.

She is something of a mentor figure to the player, giving them the solution to obstacles on multiple occasissions (HM Cut, the Secret Medicine), and imparts a lot of lore to them. Notably she gives them an egg which hatches into a Togepi; while this event doesn't happen in BDSP and Platinum doesn't have the Fairy type, it's still retroactively made more interesting for the fact that Togekiss' modern Fairy/Flying type grants perfect immunity to her Garchomp's Dragon/Ground typing.

Some of the few interactions the player will have with her is giving medicine to the Psyduck blocking the route to Celestic town, and then delivering a charm to her grandmother– it gives an impression that she is regularly invested in small acts of kindness.

5. Other tidbits

Every time she interacts with you as the player, it is always through the lens of an adult with a public position speaking to a child; I take it as a given that all her interactions have a slight amount of professional distance, and a formality she wouldn't have if speaking to an adult friend.

She reveals that she went on a similar journey as the player character after being given a Pokedex by Professor Rowan, which could imply she experienced similar experiences to the established protagonist journey formula.

There's a slight goofiness to some of her dialogue that suggests she doesn't always take herself too seriously. "You've seen that group of Psyduck huddled with their heads in their, uh, hands...?"

It's a pretty common 'fanon' for Cynthia to have known Cyrus in her childhood, but this isn't really substantiated in text; her dialogue towards him would be a lot colder with that context as opposed to a stranger. It's a common headcanon because giving them a history together strengthens their position as foils, but in my opinion it's equally as interesting that Cyrus succeeds as far as he does because he exists in Cynthia's blind spot- she admits she didn't pay enough attention to what Team Galactic was up to, and can only stand in opposition to him ideologically, unwilling to entertain (or empathise with) his perspective. It hints at a certain stubbornness she has when she believes she's right and someone else is wrong.

This is just what I personally glean from the text; it's possible I've missed something that somebody else considers ultimately integral. But I hope that my writing in Way Out speaks for itself in how I apply all this to her character in the story, and why I feel it's important to do so. Cynthia is the character I second-guess the most in her characterisation because she should always be recognisable, even while going through different arcs. Her values, her intelligence, her sincerity, and her kindness are all things that need to be balanced with the needs of the story; how strong she is is just a relative thing to what any particular scene demands.

There's a lot I could still elaborate on but for the sake of at least attempting to keep this (relatively) concise, I wrote all this to highlight how I try to stay on track with consistent characterisation, which may not be the perfect ideal for this character but nevertheless is the best version for my story. There's nobody I hold to a higher writing standard than myself, and I try to constantly ask myself if I'm really writing what's best for the narrative or if I can do something better. I'm not interested in the most canon depiction that exists for another story, I'm interested in what's right for my story.

And uhhhh peace ✌️

#long post #like long long #it's a whole read #but if you like reading do i have good news for you #pokemon #cynthia #characterisation #tangential enough to way out that i can tag it #way out #im also open to discussions about this because it's just my ~opinion~ and again i like to keep an open mind

[gotylocks]

Willow Month 2023- Day 3: TV Show (Full Series/Specific Episode) or Movie

If you read my entry for Day one, you'll know I went into the show without seeing the movie. In fact, I actually made a point to wait to watch it until the finale, because it was a rare opportunity where I could watch one of these years later follow ups without nostalgia for the original (unlike, say, Star Wars), so I wanted to see if it worked on its own.

The fact I'm writing this should tell you, I truly believe it does. Now, I don't want this to come off like I don't like the movie, because that is not the case. I love the movie! I'm wearing a Sorsha and Mads shirt as I write this! But I would still love the show just as much without the movie.

Some hard numbers may make my point. I have watched the movie once, and while I often think about watching it again, I haven't yet. By contrast, I have watched the full series 13 times through at this point, and at least 8 of those times were marathon sessions where I went from episodes 1-8 in a single sitting.

Why is that? Well, I think the movie is missing some key ingredients that keep it from hitting that obsession level. Namely, Kit, Jade, (grown up) Elora... ok it's the entire crew. Their interplay, the way their relationships build over the course of the season, and the way that by the end of the finale every single one of them has been improved by the others being present in their lives.

The party of six, all with their beautiful, layered arcs and emotional storylines, they're the ones that make the show something special. I've said in the past that typically in shows with ensemble casts, there's usually at least one character that I find annoying, or one actor that I don't like for one reason or another. That's another thing that makes the show so incredible. I love every single person involved. From the main six, rippling out to the supporting cast and cameos like Hannah Waddingham and Christian Slater. Not only does everyone understand the assignment, they bring their own unique flavor and quirks so nobody feels like they're phoning it in. You can tell everyone is having fun and that translates to the audience.

And while fun is first up on the menu for the show, there's also so many moments of heart-rending drama. As someone who lost their dad at 26, I connect to Kit's feelings of grief and abandonment over the disappearance of her father. I connect with Jade feeling lost and purposeless. I connect with Elora desperately wanting to help despite struggling to believe in herself. I connect with Graydon carrying a lot of guilt over things he had no control over and wanting to prove himself as more than what his father believes he is. I connect with Boorman regretting his selfish choices and wanting to make up for his past mistakes. I even relate to Willow, thrust into a position where he has to be a believer despite feeling like a fraud.

Whether it's due to the run time or the time in which it was made, the movie just can't compete with the variety of character arcs, the layers that get peeled back the more the crew spend time together, the realization how each person has something to learn from the others and how they've grown to rely on each other.

By the time they reach the Immemorial City to fight the Crone, they have grown into one of the best found families I've ever seen. They have each other's backs, they trust each other implicitly, and they're willing to put everything on the line to save the world, sure, but more importantly, save each other and facilitate their rises to greatness.

The dialogue, while not to everyone's taste, I felt was a great choice. It immediately plants a flag on its own territory and says confidently "We are not Game of Thrones. We are not Lord of the Rings. We are our own thing." I love that shit! It is never a show that feels like it's chasing a trend, because it is so uniquely itself. That extends to the music, be it the fantastic score by James Newton Howard and Xander Rodzinski or the fascinating modern song choices deployed in each episode, which while I have opinions about songs I would prefer in different places, I cannot deny that they set the show apart from everything else that has come before. And "Crimson+Clover" by Pom Pom Squad will live in my brain forever thanks to its absolutely pitch perfect use in episode 5.

The fight scenes are fantastic, because they're never there for the sake of having action. Instead, major character beats are woven throughout, making each fight hugely meaningful to everyone involved. Whether it's Willow going from his weakened, nigh magicless state at the start of the show, to being the great sorcerer he was always meant to be thanks to working with Elora, or its Kit and Jade connecting and expressing emotions that words may not be enough for through their shared love language of sword fighting, or Graydon finding the magic within at the moment he needed to and killing one of the Gales pursuing them. Action has a purpose in this story and I love that after so many hollow and emotionless cgi fight scenes we've been inundated with over recent years.

This is why I can't simply choose one favorite episode from the series, because they are so intertwined that I cannot separate them. However, unlike many straight to streaming shows, Willow doesn't just feel like an 8 hour movie chopped into parts (despite my tendency to watch it like one long movie lol). Every episode has a unique identity that I can immediately point to when prompted. Every episode is important to moving both the narrative and character development forward, and there isn't a single one you could cut without everything feeling askew.

So. When I saw this prompt I was like "Maybe I'll make this one short", but we all know now that was going to be impossible. The intense emotional connection I have to this show from front to back just brings this out of me. To the only Fellowship I need in my life. I wouldn't be here without you.

To quote Erin from the making of doc, "These people are my family."

#willowmonth2023 #willow 2022 #willow meta #kit tanthalos #jade claymore #tanthamore #elora danan #graydon hastur #thraxus boorman #willow ufgood

[taoofshigeru]

The Evolving Nature of Keywords and Antagonists in Octopath Traveler II

Octopath Traveler II is a masterpiece. I find new ways to appreciate this fact all the time. I hit on one specific facet somewhat recently, so want to walk through each of the main quests and go over the extent to which the creators picked out powerful character-specific keywords which do heavy lifting on multiple levels.

I made a similar post about the keywords from OT1, if you're interested in reading that, but essentially, the "keyword" for a character is a single word chosen to represent their journey. It's used to in OT1 to denote the lead-in to Battle at Journey's End in the climax of a character's route, and in OT2 to fit into their "In Pursuit of _" route boss theme.

The keywords chosen for OT2 have had a lot of thought put into them, and represent not just the journey at a glance but how a character's objectives can change, and even how they relate to their primary antagonist.

(I recommend having the tracklist for the OT2 soundtrack beside you for this, if you're not already familiar.)

Ochette (For Legends)

Ochette is on a journey to find the creatures of legend in order to protect the island. Her journey also takes on meaning for her first chosen companion (Mahina/Akala) and Acta, who become legends in the final act of her journey.

In contrast, her opposite number Petrichor is trying to kill or incapcitate the creatures of legend. Cateracta is the only one that dies on account of her efforts, but Tera and Glacis both suffer at her hands. As does the darkling. Petrichor brings not just death, but suffering on those she seeks. It contrasts nicely with Ochette's first contemporary scene, which has her hunting a gator down specifically for eating too much of the local wildlife and disrupting the balance of the forest. There's a strong ethos about how death is faced, and why a hunt is undertaken. (i.e. to protect the larger environment versus for personal gain)

Hers is the storyline that deals most directly with the balance of life and death, and the importance of a good life and a humane death. In that sense, it's less important for Ochette to directly confront Petrichor because a good life and a humane death can be given regardless of what evils others inflict upon the world.

Castti (For Memories)

Castti, an amnesiac apothecary, is on a journey to restore her lost memories. She's also on her journey to extend a helping hand to those in need, in order to honor the besmirched memory of Eir's Apothecaries.

Her opposite number, Trousseau, was the one to taint Eir's Memory, and his poison has taken hers (either chemically or through trauma). Because his continued actions as a mass poisoner threaten to further sully the memory of Eir's Apothecaries, he needs to be confronted and put down directly for the memories to be laid to rest.

Also, the fact that non-evil Trousseau shows up in her last memory at the end is an indication that it's also a fight for Trousseau's memory in her heart. She can't remember the kind man he once was because it would lead her to hesitate about what needed to be done, but she does want to remember her lost loved ones fondly. Even Trousseau.

Throné (For Freedom)

Throné is fighting for her freedom from the Blacksnakes, and her opposite number, Claude, holds the keys to the collar literally wrapped around her throat. So he has to be fought, for obvious reasons. Fighting him also secures the kind of freedom Throné's never had for the nameless baby whose crying voice can be heard at the end of her route as the camera zooms out.

Still, we see that it's not just Throné suffering under Claude's thumb. We see her adoptive father lost the woman he loved to Claude, and orphans like Mira being raised to take the place of whatever snakes might lose their heads in any given heist.

And, despite the "Not my tits, not my problem" way she handles the power vacuum created by Claude's death, her actions do cause chaos that allows some other Blacksnakes and abused orphans like Mira to break free. Which is not to say they become good. They're still seen running rigged casinos and the like after her path is complete. But hey, freedom to be good implies one also has the freedom to be evil, or else it's not really freedom!

(Sidenote: The baby at the end of Throné's route is such a great narrative tool for pushing the readers to ask more questions. Did Throné originally have qualms about killing Claude due to the power vacuum that the need to free the child overrode? Did seeing the woman first, then her child with Claude, make her realize this would keep happening unless she killed him for real, despite her dislike for killing? Did Claude, a questionably suicidal immortal, engineer the whole setup to erase her doubts about killing him?)

Osvald (For Revenge)

Osvald sets out for revenge and gets his revenge at the climax of his route in a direct confrontation with Harvey, his opposite number and the number one object of his revenge.

This is only somewhat subverted, as Osvald's revenge succeeds in large part due to the power of love (as a father who loves and wants to protect his daughter). Really, revenge being the one goal that doesn't evolve as much fits with Octopath's general "revenge is actually pretty reasonable when you've been wronged to that extent" ethos.

Partitio (For Prosperity)

Partitio is on a journey to bring the world prosperity! Economic well-being! For all his friends. And everyone (save maybe a few shitty loan sharks) is his friend.

But he gets TWO antagonists. Roque is doing it For Wealth (choice of words mine), a similar but distinctly different and much more selfish end. One of the more obscure definitions of prosperity is "attainment of the object desired". Roque was fought because he needed it knocked into his noggin that trains can be good for more than warfare.

Ori has, like him, experienced extreme poverty and suffering (though her experience as a wartime orphan was more extreme) and wants to ease the world's suffering. She just initially prefers to do so by ending the world. However, Ori is never fought because Partitio was always fighting the battle for her heart, knowingly or not. And, at the very last, he reached her. ;_;

Agnea (For Hope)

Agnea Bristarni is on a journey to spread hope. And boy, does she ever!

But she also gets two antagonists. Dolcinea Luciel, the boss of Agnea's route, performs not For Hope, but instead For Applause (The first phase of her boss fight has theme music explicitly called called "In Pursuit of Applause"). It's a form of selfishness that does have to be confronted directly, albeit onstage rather than in an actual fight to the death.

Tanzy, Agnea's other opposite number, has already lost all hope. And that void in her heart was taken advantage of to make her a pawn of the moonshades (and ultimately, a sacrifice). Tanzy remains unfought, because the battle was for Tanzy's hope all along and Arcanette won that fight before the story began.

However, very much worth noting is that Agnea is the one character to not get a "The Journey for _ Ends…" theme on the soundtrack. Instead, her route boss track, juxtaposed squarely between "The Journey for Prosperity Ends" and "The Journey for Truth Ends" is the Song of Hope (which she sings herself!). I think this is a thematic choice that reflects that the hope Agnea strives to bring is more ephemeral as a concept. ("Like trying to grasp hold of a cloud", to paraphrase the ending of Hajime no Ippo.) I think this has a lot to do with why the game has the epilogue. Because while all eight travelers go on living and trying to better the world and themselves in their own way, Agnea's journey for hope continues.

Temenos (For Truth)

Temenos' quest is rather straightforward. He's a detective on a murder investigation. He's looking to discover the truth behind the pontiff's death, behind Roi's death, and eventually behind Crick's death as well.

But in a pretty heavy subversion, his "Journey Ends" track plays in the boss fight with Kaldena, well before he actually gets to the truth. He's the one character of the eight to directly fight his HTAPOTCO counterpart outside of his specific story arc. Because the track was incomplete and his journey for truth wasn't over yet. To add to the synergy, Arcanette was the one most responsible for concealing the truth from him, from the depth of the moonshades' duplicity to the truth of her own identity. And she's already succeeded insofar as her goal was to bring about the endless night, so by the time she's actually fought she's happy to spill all the beans, and you fight her not For Truth, but For The Dawn.

Hikari (For Kingship)

Hikari Ku wants the throne so he can govern with compassion.

He's also the third character to get two antagonists. His brother Mugen is a comically evil king who governs with an iron fist and sends his army to make war with their neighbors. He's fought directly in Hikari's final battle, Hikari becomes king, and he's able to begin repairing the damage and attempting to make a better, more compassionate world.

However, Hikari's opposite number in the moonshades, Oboro/Kazan, has a different view of kingship altogether. Arbuably the center-stage antagonist who gets dialogue prior to Vide's resurrection, Oboro rejects the notion that even a king truly can ease the suffering inherent in the world. It's impossible to change, no matter how hard anyone tries. (After all, he was a master strategist and he did his best strategic thinking to reduce war casualties, but it never did a lick of good.) So, throughout the story, he's helping Hikari's cause without believing in it.

He may be directly confronted in the climax of The Journey For the Dawn, but he's never fought because the battle here was not to gain the throne, but to convince Oboro that Hikari's rule could make a real difference once he was sitting on it.

---

And that's the eight. Wish I could say I could end it on a more profound point, but I don't really have one. I guess, writing this convinced me the story design in OT2 being spot on was very much by design. And the fact it was the result of intentional writer choices and not just an accident makes me feel a deeper connection to the game.

#octopath traveler 2 #octopath traveler 2 spoilers #octopath traveler 2 analysis #octopath htapotco #octopath soundtrack thoughts #foolish me only just realized the significance of dolcinea's boss theme after making that OT1 post #this game lives forever in my head

[not-so-rosyyy]

[TCR Episode 9]

had to check if this really was the second to the last episode of this show. because it felt like all hope is lost here, and if hope is gone, is there even anything worth looking forward to?

all those 50+ minutes of Episode 9 were devastating in its entirety. you spent the past eight episodes empathizing with this kid, learning about what broke him, who failed him--all in flashbacks. and at some point, you start thinking, at least it's not happenning to him now. he finally has people on his side and the chance to get the help he needs.

except you're wrong. and this time, you see it actually transpire: how everybody keeps failing him. again. and again. and again.

and you feel sick just thinking about how it must feel to be in his shoes. when everything and everyone has failed you, who would you even turn to for help?

anyway, I'm just very curious now about how they intend to wrap this up by Episode 10, especially how they'd pivot to a triumphant end. or will there even be any kind of triumph for Danny to begin with?

some random notes:

because the focus shifted away a bit from Danny, the other characters got to shine this episode. all A+ performances delivered by Emmy, Amanda, Christopher, Will and Carmen. WHAT. A. BRILLIANT. CAST.

which is why it's pretty disappointing that we only got to explore their characters now. I think the show could've benefited from expanded storylines for all of them (apart from Marlin, maybe). learning more about their backstories would've given us insight not only into their motivations but also into how they see and relate to or why they find it easy/hard to empathize with Danny. it could've also driven the "we're all responsible for each other" message further home.

for example, in that blink-and-you'll-miss-it frame showing Stan's fridge, we got to learn that he's apparently a veteran. which means he might've had PTSD, resulting in his failed marriage and his heavy reliance on alcohol and pills. the question is how does this affect his view of Danny and his condition? or his overall opinion on mental health? I think it's interesting to dive deeper into that.

with that said, I wish there were more episodes to do this. or at the very least, I wish the actual trial started at least 1-2 episodes before.

that montage of Candy, Stan and Danny coupled with Rya's monologue in the background about asking for help is a bit...contrived, ngl. the dialogue is a little...hnngg. although, I think it would've packed more emotional punch if, again, we'd already known and empathized with Candy and Stan a bit more before this episode.

the scene with Rya and Candy in that diner/bar was one of the highlights, imo. it was fucking heartbreaking, I literally had to pause because I was sobbing a little too hard. it was powerful in itself, but I think it got to me on a personal level because I'm also an only child born from a single mother who I'm very close with (much like Candy and Danny were when he was little, at least)

finally, I think talking about Candy's behavior especially what she did at the end should be more nuanced and should be treated with compassion. that is what the show is asking of the viewer, tbh. she was a victim, too. and I hope everyone who watches this episode remembers that.

#the crowded room #tcr #tcr spoilers #tom holland #amanda seyfriend #emmy rossum #post-episode brainfart

[look-how-they-massacred-them]

Preliminary Poll

Jughead

Submission reason:

They put them in Riverdale. Ok but seriously they way they were portrayed in Riverdale was so against character, so edgy on comparison to the happy go lucky personality that is the staple of his character, and the fact that they entirely erased his asexual/aromantic identity.

They took away the fact that he was aromantic!! Im pissed because he was great rep!! Seriously, reading jughead 2015 was such a personal and relatable experience that i havent found often in media because aro people are overlooked all the time and the rep is ignored for shipping purposes and its even worse that it happened here!! Not only did they erase him being ace, which was STATED IN THE TEXT, but they also took away the way that he was intentionally written to be romance and relationship averse and its just infuriating because he did not deserve this!!! Aro people did not deserve this!!! Im still so annoyed!!!

I will be honest. I have not watched riverdale and I never will. But in the comics. ESPECIALLY THE JUGHEAD(2015) COMICS. HE IS CANONICALLY AROACE. ACTUAL DIALOGUE FROM THE COMIC, OF KEVIN KELLER SPEAKING TO JUGHEAD -> "my romantic options cant take that kind of hit! you just dont get it cause youre asexual..." ACTUAL DIALOGUE FROM JUGHEAD -> "I DONT GET CRUSHES. I just--found her interesting! Its a FRIENDSHIP crush, IF anything." "...And yet, IM the crazy one for not wanting to kiss people. RIGHT." AND NO IF YOURE WONDERING HE DOES NOT END UP TOGETHER WITH THE PERSON HES TALKING ABOUT THERE. HERES HIM TELLING HER -> "I dont GO on dates, Sabrina. I dont like people that way, you know? And when you asked me out, i didnt realize it WAS a date until too late. I shouldve explained the situation, but instead I went along with it, and just kept... you know, trying to escape. And that wasnt fair to you, and im sorry. My judgement was clouded by the fact that, on some primal and fundamental level, all I really want to do is hang out with a giant talking burger. I know that about myself now, and I accept it gladly." <- i will not be giving context for that last part go read the fucking Jughead(2015) comics right now i will GLADLY send ANYBODY who asks a link. Again. I havent seen riverdale. I HAVE however watched a VIDEO ESSAY on it by someone who never read the comics. And the only positive thing they had to say about that damn show was that they thought bughead was cute. Honestly you could put ANY character from riverdale in this bracket because the original comics ARE A FUCKING SITCOM!!!! well the special stories (like Jughead(2015)) arent as sitcommy and are no stranger to Things Getting Fucking Weird but they never had shit like DARK FUCKING BETTY! No. Instead they had MORE WHOLESOME storylines, like ARCHIE GETTING SHOT AND DYING. dude unrelated one of my comic books had an ad for that with the cover that had archie lying there drenched in a pretty minimal amount of blood actually and i was sooooo scared of it as a kid. i was flipping throuhg the book the first time and dropped it and RAN CRYING AWAY it was the most graphic thing i had seen in my entire 7 years of life. sorry these comics mean a lot to me. i have over 300 of them <3

Propaganda:

a vote for jughead is a vote for aroaces. like ME <3

Aro/Ace rights.

#look how they massacred my boy #archie comics #jughead #jughead jones #riverdale #ĺook how they massacred them poll

[brzatto]

i don’t ship them but there’s so much untapped potential in sydney and carmy’s unspoken rivalry like it’s the most interesting part of their dynamic for me personally. there’s lots of people who interpret their relationship as mentor/mentee and while i do get that and enjoy that narrative as well sydney is more than competent and proves herself to be carmy’s equal in multiple instances: her typing up a comprehensive breakdown of the beef’s expenses and how they could be handled better, her initiative to create a brick oven when the power goes out at the beef, her instantly knowing the missing component to the plum dish was veal fat. i think carmy and sydney are more like precarious equals because carmy is obviously a more experienced chef than her and he’s gifted and very driven but so is sydney and though he initially relishes in having someone with the experience to understand him and operate on his level, his ego is bruised when sydney lands a stellar review for the beef on a recipe he told her wasn’t good enough yet and he lashes out at her for it so clearly his feelings towards her aren’t always entirely selfless. this on top of the fact jaw said himself there was a subtle unspoken air of competitiveness between him and ayo while they were undergoing culinary training i think that definitely bleeds into their onscreen dynamic with carmy and sydney; the end of e8 sees carmy “making amends” with sydney by discussing the future of the restaurant with her but personally i think the stability of their relationship is tentative at best. they might agree with each other and appear to be on the same page now but how long is that going to last realistically? the more i think about it the more i can see them butting heads over similar issues again in s2 just because they’re both such equally strong willed characters and that’s genuinely exciting and interesting! sydney admires carmy but she isn’t afraid to stand up to him and i think a part of carmy still holds onto that competitive mindset he developed while working his way up to the top and it’s going to take a loooottt for him to unlearn that and it’s not something that can be accomplished just within one season or even two. i think lots of people think of carmy and sydney as being partners/the only people who can “understand” one another in regards to their histories in fine dining and while they do relate to one another in some regards i personally see them as opposing forces with their own respective goals and visions which is great actually and i can’t wait to see what direction each of their characters go in individually and what the storyline has in store for them

#if anyone has read change by axewound on ao3 that’s such a good fic that captures the fundamentals of sydcarm’s relationship for me #i think about the line that carmy only has her on borrowed time and that one day sydney is going to pick herself back up and start her own #place again a lot because it just makes sense for her. i want to see sydney succeed and have her dreams/visions realized because carmy will #only compromise so much with the bear since it very much is his own dream that he shared with mikey and while i think the point of the show #is to reveal that there’s only so much you can accomplish alone and that having a reliable network of family and support is necessary #i don’t want the endgame for sydney’s character to JUST end with the bear working under someone else even if that someone is carmy #but that’s just me! #my txt #the bear #carmy berzatto #sydney adamu

[jensensitive]

text:

And John had another big secret. There is a place where hunters gather, and it's run by an old friend of his. Kripke reveals how that storyline came about. "Very frankly, we had a note come down from the mysterious and unnamed powers that be, that they wanted the boys to have a way-station. They wanted to develop a place where we could see familiar faces, where they could go and maybe pick up a case, or pick up information, etc. So we took the note and we considered it, as we always do And Bob Singer had this notion that I really liked, which was, 'What if it's like the cantina in Star Wars? What if it's a place where dangerous things happen and dangerous people cross paths? That's a really intriguing idea. And from there came the roadhouse. Then we had to populate it…

"We felt we'd spent so much time with the father son relationship, we wanted to see what a mother-daughter relationship looks like in this world, because we always try to make the story about family. So this idea came about for Ellen and Jo," Kripke continues, explaining the genesis of the Harvelle women. "Everyone would have expected that Ellen had some fling going on with John, so we didn't want to go there We wanted them to have a true and honest platonic friendship, but we also had to explain why John never told the boys about the roadhouse. And hence this terrible backstory of how John got Ellen's husband killed.

"Ellen brought a maternal energy for our world, which the boys have never had before, which I found was really interesting. Like a lioness, which is tough and badass and You touch my children, I will kill you.' Samantha Ferris really brought that character to life. She was everything you wanted the character to be - she was nuanced and complex and tough, yet beautiful and feminine.

"Jo was originally introduced to be a love interest for Dean," says Kripke, confirming fan speculation. "And there was supposed to be this growth of this character who rebelled against her mother and went off to be a hunter, and you could see this person harden and toughen as the season went on, which we actually ended up executing, but not the way we'd expected. I thought Alona Tal did an amazing job. She was likable and charming-everything she was supposed to be and more. I think we did her a disservice by misconceiving the character. We wrote her as an innocent girl who wanted to be a hunter, and that gave her this energy of leaping before she looked and doing all these things that Dean wouldn't necessarily spark to. She was just so enthusiastic and so girl-next-door about her approach to hunting. In hindsight, Dean wouldn't be attracted to that character- he'd be attracted to Jennifer Garner's character from Alias. He'd be attracted to someone who walked in the door, slaughtered everybody and walked out, and then he would say, 'Who's that? Alona played it beautifully, but the character wasn't playing as the love interest, she was playing as the little sister. And because that wasn't what we set out to do, and because we don't necessarily need a little sister character in our cast, unfortunately we phased out the character."

If the show's vocal Internet fans are representative of its general viewership, then it's safe to say the "little sister" character will not be missed. But Jo is not the only roadhouse denizen that didn't work out quite as planned. "Then we had the character [Ash.]"

[spn s2 companion, p. 14, 15]

text:

Jo's level of hunting experience wasn't the only element up in the air for Alona's first few episodes. "Eric Kripke had mentioned in the beginning that there was a possibility of making her a love interest [for Dean]," Alona confirms. "I adore Jensen Ackles. It would have been an honor and a pleasure…" But the direction the characters took produced a different chemistry onscreen. "We felt that there was tension between the characters. They made us very snappy toward each other, and that tends to come off as a brotherly-sisterly kind of relationship."

[spn s2 companion, p. 138]

--

Rob: So, at the end of this episode, we find out that your dad was killed doing battle with Jensen’s dad, right? With Sam and Dean’s dad. You remember that? (Alona: Yeah) Like on a hunting trip. And at first, I felt like we were gonna find out that you were like Sam and Dean’s, like Sam and Dean’s half sister or something. Cause, yknow, she was like– it’s something with John Winchester that I had this history with. So you’re thinking that maybe, yknow, your mom and their father had a relationship. Did you read– did you think that when you first read the script?

Alona: Honestly, I think that– If I remember correctly– again, because it was so long ago, I’m– there were a lot of life changes to this living thing called The Roadhouse crew, right? But when I first talked to Eric– to Kripke about it, he did say that I was… like a little– that that was a potential. That they were my– that I was like a little sister. (Richard: Oh!) Like a half-sister, and that we were gonna find out– that was something that could have happened. But they weren’t sure if it was gonna go there or potential love interest. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. I don’t remember if it was the network– somebody wanted it to be a love interest. But then, it would have been– He was amused by the thought of it being really [laughs] creepy– that they were going towards love interest and then finding out [laughs] that she’s a half-sister. I think it was a little too much for the network back then.

Rob: Yeah [laughs]

Richard: Shame on them.

Alona: Although, I thought it was a really– I mean, playing with a potential love interest, but never fully going there, and then finding out she was a half sister would have been a lot, would have been fun. Cause it would have led to this like “eughh” moment between them.

Rob: [laughs] It woulda been funny. Yeah, it woulda been funny

Alona: It would have been– it would have been really funny. (Rob: Yeah) A little ahead of it’s time perhaps, but um, but that never ended up happening, and neither did the love interest thing, so, yknow there’s that.

Richard: I kinda thought– I took the bait as a viewer, I thought you were gonna come out as a half sister. And I mean I know I probably would have known that, going to so many conventions, I would have heard that already, but nonetheless, watching the episode, I’m like, “Ohhh, they did– they did it, and they had a daughter, oh man.” [Rob laughs]

Alona: Yeah! Yeah! (Richard: So, fooled me) And it would have– that would have made perfect sense.

Richard: Yeah, yknow, Rob and I kind of bemuse– yknow, we think out loud a lot about what drives the decision making of writers, and lord knows we don’t know. But your character is one of the prime examples of “they could have gone so many different directions.” I mean like, and, and they could have been– there’s a parallel universe where you ended up being a regular on that show for fifteen seasons. Yknow what I mean? Like, your character, really is, uh, attached– and [the] Roadhouse could have become more of a home base set. Like, yknow, when you watch this season up now– yknow, later on they had [the] Men of Letters [bunker]– [the] Roadhouse, it definitely seemed like the one standing set the show had for a while.

Alona: It– I think that’s what it was supposed to be. I remember Eric mentioning that– I mean that, the character was supposed to go one for much longer– Jo and Ellen. It was– it was  supposed to be that. And back then in what now it seems like the stone ages, there were the fan forums. [...] They had the cw forums, and fans would go on and they– I mean let’s not sugarcoat it– they hated my character.

[...]

Richard: And you were an obvious partner for Dean. Yknow what I mean– that rapport?

Alona: Yeah, especially like season two, that was– that was where it was going. And that– that was– she was brought in there, and I remember Eric telling me like, “You are the female version of him. So act, yknow, how cocky he walks around, and he has all this like, the bravado of the Dean character.” I tried to have a little bit of that in Jo without making it too obnoxious, and it just was– it backfired. [...] The response of the viewers was not what was intended, right? It wasn’t what was expected. It wasn’t what the writers, and the brilliant creator of the show were wanting, so they had to pivot. And that’s only me assuming. I wasn’t in the rooms, right, but the way it pivoted was so parallel to what they were writing that I can only assume that it was influenced by-- a show that really does listen to its fanbase– which is a good thing! For the show and for the fans. Not so much for me.

[spn then and now, 2x06, 16:30 - 24:00]

#long post #s2 companion #jo harvelle #the roadhouse #ellen harvelle #eric kripke #alona tal #spn then and now #this doesn't all necessarily gel together perfectly so i wanted it all in one post

[fartsomeart]

Astarion Ascension

Just gonna rant a little, cause I'm so mad there isn't a dialog option about this during the Cazador quest.

Raphael explains Astarion's scars is one part of the infernal contract Cazador made with/is in the process of making with Mephistopheles.

If you have Wyll in the party, his whole storyline is how pacts are always in the devils favor, and it takes everything from you. Including Karlach's storyline on top, we all know it is a fact making a pact with a devil will always be a bad for you.

But the only option you have to convince Astarion to not do the ritual is to consider the lives of the other spawn. Which I'm playing an evil character and don't give a flying fuck about them. I do however have investment in Astarion and his freedom, especially following the Dark Urge storyline where your entire creation was to be Bhaal's "back up save" when he dies. So, my Dark Urge finds Astarion to be very relatable, I can get a God of murder's power, but it's never my own. I'll always be Bhaal's vessel/pawn. So, Astarion taking Cazador's place in this infernal contract is literally damning his soul.

There should have been an option where PC tells Astarion not to sell his fucking soul to a devil. He would get great power, but he would still be enslaved. Just changing his master from a vampire to an archdevil.

I'll prob write a fanfic about this, and a couple other options I wish I could have had in game.

Some more thoughts cause brain hamster at full speed.

All the arguments I’ve seen for whether or not to help Astarion ascend is based off his personality change, not actually about the pros and cons of signing an infernal contract and what he’s actually sacrificing. Personally I believe Astarion was always like his ascended personality, he’s just not hiding his true colors anymore. When he has the powers of a Strahd+ level vampire, he literally does not need to hide or make himself small, or placate any of his party members so he has allies on his side.

I imagine he’d have the power to make Baldur’s Gate his “domain” like Strahd with Barovia, but even more so cause Sunlight immunity now. But we know nothing about the details of the contract. Would Baldur’s Gate eventually end up just like Elturel? Sucked up into the hells like a parallel to Barovia in the Shadowfell? We think it’s just a choice between good versus evil Astarion, but I think Astarion will alway be evil no matter what. It’s just whether or not he hides it or has the confidence to show it.

#baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate astarion #baldur's gate iii #bg3 #bg3 spoilers #bg3 astarion #baldur's gate #astarion

[zbsinbloom]

ZB1 as types of simmers

🍀 ☘ 🍀 ☘ 🍀 ☘ 🍀 ☘ 🍀 ☘ 🍀

Pairing(s): none

Genre: crack

Word Count: 1.5k

Trigger warnings: in-game violence, death, a Murphy bed-related incident, Gyuvin's is a little unhinged but then aren't we all?

Tagged: @taerrrrrae @i05wook

🍀 ☘ 🍀 ☘ 🍀 ☘ 🍀 ☘ 🍀 ☘ 🍀

🤯 Jiwoong

too many saves

He tries to commit to just one household

Spends hours perfecting their personalities and outfits and tells himself he's going to play with then until the end :D

He's got some cute ideas for when his sims are elders and have grandkids

Tries to level up their skills and careers and gives them the perfect house he got from the gallery

And then he's on week 4, his sims got married, they've had a baby and he's… bored?

So he creates a new save for a new family who are totally different and he tells himself this is the save to end all saves

Before he knows it, he's 40 save files down and he hasn't a clue what was going on in a single one of them

But he'll definitely go back and play them all, he swears!

📖 Zhang Hao

the storyteller

Hoho you thought this would be Matthew? No, this man LIVES for the drama I'm telling you

He creates an elaborate storyline for each and every sim he creates

Sometimes he surprises even himself with the plots he creates sometimes

His sims were happily married and living life and then one day he was like "guess what? This one is gonna have an affair with a married sim"

Love affair child incoming?? When he realises he's like "Wait this is perfect this is like a drama"

The type to do challenges like rich to poor or poor to rich because there's so much character development possibilities there

Is he going to make his sims suffer? Yes. Could their lives be a kdrama spanning 12 seasons? Also yes

At this point he could be a streamer, and he'd be pretty successful too because his streams would take the wildest turns

🔨 Hanbin

building whiz

He probably has all the packs (or most of them, minus maybe a couple kits he doesn't care for) and maybe some cc but not much

Probably has a YouTube and/or insta account where he posts screenshots and videos of his builds and they're always out of this world

How does he come up with all of these designs like.. who thought of using platforms like that??

Watches a lot of build hacks by other simmers and always makes sure to mention them if he uses their ideas

Bless Hanbin and his never-ending patience. No offence but nobody else wants to sit there for 3 hours placing debug pebbles to make them look pretty

The premade houses make him shake his head because the exterior deserves so much better!! So he renovates the inside to make it prettier

Will collaborate with Gunwook where Hanbin builds the shell and landscapes and Gunwook does the decorating

There's no type of build he won't try, he wants to always try new styles and techniques, and sometimes goes back to improve his own builds?? Even though they're already stunning

🕵️‍♂️ Matthew

lore obsessive

Doesn't care about his own sims, he's just trying to solve mysteries out here

His sims only read all the books that reference sims lore of past and present wishes he could read it too and goes feral if there's a popup with a piece of lore

What really happened to Bella Goth? Did she die? Was she kidnapped by aliens? Did she run off with a secret lover? Is she trapped in an alternate dimension?? Is.. is he Bella Goth?

How exactly did the mother plant come alive? He just has to know.. surely it was created by someone and he's gonna plant bugs on everyone to try and get the inside info me-core

What about Lady Mimsy and Bernard? Was the fire an accident or on purpose? He has at least 73 theories on what happened that night

The type to annoy all his friends by debating sims lore as if it's a real-life unsolved mystery

You better believe he also eats up the werewolf lore, he will collect books and treasures just so he can find out what's up with Greg

How does he even sleep at night? (Spoiler: he doesn't)

🙋‍♂️ Taerae

the self-insert

Makes himself in nearly every save (sometimes he makes himself buff or have a bigger butt or something but it’s always Tae)

Sometimes he makes his skills match his, and other times he’s like “might make myself a rocket scientist 🤷”

If he has a crush, then he’ll make them as well, taking his time to make their sim perfect

Literally cries if the game says they have anything less than ‘amazing’ compatibility because.. They’re literally made for each other, how could this happen to him??

Makes them ultimate relationship goals because he’s living vicariously through this sims game right now

Will quit and reload his game if something goes wrong, like if they reject his hug or they flirt with someone else. Yes, he’s just that petty

And if things don’t go well with his crush irl then uhhhh breakup?? Or maybe he’d delete the sim and make himself a new crush lmao me-core p.2

Makes his sim adopt about 5 puppies and it will make his day more than any relationship could ever (will talk to them as if they’re real, too)

🃏Ricky

the wildcard

He's not trying to make his sims' lives a living hell, he really isn't

They have the perfect lives and things are going great, nothing could go wrong.. right?

Next thing he knows, his sim is proposing and they get hit by a meteor or something - time to reload!

His sim goes out on a bachelor party, dancing away and having drinks, all the usual jazz

When his sim hears a joke and dies laughing :D ... what

Or they randomly get bitten by a vampire and burn to a crisp because there's suddenly a heatwave in winter????

Buys a Murphy bed to save some space. His sim is about to go to bed after an exciting day and WHAM! It crushes him to death. On the first night

Honestly the best thing for him right now is to switch his pc off and lay down in bed

🗡 Gyuvin

the CallMeKevin (iykyk)

He's all up in EVERYONE'S business. Everyone.

Probably blackmails all the other sims for fun (or simoleons) let's face it, it's both though

Is enemies with most of the townies because he just decided to smack a bitch for no reason

He finds a sim with ugly fashion sense? He sets their house on fire. Get better sense next time smh

Someone flirts with his lover/spouse/crush? Cue a cute ladderless swimming party 🥳

Flirts with married sims and breaks up their relationships because he was bored 💅

Oh? A sim didn't like his joke about llamas? He's gonna build them a lovely little maze for them to run around until they meet grim <3

If he likes them a little, though, he might put them to work in the basement crafting for money. Might.

🛍 Gunwook

CC collector

I’m honestly surprised at how his pc hasn’t set itself on fire by now with all of the cc he’s downloaded

Has to constantly delete his pictures and sometimes other games to make space for his cc obsession

He’s got everything, from hair and eye colour swatches to cushions for his sims’ sofas

If he’s decorating a house or making a sim and it’s not perfect then he’s hunting down the perfect cc to add to his collection

But let’s face it… his games are always perfect. He has the kind of houses and sims that make players like me cry because we could never

Somehow he remembers the names of every piece of cc he uses??? Like someone asks him where he got something from and he’s like “oh yeah it’s (set name) by (creator), I’ll send you the link right now”

The thing that breaks his heart the most is when there’s an update and it breaks his cc because now he has to get rid of it, but most of the time he can just redownload so that mends his little heart

Wants to learn how to make his own cc so he can make new swatches because that shade of yellow is slightly too bright for his sims’ house

👑 Yujin

Mod fanatic

He used to play the game just as it was, but then he was watching others play and saw them using fun mods

First downloaded a simple mod, like one that adds a few new hobbies for his sims

This honestly changes his life, his games will never be the same ever again

And that's how his mod collection begins, with just one small mod, and then whenever he's feeling spicy, he adds another

He gets bored with stuff like the jobs quite quick because he's tried it all, so he finds mods to give his sims more careers

And then when he's tried all of them, he'll add more (sometimes he's not that keen on a mod and deletes it, but not very often)

His favourite by far, though, is the royalty mod because he can make himself king (as he should) and rule over his peasants

Hanbin catches Yujin making him as a peasant whenever he's upset with him, like he refused to buy him ice cream or something… yeah he just closes the door and leaves him be

#zbsinbloom #zumblr fics #zb1 as random things #zb1 drabbles #zb1 reactions #zb1 imagines #zerobaseone reactions #zerobaseone scenarios #zerobaseone fanfics #zb1 gamers 🎮

[1000punks]

okay, so i think i've cracked the code

on why the girls, gays and theys all really like BG3

the short answer is the subversion of toxic gender stereotypes and the more or less relateable themes that each character has come up in game, or are implied, long answer under the cut

lots of people have been posting about individual (main and supporting) character motivations, yes but i haven't really seen any analyses based on gender and/or romance situations quite yet (please feel free to point me to them, i love discourse) as well, i am well aware that the romanceable characters are scare quotes "player-sexual" for the most part, but some elements of the gendered experience may feel more relateable to certain groups of players than others. i'm going to refrain as much as i can from making moral judgements (in terms of motivations and alignments) because all of these characters are morally complex. let's take it on a case by case basis, starting with the women in the game (minthara isn't included since i haven't done a playthrough with her as a companion yet :'D): Karlach

Karlach seems like this huge butch imo, but from what i can see she has to battle with the touch starved-ness. i guess you could make the argument here that that feeds into a stereotype about stone butches, but i think it presents a very relatable (and honest) representation of how a LOT of queer folks, especially queer non-men, deal with being touch starved. i think one thing that potentially a lot of queer women and femme-identifying folks can relate to is the fear of being "imposing" in wlw relationships. for example, i would say the fear of coming off as "creepy" or "dangerous." and inversely, the feeling of relief when you're assured that that isn't the case. the other thing that comes up, i think, with Karlach is that there's this stigma surrounding masculine women. for one, she towers over everyone else, and she's a barbarian. on the surface level, that can be extremely intimidating, obviously. but playing through her romance, understanding that she is capable of and honestly, exudes tenderness -- and the majority of which being without touching/sexuality, is just... it's really important y'all okay? Shadowheart

my personal favourite thing about Shadowheart and her storyline is that even if she appears very feminine, there is no part of the game that i can see (thus far) that has railroaded her into that stereotype. not even with the armour choices. in my file, the armour i've picked for her "end-game" level 12 armour is the shar justiciar armour she gets in the gauntlet. it's not stereotypically feminine at all. historically in video games, armour that covers everything on a woman's body (i will bring this up re: Lae'zel as well) is uhh.. really fuckin hard to find.

the other thing is while she may be very femme-coded, she doesn't necessarily use "stereotypical" seduction methods in her romance scenes. her first one is sharing wine with you and kissing, that's pretty much it, right? and if you call her beautiful, instead of acting coy, she says "i know." and thanks you for noticing. she doesn't need someone to simper over her and tell her that. she's also never shy about telling you exactly what she wants, whether in a romantic or platonic situation. picasso, i like it. Lae'zel

jesus, what can i start with here? this woman is an extremely skilled fighter, wears heavy armour, wields a fucking greatsword that's bigger than she is, all while being like, 5 feet tall. her first romance scene shows me that she is interested in sex but is primarily concerned with her own pleasure (this can be read in a positive or negative way of course: positive being she is getting hers, and negative being not concerned with her partner's pleasure). not only that but she is not interested in having kids at all, based on in-game dialogue. and like i mentioned with shadowheart, her armour (most of the gith armour options you can put her in, i would guess) are full sets of armour - minus the admittedly a little weird lack of butt coverage on most of the gith plate and half-plate that i've seen her in. uhh, yeah- wow. in a romance, it seems like she fits the "shrew" stereotype, but i argue that for lae'zel, it's more about respecting Tav than it is about swooning over them (and knowing that they're passionate). if she doesn't respect Tav, there's no way she's going to share a bed with them, never mind anything else. that to me, shows a woman who has self-respect, which isn't often something shown so strongly in a video game/media in general especially when it's written by men (which is fucking unfortunate!! i hate it!!) i think this is beaten over our heads as players most blatantly when she challenges you to a fucking duel in act 2 and then if Tav wins she boinks them right in the middle of camp. Jaheira

Jaheira is old enough to have adult children, for one. i know she's an elf, and there's some in-game dialogue that alludes to her having extended her lifespan, etc. but for argument's sake, let's say she's middle aged - she is in friggin' top physical condition. and while during the events of bg3 she is a widow, you think that's gonna stop her from meeting her goals? not only that, but her adventures didn't suddenly stop when she became a mother. there's not much of a romance element to her storyline, but she's definitely biffing off a lot of stereotypes about older women and mothers here.

the men - most of my arguments here are going to come back to the utter lack of hypermasculinity/toxic masculinity:

Wyll

he talks about dancing with you in his first romance scene, not seducing you - in fact, he shares a really chaste kiss and then is like "but now isn't the time to jump into bed, actually." he friggin blushes, because thinking about a romance with you gets him all giddy. the man dances for you. then he goddamn proposes to you like a proper gentleman. he is concerned with family. he's concerned with Karlach's well-being. he's concerned with other people's emotions, and is extremely considerate of them. he's pacted with Mizora, not some unseen super masc devil. Mizora the friggin danger femme. lastly, and i think this is really important: Wyll, regardless of a high-fantasy setting, is a black man. i am well aware that eschewing the many stereotypes of hypermasculinity in regards to black men specifically, cannot be undone with one video game, but i think it does a lot. it could do more, of course - but i feel that Larian made a wholehearted attempt with this specifically.

Minsc

the man is large and very visually "stereotypically masculine," yes, but all of his actions are either influenced by Jaheira or Boo. case closed, your honor. i'm joking. but really, Minsc respects and admires Jaheira intensely as a comrade. and what she thinks seems to matter more to him than his own motivations. that's what made it so easy for the Bhaalist assassins to manipulate him - they just had one person pose as Jaheira. boom.

Halsin

another very visually "stereotypically masculine" man, yes- but i have three things: he's open to polyamory that is represented in the game more or less in a healthy way he's very concerned with consent, both in a monogamous romance or a polyamorous one - this includes the bear scene, he does ask about it before like, barrelling into it (and no i'm not poking that bear any more than i have to in this post) uhh, have you heard him talk to/about Tav? my my. not only that but this man is quite literally built like a bear, yet he is a druid, literally about all things nature. you could make the argument that this subverts the nature/culture; emotion/reason debate as it relates to gendered roles.

Gale

okay so, not only has it been confirmed/alluded to by in-game dialogue that Gale does the cooking for the camp- (specifically by Wyll if i recall correctly), he's also just a fairly forthcoming person with his feelings and insecurities. i know a lot of people have deemed that a bit annoying, but i do think there is some value in it. for example, he is a little self-deprecating about being a bad kisser, but it's his way (especially if you read him as autistic) of saying "hey, i'm insecure about this and i usually spend a lot of time alone in a mother fucking tower in waterdeep." i.e. i don't exactly know how to do this. he's an honest, giving, and kind man, and is just as likely to show you as he is to tell you how his heart and mind function. he wants you to understand him. he's also very idealistic- that of course can be a double edged sword, but i think he comes by it honestly as well. given his background with Mystra. i shouldn't even need to mention it but the way the "with you i forget my goddess" and the "you would really prefer me as i am?" lines wrench my heart- like, okay that's very romantic but he's also (imo) accepting that he, a human man, cannot be perfect. that to me is like anti-toxic masculinity in the sense of accepting that a real relationship is where two people are equals and that it's founded in mutual respect and adoration. not unrequited love and service (especially service).

Astarion

get at me if you want, but this man is in touch with his feminine side. i would personally call him high femme, but that's a little besides the point, he sews, appreciates fashion, yada yada. the next part about him i want to discuss as delicately as possible- he's very forthcoming (once he feels relatively safe and in control of the situation at hand) with his experiences as an ab-se/SA survivor. most men do not have the space to do this, nor are they actively encouraged to share their experiences. and with that, depending on dialogue choices, he wants to cease all intimate contact and go at his own pace. not expecting men to be sexual is kind of big on its own, but given his background, i think it's especially important in his storyline. furthermore, in the spawn!romance stream, he is very explicit about moving forward with Tav as equals.

Raphael

you.. y'all. you already know what i'm going to say regarding the dialogue with Haarlep. i don't really know if i have anything to add besides reiterating that men do not have to be these perfect, virile sexual machines.

Extra Stuff

the emphasis on consent: whether it's in a romance dialogue or if it's the game warning you "you're about to do xyz, are you sure?!"

specifically consent in the romance dialogues though: there are usually 3-4 chances for you as the player to be like "actually, i don't want to do that"

queer couples (npc + npc or pc + companion) are just.. normal. once you get to the lower city you'll hear a ton of ambient dialogue where it will be like "my husband blah blah blah" and you look and it's a gnome and his dragonborn husband standing in the street

uhh, hi larian jumping on the character creator with gender neutral and gender-mixed/mixable options, way to make the player base feel seen. hearing my Tav (Festé) be referred to as "they" in dialogue without issue (especially glaring grammatical ones like i've seen in other games) was really big for me, personally.

openly trans npcs. the defense rests, your honor. okay but imagine my surprise when i hear abigail fucking thorn in a completely missable dialogue scene, where she (the character) talks openly about the fact that she is a fucking trans woman. like.

#baldur's gays #.txt #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #baldur's gate iii #baldur's gate 3 companions

[scaryspears]

Cassie and Jacqui: Opinions and Thoughts

These are my thoughts and opinions on Mortal Kombat that a bunch of people probably won't care about, but I thought I should post them here. Now I will be using past games as reference, even though every character's interpretation/counterpart is different, they still play part to the canon storyline.

Okay, so these two are besties. Now before I get into any details, this is just theories and opinions. I just want to quickly say that I like Jacqui's character, and not just because I was able to play as a black female character, but I found her interesting and liked her romance with Takeda.

I'll start with Cassie. She is a nice enough blend of Sonya and Johnny, I guess. I found her a little annoying in mkx but only because of her intros, and to be fair a lot of character dialogue kind of sucked in that game. I found her very relatable when I was younger though, because I said a lot of cringey things when it came out. Other than that she was pretty cool, and was a different kind of case where a character voices out what everyone else is thinking. To be fair, Johnny has that as well but Cassie is Gen Z levels of voice (or an everyman). I also appreciate that they made her more girly, although I do miss the tomboyish Cassie from mkx.

Thing is, I don't like how they made it into a thing where they made Cassie feel like a main character, and while I understand that's how it must be done with next generation games, I get the impression that she was treated better than her teammates. That impression was solidified in the mk11 storyline where Cassie was chosen to be the new general with the addition of Takeda and Kung Jin being cut from the game. I get that she defeated Shinnok and whatever, but seriously? It was also a situation where Sonya was choosing randomly, so I think she should've chosen Jacqui simply because Jacqui is genuinely into being a soldier. For a moment the audience is shown the pain on Jacqui's face, and I was honestly anticipating some kind of rivalry to take place where Cassie and Jacqui end up fighting about something within the story mode.

I wrote in another post that I think Cassie joined the special forces because she wanted to impress Sonya. We know that from mkx Sonya was neglective, and if Cassie is much closer to Johnny then I don't think it would make sense for her to not have some appreciation for the creative arts. Meaning, Cassie yearns for Sonya's approval. It was also hinted that Sonya may have been abusive, randomly attacking Cassie and Jacqui with arm bars. Even while Cassie is an adult Sonya is still neglective, as noted in the last game, not even caring about Cassie's love life. It's very clear the two of them have problems with each other. One thing for sure, Cassie has inherited Sonya's cruelty which makes her snark different from Johnny's. A nice blend of seriousness and un-serious = obvious sarcasm. I'm also calling back to the 'Johnny pee pants' incident that she was told about.

"So how are things between you and Bob?" - Sonya

"For the last time his name is Dylan." - Cassie

"Why learn his name if he's not sticking around?" - Sonya

----

"I'm the new improved you." - Cassie

"(Scoff) Improved how?" - Sonya

Well for one thing, she's got powers.

----

"Jacqui says as kids you were scared of me." - Sonya

"You'd randomly attack us with arm bars." - Cassie

"And you learned to always be ready." - Sonya

The fact that she says this with a smug smile shows she sees nothing wrong with the fact that she went out of her way to scare and hurt children. Characters have been drilling in on Johnny but had nothing to say to Sonya about her parenting. Johnny made it his mission to change into a better person, even in his ending he didn't need people to tell him that he was doing something wrong because he realised it by himself. Sonya for whatever reason lacks that same awareness.

----

"Growing up I always wanted a sister." - Sonya

"To exchange style tips and dish on boys?" - Cassie

"No! To spar with." - Sonya

You can do that too, Sonya. Jeez.

----

"You are Johnny Cage's daughter." - Robocop

"Ha! Shocked I'm not some Beverly Hills brat?" - Cassie

Beverly Hills kids: Well... that hurts. I think it's somehow been engraved in Cassie that being any old normal girl is a terrible thing, and I don't support that "I'm not like other girls" nonsense. I think it was Sonya's influence, and potentially Jax.

----

"I am honoured to fight you." - Liu Kang

"I'm no chosen one, Li Kang." - Cassie

"You fought shinnok and won." - Liu Kang

Oh he's mad. He is so mad. Bro died because of Raiden.

----

Now with Jacqui.

I think Jacqui is in Cassie's shadow, hell they even erased her from her own ending. Even when she was given screen time it still felt like she was brushed to the side. Cassie was chosen to be the leader of the friend group, and in hindsight that was a bit predictable. In comparison to her Jacqui is rational and doesn't turn things into a joke. I know Cassie is serious as well, but Jacqui is more passionate about fighting for Earthrealm and being in the special forces while Cassie is more of a show off.

"Leave dad in peace." - Jacqui (mkx)

"There's things only Jax can do." - Sonya (mkx)

---

"What do you see when you look at me?" - Frost

"A cheap second gen knock off." - Jacqui

"I said look at me, not you." - Frost

These two are love and hate, two sides of the same coin. Frost wants recognition and goes against the Lin Kuei to have that, while Jacqui wants to make people proud and carry on a legacy. Both have a male counterpart of some kind. Frost disappointed Sub Zero for not being patient and she became a villain, while Jax doesn't want Jacqui to even be involved in anything kombat related. Jacqui follows, Frost demands command.

---

"Cassandra Cage overshadows you." - Cetrion

"In her own mind maybe." - Jacqui

"Do not deny your jealousy." - Cetrion

---

"It's time to pass on your mantel." - Nightwolf

"Baby girl's good, but she's not me yet." - Jax

"Don't underestimate your daughter, Jax." - Nightwolf

Notice the edge in Nightwolf's voice? Also, Jacqui doesn't have to be Jax. Not to mention she was trained by Johnny and not Jax, so it's weird of him to say that. I think she should be trained by Scorpion as a wedding gift and have a few Shirai Ryu inspired outfits if she's introduced to the franchise in future games. Anything that distances her from Jax.

---

Jacqui is called "unproven" and a "knock off" when she has in fact proven herself, she just hasn't beaten an elder God- oh wait, what is this? Jacqui defeated Cetrion? (Do not bring jax into this, I chose Jacqui). In mkx she beat Reptile and Ermac, the very same Ermac that Jax lost his arms to because he was caught lacking, and held her own against the revenants.

The characters constantly compare her to Jax, which is problematic in my opinion. As a person who was constantly compared to my older siblings growing up it felt like my identity as my own person was being stripped away from me, and I think it's the same case with Jacqui. Jacqui should be recognised more for who she is rather than who her father is, because Jacqui is just as good if not better.

"Such beauty in Kombat is rare." - Shang Tsung. Oh Shang Tsung, you pervert.

Now onto her friendship with Cassie. It's very obvious that these two grew up together and even went to the same school, which must've meant that they lived close to one another, like the same town or city. I don't think the two have always been buddy buddy, in terms of problems coming up. If it weren't for circumstances I think these two wouldn't even be close or in the same vicinity. Cassie went and dated Jacqui's love interest for prom knowing Jacqui liked him. I'm surprised these two are even friends.

Moving onto her relationship with Jax, I liked Jacqui bonding with the younger version of her dad during story mode, and seeing the differences between older Jax and young Jax.

I always saw Jax as an a-hole, but jeez. I understand being a protective father but he needed to accept that he couldn't breathe down her neck for too long. What ticks me off even more is his disapproval of Takeda. I think one of the reasons Jax isn't very fond of Takeda is because he mildly reminds him of Johnny. Takeda has that charisma about him and makes jokes as well and overall has this easy going air about him. Even after Johnny and Sonya got married, meaning Jax saw Johnny a lot more, I don't think Jax grew a liking to Johnny. I'm not sure if Jax truly had feelings for Sonya, but I do think it's a possibility if Johnny not only did not want to get between them under the suspicion that they were together, but also because he thought they would end up together.

I have a bunch of stuff to say. I believe Cassie should've done MMA fighting or something around there, that way Cassie wouldn't just be another copy of her parents.

If Jax and Sonya did end up together then I think the turn out would be more extreme. An overprotective father and a neglectful mother.

#cassie cage #jacqui briggs #takeda takahashi #johnny cage #sonya blade #jax briggs #mk11 #mkx #mortal kombat theories

[seirclys]

OG! Penelope Eckhart Headcanons: The System

Part 5!

Now, Penelope's System is vastly different from Siyeon's. I feel like Siyeon's system is much more helpful in giving information.

—— Again, MAJOR SPOILERS! ——

Siyeon's System

The System seems to be able to be sensed by those of high magic sensitivity, seeing as Winter deduced that Siyeon had a high magic presence on the Eve of the Hunt.

Dialogue Choices On/Off: I guess this kind of acts as an OOC filter which Siyeon can toggle on and off.

Affection Scores: It appears as percentages above the heads of the MLs. Upon reaching 70%, the percentage becomes locked and only a discerning color is given.

Rewards: Usually percentage increases in affection, fame, and popularity with Eckhart servants. For tangible rewards, they are usually given through actual characters, not by the System itself(Crossbow, Camouflage Bracelet, Gold)

Money System: The System can keep track of the personal funds that Siyeon accumulates.

Magic: The System is able to prompt Siyeon into using magic by providing spell incantations or descriptions of what magical artifacts do.

Background Information: Siyeon can access basic information about MLs and Penelope Eckhart. Later on, the story of Laila and the original Penelope is told to her via the System.

Teleportation: Limited, as it can only teleport Siyeon to continue the story's progression. Siyeon can't prompt it to teleport her to a different location.

Story Progression: Relating to teleportation, the System can lead Siyeon to places such as the garden maze to further chapter progression through glittering light trails.

Story Chapters/Events: Helps Siyeon discern potential events by giving a prior warning. For example, the hunting competition hunting portion. In addition, it provides her selection choices such as in the Trial.

Corporeality: The System can be blocked by physical entities such as bodies, as in the case of Winter.

Marksman Help/Mini Games: The System displayed targets for Siyeon to take down the bear, and during the assassin chase, took control of Siyeon's body to give her perfect marksmanship.

Transmigration & Reincarnation: The System has offered these options for Siyeon and Ivonne respectively at the end of the story.

Penelope's System

Unlike Siyeon's system, Penelope's does not help her in terms of the story. Siyeon's is a romantic storyline System, Penelope's is an action-genre type(befitting their different paths).

Stats: Penelope is able to see her stats and level up on them as well. These include Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Constitution, Mana, and Charisma.

Strength and Constitution are stats that are time-dependent, so they reset each loop back to her initial stats. Charisma is physical appearance and mental charisma, so it gets knocked down a little.

Mana doesn't change, but it may affect her body if her Constitution is too weak.

The System sometimes gives her stat points to allocate to certain stats or skills.

Soul Status: As alluded to in Part 4, Penelope can track her soul shards easier through the System. Right now, they're "orbiting" around the biggest piece, which is Penelope.

Inventory: Ah, the classic video game inventory. It can carry anything of any shape, size(to some extent), organic/inorganic, except living, sentient beings. A shame.

However, she found a cheat to hack the System and her inventory doesn't get wiped after each death. It's her money glitch. She's duplicated money, jewels, kept copies of her wardrobe, sentimental items unique to each loop, priceless artifacts, and other supplies. However, certain artifacts of great power cannot be duplicated.

Because of this, she often requests as many unique and commissioned gems and custom dresses as possible. What's the point of having six of the same dress?

Library: A subcategory of the Inventory. Throughout her travels, Penelope slowly accumulated tomes, scrolls, and written knowledge of the Ancient Wizards, usually found when treasure hunting or pulling an Indiana Jones and breaking through traps. Of course, being the last Ancient Wizard, she's able to easily figure them out. Other archaeological excavations have ended up in failure because the triggered traps destroy the vaults of knowledge entirely.

Background Information: It acts more like her notes compiled about locations or people. The System organizes them into the correct sections, but all of the information is what Penelope has been told, overheard, or otherwise gotten from her interactions, not from the System.

In some rare cases, the System will give her some information. It's not necessarily specific or important information. It may be, for example, information about a foreign culture.

Story Progression: This is actually linked to one of her skills, which is "precognition". It technically isn't, but Penelope is much more attuned to a world's "Story" and thus can predict some major events through gut feelings and her sharp mind. The System helpfully records these instances for her.

System Shop: From physical items to even skills, the System Shop has it all. A mix of real currency and System-specific currency can be used.

Intangibility: It cannot be interfered with by those other than Penelope.

Connection to Spirits: As mentioned, Penelope is followed by a group of spirits, some of them her ancestors. They are connected to her via the System as well, though they cannot access it like she can. Think of them as being on Guest Mode on a computer while Penelope's on Administrator.

These are the ones I can think of for now. As with the rest of the OG!Penelope posts, I'll be adding onto them if I think of new things, even if that section has already been posted. Not sure how.

#lysia's posts #lysia's narratives #villains are destined to die #vadd #death is the only ending for a villainess #death is the only ending for the villainess #ditoeftv #penelope eckhart #original penelope eckhart #og penelope eckhart #og! penelope eckhart #og penelope #og!penelope hcs