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#this is my opinion and feel free to disagree with it
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𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐞𝐧/𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝
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(This is just my opinion feel free to disagree but please be respectful!)
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Rhaenyra Targaryen
Now in the modern day I feel like royalty wouldn’t be such a big thing for the Targaryen’s so like yeah they might have the biggest business that runs Westeros and it’s seven cities but no throne would be involved so basically her and her younger siblings would not really be rivals at all, she actually is quite fond of all four of them and has her own fashion line/ or I do see her building up her own business but I see Rhaenyra Targaryen the best dressed woman in Westeros since she was a child being a huge fashion icon and designer, now in modern day she of course would neither need Viserys to choose her husband so evidently I see her meeting Harwin when she has a drunken run in with the police when she is 19 and he takes her home instead of going down to the station so we have that, they get married a few years later and have exactly 6 kids, yup six with Jace, Luke, Joff, Aegon, Viserys, and Visenya. Now I see Rhaenyra being a cool mom like allowing the kids to have friends over she would provide the best snacks and order food, clothing wise I see her dressed in wine and crimson reds, black, and I see her in maroon/dark purples, she feels comfortable in pantsuits mostly she also enjoys braiding her silver long hair extravagantly and she is totally a sip on wine and charcuterie board girlie, she also owns this cute cat named Syrax who is spoiled and lazy but serves like her owner.
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Aegon Targaryen
Now Aegon is nothing like in the show (because I say so!) but he is a little immature and he cannot be trusted with his adult money at all, like he will spend it all. Definitely has a man cave and his house/apartment gives off Ken’s mojo dojo casa energy, I don’t see much of a paternal bone in his body but he is great with the kids! (In his own way) and no incest here it is not normalized in the modern world(or at all but anyways) everything he wears is definitely brand named and he is a shoe head I purely believe that, drank a lot in college but went to rehab and got better, hasn’t touched a drink in forever, got himself a golden retriever rescue which he named Sunfyre. He has never had a serious relationship, he hasn’t tried to either so I believe in him somewhat.
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Helaena Targaryen
She is like a modern Stevie Nicks/fairy aesthetic like girlie, she is also a single mom to three (no man deserves this perfect girl :( she definitely is a cool momma, she owns a doggy named Dreamfyre, Jaehaerys got his own pup which he named Shykros and Jaehaera is a little different and got a small lizard (Helaena is all for a bigger reptile but Haerys opposed and Alicent said she would no longer visit if a huge reptile was in their home) and Maelor got a kitten of his own (I cannot think of a name he would give it) I see hel wearing lots of blues and yellows, whites even and she definitely wears crystal rings/ jewelry in general, she also loves to use different colored eyeshadows and liner and it just gives her an ethereal look, definitely is her thing and all of Westeros tries it because of her<3 she loves insects and has cute little insect decor in her home like cute little embroided pieces and paintings, loves going to cute cafe’s and bakeries with her babies and taking nice pictures🩵 and def uses the blue heart emoji the most. Definitely closest to Rhaenyra and Aemond (also Daeron maybe) definitely owns her own little book/crystal shop where she sells all the best books, candles, trinkets, anything to do with crystals, knitted scarfs that are so cute, needle work and knitting supplies and it definitely gives off cottage/fairy/insect core
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Aemond Targaryen
Definitely has a hair care routine, I said it, also all his clothing is dark colored, dark reds and greens, loads of black clothing and grey clothing too, definitely wears a good ol sneaker (Converse/Vans) mostly the classic black and white ones, owns doc martins for sure, was the top of his classes all throughout high-school, college, and university, wears rings and chains but not excessively, knows how to style himself correctly, will either be covered in tattoos or have discreet ones no in between! Definitely runs one of the fam businesses and that’s when Viserys sees all the potential he has. He has this dark kinda aura to him and also is very serious but a complete gentleman, he did lose his eye and yes to Luke but I headcannon that they played with the family heirloom dagger and when Luke was swinging it he sliced Aemond, the family kinda separated but Rhaenyra paid for all medical costs and even wanted to pay for a prosthetic eye (she did) it took a while for the family to go back to normal but it did happen. Definitely goes to the sept (equivalent to a church) with Alicent so she doesn’t go alone or feel alone but he isn’t too close with the faith anymore. I see him owning a Doberman or Great Dane named Vhagar. Adores his nieces, Visenya and Jaehaera are his biggest prides.
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Daeron Targaryen
He is def the youngest like in his teen years, is a genius academically and socially can be a little clueless but he still gets it mostly, owns a beautiful dog named Tessarion. On the school soccer team for sure and he definitely has a job in retail with friends, definitely loves video games and would walk into the kitchen with his headset and controller in hand to get chips while Alicent tells him to wait until after dinner, has a entire closet dedicated to hoodies of all colors/brands. Closest with Hel, mommas boy 100%.
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Alicent Hightower
Isn’t a sibling but she is mother! Now modern wise she isn’t as intense as in the show, obviously she doesn’t hate Rhaenyra either and no they were not friends she actually was a few (very few) years older than her when she married Viserys, she hates her husband though, her frontal lobe wasn’t even developed when she married him but she formed an unlikely alliance with Rhae, she is religious but not as much as in the show, she you know wears the seven pointed star and visits the septs, definitely is a queen at hosting events and holidays. Great at sowing and alternating clothes, does fundraisers and huge donations to charities also does charity for the sept, MILF! Oh I’m sorry what who said that 😏, is a fashion icon and dresses in greens/blacks/ even reds. Has the best hair in Westeros! And she wasn’t fond of animals but made a friend in Balerion the dog Viserys has but doesn’t take care of, he rests at her feet while she sews/reads, Also speaking of reading she loves classic literature, sips wine while she cooks and does yoga and meditation you cannot convince me that she doesn’t.
So these are pretty much headcannons I have for the modern Targ/towers and I will do a part two for Hels kids and Rhae’s kids including Baela and Rhaena, hope you all enjoyed this little blurb I put together 💗
@madame-fear a little first work 💗
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aeithalian · 3 days
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People know that Jason was aware of Leo's survival. What they're pissed about is that they never reunited.
The "purpose" of Jason's death was to make Apollo feel bad. It was not done to service his story or character development and in fact squandered any chance for that. That's not a tragedy, it's wasteful writing.
I said exactly what I meant: I have seen multiple times, across multiple types of media, people use any combination of the words: "it's so sad that Jason died without knowing Leo was alive". That misinformation specifically is what I'm talking about, coming from fans who didn't read toa and are getting their information from people who also didn't read toa. I understand not liking the fact that they never reunited, and please don't take this to mean that I'm not in that group of people, but the former statement is just not true, and that's what I find frustrating.
And we can argue all we want on the merits of Jason's death, and I dare say that no two people are going to completely 100% agree, so don't come back swinging if you don't. Personally, I think Rick wrote it to be a tragedy: Jason never got all of his memories back, never got to see Leo again, and never got to put his plans to recognize all the minor gods into action. To me, the fact that Jason died before he reached his goals (and this is true of any character death) is what makes it tragic. "Squandering" character development is almost synonymous to that, albeit with harsher language - it's an unfinished story is all it is. And 'wasteful writing' entails that Jason's goals were never realized, even after he died, but I'd argue that's kind of the point of the impact it had on Apollo's character, who promised at the end of the book that he would remember the promise he made to Jason and, by extension, keep his dreams alive. Yes, it made Apollo feel bad, and that is the only immediate aftereffect we see, but that is an aftereffect of death in general, even outside of fictional children's books. Yet to say that the only purpose of Jason's death was to make Apollo feel bad is an overgeneralization of the effect that it did have on Apollo's character. Jason's death was the major catalyst of Apollo's character development, and it's not like character deaths aren't used in similar ways across so many other types of storytelling - the only difference is the fact that Jason was an established character, which makes it sting more, which again, is the point.
Jason died in a story that wasn't his own, so of course his death didn't service him. But does character death really service anyone? To me, no. But that's what makes it tragic. Using the term 'wasteful writing' entails that it didn't have a purpose at all, which I'd argue (and anon disagrees with) is not true.
idk, just my opinion. feel free to add on, but please keep it respectful up in here.
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billfarrah · 1 year
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Simon’s journey to find his own voice and autonomy in season 2 after being constantly tossed aside and silenced by the people around him is something that’s grown more powerful for me the more I’ve sat with the season over time. Yes, he’s a young teen who had his heartbroken and spends a lot of time in his feelings about that, but he consistently tries to take control over his life and his situation, and while he doesn’t always succeed and makes some bad decisions (Marcus being the #1 bad decision), he does it because he’s trying, in his way, to fight back on everything and everyone that’s done him dirty in the past. That’s why he sets the terms on his interactions with Wille, that’s why he quits the rowing team when he’s getting mistreated, despite believing he needs it to get better grades, that’s why he fights back against Jan-Olof for taking away his solo, that’s why he walks out on Wille when he realizes Wille hasn’t been honest with him about August, and that’s why he walks away from Sara when he discovers she also withheld the truth about August from him (and fell in love with him, no less).
Simon wants very much the same things that all of the other principle characters in the show want - love, acceptance, freedom - but unlike his privileged classmates (and even his own sister when she moves into the school and becomes one of them), he’s the one that’s always getting the short end of the stick and has to try so much harder to get what he wants, and we see him constantly fighting this throughout season 2. He doesn’t initially realize he’s fighting the same issue with Marcus - who is constantly controlling the pace of their relationship and talking over Simon - because he has it in his head that moving on should be good for him.
That’s why it’s so powerful when Simon pulls Wille aside before the Jubilee and tells him what he wants and what he’s willing to do to get it, and Wille stays completely silent and lets Simon have his voice (unlike Marcus who wouldn’t let Simon communicate his own reasons for ending their relationship and constantly speaking over him through their entire relationship), then immediately, through his speech, sets Simon free so that Simon will never have to be silenced due to his association with Wille ever again. Their relationship feels earned because Wille consciously works to undue the inequality he created in their relationship. Simon stays absolutely firm in his principles and is critical in Wille developing an understanding that actions have consequences for people outside of the sheltered bubble he grew up in, as his personal revenge on August satisfied him but did absolutely nothing for Simon. They may not know each other that well yet, but what they developed over the course of season 2 was a bond of deep respect and solidarity, and I’m more intrigued now to see how they continue to develop in the finale.
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poorly-drawn-mdzs · 7 months
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Gaslighter? I hardly know her!
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caligvlasaqvarivm · 3 months
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CLASSES - a comprehensive guide
The first thing that needs to be said is that there is no such thing as a "bad" class. All of them have the potential to be a great detriment OR great boon to the rest of the team, depending on how far along the journey of self-actualization a party member is. Some may have steeper challenges, but this corresponds with greater rewards.
The second thing that needs to be said is that all players are part of a team, and all personal journeys and playstyles are interlinked. No class is truly "solo." Even the smallest viable session is still two people, and even the most suitable classes for solo play are stronger when they're in a party.
The last thing that needs to be said is that the game wants you to succeed. The game, inherently, wants every player to reach godhood, wants every player to self-actualize, wants every player to win. It respects free will and free choice, so it will allow for failures (and, indeed, doomed timelines are vital to the alpha one existing), but Skaia is ultimately optimistic, and tries at every turn to ensure that a golden ending is possible.
Because, after all, SBURB/SGRUB - and Homestuck itself - are about children growing up, maturing, and learning compassion for each other. About fixing their flaws and rejecting the negative aspects of the society they came from. It's about how it is our duty, our responsibility, to become kind, mature people who care about one another, because we will one day be responsible for creating a new society.
And so, without further ado:
ACTIVE (-) Classes and PASSIVE (+) Classes are described with the dichotomy of "powers working for the self" vs. "powers working for others," but I believe this to be an oversimplification of what the active and passive split is. Both active AND passive classes benefit from being in a party; however, an active class will gain fewer party benefits in exchange for being more suited for solo play, while a passive class will be less suited for solo play, but confer much greater benefits to party play.
This is reflected in their personal quests: while active classes and passive classes will both require intervention, empathy, and guidance from their teammates, the struggle of an active class is usually one of grappling with internal flaws, and the struggle of a passive class is one of grappling with interpersonal or societal relations. In other words, the personal quest of an active player will usually involve getting therapized, while the personal quest of a passive player will usually involve addressing a systemic societal issue. Often, both will be required, but whether a class is active or passive will indicate an area of focus.
KNIGHT - / MAID +
PARTY MANAGEMENT
one who wields [aspect] or leads with [aspect] / one who distributes [aspect] or manages with [aspect]
KNIGHTS (-) are a very flexible and versatile class; "wielding" their aspect does not necessarily mean they are skilled at DPS. It actually indicates the way a knight interacts with their aspect, a very straightforward relationship of tradesperson and tool, or soldier and weapon. Similarly, while a knight does not always take up the "leader" position in the party, they will be the "spearhead," a point behind which the other players rally, a beating heart keeping the party together.
This straightforward relationship between a knight and their aspect leads to knights finding little difficulty mastering their aspect once they've begun. Many knights are, in fact, instinctively drawn toward utilizing their aspect, in the same way that they are naturally drawn toward roles of importance or heroism.
Knights often struggle with their perceived place in society, as well as with their innate sense of self and self-worth, seeing themselves as outcasts, resenting the responsibility placed on their shoulders, and fearing vulnerability. Unaddressed, these issues will lead to knights who actively become a detriment to party success. For example, they can dismiss valid concerns, shirk their duties, and in the worst case scenario, actively lead the party down the wrong path, invoking their natural ability to lead for ill.
Therefore, a knight's journey is one of accepting themselves and accepting their duty to better the world. It is about coming to terms with their own insecurities and learning to rely on others. It is about learning to take responsibility, and accepting the banner of a just and glorious cause.
A fully realized knight will be the center of every charge, the guiding star behind which the other players rally. They can provide clarity and guidance to those still on their journeys, and peace and comfort to those who are struggling or in pain. Where the knight goes, the party will follow, as a unified and united front.
MAIDS (+), meanwhile, tend to be on the backlines. If the knight is the forward march, then the maid is the supply line, an incredibly vital role whose absence is disastrous, even if its presence is nearly invisible. Maids have a nearly infinite well of their aspect to distribute, and are uniquely talented at managerial duties - keeping players on task, patching up the holes in a plan, sourcing and supplying resources, so on and so forth.
This is not to say that maids are relegated to support roles - a maid is usually capable of holding their own in combat just fine, especially if they've been endowed with a more combat-suited aspect. Both knights and maids are extremely versatile. That being said, maids truly shine when they're able to take on these backline roles, and many maids are more noticeable by the devastating effects of their absence rather than the invisible touch of their presence.
However, they are the class that most often starts in subservient conditions - low status, strict duties enforced upon them, so on - and their personal journey is a constant struggle against the control of others. Maids whose parties fail to grapple with and undo these shackling forces will find their maids succumbing to the influence or control of malicious entities; in the worst-case scenario, a maid can become an actively hostile enemy or saboteur, invisibly pulling the party's strings and setting them up for failure.
Therefore, a maid's journey is about rejecting societal oppression and throwing off the chains that bind them. A successful maid rises to become the head of the household - nothing occurs within the game that does not first pass the maid's inspection, and their touch ensures that there is a place for everything, and everything is in its place.
A free maid, who belongs to themselves, incomparably increases a party's efficiency. Every communication line is clear, every distribution route is clean, every mystery is solvable, and every plan is airtight. A maid guarantees that nothing can ever go too wrong.
PAGE - / HEIR +
TEAM BONDING
one who must earn [aspect] or inherits the mantle of [aspect] / one who is beloved by [aspect] or awakens to [aspect]
PAGES (-) start the game with the fewest benefits from their aspects, but the greatest potential for growth. Theirs is a constant battle with the self; they are often cowardly and naive. They possess sensitive souls, and while it is incredibly easy to hurt a page, it's much more difficult to build them up. Because of the difficulty of raising this class, it's practically defined by its journey - a constant struggle against the self - rather than its destination, and the powers the class confers.
Pages, like heirs, are classes of inheritance. A page is promoted by trials and tribulations and comes to inherit a greater power than they begin with; in the same way, the class will one day come to embody its aspect, although the road will always be turbulent and long. Moreover, it is a journey without end; pages, being as sensitive as they are, are the most prone to backwards progress, even after reaching their peak.
They prone to staying weak throughout the entire game, never self-actualizing past being the party joke. They attract the obsession and ridicule of stronger-willed players, and their mistreatment can become extremely divisive. A page can easily become a party's albatross, the epicenter of massive interpersonal conflicts, which can tank an entire session.
Therefore, a page's journey is one of the most difficult of all - that of teaching others how to care about other people. Pages rely on great patience, kindness, and understanding. Their sensitive souls must be carefully nurtured and propagated with love and attention. In the same way that a page can tear a team apart, they can bring a team together, all in the name of compassion and empathy. A fully-realized page is the symbol of a party that has linked hands with one another.
Self-actualized pages, as a result of the difficulty inherent to the class, are incredibly powerful and versatile when fully realized. Inheriting the mantle of their aspect, they become pure embodiments of their aspect, capable of achieving impossible feats of raw, unfiltered power, and inspiring all those who gaze upon them.
HEIRS (+) begin the game very strong, but have a difficult time becoming stronger. This is because their usage of their aspect is very instinctual to them, even at times being entirely beyond their control, hence, "beloved by" in the class description. However, because of how naturally their aspect comes to them, it makes taking further command of their powers difficult.
An heir "awakens to" their aspect because their natural, intuitive control often renders them too comfortable to grasp the greater implications of their class. As an inheritance class, heirs can come to embody their aspect, transforming entirely into it. Their challenge lies in breaking out of their comfortable shell and learning how to utilize their powers in more active, intentional ways.
This is reflected in their personal quests. They are often set to inherit great privilege or wealth prior to entering the game, and are thus naive to the realities of the suffering and pain of others. Without a supportive party willing to challenge their views, heirs can perpetuate that pain by submitting to their place in the world, becoming a divisive force within the party, or, in the worst case, losing themselves to their inheritance, and submitting so wholly to their aspect that they become lost to the rest of the team.
Thus, an heir's journey is to question the stratification of the society they belong to, so that they can recognize and address its flaws. They must learn to interrogate their inheritance, separate it from themselves, and reconcile with it. Theirs is an arc of examination and understanding, descending from their position of privilege and peace to learn about the suffering of others, and deciding that they wish to do something about it.
With full command over their aspect, and a clear vision for how it ought to be distributed, the party gains a new and powerful ally - the aspect itself, which will come to embrace the entire party as family. A fully-realized heir connects the privileged and underprivileged, spreading their inheritance to all.
MAGE - / SEER +
GUIDANCE
one who invokes [aspect] or is drawn to [aspect] / one who comprehends [aspect] or is guided by [aspect]
MAGES (-) are a class of prophets, although saying they "see the future" is misleading. Rather, mages "invoke" the future, collapsing causality to align to their desires. Most mages remain unaware that they are doing so until well into their journey. While all players weigh on the scale of causality, affecting both past and future events, and which sequence of events is the "alpha" sequence, mages have the most direct effect.
Because of this ability to invoke future events, mages possess powerful buffing/debuffing abilities. Furthermore, as one of the two knowledge classes, a mage usually has a very deep understanding of their aspect, and an intuitive knowledge of how the flow of time and causality function. They are "drawn to" their aspects in this way, instinctively searching out points where their influence can affect the flow of events.
However, with great power comes great cost; the mage class is usually assigned to those who are stricken by tragedies and prone to negativity and self-loathing. Mages often begin the game as a detriment to the party, "prophesying" future events that leave the party - including themselves - at a disadvantage. In the worst case scenario, a mage can invoke certain doom for their party or themselves.
Therefore, it is vital that a mage address their tragedies and be given a chance to heal and grow. The ones most struck by tragedy, theirs is a journey of reclaiming lost joy and rediscovering lost hope. However, the transformation is powerful once completed - as the one who suffers tragedy and loss most intimately, a mage can also come to be one of the most empathetic and compassionate members of the team.
If a mage is uplifted, and capable of believing in a kinder and gentler world, then their ability to invoke the future - and the aspects of their aspect that they are drawn to - become kinder, as well. Pain and suffering still have their place, but the ending will be a happy one. With a fully empowered mage, the future will always be better than what came before.
SEERS (+) see multiple branching paths. A mage determines where a road will be built, but a seer tells you where a road CAN be built. They are also often gifted with knowledge of the game and its mechanics, and are especially uniquely gifted with understanding of their own abilities. In this way, they "comprehend" their aspect.
Seers themselves are not particularly gifted in combat through their classpect alone; however, in exchange, they often play a vital role in steering the party. They are the game's built-in guides, with an intuitive knowledge of the game's victory conditions, as well as an instinctive desire to lead others along their paths. Seers are, therefore, one of the most important classes in the game, when one is present.
However, the ability to see is a burden as well as a gift. Seers find themselves paralyzed by choice, and often doubt their own abilities to choose "correctly." They are prone to becoming mired in what-ifs, and struggle with political or ethical debates with no clear answers. In the worst-case scenario, a seer may feel so cursed by their sight that they self-destruct, and deliberately choose poor or incomprehensible answers, in an attempt to free themselves of their sight.
Thus, a seer's quest is, ironically, to see the world beyond the purview of their aspect. They must come to have a more comprehensive understanding of the world they live in, and what purpose they are trying to achieve, so that they can feel confident in the choices they make. A seer is often blind - their journey, therefore, is that of regaining their vision, by connecting with the world outside their inner sight.
A seer with a clear vision for the future will always know exactly which path to choose. A party with such a seer in it will never be stuck and never be lost. If there exists a path to self-actualization, the seer will know it. And if there exists a path to a breathless and perfect victory, a fully-realized seer will light the way.
THIEF - / ROGUE +
UTILITY
one who steals [aspect] from others or steals with [aspect] / one who steals [aspect] for others or steals from [aspect]
THIEVES (-) are a very difficult class to play. They start out with almost no passive abilities regarding their aspect, and their ability to actively use their aspect is contingent on their ability to first "steal" it from someone else. Thus, they are always playing a game of resource management, and there is always a chance for them to be left helpless after a heist gone wrong.
However, their gimmicky nature allows them to overtake other classes even in that class's specialty, if they can set up the exact right circumstances and manage their resources well. This makes them incredibly versatile, especially when a thief is working together with a party, and thus able to count their party among their potential resources. It takes great cunning to play the thief class well.
However, this also makes the thief a potentially dangerous element to the rest of the party. Thieves are often egotistical and self-serving, willing to see enemies and allies alike as resources and tools. Unaddressed, their reckless, selfish natures will earn their teammates' distrust and enmity. In the worst case scenario, a thief running rampant can severely harm the party, or earn so much ire that the party turns against them.
Thus, their journey is that of realizing that their selfishness and ego are flaws - the classic parable of "money doesn't bring happiness." Beneath their uncaring surface lurks genuine emotional distress; a thief must come to realize that their greed and selfishness is an active detriment not only to the people around them, but their own selves. Only then can they heal from their injured souls.
A thief that has undertaken this journey is one who has realized that they are stronger when they are working with others. Their versatility, creativity, and cunning are incredible assets once harnessed toward the will of the party. No situation will ever be inescapable, no safe uncrackable, and no problem unsolvable - not if the thief has anything to say about it.
ROGUES (+) are similarly difficult to play. Unlike the thieves, rogues do see passive benefits from their aspects. However, their active abilities are much less straightforward, and rogues often struggle with understanding them. A rogue's role is to redistribute wealth - thus, "stealing for the sake of others."
A rogue, being able to steal directly from their aspect, truly shines when given enough time to prepare. If a thief must fly by the seat of their pants, then a rogue is a heist planner - they have an infinite box of tools to pull from, if only they know what tools they'll need for the job. This makes them incomparably versatile, even if not necessarily in the heat of combat.
Rogues take on the mantle of challenging the status quo. They usually begin the game already in opposition to their society, seeking out better alternatives and considering unorthodox options. However, not every party is ready for a rogue's radical ideology, and not every rogue has considered the full consequences of their belief in change; in the worst case scenario, the rogue can become outcasted and disregarded, or cause an upheaval that proves disastrous, rioting for the sake of rioting.
It often requires the help of others for a rogue to understand how to use their powers. In the same way, it requires the party's honest communication and exchange of ideas to help a rogue grasp exactly what form their rebellion ought to take. A rogue knows instinctively that something must change; their journey is learning how they ought to go about it.
Once they do, a rogue - given enough time to prepare and plan - is the ultimate utility player, having the right tool for every possible situation. Their abilities are only magnified in a party setting, as their teammates become variables that unlock new possibilities. A party with a fully-prepped rogue always has a perfect plan, a way to solve any problem that they might face.
WITCH - / SYLPH +
AREA CONTROL
one who manipulates [aspect] or achieves dominion through [aspect] / one who nurtures [aspect] or creates a land of [aspect]
WITCHES (-) carry with them the winds of change. A witch manipulates, changing properties of their aspect and their aspect's effect on others, creating a "territory" over which they rule. They see few passive benefits of their aspects, in exchange for their active abilities being so all-encompassing and overwhelming.
Once their territory has been established, witches make the rules. Their changes can be permanent, temporary, massive, and miniscule. However, a witch "achieves dominion" with their aspect - this means that they must first struggle to create this domain, and it's difficult for their abilities to manifest until they do, often leaving younger witches weak and vulnerable.
Witches have strong feelings for how things should and should not be, but not necessarily grounded ideas for how to implement them, often due to some "outsider" status in society. Unfocused witches become dangerous for the party, as they are easily manipulated; in the worst-case scenario, they can fall in with malicious forces, who can sway a witch's turbulent heart and utilize them as a force for negative change, rather than good.
Thus, a witch's journey is that of interrogating right and wrong. A witch must struggle with morality and ethics, and come to clarify their own beliefs; only then can they know what sort of domain they wish to establish, and what sort of rules they wish to enforce. Once they know their own hearts, they can shake off the insidious whispers of malicious external influence.
As if a reward for their struggles for autonomy and independence, the witch is the one whose will is most imposed on the world that comes after them. Just as an evil witch putrefies the world around them, a fully-realized witch who has decided to use their influence for good can create a near-utopia.
SYLPHS (+) call to mind the images of fey folk who sprout plants where they walk. That is how a sylph "creates a land" of their aspect - merely by existing, the world around them becomes suffused by it. A sylph's mere presence nurtures, grows, and heals their aspect; unlike witches, who manipulate what is already there, sylphs can create something from nothing.
The establishment of their domain comes naturally to them. Those caught within it are on the receiving end of their aspect, whether they want to be or not. In exchange for such powerful passive abilities, a sylph's active abilities are weaker, and usually unsuited for solo combat, generally being of healing, buffing, or debuffing nature.
A sylph is prone to selfishness - to luxuriating within their own land, their own aspect, their own mind. They often have difficulty connecting with others and understanding why their own personal world may not be to the liking of the world outside of themselves. Often, they are aloof. An unrealized sylph can cause great harm to the world around them, their domain choking out and smothering their party; in the worst case, they can mire their party within it, leaving their party unable to proceed.
Thus, it often requires the outside world to breach their safe haven in order for a sylph to grow. They must be made uncomfortable, and then made to accept that uncomfortable things are also important - maybe even more important than comfort, at times. Growth often requires pruning; a sylph's journey is to come to understand that good intentions may lead to harm, and, vice versa, that harm can often lead to true growth.
Sylphs can provide the greatest compassion and emotional comfort within a party, encouraging - if not enabling - their teammates' growth in their personal journeys. Once a sylph understands when it is appropriate to encourage, and when it is appropriate to pull back, there is no refuge safer for the party than the sylph's domain.
PRINCE - / BARD +
OBSTACLE REMOVAL
one who destroys [aspect] or destroys with [aspect] / one who allows the destruction of [aspect] or allows destruction through [aspect]
PRINCES (-) possess the ability to annihilate, a destructive class not limited to physical or tangible objects. Princes also enjoy auxiliary benefits as befits their royal titles - many princes start the game with great talents, great status and wealth, or both. They are also endowed with royal presence; their very existence provokes strong emotions from those around them, for good or for ill.
One of the more straightforward classes in the game, a prince's ability to destroy most commonly manifests as DPS. However, their abilities encompass a greater scope than mere damage - the prince's ability to annihilate figurative or metaphysical concepts makes them capable of directly removing any obstacles that stand in their way. As if hungry to consume their aspect, they are naturally drawn towards where it congregates.
However, with great power comes great responsibility: princes are often the most psychologically maligned within the party, and their destructive talents can very easily become self-destructive instead. Usually the result of societal pressure, trauma, and suffering, a prince is prone to embodying the lack of their aspect, rather than its presence. In the worst-case scenario, a prince spreads this misfortune to the rest of their party, destroying the presence of their aspect from their session altogether, often taking themselves along with it.
A prince must be shown compassion. Though they are often viscerally unpleasant to engage with, turning a blind eye to foolishness, loneliness, and suffering - which a prince embodies - is one of the worst things that a party can do. Though the effort at times seems undeserved, to heal a prince requires a staunch belief that there is good to be gained if we are kind to each other. This kindness will be returned; once you are counted among a prince's "people," they will do anything to keep harm from befalling you.
A prince, once shown this grace, is incomparably powerful. To destroy their aspect or with their aspect is the ability to destroy nearly anything, including concepts such as despair, death, and doom. As if proclaiming a royal decree, a fully-realized prince can banish misfortune and ill tidings altogether, leaving nothing standing in the party's way.
BARDS (+) are a wildcard of a class, often responsible for a party's improbable victory, abject defeat, or both. Their abilities are not very well-understood, even by the bard themselves, and they often utilize both passive and active abilities intuitively, unaware that they are doing so. The morale of the party is deeply tied to the bard's own, and it's unclear which side is cause and which is effect.
The ability to allow the destruction of their aspect, or invite it through their aspect, is actually something of a debuff rather than DPS - the bard's ability is to break unbreakable shields, tear down unclimbable walls, and nullify unstoppable forces. Rather than dealing damage themselves, they allow for damage to be dealt that would otherwise have no effect - in other words, by nature, they make the impossible possible. This is the true source of their ability to evoke "miraculous" situations.
Bards are inextricably tied to society - after all, their tales only hold as much value as their relevance to the audience. This means those with the bard class are invariably molded by the worst aspects of the society they come from. They serve as living embodiments of the most unpleasant aspects of society, and living reminders that leaving these elements to fester only means they will multiply in severity. If these beliefs are allowed to go unexamined, bards will always steer a party towards ruin.
Therefore, a party must engage with the bard earnestly, compassionately, and openly, and help them see the errors of the past. A bard must be led, with gentle guidance and genuine openness, to discard their harmful beliefs, and sing a new, more beautiful tune.
A bard that has been brought back into the fold is a worker of miracles. When every other possible option has been exhausted - the knight and maid in disarray, the page and heir unable to keep the party together, the mage and seer blinded, the thief and rogue out of action, the witch and sylph with their territory lost, the prince no longer able to function - this is where a bard will step in, transmuting abject defeat into a perfect and breathless victory.
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iridescentpull · 4 months
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Actually, I'm gonna ramble about Pac and Ramón for a bit:
Pac knows how it feels to be abandoned– after all, he was abandoned in the orphanage after his parents' divorce. He knows the trauma of waiting for that person to come back, but ultimately never coming back, and feeling like maybe it was his fault for that, and the need to prove you deserve to be loved.
They both had to grow up quickly, albeit for different yet similar reasons. Pac had to grow up quickly because he had to take care and protect his best friend, Mike, and at the same time fight for their survival after the orphanage shut down. Ramón had to grow up because his other father, Spreen, didn't like how childish he was (the moment with the boucy ball comes to mind**) and then he lost his 1st life, which meant he had to be extra careful.
They both also only have had one other person for most of their lives, someone they can trust 100%. It has always been Fit and Ramón & Pac and Mike for the longest time. Of course, other people have come and gone, but in the end, it has always been the two of them.
I think the reason Pac is so affectionate and caring of Ramón is because he knows, he understands him. He wants Ramón to get to experience all the things he couldn’t. Have a big adoption party? Yes, of course. Have two lovable parents who cherish him? Done and dusted. Have domestic and relaxing activities with close family? That can be be arranged, just say a day.
All in all, I think them being in each others lives heals them respectively. Pac being able to love and take care of Ramón helps him heal his inner child. Ramón being able to get the second parent he always wanted (while also making sure Fit is not alone) helps him get to feel like a silly kid once again.
I think that's beautiful.
(** If you dont know, Ramón once had a slime ball he used to play catch with. One time, he gave the ball to Spreen in hopes of playing with him, but Spreen scolded him for being childish and that he had to grow up. After that, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ramón with the ball again [i could be wrong, though!])
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twinstxrs · 3 months
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the gorgug-porter conversation is interesting to me because like. yea for the overwhelming majority of the conversation porter’s being shitty & trying to fit gorgug into a box that gorgug just does not fit into by trying to make gorgug’s relationship with his rage more focused on the aggression aspect of it. but then there’s also this specific thing that brennan brought up again in the ap, which is that gorgug’s relationship with his rage is wholly “this is a tool i use to protect my friends.” which isn’t a bad thing! but that’s his Whole relationship with it, & gorgug seems to place next to no value on his rage in relationship to himself. which is problematic, because it’s first & foremost his rage.
being raised in a household with a sort of toxic positivity largely meant that, whether or not it was his parents’ intention, gorgug internalized the message that more traditionally “negative” emotions such as anger are the wrong response to something. part of the reason he prioritizes his artificing is probably because it’s “fixing” things. in comparison to being a barbarian, which gorgug associates with “breaking” things. good vs. bad behavior, in his eyes.
it’s a totally unacceptable bar to measure a 16 y/o by, but i do think part of porter’s reasoning for not letting gorgug multiclass is him recognizing that gorgug generally does not value anger as a valid emotional response to something, at the very least for himself. & that directly conflicts with what being a barbarian is, because whether you like it or not, that rage is what fuels you. but again, barring a kid from pursuing something they deeply care about in part (not entirely, porter has a lot of more bullshit reasons) because of their fundamental values & world outlook is crazy.
so yes, 98% of porter’s reasoning is pretty shitty, immature, rife with a toxic view that there’s only one proper way to access rage, & generally not a good thing to do as a teacher, but also within that reasoning is the 2% of ‘there is a fundamental part of yourself that you only value if you can use it to take care of other people & you need to accept that as something that can take care of you, too.’ but that’s something to discuss with a therapist or a guidance counselor, not something that should hugely impact gorgug’s academic future.
#gorgug thistlespring#fantasy high#dimension 20#fhjy#fhjy spoilers#btw these r just my personal opinions u r 100% free to disagree#gorgug & his rage interest me so deeply because of how deeply that rage existing seems to be against gorgug’s own will#like mechanically classes are choices & you can switch stuff around any time. but gorgug as a barbarian always felt like an unwilling choice#like that 14 y/o kid did not want to have rage. & that really interests me.#i’ve seen people before be like ‘what if gorgug dropped barbarian & went full srtificer’ but i feel like that simply can’t happen??#mechanically yea sure but it always felt like a core part of gorgug that the rage will always be there & it’s a matter of how you channel it#idk. dnd classes narratively being treated as ‘you can not lose this part of you’ even though you technically can#gorgug could be lvl 19 artificer & he’d still have 1 level of barbarian. because that is part of who he is.#btw i don’t think porter truly cares about gorgug valuing his rage only as a way to be a human shield#i think porter just sees that as ‘wrong’ but like. not as in ‘you need to take care of yourself’ & more ‘you aren’t conforming’#he thinks it’s wrong for the wrong reasons. the nastier ‘this is how you should be’ reasons#ppl being like ‘we r being too hard on porter. it’s an 150% courseload gorgug will be overwhelmed’ i think r missing the point bc like.#that is 100% a valid reason to not approve gorgug for multiclassing! but that’s also 100% not the reason porter rejected him.#that whole interaction was basically porter shoving his percieved version of conformity down gorgug’s throat. was v neurodivergent kid coded#no hate to anyone saying that last point btw these r all just opinions#thinking about last ep wilma & digby being like ‘you’re a great barbarian. you’re so great at it. but look at what you made!!!’ like.#they would never mean it like that. but when you only understand half of your son he is going to prioritize the half you do.
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zelenchai · 1 month
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The devil keywords – temptation, corruption, your shadow self
The devil is one of the 22 Major arcana cards. The one in the Rider-Waite deck has an image of the devil sitting on a throne with a man and a woman chained at his feet. It looks like a dark version of the lovers (and the two are connected thematically and numerologically since the lovers is card no.6 and the devil no.15 – 1+5=6). To put it simply, the devil represents the obsessive pursuit of material goods/physical pleasure which, in the end, leads to the corruption of your spirit. It’s associated with the sign of Capricorn whose dark side can manifest as an obsession with money, social status and power (also fun fact - according to the novel Vegas’ birthday is December 31st which makes him a Capricorn sun according to western astrology). So, what does any of this have to do with the lovers and VP? The devil is also associated with dark sexuality and everything taboo. Also, as I mentioned above, it represents your shadow self aka everything you feel ashamed of and try your best to repress. In VP’s case on one hand, we have Vegas who uses his sexuality as a weapon, is interested in BDSM and enjoys torturing people. On the other hand, we have Pete, probably the most repressed character on the show, who suddenly has to come to terms with the fact that he is a person with desires and that those desires are pretty dark and unconventional. And all of this happens while he’s being held captive by Vegas in the safe house sex dungeon. Vegas, who tortured him almost to death and is now trying to seduce him with his little monologue and a lot of chin grabbing. Do you see where I’m going with this one? We can interpret Vegas as the devil figure from the card – he’s the one trying to make Pete take off the mask he wears around everyone else and stop hiding his dark side. Vegas has seen glimpses of Pete’s true self after all – first in ep. 7 and later in ep. 10 and 11, and is fascinated by it. He wants to see more of it and uses one of his preferred methods – sex, to achieve his goal (and probably starts to regret that decision after he sees Pete’s smile in ep.12 – is Pete truly someone he can handle? But that’s a discussion for another time.) Pete is one of the chained figures and he’s there because he chose so himself by forsaking his personhood and letting himself be seen as nothing more than a weapon by the main family, someone who fades into the background the moment he isn’t needed (is he real if no one can see him?). If you look carefully at the Rider-Waite card you can see that the chains are loose enough that the two figures can free themselves at any time if they wish so. Vegas is trying to make Pete do just that – drop the act and live his life as his authentic self, without shame. He’s also trying to set Pete free so he can put a chain on him himself. And we all saw how that plan backfired on him.
There's also another reason I chose this scene – when the devil shows up in a love reading (surrounded by positive cards) it can mean that the people involved have amazing sexual chemistry. And there are literally chained people drawn on the card. And we all know what happened 30 seconds later in the episode.
*I decided to retouch my old devil card a little to fit my new template instead of drawing a new one :))
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theerurishipper · 6 months
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Anyway, Gabriel's role as Monarch is directly tied to Adrien. It doesn't make sense in terms of the story to split his character into two parts to act as a villain for both Marinette and Adrien separately, because Monarch has specifically been set up to impact Adrien's character as both a civilian and a hero.
Aside from the obvious part where the terrorist Adrien has been battling for months on end is his own father, Monarch's main motivation is to bring back Adrien's mother. That itself directly connects Adrien to his father's supervillain alter ego. They have even come into conflict over this, like in Felix.
Adding onto that, Gabriel's abuse of his son is also tied to his supervillain shenanigans. Gabriel has, on numerous occasions, targeted several of Adrien's classmates using Adrien as a way to get to them. Like in Bubbler, where he used Nino's relationship with Adrien as a way to akumatize him, while also ensuring that Adrien would remain isolated. Or even like in Optigami, where he uses Adrien's relationship to his classmates in order to execute his plan. There are several such examples, but the fact is that Gabriel exploits his son's relationships as a civilian in order to pull of his schemes. He involves his son in this whether Adrien is aware of this or not.
Aside from that, we have examples like him using Adrien as a virtual avatar for the Alliance rings which he uses to transfer Miraculous powers and uses to "Miraculize" people in the finale, literally by exploiting people's nightmares about his son being kidnapped by Ladybug and Chat Noir, essentially using his son's image as a way to perpetuate his plan.
And he has also deliberately targeted his son. See Riposte, Gorizilla, Style Queen, Representation, etc. He at his worst, is not concerned whether or not his own son is targeted by someone who might want to slice him apart or let him crumble into dust, and at best, is worried but not enough to stop. And there are the cases where he exploits his own relationship with his son in order to akumatize him. See Chat Blanc and Ephemeral. None of these would have happened if Hawkmoth/Shadow Moth had been anyone but Gabriel Agreste. Him being Adrien's father matters here. See Transmission for a non-magically erased example, where he is able to give Adrien an Alliance ring under the guise of being a caring father so that he can akumatize him.
Aside from that, Gabriel uses his powers to enforce his control over his son. The most obvious example of this is the whole "Adrien is a Sentimonster" business, wherein Gabriel uses the rings with Adrien's Amok to mind-control him. This directly ties his abuse of Adrien to his magical shenanigans. Aside from this, there are subtler ways, such as him using his akumatization into The Collector to guilt-trip and gaslight Adrien in The Collector and Illusion. Or when he akumatizes Kagami in order to stop his son from going against his wishes in Protection. He specifically takes advantage of his supervillain powers to abuse and control his son.
And even forgetting all this, his supervillainy involves causing harm to Adrien's friends, whom he then has to fight and save. Imagine the pain he might feel when he realizes that his father is responsible for all that. That his father hurt his best friend to take advantage of that sadness. That his father went after his friends in their moment of vulnerability to turn them into his minions. All this under the notion of bringing his mother back, even as he hurt and neglected him.
And Adrien has been fighting this man on a regular basis. He's fought this man. He's accidentally mortally wounded this man. Gabriel is crumbling and dying under his cataclysm, and he doesn't know that he's essentially killed his father (he's not to blame, of course, but still). Imagine the horror that comes with knowing this, imagine the pain. Chat Noir and Monarch are not impersonal enemies, even if they don't know it yet. Chat Noir is Adrien and Monarch is Gabriel, and they are father and son. Gabriel's motivation is about Adrien and Adrien's mother. Adrien has been fighting the man who has been abusing him, in part using the magical items he possesses. Chat Noir, to Adrien, represents freedom from his life, and especially represents freedom from Gabriel.
You cannot separate Gabriel into Gabriel the abusive father and Monarch the supervillain. You cannot. Not in the way this story is written. It would be a better argument if Gabriel were a generic villain who just wanted world domination or something, but he isn't. His motivation is personal to both himself and Adrien. Marinette does not have the same stakes in this. She feels the responsibility to defeat him, sure, but when it comes down to it, it is Chat Noir who has the emotional brunt of this confrontation, even made physical by the deadly wound unwittingly caused by his power on his father. And it's not like Chat Noir doesn't feel the responsibility to take down Monarch either. Marinette may be the Guardian, but she is not at the center of this. By virtue of how the story is written, Adrien is the one who will be most affected by Monarch being Gabriel, he is directly linked by virtue of being the hero who is fighting his father, and the confrontation is and should be between them.
I say this, of course, in the objective sense of how the story is written, not because I think Marinette shouldn't be the lead and Adrien should. As it stands, Adrien is the one with the emotional stakes in the matter, and he was cast aside. This isn't a matter of wanting my favourite character to have the spotlight, this is a simple matter of narrative payoff and thematic consistency. Plot points that are set up need to be resolved. If they set up Adrien and Gabriel as father and son, they need to deal with it. If they wanted Marinette to be the one to defeat Gabriel and be the only one who fights Monarch, then they shouldn't have given Adrien the arc of breaking free from his father by virtue of becoming a superhero. If they wanted the emotional core of the conflict against Monarch to lie with Marinette, they shouldn't have made him Adrien's father.
If Monarch was meant to be Marinette's villain, then what is the point of Chat Noir? Why was Adrien made into a superhero when he was never meant to fight his father? Why have him swear to be by Ladybug's side to defeat Monarch, why have him mortally wound him, why have him there at all, if none of it mattered? Why is it called The Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir, if Chat Noir was never going to be relevant? Why write it like this if it was supposed to end with him being left out of the arc they seemingly set up for him?
As it is, Marinette doesn't even defeat Monarch by being a badass superhero. She talks him down using his relationship to Adrien. This is undeniable proof that Gabriel and Monarch are not separate. This was never Marinette's fight. In the end, it still comes down to Adrien. You cannot remove the fact that they are father and son from this, you cannot separate their identities. When it comes to defeating the big bad, the fact that he is Gabriel and Adrien is his son matters most by how the story is written. Throwing Marinette in there at the last minute and trying to give her the greatest stakes in the fight will never work, because the story is built around the Agrestes from the beginning.
If they wanted Marinette to have the boss battle to herself, they should not have made Monarch Adrien's dad. He should have been some rando. Then Marinette would have the most stakes in the fight and the Bug Noire thing wouldn't be as insulting. But they didn't, so she didn't. We were left with a finale which had cool fight scenes, but not emotional payoff. I personally did not feel a thing watching it. Because there's nothing to be emotional about. Adrien was left out, and Marinette got a cool fight scene with no character moments to show for it because the emotional core of the conflict was never about her.
When you set something up, you can't sweep it under the rug because you wanted something else later. You can't ignore what you wrote because you don't wanna write it anymore. If they set up Adrien and Gabriel's relationship this way, it has to be addressed. It has to be dealt with. If Adrien was supposed to confront his father and free himself from his control, then he should be allowed to face him, not have Marinette do it for him. And if Marinette was supposed to have a stake in her battle, she shouldn't have to play the supporting role in a conflict that isn't about her ultimately, and she shouldn't be shoehorned into the role another character should occupy without any of the narrative or emotional weight in the matter.
No one got a good conclusion here. Marinette was shoved into someone else's arc instead of having her own. Adrien was ejected from his arc. Both their characters suffered here. The narrative set-ups were demolished, and the themes were destroyed. Both Adrien and Marinette deserved better than this.
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fear-ne · 10 months
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overthinking why I love these two so much
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money-and-dandellions · 3 months
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Apollo as Lester would absolutely adore or hate with his whole heart "The Emperor's New Groove".
(Feel free to disagree).
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finleyforevermore · 28 days
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*walks onstage, adjusts mic.*
The final version of Time Machine should've been more like the demoes (ESPECIALLY Demo 2) and Our Lullaby is better than Stranded Lullaby.
*waits.*
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ashesfordayz · 5 months
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This is probably a hot take but whenever I see people mod Kerry to romance Female V I side eye soooo hard
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gengarghast · 14 days
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Hot Take: I don't like the design of Barnaby's Eyes
Yes, sure, they're fine when you can't see anything but the innermost two bits, but... When you finally see the damn 3rd ring, it just makes him look like some sleepy dope.
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For the love of fuck, just- Animate the eyes!! Make the rings move!! I know that this is gonna cause a whole other issue regarding... Well... "Fan content"... But PLEASE!!! It just looks so stupid otherwise!
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rosekiller-addict · 4 months
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Time for a maybe unpopular opinion:
I don't like when people give Barty a good mother figure.
Obviously, in some sense this makes sense because of different plots and stuff that people are trying to convey but I think overall Barty shouldn't be seen as someone with a good mom if people decide to give a mom at all.
I think the main reason I think this is because, at least for me, a big part of Bartys character is not being understand love because of his childhood.
When you think about the other character such as Regulus, Evan and Sirius, they all had some sort of out lit to show them love. Regulus and Sirius had each other. Regulus had Evan. Sirius had Andromida. Evan had Pandora and Regulus.
Barty had no one. He was stuck alone with his father, having to take his abuse and assume that was normal.
If Barty had a loving mom he would have that out lit for love. It would make him have some sort of highlight of his childhood.
Barty isn't supposed to have that. Barty is supposed to be alone, even in Hogwarts because he'll never be like Evan and Regulus, not completely.
So that's why Barty shouldn't be headcanoned to have a good mom a lot.
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bear-cubs-art-things · 3 months
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Odyssey fandom I'm still here sjsjsjdjdjdj
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