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aparticularbandit · 2 months

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so.

i actually think, final thoughts, i really liked udg.

and this gets long (and talks about some, ah, sensitive topics), so it's under a cut.

there are two themes it was trying to tackle, and both of those themes are pretty big themes, and in trying to tackle both of them, they hit one harder and did a better job which left them lacking on the other.

udg did a fantastic job (for a video game, and especially for a danganronpa game, i think) of talking about how two sides of a conflict can be radicalized to hate each other, to see each other as less than human, to get to a point where they're no longer just wanting to protect themselves and those they love but where they want to destroy the other side entirely.

like. to an extent, udg is taking on genocide. it never uses that word, but that's what it's hitting.

the warriors of hope are trying to kill all adults because they believe that adults are hurting kids and all adults are bad and the only way to take care of kids is to kill all the adults and just have a safe place for kids to be kids. they are attempting genocide on the adults of towa city.

the adults who shirokuma save steadily grow more radicalized to the point where they want to kill all of the kids in towa city for the mass murder that the children have been doing on the adults (not realizing that the kids are being mind controlled - literally - by the warriors of hope). by the time they find out what's happening (and that the only way to stop the monokumas is to literally explode the heads of all the kids being mind controlled), they don't care. they want all the kids dead. they are literally chanting kill! kill! kill! to that end, they want genocide on the kids of towa city.

(and udg probably never uses that word because it is a very heavy word with a lot of weight and consequences to it. but that is very much what both sides want to do to the other.)

and it does a very, very good job of showing how people who are being attacked and who have these actions taken against them can become radicalized back to a point where it's no longer just stop the pain but also kill them all, they need to all die.

and the game calls them demons.

it has the warriors of hope call adults demons, and it has monaca call the adults who are fine with killing the kids demons, too. says that they've become that. (and part of the process of the adults getting to that point was when they said the kids were demons.)

udg does such a good job with this. and of course, it can't end with hope or despair but somewhere in between because there's not a pat answer there. but it ends with komaru wanting to save both - to save both sides - to find a way to reconcile and save and not fall into the radicalization and staying so that she can try to do that. and that's beautiful.

....

and then also it tries to tackle various forms of child abuse and does not do a very good job of that because it wasn't the main theme. it was backstory theme to support the main theme. it was, hey, the kids also have a good reason for hating adults, it's a lot more complicated than people want it to be, neither side starts with let's kill everyone, they get there from being radicalized through a lot of trauma.

so because it's not the main focus - it's just there to support the main focus - udg does a relatively poor job of addressing it. there's very shallow attempts to talk about each of the different forms in the different chapters, sometimes barely talked about at all before the boss fight (looking at you, chapter one), and some of its attempts are paired with a lot of discomfort, which i'm willing to hope was intentional because it should be uncomfortable and not glossed over, but also is uncomfortable.

worse still, a lot of that theme gets completely shoved under the rug when you get to monaca and yes, she also got abused, to the point that she faked a disability to get people to be nicer to her, and the people who abused her apparently hurt her so bad that they believed they hurt her THAT BAD, which is saying something. but that gets avoid in monaca's exposition because that's not the point; monaca being evil and starting a war is the point - which, again, is the main theme. so the other tough theme gets a not great treatment because it's not the point.

which is unfortunate because they did such a good job with what was the main point that i think maybe they could have actually done a good job with the rest of it if they'd treated it with the same care and consideration they did with the other.

i think this is easily the most coherent of the danganronpa games (so far). it hits its theme, and it does have...ending pacing issues, which seems to be a running issue with the series, but they aren't as bad, i think, as they are in the other games. the ending was basically how much worse can we make monaca, which. wasn't necessary. but it served its main theme well, so.

I didn't feel hit over the head with a lot of things i could not have figured out over the course of the game. i didn't feel like i couldn't have figured that stuff out. i had moments of ah, i was close, but this is the actual thing and oh, i see, that makes sense instead of i don't know how i was supposed to figure this out.

and it did such a good job with the relationship between toko and komaru. that is probably the best relationship that's been written in the series up to this point, and maybe it's because komaru isn't going around trying to make besties with everybody and they can just hone in on this is your friend, we can just develop this and have it mean something.

like.

this may not be a good danganronpa game (given how radically different it is from the main games), but it is a good game.

...albeit sometimes a bit danganronpa gross about its subject matter.

#musings #bandit liveblogs #bandit liveblogs danganronpa #tw war #war tw #genocide tw #tw genocide #child abuse tw #tw child abuse #i hesitate to say it's my favorite dr game #but i think so far it's done the best job in terms of /story/#and cohesion of what it's trying to say and what your average player (me) gets out of it #it has a very clear story #and i just #it's a lot better game than i was led to believe it would be #a lot better game than i /thought/ it would be #and i'm honestly SO glad i bought it and played it #because i know for a while i wasn't planning on it #but i honestly really REALLY enjoyed this game

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loumands · 1 year

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I feel like many people have a fundamental misconception of what unreliable narrator means. It's simply a narrative vehicle not a character flaw or a sign that the character is a bad person. There are also many different types of unreliable narrators in fiction. Being an unreliable narrator doesn't necessarily mean that the character is 'wrong', it definitely doesn't mean that they're wrong about everything even if some aspects in their story are inaccurate, and only some unreliable narrators actively and consciously lie. Stories that have unreliable narrators also tend to deal with perception and memory and they often don't even have one objective truth, just different versions. It reflects real life where we know human memory is highly unreliable and vague and people can interpret same events very differently

#the way some people (usually lestat fans lol) talk about louis being an unreliable narrator has frustrated me #i still insist louis' unreliableness is mostly subtle (passing quickly over things he doesn't want to think about #presenting things that factually happened in a way he can build a story that makes sense to him #not knowing what lestat is thinking and feeling so interpreting him differently than lestat himself probably would)#rather than he's telling something that didn't really happen or is under armand's mind control or something #like for example i think it's been made very clear all the abuse really happened they're not gonna suddenly pull the rug from under it #if anything i feel lestat is going to turn out to be even worse than louis perceived him when we hear people who are not in love w him lol #keanu.txt

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embraceweird · 11 days

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In ep 24 "Knock Knock" I found this interaction between Kalaya and Eursulon so fascinating

Kalaya: You're a true friend of a wizard of the citadel?

Eursulon: Yes.

[...]

Kalaya: Is she kind?

Eursulon: She can be.

It felt like such a big sister thing to be cautious of this wizard and have concern for her little brother. A spirit in a world that can be unkind to wild ones such as themselves.

But more interesting than that was Eursulon's answer. "She can be." It could be interpreted as, sometimes she is kind and other times not. Which we have seen both from Suvi (wielding the power, prestige, and station of a wizard vs loving and cherishing her friends).

But it could also be interpreted in a future connotation. Like she COULD be kind but we have yet to see. Will the citadel justification machine take over or will she retain the lessons learned from grandmother wren and hold on to a respect for the world of spirits

Last Eursulon saw Suvi she was caught between her friends and the citadel. And while wizardry is not innately unkind the systems put in place by the citadel can be concerning. Suvi has the potential to go down an alarming path with the brass of the citadel pushing her along. She has the capacity to be "unkind". But the gut reactions we see from her. The Suvi reactions, not Sky or the citadel, but SUVI are always kind. With her friends in her life Suvi can be kind and would continue to be kind. But her friends keep pulling away and the fall out from the last goodbye may be very influential into who Suvi will be.

Eursulon may not have meant much by his response but it feels very ominous in that we are yet to see the type of legacy this interation of the wizard Sky is going to leave.

#this is very rambly and idk where i was going but the implications of “she can be” has been stuck in my head #and i didn't even get to the connection to Ame #the little girl who wrote “be kind” on her wall #ugh this story is so good #wbn pod #wbn: www #wbn spoilers #wbn #worlds beyond number #eursulon #kalaya #suvi #ame #wwwo spoilers #wwwo #and let me be clear I love wizards and am obsessed with the narrative potential of the citadel #no hate on wizards what so ever

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stardustdiiving · 4 months

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Me explaining in terms of strictly how I read canon I think Nahida not severely punishing the Sages is just meant to convey that Nahida, even when wronged, is not a very vengeful or harsh person and makes the choice to be kind instead, but in my mind I have this idea of a Nahida interpretation which elaborates on that where her self punishing tendencies extend to her being someone who internally downplays her own experiences constantly, and as a result has a hard time feeling she’s allowed or justified in placing a lot of blame on the Sages for what they did to her So while she is following her own philosophies regarding teaching lessons/wisdom/etc in how to handle the Sages and genuinely doesn’t want to be really angry or punishing because of who she is as a person, her decision is also influenced by the fact she’s basically blocked herself out of grappling with how to handle people who hurt her by blaming herself for said hurt instead as a coping mechanism. And like this is all just me being insane about Nahida Trauma and not something explicitly implied in canon but also I really do think this isn’t a far stretch from her canon characterization especially when my vision isn’t to conclude that Nahida needs to be angry and vengeful but she should extend the kindness she shows others to herself and also every day I get tormented thinking about she was the mental equivalent of an average human child when the Sages found her and how they basically specifically discarded her for being a child and the idea of how Nahida would pick up on + internalize that and eventually need time to unlearn it

#nahida #genshin #fern.txt #fandomferns #fictional child abuse cw #anyways is anyone else here normal #see I think a sentiment most ppl get from nahdia’s character is correctly that she is kind despite being treated so poorly #but I want to explore her grappling with Why she does that bc she is genuinely kind #and I don’t think she’s struggling with moving on from things #but based off things she says word for word I feel it’s established nahida is very distressed by not being able to rationalize or #understand things that upset her #this is clear in both her SQs & her voicelines even down to her not liking seafood bc the unknown of the ocean #intimidates her. so I’d imagine she’s someone who responds to being mistreated by concluding #there must be a reason for it. and I actually have dialogue that backs me up here #bc when we first learn the sages have imprisoned nahida nahida herself basically says it’s fine bc her existence has #little meaning and she’s not good enough to be an archon. even as paimon is remarking how awful #the sages are for it and prompting nahida on if she’s upset w them #it’s not that Nahida isn’t insightful enough to acknowledge something as mistreatment #but rather she finds more comfort and a sense of control in having explanations for things #heck the reason she gives up her gnosis to Dottore is states in her char stories to be bc #she doesn’t want the lack of control that comes from a lack of information #nahida leaning on knowledge for a sense of control makes me esp sad when I think abt how #she does not have autonomy or agency for a majority of her life bc of her imprisonment n had fo rely on her #mind n ability to learn n gain knowledge #anyways to reiterate ks anyone else normal

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carlyraejepsans · 3 months

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Do you enjoy underfell? I thought you disliked aus /genq

i don't dislike the concept of AUs itself, I'm just not a fan of like... the subculture that spawned around them in the UT fandom specifically and how it eventually took over almost all canon content (especially when it limits itself to the bros)

i like aus visually! i am an artist at heart after all. it's just that, if I'm going to care about them as stories and not just fun design ideas, my bar is uhh almost impossibly high the further you move from canon lolol.

#uf being one of those! the story is centered on certain characters (mainly asgore) behaving very ooc #so as a stickler for canon I don't have much interest in it #but there is a very clear visual idea and motif in the redesigns that ties every character together very efficiently #and also fucks like a rabid rhino #so i can appreciate its visual/aesthetic aspects instead #i mean you can't understate the impact that good *artists* specifically had on the proliferation of aus back in the day #good writing is almost inseverable from good characterization because dialogues and characterization ARE an integral part #of what makes writing good. while good art (as much as it too is tied to its own conventions) is free-er from the bounds of accuracy #as was as being easier & faster to consume. writing has to be read first. you can just look at a piece of art and go ''wow that looks sick''#without thinking about logical details/accuracy #you can show a pic of sans to an artist who's never touched the game and they might draw you the most gorgeous piece of art you've ever seen #it's significantly harder to do for writing #swap aus are a fun design challenge to see how you'd incorporate different aspects of some characters visual signatures into another #it's a game of translation of sorts. but if you want to treat it like a story well... the matter becomes a lot more complicated #answered asks #au tag

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bonefall · 3 months

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You could play with the dirty part of the canon description by having Slash and his people roll in mud to hide their scent.

Parts of the Code labelling using weapons/traps as dishonorable could have started as agreements made that Slash's people wouldn't keep using their old tactics, maybe forced on Thunder's Clan to keep them from becoming too powerful, if they DID fuse.

I'm more liable to just remove the "dirty" thing entirely honestly; I just think it's so shitty I'd like to nuke it from orbit, you get me? Every single time they want you to hate someone, they make them fat and/or stinky. I'd rather just put that kind of rhetoric in the mouths of cats like Clear Sky and The Wind Runner, a lie to demonize their enemies, not really based on truth.

I think I might take the trap stuff though; that actually fits in nicely with how ThunderClan's the only one that uses spears. I won't have it be code yet, though, that's going to come a lot later. First two commandments of the code are Borders + Mercy, followed by Law 3 when Riverstar dies in some decades.

Also gonna need a name for Slash's new group. Hey, maybe THESE guys can be called Warriors, actually. Warriors of the Forest, like what the first arc used to be called before it was renamed TPB.

#I'm imagining a scene where Thundy's still in his dad's group ''studying'' under him #And while they're in the woods one of their patroller's legs gets caught in a tree snare #And they're dangling and yowling angrily and it's the first 'experience' Thundy has with the WOTF #''Fearsome guerilla warfare techniques'' (that's just how they catch dinner)#Maybe it was Thunder Storm actually and when he recounts this story to them after they're allies the Warriors are deeply amused by it #like ''they're VERY obvious traps actually. How did you fall for it. Are you a Squirrel''#And boom that's the basis of the Gray Squirrel/Red Squirrel story #Man it would be such a dick move for Thunder Storm to get lifted up in the trap like that and Clear scares the shit out of him #With how they're going to come and kill him with all the racket he's making #if he can't get him down quickly #Like just terrifying him while he's up in the trap with lies about how horrible Slash's cats are #letting him dangle for a while and taking his time #ugh that's so clear actually I have to write that now. That's something he'd do #better bones au #BB!DOTC #BB!Slash

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coquelicoq · 3 months

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when you're the only person who keeps living through the time loop, the people around you cease to be people and become mere characters. your treatment of them doesn't matter because they're not real and they won't remember. the only way to give anything meaning is to end the loop; their actions don't affect the loop and therefore are meaningless. you're the only one who has the ability to change the future, so anything you do in service of that goal is justified.

but. kim dojka looks at yoo joonghyuk and says no, actually, these characters are people. whether they remember or not is beside the point because they are real right now. and you don't give your life meaning by achieving some accomplishment that retroactively makes everything that came before worth it - you give your life meaning in the living of it.

#'meaning' isn't a reward you get for clearing a scenario...it's something you actively create every day as you make a life #kim dokja: it's WORTH IT! i know it's worth it because we are making it worth it!!!!!#ohhhhh waoaohhohh getting a transmission to my brain...suddenly feeling the urge to rewatch palm springs (2020)#time loop fiction is sooo fucking potent like ok you can read about this person who alone out of everyone has agency #thereby alienating them from all their fellow creatures...but watch out #orv #time travel #agency #existentialism #kdj #yjh #omniscient reader's viewpoint #my posts #f #also the fact that it's kim dokja - the 'reader' - who's creating meaning...sorry excuse me. there is something in my eye.#and this is coming from the guy who is very much committed to reaching the end of the scenarios! that is very much his goal #and what he's working toward. but the meantime is not something to get through. it's life and he's choosing to live it #he's like maybe this is fiction maybe we're all characters but it doesn't matter because the story is real to the people living it #his whole thing is that he refuses the idea that the story is unchangeable. he refuses the lack of agency #he's like well i will just make my own story. i will make my own meaning #and if there's some author out there that i'm the character of well good luck keeping up with me. mwah

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zilabee · 2 months

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love everyone's theories about what George, Paul or Ringo's films might be like, but we have met men before, yeah? four films about the four beatles is definitely code for a three and a half hour bio-epic about John Lennon's important life, and then some half hearted twenty minute mini features about the other three and how much they loved John

#clear that sam mendes has got the rights to john's life story by promising these four equal films #very likely that the other three films are going to be somewhat delayed in a 'never even started them' kind of way #it's not his fault!#we know more about John!#he's just more important!#he's just more interesting!#he has a tragic backstory that the other beatles don't!#we don't know enough about Ringo to make a film!#we just made a sort of animated octopus short instead #what would you even put in a Paul film??????#he's too bland for a film!#he isn't emotionally complex in a way we've never really seen explored in cinema!#the beatles #sam mendes #john lennon #paul mccartney

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willowbirds · 2 months

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I think one of my favourite things about Laudna’s character in these recent episodes is the question of how much of Laudna is Laudna and how much is Delilah.

Laudna wanted the fire shard, but she confessed that she wasn’t sure if that was really her wanting it or if it was Delilah’s influence. So with this recent episode, was that actually Laudna who wanted the Willmaster’s power? Was it actually Laudna who called Orym ‘The Halfling’?

Laudna wants the power to protect her friends and Delilah is right there, willingly giving it to her. Why shouldn’t she take it?

With who Laudna is it’s completely understandable why she thinks that way, but this leads to Delilah having more control over Laudna, making it harder for the two to separate.

Laudna went back to being herself after the Willmaster turned to ash, but still in the back of her mind, Delilah is there. Waiting for Laudna to feed her another soul.

#I’m just making it VERY CLEAR that I absolutely love the way Laudna’s story is going and I am really excited to see what happens next!#Delilah has been a villain that was definitely menacing in previous campaigns but Vox Machina would just kill her and be done with it #But for BH? Delilah isn’t just a person they can kill. She is linked to Laudna’s soul and it they kill her they could kill Laudna #Her threat is much bigger in this instance and I’m excited to see the repercussions after all this moon business #critical role #critical role spoilers #laudna

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haunted-xander · 1 month

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BBS is a tragedy in many ways, but one of the things that gets me is that the catalyst, the one big thing that caused this mess to begin with, is so avoidable.

Like, the story starts primarily because Terra starts to fear himself (because of the darkness he has unwittingly 'used') and this causes a spiral of doubt and obsession. A spiral which he could've escaped from or maybe not even started if he just 1) had been taught the balance between light and dark properly (that darkness is more than just unquestionable evil, that light is more than unquestionable good, that they can and should co-exist in balance), and 2) had consistent socialization from more than the same 3 people.

Like. BBS is a cautionary tale about what happens when people aren't exposed to a wide enough variety of people and, therefore, end up naive and overly trusting because they never learned that people have ulterior motives. Terra is consistently manipulated and used by people literally everywhere he goes, because he can't see that they might not have the best intentions! He can't see the red flags because he doesn't know there are red flags to look for!

Xehanort knows this. It's why he targeted Terra to begin with: because he would be susceptable to his words. The main reason he couldn't use Aqua is because she was too confident in her own values, she didn't have the seed of doubt that Terra had. It's the only thing that prevents her from being used the same way he is, even though she is just as naive and trusting as he is.

Ven probably has it the worst socialization wise. Unlike Terra and Aqua who, presumably, has/had a family and life outside of the Land of Departure prior to beginning training there, Ven doesn't remember anything before then (not that he had much he'd be happy to remember anyway). And since he's the youngest and most 'fragile' one (due to being in recovery for most of his time here), he gets somewhat coddled and shielded by everyone else. Not to mention the way Eraqus completely forbid him from leaving and never intented for him to ever see worlds outside the Land of Departure. Sure, Terra and Aqua aren't typically supposed to leave either, but at least they'd be allowed in certain situations. Ven wouldn't.

Ven isn't allowed to interact with anyone outside of home. He's not allowed anything that involves the outer worlds. (He and Naminé are a bit alike in that sense. Though at least the people he's stuck with are nice to Ven and do genuinely care for him, unlike Naminé...)

BBS happens largely because Eraqus failed as both a teacher and a parental figure to all of them, but Terra most of all.

#started bbs again and had feelings. not sorry #so much of the story in general (but ESPECIALLY terras part) happens the way it does bc eraqus was a flawed man with flawed values #he taught his pupils a rigidly black and white worldview that doesnt work when put to practice #and he isolated them from the outside world meaning they lack so so much necessary knowledge and exposure #its why they were so much more susceptable to manipulation and misdirection than someone like sore #who is also largely trusting #but he has had proper socialization and exposure to different people as he grew up #that he can tell good and ill intent apart #but its also like.#at the point where the story starts its already too late #because the damage is done #they cant undo the flawed teachings and under-exposure in an instant #eraqus failed to see the consequences for his teachings- that by demonizing darkness he makes it a source of fear #and as he himself said: fear leads to obsession and obsession feeds the darkness #and obsession he unwittingly stoked by creating said fear #also just to be clear this is not meant as eraqus hate he is a complicated man who made mistakes #but nevertheless meant well and could never have forseen just how badly his teachings wouldve made things #OUGH its a complicated situation and none of them are really at fault!#(except xehanort)#(he is very much directly at fault)#terra #aqua #ventus #eraqus #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts birth by sleep #kh #kh bbs #xander rambles

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tsireyast · 2 months

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I feel like we dont talk about one of the main reasons nico was ostracized at camp, not just because hes a son of hades.

Camp half blood is small enough so that rumors and information spread fast, but that doesn't mean they are always right. So imagine you're a random camper, and you're told nico, one of the new campers, gets in a big fight with Percy. During which he makes skeletons appear and somehow opens a huge crack in the floor. But percy wins and nico leaves camp.

Don't you think it would've rang a bell?

Don't you think it would've reminded them too much of two summers ago, with luke?

Dont you think everyone would've been even more scared, because now they know nico is a child of hades, one of the big three, and therefore very powerful?

There must have been so many rumors that summer of nico being part of the kronos army. Betraying camp just like luke did.

Of course after the battle of manhattan many people would've changed their minds. Hes in their side now, after all. But there are probably still many campers who think nico left them to join luke, before he changed their mind and helped them win against luke and kronos. People who still hold a grudge against him for joining the "enemy".

#i havent read the battle of the labyrinth in a while so aorry if this gets cleared up by then #ive never really seen anyone talk about this #nico being a son of hades cant be the only reason hes not well liked by camp #of course hes just emo and traumatized and thinks everyone hates him when they dont but i dont think he was exactly popular at camp #and also this has been in my mind for a few days #i just love nico hes so sad and traumatized #my poor little guy #he got misjudged by so many people for a out of context rumor that got changed and twisted as it spread #obviously at first percy told the truth to chiron and annabeth andnother people who came to ask “yo what happened with the new kid”#(will definitely asked him) (he met nico in the infirmary and had a crush on him since)#i mean everyone must have been curious as to why the floor of the dining pavillion was all broken #but as rumors do it just turned into a broken telephone situation where the story got more and more dramatic #if you asked some (very exaggerated)people they would tell you he tried to kill percy and he was actually sent by luke to camp #percy jackson #pjo #camp half blood #heroes of olympus #nico di angelo #solangelo #pjo headcanon #percy series

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vethbrenatto · 2 years

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This group that you used to work with, the Nobodies, do you resent them for all leaving you? Absolutely fucking not, I would have done the same. They very, very smartly took off and I very, very happily took the debt. It’s what you do for family, you fucking take care of them.

What happens your past trauma does not loosen their grip? I suppose my first instinct would be to break its fingers.

I’m out.

#critical role #bells hells #creations #ashton greymoore #cr spoilers #c3e33 #4-sided dive #c3e32 #laudna #marisha ray #okay so i'm sure this is not the most clear throughline on a gifset but i did want to make it #so i'll explain a little in the tags #ashton's life and story thus far being so determined by FEAR.#as in the caption we get this thing from very early on of their trauma with the nobodies and how they say they'd do the same #but we also hear they took the debt FOR their family. a person who would do that wouldn't just run and leave family behind would they?#and then the convo with laudna and HER fear. and his response that he'd break the fingers of his trauma. implying facing it head on.#more words in the direction that ashton would fight rather than flee alongside his barbarian nature #but even within that laudna (and marisha. and ashley. and sam.) see that he's scared. he's scared of jiana. he's scared of the past.#and then in e33 after being downed so fast by otohan they can feel it happening again #and their fear reaction drives them because my god it can't happen again he won't be the fall guy again he has to leave to get out to RUN-#we keep seeing it: the perception ashton gives off and the words they say contradict them #and it's INTERESTING

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theosconfessions · 5 months

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if youd like to read the stephens from the beginning you can over here :)

if youd like to read the stephens continued you can over here:)

@ohsosims

river- wait..you didnt tell me that

blake- HE DIDNT TELL YOU? yeah eh came into my job and said i reminded him of himself just more of a pussy and i was like DAMNNNN MR KLINE.. like i get it i really do get it. id be the same way if when nellie was older and some dbag playboy tried to snatch her up like i did you.....

river- oh you snatched me up ?

blake- oh i didnt realize that was still up for debate? thought i had you on lockdown after swiping that v card

river- well you dont.

blake- ohhh shit okay .. okay. [smirks] noted.. i can do better than just the movies and taking you back to my place to screw your brains out.

river- again youre being presumptious

blake- again youre using big words,riv. no idea what youre saying.

river- for one,blake, youre smarter than you realize.and secondly im not just some whore you try to break into my dads bars with SO

blake- oh i see. okay. yeah lets talk about it. luckily wer're good right .we're tested..and wer'e negative..but that was dumb of me to be so careless with you . i am sorry. and its not going to happen again. IN FACT. im going to spend whatever time i can ..do whatever i can. to make sure you know you can trust me.no more 'whores' no more bars. no more dry humping in mr bs class room..oh wait... you did that WITH ME

river- shut up [smirks]

blake- but i really am sorry riv

riv- i know but im not like that. that quick. i mean isla and i never did anything so i have no idea...

blake- no i know. and i know youre not. its easy to get swept up with you

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media-illiterate · 2 months

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Fallout 4 Alternate Timeline

Because @datura-tea asked about my tags on this post, and I already have it sitting in my wips folder, I thought I'd post my alternate timeline of events for Fallout 4! It always bothered me that the Commonwealth is still so underdeveloped while the West Coast has trains and a working electical grid. So I tried to come up with a coherent narrative of how it could have backslid into its current state.

Timeline under the readmore because it is, not short.

2077: The Great War occurs. The surviving students and faculty of CIT take refuge in the institute’s underground particle-physics labs, locking the rest of the wasteland out. They live in fear of being discovered by other survivors and raided for their tech, making them paranoid and isolationist.

2097: Building on prewar research, CIT survivors complete development of their Mass Relay teleportation device. Dubbing themselves simply as The Institute, they fully wall themselves off from the surface world and embark on an ambitious plan of underground expansion, scavenging what they need from the surface.

2131: The Institute develops gen-1 synths to act as surface operatives, mostly removing the need for Institute personnel to go to the surface. Now mostly insulated from violence, the Institute much more callous and combative towards surface dwellers.

2163: The Institute isolates samples of FEV from the air, and begins a program of carefully controlled mutation. The resulting supermutants are found lacking, and the program is put on hold.

2176: The Commonwealth People's Government is formed from several prominent settlements. The new nation takes steps to protect its people from the Institute’s aggressive scavenging methods, earning its ire. Though the institute takes steps to try and destabilize the CPG, their new gen-2 synths prove insufficient for the task.

2177: Reactivating their FEV program, the Institute begin producing supermutants from kidnapped wastelanders and releasing them into the commonwealth with the intent to destabilize the CPG. Through careful false-flag attacks using disguised synths, they manage to spark a state of war between the mutants and surface humans that will last for more than a century.

2180: The newly formed Commonwealth Minutemen, a volunteer citizen’s militia created by the CPG, help drive off the initial wave of supermutants from central Boston.

2180-2224: Tensions between the Institute and CPG continue to escalate. Though the efforts of the Institute’s FEV project hampers the young nation’s expansion, the supermutants are too disorganized and scattered to topple the government. Faced with an increasingly cohesive and rapidly developing CPG, the Institute begins work on its Gen-3 synth infiltrator project.

2225: The Institute discovers information on Vault 111. Preparations are made for an expedition to recover a pristine pre-war genetic code from one of the pre-war vault dwellers in cryostasis.

2227: The part where they murder your spouse and steal your kid happens.

2229: An early model synth infiltrator "malfunctions" in downtown Diamond city, exposing the existence of Gen-3 synths to the world. The cause of the malfunction is never found, though escaped synths often claim that it was an intentional suicide-by-cop.

2230: Realizing the security threat posed by the new Gen-3 synths, mid-ranking members of the CPG's nascent spy corps founds the town of Covenant over top of an abandoned tunnel network. Posing as a new settlement, almost no one outside the project know its true purpose: the town is actually a front for researching a method to discern humans from Gen-3 synths.

2233: The Institute begins its infiltration of the CPG using upgraded Gen-3 synths, killing & replacing key individuals at all levels of power. Though paranoia about synths continues to build, most fail to anticipate just how far the tech has advanced.

2235: The Institute finalizes development of an advanced model of Gen-4 synth, dubbed Coursers. Incorporating FEV and cybernetic enhancements, Coursers form an elite corps of assassins that eliminate anyone who learns about the Institute’s plans.

(Side note: I think coursers should have been so much weirder)

2237: Having completed their infiltration of the CPG, the Institute kicks off their plan to topple the CPG.

August 4: The Executive Chair of the CPG council, Robert Gray, is assassinated by his secretary in broad daylight. During the assassination and subsequent arrest, the secretary loudly declares that the Chair has been replaced by an Institute Synth.

August 12: Scandal breaks out as evidence of massive financial corruption is leaked to the public. Protests occur across the commonwealth as the full scope becomes clear.

August 26: A special election is held, and voters elect minister of transportation Patricia Weiss as Chair. She delivers a hawkish election speech warning the Institute to back down.

September 10: A portion of the CPG stages a coup, using claims of mass election fraud as justification amid mass public unrest. They capture most of the CPG council members, and declare them traitors to the people of the commonwealth. Weiss escapes and sets up a government-in-exile out of Quincy with the remaining CPG military. She issues a two week ultimatum to the coup’s leaders, demanding that they release the counselors and surrender.

September 20: Before the date of the ultimatum passes, the CPG council is executed via mass firing squad in the CPG council chambers. Public dissent boils over into active civil war. The Minutemen quickly declare neutrality, but their attempts to protect outlying settlements are hampered by the widespread violence and lack of volunteers.

October 30: Under the guise of a ceasefire negotiation, the coup regime arrests Weiss. She is put through a kangaroo court and hanged as a synth infiltrator, to the shock of the public.

November: Multiple settlements withdraw from the CPG as the violence escalates, Bunker Hill and Goodneighbor first among them. The CPG civil war begins to peter out as both sides lose support, and numerous CPG military units defect to become raiders in search of pay.

December: Loyalist forces gain the upper hand, begin a reign of terror style purge of the remaining CPG officials, and declare the coup defeated. Weakened by the withdrawal of numerous settlements in reaction to the violence of the purge, the Loyalist government promptly collapses. Remnants of the rebel CPG forces attempt to declare a new government out of University Point, but fail to attract any major settlements.

2238: The CPG totally collapses. The remnants of its military forces, both loyalist and rebel, defect to the gunners en masse; many, disillusioned with military life, become raiders. Only the Minutemen command staff, operating out of Fort Independence, remain cohesive.

The collapse of the CPG ushers in an era of violence lasting decades as raider warlords exploit the chaos to carve the Commonwealth up into bandit fiefdoms.

Rumors begin to circulate that several of the key players of the CPG’s collapse were secretly synths. In truth, the entire chain of events was planned to a T, and leaders on all sides had been replaced. Only the Minutemen were overlooked, being seen by the Institute as just ragtag volunteers.

Several synth infiltrators defect from the Institute, seeking a way to free themselves and their peers. The organization they found will eventually grow into the Railroad.

Covenant, its secrecy miraculously intact, becomes radicalized by the fall of the CPG. Their methods become more desperate and more barbaric as time goes on.

2240's: The Minutemen begin rebuilding support for the CPG among the populace, striking back against the raider warlords and defending settlements from their depredations.

2250: Supermutant attacks increase sharply as the Institute releases more and more mutants onto the surface in an attempt to stop the Minutemen from reforming the CPG.

2274: After weathering two decades of freaquent supermutant attacks, Fort Independence finally falls at the hand of a mirelurk queen; unknown to anyone on the surface, this was the work of the Institute, who used their advanced signals technology to drive the creature into a frenzy.

2282: General Becker dies, leaving the Minutemen leaderless. The militia quickly declines, becoming disorganized and factional; raiders quickly exploit the chaos.

2285: Disgusted by his role in the Institute’s FEV program, Doctor Brian Virgil sabotages the program, mutates himself, and escapes into the glowing sea with the accumulated research. Distraught by the sudden lack of new reinforcements, the commonwealth mutants face an extinction crisis. Many begin to question their way of life, among them a mutant named Strong.

2288: The Sole Survivor wakes up.

#I don't think this is perfect but I do personally think it has a lot more coherence than fallout 4's baseline story #The Institute being both totally disconnected from reliant on and genuinely terrified of the surface would go a long way to explain things #Coupled with dehumanization and insulation from the consequences it becomes very clear how they would turn out Like That(tm)#Explaining the massive amount of raiders as being a bunch of competing bandit warlords also makes way more sense than 'its just like that'#This would preferably go with a remake of the raiders as. y'know. a bunch of competing bandit gangs rather than a bunch of violent randos #The power vacuum being artificially maintained by the Institute so they can continue to use the surface like a larder ties it all up nicely #fallout 4 #fallout 4 meta

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