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irysg005 · 3 months

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Whatever Happened to Dr. Rabbit

Hello, one and all. I'm IrysGundam005, and I see everything.

So, I've got a theory for you all. Thanks to the end of HW2, it seems that Vanny is still kicking around. Considering that it's implied that the Princess Quest ending is the cannon ending of Security Breach, that means that Van-Van is most likely her own rabbit free of Vanessa and working on her own terms.

However, as we know, Vanessa wasn't the only one possessed by Glitchtrap. Gregory himself has been heavily hinted to have fallen under the thrall of the golden rabbit but was freed through some means. If so, then that just begs a question.

Where the hell did Dr. Rabbit go?

After all, if Vanny is still kicking around, can't the same be said for him? One of the Tales from the Pizzaplex books implies that separate personalities like this can remain even after being separated from the original. And while apparently that was between a actual person and a split personality, it can still be applied to those possessed by AIs.

So where the hell did he run off to?

Well, I think we've been looking at him the entire time.

He is in the Daycare Attendant!

Specifically, he has latched onto the Moon. His what's causing Moon to behave so weird and aggressive.

And there are a few reasons I point to DC and Moon in particular.

1: Gregory's personal Princess Quest game, the Balloon World game, is in the Daycare Attendant's private room. Considering that we see endoskeletons that have been taken apart littering the place, this was probably another room for Gregory in the Pizzaplex while he was living there as GGY. He was using the DC to gather up endos for him to rip apart and study.

2: Moon is a predominately blue and white character with star patterns on his pants. Gregory's clothing is predominately blue and white, and what does Freddy call him? A Super"star"!

3: I've heard Moon described as a "scrunkly gremlin jester". Do you know who else that can apply to? Gregory. He is a scrunkly little gremlin, and as far as being a jester is concerned, I have come to believe that his Dr. Rabbit costume was most likely inspired by Circus Bonnie. There are a lot of reasons why.

*The color scheme of Circus Bonnie matches both Gregory and Moon. He is a predominately blue and white-character. He has two stripes on each of his ears akin to Gregory's shirt. He carries around an orange accessory like Gregory with his Faz-Watch. In this case, it's a carrot wand with a star-shaped tip. Now what has Gregory been described as? Both "The Wizard's Most Favored Apprentice" and a "Superstar". In addition, Circus Bonnie has bells attached to his ears like the Daycare Attendant have on their body. Even Circus Bonnie's purple eyes could be a subtle nod to Glitchtrap.

*The Circus Animatronics were released around the time RUIN was gearing up to be released and were supposed to have a teaser for it in RUIN itself.

*The Jester theme fits in with the medieval fantasy motif of the Princess Quest game (Vanessa the Princess, Glitchtrap the Wizard, and Gregory the Jester). Since Jesters were entertainers for the ruling monarchs, you could think of it as Gregory entertaining Glitchtrap (who is the Mimic's AI copying William Afton) by being forced to live out Glitchtrap's fantasies (i.e., the Another David theory).

*Gregory is an accurate representation of the Fool Tarot (jesters were often called "fools") and the word "gestour" to which Jester originates is a word that means either "minstrel" or "storyteller". The story GGY, which confirmed Gregory was Patient 46, was included in the same volume of the Tales from the Pizzaplex books as The Storyteller. The Storyteller was the story that introduced both the titular device (the Mimic's head uploaded into a white tiger bust and then installed in an artificial baobab tree) and the character of Edwin Murray. The one who created the Mimic in the first place. Also. The Fool Tarot is often represented by either a jester or a young man with a white animal companion.

*The Mimic in the final epilogue was last seen trapped in a Springlock Jester costume.

4: A lot of Moon's in-game collectibles are found in locations I believe are heavily associated with Gregory.

*Moon Action Figure: Is in the Build-A-Mangle Room. This is significant as I believe Gregory was taken around the time of the Curse of Dreadbear DLC timeline-wise).

*Moon Plushie: It is found in the sunken ship in the Kid's Cove section which seemed to be another living space Gregory had.

*Golden Moon Plush: It is in the Daycare Attendant's private room. Which, again, is where Gregory probably lived and is where the arcade game that kept his mind held is. *EDIT: Here's a new one for you. The Sun action figure is found in a room that is very similar to the start-up screen for The Curse of Dreadbear DLC. Not Moon, but still a DCA connection. 5: Whenever Moon is unleashed during the hourly recharges, Gregory's vision gains a blue taint. Do you know who else messes with Gregory's vision? Vanny. Considering that Gregory most likely has an occipital transponder chip in his head (which would have allowed Glitchtrap to take control over him), Vanny's mask most likely has something in it that's causing his vision to get messed up thanks to that chip. Moon is most likely doing the same as well. And why would he? Because if Dr. Rabbit is possessing him, the AI most likely added something onto Moon to cause that effect. Or Rab himself could cause it by his presence alone.

6: Moon behaves in a rather creepy and eerie fashion. In the Retro CDs, Gregory, while he was under the control of the Mimic, was said to like eerie things more than entertaining ones. Backed up further by the fact that, while Moon's plushie depicts him with one red eye and one blue eye, Moon is only ever seen with either two red eyes or (as is the case in the Princess Quest Ending for HW2) solid black eyes. The Moon action figure, which is found in the Build-A-Mangle Room, has two black eyes.

7: Moon's jumpscare is rather mild compared to everyone else. All he does is just wiggle his fingers at Gregory and leers at him. No indication that he causes him physical harm. And Gregory's vision clears up unlike with Vanny's jumpscare where the red only intensifies. Why is that? If Moon is possessed by Dr. Rabbit, then the latter is most likely trying to reunite with his host. And the blue clearing up is Dr. Rabbit regaining control over his host.

EDIT: Okay. So I decided to watch Moon's jumpscare again, and it looks like Gregory's vision doesn't clear up. However, that said, this point still applies, as the same happens with Vanny as well.

8: Moon is thus far, the only one of the new animatronics to receive a Halloween variant: Jack-O-Moon. Remember what I said about being taken around the time of the Curse of Dreadbear DLC? What was that themed around again? This also ties back into the first point: his design is inspired by the Eclipse we see in the Balloon World game. The same game housing Gregory's mind.

EDIT: Also in regards to this part. The portions of HW2 Jack-O-Moon shows up in? Glitchy and purple.

9: Tieing into Point 5, Moon is the only enemy capable of dragging Gregory out of Freddy. Chica, Roxy, and Monty won't even so much as touch Freddy even if Gregory jumps into him right in front of them. But Moon will go for Gregory inside of Freddy. This indicates that he knows Gregory is in there. Possibly because Rab would know his old host is hiding inside of Freddy. This would also explain why Vanny knows to check in there as well. She most likely worked with Rab, and thus, would know his host's hiding habits.

10: Playing off of Point 9, Moon is also the only animatronic to show outward aggression towards Freddy. Based on what we hear when Gregory is hiding inside the recharge station, it's possible that Moon outright attacked Freddy before dragging him into Parts and Services. If Rab is infecting Moon, it's possible he held some resentment over his former host and favorite animatronic teaming up against him.

11: In one of the Retro CDs, the first therapist mentions things related to the Daycare. She uses phrases such as "time out" and "troublemaker".

12: This one is a minor point, but is note worthy. Moon is typically depicted as having one of two coloration. The first is having both eyes red. The second is having one eye red, the other blue. I bring this up because at the end of HW2, he is shown with completely black eyes. The only time his shown with black eyes? His action figure. And where is the collectible of that found? In the Build-A-Mangle Room. And while his eyes are closer to amber in-game, other depicts of Gregory show his eyes being closer a dark-brown that boarders on black.

It is because of all this, that I believe that Dr. Rabbit is most likely inside of the DC and is influencing Moon. I think what happened is that one day, Moon got a little too curious for his own good and decided to play the Balloon World game, accidentally freed Gregory, and Rab jumped ship into the DC because, as a purely mechanical being, he can be taken over without the need of an occipital transponder chip. Either that, or whatever event that caused Rab to separate from Gregory most likely left him stuck in the Balloon World game, and then one day, Moon played it and he latched onto him. In either case, Moon is now under the influence of Dr. Rabbit and is effectively his new host. Which, if true, then this explains the ending to HW2 and Moon's presence as the claw that delivers Glitchtrap to Vanny.

If Rab and Vanny are both freed from Gregory and Vanessa, then the two may have decided they are sick and tired of "Daddy Glitchtrap" and have teamed up to take him out. As we see with the ending to HW2 to with Rab delivering Glitchtrap's remaining code to Vanny so she can squash him. After all. Just because Dr. Rabbit was described as the wizard's most favored apprentice, doesn't mean it's outside the realm of possibilities that he has grown bitter towards Glitchtrap/Mimic following his separation from Gregory, and has decided to stop being an apprentice and started being a wizard himself. Not helped by the fact that I imagine being stuck in a body with the Sun and Moon hasn't helped his mood.

But hey, that's just my theory. Let me know what you think. :)

EDIT: On a side note, while thinking about this theory, I realized there is a subtle bit of brilliance to a character called Dr. "Rabbit" possessing a character called "Moon".

In East Asian mythology, there is the myth about the Moon rabbit. In Chinese mythology specifically, the rabbit (known as the Jade Rabbit) is the companion of the Moon goddess Chang'e, and is constantly pounding the elixir of life for her. You wanna know what can be considered an elixir of life in FNAF? Remnant. Metal infused with emotion and memory that can grant life to both animatronics and give immortality as shown with Michael.

EDIT: I would also want to point something out. Although Dr. Rabbit is described as being "the wizard's most favored apprentice", that doesn't mean he didn't feel the scorn of Glitchtrap on occasion. Much like how Elizabeth was William's golden child but he still abused her, it's entirely possible Rab suffered under Glitchtrap as well. It's just that unlike Elizabeth, Rab had an alternative person he could side with. One who probably hated Glitchtrap just as much as he grew to. And that person is Vanny.

#fnaf #gregory fnaf #fnaf daycare attendant #daycare attendent #daycare attendant sun #daycare attendant moon #dr. rabbit #five nights at freddy's #fivenightsatfreddysfanart #fnaf ggy #ggy #dr rabbit

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demonlordclayman · 5 months

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One question that I will come back to again and again is simply this:

why?

Where is Clayman's Revenge going, broadly? Why is this the story Fuze wants to tell?

Obviously I can only speculate - I am not the author. And I don't really have strong answers yet.

I think a big motif through the story so far is a compare and contrast to Rimuru and his friends. Clayman falls because he doesn't confide in and listen to his friends though arguably this is out of his control with the influence set by Kondo. However, Revenge sets the stage that he's been doing a bad job of relying on them even prior to Kondo's influence.

(chapter 1 of Clayman's Revenge)

The difference in the main timeline for Revenge is that he's started listening to them and including them. One of the covers even explicitly compares him and his army to Rimuru!

(chapter 11, full disclosure, this is a fan translation screen cap. The official English apparently didn't feel like translating those words, they're just missing entirely, but I see them in the Japanese raws!)

So I don't think this theme is very subtle. Clayman and his forces are growing stronger because of him earning trust and giving trust, and growing as a person. And my expectation is that this will lead to a better outcome for him. What that means for the world is pretty interesting though, especially with Chloe/Chronoa/the Hero looping through time the way they are.

It's also worth mentioning that Clayman himself is...oblivious to the reasons as to why his people are stronger.

(Chapter 12)

He has no idea why things are going better than in the past, so clearly he's still got a lot to learn on this journey. That being said, we can also see this growth has taken root and it isn't just an act.

I don't have the impression he would have called them "friends" in the original timeline, for one, and he's clearly actually upset about this. And, as I brought up in my thoughts on chapter 20, he keeps buying things for people (Eva with the necklace and Raine with the ambergris) even if there's not a good reason.

So that brings up another thing - what will happen with the encounter with Kondo? Clayman doesn't remember it. He has no idea he's been under someone else's control in both of the prior timelines.

my best guess at this point is that by this time, he will have a new reputation, and someone else will realize something is a wrong - a friend. Maybe multiple friends. I suppose the whole thing could be avoided, but the idea of someone noticing the difference and caring enough to do something really aligns with the idea of friendship and the benefits it brings. So I think that's more like.

That being said, I'm still wondering why Clayman. Clayman gets so little development in the novels (and other adaptations) - he's this villain that's propped up just to fall really hard (it frustrates me just how hard - the claim is made repeatedly of how smart he is and we don't see that in the main timeline at all). The Moderate Jesters do have an important role to play as Yuuki's subordinates in the main plot, so does it have to do with this family unit as much as with Clayman's growth? I still wonder what the outcome of this is going to be.

There's also the fact I can't dismiss that Clayman's soul has been inside of Rimuru this entire time in the main plot. I'm not sure I agree with the idea I've seen put forth that this is something Rimuru is doing to him - teaching him a lesson while he's inside his stomach. It would require knowledge that neither he nor Clayman (or Raphael/Ciel) have to simulate all of this so I just don't see it. That, and his soul is used to heal Tear (in 19? I think it was book 19).

Actually, by the end of book 20, Clayman's family has been absolutely devastated. Footman has been taken over by Jahil. Laplace and Yuuki both are MIA (I don't believe either of them are dead). Tear and Kagali are. Alright ish.

But wait. Let's go back to that Footman thing. Do we know when Jahil was implanted into Footman? I'm not sure we do. Is Jahil already spying on Clayman in Clayman's Revenge? And also why would Feldway put him in place to spy on Clayman specifically anyway...hm. I guess the real target may have been Kazalim, but...I'm not sure. This feels like something I'd like to come back to when we have more information.

Let's just close the lid on that though - the second I start thinking about what might change in the main timeline I realize I need a separate post probably, that's an entire can of worms.

To bring it back to the point, I love the world building we're getting and the character development we're getting for Clayman and the people around him. I would, frankly, read the shit out of a slice of life Clayman manga so I have no complaints. But I think there are bigger things afoot here, and I'm eager to see where this is going despite my lack of answers currently!

#clayman's revenge #ttigraas #meta #long rambling thoughts #and as always happy to hear others' thoughts on the matter!#light novel spoilers

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katatonicimpression · 4 months

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A Walk Through My Year in Media

This isn't necessarily things that came out this year, but rather things that I watched/read this year that I liked or compulsively consumed regardless of whether or not I liked them.

2023 in Films

Most of this post is going to be positivity; a sampling platter of things I've enjoyed this year. But also:

Salty Film Hot Takes:

The French Connection is uncomfortable to watch. I don't care about the racist, antisemitic, misogynist cop. He's objectively bad at his job make him go away.

None of the Next Generation era trek movies are good.

Guardians 4 would have been a better movie if Pratt wasn't in it. And I mean that in a "the script would be better structured" way.

Se7en is a really fun film and I'm not mad to have rewatched it recently but... it's undermined by 1) the writers not realising that John Doe's opinions are bog standard right wing talk radio shit, 2) the fact that they kind of agree with him and 3) they clearly, hilariously, don't know what lawyers do.

The Mummy (2017) is awful. I guess that's not controversial but still.

Robin Hood (2018) is also awful. Like, amazingly so. And, slightly warmer take, so is Prince of Thieves you guys.

I will not be answering questions on any of the above.

Positive Film Hot takes:

I went on a bit of an 80s dark fantasy kick this year. Out of films that I hadn't seen before, The Dark Crystal and The Last Unicorn really stood out. Especially the Dark Crystal. I ended up rewatching the show as well. Just so good. Bring it back. Justice for the gelflings.

I also watched a lot of Terry Gilliam this year - not all of his back catalogue but most of it. Obviously Jabberwocky is almost entirely bad, no one needs to be told, but overall yeah you get why he's beloved. The common vibe from his films is "wow there's so much to love here but it doesn't quite work". Brazil is an obvious standout - it's a classic for a reason. But I want to highlight The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Behind the scenes disaster and orientalist opening sequence aside, it really is spectatular. The sets, the details. It's so well crafted and just makes you wish they made films like this all the time. Damn you, Terry.

The 1938 Robin Hood film is the best Robin Hood film. Yes, congratulations, you noticed another theme in the shit I've watched this year. But yes, it's great, it's fun and well paced. It holds up staggeringly well. I also watched The Court Jester (1955 - with Danny Kaye and Angela Lansbury) - Also surprisingly great.

Finally, also feeling medieval, I watched Excalibur (1981). This is more "swords and sorcery" than "dark fantasy" (think: Conan the Barbarian vibes), but it's kinda great (most of the genre is not, lbr). It captures the logic of those stories, the vibes of the mythology very well, the mix of pagan and early christian beliefs, and the weird metaphysics that results. It's great. Way better than that dumb clive owen one. My lord that was bad.

2023 in Telly

Live Action Drama:

Succession

It's good. I don't think anyone needs me to tell them that. Still haven't finished it but enjoying it in a peaceful, fandom-free way.

Robin Hood (2006)

This was a terrible show, with an even worse third and final series. Did I rewatch the whole thing anyway? Yes I did. Should I have? No. (I love the first two so much though. Lily Allen's dad as the sheriff of Nottingham as tony blair? sign me up.)

Doctor Who

Am I a basic bitch who only came back to who because RTD did? Yes. But at least I'm not quite as basic as the ones who were only back for Tennant. The first one was good, if a little on the nose, the second was great, the third was good up until they get onto the stupid avengers platform for the showdown, from which point me and everyone in the room just got mad at it. The christmas special was fun though, excited for Gatwa and the new series.

Adult Animation:

Castlevania: Nocturne

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Genuinely so great. It's very clear that they're setting up a whole multi season arc with this first season, and the incompleteness that comes with that is probably its biggest flaw. But overall, fucking fabulous. The animation, fights, character design. Just a gorgeous show. Maybe not to everyone's taste; it's fantasy, but not escapist - its very much rooted in the historical injustices of the setting and has some heavy themes as a result. But if you liked the first Castlevania show, then you'll probably love this.

Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix

You might have noticed that there was a show out that featured "Rayman, but with drugs and cussing!" and, yes, this is that show. You might not have noticed that Rayman is only a small part of it, and it's actually about Dolph - a traumatised gay cyborg - and his no good, horrible, very bad breakup. Dolph is great.

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Do you like Star Trek? Do you like silly cartoons and workplace sitcoms? Then do I have the show for you. Real highlight of the year for me tbh. While the show is built on poking fun at trek canon, and can feel a little overly reliant on nostalgia sometimes, the latest season really pushed for more meaningful character moments in between the laughs. I like it. It's good.

Mononoke

This was the most mixed of mixed bags. Japanese horror with a really striking and confronting art style. At its best, it's got this visceral atmosphere that sucks you in and is genuinely fantastic. At its worst, it's got a whole storyline about "abortion ghosts", and features some art that comes across as racial caricature. Between this, and a few other things that felt uncomfortable in an unintentional way, I don't think I'd really recommend this, but it did stick with me, I'll give them that.

YA Animation:

The Dragon Prince

If you're into the whole YA fantasy adventure thing, this is an obvious rec. It's biggest flaw is how slow it's been to release, but if you're binging it for the first time, that's not a problem. It's heartfelt, it's pretty, it's clearly a kids show but is well crafted and has appeal beyond its core audience.

Star Trek: Prodigy

S1 actually originally aired like two years ago, but I only watched it this year after finding out that it was cancelled. But it was rescued! S1 is now on netflix, and s2 will air there next year. Genuinely a really fun contribution to the whole trek shebang, fitting into the universe well without ever feeling reliant on nostalgia.

I didn't include the two other treks that aired this year because s3 of Picard sucked balls (still not over it) and Strange New Worlds has stopped appealing to me... but that's a whole thing for the other blog. But the animated series are great! Also Disco. I still like Discovery.

Skull Island

This was better than it had any right to be. One season of a surprisingly funny King Kong show, also on Netflix.

Reality:

Rupaul's Drag Race UK Season 5

DRUK is good again, hooray. The dark times are over... for now.

Married at First Sight UK

Do not watch this. It will consume your entire life. Your brain will melt away as you watch someone fake cheat on their fake husband with someone else's fake husband just days into their fake marriage.

Taskmaster

It's good. It's been good. It continues to be good.

2023 in Gaming

Lol no. Can you imagine?

I did play the sims a lot. I had my guy cheat on his husband who then died.

2023 in Books

Fun fact: I only finished one of the books I intended to read this year. That's embarrassing. Anyway, it was "From Here to Eternity" by Caitlin Doughty (yes, the Ask a Mortician lady). It's great.

2023 in Comic Books

Orlando

This has really been Steve Orlando's year for me. I was thinking about what series I would include on a highlight list, and his Scarlet Witch was the only obvious answer for me. Sara Pichelli's art in that series is gorgeous - I love the way she draws Wanda. The writing is solid, compelling, tells a complete story. If I were to recommend any one series from this year, it would be this.

His Astonishing Iceman was also up there for me, and I will also repeat that the Mutant First Strike one shot he wrote was genuinely great. Kudos, Steve.

Gillen

Kieron Gillen's Immortal X-Men is easily one of the best to come out of the Krakoa era, and this year was no exception. I didn't really care about the Sins of Sinister event, and I care even less about the Fall of X event, so it really means something that I'm still including this series here despite it being dominated by these events. The issue with Piotr's narration has been my favourite, I think. But overall, still strong. I really hope he gets to continue writing these characters (especially Exodus and Sinister) in the future.

Other Positivity

Ewing's Black Panther series is really solid, Avengers (2023) has been pretty good. Dark X-Men was probably my actual favourite of the Fall of X titles.

Negativity

Lol I already said I didn't like the x-events. I also hated cold war. Such a waste of an opportunity. Speaking of, a lot of my comics-based salt and frustration this year has been about Sam. The way that he gets written out of things, ignored, then he turns up and his written badly and goes straight back to being ignored again. Then Marvel turns to the camera and is like "why would audiences do this?".

Put the fucking effort in and more people would show up for him. It's not that hard.

There's my overall annoyance with Duggan, which is a freebie, but one highlight of that has to be the bizarre direction they went with Kamala. No one wanted this, no one needed it, and certainly nobody needed the weird gleeful "killing" of this character just to launch a pointless plot beat that feels both offensive (see: Emma lecturing Kamala about not understanding real oppression) and is inexplicably happening during a whole massive event that feels like it should be about other characters.

The end...?

I don't want to keep listing things that annoyed me this year, because it'll just get repetative. If you follow me (which, if you don't, why are you reading this?), then you'll see me complaining about random crap all the time anyway.

Have a good NYE everyone!

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lmk-aus-galore · 11 months

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Cinema Sins/Wins Rip off of Lego Monkie Kid

Bad Weather, Season 1 Episode 1

Finally doing this again bois!

Inspired by @satansaidmyturnintheh3llscape

Rules:

-I won’t be counting Animation Mistakes, because Idk how to do that, and I myself am a beginner animator (more like incredibly amateur, to the point I’m asking my sister for help) Unless of course the Animation is obviously and clearly having a mistake for me to watch. (Or it is said in the wiki) The other reason is because I don’t want to keep repeating a scene just to check for an animation mistake.

-I also won’t be counting flashbacks as ‘mistakes’ because most of them are based on bias.

-I’ll be formatting it like this

-Neutral

-Sin

-Win

-Most of this is Commentary, so there won’t be a last sentence nor win or sin counter.

-This is mostly for fun, no need to get offended.

Alright I’ll be placing the rules every single time, without further ado, let’s get into the episode

———————————————————————————

-Intro

-._.

-And we already start off with a summary of the pilot, kudos!

-Season 1 already establishes the feeling of bias, like look at MK, and that’s how the people see him, no wonder SWK’s flashbacks don’t treat him like the goofy ass jester he seems to be.

-MK reiterating this reminds us why they are called as kids when they are literally grown adults…

-Is Pigsy seriously understaffed? Like he says he pulls a ‘quadruple shift’ and refers to everyone slacking off, not just MK who we know, ACTUALLY works there, not only that but Mei helps him in the Season 2 special and he’s shown to have no other staff…no wonder he’s a little anxious of the shop going out of business, he literally only has one person working for him and it’s MK!

-Tang also calls Pigsy ‘Piggy’ actually Sandy does too- the only one who doesn’t is MK who calls him ‘Dadsy’

-This is why you don’t play around when someone is working with a giant crane.

-Main character death number 2

-Pigsy is either still traumatized of MK nearly dying in the pilots or this is the writer’s already establishing that MK was adopted by Pigsy.

-Also as much as I love Dad Wukong, Dadsy best dad for the win.

-Also Pigsy for the win for teaching him responsibility with using powers.

-Mei got too much free time in her hands…

-Looking at the team base, it looks like it’s either underwater or part of the ship.

-Pigsy and MK asking the real questions fr

-Sandy building a secret base is a win in my book. Appreciate Sandy and Mei more fandom! APPRECIATE.

-‘An Eon trapped under a mountain’ I hate to be too literal but an eon is 0.5 billion years

-On the other hand this is sad because he thought he was trapped for a billion years…imagine that, in total darkness without having to see your wife and son.

-Again what era is this in? Because that’s some high-tech shit to control the damn weather. And we know that China at least ATTEMPTED it…I think?

-I like that when the characters show you can hear their theme songs in the background.

-Red Son seems to be broadcasting this as he is video recording, but he also seems to be broadcasting this as if it’s a voice recording.

-Just How strong is that rain?!

-‘When I’m finished my father will once more DOMINATE the world’ ok, so what I’m getting at is that he’ll flood the whole country so that MK can’t do shit. Which is fair since the rain seems THAT strong…

-Sandy scurrying away at the background lol XD

-‘Don’t just dive headfirst into danger!’ 3 seasons later and they all do it anyway…

-Also you all did that when MK freaking dies in the pilots and Tang was willing to even if he seems to have no battle experience…

-Man having MK as a son must be so stressful for Pigsy XD.

-Soo how did the others get here?

-‘I thought I smelled garbage, turns out I was right!’ Red Son, bud, you can do better.

-Lol, Mei and Sandy in the background, ngl Sandy, Mei and MK’s trio is WIDELY underrated, like seriously, these three have been paired up FOUR TIMES, and are shown to hang out a lot, like, GIVE THIS TRIO SOME ATTENTION, they’re the ones with the most episodes than Traffic Light Trio. And TLT was only a trio for like, 2 Specials at LEAST, these guys had like FOUR EPISODES with just them together.

-Red Son sitting there unphased just shows that he knows for a fact MK was winning by pure luck alone.

-‘You dorks done beating each other up yet?’ Again he’s unphased, just showing how he KNOWS that MK is soo inexperienced.

-This Episode has the least sins in here, I’m finding it difficult to find a sin-

-OOOOOHHH THAT GOTTA HURT-!

-‘I guess the GARBAGE takes itself out now!’ That’s better.

-Also, as much as I can understand that the animators were still working on the style for the show, I…still don’t like how it looks in Season 1 tbh-

-How strong is MK for him to create a giant crater when he falls?! Even if he isn’t invincible anymore, he still made a crater.

-Early showcase of MK being a people pleaser for his own good.

-You know with the context of Season 4 I’m wondering if MK allowed Wukong to search his hair but didn’t want to because Wukong is still a stranger to him or…it’s him generally being confused.

-*Aggressively smacks Wukong around as he worries what’s wrong with him.*

-‘In order to have full control of your powers you need self-confidence’ ‘I got self-confidence!’ ‘Nope, you’re just loud’ Way to call him out Wukong.

-But yeah, judging by how Wukong just keeps GETTING NEW ABILITIES with his powers being connected to Self-Confidence, it’s probably a source.

-Notice how Wukong never says that MK’s powers were his, he never says ‘In order to have full control of MY powers.’ He says ‘In order to have full control of YOUR powers’

-Tbh, Wukong being a vague and horrible mentor might come from his time with Subodhi, he’s probably learning how to be a good mentor as he goes, but he probably only has experience from Subodhi and Tripitaka as well- like, Trip might have taught him many things, but it didn’t help that he was captured 24/7.

-And you know how to limit his power, how? For all I know, MK and you are the only ones with your powers.

-I do wonder if the whole ‘invincibility’ thing was probably the reason why Wukong has an everlasting scar on his eyes.

-Ok hold on, why is MK invincible? Why now at least? Like, if he had those powers at birth, why is he invincible? Wukong wasn’t invincible at all, he had to get that invincibility, heck, it was probably from Subodhi’s illegal immortality that Wukong gained…why was HE invincible?

-And they never touch up on this again.

-Man Pigsy cannot catch a BREAK with MK.

-They also never do this again.

-Damn Red Son can punch!

-Nvm, he does sometimes use that Gold Vision like Marinette.

-Wait why is Tang the only one gagged?!

-I love how childish MK is…

-Now Tang is no longer gagged.

-that gotta hurt…

-AGAIN HOW STRONG IS THAT WEATHER?!

-How does MK not have memory loss yet?

-BY THE GODS OF PLOT CONVENIENCE

-No but seriously, I’m glad they switched it up a bit in Season 4 because Seasons 1-3 all the villains seem like they ALL were living in Megapolis, like how, why, is it because Wukong lives nearby?

#lego monkie kid #lmk #lmk sun wukong #lmk monkey king #monkie kid #mk lmk #lmk mk #lmk qi xiaotian #lmk dbk #lmk pigsy #lmk tang sanzang #lmk swk #lmk princess iron fan #lmk tang #lmk mei #lmk red son #lmk sandy #cinema sins

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themortuatorium · 9 months

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A Compilation of Flashbacks in Chronological Order

As God’s favorite jester I’ve been doing my part getting friends of mine into Good Omens by ceaselessly joking about it. I wrote this moreso for one who wanted to see a timeline of the flashbacks between season 1 and 2, and how they now correlate with newly given context. I thought that was a neat idea, which someone else out there might find neat to see as well.

I tried to keep them all as summaries to encourage drawing personal conclusions, rather than insisting upon my own, but got a little poetically analytical at Soho 1967 anyway. That scene continues to mean so much to me as a hopeless romantic, just like it had the first time. Included also are some snippets from the novel, where I felt the context they provide can still be considered canon to the live action adaptation.

Spoilers to follow for season 2 of Good Omens if you haven’t seen it. Though I don’t know how much sense it will make if you read it anyway. I’m relying on you to have seen all of it in order to fill in the blanks.

BEFORE TIME (S2)

Aziraphale and Crowley meet for the very first time. Crowley, still an angel, is busy setting into motion the Pillars of Creation when he asks for an extra hand. Marveling at the stars themselves, Aziraphale pities how it will all be gone in 6000 years time. Crowley is indignant to the idea the stars he worked so hard to help create will only be “wallpaper”, and decides to speak with someone of a higher authority – aspirationally, God; realistically, only the Metatron, due to the office space nature of Heaven’s bureaucracy – later on about it. As stars fall, Crowley shields Aziraphale with a wing. Deflecting off what appears to be Earth’s own solar system[*].

[*] “Because, underneath it all, Crowley was an optimist. If there was one rock-hard certainty that had sustained him through the bad times […] then it was utter surety that he would come out on top; that the universe would look after him.” (Good Omens novel, p304)

EDEN (S1) – 6000BC

Aziraphale and Crowley meet for the very first time, a second time. Now a demon, Crowley opens their soon-to-be 6000 year long discussion over the concept of morality – “I don’t see what’s so bad about knowing the difference between good and evil.” - and logical fallacy in an infallible being – “Not very subtle of the Almighty though, is it? Fruit tree in the middle of a garden, with a ‘Don’t Touch’ sign. Why not put it on top of a high mountain, or on the moon?” - Crowley

As the first rain begins to fall, Aziraphale shields Crowley with a wing[*].

[*] As Adam and Eve turn away from the Garden, perspective affords enough of Aziraphale’s wing to look as if he’s covering them too. A foreshadowing of sorts for the role he plays as a guardian angel to humanity.

THE ARK DAY (S1) – 3004BC

Aziraphale and Crowley, after presumably not seeing much of each other since Eden, get a chance to talk at the proverbial water cooler. Crowley is shocked to learn Heaven – on God’s order – are planning the Great Flood, which intends to drown everyone within the local region of Mesopotamia, including children. There is a visual gag when Crowley asks “Not the kids, you can’t kill kids?”, both children and young goats run past the two, which ends up relevant to his actions in Job.

“That’s more the kind of thing you’d expect my lot to do.” - Crowley

BOOK OF JOB (S2) – 2500BC

Crowley has a permit from God to do whatever he wants to Job; Aziraphale, having not got the memo, goes to intervene. Several notable themes become established in this flashback:

Initially Aziraphale is relieved to find that it’s Crowley, most likely recalling their conversation about the Great Flood. He insists on his belief that Crowley is, at heart, a good person. But as the angel Crowley once was, rather than as the person he currently is.

Aziraphale also finds himself standing in a similar position to Crowley during 3004BC, in disbelief that God would do something so cruel to Job for no reason. The Great Flood had reason, however weak. Job, on the other hand, is a reasonless wager.

It is the first time, maybe even the only time, Aziraphale and Crowley really listen to what the other is saying with empathy. Visually, they appear stranded together at sea.

“But what am I?” “You’re just an angel who goes along with Heaven as far as he can.” “That sounds, um.” “Lonely? Yeah.” “But you said it wasn’t.” “I’m a demon. I lied.” - Aziraphale & Crowley

GOLGOTHA (S1) – 33BC

The next time we see them together is at the crucifixion. Most likely they’ve run into one another between Job and now, but possibly haven’t been afforded conversational amounts of time. A significant moment for both characters in different ways, which will become their ongoing pattern. Crowley informs Aziraphale of his change in identity, no longer going by Crawly[*]. Aziraphale now comes across as numbed to the cruelty of Heaven, with the context of Job behind this scene. Unsurprised, albeit unaligned with the events taking place.

[*] A fact he’s more than willing to share with Aziraphale. One can assume Hell only learns this vicariously, if at all: “What’s he going by these days?” (Ligur, S1); referred to as Crawly in 1941 by Furfur throughout (S2, subtitles pending corrections per Gaiman); “Changed his name? YUCK!” (Hastur’s book on Angels who walk the Earth, wherein Crowley is mentioned in the entry on Aziraphale, S2)

(In season 1, they have encounters during 41AD, 537AD, and 1601 that aren’t especially necessary to summarize for any new context now provided by season 2)

EDINBURGH (S2) – 1827

The philosophical discussion on moral grey areas is opened.[*]

“But people get a choice. You know, they cannot be truly holy unless they also get the opportunity to be wicked.” “Yeah, but that only works if you start everyone off equal. You can’t start someone off [poor] and expect her to do as well as someone born in a castle?” - Aziraphale & Crowley

“Trouble is there’s never enough murderers. […] No one cares if you cut up murderers.” “If we can’t cut, we can’t learn. If we can’t learn more, a lot more, then how on earth are we going to win the battle against monstrosities like [tumors]? I’m just trying to save lives, and teach students. I either end up with a Knighthood, or condemned as a Resurrectionist and hanged from a rope.” - Dr. Dalrymple

Crowley behaves carelessly, drinking the entire glass of laudanum both as a good deed to prevent Elspeth from committing suicide, and as an excuse not to be held responsible for doing good (being a demon). He has a microsecond of confidence that Hell did not notice, before being dragged down.

[*] Just a fun fact, in the novel this conversation is had in 1020, and again in 1023 when Crowley manages a suitable comback. I always thought that was really funny.

ST JAMES PARK (S1) – 1862

Crowley and Aziraphale have a clandestine meeting at the park, wherein Crowley asks him for holy water as “insurance”. One can assume that whatever happened in the “quite some time” between 1827 and the 1860s to Crowley has him acting in a more calculated manner. The couple had never been especially discreet in their meeting one another before now, Crowley appears to be the one creating the distance. He refuses to actually tell Aziraphale what he needs it for, other than “insurance”. The lack of communication causes an argument that splits them apart, all on the grounds of a misunderstanding.

THE BLITZ (S1) – 1941

After not having spoken for a little over 90 years following their fight in 1862, Crowley arrives unannounced and unexpected to crash Aziraphale’s nazi spy church party. It is, ostensibly, a grand gesture on his part. Unlike any other time they’ve met, he’s there solely of his own choice with no strings attached or Arrangements to be honored.

Crowley places his trust in Aziraphale to protect them when the bomb drops. Aziraphale’s faith in Crowley is rewarded by his selfless act of saving his books. They are both rewarded by God with falling the fuck in love.

THE BLITZ (S2) – 1941

We now understand Crowley’s actions at the church were a dangerously large sacrifice of his own well being: rescuing an angel (something already known to be frowned upon), entering hallowed grounds (something a demon cannot do unless invited, implying he has to of been, at some point, by some angel, or at the very least an angel has to want him there – the angel is Aziraphale, sorry I don’t prescribe to the former arch angel Crowley theories), harming humans Very Directly even if in an indirect manner, the list kind of goes on.

But the couple are absolutely honeymooning, interacting again after so long. Despite Crowley trying to keep a distance between them, by disengaging at the mention of being friends, he falls back easily into their routine of goofy shenanigans. Arguably, as careless as he had been in 1827.

They’re confronted later by Furfur with evidence of their fraternization, Aziraphale’s sleight of hand causes it to be only a near miss. It’s the first time the audience gets to see Aziraphale do something that protects Crowley, from a kind of harm that would go beyond being discorporated.

SOHO (S1) – 1967

More of an analysis than a summary:

It stands to reason that Aziraphale is a smart enough being, the events that happened in 1941 were enough for him to put two and two together about the kind of danger Crowley is actually in being his friend. The constant surveillance he’s under, and Hell’s penchant to find out. Giving him the holy water implies more about the significance of their relationship to Aziraphale, that it is above all else worth protecting. I can only imagine, the reason it happens over 20 years later, as opposed to “immediately”, is simply because Aziraphale didn’t find it absolutely necessary to do. Only after he catches wind that Crowley intends to rob a church, aware of the risk he poses to himself if not scrupulously careful handling holy water, does Aziraphale find more than enough reason to give him holy water and trust him with it. It’s the least he can do in that moment.

At each other’s grand gesture, they ask the same question of what they can do to say thank you. Interestingly, they give the other the same answer, in a different way to mean mostly the same thing:

“Forget about it, would you?” - Crowley

“You go too fast for me, Crowley.” - Aziraphale

They’re both always going to be in danger of being together or helping each other, so long as Heaven and Hell exist and they exist within it. Until something can be done about the system they’re stuck in, it will always be this way. Distance between them, then, must be inherent. Aziraphale can’t afford giving Crowley reasons to act carelessly, he’s proven himself far too capable of doing so. Crowley can’t afford Aziraphale getting close, because he knows he will get careless. Of course, it’s not what either of them actually wants. What they want is to spend an infinite amount of time together, doing an infinite amount of things, within an infinite universe full of infinite possibility.

#good omens #good omens 2 #gos2spoilers #ineffable husbands #good omens 2 spoilers

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dmagedgoods · 1 year

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1 and 8 (we already know the answers, but if you want to expand on them, I won’t mind)

1. What mythic path(s) did your KC take, and why? Salvadore chose the Angel path and while I was worried at first if it would fit him, it turned out utterly perfect for him. – Not in the most classical of ways and he’s far from the archetype this path probably aims for, but because it allows enough freedom for him to turn it and its connected powers (in terms of influence too) into something he can embody fully in a manner that is very him. He uses what the Angel path gives to underline his own goals and the more positive of his natural traits instead of changing in it and that’s what I cherished most about this path: It allows latitude to be interpreted and played within a spectrum. Sal doesn’t have to become a second Hand of the Inheritor. He stays his flawed, highly arrogant self, cold in his demeanor to most around him (with strong hidden passion, but this only gets obvious in emotional moments), too used to his privileges as noble sometimes, power-hungry (though never for mainly selfish reasons, but because he follows a vision of improvement and goodness), condescending every once in a while, intensely prideful, with a cruel streak towards the enemies that harm or threaten him on a personal level. Angel path leaves room for it. Of course, all of this only works in it because he has many traits that fit in the picture too: He’s lawful good (balancing the edge to neutral good sometimes, depending on the interpretation of lawful and what it involves), has a strict personal code of principles, is highly disciplined, hardworking, loyal, caring underneath it all, true to his word, and ambitious. Furthermore, the Angel path comes with symbolism that fits him greatly, the light, the wings, the holy savior theme. Yes, Salvadore enjoyed this a little too much, despite wanting to be loved and feared for his own accomplishments only, he willingly bathed in the natural respect and awe his powers caused. – So much that the only thing I would add to the path is a moment of actual weakness and failure. It’s hard to tame his oversized ego when he succeeds so easily. 😂 (Fun fact: The Aeon on the market square and their mission captured his interest even more than the radiant sword in the beginning (and he loved the glowing sword a lot as well and showing it off and feeling like some kind of chosen one). Therefore, Salvadore almost would have gone for Aeon path. But I realized quickly that it was not for him. When the mirror asked him to give the oath, it involved the words “I swear not to rule but to judge” and ironically his own strict set of rules would never allow him to vow something that’s so wrong and against his very nature. Salvadore is made to rule, to aim for power in an attempt to better the world – with him high on top, because he views himself as the best one for the demanding task of leading. This can go very right or very wrong of course, with him staying true to his principles or drifting into lawful evil should he fail for some reason. (It’s a different topic but maybe connected to this one thing I’d change about Angel path: If there was a moment of failure it could involve an option to fall resulting from it, the possibility to get corrupted.) Anyway, I realized, Salvadore is not an Aeon. I sadly waved the black and white banner goodbye that would have suited his aesthetic so nicely and started over, this time going for Angel with him. And I never regretted it.) 8. Who did your KC romance, if anyone? Daeran. Salvadore was drawn to Daeran from the very first meeting. – Maybe because he didn’t take him too seriously in what he said during this first time, was mostly amused by his show, enjoyed his eloquence and dark humor, and strongly questioned how genuinely he meant any of his statements. He seemed more like a very smart jester to him, using his words to find the weaknesses of others deliberately, but ultimately, it’s just this: words, a performance used to criticise society and the shortcomings of those around him in provoking and sometimes shocking ways. Salvadore likes this a lot, it strongly speaks to him and that’s one of the reasons they had a connection immediately (aside from their backgrounds as nobles and similarities regarding their hobbies), he just joined with teasing of his own. There aren’t many who bring out this side of him. Daeran and Salvadore work greatly together, he combines almost anything he admires and cherishes connected to some traits he urgently needs in his life without fully realizing it before he met him. Anyway, I’m moving away from the topic and I wrote about those two so much and will do so in the future as well. 🥰

Aside from Salvadore’s and Daeran’s chemistry and even if I look at the romance without any specific Knight Commander in the picture at all: It’s by far the best video game romance I ever played, one of the best romances in media I ever encountered in general. Beautifully written, with the perfect combination of uniqueness and well-aimed tropes, highly emotional, challenging but intuitive, the pacing neither too slow nor too fast, believable, adding to Daeran’s arc and to the story itself. 100/10, and even after all this time I still have the urge to thank the writers for this masterpiece.

#pathfinder wotr #pathfinder: wrath of the righteous #daeran #daeran arendae #knight commander salvadore #oc: salvadore #my ocs #dmagedtexts #thank you so much for the ask!#❤️#and sorry I'm so slow #it's such a busy week #;;

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bard-llama · 1 year

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WiP Wednesday: The Seduction of the Innocent

Okay, firstly, this entire idea is really the brainchild of myself and steveelotaku and we’ve had fun coming up with stuff for it. The title is his suggestion - based on that crackpot book written about Batman and Robin being gay and corrupting the youth of America. It’s PERFECT for a fic that is all about Zuko writing a comic strip to help support his thesis as he goes to Ba Sing Se University lol

Premise: Zuko needs a hobby to keep himself occupied during the idle times of teaserving/vigilantism - and ends up writing. His new BFF Jin also suggests that he apply for Ba Sing Se University when his history of researching the Avatar and their cultures comes out. So Zuko ends up writing a thesis that studying ancient/declining cultures (Air Nomads and the Water Tribes) is worthwhile in the world today (bc the Water Tribes still exist and there’s 1 living Air Nomad). To help make his point/spread knowledge about the different cultures, he and Jin end up creating a comic series about The Adventures of the Blue Spirit and the Avatar (and co). Through the hijinks of the Blue Spirit and the Avatar traveling around the world (remember, there’s no war in Ba Sing Se), they fight crime and evildoers and teach each other about their cultures.

So, right now I’m thinking this is actually 2 fics: a prequel and a sequel. The prequel will be all about establishing Zuko going to Uni and creating the comic and some of its effects (it’s REALLY popular with kids!). The sequel is when the Gaang (Zuko coined the name) finds out about the comics and read them - and then Aang, who KNOWS who the Blue Spirit is, goes looking for the author to confront them. He suspects it’s Zuko, but he doesn’t actually BELIEVE that it’s really Zuko. After all, how could ZUKO get into Ba Sing Se and why would he write comics explaining how the Air Nomads believed in peace?

(For those that dislike shipping in atla, the sequel will have some Zuko/Aang, but probably T-rated teens dating. Not wholly sure yet, but I think the whole series will be T)

So far, I have a few random scenes written, so I’ll share some snippets here, but also, I HAVE to tell you about what steveelotaku came up with for the comic!!!

The Comics

So like I said, the premise of the comics is: the adventures the Gaang + the Blue Spirit get up to, while fighting off their standard array of villains. (Credit for these goes to steveelotaku, who is incredible and came up with GREAT villains!)

The Big Bad: Fire Lord Ozai

But, I hear you say, there’s no war in Ba Sing Se! So how-? Well, the answer is - Zuko REALLY wanted to draw his dad receiving a pie to the face (look, he’s upset about the whole traitor thing and he needs an outlet) from Aang, so he invented a silly Silver Age Comics campy reason for why the Fire Lord hates the Avatar: the Avatar blew storm clouds over his parade and RUINED his hair! (Ozai hates getting wet 😂)

Other Recurring Villains:

Sparkler, the Princess of Pyromania: Fire-themed villain with a mysterious connection to the Blue Spirit and a grudge against them

The Koan: Basically Buddhist Riddler. "What is the sound of one hand picking your pocket?" "If a building blows up, and no one is around to see it, did I commit a crime?"

The Cabbage Merchant of Death: Literally just the cabbage merchant, but breeding his cabbages to attack humanity as vengeance for overturning his cart. (The Cabbage Merchant actually loves the comics and his portrayal. Someone recognized his plight! So he taped one of the panels to his cart.)

The Tapestry: Literally a guy dressed in a tapestry who makes horrible weaving jokes and uses sharp threads. "Knit one, purl-oin two gold bars!"

The Ember Island Jester: The only actor to be fired from the Ember Island Players, because his jokes were terrible. His crimes are all theater-themed and he wears a comedy mask. "Four nations, all alike in dignity, all ripe for the plundering!" "It's curtains for you, Blue Spirit! -drops a heavy curtain on him-"

The Nightingale: Basically the Penguin, but with an army of robot nightingales, like in the old Chinese fable about the Emperor who forgot how a nightingale had brought him joy when a mechanical one is given to him, only for it to save him later. Only this time, the Nightingale is some minor noble who got fired and now keeps pestering Ozai with his robot nightingales and Ozai has to call for the Blue Spirit, much to his frustration. "The Nightingale sings the song of your doom!" Aang: "How does that go?" "Uh...doom! DOOM DOOM DOOM! DOOM doom DOOOOOM!"

Okay, so those are our Villains. Now what about our heroes? Remember, the Gaang is being written by Zuko - who may do lots and lots of research and maybe has stalked them on occasion, but still doesn’t really KNOW them.

The Blue Spirit - Zuko goes in hard on the tropes, so the Blue Spirit is totally the broody badboy. He has a secret identity that no one knows. Also, he tells tea jokes and makes tea puns. Iroh is very proud.

Aang, The Avatar - Aang is the epitome of “peace, love, and happiness make the world go round” (real Aang finds this hilarious) but he’s also an incurable prankster

Toph, The Avatar’s Earthbending Teacher - Toph is the buffest, littlest character there is and it is unclear whether she beats villains with her bending or her fists or if the two are one and the same.

Katara, The Avatar’s Waterbending Teacher - Katara is the scariest motherfucker on the team and Zuko stands by that. She has some of the corny “hope” lines, complementing Aang, but mostly, it’s her determination that makes her scary. When she decides something, it happens. (Zuko might be projecting a bit, but he’s not wrong.)

Sokka, The Avatar’s Jester/Strategist - Sokka is the straight forward comic relief and is a walking joke, but he does tend to suggest the plans that work... they’re just very, very ridiculous, in line with Silver Age comics ridiculousness.

And some choice lines by steveelotaku:

"Holy cumulus, Blue Spirit! The Fire Nation's set fire to the tea tree grove!" "The fiends! It's not enough for them to boil it too long--now they're roasting it to ashes!" "Halt, Blue Spirit! Your pathetic crusade of justice stops here!" "It's that suspicious sous-chef of sabotage, Serial Griller! Fire Lord Ozai's right hand cook!" "That's right, Blue Blunder! And today's special is deep fried masked man with a side of Avatar fries!"

"Blue Spirit! Help!" "By the subtle tang of oolong tea! Avatar, you're turning into a were-bison!" Not a trick! Not an imaginary story! The Avatar's best friend might just be his doom! Can Aang and the Blue Spirit survive...THE NIGHT OF THE APPA-LLING WERE-BISON?!

AND NOW, THE SECRET ORIGIN OF THE BLUE SPIRIT: A nameless warrior stands on the battlefield in the pouring rain. Another village massacred, the survivors left for dead. He alone had dared to speak against this heinous crime, and for that he was cast out from the only family he had. Hiding within a teahouse, he took with him the one souvenir of that battle he dared to claim--the mask of the Blue Spirit, a warrior who had fought for justice against his cruel oppressors. Now, the warrior takes the mantle for himself--to find redemption, or die trying!

Snippets:

The Beginning

Zuko needed a hobby, was the thing. He was really, really busy in Ba Sing Se, between being a tea server and being the Blue Spirit. But there was a lot of idle time in both roles and Zuko just needed something to keep him occupied. It wasn’t supposed to turn into a big thing.

Only one day, Jin had caught him writing at the teashop and demanded to read it and… look. It was just a lark. It was just a funny little idea that he was toying with. It didn’t mean anything.

It was in the afternoon lull and Uncle was, fortunately, in the backroom, doing tea things. Meanwhile, Zuko’s only other customer was an old accountant who was always buried in their books and never registered anything going on around them. They liked Pao’s strongest tea.

This meant that there was no one else around to see the look on Jin’s face when she read through his scrawled handwriting – he was much better at writing with a calligraphy brush, but these days, charcoal was as good as it got – depicting a silly dialogue exchange between the Blue Spirt and the Avatar. It was just one of the questions he’d always wanted to ask the Avatar, one that wasn’t really important, but that had bothered him until he’d researched it anyway.

“Li,” she said slowly.

Zuko gulped. “Yeah?”

“This… this is good,” she said with a tone of wonder. “Seriously, I really like this!”

“You… do?” Zuko blinked, not sure what to do with that. “But it’s – it’s–”

“Funny? Enjoyable? Cute?”

“Dumb.”

“Bullshit,” Jin said bluntly. “You’re allowed to enjoy dumb things, Li. As long as it’s fun, what else matters?”

Zuko frowned. That was not a philosophy about life that he was familiar with.

“Do you think the Avatar really throws pies in people’s faces?” Jin asked with a laugh.

“Oh, that bit I can confirm,” Zuko flashed a brief grin. “I found a letter from the King of Omashu to the Southern Air Temple that very specifically said Aang and his friends had pie’d the King’s Guard.”

Jin blinked. “What do you mean, you found a letter?”

“Oh,” Zuko bit his lip, realizing he really shouldn’t have said that. “I, um. I… studied the Avatar. For a long time. And the Air Nomads and the Water Tribes, a little bit.”

“Really?” Jin looked excited, of all things. “That’s so cool! So you were a mini scholar before tragedy struck, huh? Are you gonna try to apply for Ba Sing Se University? You should!”

“I… what?”

“It’s not often someone from the Lower Ring gets accepted,” Jin said, “but it does happen! And I know you’d study really hard and there are scholarships and things to help pay for it. You should try!”

“I’ll… think about it?” Zuko said, taken entirely off guard.

“You should write more, too,” Jin encouraged. “Honestly, it’s a really fun scene. I kinda wanna draw it.”

Jin’s family ran what was probably one of the best places in town to get writing and illustration done on a budget. This meant that Jin spent a lot of time drawing what she called ‘very boring adverts’. He wouldn’t think his scene was that interesting either, but Jin’s face was genuine and she smiled at him.

“Really?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Jin grinned, “just the visual of the Fire Lord getting a pie in the face–” she broke down laughing.

Zuko flushed. It was possible he was a bit upset with his father for marking him as a traitor and sending his sister to bring him home in chains. And it wasn’t like a little pie had ever hurt anyone…

During Zuko’s Tour of Ba Sing Se University (from the POV of the admissions tour guide)

“As part of your curriculum. You don’t study other cultures, like the Water Tribes and the Air Nomads?”

There was a loud scoff from behind Min and she turned to see Professor Lang sneering down his nose at the kid.

“Of course not,” he said. “What use is there in studying ancient civilizations?”

The kid looked confused for a brief moment… and then he got mad, and wow, he was actually kind of scary underneath that scruffy unkemptness.

“The Water Tribes aren’t dead! And even if the Air Nomads are, there’s still reason to learn about them!”

“And what, pray tell, would that be?”

The kid had a pretty impressive snarl. “The Earth Kingdom has trade contracts relating to the Water Tribes, who are still alive. And there’s one living Air Nomad now, too!”

Min blinked. What did that mean?

“Pah,” Professor Lang spat. “The Avatar is not part of any culture.”

The what?

“The Avatar isn’t told until they turn sixteen. Until that age, Avatar Aang was and still is an Air Nomad.”

What!?

“The… Avatar?” Min said vaguely. How had she not heard about this? “The Avatar is back? And they’re an Air Nomad!?”

The kid looked scared for a moment. Perhaps he could sense how closely they danced to the dangerous territory of current events.

“Yeah,” he said slowly. “We, um. We heard before coming to Ba Sing Se that the Avatar is back. And – and he’s an Air Nomad. So there’s relevance in understanding the Air Nomad culture! Because, like…” he visibly flailed for an example that would be acceptable, “like family!” He held up his finger triumphantly. “Culture affects what words mean. In the Earth Kingdom, family is defined as your clan, tied to you through blood, marriage, or contract. In the Water Tribes, the whole tribe is family and everything is done in service to that family. But to the Air Nomads? They defined family as people chosen based on who you wanted in your life. They did not recognize blood ties.”

Min and Professor Lang both stared at the kid.

“How – how do you know that?” Professor Lang asked eventually.

The kid froze. “I, um. I did a lot of research on – on the Avatar and, and their cultures. I’m not making it up! One of their core tenets was that the blood of the covenant was thicker than water of the womb, meaning those who share their vows are more kin than those who share their blood. They were more concerned with spirituality and behavior.” The kid sighed heavily. “I wish my old library hadn’t burned. I had some amazing finds.”

Min’s eyebrow arched. That almost made it sound like, despite the current state of things, this kid had some noble background. Well, well. That changed things.

She clapped her hands together. “This sounds like an excellent topic for a thesis, don’t you agree, Professor Lang?”

“A – what?”

“A thesis, of course. You have an argument to make – that ancient/declining cultures still have a role in our society. Through your course of study here at Ba Sing Se, you will learn how to draft an effective argument, backed by primary sources.”

“I had primary sources!” the kid said, sounding strangely offended.

“Of course,” Min allowed.

“You want this disrespectful brat to write a thesis on such an absurd topic!?” Professor Lang burst out.

“He argued his point well, did he not?” Min shrugged, smiling pleasantly.

“I have another one,” the kid – Li, according to her file – said. “The Air Nomads were pacifists. They didn’t believe in consuming the flesh of any creature, because in their view, violence was abhorrent in any form. So think about it… the – the Avatar’s job is to bring peace and balance to the world, right?”

Min took a sharp breath. That was coming a little too close to–

“Well, Air Nomads were very devoted to peace. They have eighty-seven words for peace, all of which mean different things. Some of which, if applied to the nations by the Avatar, would face significant dissent. So in dealing with the Avatar, it’s important to know that you need to clarify the meaning of things being discussed.”

“And you expect to be ‘dealing with the Avatar’, do you?” Professor Lang sneered.

Li opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “Of course not,” he said, “but that’s precisely why the study of these cultures is so significant! Because if it’s not widespread knowledge, then we’re all at a disadvantage.”

Min clapped, “well said. What is knowledge but a tool for the betterment of ourselves?”

“...right,” Li nodded hesitantly.

(For those curious, Professor Lang knows about Aang because the Gaang and Joo Dee went by the university when they first came to Ba Sing Se - but the visit was kept moderately hush hush, because talking about the Avatar can mean talking about the war. This changes when the comic takes off.)

From the next scene

Jin was pacing in Pao’s Teashop as they all waited excitedly to hear the results of Li’s visit to the university. Mushi was channeling his anxiety into making lots of tea, so Jin was spending far more than she should on new pots, but at least sipping tea gave her something to do.

Finally, Li opened the door – and jerked back as everyone in the teashop – four of the afternoon regulars and Jin, plus one couple that had no idea what was going on – rounded on him.

“Well? How did it go?”

“Uh.” Li scratched his head. “I think I’m a student now?”

Jin blinked. “I thought you were just going to apply?”

“So did I,” Li shrugged. “And then I got into an argument with a professor during the tour–”

Everyone groaned collectively.

“Oh, Nephew,” Mushi sighed, coming out from behind the counter and ushering Li into the room.

“Of course you did,” Jin laughed.

“But it was fine,” Li huffed. “In fact, I think it actually helped me? I guess I’m writing a thesis on the Avatar and also why studying other cultures matters?”

“You’re… what?” Mushi said blankly.

Li shrugged helplessly. “It just kinda happened.”

Now we skip waaaaaaay ahead to the sequel, to when the Gaang (well, Aang specifically) finds out about The Adventures of the Blue Spirit and the Avatar

It started with an innocently overheard conversation at a bakery near their Upper Ring house while waiting for the new pies to cool.

“Did you read it?” one girl hissed to another. “Did you see!?”

“Yes!” the second girl sounded so excited that it was hard to control her volume. “I told you! It’s real! Spiritar is canon!”

“I just can’t believe it,” the only boy amongst the group murmured. “I didn’t see it coming at all.”

“That’s because you never listen to us,” the first girl sniffed. “I called the Blue Spirit x Avatar Aang coming from miles away.”

The… what?

Aang blinked, turning to stare at them. “I’m sorry, did you say Avatar?” he asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, who’s asking – oh sweet spirits, it’s the Avatar!” the boy looked like he was about to hyperventilate.

“Um. Hi,” Aang waved awkwardly.

The two girls squeaked and flushed red. “Hi,” they managed, one more easily than the other.

“Did you say something about – about the Blue Spirit and the Avatar?”

“Oh spirits,” the second girl whispered under her breath. “Oma and Shu, why would you do this to us?”

“Um?”

“Okay, so,” the first girl cleared her throat. “Um, let’s start at the beginning. Are you familiar with The Adventures of the Blue Spirit and the Avatar?”

“The… huh?” Aang’s mouth twisted in confusion. Who was the Blue Spirit and what did they have to do with him?

There was a cleared throat from next to them and another woman in the bakery stood behind them. “Hi, I’m sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear and – I have a binder just for this purpose.” She pulled out a thick binder full of papers and thudded it down on the table. Then she opened it to a page that had two figures cut out from an inked illustration. One was obviously Aang, though his arrows weren’t quite that big – but the other… the other was–

“The Blue Spirit, you called them?” Aang asked, staring at the mask that he remembered with stark distinction. If the stranger in the mask hadn’t saved him…

But then, of course, the stranger turned out to not be so strange after all. Aang could still feel the rough bark under his fingers as he played with it, waiting for Zuko to wake up.

If we knew each other then, do you think we could’ve been friends? he’d asked, and Zuko hadn’t actually answered, but the blast of fire spoke many words.

“You don’t know them?” the girls all looked up at him with a broken sort of hope.

“I – I do,” Aang answered hesitantly. “But I never got their name.”

“Yes!” two of them high fived and Aang just stared at them. “Uh, sorry.”

“Anyway,” the girl with the binder said, “The Adventures of the Blue Spirit and the Avatar, originally simply titled the Blue Spirit, is a serial comic created by Li and Jin. They’re two artists in the Lower Ring, if you can believe that. But Li attends Ba Sing Se University!”

“Uh. Okay?”

She cleared her throat, flushing. “Um, at any rate, the comics are aimed at children and Li has been recorded as saying that he wanted to explain cultural differences through a fun story. And they deliver! The characters are great, the dialogue is snappy, the illustration is beautiful, and the plots are silly but fun.”

“Nothing will ever top the Fire Lord getting pie’d in the face, though,” the first girl said nostalgically.

“What?” Aang asked.

“Oh, I have that in my binder!” The girl flipped through several pages and landed on a comic panel pasted onto the paper. It depicted – exactly what they said. Fire Lord Ozai – who Aang had never actually seen in person, but he had seen a few paintings and it looked pretty accurate – receiving a cream pie to the face. Actually, the pie was drawn pretty well, too – it even had the lemon curd filling that Aang and Master Gyatso used to add for extra gooeyness.

That was surely just a coincidence, though. Right? It wasn’t like the Blue Spirit could really be–

“It’s a really famous picture now,” the girl with the binder whispered to Aang. “It’s the only thing like it that hasn’t been censored by the Dai Li. See, in The Adventures of the Blue Spirit and the Avatar, the Fire Lord has a legitimate reason to hate the Avatar.”

…was stopping him from destroying the world not legitimate?

“Oh?”

“Oh, I love this one. Show him the comic strip!”

“Here it is!”

Aang looked down to see a single panel of Fire Lord Ozai, this time wailing, “my hair!”

“Uh…”

“The Avatar was flying a kite,” one girl explained, “and he was messing with the wind currents – but it made storm clouds fall on the Fire Lord’s parade and ruined his hair!” They all chortled. “Literally you rained on his parade!”

Aang… did not know how to react to that.

“So anyway, the Avatar and his friends join the Blue Spirit and fight crime and evildoers!”

“Yeah, the Blue Spirit is a vigilante, you know that, of course,” one girl said and actually, Aang had not known that. “So they team up with the Avatar and with the whole Gaang–”

“Pardon?”

“Oh yeah, isn’t it great? It’s ‘gang’ but with 2 ‘a’s, like your name! To encompass all of you together!”

Aang hummed. He did like it, actually. Sokka would be upset that he hadn’t come up with it.

Especially if the person who did come up with it was really–

But surely it couldn’t be. How would Zuko have even gotten into Ba Sing Se?

From the confrontation between Aang and Zuko after Aang tracks down the creators of the comics (with some shippiness)

“Soooo,” Jin drawled, sprawling in a booth in the otherwise empty teashop, “guess what happened today?”

Zuko, busy wiping down a table, didn’t answer.

“C’mon, guess! It’ll interest you, I promise.”

“I dunno. You… had an idea for a comic?”

“That happens every day, Li,” she said flatly.

Zuko sighed. “Just tell me.”

“Fine, fine,” Jin paused, making him wait, and then she burst out, “the Avatar came by the shop!”

Zuko froze, blood draining from his face. The Avatar. The Avatar was here. The Avatar was here and knew about the comics, elsewise why would he have gone to Jin’s family’s shop?

Oh, this couldn’t be good.

“Li? You okay?”

Before Zuko could answer – negatively – the door to the teashop opened and the Avatar walked inside.

Zuko wanted to die. This was it. This was the end of him. This was when his cover would get blown and everyone would know and hate him and–

“Hi,” Aang greeted them pleasantly. “I’m looking for Li.”

Zuko just about swallowed his tongue. There was no way that Aang had failed to recognize him. The change in hairstyle did not make up for the huge disfiguring scar.

Raising a shaking hand, Zuko managed a strangled, “I’m Li.”

The Avatar smiled. What even–?

“I thought it might be you,” Aang said. “But I also kind of thought I was probably wrong.”

Not having any idea what to say, all Zuko could do was swallow drily.

“Huh,” Jin said, “you really have met the Avatar.”

Zuko flushed. “I told you!”

“You say lots of things, though,” Jin contested. Usually, Zuko was grateful that she let his slip ups go so easily, but right now, he was just annoyed.

“I don’t lie,” he frowned. That was a rule for him. His whole identity may be a lie, but at least he would do his best to live honorably.

Aang coughed and Zuko flushed brighter, jerking his attention back to the man who, technically, was still his enemy.

“Sorry,” Jin laughed, holding out her hand, “hi, I’m Jin. I hear you went by my family’s shop earlier looking for us?”

“You’re the illustrator?” Aang asked.

“Yep, that’s me!” Jin beamed, showing off her chipped teeth.

“Wow. You do a really good job of showing different places,” Aang complimented and Zuko stared. What was even happening?

“Oh, that’s all thanks to Li,” Jin demurred. “Sometimes I dunno whether his descriptions are accurate or not, but he believes in them so much that it just seems right to go with it.”

Zuko groaned, slapping a hand to his face. “Jin…”

Aang smiled wider and it made Zuko’s heart pound, cheeks turning pinker. “Well, you both create very good comics,” Aang said casually, as though Zuko wasn’t close to expiring on the spot.

“You – you read them?” Zuko croaked.

“Of course,” Aang said. “We had to see what was being written about us!”

Oh. Great. So all of Aang’s friends had read them. Fuck.

Oh Agni, did that include the most recent issue? Maybe he was lucky for once in his life and it didn’t–

Aang pulled out a comic and the cover was quite familiar. Jin had drawn the Blue Spirit in the middle in a ridiculous pose that really emphasized his butt – even moreso than the original draft, because Jin was an asshole and made the change after he complained. Behind the Blue Spirit were various headshots of the Gaang – Zuko came up with the name and he was rather proud of it – with little hearts all around them.

The cover proclaimed, ONE OF THESE PEOPLE IS THE BLUE SPIRIT'S SOULMATE – BUT WHO!? and the story was all about one of the regular villains, Sparkler – who totally wasn’t Azula – trying to find the Blue Spirit’s lover to blackmail him. After she was defeated, the true lover was revealed… with a kiss, because of course it was.

Zuko felt like he might cry at the absurdity of this being how his life falls apart (again).

“Sooooo, um…” Aang started and Zuko could not look at him.

“In my defense,” Zuko started, his mouth absolutely disconnecting from his brain, “it was a reader request.”

Aang tilted his head. “What does that mean?”

“Oh, you don’t read the letters at the end of the issue?” Jin asked, “you really should, they’re quite fun. We answer questions and requests from readers – mostly kids, but sometimes their parents, too.”

“And a kid… asked about–?”

Zuko just nodded mutely, but Jin – the traitor! – explained, “they asked about who the Blue Spirit’s soulmate would be. And obviously – ow!” Zuko elbowed her hard in the side, but it was too late. Aang’s eyebrows were high.

“‘Obviously’?”

“I mean, have you read the flirting?” Jin asked. “Li writes fantastic banter, doesn’t he?”

“Fucking hell, Jin, shut up!” Zuko hissed, and he was sure that his face was hot enough to be steaming. Hopefully Jin wouldn’t question it.

“Oh, all right, all right, I’ll let you two talk alone. But don’t forget the afternoon rush will be soon!”

So saying, Jin sidled out the door, headed back to work. The Avatar opened his mouth as soon as she was gone and Zuko quite abruptly wanted her back. He scrambled around for a change of topic and grasped the teapot next to him.

“Tea! Would – would you like some tea? We have–”

“I liked the tea jokes in the comics,” Aang said calmly. How was he calm when Zuko was about to shake out of his skin?

The pottery clattered slightly from his trembling hands, but he served Aang a cup of jasmine tea. “Those mostly came from Uncle,” he murmured.

“Well, they were fun,” Aang said, taking the cup and immediately sipping it as though it hadn’t been poured by his enemy. Then he smiled. “Jasmine. I like jasmine. It was my mentor’s favorite.”

“I know,” Zuko said without thinking.

“You… know?” Aang blinked. “How?”

“Uh.” Oh Agni, how was he supposed to explain this. “One of the Elders at your temple kept a journal. It survived.”

Aang stared. “Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Zuko nodded. “Monk Tashi. He complained about how often you got into trouble and how Monk Gyatso only encouraged it.”

Aang inhaled sharply, breath hitching at Gyatso’s name. Zuko could only imagine how much the loss hurt him. If Zuko ever lost Uncle…

Okay, that’s all I got, but I’m very excited for this series, so I hope you enjoy!

#atla #zuko x aang #zuko & jin are BFFs #wip wednesday #fic planning #seduction of the innocent

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classic-storydragon · 1 year

Text

Dragon blade sub-plot fix (pt.1)

I’ve been thinking about how to improve Martyn Baynton’s Dragonblade novel. One idea I had would be to write the sub-plot with Jester and Gunther from Gunther’s POV.

Here’s how I envision the story to go:

Gunther greets his friends (yes, they are actually friends) from the castle with news he has to share. He sits down next to Jane (which Jane doesn’t seem to mind but Jester does) and shares that Haroldus is coming to visit. Cue lively discussion of fond memories of Haroldus’ last visit.

Later, Gunther joins the group of knights that take Haroldus out to the local tavern. Since that scene is from Jane’s POV, Gunther won’t play a major part, though he does observe what happens as Jane interacts with Robert the forester.

The next night, Gunther goes on his date with Lady Rose. He, of course does his part as the dutiful boyfriend, but it’s obvious he isn’t into the date. In fact, he is secretly wishing that it was Jane with him instead of Rose. We learn that Gunther has harbored romantic feelings for his partner/rival for a while, but has never acted on them due to Jane seeming to reject all advances from other men. There has even been some distance between her and Jester in recent years when the latter’s feelings became more apparent. Rose does notice Gunther’s distractedness, but for her own reasons, doesn’t make a big deal of it.

Gunther gets home after the date, and as he enters the living room, he notices his father and Rose’s father talking in low tones in another room. Their backs are turned, so they don’t notice him coming in. Gunther listens in as they unveil a plot to essentially overthrow the king.

Now Gunther has a dilemma. Does he report what he knows as a loyal knight, or does he keep it a secret as a loyal son? He confides his situation to Jane, Jester, and Dragon, and together, they hatch a plan to thwart Magnus. Things come to a head when Gunther realizes that this situation cannot be resolved unless he decides where his loyalties lie.

How it helps:

This new story line would bring a unified theme to the novel. The current story seems to have two different stories with no connection except that the characters happen to share the same world. Gunther’s struggle in my plot would tie into Jane’s story, where she also has to decide between conflicting loyalties. Parallel themes often provide a sense of unity when balancing different story lines within the same story.

On a side note, Gunther having to confide/trust in Jane to help him overcome the merchant's scheme would also be great fodder for the Janther ship. Just thought I'd mention that.

It would also bring consistency to Gunther's character and build his arc in a believable way. We've already seen Gunther struggle with doing what he knows is right, especially when that means standing up to his father. However, we have yet to see him actually hold Magnus accountable for the horrible stuff he does. Seeing Gunther make a final defiance against his father would certainly be satisfying.

And that's all the thoughts I have for now. I hope to write other ideas for improving the novel. But for now, thank you all for reading this, and have a pleasant day.

#jane and the dragon #gunther breech #storytelling #dragonblade novel #martin baynton

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queenbananya · 1 year

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Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks....

Hi! Thanks for the ask!

I always find these types of questions difficult to answer because I don't have a set list of characters ranked somewhere, especially if we're talking about all types of media, but I'm going to cheat a bit and look at my favorites from Mal. So, this will focus mostly on anime characters as that is the type of media I consume the most, with some others thrown in there as I remember. Not particularly in order:

1. ZURA. from Gintama

He's also the one from my profile icon. I love this guy. He's a fucking idiot. And he is absolutely hilarious he never fails to crack me up no matter what mood I'm in. I have a lot of characters from Gintama I love, but I tried to stick to just one from the entire series or they would take up all ten spots here, and from the entire cast, I have to give it to Zura. He's a terrorist, and comes up with the stupidest of plans, like flipping the toilet paper of his sworn enemy, LOL. He can go on and on about a story while he's driving a car and doesn't realize he is crashing in the meantime. And hence why he can't get a license (and the only reason he needs a license in the first place is so that he can get an ID to be able to rent DVDs of outdated dramas he thinks are trending [they're not]). I have to give praise to Sorachi, the mangaka. He must have been on crack while writing Zura scenes xD

2. Griffith from Berserk

Griffith. Beautiful Griffith.

Griffith gets a lot of hate and deservedly so, and there's a lot of Griffith apologists out there, but I love him. I fucking love him. He's such a well-written character. The best unreliable of narrators, though for most of the story we don't actually get into his head and only that of his archnemesis, his friend, the object of his dreams and desires, his ultimate source of failure, and success, later, I guess - Guts. So we only see how Guts sees him, and it's such a tragic story because the assumptions that Guts makes about him, the way he adores him and grows to hate him, they make sense, but to us as the viewers who know these two just loved each other so much to the point they threw away what they cared about the most - it's such a good story. I mourn for Miura and the story he never finished telling.

3. Joe from Ashita no Joe and Megalo box

Yabuki Joe.

This poor boy. I mention both Ashita no Joe and Megalo box because Megalo box was an anniversary special project based off of Ashita no Joe. Not another adaptation precisely, but more of a modern cyberpunk approach to the classic with more mature themes. I love both versions of Joe. In the older classic, you have this orphan boy that is happy roaming around doing nothing with his life, until he meets this drunk man that shoves boxing down his throat. It's your typical sports plot of stacking up win after win, until it isn't. The difference is in the characters, and their suffering, their growth. You learn to love Joe. He's an annoying little brat that wins your heart gradually, and towards the end, when it's over, you feel as though you've lost a friend.

In Megalo box, Joe is a bit older, and is dealing with things that are very real and that the og Joe would have also had to deal with, had things turned out differently. It's a great complement to the original. An AU of sorts.

4. The Fool from the Elderling series by Robin Hobb

The Fool. Beloved. Amber. They have many names and aliases, from Robin Hobbs' fantasy series The Elderlings.

Beloved is such an interesting character, not defined by any societal expectations and always confusing everyone with their words. We watch them grow throughout the series, from the king's creepy little jester that unsettles others, to an adult that is admittedly treated very harshly by the author (the story) but I still love to death. Here are some of my favorite quotes by the Fool:

"You are confusing plumbing and love again."

“As for what it means, how should I know? I’m a fool, not an interpreter of dreams. Good day.”

"Tomorrow owes you the sum of your yesterdays. No more than that. And no less."

“I have never been wise”

“Don’t do what you can’t undo, until you’ve considered what you can’t do once you’ve done it.”

5. Yang Wenli from LOTGH

Yang Wenli from the Legend of the galactic heros. A classic anime series and one of my favorites. Again, I struggled to only choose one character from the series, because I really love Reinhard as well- the other main character, but from the two I had to to with Yang Wenli.

LOTGH is a space war epic between two different states, the old galactic empire, and the newer, democratic planets alliance that broke free. Yang Wenli belongs to the latter. And while it may sound like the better choice-and he thinks so, as well-it's only the better choice from a theoretical standpoint. Because the one he's up against from the empire, Reinhard, is a wonderful leader. The kind that comes around only once in a century. Meanwhile the so called democracy is corrupt and ugly. Heading downhill while the empire is only getting better. And that's where the two collide. I love Yang Wenli for his idealism, his self awareness of his flaws, and those of others. He once says, 'if I was born in the empire I'd be flocking to join Reinhard's ranks'.

He's a realist, and a damn genius. And that's where the tragedy and irony strikes- because of the badly led and structured democracy he's in, he doesn't have full command of the army. He doesn't have any real power. All the corruption and red tape don't allow him to do much, to use his full potential, so he's always a step behind.

And yet. All he wants in life is to retire peacefully. He didn't even want to be a soldier, but he's dragged there by others, a bit of a pushover that he is. He's a tragic character really. Full of contradictions that he himself is aware of, and you can't help but love him for it.

6. Zhou Zishu from tian ya ke/word of honor

Zhou Zishu.

He is just. So. Relatable.

A burnt out man in his early 30s/late 20s who only wanted to live his last few years in peace. Essentially committed slow suicide to get the fuck out of his job because he couldn't take it anymore. We've all been there. Not that I'd take such drastic measures but. Who hasn't fantasized getting into an accident on their way to work to, you know, not go to work? Just me? OK. Moving on lol (according to reddit it's actually quite common. Sad that we live like this. Kudos to zishu for doing something about it).

The novel (tian ya ke) is quite different from the drama (word of honor), where the gif is from. The characterization is also a bit different, and I have to say I prefer novel! Zishu over drama! Zishu. He's more free, more shameless, learns to live without shackles and is not your typical protagonist. In fact, he's no protagonist at all. He's really just a side character, despite being the narrator of the story. Like many of us. But the man learns to be happy. Learns to fly free.

7. Wen Kexing from tian ya ke/word of honor

I broke my own rule about one character per series because there is no way I can have A'Xu (Zhou Zishu from above) listed anywhere without his Lao Wen. They come as a package anywhere they go. Anywhere. So here is my favorite malewife Wen Kexing. A beautiful, eerie man that looks more like a ghost. Knows how to cook. Knows how to clean. Knows how to split your throat in half with his bare fingertips.

He's terrifying. The king of all "ghosts"- the most brutal criminals. He's also someone that learns how to lower his defenses for the first time in his life. How to be a little bit selfless for once. To care for another. He's the one that teaches Zishu how to he shameless. He's fucking hilarious, a flirt, an unashamedly gay man that takes pride in all the men he's fucked and yet will cry crocodile tears to Zishu to let him get it on, and then he'll thank his dead sister for it later. I love these idiots. They're perfect for each other.

Also prefer the novel version of Wen Kexing, but the drama has a perfect cast and beautiful robes. I've got two replicas of them!

8. Nodame from Nodame Cantabile

Idiotic Nodame. Love this girl. She's hilarious and silly and isn't embarrassed to go after what she wants, even if she makes a fool of herself.

She's an aspiring pianist. A piano student to be precise, on the older side compared to her peers. But she's really great at it. Not in the traditional way, because she does things in her own way-- she's with the teacher designated for the worst students and spends an entire semester (or years? It's been a bit, I don't remember) composing a song about farts LOL.

She's a really likeable character, and what I really love about her is her stubbornness and grit to stick to what she wants. It's not something easy to do, and oftentimes we have to make decisions against our own wishes, especially when it comes to our careers. Nodame tries, but all she wants is to be a kindergarten piano teacher, but everyone tells her she shouldn't do that. In the end, her choices are hers and hers only.

9. Balsa from Moribito

I recently finished this anime and fell in love with the MC, Balsa.

It's not often we see strong female leads in anime, that are not only well written but stand on their own without relying on romance or other characters. She's an incredibly strong woman, both physically and emotionally. The series focuses on her growth and her bond with the little burden she's tasked to care for.

She is a little selfish, perhaps a bit too cold. Plain looking, and very much an adult at 30. And she looks like it! Not something you see often in anime. She's a great fighter, and through her journey with this child that she has to care for, she learns of a different kind of strength. And yet, towards the end, she's still the same lone woman we meet at the beginning. Someone simply just... living.

10. Renge from Non Non Biyorin

Little Renge. I adore her. She's adorable and so, so funny.

From Non Non Biyorin, which I also love to bits because I grew up in the country and the country life humor just sends me.

She's a 6 yo child that is smarter than the 8th graders, and always so serious about everything she does, even the cold corner store owner has a soft spot for her. She's like a cat. Really cute, really funny, and really mean, even unintentionally.

Ugh. I miss this show. I wish we had more seasons!

#asks #sorry that took me so long #typing this all up took forever #then I couldn’t decide in the last one but settled for Renge because she's best girl #top favorite #favorite characters

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mareastrorum · 9 months

Text

The Fool and the Soldier: Chapter Commentary

Chapter 1: Death & _______

On off weeks, I’ll be posting some commentary on the prior week’s chapter. Since this is a longfic, I expect that it will be helpful for keeping track of stuff, plus I might mention something you missed. Of course, this will include spoilers, so continue with that in mind.

These aren’t meant to be comprehensive! There is so much more going on that I’m not saying. Feel free to ask questions too, either in replies or asks. If it’s too spoilery, I’ll let you know. I’ll add them to the body at the bottom as I receive them.

See the directory for other meta posts.

Chapter 1

Oh boy, there is so much meta purpose to this chapter. It’s an introduction to many elements of the writing itself (story structure, plot structure, types of scenes, switching POV, formatting purposes, etc.) and also has to set the narrative foundation as to why Molly survived the ambush on Glory Run Road.

I’ll say flat out: I am laying out a lot of clues throughout the story so the reader has the chance to figure out key plot points before they happen. I enjoy a good mystery, and that’s part of what I wanted to provide here. There are reasons for every scene. I’m adding symbolism, motifs, themes, and even specific words in certain points to clue the reader that something’s up. It might take a while to recognize the Pattern, but it’s there.

Chapter Title: Death & _______

The chapter title comes from one of the oracle cards that Molly had in his deck at the time that he died in canon. The side opposite from Death had been empty. It wasn’t until Episode 98 that Jester added Dawn to the card.

The reason I picked that particular card for this chapter was the juxtaposition of lots of death (all slavers) and the fact that Molly lived. There’s this blank for his future when he was supposed to die, and now he gets to fill it with something!

As you may have guessed, there’s a reason for the story title, but that will be discussed later. :)

Opening Scene & Bounty

There is so much plot stuff in these two scenes that I can’t point out much of anything without spoiling. But, as will be the case in many, many scenes, the dates are relevant.

The Ambush

Molly has a +0 to Performance. He is totally average at presentations. Would he admit that? Absolutely not, he’s an arrogant little shit.

In canon, Lorenzo’s killing blow had been twisting the glaive to fuck Molly up, so here, he instead withdrew the glaive and took the gamble whether Molly would live. The Periapt of Wound Closure was what guaranteed Molly’s survival at that point.

Glory Run Road

Some of the dialogue was lifted straight from the transcript because it will be significant to the story later on. I didn’t want to skip such a foundational scene even if part of it was unchanged.

I chose Nott’s POV for this because she was the one who was ambivalent: she wanted to rescue the Nein AND wanted to give up out of fear. Now that the stakes were higher, she gave a lot of insight to both perspectives.

There’s also the aspect that, in canon, Nott had plenty of gold to pay for help at the Sour Nest, but she never volunteered it. She’s still greedy! She still has priorities! And now with the possibility that Molly survived, that gives Caleb (who is more ruthless than the others) reason to try seeking out the Tombtakers in Shadycreek Run since Cree mentioned that is where they started.

Shadycreek Run

This was the first scene I wrote for chapter 1, way back in early November 2022. The way the scene plays out is mostly the same, but the dialogue shifted a bit over time, and I added more to the introduction.

The song is “The Rising of the Moon,” which is an Irish war ballad about the Irish Rebellion of 1798. I’m not a historian, so no summary I can write would do justice to the significance of the rebellion itself, but I highly recommend reading about it. However, the song is about a guerrilla army waiting for a signal to launch an attack against invaders. Since Lucien’s accent in the stream was Irish, and Shadycreek Run was a town to the north of an Empire that repeatedly attempted to subjugate the place, I felt this was the type of song that would be popular in the Run. The phrase “rising of the moon” is used in Irish poetry to refer to rebellion.

Shadycreek Run is going to feature a lot in this story, in ways the reader might not expect. A lot of stuff is going to haunt the narrative.

As awkward as Caleb is early in the campaign, in this partial party full of low-charisma folk, he is the face. A meeting with him and Otis was so fun to come up with. Otis also gives a lot of important exposition that is going to come back later.

Dream: Goldie

“Do you love an apple?” is an Irish folk song from the late 1800s. The original lyric was “Do you love a laddie with curly brown hair?” but I changed that to “bonnie long” to maintain the rhythm and make it more apt to Shadycreek, which doesn’t have a specific racial or ethnic foundation. The town was founded after the corruption of the Savalirwood, and only about half are human, so I don’t think there would be a stereotypical phenotype, even if it has a distinct culture.

This was the first dream that I drafted. Dreams are going to be a big thing in this fanfic, so the primary meta purpose was to acclimate the reader to what those dreams will be like. First, there’s a different dinkus (which is a real term, I swear) to start off this scene, ⁂: an asterism instead of a set of three asterisks (* * *). Second, there’s suddenly a poem/song, not as dialogue, but still perceived by the narrator. Third, it is Molly’s POV, but very definitely Not Molly in the scene. The fun question is whether all three of those will always happen in each dream. There are a few other things that happen in this dream that will be common among other dreams, but those patterns will emerge over time.

It should be pretty obvious to anyone with a cursory familiarity with Campaign 2, but this dream is the first time that Cree and Lucien met as children in Shadycreek Run. It gives a sneak peak to the backstory that I developed for Lucien in this AU (which will be its own meta post down the line). Notably, child Lucien speaks another language (Irish/Gaeilge) and his accent is visibly thick—something that will come up a few times later on. Since I can’t make the reader hear his way of speaking, I made it visible.

There’s a few points in this dream that will come up again either as themes or motifs. It will be worth revisiting later.

Molly and Lorenzo

This scene was originally much shorter, featured Wohn instead of Lorenzo, and didn’t end quite as viciously. The first point of this scene was to make clear that the prior scene was a dream. Secondly, I realized that without killing Molly, that lessened the impact of Lorenzo’s villainy, and in turn, that lessens the tension, disdain, and catharsis. So I switched it to Lorenzo and made him worse. Third, I needed to dive in a bit into Molly’s perspective of the situation because fight scenes are terrible vehicles for that, and there won’t be another scene in Molly’s POV this chapter.

What did Molly focus on? His situation is pretty fucked, but once he collected his thoughts and realized where he was, his first thoughts were of the others and what he could do to help them. That said, he doesn’t have anything that could break him out, but the others do. Note that he thinks everyone was captured because he was captured—he definitely wouldn’t get caught all by himself, nuh uh!

This second scene also gives more insight into Molly’s way of thinking. He does not like carrying blame or guilt, so his default cope is revisionist: that couldn’t have been what he did/said/thought, that’d be ridiculous. But he can’t just undo a thought that already happened, so visually, we see him cross it out and rationalize it away. I thought this was a fun way of demonstrating Molly’s inclination for denial as a coping mechanism (“I’m not panicking” from the first meeting with Cree; drinking and having a silent breakdown in Alfield after his first Rite of the Dawn). Not every character’s quirks are dealt with through formatting (compare to Nott, who copes via projection, drinking in excess, etc.), but since Molly is going to feature heavily, even when he’s not the main character of a particular arc, it seemed appropriate to add a unique visual to his POV scenes.

Another thing I wanted to highlight is that while Molly likes having a battle plan, he’s not the best strategist. His conclusions that they could have gotten the Shepherds to surrender and that the Nein could fight their way out of a dungeon after all getting beat to hell are both rather delusional. While he would probably realize that on his own, he’s also concussed and lacks enough information to realize that, so the point is to show that he’s inclined towards optimism/arrogance: the best result would be that they worked together to break out, so here’s how it could work even though he doesn’t have a reason to think there are enough factors in their favor. “That’s where Caleb would come in. He’d figure it out.” That keeps the despair of helplessness at bay, but it also provides a wholly irrational justification for taking Lorenzo’s attention off of Yasha and the others. The reality is that there’s no reason to think doing this would actually help the Nein outside of that narrow circumstance, but thinking that way would be cynical (read: realistic) and would imply that Molly can’t do anything to change the situation, so he never even goes down that line of thinking.

And that results in Molly being sacrificial with good intentions, with a strange flavor of selfishness mixed in. He’d rather get beaten to shit than feel helpless, which ends up backfiring because Lorenzo catches on to how much that would hurt someone else: Yasha. This provides fuel for an arc that we never really got to explore with Molly because he died. Yes, he was courageously willing to sacrifice of himself to help others, but going that far had a profoundly negative effect on the rest of the Nein, especially Yasha. (She wasn’t that quiet/timid until she blamed herself for his death.) It also turns out that him dying was very much a bad thing in canon because then Lucien came back rather easily and began doing the Somnovem’s bidding unhindered. This time, we get to explore both!

Monster Baiting

Caleb’s intro scene is a microcosm of his current place in his character arc. It doesn’t feature him doing all that much because I wanted to match his self-perception that he feels like he’s just stumbling around in the dark while everyone else is pulling him along. He has a far off goal, isn’t sure how he’s going to get there, has people to help him and whom he wants to help, and he’s making dubious allies along the way. What keeps him from spiraling into unproductive naval-gazing is that he has to keep moving for someone else’s sake; he hasn’t yet built the resolve to pursue his own goals except incidentally.

All that said, he’s still haunted by his past. It’s easy for him to slip into dark and judgmental thoughts, especially of people he doesn’t know. Thus, he has constant doubts about Otis even though Otis is clearly loyal enough to Lucien to be willing to work with strangers and risk their own life without any actual proof that Lucien will be at the Sour Nest. That sort of loyalty is dangerously close to what Caleb was like as a Scourger. He does not like it.

In the end, Caleb’s still willing to sacrifice others for those he cares about: he doesn’t care that Otis risks their own life as long as it will help the Nein achieve their rescue. He doesn’t worship the gods either, but he still makes a plea to the Arch Heart on his friends’ behalf. Caleb’s way of caring for people at this point is very pragmatic—it’s less about affection and more about providing practical assistance. We’ll see that change over time, of course!

The Wolf-King Arrives

Caduceus’s POV was very challenging to write because the first several episodes have him slipping into the background for the most part. He goes along for the ride because that’s what he’s used to. He’s the homebody, the one that supports the others when they need it and tends the garden when they don’t. It took a very long time in canon for him to tell the Nein what was happening in his home and that he had a quest to pursue.

Thus, I took the avenue that he’s going to be passive. It was the Wildmother that told him to go with the Nein. It was the Nein that decided where to go from the grove. It was Nott (relaying Caleb’s advice) who decided what they should do when the Wolf-King arrived.

While Caduceus is still shocked by the turn of events, he also isn’t easily overwhelmed. His initial panic fades quickly once Nott suggests a plan. He’s familiar with the Savalirwood, and his family would have had many stories about their adventures. Death isn’t frightening. Violence isn’t frightening. The result is that Caduceus isn’t courageous here. You can’t be brave if you’re not scared. He found a way to frame his situation so that it wasn’t terrifying, and he’s a competent cleric—he’s definitely fended off beasts of the Savalirwood before, so he’ll do it again.

That said, we’re going to see him dealing with unfamiliar schema later anyway.

It Happened Again

SORRY, YASHA. She wasn’t going to spiral into blaming herself for Molly’s death this go around, but if Molly was going to face how his sacrificial tendencies hurt others, it needed to be her. He’s fond of the others, but he is attached to Yasha, and vice versa.

I also wanted to introduce some basic elements of Yasha’s origins comic for readers that may not have seen it. The result was a mostly introspective scene that shows exactly why Molly’s canon death had been so traumatic for Yasha: Zuala died in a similarly risky way, for the sake of her relationship with Yasha, and Yasha could have done more to prevent it. Yasha had only just begun to heal properly when Molly’s death ripped those wounds open.

In this scene, Yasha tried numerous ways to help Molly, but cruelty was the point; Lorenzo was never going to be persuaded to leave Molly alone. Yasha wasn’t strong enough to deal with the situation by herself either. We’re going to come back to those issues several times with both of them.

The Courtyard

Fuckboi Beau is hilarious and there was no way I wasn’t going to include that, even if it’s only a few sentences.

Unfortunately, both of Beau’s POV scenes are fight scenes, which didn’t give much opportunity to get deep into her perspective. That said, I tried to work in how her combat inclinations reflect the aspects of her personality that she hides behind her walls: she’s very willing to cooperate with people on her side in a fight, constantly looking for more information, often concerned about others, and wants to earn others’ approval. Once the fight ends, she’s very observant and doesn’t spend much time naval-gazing; it isn’t the time for it because they have work to do. She does note when people act strangely—Nott volunteering to look for Nila’s son—but her focus is on dealing with immediate threats.

Infiltrating the Sour Nest

I had to work in a small bit with Nott and Otis. Veth’s irrational hatred of Otis was hilarious in canon, so I wanted to replicate it here, even when Otis is being helpful and supportive (in the most creepy, unhinged way possible).

Shakäste cast Guidance on Nott through Anastasia when the hummingbird landed on Nott's hood. Caleb didn't make use of that feature of Find Familiar very much, but Caleb had few spells with a range of Touch.

Nila’s family was also a good way to introduce another aspect of Nott’s character arc: how she views herself and her family. In her origins comic, Nott’s perspective was that Veth had died and Nott came afterwards. At one point, she was in denial that she is Veth. In canon, she also oscillated back and forth whether she was going to turn back into Veth or if she was going to be replaced by Veth. She truly didn’t understand what the hag had done to her! She has so many messy emotions and thoughts on her situation, so it’s going to be intriguing (and sad) to explore that.

The Iron Shepherds

I chose Cad for this POV because he isn’t familiar with anyone’s tactics and he’s very perceptive, so he would notice quite a lot. That gave a solid reason for this scene to be fairly detailed. Not every fight scene in the story will be like this, but it felt like a good show for how I plan out the fights: I get all the sheets together and actually roll everything out. Not everything gets described, but it turned out to be a good way to ensure everyone gets a chance to shine, and it forces me to get creative with certain abilities (especially Caleb’s spells).

My only pre-planned attack was that Nila was going to definitely fry someone with lightning. Problem: Lorenzo is smart and does not like getting fried. Oops.

The Dungeon

The meta purpose of this scene was to introduce that I am 100% trying to make use of every little deviation from canon that I can (because Molly on his own wouldn’t change all that much of the campaign, which will be its own meta post).

In canon, Fjord and Jester woke up immediately after the rescue because the sleep magic wore off. Yasha took another 2 days. The meta reason for that was that Laura and Travis returned at that time (1 episode later) and Ashley hadn’t, so Matt role played Yasha waking up and leaving at Molly’s grave. The narrative reason was that the sleep magic had to time out.

In this story, the Nein delayed their assault on the Sour Nest by about an hour while they left to fetch the Wolf-King. As a result, the sleep magic wore off on Fjord and Jester, but the Shepherds had just cast it on Yasha and Molly. Thus, Fjord and Jester get to join the fight! With trauma! And anger!

The Iron Shepherds, The Iron Shepherds

I wanted to do Otis’s POV for this because they are so different from Caduceus: highly experienced in combat, knows a lot about monsters and classes, and fairly strategic (while also taking stupid risks because it’s fun). It also showed off Otis’s abilities to make clear to the reader that Otis is not the Nein’s level: they are level 14! But unlike Caduceus, they’re not super perceptive, and instead are very analytical. They fixate on things and follow that track until it’s done.

Given the premise of the story, that adds some meta tension about the idea that Otis is likely only a temporary ally. They are sold on the idea that they’re helping Lucien, and this is what they’re willing to do just based on some name drops. What’s going to happen when they see Molly instead?

Guardians

Jester’s POV was difficult because she is trying so hard to keep up appearances, and this was the first time in the campaign where that mask really came down in front of everyone. She is upset. She has so many reasons for it. But there isn’t time to process, so it just haunts her the whole way up to join the fight.

I also wanted to examine Jester’s perspective of her role in the party. She isn’t “the healer,” she’s more of a guardian. She’s not incorrect in her idea that trying to heal to keep up with damage is an inefficient use of spells, but her reasoning for it is still selfish: she wants to deal damage! She wants to sow chaos! It’s fun! We’ll get to see that develop as time goes on.

Fire and Lightning

Beau’s second scene was also a fight, so not much that she can do to process anything. But, like Cad, she’s fairly perceptive, and like Otis, she’s a bit more experienced in combat, so we get to see both how observant she is in general and what happens when she gets tunnel-vision. Plus I wanted to describe how stunning strike feels from her end, so that was fun.

By the end of the fight, each of the fighters got their chance to really stand out. Beau got a sentinel hit and her stunning strike, Caleb buffed his team and got to burn Lorenzo, Nott tricked someone with Minor Illusion and took out a guard solo, Cad had clutch use of his spells and saved several members from death saves, Jester helped take down Wohn (and though it’s not noticed by Beau, her and Cad’s swarms kept Lorenzo far back enough that most of them were shielded from the cone, plus Jester is cold-resistant), Keg got to beat the shit out of several Shepherds, Shakäste did a ton of healing and buffs, Nila fried several members, and Otis assisted with multiple kills using their entire toolkit. Chaotic as all get out? Absolutely. That’s the fun part.

Aftermath

Broody time with Caleb! I wanted to highlight that this episode was the first time he made his wisdom save after burning someone to death. It’s an important milestone in his arc. It also helped set the tone for the story. There’s going to be some low lows, and even in victory, there’s going to be consequences to deal with. They’re scrappy heroes with irrational hopes, so we get to cheer them on.

There’s a bunch of other stuff in this scene as well, but they’ll become apparent later.

Chapter 2 should be posted on Friday next week!

#TF&TS #TF&TS meta #chapter commentary

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utilitycaster · 2 years

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Ok I’m curious, what *are* your top like, 2 ships from each campaign? I’d love to hear more about what you feel constitutes a compelling relationship/theoretical relationship for CR

Ok I'm not sure what this is in reference to but:

Campaign 1: Percy/Vex and Keyleth/Vax

Campaign 2: truly cannot pick from among the canon ships we got so I'm going to say Fjord/Jester and Beau/Yasha just because I liked those ones the longest

Campaign 3: Currently, Chetney/Fearne and Imogen/Laudna. If this question was prompted by this post then yes, said post is in part about Imogen/Laudna, a ship that only I am correct in my feelings about. The other two ships I had in mind are not CR ships.

As for what constitutes something compelling:

In case it's not clear from my C2 answer: in actual play specifically, I will always prefer canon ships unless someone can prove beyond reasonable doubt that something fucked up happened behind the scenes. Because the character's actor is also their originator and, essentially, writer, I am not interested in the ship becoming canon if the people involved aren't all in.

For what it's worth, the (requited) romances that occur in a well-made written work will support the plot or themes of said work, and the choice to make a romance unrequited is itself a significant part of character commentary (C2 also did a fantastic job with this; the ships that were confirmed to be one-sided say a ton of interesting things about the character who had those feelings). What this all means is that if I'm explicitly shipping against canon for a finished work, it means either I don't think it's well-written, or it's a case of people being unable or unwilling to depict gay ships but providing the subtext. (On the other hand I do occasionally have 'I don't want this to be canon but it's fun to think about' and that's just like, its own separate thing, but that's relatively rare for me).

In case it's also not clear from my answers: my absolute favorite ship dynamic is people who have the same or similar flaws, who see those flaws in someone else and still love that person, and in doing so, can respect themselves; this is true on some level for all the Campaign 2 canon ships, and very much so for Perc'ahlia as well. That also means I like ships to be earned through conflict and development in the narrative; the course of true love never did run smooth. The course of really boring bad writing does often run far too smooth.

Also in actual play my rule of thumb is "do the shippers seem to genuinely like both characters involved, or is the ship patently BLORBO/uhhh whatstheirname." Obviously this isn't always true (*cough* that's one of the scenarios the post I linked is about *cough*) but like...without going into details, several of the most popular ships in C2 that didn't become canon were noticeably one-sided in whom the shippers actually cared about as a character, and who they felt should become a mostly voiceless appendage thereof, and that was a real turnoff. It's not the only reason I lost interest, because I do try to consider canon over fanon/fandom, but it definitely accelerated my loss of interest.

In terms of theoretical/not-yet-confirmed ships specifically, the main thought process is: "do all involved parties seem into it," and "can I see an interesting potential path forward with this."

#cr tag #tenser's floating discourse

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mar64ds · 1 year

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JEVIL

where do i begin with my funny little friend... jevil is a character that i have always thought was really fun: a secret difficult boss fight, a mysterious connection to gaster and overall i think he has a really funny personality, i've always really liked him! he wasn't my favorite character and i don't think i was as invested in this character as everyone else was in 2018, back when he was the most mysterious character that we had met so far, but when chapter 2 came out i kind of started to appreciate jevil more? Since we were all so focused on new content that made me remember how much i liked chapter 1 and my love for jevil grew more

I have always really liked his relationship with Seam even if we never see them actually interacting, I have mentioned before that they just seem to me like they would have a very Sam&Max dynamic asdfghjkl and i always like duos like that they are funny and endearing. And adding all that tragedy to their relationship makes it even stronger, I just really like these two and I don't care how their relationship is interpreted they are companions and i like them and if they don't talk to each other in the game again i will break my computer

I focus on him and Seam the most but Jevil is a character that is really fun to make interact with anyone, some based on canon material and others just fun concepts

I think the idea of him and Susie becoming friends (perhaps even family) is so sweet to me, these two have so many parallels and I love the way they interact, Susie is very blunt with him and that doesn't bother Jevil at all, they are two sharks prepared to fight!!

I personally like to think him and Gaster were genuine friends, that Gaster didn't mean for Jevil to end up the way he did, that they both just wanted a friend...

Him and Spamton are really funny, wacky cartoon characters in one room together what could go wrong, funny exes. I know I don't focus a lot on them but I like them and some very talented artists make such cool content of them that it makes appreciate them more, keep up the good work everyone

Jevil mentions Queen once but I really like to believe they got along really well, that maybe all the other kings were stuck-ups but she was always the one who found him funny the most..... 🥹 I think they are friends :)

Now for relationships that are completely made-up by me? Jevil and Toriel, they are friends to me, they are such close friends. Heartache used to be Jevil's theme!!!! They both like jokes!!!! They both have horns!!!!! They both feel trapped and lonely!!!!! They could be best of friends. I also think him and Papyrus could have really interesting interactions, they are both positive people, just two different kinds of positivity

Jevil is a secret boss that doesn't get much screen time and we barely know ANYTHING about him, so a lot of my headcanons are just based on what I believe he COULD have been like or could be like at the moment, it's all pure speculation and having fun with a character i like and that i think has a lot of potential, he's slowly just becoming an OC at this point lol. I like to believe he was a little prankster as a kid and the funny kid on school but he didn't have many friends, when he was a teen he goes through his 'emo phase' and tries to pretend he doesn't care about being a funny little jester anymore and focuses more on his 'grim reaper' style (and the reason why he does this it's not just because it's a funny idea it's because he's tired of being rejected for being so 'different', he's masking pretty much), when he's a young adult he goes back to trying to be a funny jester and he ends up becoming the court jester!! The rest is history and I think he meets Seam after he has been the court jester for a little while

I see Jevil as trans, ace and aroflux! Autistic as well! Jesters and rubber ducks are two of his biggest special interests, he stims with his hat, tail and hands and has a a chew stim toy in the shape of a spade! He of course also vocally stims all the time! He repeats words often and likes to imitate sounds. And I also really like the idea that he has a lisp!

This might sound silly but Jevil has helped me a lot with my confidence towards my autism this last year? Papyrus too, they both have helped SO much. I don't know, i'm a very insecure person and sometimes i think i'm extremely childish (not as in... a mean childish attitude, i mean having childish interests and things like that) or sometimes i can just feel very different from everyone around me, and thinking about Jevil i don't know makes me happy? Like i get it he's the court jester but he's a guy that likes playing games like roundabout and things like that, and he vocally stims all the time and it's established that he was very lonely but the people that cared about him? They cared, they cared a lot, he was someone that was missed. And uh... wow that means a lot i'm going to explode and cry

Anyway, i like jevil, worst character ever

#YOU UNLEASHED THE JEVIL INFODUMP WHAT HAVE YOU DONE #(thanks anon)#deltaruneundertale

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satoshi-mochida · 1 year

Text

Some thoughts and details on my last Gamefly rental, World’s End Club(spoilers for the introductory chapter, for a reason, if you want to skip the first six paragraphs).

During a bus ride for a school trip in 1995, a group of kids, their group called the Go-Getters Club, suddenly wake up in an underwater theme park after a meteor crashes into Tokyo, it’s shockwaves causing the bus to crash.

A small jester-like being named Pielope then tells them they’re trapped and have to play a Game of Fate to escape, having to complete Tasks on their Wristbands to get a Magic Key to unlock the door to leave. There are several catches, though: each Wristband isn’t for the wearer, but someone else, and only 1 can escape, the rest being eliminated, so they’ll need to find their Task from the others and stop the rest from completing theirs in 1 hour. This swiftly leads to a Danganronpa-esque scenario, with betrayal and distrust occurring swiftly, some being noted to not be acting like themselves.

Eventually, the main playable character, Reycho, manages to win, but finds out that those who were eliminated weren’t killed, just captured, and saves them. Pielope prepares to start up Round 2, but is kicked and seemingly destroyed by Pai, who then claims to know who the mastermind is, and they’re in the current group. As she’s about to reveal who, an earthquake occurs, which causes the glass keeping the ocean water out to crack, and a diving helmet falls and hits her head, causing her to forget.

As the exit is still locked from Reycho using the Magic Key to save the others, they appear to be trapped, but Reycho sees a small model submarine to use, and Awakens a power that lets him pitch and toss the heavy diving helmet at it to lower it, the group piling in and escaping.

Washing up on a shore, they find an abandoned town full of overgrowth and see some X-shaped things in the sky, as the player is shown a newspaper that says “Tokyo Destroyed!’. The kids find out they’re in Kagoshima, far from where they were in Karakura. They then split up to explore the city in groups, Reycho’s group finding weird plant monsters and a creepy dog-like creature that chases them. Mowchan, who had wandered off, Awakens his power and drives the dog monster off.

After regrouping, they decide to make the 1200km trek across Japan back to Tokyo to see what happened when the meteor fell. However, Pai’s words about the mastermind are still in their minds, with some suspicion still stirring in the group.

Now, the game really begins.

The gameplay is partly platforming and puzzle solving, with some combat and boss fights, as well, needing to use the kids’ Awakened powers to proceed, but a vast majority of it is story scenes, kind of like a visual novel, and I think the story and characters are it’s strongest points.

Kind of annoyingly, almost everything that can hurt you kills in one hit, though is pretty forgiving with checkpoints. The action parts and puzzles aren’t too difficult overall, either, imo, except near the very end(with one important puzzle feeling pretty clever).

The members of the Go-Getters eventually Awaken to a unique power, used by pressing the ‘A’ button, Reycho being able to throw heavy objects, Mowchan being able to turn to iron and roll around, etc. A few, namely Chuko, Tattsun and Aniki, need to be ‘prepped’ before the abilities can be used(for example, Chuko quickly eats a bag of spicy Karamucho chips to be able to breath fire when you hit ‘A’, which takes a couple seconds).

Their Awakened abilities can be fun, though I feel that the game doesn’t have them use their Awakened skills as much as they could, since you only ever get to use one at a time(you can’t manually switch between them; it’s always story-based who’s being controlled), though a few sections have them playable in succession after a short cutscene. I’m guessing the story was the heavier focus, but that’s done well, so it’s not too big a deal. Maybe they can expand on this type of gameplay in a later project.

At several points in the story, the group will make camp, and you’ll be able to speak to everyone present. Anyone with new dialogue to say will have a ‘!’ above them, and ‘...’ when they don’t.

Multiple times in the story, there’ll be points where the story branches, either the group splitting up or choosing to all go somewhere over another. Once you finish Ending 1, you can go back and choose to go a different way, needing to see everything to see the True Ending, but you’re stuck with what you chose until then.

Throughout the Action stages, there’ll be Stickers to collect of an in-universe Super Sentai series, indicated by an area having sparkles floating around. Most of them are easy to get, but a couple are slightly more difficult to reach or make appear. You don’t get anything for finding them all, they’re there just there to look at.

The game has a very nice-looking, charming artstyle and characters(which also translate well to their 3D models), done by ‘take’(who also did designs for Pokemon Sword and Shield), and it kind of feels like a field trip or mini-tour of several parts of Japan(they even go to Shirakawa-go, the same village Hinamizawa from Higurashi is based on, though aside from evening cicadas crying, it’s not otherwise referenced). The story is mostly light-hearted, unlike other Kazutaka Kodaka/Kotaro Uchikoshi works, but does have heavy moments here and there.

The club have their own charming anthem that they sing on a few occasions. Here’s one of the first English versions that plays during the game. It’s sung by the cast in both English and Japanese voice tracks, the former including AmaLee, who voices Vanilla, and sounds good in both to me.

The group even has a little ‘gesture’ they do, two fist bumps to their own chest and then outstretching their right arm while doing a thumbs up, which I may have joined in on a few times.

I won’t say who it is, because it’s a big spoiler, but I feel like there’s a certain character that I’d like to have seen some more interaction with between them and the main characters.

Though their other works are probably overall better, I definitely recommend this, and it seems to go on sale mildly often, from what I’ve seen.

Next game being sent is: One Step From Eden.

#World's End Club #Death March Club #Thoughts on my rentals

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