#without major spoilers

[imdayyydreaming]

since exactly one person asked for it, scene by scene season 5 long trailer prediction (includes leaks)!! 

shot 1- the outside of the house. it looks more stable since the renovations have been completed.

shot 2- cut to guillermo calling out the vamps names and knocking on the door, looking at the camera like he’s So Done. ambiguous as to whether he is returning or has just been locked out.

sequence- shot of laszlo shouting bat, driving the jalopy, colin walking away from something blowing up, a fight going through a window, nandor falling to his knees in front of guillermo.

talking head- nadja talking about how stupid everyone is being, so she’s retreated to the attic to get away from all the “toxic masculinity” with the guide and dolly.

shot 3-  the 3 sitting in silence listening to laszlo and nandor shouting downstairs. the guide puts her head in her hands.

sequence- two shots of a nandermo fight, nadja ripping a book out of nandor’s hands, guillermo clinging on to the roof.

talking head- colin mentioning how weird laszlo is being and how easy it is to feed on him at the moment.

shot 4- colin saying ‘hey laszlo guess what’ and laszlo walking out of the room. colin’s eyes glow blue.

sequence- shots of colin’s election campaign cut to shots of pride parade.

shot 5- guillermo has seemingly just finished shouting, vamps are standing looking stricken.

talking head- colin says to camera ‘the vibes are not entirely juicy, as the kids say. personally, im having a great time.’ laszlo thumps his head on piano keys in background.

outro- fx wwdits premieres aug 2nd 2023 blah blah blah

#wwdits #wwdits s5 #if any of this is right ill combust #i dont get how they're going to be able to show guillermo in the trailer tho #without major spoilers #whatever take this or leave it xx

[loriache]

"I've been waiting for ages for somebody to unmask them."

This moment tends to elicit negative reactions in a first read through, and I've got some opinions about why where Kabru is coming from here actually makes a lot of logical sense. So I thought I'd elaborate on that.

I think people hear this and go, "He thinks they must be hiding something because they gave money to someone? What a cynic." Or "he dislikes them because they did charity?? What's wrong with this guy!". And obviously, a lot, a lot is wrong with him. But I think this makes more sense than it seems at first glance! What people evaluating this judgement miss is why Kabru is paying attention to Laios and co to begin with.

Kabru knows of the Touden siblings because (he's a little bit of a stalker-) he is keeping an eye on all the relevant parties in events developing on the island, in order to be able to guide them to his preferred outcome. This includes adventurers because they are the ones actually exploring the dungeon! He's well aware that something as minor as internal tensions between party members could be key to the historical events that are developing. (He would love the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.)

His desired outcome is that whatever the rewards are of breaking the dungeon's curse, whether that's kingship or the ancient elven secrets of dungeons, are claimed by:

A) a short lived person

B) Someone who will be a good, effective leader and/or use those secrets and the power they carry wisely, with foresight, and to establish a political bloc for short lived people.

The person he can best trust to do this is, of course, himself. But due to his PTSD regarding dungeons and monsters, he's not able to develop the necessary skills to conquer the dungeon. Once he realises this, he starts looking for someone else who he can support to that end.

But most of the adventurers don't have any intentions of conquering the dungeon, don't have the skills, or are unsuitable in other ways. In fact, it seems like some potentially suitable people are the Toudens. There are a lot of good rumours about them going around - they actually seem to have a very positive reputation! That's what Kabru means when he says "unmask".

So when Kabru is observing something like them giving money to an old comrade from their gold-peeling days, he doesn't consider it a problem because "they're giving money to this person who doesn't actually need it" or because they must have some dark secret if they act superficially nice. I think he actually understands this situation and what it implies about Laios (in particular) perfectly well.

Laios and Falin gave money to an old comrade who got injured and couldn't work. That person then healed up but kept taking their money. Then he used the money to start smuggling illicit goods to the island.

The key is that for Kabru, the problem here is the same as with the corpse retrievers - people using the dungeon's resources to fuel dangerous, selfish, or violent pursuits cause problems for the island, attract more criminals and people with motives other than breaking the curse, and increase the chances of the whole situation ending in tragedy.

Kabru is willing to work with the Shadow Lord of the island if it gets him to his goal - he isn't scrupulous - but the criminal element of the island increasing is something he sees as a major issue.

Also, when you're evaluating someone as a candidate for power, riches, secrets, potentially kingship - then being curious about how the money you give to people is going to be used is kind of a relevant trait!

Interpersonally, Kabru's actually very easygoing - I mean, Mickbell isn't exactly an upstanding guy, is he! But Kabru likes him and they get along well. These traits wouldn't be a problem at all in a friend, or a comrade, or someone Kabru was confident he could use. But he can't get a handle on Laios, and Laios is someone who has the potential to be a major player!

On Laios' end, this is the same as with the marriage seeker who joined their party. She kept asking for things and he gave them to her, because he tries to be nice to others. He even gives her money! It's the exact same thing.

That's fine, but it became a problem because he basically wasn't interested in her motives, didn't notice she was trying to manipulate him, and it also didn't occur to him that the other party members would notice or be affected. We can assume the situation with the gold peeler is the same. When Kabru says that "It's not that they're bad people, they just aren't interested in humans," he isn't wrong.

The extent to which this is true of Laios is linked to his autism imo, (because it isn't just disinterest - he genuinely isn't able to notice nonverbal cues that people are lying to him or have ulterior motives) but to a greater or lesser extent I think it's a very common trait. Most people aren't actually that interested in other people who aren't close to them. Kabru is the weird one here. It isn't an issue except as a leader - which is why we see an immediate comparison to the Island's Lord, because that's how Kabru is evaluating them.

And disinterest in/lack of ability with people to the extent Laios exhibits it, it does, actually, make him a worse leader... it's just that as we see in the story, people can help him out. The rest of the party tell him the marriage seeker is taking advantage of him so he tells her he can't give her special treatment anymore. They're pissed and it's a crisis point - he couldn't have recovered their trust without Marcille and Falin - but that's exactly the point. With Marcille and Falin, he was able to recover their trust.

And he has other good traits that make up for it, such as his intelligence, strategic knowledge, open-mindedness and sense of fairplay.

Kabru doesn't disqualify Laios as a candidate based on what he sees about him from afar, though - he still tries very hard to get close to him, obviously hoping that if he manages he can steer Laios to defeat the dungeon and make up for his lack of people-skills in the aftermath. (Which... he does eventually achieve that goal!) He completely fails until the events of the story, so... definitely I think "They just aren't interested in humans" could also partially be a stung reaction to Laios' complete disinterest in him.

Anyway, that's my read on what exactly Kabru's "issue" with Laios is. Obviously, once he does find out what Laios' true nature is like - about his love for monsters - he develops an entirely new set of fears about Laios' priorities. But since Laios kept that a secret until the start of the story, he has no idea of that yet.

Given all that, I think it's interesting that he says that he doesn't think that the Toudens are suitable to defeat the dungeon, and that he's hoping they'll turn out to be the thieves. As some of his few potential candidates, people who he thinks may play a big role in the island's future, you'd think he'd hope they would be good people!

I suppose it's better, in his eyes, because it means that he's involved in something "interesting". They haven't just had their stuff stolen by regular criminals (boring, puts them further away from his goal) - they've been caught up in the beginning stages of "a historic event". The desperate and dwindling group forgetting morals in their quest to retrieve their lost comrade probably appeals to his sense of melodrama. Because he also just... loves drama.

Despite it being "uglier than anything he was expecting", he still pursues Laios as the person he wants to conquer the dungeon pretty much as soon as it becomes clear that he won't be able to do it himself and they are out of time. That's because... well, to be fair, there aren't any other options. And he fits standard A: he's short-lived!

and Kabru still hopes he can fit standard B, too, and be persuaded to use the power he wins for good. No matter how many nightmares he has about Laios, or whether he thinks about killing him. He doubts him, but ultimately he puts his faith in him and seems happy after the manga's ending that he made the right decision.

#dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi manga spoilers #dungeon meshi meta #kabru of utaya #laios touden #labru #laios x kabru #dunmeshi #og post #kabru is such a big picture thinker. and he evaluates people more than he judges them imo #the hater jokes are funny but the people he judges most harshly arent laios and co. they're people like the island's lord. #but you don't see that as clearly because he isn't interested in the island's lord. he understands him. finds him contemptible but useful. #whereas laios lives in his brain rent free because he WANTS to understand him but doesnt quite. #even though he sees the elves as a major threat to his ultimate goals and dislikes the way they treat short lived races #he still understands and evaluates mithrun as an individual based on his own merits #he's one of the characters who is least judgemental in that sense because while he's always making judgements and evaluations #he's also constantly revising them whenever he gets more information #my beautiful machiavellian prince <3 #it's genuinely a really laudable way of understanding others imo. #the only problem is that because he's driven towards his goals by his PTSD and survivors guilt #he pushes himself into situations (the dungeon and also interpersonally) that trigger him or even just upset him #without regard for what he authentically wants or his own wellbeing.

[effen-draws]

I've started playing the first aai game so I'm thinking about them again:-)

#I also partially did this lil comic to test my set up on a new computer I've waited to get for 2 years #it works fine now but oh boy. It took almost all of yesterday to get it functioning #also the majority of this (besides Fran's bow) is drawn without reference and I actually really like how it turned out! #anyways #ace attorney #ace attorney fanart #ace attorney investigations #ace attorney trilogy #aa #aai #aa spoilers #gyakuten saiban #phoenix wright #maya fey #miles edgeworth #franziska von karma #comic #fanart #doodle #aa phoenix wright #aa maya #aa edgeworth #aa franziska #von karma siblings #Nick and Maya are siblings and you can't convince me otherwise #effen's art

[ladyrijus]

me: what if we subverted the imperialism trope with zelda realizing that rauru is the aggressor in the equation because 100 years is not enough time to wash away her diplomatic skills and she just knows that the gerudo people would not be hostile if not for a justifiable reason. sure, it takes a while for her to gain ganondorf's trust just based on her association with rauru and sonia, but he does end up trusting her somewhere down the line and fills her in on what's happening. she's absolutely horrified. as a result, she works alongside ganondorf to seal away rauru by gathering the sages and convincing them to protect their respective domains from conquest. but here's the twist: what if link still gets mentored by rauru's spirit at the beginning, and thinks rauru is a benevolent king? imagine zelda's last words to him in the final memory, nothing but a frenzied "link, do not trust the king of darkness!" but he doesn't know which king: ganondorf or rauru, because the gloom has corrupted ganondorf's body and rauru, who had unsettled him since the beginning. but then he realizes it's rauru, and it's deliciously ironic since rauru's power is light but as always, every light has a shadow.

totk enjoyers: hold my beer i'm gonna fucking crucify a korok

#MAJOR TOTK SPOILERS #totk spoilers #but like also not really since it's a. rewrite #also if you ask me how the sages can help without the secret stone i never said that. zelda absolutely pulls a heist #sonia catches her and gives her that betrayed mother look #zelda teleports away with the purah pad #easy peasy lemon squeezy #and it's another case of irony since the gerudo were considered thieves but look at her doing the same thing #totk #tears of the kingdom #tloz #the legend of zelda #loz #legend of zelda #zelda #king rauru #queen sonia #link #ganondorf

[linkisanenby]

I love Outer Wilds so much. I will never get over it.

#outer wilds #outer wilds spoilers #well kind of spoilers #it's without context #but it's also like one of the major themes of the game

[mayasaura]

I think the best possible time travel fic would be to slingshot Harrow from the end of Harrow the Ninth back to the beginning of Gideon the Ninth. Highest hilarity potential, highest angst potential, highest pining potential

Things Harrow knows now that she didn't before:

Who Alecto was

The names of God and his lyctors

The secret of lyctorhood

That the lyctor trials are a death trap

Gideon could be easily persuaded to die for her

Gideon dying for her is the worst thing possible

She would do almost anything to prevent Gideon from dying

Gideon's sword is haunted by a very angry and oddly familiar-looking woman who bears a remarkable resemblance to Gideon

Things Harrow still doesn't know:

What Alecto is

Gideon's parentage

Jackshit about BOE

Mercy and Augustine are both traitors

Things Harrow knew then and still knows now:

Gideon—this Gideon here and now—hates her

She owes a debt of two hundred lives and a future to the Ninth

The survival of the Ninth depends on her becoming a lyctor

#like. what does she DO?? #Gideon isn't going to listen to her without some MAJOR legwork to win her trust #she doesn't even know how she did it last time and she can't afford to wait until canaan house to replicate the successful scenarios #should she even bring Gideon with her this time? #what are her alternatives? #let Gideon go to join the Cohort and die gloriously for the empire? #leave her here on the Ninth alone with Crux who wants her dead and has killed before? #should she even go herself? #stupid question she owes it to Pent and Quinn and the Sixth and everyone who risked their souls for her #most of all tho #I really really wanna make pre-canaan house Gideon have to deal with Harrow in her 'first flower of my House' 'saving the last dance' era #like. harrow basically got snatched by a pod-person who cares about strangers and looks at Gideon like a dream she expects to dissolve #gideon would lose her MIND #the locked tomb #gideon nav #harrow nonagesimus #harrowhark nonagesimus #gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth #htn spoilers #time travel #peggy sue fic #op

[commander-goo]

also I will forever be mad about the light dragon. MY zelda wouldve continued working at improving her time magic for her whole life then master it at like 80 and show up in front of link with a slightly repaired master sword taped to an entirely different holy zonai sword not whatever the fuck she decided to do in the spur of the moment. I MEAN LIKE IT AT LEAST WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN HER INSTANT FIRST CHOICE

#totk zelda being shoved into the priestess role and gladly accepting it like a lamb #vs botw zelda being fucking allergic to the priestess role and everything attached to it. this isnt her becoming mature or something #this is just bad character consistency #totk spoilers #tears of the kingdom spoilers #major spoilers #totk story spoilers #this goes without mentioning that the main thing i used to kill ganondorf was the mighty lynel bow .. . . .. ...

[meldy-arts]

Unpopular opinion...

I don't see the need to give Sabine the force? She was perfectly badass and powerful without it and having Sabine somehow have the force as well just seems so unnecessary

#Ahsoka spoilers #Not a fan at ALL #Major rebels fan hello #So it's weird seeing her randomly have the force after four seasons without it #You think Kanan would have picked up on it #Sabine wren #Ahsoka

[buff-muffin]

When it comes to the ASL brothers one “what if” situation I can’t stop thinking about the idea of. What if Sabo named dropped his brothers to Dragon at the grey terminal fires. Like in that scene where he clung to Dragon’s arm and spoke of his hatred to his own blue blood, what if he added in a plea of like “please save Ace and Luffy. They’re my brothers”

Cause like, I don’t know much about Dragon, I’m just wrapping up Zoh and heading to WCI. But he runs a fucking army so he’s not stupid. The name Luffy. Mentioned on an island in the east. As well as Garps home island (and maybe his too idk?) are enough connections to think. Hey, there’s a good chance that’s my fucking son.

But as I said, I really don’t know him well enough to tell if upon hearing this news would he be a “grrr I have a job to do. he will be fine. business bla bla bla >:[“ or maybe a “my sons a fucking child I need to make sure he’s ok >:0” I do think a small parallel scene to loguetown arc of like Luffy meets dragon would be hella cool (maybe he got lost from the bandits in the fire and Dragon beat up a pirate trying to hurt him) and they just stare for a moment before dragon points the way silently and Luffy runs off cause how tf do you pull the I’m your father card when your son is literally being traumatised right this very second.

But even if that DIDNT happen. When they eventually pluck a dying Sabo out of the water like a fucken grape. Dragon would know Sabo has more family there then just his parents, he had brothers. Would that result in Sabo being dropped back with them? Or maybe he gets his memories back earlier when Ace first makes a name for himself??? Would Dragon do his fucken research or at least encourage Sabo to early on in revolution school to find out what was left behind???

I SWEAR I NEED TO HURRY THE FUCK UP ON ONE PIECE SO I CAN START MAKING UP FICS AND AUS CAUSE I NEED TO MAKE THIS A THING BUT I NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT DRAGON TO KNOW WHAT IS AND ISNT A STRETCH OF HIS CHARACTER. RAAAAAAAA

#no major spoilers please I am but a humble screaming at 1am girl #am I offering up this idea on a silver platter for others? kinda #I just kinda wanna know what people would think dragon would do #but without like spoiling the actual show #monkey d. dragon #asl brothers #revolutionary sabo #monkey d. luffy #uhhhh #au idea #fic idea? #I refuse to believe dragon wouldn’t not care about Luffy #but he was also raised by Garp #so tough love is also an option #rambles #one piece

[morethanwonderful]

Also feeling insane about how Tom and Shiv both want to go back to the points in their relationship where each of them had power over the other.

Tom goes to Shiv on the stairs of her dead father's home and reminds her of when she was vulnerable and fell in love with and relied on him. He hearkens back to a time in their relationship where she was going through a hard time and he supported her, because that's what he wants again. Being the rock supporting Shiv through a storm gives him irreplaceable power there, even if he's nothing but good to her in the process.

Meanwhile, when they had the divorce talk in 4x1, one of the reasons that Shiv cut things off so quickly was that she wanted Tom to reach out and ask for her. If she said "it's over" and Tom tried to fight for her, then it would have been him begging her and her making the decision. It would have given her power over him again.

But I think Shiv recognizes Tom's ploy at the wake, and she pushes him away rather than fall on him, and Tom doesn't let himself beg when she tells him it's over. Tom wants to be her rock again and Shiv wants to be in control of someone subservient, but Tom's sick of subservience and Shiv refuses to be weak or reliant on him. So they're both just grasping at what the other one won't let them have.

#they loved each other but also Tom misses his anchor to the roy family and shiv misses her loyal little meat puppet #but those dynamics have collapsed and there cannot be a relationship without them #they're so madness inducing #I think the bit about 'Shiv stays cold because she wants Tom to fight for her' came originally from a Snook interview #definitely an interview with someone #but god it's so true it makes so much sense #succession spoilers #succession #tomshiv #failmarriage #tom wambsgans #shiv roy #tom wambsgans my beloved #siobhan roy #shiv roy my beloved #english major hours #successionposting #failmarriage tag

[cyberbun]

I think about Q84 so much; but this one page from Etherane's twitter comic-ARG-epilogue has stayed with me since i first read it.

"is it going to hurt tomorrow too?" is such a mood.

#hello charlotte #goes without saying but do not click that unless you've already read HC3 #major spoilers! #major kinnie feelings too #guh

[fox-guardian]

going through the tmagp vague tag and wow. half of y'all really are not good at being vague, and the other half don't know what the tag is for in general

#ramblings with major #tmagp #last i checked its for sharing vague reactions to new episodes (usually for people with early release) #not for stating actual events. character reveals. or significant sfx like tape recorders or what have you #like That's Not Vague beloveds <3 #that tag is for going 'The Magnus Protocol Is A Podcast' because you can't express your reaction in words without spoiling #it is not for actual blatant spoilers or posts vaguely related to tmagp #tho i am far less bothered by the latter

[virtualcarrot]

[DE] musing abt the limits of superficial acab discourse and the way fandom deals with moral discomfort, I guess

“ACAB”, “the only happy ending should be leaving the RCM”, “you’re a terrible person if you draw/write these characters enjoying the sort of corrupt cop stuff that they canonically do in-game” discourse is killing meeee

God forbid you don’t performatively remind everyone that you do hate cops, actually; and god forbid that you don’t find that True Healing and Happiness for Disco Elysium’s characters can only be achieved by leaving the force.

Metas could be written about how Kim and Harry are actually deeply flawed people who enjoy wielding some form of authority in a way that they actually feel best working as cops

(is it healthy? no. is it Good™? no. Is it true to their character? this is where media interpretation comes in)

Metas could be written about how that doesn’t mean ACAB isn’t real, that just means they’re the kind of shitheads (that we, the players, still love) who enjoy being cops

Metas could be written questioning the amount they’d have to change to adapt to a life as civilians, how much and what kind of a push they’d need to go for it,  if it’s change they could even manage, if they could financially survive it, if they could find fulfillment in any other career, at their age

But no. Why waste time on that instead of easy slogans. I mean, we like them, these characters, and we don’t want to feel guilty for liking them, because what does it say about us, then, that we like flawed cops?

(nothing it says nothing it says we played a good nuanced extremely well-written game that skillfully made us like the sort of character whose past actions include sequestering some woman and beating a dude into disability. that’s what it says. i’d even argue that discomfort is part of the point)

#fandom #disco elysium #spoilers #meta : disco elysium #And hey! #I'm not saying that there aren't people out there writing corrupt cop content without realizing just how disturbing those behaviors are #either because of normalization #copaganda #privilege #or just deciding that they don't care enough to over analyze amateur works of fiction #(which while not ideal an argument can be made for to some extent) #what I'm saying is that the vast majority of ACAB discussion/content I've seen in this fandom is based on morality #and the search for an ideal more hopeful solution #more than character psychology #and while the hope for better is perfectly understandable and A-ok #and is where everyone should find a place to pitch their headcanons #the use of morality and politics as a blunt weapon to bludgeon people with and beat them into silence is exhausting #in general not even in this specific situation/fandom #especially since usually it amounts to: this UPSET ME (maybe even for good reason) so I'm going to make it YOUR PROBLEM #and RESPONSIBILITY

[aj-thegreatest]

Me wanting the Dungeon Meshi: Falin Solo Spinoff series knowing damn well that’s never happening

#dungeon meshi manga spoilers #dungeon meshi spoilers #falin touden #(spoilers for the completed adventure’s Bible below) #WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE GETS TO FULLY REALIZE WHAT SHE WANTS AND WANTS TO TRAVEL THE WORLD #AND WE DONT GET TO SEE IT #SHE FINALLY HAS AGENCY AFTER BEING METAPHORICALLY AND LITERALLY BEING FRIDGED #And we can’t…we can’t even 🥺 #something about this is very revolutionary girl Utena or Anthy coded but that’s besides the point #I just wanna see more of her…and only her…for longer than a few scenes in the main story #this isn’t to say I don’t like what we get from her/think it’s a major flaw in the story #this is me saying I wish we got more opportunities to see her without the whole…you know #quiet mumbles

[starheirxero]

Yes, Lord Eclipse is back! And somehow he survived the Wither Storm.

I KNOWWWWW I'M LITERALLY WATCHING IT RN ITS SO FASCINATING!!!!!! IM 7 MINUTES IN AND I KEEP PAUSING TO DISECT EVERYTHING HEJABAJQHDN

LORD ECLIPSE SURVIVED BUT HE SAID HIS SUN DIDN'T!!!! IM ON THE FLOOR ABOUT THAT IM SO SAD ABOUR MY SWEET SERVANT SUN BOY HE DESERVED SO MUCH BETTERRR 😭😭😭

#asks #multifandomcutie13 #I HOPE HIS LAST MOMENTS WERE PEACEFUL. #I HOPE HIS LAST MOMENTS WERE KIND AND WITHOUT CHAOS. #I HOPE DEATH WAS KIND TO HIM. I HOPE HE GOT AT LEAST THAT SMALL ACT OF MERCY :(((( #sun and moon show #the sun and moon show #tsams #tsams spoilers #sun and moon show spoilers #major character death #angst

[genspiel]

me, talking about wanderer: he's horrible. he's the worst. i love him so much

my friend, who hasn't been to inazuma or sumeru yet: ???? that's not how you're supposed to talk about people you like

#tre plays #genshin impact #scaramouche #wanderer #yes he's done horrible things. yes he's a bastard. yes i think he's an amazing character. yes he's incredibly fun to play #it's just. so hard to actually EXPLAIN any of that without giving major story spoilers DSFHJKDFHJDF #i also kept telling him to shut up while we were playing because his idle growls are so LOUD #which really didn't help my case for liking him either shjdkfd