#swordgate

[lyuenger]

I enjoyed this interview… great questions and answers!

[your-gracelyn]

Why are some people so opposed to Rhaenyra having a sword in S3? (And blaming Emma D’arcy for wanting one?)

We’ve seen Rhaenyra use a weapon to defend herself against a boar in S1.

We saw in S2 how she was left defenceless during an assassination attempt, so it’s understandable she’d want a weapon to make her feel safer. Also, she was concerned that the men on her council saw her as more of a daughter or a mother saying; “They will see me as a ruler, and my symbols of authority won't be jewels and gowns but the shield and sword.” During the same scene she says she tires of being protected by others and not being able to do it herself. We saw her briefly holding a sword and lamenting that if she were born a boy she’d have been trained to use it as soon as she could walk. Rhaenyra is also an admirer of Visenya, who had Darksister. Although Aegon has it currently, the catspaw dagger should be Rhaenyra’s and it has significance to her character with the prince that was promised prophecy.

Emma did suggest they wanted a weapon so they had somewhere to put their hands (and it seemed like they were kind of joking and not adamantly demanding one), but it’s seems like the build up to Rhaenyra having one was already laid. It’s entirely possible they were going to get one whether they suggested it or not.

It’s not even a horrible, huge storyline changing thing to have the Queen carry around protection during a civil war. Sure, Rhaenyra isn’t said to have one in the book, but like come on, it’s just a sword, is it really that deep? Out of all the other changes and writing blunders a sword is the hill people want to die on?

[gobliiine]

SwordGate (don’t worry, they made up 😅) at Anime Midwest 2024 (and submitting for next month’s cosplay gallery )

[redwinesupernoova]

I don't wanna get into the whole god situation, never did never will, because i really feel like that would be choosing between a snake and a toad...But i do feel like for someone who criticizes Ashton and Dorian for their emotional outbursts and not using critical thinking, people who do that are not using so much critical thinking themselves. Because if you do, you will instantly understand where exactly are they coming from. And i for one see, that Ashton and Dorian are willing to understand their friends, they leave room for doubt. Because they are not fighting against gods, even if they dislike them, they are fighting first and foremost for their friends. Just like Orym.

[acebabecd]

"How dare Orym be angry and constantly bring up his murdered loved ones whenever people act like their deaths were acceptable collateral, he needs to get over it and listen to others for once!" Is it crack? Is that what you smoke?

[pocketgalaxies]

"you're a caleb apologist in bowlgate? i see how it is" the speed at which robbie has integrated himself

[danwhobrowses]

Okay I've had a sleep, I've seen a lot of what the fandom has to say and I'm gonna just talk about my thoughts on the episode 118 stuff in more detail too.

Spoilers under the cut and it's a little bit (5 paras and a tl/dr at the bottom) long

I have never liked the Release Predathos option, but it had been very apparent - since probably as far back as the vorbing - that Matt had been pushing the narrative towards that option whether Bells Hells wanted it or not. The lack of alternatives provided meant that yes, the Hells had little choice but to deal with Predathos themselves; Ludinus was likely not dead, they were low on strength and resources even after a short rest to fight another full-strength Ludinus, and even if they caved in the core and killed Ludinus again someone else would've tried to come and release Predathos. On that I can't really fault the cast for playing ball with the DM and I can't say what the characters are doing is out of character or with bad intentions, it simply annoys me how close we were to entertaining the idea that should've been discussed earlier of putting Predathos somewhere nobody can get to. Objectively it was still a terrible idea, one that even in delivery could've been better prepared with Imogen not in range of the two saving throw buffs or having any Inspiration as she took on Predathos knowing from previous experience that a wisdom save is likely to be involved. But again, the alternatives offered up to them are sparse, nothing else in the narrative had offered a clear solution and if something did suddenly come up it would've felt too much like a deus ex machina. The Hells are not doing this because they want to do Ludinus' plan, but doing so is by proxy doing Ludinus' plan, and thus the problem as of current lies in the Plot.

Right now, they're at a very high risk of the plot not justifying a story, because why did we have this campaign if the outcome is gonna be the same? If the plan is to reset Exandria why didn't we have C3 in the post-reset era and trickle in what happened as lore? Bells Hells have often lacked agency when it came to the Predathos portions of the campaign, but even when they took agency to try and be more than what they were made to be they found themselves punished or being withheld the catharsis they needed to grow. Regardless, the plot is currently failing the characters, and thus the characters are failing the audience - to the point where some in the fandom now want them all to die or for Braius to betray them all - because we the audience don't see the appeal of the direction.

There is a caveat though: it's not yet over. We expect that there will be a fight between the Hells and Predathos!Imogen (we need a name for that) and possibly Ludinus swooping in with the harness to try and steal a victory, but that does mean that the theatre of imagination can come into play in dealing with Predathos itself. There is of course uncertainty whether Predathos can die, since Vecna at 0hp would've just discorporated them for a bit, but there are a lot more options for the Hells to entertain now than there was at 118, including having to kill the vessel - be it Imogen or transferring it to another like Ludinus or Liliana, being able to expel Predathos from Imogen and entrapping/banishing/killing it with the knowledge that yeah that was a terrible idea, or somehow having Imogen suppress it and remain control over herself (and hope that the same rule doesn't apply to her as it does with Delilah being free when Laudna dies), which all can involve exciting twists and turns and creative solutions befitting of a conclusion. In that hope is the opening for a more exciting and satisfying end, and while the plot has had rightful criticisms a good ending can make up for them just as much as a bad ending can ruin a good plot.

So in short; I don't like that Imogen did that, but I know why she did it. And why she did it is more the plot's fault because we never saw it as a good idea, just the only decision that was pushed to be made. There's hope though, and all is not lost, but the plot as well as the characters are gonna have to earn it.

[prick-up-ur-ears]

this 4sd made me remember how i was one hundred percent convinced that if liliana went with them when they left the moon then laudna would have killed her eventually

[astralleywright]

Fully agree with your CR takes but where tf are the Mighty Nein fans that were calling Bell's Hell's DEGENERATES 😨😨 cause I need to block them holy SHIT

OH NO DON'T WORRY ANON NO ONE ACTUALLY SAID THAT LMAO. 'twas exaggeration of the, admittedly genuinely upsetting, attitude some fans have towards certain members of BH, Imogen and Laudna especially, that's basically, "yeah, these people should be outcast from society for being weird and offputting! their treatment is their fault if they haven't tried being normal! maybe it would be better for everyone if Laudna was dead!" which. is a bit like calling them degenerates for people who haven't admitted how reactionary their opinions are.

[jazzapples3]

Welp that sure was an episode

[rowenwolf]

I can't believe that PVP between players doesn't bother me at all but Fearne trying to steal a precious item from an NPC does

[lyuenger]

Orym wearing Seedling and Ishta, wrapped in the Wildmother's Vines.

(Just before Swordgate)

Was looking at my WIP pile and found this one mostly done...

[cringefaecompilation]

i love you robbie immediately being like "WE KNOW WHAT YOU WANT... FEARNE'S SHITTY DAD. THAT'S CLEARLY THE DRAMA."

[edelgarfield]

.

[rationalnerd62]

I just stumbled on the C3 timeline and what do you mean, it's only been 10 DAYS since Bell's Hells first crossed the Bloody Bridge?

Like, really, that's their timeline for the past ten days:

14-16 Quen'pillar: 3 days in Ruidus, FCG dies on the 16th.

17 Quen'pillar: Fearne almost gets abducted by her father, they go to Zadash, Swordgate

18 Quen'pillar: all of Aeor, including Teleport mishaps, Doninox' fight, Downfall watching, Delilah's fight, *and* trapping Delilah in the soul anchor

19-20 Quen'pillar: plan making in Vasselheim

21 Quen'pillar: Feywild, fight with Zathuda, Arch Heart meet-up

22 Quen'pillar: plane shift to Vasselheim, chat with the Matron then transport via plant to Lake Umamu, meet M9, take the portal to Ruidus, teleport to Kreviris, sleep in Caleb's tower

23 Quen'pillar: Fight to save Imogen's mom, fight to kill Ludinus, fight to control Predathos (in two parts), back to Vasselheim.

They didn't have a fight every day, thankfully, but I can still count at least 12/13 fights (depending on whether Predathos' two phases count as 1 or 2 fights) in those 10 days. And the 23rd of Quen'pillar isn't even over yet, even if they are exhausted.

They lost FCG a week ago. They had a day in Zadash to mourn him, and they fought over Otohan's sword.

All of Aeor happened in a single day. Which was 6 days ago, aka the amount of time they've known Braius.

They talked to the Matron *yesterday* and to the Arch Heart *the day before*.

Time is a weird soup.

[fcgsfleshtongue]

‼️SPOILER ALERT ‼️

Today I present yet another Imodna moment. The way that that cottage meant so much to them. It was literally the one thing that drove them to their happily ever after. I absolutely love how much they wanted that cottage. It meant so much to them.

I absolutely love how far Imodna has come. Like from best friends, to them in a fight, to Imogen buying her a ring to make up, to “is she your favorite” , to Laudna dying, to Laudna coming back, to “your my tether” and cottage talk, to being separated, to being reunited, to “can I kiss you” to swordgate, to Delilah taking over her popping out, to “I will never let you go”, to Delilah taking over for a minute, to “I’m gonna miss our little cottage”, to taking a break but not really, to defeating Delilah and caging the bitch 💅, to them talking about the cottage again, to Imogen taking in Predathos, to Predathos slowly taking over, to Imogen fighting and winning (by getting the final blow), to Imogen expelling Predathos out of herself, to visiting the matron of ravens temple and being tethered to each other? Or whatever that was, to going back to the Talon Highlands and building their cottage. And I know I’m missing some stuff but that’s what I remembered off the top of my head.

Look at how far the babies have come.