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adversityfought-a · 2 years

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-`ˏ @oathofpromises ˎ´-

→ What is on your wish list? And Is there a ship you wish you could write more for?-Munday Meme

( Mun Questions 🪴 )

Where do I even begin…? There’s so many threads I’d love to explore, it’s kinda hard to rattle them off all off the top of my head… but as of late?

I guess to start? I have been craving more angsty threads tackling the theme of Death & my muse exploring the topic in conversation with another muse? Just all around confronting the actual topic they face on a near day to day basic, see what it means to them now & possibly what I meant to them back then, see how things changed over the ears from this constant exposure.

All in all explore threads where there’s some conflict internally with views & beliefs. It’ll be heavy, that’s for sure, but so far I have an amazing one going on with a friend, but hey if anyone ever wants to dig into the nitty gritty of this theme, I am always down!

Another one I’ve wanted to explore that is admittedly a guilty pleasure, is just Chris going feral or apeshit - dark side? Villain verse? Villain verse. I’m weak for corrupted heroes & good guys just losing that hope they held so tight, feeling like there’s no point in continuing on the fight, losing faith in humanity or those they believed in.

For Chris specifically I have been thinking a lot about it because of RE8 brainrot… but! Have been rolling around the idea that if he were to change sides, he’d for sure, basic verse wise where he just goes rogue, no external influences, it’d just be a decision he comes to internally after severe amounts of loss & failure, maybe his goals start off pure where he decides to try taking it out from the inside, gets involved in shady dealings & morally questionable stuff, maybe his own views shift at some point & his cynicism kicks into overdrive & BAM.

It’s a shift so subtle but it hits hard cause he could believe the ends will justify the means once he reaches the root or something in a weird anti-hero way, but it backfires or only comes to light that even as he gives it all up to try another angle at combatting Bioterrorism, it’s still all for nothing. ITS DARK BUT THATS ONE OF THE MAIN ONES I HAVE RATTLING AROUND.

Ofc I could also go for a good old fashioned infected verse or corruption through a typical villain, but I’d need to trust the other mun & know the muse better to allow it because I want DEPTH & CONTENT. I WANT TO BE INVESTED IF I GO THAT ROUTE. SO… AAAA

Another plot I’d love to explore is just memory threads?

Can be lighthearted & hopeful where he’s relearning older ones or gently reminiscing with friends or a partner over the past to fill the blanks in the lost memories he can’t remember. I just… adore that kind of deep vulnerability, the softness it can invite between both muses, the deepening of a bond through sharing possibly bad or traumatic memories, taking that leap to share the good & bad & the trust it has in general that he’d TRUST another muse to help be honest with him while doing so.

It has the potential to be angsty too, for possible manipulation, for old feelings to rise again at resurfacing memories or again can just be gentle & soft depending on what my partner decides. BUT YES I WILL ABSOLUTELY GO FERAL FOR ANY OF THESE.

AS FOR THE SHIPS - I am generally not.. uhhhh I KNOW I WRITE A LOT OF SHIP CONTENT HERE, but I do mean it when I say I’m not typically one to jump in with that as my goal first thing? I’m fairly content right now with the ones I do have going! But I’ll always be down to explore more with others if it’s discussed with me! I adore ships though, so long as it’s brought up with me, deadass I’ll try anything so long as it’s within comfort. I am hella weak thought for Chreon, Valenfield, & yeah k HeisenField & Chrisker got my ass in a choke hold rn, but again, as much as I adore those ships, it depends highly on muse compatibility.

Cannot… tell you how often I’ve tried to leap into shipping with another mun of a muse I love from a ship and it just never worked out cause muses clashed? I fear that happening so I usually wait a bit to see how they interact before poking or risking sending stuff ><

LONG STORY SHORT — these are a few of the ideas I have that I’ve been wanting to explore so much lately! I am.. awful at plotting or asking for them so, please, if you ever have an idea in mind, wouldn’t mind tackling these with me, please kick me in dms or hell even shoot an ask with a nod to em & we can work from there?

#-`ˏ ★ ˎ´- ─ ANSWERED OOC.#oathofpromises #/ basically #/ anyone crazy enough to indulge me? I’ll love you forever 🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭😭#/ putting up with my angsty ass - you’ll deserve a medal but I promise I’ll do my best to get plot out for both muses once we get started #-`ˏ ★ ˎ´- ─ WISHLIST.

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gvdgreta · 11 months

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Calleja’s Player involvement model Until Dawn- Week 6

Kinesthetic movement

Until Dawn takes place from the third-person perspective, which is not as immersive as first-person. However, there is still heightened anxiety. Until Dawn, I feel, is unique in that timed decisions must be made in the middle of what is set up to look like a cutscene, that could determine the character’s life or death. It creates as much of an adrenaline rush as if the game was in the first-person. Additionally, there are key points in the game where the player cannot move or the character will die. It is up to the player to keep their controller completely still, making the player directly involved and removing the barrier between the player and the character. Objectively, I knew that all I had to do was not move, like I had done at previous points in the game, but the genuine anxiety I felt at pivotal points where the stakes were much higher made this task a lot harder.

2. Affective Involvement

Until Dawn has many characters, and all the protagonists are playable. They all have different personalities and journeys that the player can follow, so it is very easy to get attached to your favourite character, especially when their lives are in your hands. Until Dawn relies heavily on storytelling, including the dynamics between the characters themselves. The player is even responsible for how they interact, and small choices they make that affect the rest of the game. Any small misstep can kill off a character, and when that happens, there is a genuine feeling of sadness for the character’s death. The remaining characters also grieve, which adds an extra layer of compassion.

3. Ludic Involvement

Until Dawn is very unforgiving in terms of rules. There is no way to reverse an action in the story and often times, one mistake can cause a character’s death. The controls themselves are very simple, and the complexity is focused more on the story than the mechanics.

4. Shared Involvement

Until Dawn is a single-player game, however I believe that the characters themselves are very complex. Since the game utilizes the Butterfly effect, quite literally every decision matters, including how the character you are playing as at the time interacts with other characters.

5. Narrative Involvement

I definitely felt a heavy sense of narrative involvement. The game is reminiscent of the trope involving a group of teenagers in a horror film, which is intentional. There are so many different decisions to make that completely change the course of the narrative, but all make for a rich story. The player controls the narrative.

6. Spacial Involvement

This is not something I really associate with Until Dawn because of the third-person perspective. I do not feel like I myself am in the game, especially when I am controlling a character with an established personality. Still, the game does a great job of creating a detailed and particular environment at every scene.

Micro involvement:

Overall, when I was playing Until Dawn, I found myself hyper-focused. I was in full concentration because of the aspects I listed before. I was invested in the story, but also combatting the difficulty of the game and not wanting to miss a single move.

Macro involvement:

Personally, I thought about Until Dawn long after playing it. To me it isn’t just a game, but the story is such an important part of it that it left the same effect as if I had watched a film. I was still invested in the characters and was still frustrated that I was not able to save one of the characters. Additionally, I looked at other possible endings and discussed the game with others. It is a game I think should be played once, because the experience of playing it for the first time is very particular. If I were to play it again, it would be to try and save everyone, which I think would take away from the impact of the unique story I played.

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thebmatt · 3 years

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FFXIV Write Day 2

Aberrant - departing from an accepted standard OR diverging from the normal type.

CONTENT WARNING: asshole parents denigrating their child with sexually charged language

"Master? A letter arrived for you."

Ahldblaet Fyrilberksyn looked up from the stack of documents with an irritated expression at the servant who'd interrupted him, a hyuran male of fair skin and hair. "Well, boy? Who is it from then? Twelve save you if this isn't worth interrupting my very important work!"

The man went even paler. "I....I don't know, master. The envelope was not signed. The post markings indicate that it originated in Eorzea, but otherwise the only marking is that of a small green axe. I don't know..."

Ahldblaet's eyes, normally perpetually narrowed due to being deep set in his face, widened in shock. "Give that here!" he shouted. "And be gone with you!"

The servant scurried over to Ahldblaet's massive desk and practically dropped the envelope on the nearest corner before fleeing with all haste, as though for his life. Ahldblaet immediately snatched it from the stack of parchment it had fallen on and inspected the markings that the servant had mentioned.

"Husband?" a voice called from the side door that led from his office further into the home. Said door opened and a shorter Roegadyn woman stepped through, her ash-colored skin in marked contrast to the sea-blue dress she wore. Her dark grey hair framed a face that wore an annoyed expression. "What is all this bellowing about? You are disturbing my guests. It is...unseemly."

Ahldblaet turned his severe gaze upon the new entrant. He was tall and exceptionally broad, a picture of strength in his youth, but his body had taken on a measure of fat in his older age and more sedentary work. Despite this, and his balding head of hair, his steely eyed expression still cowed many of the people he dealt with on a day to day basis. "It would seem, wife, that the enormous investment we have paid into those mercenaries we dispatched to Eorzea may have finally borne fruit. This is a missive their leader sent me. After our last communication I told him, in no uncertain terms, not to contact me until he had something of note to report. Unless he has foolishly ignored my orders, this would mean he has something."

The woman was not cowed, having long becoming immune to her husband's glares. Impatiently she gestured to the envelope. "Well, open it then, you great oaf! Maybe we will finally learn where our daughter vanished to!"

Ahldblaet tore the envelope and removed the missive inside. He began to read aloud, knowing from prior experience if he did not, his wife would snatch the paper from his hands mid-sentence. She was not a patient one.

"Masters Ahldblaet Fyrilberksyn and Lady Usynwyda Holaszirnwyn,

I am please to report that after much time and hard work on the part of the Emerald Marauders, we have located your wayward daughter. Furthermore, we have determined the reasoning as to why she evaded both us and every previous mercenary company your lordship sent to retrieve her

First, your daughter is no longer using her given name of Syhrwyda Ahldblaetwyn. Asking after that name yielded no results, aside from the merchants who recognized it only as pertaining to you. By sheer luck, we eventually stumbled across a Roegadyn language scholar who knew the translation of her first name and directed us to an adventurer known as 'Fearless Willow', one of the Warriors of Light.

I am hoping the story of the Warriors of Light does not require an explanation for your lordship, but I will remind you that these people are slayers of godlike beings who regularly enslave the minds of mortals around them, have engaged massive numbers of Garlean soldiers and magitek armor, defeated Imperial Legatuses in single combat (including the Crown Prince), and decisively ended a thousand-year war between a dragon horde and the nation of Ishgard.

From there, we set out to determine if this woman and your daughter are one and the same. It is well known that one of the Warriors of Light is in fact a Roegadyn woman, but we needed to be certain. Adventurers are often well traveled and thanks to the Aetheryte network, difficult to track. Your descriptions were also primarily of the physical sort, which did not help, as appearances are easy enough to change.

We caught a break in speaking to one of the mercenary crews you'd previously hired. Many of them had been either entirely wiped or or reduced in numbers to the degree that they'd disbanded. What few remained refused to speak with us once it became clear who we were tracking. One particular mercenary of an Ala Mhigan band (known as the Graybear Den, which if you recall abruptly returned your payment and refused the contract) however, let slip some valuable information after our agents plied him with enough drink. Once he realized who we were speaking of, he grew agitated and swore he would never help us find 'the Warrior o' Light". It would seem the Graybears believe they owed a measure of loyalty to the Warriors of LIght for their instrumental parts in liberating their homeland.

It was, however, enough. Once we determined that your daughter and this Warrior of Light were in fact one and the same, we began looking for ways to isolate her and take her prisoner. Unfortunately this has proven extremely difficult. As they are involved in affairs that affect the entirety of the star, the Warriors of Light are often on the move, moreso than normal adventurers. Furthermore, as I have mentioned, they are peerless warriors, often in each other's company or those of their fellow Scions of the Seventh Dawn. If you don't know the order, suffice to say they are Warriors and Scholars both who labor on behalf of all peoples to defend the world against tyranny and false gods. They are exceptionally successful in this regard. The Scions often meet and collaborate with the leaders of various powers on this continent, who are often accompanied by their own soldiers or bodyguards.

We have remained patient however, and managed to catch a glimpse of her. As I mentioned was likely, she has extensively changed her appearance. Her hair is now of a longer cut and nearly all black, with only highlights of the teal you had mentioned remaining. She has also taken to wearing dark makeup.

We have also determined that unlike her fellow Warriors of Light, she does not dwell in the Scion's headquarters. Instead, she has taken to living in the Hingashi port city of Kugane, where she has a modest home in the district of the city reserved for foreigners.

Finally, and you may wish to brace her ladyship for this part, she does not live there alone. Our spies have reported that her home is occupied by two other women, and their observations of them interacting within the city indicates that the three of them are lovers

We believe that this is our best shot at capturing her, but the price for her return to you has just doubled.

You are doubtless shaking with rage, but you hired us to retrieve a woman that you led us to believe would provide minimal resistance. Even isolated from the other Scions in Kugane, we believe we will face extreme resistance in this job. For starters, your daughter has mastered several forms of combat, including the ways of the Hingashi samurai, the axe-masters of Abalathia's Spine, and the art of thaumaturgy. She is also known to wield the Sharlayan art of Astrology, and has mastered a form of dance from Radz-at-Han that wields circular blades with deadly precision.

Furthermore, Fearless Willow is a known and loved name within the borders of Kugane, despite being a foreigner in a city that remains neutral to all concerns beyond their borders. She was instrumental in aiding their geomancers in repelling an attack from a fox-like beast known as 'Kinko' and she also trained alongside the Sekiseigumi (the samurai order that enforces the laws of the city, brutally so) and helped them put down a rebellion from within their own ranks. One of her lovers is a high ranking member of the Sekiseigumi. The other is a member of her dance troupe who is on an extended tour in the city. She is every bit as deadly in the art as Fearless is.

The point is that, even isolated from the other Scions, many people will rush to her aid. We expect heavy resistance and significant losses. The original reward will not suffice to cover this.

We will not move forward with this operation until we have your confirmation of acceptance of the new price. And we suggest you hurry, as events brewing suggest your daughter will soon be called back to the fight, at which point it is impossible to tell when we will have another opportunity

Cmdr Guji Pokiji Chief Executive, Emerald Marauders

Ahldblaet set the letter on his desk, shaking with rage as he looked to his wife."How DARE that miniscule INSECT think to extort us?? A Warrior of Light, indeed. As if our useless fool of a daughter has the brains to take on even one sort of combat discipline, much less five! How gullible does he THINK us to be?"

Usynwyda nodded, a disgusted sneer on her face. "The NERVE of her, to merely toss aside the name we chose for her, only to refer to herself in the....ugh...common tongue! Still, the name cannot be a coincidence. Whatever other lies that little gnat undoubtedly told, this is the best lead we have had on Syhrwyda since she ran away."

"It is. And if they are not all lies, then it is all the more imperative we retrieve her before word of any of this gets out among our enemies. The very idea that she would toss aside the husband we painstakingly chose for her after careful selection and delicate negotiation in favor of laying with another woman, much less two! I worried she would do stupid things, but this level of degeneracy, of abberance? It is unconscionable!"

Usynwyda shuddered. "We cannot let this get out. I can never face any of the ladies if they should learn my daughter has become no better than some...common whore. We must marry her off to the Greinmyrgan boy with all haste before she does any further damage to us, to the company."

Ahldblaet scribbled furiously. "I am already writing orders to have our ship made ready and for our elite guards to prepare for a journey. We will find her and we end this nonsense."

Far away, in Kugane, the Warrior of Light known as Fearless Willow shuddered as she prepared to fall asleep. She had no ping from the Echo, no signal from her finely honed danger sense to explain it, but she definitely felt as if trouble was heading her way, and no idea what it might be.

#FFXIV 2021 Writing Challenge #Final Fantasy XIV #Fearless Willow #God her parents are the worst #Hopefully I get to write about Rheika's mom at some point so I can have some good parent balance

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secret-diary-of-an-fa · 3 years

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God of War (PS4) Review: Kratos’ Postal Grief Beard Versus Norse Mythology

Once upon a time, a man was born by the name of Cory Barlog and thus a coin was flipped. Would he become a videogame developer or would he take up guarding the Mines of Moria by pulling wizards into a precipice? Those really are the only two options with a name like Barlog. Anyway, apparently the Mines of Moria were a bit of a commute, so the world gained a talented Auteur developer with a unique vision for a game series about going postal in ancient Greece. Fast-foward a number of years specifically calculated to make you feel old and ancient Greece is a distant memory. Norse mythology is where all the cool kids hang out nowadays, and that’s where we’re going in today’s review.

As you might have guessed, I’ve just finished playing God of War (PS4), which is fun to say because it rhymes. It’s a very good game that should be a very bad game. When considering modern media artefacts, I’m often prompted to ask the question ‘what went so wrong?’, but this may be the first time I’ve had to ask the question ‘what went so right?’.

Let me explain: God of War 4 (I don’t care that they don’t put the number on the box art, that’s what it fucking is) makes a single, monumentally stupid creative decision that should ruin the entire enterprise, but doesn’t. And that creative decision was- wait for it- a stab at maturity.

The last time we saw Kratos- the world’s angriest mythical being- he was finishing his battle with the Greek gods in God of War 3. There was a moment in that game which, to me, typified what was so great about the series. If I recall the sequence of events correctly, you kill your way through an ocean of expendable goons and critters who are just trying to defend their home on Mount Olympus, dripping with blood and screaming furiously, then wander into the bedroom of one of ancient Greece’s sauciest goddesses and play a sex minigame that you win by fucking her so well that her handmaids orgasm too. Then you toddle outside again and, head cleared, solve an incredibly complex and cerebral puzzle involving non-Euclidean geometry and perspective manipulation that takes bloody ages. That, in a nutshell, was the core identity of the original God of War: a gleefully unrestrained and immature approach to sex and violence coupled with a grouchy willingness to make unsuspecting players feel like fucking idiots for no reason whatsoever. It was awesome. In contrast, God of War 4 picks up many, many years later with Kratos hiding out in Midgard of the Norse mythos and, for once, he hasn’t got a nark on and he’s not trying to stick his cock in someone with cartoonishly huge knockers. He’s just sad because his missus has passed away, leaving him and their young, impressionable son alone in a big, scary world full of trolls and ginger psychopaths. ‘Sad’ isn’t a completely new emotion for Kratos, but, up until this point, he was usually sad in a way that resulted in five hundred people getting their spines broken in a very colourful manner. Now he just wants to cremate the remains of the woman he loved and carry her ashes to the tallest peak in the nine realms so he can scatter her in accordance with her final wishes. And that’s what he does, with son- Atreus- in tow. It’s a twenty-plus hour game in which the objective is very simply to honour someone’s preferred funeral rites- nothing more, nothing less. It’s very modest by Kratos usual standards. Remember that his stated goal in the previous game was to punch freakin’ Zeus so hard that his face would go all concave and then repeatedly stamp on his corpse.

We never actually find out much about what Kratos was up to between games or how he met his wife. However, he’s a bit thiccer than in previous instalments and seems to have lost the use of the ‘jump’ button outside of context-sensitive environments. On that evidence, I choose to believe he’s been running a small but successful family restaurant called ‘Kratos’ Potatoes’ and enjoying it all a bit much. And why not? He beat up Zeus- if he just wants to create and sample homely yet exotic Greco-Norse fusion cuisine while growing a ridiculous straggly dad-beard, I say let him crack on. Actually, is it a ‘dad beard’ or is it a ‘grief beard’? I think they send them to videogame characters in the post whenever a loved one dies so they can signal to the world how sad they are through the medium of angsty facial hair. But where was? Oh yeah: cracking on with it.

Y’see this is where the plot comes in: the Norse gods won’t let Kratos crack on. They’re determined to make him bow before Odin- especially Baldur, who is way too invested in having a fight with Kratos for reasons that won’t become apparent until very late in the game. They just keep turning up and trying to break Kratos and his increasingly like-him-but-not-as-good-at-it son Atreus. This time around, our heroes commit heinous acts of violence to defend themselves, not enact revenge, as they travel, inexorably, to the top of a lonely mountain through landscapes of stunning natural beauty and many, many hostile creatures.

Of course, Kratos taking his son on a hiking holiday with added troll-murder and the occasional slap-fight with Norse mythology’s biggest killjoys doesn’t sound as interesting as the original games. After all, those were basically a production of Kill Bill in which the part of Bill was played by a guy with the power to summon lightning bolts and access to a seemingly unstoppable army of monsters and demigods. The ‘fun factor’ even seems to have taken another downgrade, in that Kratos no longer operates with the entertainingly demented passion of the insane: he has been tempered by time and love and managed to turn himself into a paragon of serious self control. So why is God of War 4 so bloody good? Partly, I suspect, the answer lies in the constantly evolving relationship between Kratos and Atreus, which gives the story an unbelievable amount of heart and always manages to feel very organic. Kratos never learned how to be a parent, and we essentially watch him do it in real time, forming a bond with his son that seems impossible at the start of the game and inevitable by the end. Partly, the games greatness lies in the characters you meet along the way, who range from bickering dwarves to talking, decapitated heads who prattle on like laid-back tour-guides. Partly, it’s in the beautiful, epic landscapes that make the journey across the Realms to the highest peak feel epic and significant, even while it is small and personal.

But a videogame is nothing without gameplay, and it is here that God of War 4 really shines. I loved the original God of War trilogy (especially the third instalment), but I rarely felt like I was playing as, y’know, a god of war. Kratos might not be an uncontrollable whirlwind of fury any more, but he feels truly powerful for the first time in the ongoing series. In fights, every punch feels like it could crack stone; every axe-throw like it could rend the sky; every chain-whip like it could legitimately start a forest-fire. Out of combat, Kratos moves around the environment with the stolid grace of a man who knows his movements are inevitable; irresistible; an imposition on the environment that can’t be denied. You climb and complete elaborate, complex traversals knowing that the satisfaction you feel isn’t just the satisfaction of finding the correct route or solving an obstacle, but the satisfaction of a being forcing his way through a landscape that resists him at every turn but cannot stop him. The puzzles- of which there are many- strike the perfect balance between conceptual trickiness and ease of execution to remind you that Kratos is smart as well as determined; that his mind is as indomitable as his body. Then there are the little touches involving heaving huge stone pillars and similar unnecessarily over-the-top efforts. In short, the gameplay is interwoven with who Kratos is- with what he is in way that seems completely unprecedented. Even the RPG elements feel appropriate: they reflect the protagonist’s growing confidence in a skillet he hasn’t used in a long, long time.

Do I miss the uniquely juvenile, over the top identity of the old games? Absolutely: I’m a great fan of gratuitous gore and scantily clad women with big fuck-off swords. Usually, I find the desire for maturity in games to be a silly, pretentious trend that foolishly eschews anything obviously ‘fun’ for no reason other than courting the respect of people whose respect isn’t worth having. But I don’t think that’s what’s going on here- at least, not entirely. The developers of the God of War games are clearly artisans and craftsmen of extreme talent: their attention to detail is superb and their ability to weave a good tale from a simple premise is actually a little daunting for someone who considers himself a bloody good story-teller. It’s worth remembering that the de facto head of the studio, Barlog, became a father himself before commencing work on this game about a father learning to bond with his son. It feels personal and meant because it is. Other games might reach for superficially mature themes like family and redemption for altogether cynical reasons. God of War 4 does it because such thoughts are clearly much on the developer’s mind. I asked already ‘Do I miss the identity of the old games?’ and the answer is still yes. But that question deserves a follow-up: am I willing to embrace the identity of this new, quieter God of War anyway? And yes, yes I am.

But if we could have a few more women with enormous knockers and Kratos going properly batshit just once or twice in the next sequel, that would also be welcome. I mean, let’s try to strike a balance here, people, for pity’s sake.

#Secret Diary of a Fat Admirer #God of War #God of War 4 #god of war sequel #Kratos #Zeus #norse mythology #greek mythology #videogames #game review #games

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heyheydidjaknow · 3 years

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I’m uploading this Friday at 12:10 am. Or, at least, that’s when I finished writing this. Yes, we’re still on the angst thing. It won’t last forever, but still.

Chapter 9

“How is she?”

Donatello sits down next to his brother on the couch. “Same as yesterday,” he sighs. “Comatose.”

“I still can’t believe it,” Raphael smirks. “That stupid bitch decided to total the fuckin—"

“Raphael,” he promises coolly, “I will personally make it my life’s goal to make sure you can never open your mouth again if you don’t shut up.”

He puts his hands up. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Will you two be quiet for a minute? I’m trying to listen.” Leonardo kneels in front of the television.

There is a new news story.

“They can’t arrest her, can they?” The tallest brother glances at the others.

“Nah.” Michelangelo is sprawled out on his portion of the couch, eyes dully focused on the screen. “They’ll side with her before someone from a street gang, ‘specially with those…” He trails off. “’ Sides,” he clears his throat, “any good public defense lawyer would call it self-defense, and there’s no way the police would convict a teenage girl of any degree of murder with the injuries she has; bad press.”

“Mikey,” Leo asks, “how come you know that and not how to multiply numbers by seven?”

“Because seven is a stupid number that was created just to make us all feel stupid.”

“Leo—”

“He’s right,” Raph agrees. “They won’t put her away for something like that.” He chuckles darkly. “Besides, there’s no more evidence.”

“After what happened with the neurologist?”

“Donnie,” Leo turns to look at him. “She’s going to be fine.”

He opens his mouth to argue, closes it.

” The perpetrator,” the news anchor reads, ” was found this morning after a panicked nine-one-one caller had seen the hand of the assailant hanging over a ledge. The corpse had, presumably, been flung away from the scene of the incident as a consequence of the explosion, miraculously landing on the roof of a nearby restaurant. The body has been identified as Fong Zhao, who was arrested on multiple charges of armed battery earlier this year. The police have refrained from offering Channel Six detailed information, but we have an anonymous source who claims that he and the gang he is supposedly involved in, locally referred to as the Purple Dragons, was also involved in the hijacking of a truck carrying a substance believed to be tear gas. The driver of the truck testified in favor of this statement earlier this evening. An investigation is currently ongoing regarding the involvement of the men in question, and we at Channel Six implore our viewers to come forward with any information you may have on the case or the supposed ringleader, the recently escaped Xever Montes. More on that later tonight. Up next, a local—”

Leonardo shuts off the television. “Well, there you go.” He stands up. “See? Didn’t even mention her name.”

Donatello breathes out a sigh of relief. “Good,” he nods after a moment. “That’s... good.” He cradles his head in his hand, his concerns hardly pacified by the report.

This, he cannot excuse. This is entirely a matter of his own negligence.

‘I should’ve noticed sooner, insisted to come with.’ He zones out, his brother starting a conversation about something he cannot bring himself to pay attention to. ‘How could she be that reckless? It’s Shredder for fuck’s sake; I should’ve at least noticed the body or something, anything.’ His fingers lace together as he stares a hole into the ground. ‘Even if I couldn’t have stopped her, I should’ve been there, if only after the fact.’ He runs his tongue along his teeth absentmindedly. ‘Some ninja I am. Some friend. Some—’

“So, I broke Y/N’s arms, right?”

His head snaps up. “You what?”

“There he is,” Raph chuckles. “Knew that’d get his attention.”

“Don’t make me go over there,” he glares. His face flushes in embarrassment.

Leonardo rolls his eyes at his brother’s antics. “As I was saying, it’s been pretty quiet, hasn’t it? Since the incident?”

“Now that you mention it,” Raph points out, “since the whole Leatherhead fiasco, I don’t think anything’s really happened. Ya know, besides the Kraang thing.” He crosses his arms behind his head, leaning back into the couch. “It’s been getting’ kinda boring If I’m bein’ honest.”

“It’s that desire to fight that’s going to get you killed,” Donatello informs him, staring at the television screen. “Saw what happened to her, right? Weren’t you just saying how stupid she was being?”

“Yeah, but that’s different.” He smiles sharply. “She’s got exactly no training. As much as you guys seem to have a thing for humility all of a sudden,” he waves his hand contemptuously, “the only reason she got hurt is that she was being stupid, so we’re pretty much undefeated, no thanks to Leo.”

He stands up, deciding against fighting him. “If you need me,” he says curtly, “I’ll be in my lab.”

“Watch it, Raph,” the eldest brother snaps.

“Why should I?” He throws his hands up. “Am I wrong?”

Mikey quietly grabs his comic off the floor, retreating to his room, presumably.

Donatello slides the door in between him and his brothers as he sits down at his desk.

You have been stuck in the hospital for about two weeks now.

‘Technically,’ he corrects himself as he pulls his laptop open, ‘it’s been three hundred fifty-seven hours, meaning it’s closer to fifteen days than two weeks. Why do I know that?’ He pulls up an image, uncapping a permanent marker and working on one of the more mindless parts of his latest project: reviving an incredibly battered map. He already has a frame for it once he is finished, but, knowing his brothers, the fading colors would likely be a point of contention if he did not at least make an effort to make it easier to read. Fortunately for him, it is not laminated. Unfortunately—depending on how you look at it— a lot of the finer details—the integral streets names in particular—are all irreparably smudged and, therefore, will have to be all rewritten by hand, turning a once twenty-minute job into at least a two-hour investment.

He tries to tune out the incessant arguing of his two older brothers as he focuses on making his minute handwriting legible despite the infuriatingly fat marker nib.

“You should have taken her offer for a pen when you had the chance,” he mumbles to himself.

His hand stops.

‘Would it be weird to go check on her again? Just to make sure she’s still alright? I mean,’ he goes back to work, ‘even if it were, how would she know?’

He shakes his head to clear it. ‘Stop that. You’re being a creep again.’

Over those two weeks, his distractedness has become more of a problem than it has in the past in reference to his work. He is hardly a stranger to having a thousand thoughts bouncing around his head at once, but where once a rapid stream of information was there is now an aggravatingly slow sludge. The origin of said mind sludge is not at all a mystery to him, which makes the whole thing infinitely more frustrating. ‘Frustrating? Depressing? Does it even matter?’

He rubs his eye absentmindedly with the heel of his palm as he strains to see what he is doing. The smell of the marker is corrosive in his nostrils. His hand shakes. He sets it down, wringing his hands as if to force them back into submission as he stares holes into the map. ‘This is not supposed to be challenging.’ He closes his eyes, the image of you lying on the ground, a bloody, skeletal figure shaking and begging for your life carved into the backs of his eyelids, a hideous scar.

He can not stop thinking about what you said the night before the incident. Something about being able to care for yourself.

What would you say to him now? He imagines that it would be something to remind him of how the accident is your fault, how he should not beat himself up over it, but all that does is convince him that he should have been faster to act or to respond or something. There had to have been something he, in his infinite wisdom, could have done. What else can he reason? That he is powerless? That he had no say in what happened that night of nights?

‘How come I can plan and build a combat vehicle out of alien technology and an old subway car and I can’t—’

He jumps at a loud banging at the door.

“Donnie!” He can hear Raphael’s wicked grin from behind the door. “Bank robbery! Let’s go!”

He sighs, capping the marker. His breakdown will have to wait.

“Comin’!”

The ringing in your ears is already annoying.

You have been awake for about five minutes. You have elected against moving for a plethora of reasons, but the ringing is a relatively large determining factor in your decision. You are, admittedly, not sure where you are until you hear the tell-tale incessant beeping you remember from your childhood. You do not open your eyes yet. You are incredibly drowsy for some reason.

‘Hospital?’

You sit up carefully, wincing as a numb pain permeates through your arms. You run your fingers over your face curiously, feeling for any perceived disfigurement as your eyes scan your surroundings. The small room you have been placed in seems standard; there are a couple of chairs under a window that makes up half of the wall, a television screen in a corner of the room, an inoffensive painting, and a small vase filled with some sort of white flowers.

You feel a protruding scar on the right side of your face. It traces from the bridge of your nose to about halfway across your cheekbone. As you bring your hands down to pull the hospital gown away from your body, you catch sight of your hands. Long, jagged cuts run vertically along the front of your hands, and as your eyes travel up your arms, you notice fewer, shorter scars along the insides of your forearms. You swallow, pulling the cloth away from your body to see long scratches running from your thighs to under your ribcage. You pull the blanket off to find that one of your legs is encased in a white cast.

You blink. ‘What stupid thing did I do?’

You lay back down, fingers absentmindedly tracing the scars. ‘I must have been out for a bit.’ You push the hair out of your face, noting how oddly shaky your hands are as you try to focus on what had happened. ‘Why wouldn’t my folks be here? They wouldn’t ditch me in a hospital, would they?’ You hold them out in front of you, palms to the ceiling. ‘I don’t look old or anything. My nails aren’t much longer than they were before, so I can’t have been out for that long.’

Your eyebrows furrow. ‘Parents…’ You swallow. ‘Oh, right. The fire.’ Your eyes go out of focus. ‘Dead. I was, too, until recently.’ You put your arms down. ‘I’m hungry. Where am I?’ You close your eyes. ‘New York. East coast. How far is the East Coast from the West Coast? I should call her so she knows I’m—no, she’s dead.’

“All dead and gone,” you mumble the tune to yourself.

You cover your face. ‘Focus. What happened?’ You recall what you think is a church. ‘Turtles. Turtle. Oh, TMNT. Where are people? Focus.’ You yank at a piece of your hair, mumbling to yourself as you try to run through the memory again.

The image of that man’s body takes your breath away.

You shut your eyes tighter. ‘Right. Car. Glass. Glass would be a good candy. Could you make glass out of sugar? Isn’t that what a lollipop is?’ You hug yourself tightly, careful of the IV as you roll onto your side towards it. ‘I killed someone. Someones. That’s not a word. Gasoline smells bad.’ You feel tears prick at your eyes. ‘I deserve to die for that. There has to have been an easier way to do that. I deserve to burn again. That explosion was so prettily animated in that episode. I can’t breathe.’

You curl your legs up towards you, using the arm not connected to the IV to hook behind your knees. You bury your head in your shoulder as you force your breathing to slow. ‘I miss her. Where is he? They’re dead and you killed them, you heartless bitch.’

You feel a sob rise in your throat. You swallow it back. ‘Stop being a pussy.’ You hear yourself start to count softly. ‘They’re all dead and gone. You’re on your own here, so get a grip.’ You grip the blanket. ‘After all, who are you going to turn to? The guys who already risk their lives every day? Or maybe Splinter, who will probably tell you some bullshit about letting your pain go?’

‘That’s not fair,’ you argue with yourself. ‘You can turn to Murakami. Casey might be willing to help.’

‘Because Casey’s known for his reliability and Murakami would want to deal with your stupid emotional problems.’

“Twenty-three,” you whisper, keeping your voice even. “Twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six…’

You pull yourself back up, bringing your knee to your chest as you wipe any tears that may have leaked out with the back of your hand.

You do not have to wait long until someone comes in to check on you, a taller gentleman with sharp features and sunken eyes behind curly black hair. He introduces himself as Nurse McGrath, gives you a run down of the dizzying number of injuries you had suffered in the accident, what they had done to fix the problem, and starts to discuss what would become of you now.

“The doctor predicts that you’ll be able to remove your cast in approximately six weeks, and that you will regain your fine-motor skills fully in eight.” He is obviously half asleep, but you can hardly blame him; the clock on the wall reads that it is about three in the morning. “The symptoms from the whiplash should completely fade in about three months. If you would be open, there are medications we can prescribe to help with the pain.”

You smile. “Thank you, sir, but I’d rather not.” You are sincerely concerned what might happen if you start taking any sort of medication right now, considering your mental health.

“I should probably warn you in advance that the police might ask you to come in to identify the guys who kidnapped you.”

You blink, confused. “How do they know I was kidnapped?”

“Anonymous tip, according to the news.” He scratches something into some form or another. “I dunno the specifics, but nobody thinks they’re gonna charge you with anything, ‘specially since the driver was from that street gang.”

You nod. “Gotcha.” You purse your lips. “What day is it?”

“Twenty-fourth, now.”

You sigh. “Well,” you shrug, ignoring the pain it causes, “at least I’m not dead.”

“At least.” He caps his pen. “Technically, you’re free to leave, but the doc thinks it’s a good idea to stay overnight. Your insurance provider has your medical bills covered, so you’re good for it.”

“Honestly? I’m surprised I don’t feel weaker.” You smile. “I’m more than happy to head home tonight, if that makes most sense.”

“Personally, I wouldn’t stay.” He starts heading out of your room. “Your cellphone is locked up. I’m guessing you want it?”

You nod eagerly, realizing quickly that makes the ringing worse.

“I’ll bring it right back, then.”

You refrain from touching it until he leaves.

It looks as if it was put in a blender, but you find it does still turn on. A problem quickly arises: your hands cannot hold the phone. You set it down on the mattress, each movement taking a ridiculous amount of time to coordinate as you type like someone who has never used a phone before. ‘Fine motor skills. Right.’ You type out a message after approximately too long that tells Donnie that you are out of the hospital and heading home.

You check out of the hospital at approximately four-thirteen. The trip home is a straight line of a walk that takes you approximately twenty minutes. Getting in through the door with a walker is a bit of a challenge, but it works out well enough.

You lock the door and windows when you get home, shutting your phone off as you crawl into bed.

You let out a low groan as your head punishes you for your heinous crime of moving. You had realized ten minutes into your walk that you were not at all physically strong enough to walk that long, and you already hate yourself for it, among other reasons. As you crawl into bed, ignoring your body’s protest, you still stand by your decision to not take any medication, especially now.

You feel as though you are being suffocated as you cling onto your pillow, pressing your face into it as you cry silently, the ringing in your ears only getting louder in the silence of your apartment.

‘I feel sick.’

You remember your first night here. You remember the feeling it had caused you, the numb ache of loss as you submitted to the situation you had found yourself in. It feels like an eternity ago, now. You know, logically, it cannot have been more than two months since you got here.

You had decided against taking a cab back home. You had the cash, and you still do, in your bloodstained pocket. You saw many as you walked home, and you had turned a blind eye to them all.

You feel yourself trembling again. You remember the first night you had slept on your own here, the nightmares you swore were the product of a mind much more sadistic than yours ever was. You remember, too, the nightmares you had after Bradford, the way that, for the first time in your life since you were five years old you woke up drenched in sweat and crying for your mother.

What possible dream could come from this?

You reach a hand to the nightstand, hovering over your cellphone as you consider your next action.

Slowly, you retract it, letting it rest next to you. ‘It’s four. He’s not awake.’ You do not have the energy to get up to grab the bottle of sleeping pills from your bathroom.

‘I don’t want to sleep. I can’t take another nightmare.’ You rest your cheek on the pillow, forcing your eyes shut. ‘Mare. Why is it called a nightmare? Are mares truly that terrifying?’

“One,” you whisper. “Two. Three.”

Table of Contents

Chapter 8

Chapter 10

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staggeringsmite · 3 years

Note

ooh, top 5 moments you've had/witnessed as a DM? (please use this an excuse to hype yourself up if you want!!)

my players make dm’ing beyond worth it, so i really have to give credit to them for the joy of what they bring to a lot of these scenes <3 (also this is all wandering isles bc it’s been my most narratively satisfying and invested dm experience) Buckle Up it’s a long one!!!

bonus: i’m very proud of my individual character moments! throughout the campaign we’ve had about four of these (the intro session scenes, two dream sequences for every pc, and a set of individual trial scenes). we’re a pretty big party so it’s hard to narrow it down, but i just love writing and running those longer narrative moments bc i think it’s a v interesting insight into each character and gives them each a separate moment to shine <3

5. “promise you’ll come back to her” / burning of contingency letters

i put these moments together perhaps to cheat a little bit, but also because they deserve it. xarus, the party’s barbarian whose family was abandoned by his mother at a young age pulls theresa, a forge knitting cleric about to board the airship he is a quartermaster of in order to find a cure for her sick wife. he asks theresa to promise him one thing, that no matter what she will come back to her wife. along the way they write contingency letters to their loved ones in and outside of the party as their adventures grow more and more dangerous, and eventually, exhausted and worn, theresa and xarus find each other in the den of a safehouse to talk. recognizing each other’s willingness to self-sacrifice, their conversation ends with them burning the contingency letters they’ve written, committing to life. these scenes come together because it shows how far they have come together, and the theresa and xarus relationship will always be a highlight of the wandering isles to witness. sometimes the players do all the best work for you, and it’s so wonderful to sit back and watch <3

4. miles is missing

damien returns to the university he works at after an unprecedented amount time away to check on his office before he heads back out on another adventure with the party. while there he moves to put a sticky note (canonically a magical item in the wandering isles universe) on his rival colleague’s (and gay lover/roommate of 20 years) door only to find it entirely emptied without a trace. despite their bickering, miles and damien are very close, and miles would never pack up his things and go without telling damien.

this was a more subtle cliff-hanger for the session, but it was made so much fun as a dm because the players were excited and joking the whole session about miles’ second appearance (and only since the very first session) so his sudden disappearance was made much more severe based on everyone’s anticipation of meeting and having a light-hearted interaction with him.

3. the infamous sex rave

sometimes things go very right as a dm and sometimes things spiral out of control when a pc mislabels a situation which becomes a running joke of the campaign. either way i love being stubborn in my defense of “it isn’t a sex rave!!” whenever they bring it up (and immediately playing an npc who also calls it a sex rave). basically the players had a heist encounter in which they were hired to break a group of pirate prisoner’s out of a secret underground information center (where magical artifacts were also being held and studied, and there was pertinent information stored for the party to take a swipe at). the group split and one subset of party members were forced to hide from guards on the outskirts of a large, gladiatorial style ring within the compound, in which prisoners were competitively battling in order to test the abilities of certain unknown artifacts for the entertainment of anonymous nobles in masquerade getup. based on the magical lighting effects, the strangely dressed noble onlookers, and the,,,, Fighting Noises being some of the only things the pc’s perceived from the level of the auditorium they hid at, it was unfortunately misnomer’ed the “weird sex rave” and has only been referred to it as that ever since.

2. mother abel’s goodbye

hmmm am i making players cry again? yeah maybe. mother abel was an elder cleric of nosa crossing, the starting city of the campaign. she’d lived through its settlement, destruction, rebuilding, and given her all not only to the city but also to the jilted creed (a secret society dedicated to disrupting geline, a large and dangerously powerful island-state which is one of the campaign’s greatest evils). in the last use of her strength she took on a role as a conduit for a powerful plane shift ritual to transport the residents of the city to safety in the feywild as nosa crossing began to be overrun by potent wild magics in the prime material plane. as a low-level cleric, the spell took its toll on her, and as the party arrived in the feywild via a similar ritual to find the inhabitants, they were led to her side. theresa, a native of nosa crossing now reunited with her wife yodean, went to abel’s side with yodean. as yodean sat on the foot of the bed, theresa kneeled as though praying to hold abel’s hand cleric to cleric, confessing her gratitude but admitting that she cannot give as freely as mother abel did, that she and yodean deserve to live for themselves as much as they choose everyday to live for other people. with her final words in a soft, weak message, mother abel comforted theresa in her decision. the scene as a whole was so wonderfully sad, and the best dm moment of something so raw as telling aj, theresa’s player, that while there was no way to confirm it in any real capacity, something in theresa felt that perhaps mother abel held out a little while longer to make sure she was safe one last time and make sure she’d truly gotten everyone home.

1. rosa’s betrayal / lian’s resurrection

enough of that sad shit let’s get mean babey!! aslkjglfk i will be riding the high of this session for an eternity, but it’s quite a lot to break down. rosa rucksaw is the captain of the crew the party rescues in the heist sequence, who eventually reveals herself to in fact be xarus’ mom who fully left to assume a new identity and is Pretty Horrible as a person. at the safehouse, the party is asked by the people they were hired if they would be willing to take the crew to a longer term safehouse island, and the decision is left to xarus. not wanting to be like his mom, xarus agrees to endure a little more time with them in order to them this service out of convenience and kindness. a few hours from their destination, rosa finds xarus on the deck and honestly? kinda begins to admit some amount of guilt for all the shit she did,,,, literally seconds before she reveals that when her and her crew were caught by geline, she struck a deal in order to keep them alive, saying to her biological son “out on the cloudsea your crew is your family, and son, believe me, i’d do anything for my family” before her crew on the deck anchored the ship to an invisible gelinish war vessel and we snapped to roll20 for combat. the look of horror and betrayal on everyone’s face as her monologue hit those final lines, ugh and the fact that no one was super suspicious made it even better!! sometimes it Really Works, and this was one of those times!

flash forward in the battle, and an npc (it’s miles, the gay lover from a few numbers ago) being held hostage by the gelinish vessel is killed, as he is resurrected by two party members (damien and theresa) damien reaches for his soul, as theresa, who multi-classed into divination wizard after a pc named lian died (with failed attempts from theresa and xarus to hold her back) feels another presence in the grey, misty beyond. lian died in session four, and when i said her name to reference jack’s character everyone lost it mostly out of confusion before i began to narrate lian feeling restless in the afterlife, eventually reaching out and forming a celestial warlock pact with miles through his connection to damien and being called upon by her goddess sune as theresa reached out, offering lian the chance to go back. theresa returning to that moment with both her clerical and divinatory abilities, with the blessing of sune, lian emerging on the battlefield, now a vengeance paladin instead of life cleric, with a flaming sword and celestial wings at her back was such an incredible highlight to set up and run,, i just, <333 very proud of myself (and very thankful jack was on board for her coming back) for this moment

thank you so so much!! this was a long ramble, but i hope it was somewhat interesting to people not in the wandering isles <33

send a top 5 or 10?

#ask #thats-the-moon-grey #thank you!!!#dm'ing is so...good

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hakka84 · 3 years

Text

I still can’t understand the nature of Duchy’s feelings for Kate.

Foreword: I’m not a Duchy/Kate shipper. I liked how her romantic life was depicted, I liked her with Roth, I liked her with Mike (with all the baggage and angst) and I respect the future narrated in the ending. I just wish to understand if what I get from the show is there and meant by the authors or if I’m seeing things. And, in case of the latter, if I’m the only one or others shares my headcanon.

Long meta under the cut.

In the first half of the Season 4, Dutchy’s behavior whenever is around Kate is erratic at best. It’s protective, a bit too much to be healthy, but at the same time he’s very cold and dismissing toward Kate. Only in Dutch Courage we finally understand the reasons behind his acting - because yes, we’re basically told that Duchy was acting around X so to not get too emotionally close.

But he clearly failed. He did became emotionally invested. Because, after he has finally faced his trauma, Duchy allows himself to drop down that wall that built regarding the XO and we see him looking at Kate more and more affectionately. Never, when his eyes land on Kate, are devoid of a feeling - even if the scene is full of humor and laugh, there’s this lingering affection that cannot be ignored. He clearly has feelings for her that go above a simple frienship - especially because that friendship had no time to blossom yet, we will see it more (even if usually in subtle gestures, never “in your face”) in Season 5. Duchy’s hovering and being over-protective might be a result of his trauma and the need he feels to make sure something like that won’t happen again. But. But there’s clearly more, else he would act the same when around and towards Mike. Which he doesn’t. He’s clearly loyal to Mike, as their CO, but not in the same way he displays toward Kate. The only other member of the crew that gets this protective treatment from Dutchy is Bird, toward whom Duchy (and basically everyone) acts like a big brother. Bird is this young cute thing that must be protected at all costs (the fact she’s 17yo and basically taking a 6-months tour to decide what to do next, so she has little to no training, clearly has something to do, but I guess Bird kicks in their protective streak because she looks frail - although they all admit she is strong, and she clearly is considering all the shit that happens to her in S4).

Sorry. Digression. Anyway. Kate is clearly the opposite of Bird. She’s trained, she has plenty of experience, she’s tough. She isn’t the woman that should kick-in a protective streak - and you see it in Buffer’s interactions with her. Buffer approached Kate like a respected XO who deserves his loyalty, both as Lieutenant and person, but nothing goes out of the line. Sure, the crew joke about Buffer’s infatuation toward Kate, but it’s just that (we know that, if there were someone Buffer was infatuated with, was Nav). Kate gets priority, when protection is concerned, as the second in command on the ship, but not as “woman named Kate” per se: she’s a crewmate, she just happens to matter a bit more because of her rank and position on the ship.

Yet, Duchy feels it’s his duty to protect her with the same diligence of a bodyguard that protects a princess, or a very important woman activist who’s been targeted by terrorists because of some reformations she is pushing for. By the way, Kudos for the actor, he manages to convey Duchy’s wish to protect and to shield Kate from any harm - not only physical but emotional as well.

But then you have this:

KATE: You can’t help who you fall in love with DUCHY: Yes, you can.

I’m not sure if this were the intention of the authors, but it feels to me that Duchy speaks for a personal experience that is still hurting him (see how harsh he sounds, if he just believed in it in abstract or is something from a distant past he would sound more... placid). And why would this exchange be included to start with?

Ok, at first it seems it’s there to highlight what’s happening between Bomber and 2Dads and how wrong it is. The main point I believe is actually to give Kate some food for thoughts that will eventually lead her to the breaking point in the S4 finale - especially when later you have Mike claim the same (you can choose who you fall in love). But what if there’s a third level to read here? Is this exchange meant to hint that Duchy is currently in the same situation for Kate nonetheless, where he choose not to fall in love with her and he therefore has managed to switch to platonic one-sides romance?

In this same episode, later, we see Duchy drugged up and he calls Kate “an angel” and acting like a a besotted guy and I don’t believe in the amused explanation given by Swain that it’s all up to the drugs. It feels that those drugs removed Duchy’s inhibitions, the strict control he acts on himself so that he may not let his feelings for Kate reveal themselves. The drugs allowed (of forced him) to reveal his true feelings instead, and he just can call himself lucky because he won’t remember anything - and neither Swain or Kate will likely tell him about it. So the secret - if a secret exists - is safe.

And then there’s the finale, when he sees Kate kissing Mike. He silently steps away, but the look on his face, some kind of mourning, and then how he diverts his eyes. There’s sadness, mostly sadness. I can’t tell if it’s just the sadness for discovering that the person he cares the most for is forced to suppress her feelings because of their job... or because the heart of the person he silently loves belongs to another. There’s no jealousy, but resignation. Perhaps I’m giving the actor too much credit here, but he always pull the “I suffer to see or hear that you’re suffering” look whenever Duchy is faced with a hint (be it a subtle gesture or a word) that Kate is suffering because of her unresolved thing with Mike (as during Mike and Kate’s reunion after the bombing in 5x01, when Mike explains how he felt when he heard about the news and couldn’t get in touch with them to know they were alive).

So. My impression is that Duchy loves Kate in a platonic way and acts like her shadow, protecting her and doing his best to make sure she is safe, with the kind of the generous love of a dog. He wants nothing in return, just see Kate is safe and sound and possibly fullfilled with her life, be it professional and personal. He’s the man who choose to step aside and keep his feelings a secret, wishing for the woman they love to find happiness. But is it an impression or this was what the authors were aiming to? If it’s like this, which is my heacanon, Duchy feels for Kate the most pure form of love: he doesn’t want Kate for himself because he knows he can’t, he wants to be the XO’s second, and to be so he cannot aspire to any relationship with her - his need to protect her and be at her side for as long the Navy will allow him exceeds any wish to be romantically involved with her. Or perhaps he doesn’t even feel any physical attraction for her, she “worships” her (in a healthy way) and he just feels “in the right place” at her side.

Or am I seeings things that don’t exist? Are romantic - platonic - feelings for Kate hinted at or not?

What makes me lean towards the “I cannot have her, my duty will be make sure no one and nobody will harm her”, is how his situation is a mirror of what we saw between Buffer and Nav. Buffer clearly harbored romantic feelings for Nav, she respected her as Nav but as person as well, and was pretty clear with E.T. about what he felt for Nav went beyond a “I like her as crewmate” (so much that he got the “you could be her dad” retort). But then Nav - unaware - tells him he’s a valuable friend so he quietly backs away, accepting that she doesn’t see him like he sees her, and that their friendship is more important than his (eventual) broken heart and disappointment: she doesn’t need to be told that he had feelings for her because she did nothing to encourage him, and he will always be there for her, he’ll be the friend she needs and loves. And yes, when he understands that E.T. is serious, he steps back: E.T. will not hurt Nav so he doesn’t need to protect her from him. Buffer isn’t the most emotional of the group (compare it to Swain), so it’s most left to us to imagine it, but I get that he was fine with Nav and E.T. and he would demand to be a witness in the wedding (although he would be ready to back down and allow Mike the honor), because that’s how Buffer shows he’s a sweet cinnamon under his macho navy glorified combat and security expert.

Now, Buffer and Nav are at the same level (although Nav is higher, rank speaking?); Duchy and the XO no, so the context is a bit different. But there are many similarities, as the two buffers both feel affection for a woman crewmate who happens to be courted/involved with another. They are the most respectful they could be, in such a situation of unrequited romance.

Kudos to the authors: both (if we believe Duchy loved Kate) situations were depicted with the upmost respect. Seldom you see one-sided romances treated this way - no angst, no drama, the man stepping back and not forcing the woman to their unrequited feelings, the man not taking any frustration and broken heart out on the unaware object of their feelings (or like, anyone else).

As far as I can tell, all the romances in the show were good written - we got all the kinds you can get, from “girl/man of the day - it felt like a fairytale until I discovered you’re a drug dealer” to the longer spanning a half a season, the “we must repress our feelings for job reasons” to “I can’t literally control myself”, but all were tasteful, wonderfully nuances and with a decent balance between the two parties involved.

#sea patrol

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did-i-do-this-write · 3 years

Text

RWBY Meets Paragon

Paragon is an original story I have been working on since I was sixteen. RWBY is my current hyperfixation. I could not shake these ideas from my mind until I wrote them down. So here is what I think would happen if my OCs from this story met the cast of the anime RWBY :)

- First things first: Nate and Ozpin would vibe

- Reese and Qrow start off hating each other. They both have protective natures that clash.

- Qrow challenges Reese to a fight and they are DEAD EVEN

Reese: “You know, what Branwen. You’re alright.”

Qrow: “You’re not so bad yourself, Reese.”

THEY BECOME BROS

- Reese exclusively calls Qrow “Branwen” and Qrow finds out about Reese’s old nickname (RJ) and he’s the only person in two universes allowed to use it

(Well, Nate could probably get away with it but… whatever)

- Reese reveals that he loves mechanics and is secretly a nerd and Qrow just breaks - now they can vibe

- Reese is ace but I kinda wanna come up with a bromance ship name for them now…

ON THE ROCKS

THAT’S IT

- Reese finds out that Qrow has a major crush on Ozpin and his first reaction is “JESUS CHRIST, NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN!”

- Nate discovers that Ozpin reciprocates and tells Reese and they cannot fucking believe it

Nate: “WHY DO WE ATTRACT GAY IDIOTS WHO DONT KNOW HOW TO COMMUNICATE???”

Reese: “I don’t know. But at least we have practice.”

Nate: “Same plan as last time?”

Reese: *sighs* “Yeah, let’s do it.”

Cloqwork and Ocean Breeze aka the bane of Reese and Nate’s existence

I cannot stop thinking about this now, I love all of them so much.

Ok, moving on

- Kay’s element can literally charge Nora’s semblance!!!! Nora LOVES IT. They become really close when they realize they are combat compatible

- Ruby becomes OBSESSED with Nic when she finds out how good she is with mechanics (including but not limited to weapon design and building)

- Reese and Nic WITH Qrow and Ruby?????? Oh my god, the power, I love it already

(I need to clarify - Kay basically vibes with everyone)

- Idk why, but I feel like Matt and Jaune would be buds. Matt would also love Chibi Ren, so that’s who I’m thinking of here.

(Wait, who am I kidding? Matt also vibes with everyone)

- No one in the faction trusts Ironwood

(ok, so maybe not everyone)

- All of the residents of Remnant are so fucking confused to learn that the faction has never used aura

Ruby: “What do you mean ‘it’s not a thing’???”

Kay: “I don’t know what to tell you! We don’t have ‘aura’! We just don’t get hit!”

Yang: “That sounds… exhausting…”

Kay: “Thanks, it is.”

- Glynda is so happy to have someone else with kinetic powers around. Now Nic can help clean up the fucking messes RWBYJNPR make (although Nic is basically the same age as a student)

- Nic is Glynda’s favorite outside of that, too. Sometimes they talk shit about Oz in front of him using Nic’s telekenetic connection

Not maliciously, just like stupid stuff

They both love him but also they can’t stand him, you know?

- The teasing that happens when RWBYJNPR learn that Matt and Shaun are a thing??? Oh my god, it’s relentless.

- KAY IS SO EXCITED TO SHARE THEIR COMBINED PAIRED TEAM NAMES

Sandstorm?

Firewall?

Shockwave?

DRAGON’S BREATH????? RUBY LOSES HER FUCKING SHIT!

“AHHHH THAT’S SO COOL!!!!”

- When Kay tells them that she calls Matt and Shaun ‘Ocean Breeze’????? It’s a real life ship for her, she is very invested

- Yang and Nora become invested, too, it’s hilarious

- When she tells them about the weapon names, on the other hand, they are so confused

Ruby: “You named your weapon 'Florence'?”

Yang: “Sounds more like an eighteenth century widow than a weapon name.”

Kay: “You say that as if that’s not the vibe I was going for.”

(Does the faction bring Tide or Flame? Idk, I want them to. Not sure how that would work… )

- They all compare notes about the different monsters they face: Ruby is jealous because the Mythic have more variety, are more colorful, and sound cooler

Kay: “You- You’re jealous???”

Ruby: “Yes!!!! You’re monsters are so much cooler than ours!!!!”

Qrow: “I actually agree with her…”

Reese: “The fuck is wrong with you people?????”

- Reese could crush a Beowulf with his bare hand- not really, but it would be so fucking easy for him to fight one, he might as well

- Ozpin is FUCKING TERRIFIED OF NIC

“What if she reads my mind? What will she hear? Will she ask questions?”

YES, YES SHE WILL

She’s paranoid, let her live

She IMMEDIATELY tells Nate

Nic: “I- I don’t think the headmaster is… uh… normal.”

Nate: “Nic… what have I told you about reading people’s minds without their knowledge?”

Nic: “Nate, that’s not the point! He was talking to himself!”

Nate: “Nic, that’s called thinking.”

Nic: “NOT LIKE THAT, ASSHOLE!”

Now the faction has to fight two wars

Oh fuck

If anyone would like to actually learn what the fuck some of this means, feel free to send me an ask! These interactions now live in my head rent free, thanks.

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promiseiwillwrite · 3 years

Text

Tod/The Giant Mass of Limbs and Teeth

So while I was running, I spoke with one of the people that is New in my head.

I've been trying to patch things up with Jormungandr for a while, and Tod was Growling at him.

In Tod's Defense, Tod represents a protective need to control my surroundings, including other people, to defend me from injury.

He is PARTICULARLY angered by emotional injury to me intentionally or accidentally by others.

He thinks that Rigidly controlling my Behavior (TJ's old job) that He can prevent my emotional investment in others, and thereby prevent vulnerability to those who would harm me.

This is all a system that developed in me back in childhood that is very clearly wrong, and Tod was trying to clearly state some of the misconceptions on which it was based today.

Mistrust is something that I feel a Lot.

Whether a person has done anything for me to legitimately feel mistrustful of them or not.

And it doesn't take much to aggravate Tod.

He spent most of his existence living in TJ's stomach, with a Megalodon Tooth shoved into his Heart.

He was Quite Aggravated by nature.

But Now that I have taken him OUT of TJ's Stomach, and Taken the Megalodon Tooth out of his heart...

He is just Tod. He looks like a Normal guy. Unless I am threatened, and he goes right back into his Metaphysical Horror form.

He said he had listened to the Podcast today, that we listened to, "UnF*ck Your Brain" with Kara Lowentheil.

The Podcast was about changing Catastrophic thoughts, and how to sort of learn to back down from level 10 to at least level 9 by just practicing giving your mind something else plausible to work with besides the old neural Rut.

I think I believe that if someone hurt me before, that they will definitely hurt me again.

I definitely believe that of myself. I think if I hurt someone before, that they should never trust me again, and that I do not deserve to be trusted.

And that is Kind of Why Tod exists in the first place, To keep me from being hurt again...

But he sees a few things now.

You cannot control other people.

You cannot assume their emotional reactions or responses.

You CAN control whether or not you are hurt by the words and actions of others by deciding who you are in relationship to their actions.

And we HAVE to believe that people can Change. We just Have to. That means ME, and it means Everybody.

He says that he sees me emotionally investing in Jormungandr in order to solicit the desired change in him, but he says it doesn't work that way.

It feels true when he says this. I have been very hesitant to open my heart and my arms to him again. He says he wants that. But I am not sure what more he could really want from me. I don't know what power there is to be gained from me. I don't know what other motive he could possibly have, Other than to control me.

But then isn't that exactly what I am doing?

I feel like this is part of why I got into a huge fight with Rath a long time ago.

Part of why Touelea is still at odds with me. Perhaps that is the connection. I pulled a Buffalo tooth out of His heart.

Perhaps he and Tod are connected in more ways than one.

I thought a Lot about Houston today.

And The Things I have felt for and about him.

Things I thought quite some time ago, that are attached to some rather strong emotions, and more than a little defiance. From back when I was very deep in my problems about Ryan.

I think that I experienced an exaggeration of emotion, much like my attraction to Skyler, that defied all logic and rational Hygiene in the case of the latter.

I have also worried about Ryan's willingness/ability to give me the Intimacy that I have wanted.

But then, I have to be open and receptive and objectively able to reciprocate as well, and that has Not been the case with me very much in the last four years.

And definitely a large share of that sits at my feet.

I feel like all these things are connected.

It is not a coincidence that they have all been in my mind today.

Oooo

So I looked really hard at my idea map for a while.

I looked at the things I wrote above, and the things I wrote on the idea map about the Jobs of Both Tod and Touelea.

And they are similar.

One has a vested interest in protecting me from being victimized by others.

Another has a vested interest in protecting me from emotionally investing in others, AND making Mistakes.

The common thread is the idea that I will be victimized and rejected if I make mistakes, and that If I am Vulnerable because of an emotional investment in the person I have wronged, or if I Invest in the Wrong Person, as I have before, that I will Be HARMED, abused, abandoned et cetera.

And I can combat these ideas.

For instance, I don't have to be a victim. The people in my life do not want to harm me, and Do care about me. And I can take care of myself. I can trust my discernment. I can protect myself from people who would hurt me.

I Won't be abandoned by people I invest in, not every time, and some people not at all. The most important ones would have Already Left by now if they were going to do it.

I Will make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. But it doesn't mean that Everything is Ruined forever. It doesn't mean I am Bad, or Stupid, or Invalid, or Unworthy of Love.

Perhaps it even means that I need More love during those times.

And I think it means that Me, Wanting Intimacy is not wrong or bad, but that my assumption that Ryan doesn't want it IS wrong AND bad. (as in, bad for me, like cigarettes) It lets me think of myself as a victim, and hard done by, in this relationship where I am not wanted or valued, and I see sharing intimacy as an expression of the other person Valuing me.

It is making the behavior : {Seeking intimacy outside our relationship} logical and makes it feel both urgent and necessary, and when I get it it makes me feel alive like Breathing after holding your breath for a really long time. Because I have been Refusing Connection with Ryan because of the Thought that he Doesn't want it. Which is in turn connected to Boundary injuries in Childhood and Parentification by my parents. My Life Depended on them wanting me, and I could not understand anything but the active expression of that.

But I have Value without Ryan.

And Ryan doesn't have to DO anything to value me. He just Does because he Loves me.

And He Does want to connect with me, and be intimate with me. I just have to look for that, and be willing to see that. And willing to go After it.

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legobiwan · 4 years

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I know there's this trope in fanfics of sending post-AotC Obi Wan time traveling to some point in the past, but they always de-age him or place him in the body of his younger self. But can you imagine if crazy old desert wizard Ben Kenobi was the one sent back unaltered? How would Obi Wan in that state of mind react? All the other characters in the past? Anakin? Obi Wan's younger self, if he's there?

So I know this is a trope that was very well-covered in elfpen’s Reprise series on ao3, but I am happy to dip my proverbial oar into speculation on this point. (About 3 months too late, but such is life.)

It’s interesting, trying to get into the mindset of “Old Ben Kenobi.” We are offered precious little insight into that aspect of his character - we know he lands on Tatooine and is essentially shattered, that his early years (according to the Legends novel Kenobi, which is a masterpiece, and the short in From a Certain Point of View) are a mix of coming to terms with what happened, training himself, trying to reach an ephemeral Qui-gon for advice, and perhaps settling into his supposed wise Jedi role.

So I suppose the first question would be, at which point would we send him back? 20 years is a long time, and people can change wildly (ask me about the year 2000, or better yet, don’t. Eek.) But since you came into this ask explicitly referencing “crazy old desert wizard Kenobi,” we can assume this would later into his Tatooine years, after he was able to build up a bit of a reputation for being an irritable and inscrutable fixture of the Dune Sea. (And after he perfected his Krayt dragon routine, which is sheer Obi-wan, because come on, Kenobi.)

Who is Ben Kenobi? We don’t get a ton in canon about his later years. We know in ANH that he is a mysterious, capable fighter who still refuses to actually deliver any hard cash upon demand, but beyond that, the best characterization we have comes from “Twin Suns,” which - let’s break it down. (And cry forever, I am still emotionally compromised by this episode three years later.)

We get very little real Kenobi content in this episode - about 10 minutes’ worth. But it tells us a lot. First of all, there is this:

Ben Kenobi already knows who Ezra Bridger is. Now yes, Force shenanigans, etc., but Obi-wan Kenobi is not dumb and he would have kept abreast of the Rebellion and would have figured out a way to learn information, even on Tatooine. He may have sensed Maul, but Ezra was a known quantity and he would have put 2 and 2 together. Which tells us Obi-wan is still invested very much in the defeat of Palpatine. He hasn’t given up yet.

Oh, Obi-wan. The man has kept his very subtle, very dry sense of humor, even if it is a joke only to himself, as Ezra would have zero idea what Ben Kenobi is referring to. Crazy old wizard, indeed.

This is a great line for two reasons. One, I truly believe Obi-wan is tired. Tired of fighting old demons, especially demons that were only lesser pawns in the grander scheme of Palpatine’s. If Obi-wan only hadn’t been distracted by Maul, if he had seen past that smokescreen to discover the true villain - I think there’s a lot of regret Ben Kenobi has had to work through and his only true fight now is to keep Luke safe. But the second part of that line - “though that seems inevitable now” - is pure Kenobi snark. He’s still Obi-wan. Just a very weathered version of himself.

Oh, Ezra. Foot-in-mouth disease, anyone? Destroy the Sith? Really?

Ouch.

I also find the next few lines here to be edifying.

Yes, Ben is famous for his “from a certain point of view” line, but remember where this comes from. “The truth is often what we make of it. (Anakin is the Chosen One. Anakin will stay good. Hell, Obi-wan knows that Qui-gon’s belief in prophecy was his truth and Obi-wan chose to believe it.) You heard what you wanted to hear, believed what you wanted to believe. (The Jedi are good. The Republic is good. Dooku is lying. Qui-gon’s belief in prophecy has meaning. Anakin will not turn.) And now, the only one who has gained anything from all of this is…(Palpatine.)

That whole set of lines could be Obi-wan talking to himself, probably was Obi-wan talking to himself and Qui-gon’s ghost on Tatooine. He’s had Time To Think About Things.

Okay, so “me” as in Maul appears and Obi-wan sends Ezra on his way. I will never be over this confrontation, because check this out. First of all, Obi-wan tries to talk his way through this, which is extremely in-character (he even did this during The Lawless, before Maul gutted Satine.) But also, he is not afraid of Maul. Because he knows precisely how he is going to goad Maul into combat and win easily.

As has been documented, Obi-wan switch from his Soresu to Qui-gon’s Ataru stance in an explicit reference to their first duel on Naboo. Maul catches on to this immediately (you see the widening of his eyes) and switches into his opening stance on Naboo. Maul cannot let go of the past and Obi-wan knows this, which is why he anticipates the maneuver Maul tries to pull (the Qui-gon special, as it were) and Obi-wan wins so easily. Meaning…Obi-wan has learned from his own past mistakes.

NOW.

What does this all spell for a time-traveling Ben Kenobi?

That he would keep his trademark dry humor, but given his time on Tatooine, it would be more arid than the Mojave in the summer. (Which is pretty damn arid, let me tell you.)

He would waste no time forming a plan to get to Palpatine. He already let disaster occur once (and despite everything, I still have no doubt that Obi-wan hadn’t worked through all of his guilt surrounding Anakin, even if he managed to mitigate the more (self)destructive aspects of it). If the Force is giving him a second chance, he will not squander it for anything. Which is interesting, because it might make him more likely to form alliances with shadier characters and in a way, make him more like Qui-gon or even Dooku because he knows at this point how the Jedi fall prey to both Palpatine and themselves. And wouldn’t a confrontation between Old Ben and Dooku be fascinating? I have the feeling Ben Kenobi would come out the victor there, and it would have nothing to do with physical combat.

Ben Kenobi would go out of his way to hide his identity, perhaps even hide his Jedi abilities. Especially around Anakin. But Force, to be given another chance with Anakin, to be a stabilizing entity in Anakin’s life and not a too-young father who never had time to process an avalanching number of tragedies in his own life while barely keeping it together in so many ways and still being bitter about Qui-gon’s actions...not to mention the war, Anakin’s training, and everything, Obi-wan never had a chance to deal with 15 years of chaos until he was stranded on Tatooine, which is a relatively good reason we see him go under that personality shift between RotS and ANH. He’s finally had time to deal. But this time, he is going to do right by Anakin, he will defy the Council whenever he has to and screw prophecy, and it’s weird kind of Qui-gon but kind of not set of actions?

But Ben Kenobi would also troll the hell out of the Council because he could. Let’s be honest - he’s still Obi-wan.

Now a younger Obi-wan meeting an older version of himself - I think they would clash, horrifically. Assuming that young Obi-wan has no idea who this old coot is, I think Obi-wan would Ben frustrating, condescending at times, too smart for his own good, and too skeptical of the Jedi Order and Council, even is the old man is right half the time. We all tend to carry versions of our parents with us, and it’s possible Old Ben carries enough Qui-gon with him to seriously irritate Obi-wan Kenobi.

I think the bigger question in Old Ben coming back is if he would stay 100% light Jedi, or go a little grey in his quest to Save. Everything. And it depends on how far he is willing to go. Which is why I think he and Dooku interacting would be the most fascinating of all possibilities in this scenario.

#Anonymous #hello there #ask legobiwan #this got long #obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #darth maul #ezra bridger #qui gon jinn #am i going back and finally answering some ANCIENT asks?#YES #because I am back people #this really turned more into an analysis of twin suns but yeah i'll never be over twin suns good lord

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jamestaylorswift · 4 years

Text

The Archer - Analysis

I was nudged to write out my thoughts about “The Archer” and I’m honestly glad for the push. This song is so beautiful yet haunting. I don’t see people appreciating it as much as I think it should be appreciated.

Standard disclaimer that this is my own personal reading of the song. You are free to disagree with any or all of what I say. There are many good interpretations of this song out there. It helps that it’s a very evocative track 5!

This analysis is not short. Sorry.

——

Combat, I’m ready for combat

I say I don’t want that, but what if I do?

‘Cause cruelty wins in the movies

I’ve got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you

——

Unlike other tracks on Lover, there’s no concrete imagery such as a garden gate or prom dress in this song. Taylor is sharing what only exists in her mind. This is a story told purely with metaphors. It’s important to lean into them.

The purpose of the first verse is to contextualize the rest of the song. She introduces the idea of being torn about wanting a fight. She would only want to fight someone if she has a really good reason to do so. Her driving force is “cruelty winning in the movies.” Her thrown-out speeches are the thing that would start the fight. Tossing the speeches implies that she is unsure not of the content of the speeches but of entering the fray of battle that would ensue after delivering them.

It’s very hard for me to see these speeches as anything but coming out speeches. Coming out (even as a non-celebrity) is often stressful. Cruelty winning in the movies is a nod to the fact that mainstream media depicts LGBTQ characters meeting tragic ends. Taylor, as a wildly famous celebrity, has cultural influence. Her coming out would impact the culture; it could change the endings of those movies. But her impact would only be measurable years in the future.

This verse is also where she first addresses the “you” in the song. I think the “you” is essentially a random observer/everyday Joe Schmoe. It’s nobody in particular because it could be anybody. The only thing remarkable about “you” is that she’s directly addressing them. That makes this story personal.

——

Easy they come, easy they go

I jump from the train, I ride off alone

I never grew up, it’s getting so old

Help me hold onto you

——

If the “you” in this song is a random person who has some benign preexisting opinion (whatever that may be, including a non-opinion) about Taylor Swift, then the “they” refers to arbitrary people who are on the fan/hate train. “They” come and go easily and represent flux in interest in her. I read the metaphor about a train with momentum as the implication that general interest in Taylor waxes and wanes but is inherently self-sustaining because of her celebrity. In this song, “they” aren’t necessarily the enemy like the public was, for example, in reputation. She just doesn’t concern herself with “them” anymore. It’s the “you” who has her full attention and who is sticking around to hear the story.

Finally, we get the first of many “help me hold onto you”s. This one is her articulating why she’s telling this story in the first place. It’s “I want you listen to this story and try to understand.” It’s “help me,” but in a chill way.

——

I’ve been the archer

I’ve been the prey

Who could ever leave me, darling?

But who could stay?

——

The archer is the zodiac symbol for Sagittarius, the centaur, Taylor’s astrological sign. Taylor exists in parts, just like a centaur: she is part her celebrity persona and part her real self, an amalgamation who is a Taylor different than either of the constituent halves. To the “you” it’s Taylor in her purest form. It’s impossible to completely separate her celebrity from her person at this point.

The chorus is about the duality of Taylor’s being, her actions, and others’ investment in any part of her. As the archer (hunter) she has aggressively exercised control over her public persona. As the prey (hunted) she has been a passive victim chewed up and spit out by the public/industry/etc. for things outside of her control. Sometimes it is her own actions that drive people away or attract people to her. Sometimes it is by individual choice that people board or leave the train.

The archer, Sagittarius, is also symbolic of a prophet who can predict fate. The prey is a victim of a terrible fate that, by nature, cannot be changed. I prefer to think of the archer/prey metaphor as commentary about the duality of fate rather than intense combat (for which a bow and arrow would probably be insufficient). This song is Taylor trying to reconcile the certainty of her future with distress about the unknown consequences of present-time decisions.

(Note that this first chorus is where the bass drum beat starts. It represents anxiety about the future. The first part of the song is exposition. The drum only comes in when she starts worrying about the “what ifs.”)

——

Dark side, I search for your dark side

But what if I’m alright, right, right, right here?

And I cut off my nose just to spite my face

Then I hate my reflection for years and years

——

Nobody Joe Schmoe has no obvious reason to hate Taylor for anything that she just said. But Taylor knows what comes next in the story. She’s anxious about Joe Schmoe’s reaction to what she’s about to say.

Taylor admits to doing self-destructive things. Because of the context she provided at the beginning of the song, I believe this is a reference to staying closeted. The “reflection” could be the literal reflection of her now-noseless face. Hating it is pure personal regret for self-destructive actions. The “reflection” could also be the mirror which her fans/the public hold up to her. Her self-destructive choices manifest in others’ toxicity. Hating what they’ve become starts with hating the ways she enables that behavior. (It’s really both “reflections.” The duality of man, yadda, yadda, yadda…)

More important than blaming herself for any (*cough*) past decisions, she articulates the pain of being in the closet in two simple lines. Burying a significant part of yourself by hiding behind a carefully constructed lie is exhausting. It’s sad. It also provides protection and safety and it’s unfortunately all too common. Cruelty wins in the movies, thus people are cruel to themselves.

——

I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost

The room is on fire, invisible smoke

And all of my heroes die all alone

Help me hold onto you

——

I think people consistently underestimate just how morbid “The Archer” is. Taylor reveals that her prophetic future is death—specifically, becoming a ghost, thus leaving an imperceptible trace of herself. She already feels suffocated by that possibility. Her suffering is invisible. She might just be left to die a slow, agonizing death via asphyxiation. Worse yet, what happens afterwards? Asphyxiation from invisible smoke would make it seem like she just dropped dead of her own accord. Or if the smoke somehow became visible….well, if you could see a ghost in the first place, a smoke-filled room would make that impossible. The implications are staggering and they’re all sad.

Few, if any, of Taylor’s heroes have literally died alone. I’m going to go out on a short limb here and say that Taylor probably sees parts of herself in her heroes. Therefore, the “heroes” in a song supposedly about the dilemma of coming out are other famous people who were/still are closeted. Taylor identifies herself as a potential role model for the younger generation like her heroes are for her. Her heroes’ lonely metaphorical deaths are exactly what she fears. Dying alone is being in the closet indefinitely. It’s being misunderstood and not having any way to rectify that situation. Perhaps this song is about the mortifying ordeal of remaining unknown.

As evidenced by the invisible smoke in the room, she thinks her metaphorical death is certain and imminent. The “help me hold onto you” is now “help me,” but in a very unchill way.

——

‘Cause they see right through me

Can you see right through me

I see right through me

——

As a reminder, “they” = random people in the public and “you” = nice, ordinary Joe Schmoe whom she wishes could understand her predicament. Being see-through is being seen without substance. Therefore, what the bridge is not saying is “don’t you see how obvious it is, isn’t it wild that people don’t pick up on me and/or my lover being loud in public?” It is saying “I am literally a ghost to ‘them’ because ‘they’ look at me and don’t see any of this pain, I’m basically dead to myself too because I feel like I’m already doomed, you’re my last hope so please say you see me.” Who cares about reaping the benefits (love, adoration) from the mortifying ordeal of being known? At this point she’s pleading simply to be seen as herself. “I see right through me” is her worst fear. This is why this line breaks out of the bridge and bleeds into the surrounding choruses.

(The bridge, to me, is where it becomes clear that treating the “you” as her lover with whom she could come out does a serious disservice to the rest of the song. Her lover as “you” inverts the meaning of the bridge. This makes the story inconsistent. I appreciate the gravity of the “help me hold onto you” line if it were spoken to a secret lover. However, being seen/understood is more intimately tethered to being out as an individual than being out with another person. In my mind, it makes more sense for this attitude to be an invariant of the song.)

——

All the king’s horses, all the king’s men

Couldn’t put me together again

‘Cause all of my enemies started out friends

Help me hold onto you

——

The Humpty Dumpty rhyme is basically “anthropomorphized egg sits on top of a high wall, anthropomorphized egg falls off the wall and shatters irreparably.” Taylor as Humpty Dumpty makes the wall she’s on top of the pedestal of fame/success. She’s saying that coming out would topple her from her pedestal. Her image as a woman who became famous for writing heterosexual love songs is as fragile as an eggshell. When it breaks, what is left behind?

“All the king’s horses, all the king’s men” might be a reference to her fans whom she once considered as friends but whom can also be incredibly toxic. I read it as a catch-all for anyone who isn’t Taylor. The key of this verse is her musing on why an eggshell can’t be repaired. It’s not for lack of manpower. It’s that all the king’s horses and all the king’s men—everyone, literally—are enemies and don’t want to reconstruct Humpty Dumpty. They simply don’t believe Humpty’s death is so tragic that they would spend effort to change his fate.

Taylor fears that darling Joe Schmoe, a friend to whom she is addressing this story, could become an enemy by conscious choice. She can give Joe Schmoe the truth and plead to be seen, but Joe Schmoe can still choose to see right through her anyways. It’s terribly frightening to be honest yet have that vulnerability go unacknowledged. Taylor coming out is her facing the prospect of instant confirmation that good people do not care. She could die a ghost despite efforts to be visible.

——

Who could stay?

You could stay

Combat, I’m ready for combat

——

Coming out is a choice but being gay is not—it is fate. She has no control over how others react to that. Taylor slowly acknowledges throughout the song that her future isn’t in her hands. She ultimately shifts away from the prophet/victim binary by reiterating that she’s sure of herself and that whatever happens, she’s not going down without a fight.

Lover the album isn’t just about romantic love. This song is not construing an inherently unequal and sometimes toxic relationship with fans/the public as love. “The Archer” romanticizes the possibility of someone reacting to honesty with kindness and understanding. Love is being seen.

#gaylor swift #kaylor #lover #music analysis #my post

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gamingdotcom · 3 years

Note

Hello! I hope you are well emotionally, mentally and physically and if not, I send my well wishes and hope you feel better soon! (And for the ask: 1, 17, 51) 😊

Thank u Ashley my friend i appreciate the kindness ❤️ as for the questions,

1. Are you bothered by your cosmic insignificance?

Quite the opposite, actually. I am very relieved that my actions do not shift planets or stars, or even large swaths of Earth’s population. I am but one humble human with a flawed brain who is doing their best.. that is all that I really want to be held accountable for. I also live in fear of the human species being cosmically significant because they are.... deeply flawed and struggle to cope with other human beings. I cannot imagine what hell would be (un)intentionally wrought by their conquest of the cosmos

17. Did you have imaginary friends? Do you still have them?

Yes, but I wasn’t particularly interested in them. I think what was more interesting about my childhood imagination was my propensity to make up characters and stories to go along with them. I would imagine a grown up version of myself (wearing a black pvc crop top and white dolphin shorts with spikey combat boots) and my own character designs from shows I like. For example, I had an enourmous fascination with the aesthetics of Megaman NT warrior, and would use their base design principles to design my own netnavis and their partners. In many ways I am still very fond of their design choices and really like the costume designs. I’m still very fond of the characters I made and the stories i laid out for them, and like to hold the memories I have of those stories, even if I didn’t turn out like the version of me I’d imagined.

51. What question could you ask to find out the most about a person?

Not to be That Guy but I think this really depends on the person. One of my favorite things to do with people I’m interested in is ask question after question to them. I think sometimes they feel like i’m “interrogating” them for the right answers, which is not really true. while there is a “right” answer from my perspective-- the answer i would respond with-- my interest is more in how they respond to the questions, and wheter we approach them similarly or not. And if not, I want to ask them about their reasoning to figure out how their brain works, what contexts they come from, and what’s important for them in a decision. For me it’s a thousand little questions.

But if there had to be One Question, I think i might go with.. what do you want our society to look like in the future? it seems like an inherently political question, and it is, but the answers will dig up their general perspective on how they think about people, humanity, and their relationship to these two things. (i.e., do they think we live lives that are “nasty brutish and short”, do they believe in the propensity of people to adapt and change, do they have efficacy in humans as a prosocial species, etc.). But I think politics are an important aspect.. they truly are not some “game” or an inconsequential personality trait, I think it defines a lot of how this person behaves around others. And, of course, whether or not i want to invest in a future relationship with this person.. based on their desires for the future writ-large.

#nerdy-escapades

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hellzyeahwebwielingessays · 4 years

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Super Heroes are a HUMAN power fantasy Part 1

Master Post

Super Heroes are a HUMAN power fantasy Part 2

Osvaldo Oyola , J. Lamb and Noah Berlatsky (who hates super heroes on principle btw), along with other dumbasses, have often said they are male/white supremacist power fantasies.

Nah fam. They are nothing more and nothing less than a HUMAN power fantasy.

Follow me along here for a while.

Human beings are animals.

We are. That’s a simple matter of scientific fact.

When push comes to shove we are really, really, really smart monkeys who share something like 50+% genes in common with chimpanzees.

As animals and all forms of life the overwhelming majority of us are biologically hardwired towards one ultimate goal: survival.

The desire to survive drives us innately in ways that go unnoticed most of the time. As we evolved into smarter creatures with higher brain functions capable of comprehending the world around us and constructing complex relationships and societies, that survival instinct was reinterpreted through various means.

The survival instinct in human beings and other mammals takes several forms but most commonly can boil down to two things:

a) Survival through preservation of the individual

b) Survival through procreation

Type a) involves getting food, shelter, rest, avoiding and recovering from injury and of course defending one’s self from threats, which can take the form of other living creatures, including members of our own species.

Type b) involves spawning offspring and at the same time looking after their wellbeing.

But the survival instinct goes deeper than that because we are biologically hardwired to work towards the protection of our very species. That is the very reason why type a) and b) even exist. By preserving ourselves and our offspring our species survives.

We are also communal animals. Much like chimpanzees and gorillas we live in groups for mutual benefit and protection. Thus, as part of survival of ourselves, our offspring and our species, we have a biological investment in protecting members of our group and of our species.

But seemingly paradoxically we are also hardwired to compete with and fight one another. This likely a by-product of how in the wild we’d have to compete for resources like food and shelter. Sometimes this involves two different groups from the same species competing with one another for survival.

Why am I telling you this? Well, because deep down all those things I have just talked about are innate to 99% of all human beings. It is little wonder that as we as a species evolved we expressed these biological driving forces in certain ways no other creatures could.

This is where the concept of our deities, Gods and figures from folklore and myth come from.

Jupiter, Vishnu, Thor, Hercules, Sun Wukong, Sampson, the Biblical version of Jesus Christ.

Whether they adopt the form of human beings or other entities, virtually every single culture on Earth, even those in isolation of one another, have conceived of beings greater than themselves. Beings with abilities beyond the average human being. And they’ve also conceived of those beings from time to time using their abilities to defy the laws of nature (such as averting natural disasters), combat dangerous or malevolent forces/creatures/individuals, and/or safeguarding the lives of others.

It is a form of explaining the world around us, and an act of wish fulfilment of the human experience.

We want to survive and since we are by our nature group animals we desire to be protected. Thus we conceive beings greater than ourselves who could potentially do that.

We want to survive by preserving our individual selves, so we imagined beings that are so powerful that they are not as reliant upon rest and sustenance like normal people. And who are powerful enough that they either cannot be easily harmed and are are capable of defending themselves from potential threats.

We have within us a vested biological interest in preserving our species, and so are hardwired to protect members of our family/group; our kin. Thus as part of our human wish fulfilment fantasies we imagine beings we’d like to be who could have the power to protect members of our species.

We then come to the modern superhero.

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, etc. Fundamentally they are the exact same thing.

Individuals with powers beyond those of the average human being, who use those powers to help and protect people, typically from numerous threats (which most commonly take the form of individuals with malevolent intentions). This can include perceived social ills which plague society and by extension pose a threat to the survival or quality of life of ordinary citizens.

One can exchange Hercules fighting the mythological Hydra for Superman fighting Darkseid or Captain America fighting H.Y.D.R.A. terrorists and it is ultimately the same thing. Batman battling crime in Gotham city fundamentally is no different from Theseus defeating criminals and bandits on his travels. When Spider-Man swings into action to save Mary Jane from the Green Goblin, it is an expression of much the same thing the Indian deity Rama went through to save his bride Sita.

Many super heroes though are also vigilantes, someone who imposes their own sense of morality whilst working outside of the law. Vigilantes in the real world and in myths, folklore, fiction and so on can also be found throughout history. Perhaps the most notable example being Robin Hood, who denounced his noble status to steal from the rich and give what he took to the poor who were being over taxed and oppressed by a corrupt system. Other examples would be the Scarlet Pimpernel or Zorro.

What I am trying to say is that at their core, modern day super heroes are fundamentally modern riffs of the folkloric and mythic traditions and/or similar expressions of the universal human experience (which are informed by innate biological imperatives).

Ostensibly, in creating Superman (the first true superhero), Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were either:

a) Consciously/subconsciously influenced by these older mythic stories when they created Superman (and thus birthed the entire genre), or

b) basically tapped into the same kind of thinking which birthed Robin Hood, Hercules, Sun Wukong, etc. in the first place. Across the centuries great minds seemingly thought alike

Superman in particular was possibly heavily influenced by the figure of super strong Sampson or the Clay Golem of Prague, both of whom are part of Jewish religion and folklore (Siegel and Shuster being Jewish immigrants). He might even be seen as a kind of Moses figure. Someone sent away from his natural people to grow up elsewhere, but nevertheless destined for greatness. Or maybe he was just a messiah figure. Whether Siegel and Shuster had Jesus Christ in their minds at all or not, the Jewish religion does (I believe) talk about a saviour figure and Superman could very well be an expression of that.

Figuring into Superman’s creation was 1930s depression and the shadow of impending global war as Hitler was gathering power and invaded Poland the year after Superman was created. In his debut Superman is not only superhumanly powerful but uses these powers as a vigilante to do things like:

· stop wife beaters

· rescue someone framed for murder, whilst apprehending the real murderer

· capture gangsters and rescue a kidnapped person (Lois Lane)

· bring a corrupt politician to justice

This was an expression of 1930s fears and frustrations. Of Siegel and Shuster’s desires to right the wrongs of a system which was perceived to be broken…or at least envision someone who could do that seemingly impossible task.

The next year in 1939, Batman would come along and express many of these sentiments even more acutely, in particular when it came to crime.

As time went by and the superhero genre was consolidated and evolved, many heroes had their histories altered in order to make them more coherent. In Batman’s specific case his home of Gotham city was painted as so utterly corrupt from the lowest criminal to the most powerful political figures that Batman was literally the one and only effective deterrent to crime. Hope of legal or political reform was next to impossible, thus Batman’s brand of vigilantism was the only thing which could stand in the way of criminals from just doing whatever they wanted.

Bearing all this in mind the idea that the superhero genre is an inherent white construction (and therefore inherently racist, deliberately or otherwise) is, you know…fucking bullshit.

There is a difference between something defined by someone of one race or another and it being something which in indicative to them ONLY. There is also a difference between something having ‘white supremacist undertones’ and something simply being created at a certain point in time when cultural norms were (sadly) different to what they became later on.

As originally created Superman (and by extension the genre) was functionally the same kind of wish fulfilment expressesed by countless storytellers from countless cultures across human history, all informed by universal biological impulses to survive.

Yes, the superhero genre was created and constructed by white people and is therefore literally a ‘white construction’. Yes there weren’t many (if any) non-white characters outside of horrible racial stereotypes. Yes many of them took the law into their own hands.

But that doesn’t mean they are in support of white supremacist notions ala the Ku Klux Klan.

In fact given that Siegel and Shuster were of Jewish immigrant descent, one could argue that Superman was a reflection of how minorities need to be BETTER than the majority to be accepted and/or he was arguably an expression of their frustrations at being mistreated themselves an minorities.

On the other hand let’s say that ‘white supremacy’ strictly meant that superheroes operated with the belief in white people being the default, and as the majority, they were better than the non-whites. Superman was created at a time of segregation after all.

The problem is there is no evidence I know in support of Superman, by his mere existence, is consciously implying that white people are better than non-white people. I wouldn’t put it past Siegel and Shuster to believe that given the times they were from, but ALL media was like that. To an extent they honestly didn’t know any better. But just because they believed that and the social context of the time informed people of this, that doesn’t mean that those ideas are inherent to the superhero genre.

Because again, the superhero genre ultimately embodies beliefs and practices which date back throughout human history and can be found in many non-white cultures.

Yes. Their brand of heroism and the beliefs about heroism they embody were gifted to them by their white creators. And those creators were informed by white social norms (as in the white society they grew up in informed Siegel and Shuster that wife beating was bad). But that doesn’t mean that the superhero moral compass is inherently something that is itself white by design. Rather, it goes beyond that to form a mostly universal form of morality. And lest we forget American society and its laws were mostly informed by Jewish and Christian religious beliefs and practices, which themselves were not only innovated centuries before American society, but by people who were NOT white.

Yes, these superheroes are vigilantes, many of which wear masks and employ secret identities. But not only is that a matter of practicality within their work, as well as part of generating drama within the narrative, but this does not (as the above mentioned dumbasses believe) mean they are inheriting a legacy from the Ku Klux Klan.

Theseus and Robin Hood acted as vigilantes of a sort who again predate the KKK. The Scarlet Pimpernel is widely regarded as the originator of the secret identity trope, and he was created by a Hungarian born British woman!

Just because a superhero might act as a vigilante and impose their sense of morality outside of the law (maybe even using force to do it) doesn’t equate them with the KKK, because it completely and utterly ignores the specifics of the circumstances. It is like saying anyone who kills is a serial killer, when they might have killed for justifiable reasons. Superman and Batman might be operating as vigilantes with secret identities but we the readers can plainly see that they are genuinely justified in what they are doing.

But that’s because the writer has established that!

I hear you cry.

Yes that is true...so what though?

If the writer has set up circumstances which justify the superheroes actions then you can’t just IGNORE those. You can’t just choose the evidence you take under consideration to fit the conclusion you want. In this case that’d be the interpretation of superheroes are endorsements of white supremacist notions ala the KKK or police officers who abuse their powers.

That’s like desiring to interpret Star Wars as the story of white supremacy because the ‘black’ clad figures of the Empire are ultimately overthrown by the white Rebel Alliance and the ‘light side' of the force. It ignores the respective actions of the Empire and Alliance in-story.

It’s is presuming the Empire to represent black people and the Alliance white people in the first place and then working backwards from there. Equally it is presuming superheroes to be stand-ins for ACTUAL police officers or KKK style vigilantes in the first place.

And that cop analogy inherently doesn’t work because superheroes are only SIMILAR to cops. The analogy ultimately breaks down because they aren’t subject to ANY legal sanctions, many of them do not kill and their crime fighting efforts stereotypically takes the form of them intervening ONLY if they hear about a crime/crisis ahead of time or if they observe it in progress.

I mean one of the above morons conflated Spider-Man’s Spider-Sense to be a stand in for racial profiling which is an utterly inappropriate analogy. The Spider-Sense was originally constructed as a clumsy plot device that first and foremost operated as a personalised danger sense to Spider-Man of threats. Outside of contrived writing it categorically doesn’t alert him to ANY potential crime or criminal. And it doesn’t discriminate the way racial profiling does. It more often than not allows him to pinpoint precisely who might be a potential threat because they ARE a potential threat.

Spider-Man or Superman or Batman in the course of their work have these skills and it enables them to be ABOVE things like racial profiling. Again, taking their stalking of a potential criminal to be a tacit approval of police methods is an interpretation being overlaid ONTO the superhero and then presumed to be factually what it is.

But it’s not.

It’s just an (mis)interpretation of what is going on informed by one person’s personal experiences and baggage through life. It is the same kind of logic which will take say a female character who has a male love interest as 100% definitely an enforcement of the idea that women ‘need a man’ to validate them when that isn’t necessarily the case of the story at all.

Building upon this is the oft-repeated interpretation that superheroes are fascists and are supportive of fascist values. That is an incredibly simplistic and literal reading of the superhero genre that ignores aspects plain as day on the page of the stories. It again is CHOOSES to see something in the concept which frankly misses the point but is nevertheless accepted as plain fact regardless.

An article in the Atlantic addresses this very eloquently:

This [fascist] reading of superheroes is common but wrong, a symptom of trying to impose political ideology on a universal, fictional myth. Superheroes do say something about the real world, but it’s something pretty uncontroversial: We want to see good triumph over evil, and “good” in this case means more than just defeating the bad guy—it means handling power responsibly.

The “fascism” metaphor breaks down pretty quickly when you think about it. Most superheroes defeat an evil power but do not retain any power for themselves. They ensure others’ freedom. They rarely deal with the government, and when they do it is with wariness, as in the Iron Man films, where Tony Stark refuses to hand over control of his inventions.

Indeed, superhero tales are full of subplots about how heroes limit their own power: hibernating once the big bad guy has been defeated, wearing disguises to live ordinary lives, choosing not to give into the temptation to ally with the villain or use their powers for profit or even civilizational progress. That’s because the creators of some of the most foundational superhero tales weren’t writing solely out of a power fantasy. They were writing out of a fantasy that a truly good people who find themselves with power might use that power only for good—and only in the face of extreme evil.

YES superheroes are a power fantasy.

But there is NOTHING wrong with power fantasies so long as one understands the distinction between the fiction and reality.

More than this...the hard truth is violence is part of being human. We are biologically hard wired to be violent and dominate others. That is innate to us like many, many, many animals. The flipside to that though is what also makes us human is the ability (and perhaps more importantly the DESIRE) to NOT be like that.

Most superhero fiction simultaneously offers us the opportunity to enforce those values whilst at the same time providing us with a safe outlet for our violent urges. We transfer those urges into the heroes and villains fighting one another. Kinda like how in Ancient Rome gladiator fights and other spectacles were used as a way of avoiding the populace of Rome from erupting into violence.

And don’t sit there and tell me that they ENCOURAGE violence.

If someone is going to be violent like that frankly there are almost ALWAYS further underlying factors often to do with their home life And

Human beings have been killing each other and acting in immoral ways LONG before the invention of popular media. Preventing ourselves from being like that is an act of learned control as we grow up. It is otherwise innate to our instincts.

Furthermore the concept of superheroes as being police officers who enforce the status quo and therefore help keep white people in power is incredibly flawed.

First of all Doc Ock nuking New York city hurts everyone regardless of race. Second of all Batman stopping a mugger in the middle of assaulting someone isn’t upholding white power, it’s just safeguarding life. Reading it as more than that is a projection these asshats are injecting INTO the stories themselves when they aren’t warranted.

Finally, the law might be stacked in favour of white power and minority suppression. But that not only has a lot to do with ABUSE of the law, but at the same time large chunks of the law are there legitimately for the well being of EVERYONE. It is illegal to murder someone, to mug them, to exploit them. None of that ensures white power, it ensures the well being of everyone. The problem is that those laws are often warped when being applied to minorities by the police force.

But superheroes don’t represent the police force. They represent something grander than the police force whilst at the same time representing what the police force SHOULD be like. The message isn’t ‘this is what the police are like’ or even ‘the police are heroes so anything they do is therefore a good thing’. It is providing a strong moral ideal and saying ‘You and everyone else should try to be like this’.

It is because of this that the superhero concept REVEALS the warts and shortcomings of the law and law enforcement as it really exists. Which was a part of 1930s frustrations Superman et al were giving vent to. Again, Action Comics #1 showed us corrupt politicians, commentating upon a flawed system.

Basically Superman being who he is doesn’t tell people that a police officer is justified when he racially profiles a black person as a criminal. Quite the opposite, he reveals us that they were WRONG in doing that because Superman would NEVER do that.

Ultimately, yeah these characters were created within a white context, but my point is fundamentally the same thing was created in non-white contexts as well throughout history.

Super Heroes are a HUMAN power fantasy Part 2

Master Post

#Marvel #DC #DC Comics #Marvel Comics #Super heroes #Superheroes #Superman #Batman #Wonder Woman #X-Men #Spider-Man #mythology #folklore #Robin Hood #Noah Berlatsky #Osvaldo Oyola

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superchaosfury · 3 years

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God Of War 2

The story of God of War 2 is amazing. It takes place right after the first game. Kratos just wants to find peace, but after a betrayal by Zeus. He finds himself filled with. God of War II is an action and adventure game developed by way of SCE Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for thePlayStation 2. It is the second one game within the God of War series. The sport became released in 2007. At the end of God of War, we found out that Kratos' wife (and Atreus' mother) Faye was actually a Giant called Laufey. That means Atreus is half God and half Giant and, what's more, he has a.

About God of War II. The God of War 2 is a nice and a time killer game. This is an action and also an adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). The game was first announced by the PlayStation 2 console on March 13, 2007. This is the second series of the game.

God of War 2 is a 8-bits classic Game Released for Nintendo (NES) console. Here you can Play God of War 2 Online (NES version) for Free in your Browser with no.

God of War 2 is a third personal activity experience PlayStation 2 game produced by Santa Monica Studios and distributed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). Initially discharged for the PlayStation 2 console on March 13, 2007, it is the second part of God of War Arrangement, 6th sequentially, and the spin-off of the 2005 God of War. This game is currently not available on PC .you can play this game using ps2 emulator software

GOD OF WAR 2 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (MINIMUM)

Processor: AMD Athlon X2 2.8 GHz or Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz

Operating System: Windows XP, Vista 32-Bit with Service Pack 2

Ram: 4GB or more

Graphics Card: AMD Radeon 3870 or higher; NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT

Free Hard Drive Space: 2.5GB

GOD OF WAR 2 RECOMMENDED SYSTEM REQUIREMENT

Processor: AMD Six-Core CPU; Intel Core i3 or i5

Operating System: Windows 7,8,10 (64 bit)

RAM: 8GB

Graphics Card: AMD Radeon 7870 or higher; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 or Intel HD Graphics

Graphics Memory: 3GB

Free Hard Drive Space: 2.5GB

God of War 2 is one of the best games on the PlayStation 2 and this PS3 version is even better! I do not think I have ever started a review off in a more complimentary way than that. This is an absolute masterpiece of a game and took what the first game did and just took it to the extreme.

Will I Find Peace?

The story of God of War 2 is amazing. It takes place right after the first game. Kratos just wants to find peace, but after a betrayal by Zeus. He finds himself filled with more rage and a quest for even bloodier vengeance. The Titan Gia, informs Kratos that he must seek out the Sisters of Fate and then he can not only find revenge but also find peace. It is a wonderful story and one that has many twists and turns, including why Zeus has such an interest in Kratos.

The voice acting and acting, in general, is once again amazing. The PlayStation 2 version looked great. However, the HD remaster that is done for the PS3 is incredible. I really do think that you could make a case that this looks so good, you would believe it was developed on a PlayStation 3 and not a 2.

Would You Look At That!

While Kratos and the various creatures and bosses all look great. It is really the different locations that I feel make God of War 2 stand above its already mighty predecessor. From areas filled with lava, snow and dark dingy areas. You go through so many varied locations that things never get boring.

The CG cutscenes in this game are just gorgeous and not only do they get you very invested in the story. They have been given the same kind of polish that the game graphics have and as a result, it makes the whole experience far grander than it was on the PS2.

Rip Out Their Hearts!

The gameplay of God of War 2 is even more brutal than the first. It plays just like the first game and once again the Blades of Chaos are your main weapons. Many other weapons and spells can be learned and they can all be upgraded as you play. For me though, the Blades of Chaos are the most fun to use and what I associate most with Kratos.

The gameplay is a lot of fun and is very heavily action-based. No matter how many fights you get into the combat is so satisfying that it never once feels old. Kratos plays like a total badass in this game. There are some puzzle sections as well as a part where you are flying on a Pegasus that help keep the gameplay fresh.

You are probably looking at around 10 or so hours to beat the game. I find that this is one of those games that is so much fun to play through that you will probably want to beat it multiple times.

The more I think about it the more I am sure I would actually rate God of War 2 as my favorite game on the PlayStation 2. This version they made for the PS3 is even better thanks to the super-polished visuals. The story is grander than the first, the action more intense and overall it is just an amazing experience and a game I cannot recommend highly enough.

9.5/10

God Of War 2 Iso

Pros:

The story is incredible

Amazing voice acting

The CG cutscenes look like a movie

The action is more bloody and violent than the first game

It is just so much fun to play!

Cons:

As much as I love this I do think 3 and 4 are a bit better

I legit cannot think of anything bad to say about this game!

God Of War 2021

Overall rating: 9.5

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midnightfunk · 4 years

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What a leadership failure looks like.

by James Hatch, medium.com 20200418

Leadership is an essential element in the success of any group endeavor. The massive scale of the challenge we face with Covid-19 is a staggeringly tricky leadership challenge.

Leadership books are the “thoughts and prayers” segment of the publishing world; there are so many of them that they are mostly falling on deaf ears. Despite all these books, we seem to have a severe lapse in successful leadership.

In my career in the US military, I was exposed, for 25 years, to many different leaders and in situations that were, like this Covid-19 struggle, a grave matter. In the Special Operations world, leadership is a matter of life and death almost every single day. Even in training for special operations missions, people can and do get killed on a far too frequent basis because of the dangerous nature of the work.

When I watch the President at his various press conferences, I see an inferior leadership style. Precious time is taken up by his appointed experts, talking about how great he is and mostly kissing his ass so that they can keep their jobs. I never experienced anything like this in all my time in the military. I never had an executive officer get up in front of a group of people under his or her command and spend even two seconds of everyone’s precious time, talking about how awesome our commanding officer was. I never had a commanding officer who was so insecure and so weak that he needed that stroking to do his job. Not once did any of my bosses talk about their social media “likes” or their last fitness report. My bosses respected our time and the gravity of our work. Our time was valuable. The nation’s collective time is precious right now.

The best commanders I had never had to have anyone publicly kiss their ass because they had, for the most part, earned the respect of the people who worked for them. We all knew that the commander (most of the time) deserved that position. We may not have cared for that person’s personality or methodology in every instance, but we knew that we had the best chance of success in battle if we all invested in that leader’s clear vision for success.

The best leaders I had, especially at the tier one level, were extremely humble and extremely conscientious of their environment and the importance of the way they conducted themselves. I saw this type of leadership in virtually all of the successful combat leaders with which I worked.

Never, not one time, did I have a leader say things like “I’m the chosen one” or refer to themselves as a “stable genius.” I cannot even imagine what would have happened if one of our strategic or tactical leaders had seriously said something like that. Now, don’t get me wrong, I did have a few leaders who probably thought they were smarter than everyone, but they sure as hell never said it. Additionally, none of my leadership ever spent time in front of our crew talking about themselves unless it was to communicate a point of confusion or a mistake that they had made. Never, in my entire military career, did I hear a commander get up in front of our crew and tell us how gifted they were, how amazed all of the experts were by her, or his grasp of some situation where they had not trained to be an expert.

Here is why; if my commander had said things like this, or wasted our time extrapolating on their genius or “chosen” status, we would one-hundred percent believe that they were unfit for their job. We would all know, immediately, that this person was so very insecure that we shouldn’t trust our lives to them. We would probably have come together as a group and used the chain of command to express our fears, and I am betting, though there is no way to know for sure, that any commanding officer who said or did those things, would most likely be removed from their position of command.

In my experience, when people talk like our President does, it is because they need to compensate for being put in a situation that overwhelms them. It is one thing if a person gets promoted into a position that may be above their head. It is another thing entirely when someone seeks a position of authority that they genuinely know they are not capable of executing on or, even worse, is delusional about their abilities to take care of the people they seek to lead. This type of delusion generally gets people killed. The military has its flaws, but most of the time, leaders, especially in combat units, are vetted and judged and screened and chosen carefully.

The President talks about how he is a “wartime” Commander in Chief. In truth, he is far from a wartime leader, he is insecure, and his insecurity is going to get people killed. He needs constant stroking and the public adoration that comes from his staff kissing his ass in a press conference where we are talking about life and death issues for America. All of America. Identity politics will never go away, and the people who make $ off of amplifying the “culture war” can dress this leadership style up and garner viewers and clicks. Still, it won’t help us overcome the challenges that face our nation. The President is weak, and the people who blow smoke up his ass and tell him what he wants to hear are guilty of the worst kind of cowardice. I am an American, and I know that Donald Trump won the last Presidential election. But now, he is hurting the country and destroying our culture with his nastiness and divisive rhetoric.

I’ll leave you with this;

General Eisenhower, who gives us an example of what a true leader should look like, wrote this message in advance of “Operation Overlord,” the invasion of France by the allies in WWII:

Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.

Can anyone reading this essay, look themself in the mirror and believe that our present commander in chief, our “leader” would ever take personal responsibility for his actions or decisions?

I let you answer that yourself.

#james hatch #medium.com #leadership fitness #crisis in leadership #character #dwight eisenhower #very stable genius #pathological narcissism #edited to correct the date of the article #op-ed

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