#Viewpoint Circle for Dialogue

[myheartwillbringmehome]

Quick throwback to the last few weeks of my MBA last spring

Brew and Blendz doesn’t taste very good, but as the only coffee shop in the vicinity of the Business building, it had to do

[quacks-reviews]

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Available on PC, Xbox, PS5, Mac, and apparently iPad

Played on PS5

Time Spent: 38 Hours

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a game I wanted to like, I’ve been a fan of the series since the first game oh so many years ago. It could be a mix of a bunch of shit, but long story; I got bored and quit.

Now! What exactly got me there? I will say it has nothing to do with any kind of glitching issues, whenever I play games, I don’t really ever get to a point where I cause a game to break down like that; I didn’t even have issues with base Cyberpunk 2077.

Let me start with “The Good”:

Playable Characters: One of my favorite things about the game is that both characters have very clear and distinct playstyles

Naoe is basically the “Assassin” character, if you need to be stealthy and don’t want to be seen, play as her and at night. And holy shit did it feel great! Being able to get in and out of a fort without anyone noticing was probably the best I felt playing this game. She’s also your parkour character, if you need to get to a viewpoint; make sure you switch to her

Yasuke is the tank, if you want to go head first into combat he’s your man (once you unlock him 10-ish hours in). He’s also almost comically strong it feels like, we’ll get back to that. If you do somehow get him up to a viewpoint, he looks like he’s going to fall over at a moment’s notice; hell, you’ll even get an achievement when you get him to jump into the hay AND watch him bounce right the fuck back out.

Base Building: I spent a quite a bit of time actually trying to place buildings and decorations in pleasing places.

The Weird:

This just stuff that feels… “off” when I play, not necessarily bad, just odds and ends that may be able to be easily dismissed by other players.

Yasuke is comically strong. At times it’s one way to show the differences between the two characters; Naoe will climb or hop over fences, Yasuke will bust through them. However what happens when they hit a locked gate in a fortress? That’s right, Yasuke uses his head and becomes a battering ram to bust that sucker down. Now this is probably an attempt by the developers to even out the abilities of the two characters so take that how you want.

Canon Mode: a somewhat new feature for the series that takes away most dialogue choices and replaces those scenes with a normal cutscene. I would recommend doing that option, mainly because it just looks terrible. With characters moving with an animatronics grace to hit every motion the dialogue choices require without them pausing to wait for the player to choose the needed dialogue.

The UI in relation to the quests: this is probably a weird mind goblin on my part, but while it is easy to differentiate between main and side quests, the fact that they share the same screen without much separation outside of circle size gives me the feeling of “if it’s all on this screen, it’s all important”

The Voice Acting: this is something that I find has become more hit-or-miss as the games have come out, weird or just poor line reads that are being let into the game proper: with Origins, Odyssey, Vahalla it would just be a single line. For Shadows, it was an entire side-character, whose tone sounded somewhat like a grade schooler giving a book report. Notable exceptions being Naoe and Yasuke who sounded great

If the articles made it to you, then you probably know: Ubisoft is kind of a scum-fuck company. Not the worst, but still a shit place to be. And also probably one of the reasons I dropped off.

The Bad:

These are the things that actively drove me away

The Map Size: while the map is supposed to be smaller at least in comparison to Valhalla, Shadows continues the Ubisoft tradition of needing a big-ass map for… reasons? And not really using it to the best of their abilities

The Leveling System: Shadows has two leveling systems that play into each other. The first is the normal system; gain experience, become bigger level, ???, profit. The other is a Knowledge Point system, that breaks the skill trees into segments and locks you out of higher rank skills until you complete a certain number of activities. There’s probably some good examples of this out there, but shadows isn’t one of them especially since it can force you to cross the entire map to do stuff you probably don’t want to do to be able to do skills that you want.

Activities: The Activities are broken up between a few different ones: a couple QTE variations, going to temples and praying, going temples and finding scrolls, archery, exploring tombs, or parkour. There can be some fun to these, however the fact that you’re kind of forced to try and find them to unlock the full skill trees can cause them to overstay their welcome and become boring.

The Hidden Blade: WHY CAN’T THE HIDDEN BLADE JUST BE A ONE HIT STEALTH KILL? DON’T JUST MAKE IT AN ACCESSIBILITY FUNCTION, IT SHOULD JUST BE A MAIN FUNCTION!

Score: I quit, so that should probably tell you what I think

Next up: Slay the Princess

[eternal-echoes]

“In the context of the ongoing digital revolution, we must rediscover, emphasize and cultivate our duty to train others in critical thinking, countering temptations to the contrary, which can also be found in ecclesial circles. There is so little dialogue around us; shouting often replaces it, not infrequently in the form of fake news and irrational arguments proposed by a few loud voices. Deeper reflection and study are essential, as well as a commitment to encounter and listen to the poor, who are a treasure for the Church and for humanity. Their viewpoints, though often disregarded, are vital if we are to see the world through God’s eyes. Those born and raised far from the centers of power should not merely be taught the Church’s social doctrine; they should also be recognized as carrying it forward and putting it into practice. Individuals committed to the betterment of society, popular movements and the various Catholic workers’ groups are an expression of those existential peripheries where hope endures and springs anew. I urge you to let the voice of the poor be heard.”

-Pope Leo XIV, Address to Members of the “Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice” Foundation, 17 May 2025 

[perditus]

Fenris has been on my mind as of late and I think there would be some interesting dialogue between him and Solas. Specifically because their viewpoints don't quite align entirely. Fenris follows the Chantry and believes that Circles DO work (but will acknowledge that there can be abuses and does not agree with that). He might fight against slavery of elves but I don't think he could ever commit to entangling magic into it. Like, in the comics, when he doesn't agree with his companion's suggestion of sneaking into whatever the Venatori are up to and using their 'power' against them. I think that would be the main reason he wouldn't end up joining with the agents of fen'harel if they ever did approach him while he was tearing through the border. even in my veilguard verse with him he's very reluctantly aligned with the shadow dragons because of their ties with the magisters. he's very wary about it. but as long as there's no blood magic - and there isn't - he's able to work through it.

[pommedepersephone]

You Say Potato, I Say Excellent! Or blocking, dialogue and legacy of morality tales in ‘The Resurrectionists’ minisode PART I

Alternate title: how Aziraphale’s naivety in this episode was supposed to make you a bit outraged

I have to shout out to @bowtiepastabitch for their AMAZING historical analysis of this minisode - it prompted me to finish this long ramble that has been drifting in my notes. Anyway, I have a major obsession with the ways blocking and dialogue interplay in Good Omens - you can check out my analysis of the blocking in the flashbacks in S1. But The Resurrectionists is really something special. This got so long I am splitting it into two parts. See Part II here!

I should start with three important caveats that brought me to this analysis -

If we accept that S1 is narrated by God, then I propose that S2 is being told from the viewpoint of our Ineffable Man Shaped Beings - and they are NOT reliable narrators.

All three minisodes share a feeling of being… stories. They feel like a slightly exaggerated version they might be told between two old friends sitting in the back room of a bookshop, soused off wine and whisky. Like a journal entry that you don’t actually expect outsiders to see.

All three minisodes have some relation, in style and structure, to film and literature. I'm focusing on the lit aspect here. A Companion to Owls is very illustrated bible. Nazi Zombies from Hell is a pulp fiction master class. So what is The Resurrectionists? A morality tale.

My first thought when we opened on the romantic graveyard date in Edinburgh was “OH it’s like a penny dreadful!” but it didn’t take me long to reassess. Morality tales are a genre of children’s literature that was extremely popular in the early 1800s where the minisode is taking place. But THIS morality tale itself is a more nuanced version of these stories, more along the lines of what an author important in the Good Omens universe would pen. So, first, a little bit of history behind morality tales and a very important author to know, then we get to the blocking and dialogue!

Morality Tales for Children

There had long been differing views in European circles of thought about the nature of children - were they born innately tainted by Original Sin, or were they born as blank slates? In the late 1700s to early 1800s, the view of the blank slate was winning with the help of highly influential educators like Friedrich Froebel (who coined the term kindergarten and emphasized the importance of play in learning.) 

At this same time, there was a rise in literature produced specifically for children. One of the most popular children’s genres? The morality tale. These stories showed Good triumphing over Evil and the importance of leading a respectable, Christian life. The stories were extremely binary, black and white in their presentation of morality, something which deeply influenced many authors who were raised reading them. Authors like G.K. Chesterton.

G.K. Chesterton 

Over his career, Chesterton wrote several plays, 80 books, 200 short stories, 4,000 essays, and several hundred poems. He’s an interesting guy, but suffice to say for our purposes - he was deeply Christian, and his work contains a lot of religious themes and symbolism which he used to write serious commentary on politics, economics and philosophy. If you haven’t read the book, you should know that it the dedication reads thus: 

The authors would like to join the demon Crowley in dedicating this book to the memory of G.K. Chesterton. 

In fact, Crowley says in the book that Chesterton was “The only poet in the twentieth century to even come close to the Truth." So it is probably relevant that Chesterton had opinions about children’s morality tales. He once wrote -

Many people have wondered why it is that children's stories are so full of moralizing. The reason is perfectly simple: it is that children like moralizing more than anything else, and eat it up as if it were so much jam. The reason why we, who are grown up, dislike moralizing is equally clear: it is that we have discovered how much perversion and hypocrisy can be mixed with it; we have grown to dislike morality not because morality is moral, but because morality is so often immoral. But the child has never seen the virtues twisted into vices; the child does not know that men are not only bad from good motives, but also often good from bad motives. The child does not know that whereas the Jesuit may do evil that good may come, the man of the world often does good that evil may come.

In summary, we know that children’s morality tales were supposed to teach important lessons about Good and Evil. We also know that later authors like G.K. Chesterton were aware of this genre and it influenced their writing (which in turn informs the Good Omens universe). So why pick this framework for this minisode? Because it is FRUSTRATING to watch, on purpose. We are meant to be annoyed with how Good has so little relation to right, to see how complicated doing real good can be, and it lays out a strong case for the complete inadequacy of black and white world views - and not just religious ones.

So (grabs gloves and a knife) let’s dissect the blocking and dialogue, shall we?

Part II: Blocking and Dialogue

[wander-wren]

small things to stop doing in your fics

(or any kind of writing, but i live on ao3. we begin with flat-out crimes and then slowly start moving into things that just bug me personally but aren’t wrong)

epithets. if i’ve said it once, i’ve said it a thousand times. you should only be using epithets for characters whose names we do not know. they can also be used VERY rarely to break up the repetition of names/pronouns or to emphasize characters’ relationships/viewpoints, ie “his boyfriend” or “the asshole.”

writing out accents. please stop. you can include a couple of small things, like “somethin’” or “ya” (for “you”), but even keep that to a minimum. specific turns of phrase/references go way farther imo to establish a character’s culture/background/etc. a little goes a long way, and doing it repeatedly can make sentences hard to parse. this also! applies! to children and babytalk! have you ever listened to a child speak? toddlers can enunciate pretty well!

not enough commas. put commas before names and titles. it’s not “Hey John” or “I’m on it captain,” it’s “Hey, John” and “I’m on it, captain.” also, put them after discourse markers/interjections such as “well,” “so,” and “now.” you should be writing “So, how are the kids?” not “So how are the kids?” even if your character is speaking quickly, you still want the commas because of grammar. it can occasionally be acceptable to omit them if you want to indicate extreme excitement/panic/anger/etc, but use it sparingly.

too many commas. i’m a comma fiend like the rest of you so i’m guilty here too, but we gotta at least stop with the comma splices. commas split and independent and dependent clause, meaning that one part of the sentence cannot grammatically stand alone. if all parts are complete sentences on their own, that’s a comma splice. try splitting it into two sentences, using a semicolon, or rewriting. this is usually fine in dialogue, though, that’s just how people talk.

also, using a lot of commas to denote panic is something i used to be HUGELY guilty of and now i hate it. instead of, “I, I, I don’t, I don’t know,” you can try, “I-I…I don’t—I don’t know!” probably not that much punctuation that close together, but for the sake of example. emdashes and ellipses, my beloveds 🫶

roleplay speak. i don’t know what else to succinctly call this? i’m referring to the tendency to be redundant and over-explain, especially in dialogue. it’s a phenomenon i see constantly in rp circles, usually because of post length requirements (and i have little issue with it there, it’s just the culture). things like:

“Surprise!” Adam shouted, popping out from behind the door.

“Oh my god!” Scott screamed, having been completely startled and not expecting Adam to be home yet.

yeah, we can guess that Scott is startled, right? because of the screaming? and clearly if Adam is surprising Scott it stands to reason his presence is unexpected? why are we stating this twice?

i believe this also comes from the mistaken idea that every line of dialogue needs a tag attached, which is….horrible. you can let the dialogue exist on its own sometimes, friends. you can also include an action beat without a tag. like above, i could have just said “Adam popped out from behind the door” and omitted the shouting altogether. we can assume he is being loud because that’s usually how people do surprises. anyway. moving on.

condescending to readers. this isn’t so much about writing as it is author’s notes and the like, and “condescending” may be a strong word, but i’m trying to be succinct. at any rate, please stop telling your audience to not read your fic? “do not read if sensitive to [blank]” or “if you have [disorder] skip this fic!” is a horrible way to trigger warn. people know their own boundaries. tell them what the work actually contains and let them self-select.

i also find “rest stop/check-in” type notes condescending, like “if you are reading this between the hours of 10pm-4am, go to sleep” and “STOP! have you eaten/drank/walked around in the past few hours? go do that!” again, we know ourselves. i’m not your kid, don’t tell me what to do. i don’t mind a polite, casual little “thanks for reading, remember to drink water and take your meds, bye” note, though.

the others in this category? i will straight up not read the fic over that on some days. ESPECIALLY because, in my experience, the people who are most intense about warning for every little thing are the ones with the mildest fics, and that’s not what i’m here for.

complaining about your own wrong tags. this is, admittedly, such a nitpick, and it definitely is more common in certain communities than others. but as longtime followers may know, i’m a bit obsessed with ao3’s tagging system and it drives me BONKERS when people use the wrong tags and follow it with “not actually but there’s no tag for xyz.” here’s the thing: you can still look at all the works that have ANY tag, just the non-canonized ones can’t be filtered on. and the best way to get a tag canonized is, guess what, to USE it! imagine that. also, if you’re using the wrong tag, you’re just going to clog the filter results and get people who don’t actually want to read your fic. just stop.

[hoboblaidd]

I’ve been listening to old banters to get the rhythm of how Solas talks, and I’m gonna word vomit a little on his relationships with the Inner Circle. Long rambling post so under a cut.

Solas and Cole’s interactions are wonderful. They’re speaking the same language, they don’t need clarifying questions to get what the other is talking about, and with Cole we actually see the wisdom (“Wisdom”??) part of Solas on full blast. And since they’re speaking this weird language, Solas is more Solas than he is with anyone else. I also love how he talks Cole down from a panic attack, it’s a little thing but so wonderful. A big question is does Cole know exactly who Solas was? Possibly debatable, but I like to think he does and just doesn’t see it as something that’s his to reveal like how he kept Blackwall’s secret. That’s why the Solas post-Inquisition mindwipe is both necessary from Solas’ perspective and so incredibly violating (and sort of retconned with Trespasser?? maybe proximity to a full power Solas took the edge off it, or it was only ever a stop gap, or the writers tried to water it down which would suck). Speaking of, no one reacts to the more minor mindwipe Solas does in the post-breakup banter with a romanced Lavellan. This random apostate mage just changes the channel on Cole’s empathic read and no one is like ‘hang the fuck on a minute, he just out-spirited a spirit.’ 

Aside from Cole, Solas and Varric are the friendliest of his interactions, but I like that it’s not all sunshine and roses. Solas has his (frequently racist) viewpoints that he dumps on Varric, but Varric pushes right back without ever becoming antagonistic. It’s a clash of two competing world views and the wisdom that comes with it, built on lived experiences. They’ve both been around the block and come out of it with different ideas, but they can talk about it as mature adults. Some (or all) of this is attributable to Varric’s charisma rather than Solas’. He’s friends with everyone (except maybe Sebastian lol). If anyone was gonna crack Solas’ cold veneer of disinterest, it’d be Varric.

My favorite interactions he has are with Bull and Vivienne. They’re wildly different in tone, but the foundation is similar - both Vivienne and Bull know he’s withholding something, and they dig on it until he deflects (sometimes well, sometimes less so). Solas recognizes Bull’s intelligence and skills at observation, which is nice for a guy who'll be casually racist to a Tal Vashoth inquisitor as a "compliment." They're kind of bros, as much as Solas can be a bro with someone. Plus, the chess game is my favorite thing in Inquisition. But Solas' banter with Vivienne is just the best. He’s soo bitchy and sarcastic, and neither of them back down from their opposing views. Even with a few moments of agreement, they are diametrically opposed and a ton of fun. They're also not at all wrong about each other - could it be that, gasp! both their world views are wrong?? But she clearly reminds him of the Evanuris, which is a nice insight. And as an aside, Solas with his hackles raised, or low approval, gives so much more away about his personality than you can just find in high approval or less antagonistic dialogue. I like the edge to it. I'm realizing my Solas is basically a low approval Solas who is occasionally nice, and I'm cool with it.

His interactions with Dorian are a slightly more one-sided antagonism on Solas’ part. Dorian means well and tries to reach across the aisle, and Solas generally shuts him down. Dorian’s viewpoint makes sense, but so does Solas’. Dorian is beloved and rightfully so, I love him more than I love Solas. But as much as he’s trying to do better, he’s still got a ways to go, and Solas never fully lets him off the hook. I do think Dorian gets there by the end of the game, at least in recognizing that he can't just help with one thing, he needs to go as big as he can until it kills him. And frankly Solas' expectations of him (free all the slaves elven and non in Tevinter) aren't entirely grounded in the reality of a mortal lifespan. But he still should act.

Something that isn’t talked about much is his relationship to Cassandra, which I really like. It’s built on mutual respect, and they both hold their ground on things without getting antagonistic. Cassandra’s occasional “the Maker would give you comfort” rankles me for personal reasons, but he takes it in stride and never dismisses her over it. It’s who she is and it comes from a place of earnestness instead of proselytizing. They’re not friendly, per se, but they don't have to be. It's the best kind of strictly business, coworker relationship you could ask for.

Solas’ relationship with Blackwall is also great, because it starts from a place like ‘two veterans walk into a bar’ sort of camaraderie and ends with ‘this person is a mirror of what i hate that i am’. Solas at least admits that his initial anger re: Blackwall’s lie was wrong, but I think he was more angry that Blackwall ended up being just like him rather than a better version of him. But also how tf did the god of lies etc. not clock Blackwall’s cagey ass before the reveal. Solas is so bad at his job (and yes I know the none of them were gods and all the labels are propaganda and mythologizing but that's less fun than shitting on the god of lies for being shit at lying).

His interactions with Sera are frustrating, but not for what they are, more for the lack of follow up. There’s something odd going on with Sera that seems more than his usual ‘are these elves real elves’ bullshit. But we don’t get anything more than the cryptic stuff he (and Cole) say to her, and some bits sprinkled into her story. Sera’s a frustrating character for me in general because it feels like the writers sort of forgot the seeds they were planting, or figured they’d save it for something that never happened. It might just be me, but I felt like I was waiting for another shoe to drop that never did. I’d like Veilguard to explore it, and maybe it will, but I’m not holding my breath. But, Solas also outlines the entire philosophy and practice of his rebellion when he’s talking to her which is awesome, especially leading into Veilguard where we might get more context.

Those are my deep thoughts. I want to do a deep dive word vomit on his relationship with each evanuris, but a lot of that will be speculation that's likely to be changed by Veilguard so we'll see. We know pretty much jack shit about his feelings on Sylaise and June (aside from my eternal soft spot for June after theshirallen's portrayal).

[danggirlronpa]

Hey mind telling me what the story behind Kiyo’s sister is? I’m kind of clueless and only heard one story of the whole thing😅

This got decently long, so I've put it under a cut. I'll add it to the FAQ tomorrow as well, since it's come up a few times!

I will also request that this post not be reblogged to hate blogs or blogs specifically dedicated to "bad" or "disliked" content. As someone who has been harassed as a result of content being circulated in those circles, it makes me very panicked and anxious to see my work on similar blogs. If you do so, I will need to block you for my own mental stability.

In V3 chapter three, Korekiyo admits to mass murder and takes on the guise of his sister to do so. As a result of being nearly beaten to death at one point, Korekiyo created a tulpa of his dead sister (who we'll call by her popular fan name, Miyadera, from here on). He believed Miyadera wanted him to murder 100 girls, and claimed that they were once lovers.

In general, fans seem to take Korekiyo's claims at face value. Which is...weird, considering how obviously the whole thing is a "mentally ill delusional sexually deviant serial killer" trope played completely straight. And that his worldview includes things like "I should kill people so my dead sister has friends." But let's set that aside, and say that, for the sake of explaining the popular fandom viewpoint, Korekiyo is a reliable narrator.

So in chapter 3, when he is on the brink of being cornered, Korekiyo begins to switch between his own identity and the identity of his sister's tulpa. These are the only potential looks we have into Miyadera's personality. To give you the gist, here are all of the quotes while Korekiyo takes on his sister's guise that are listed on the Wiki.

(Please note that the "Apologize" is directed at another student who challenges Korekiyo.)

I'm going to be honest. I have reread this a LOT trying to figure out what everyone else is apparently seeing here that I am not. At worst, this reads to me as a slightly stern etiquette teacher. But the popular fandom perception is that this dialogue implies that Miyadera was manipulating and abusing Korekiyo. I could not honestly tell you WHY people believe this, but they do.

And people ran with that. They ran with that so hard. Every sin Korekiyo commits is pinned down as being Miyadera's fault, and Korekiyo is absolved of his crimes as a result of being an abuse victim. It's similar to the effect you often see in the way people discuss Junko and Mukuro, except that Mukuro does not invoke nearly as much sympathy on a larger level, even though Junko's mockery and subsequent murder of her sister are explicit canon.

Now, to be clear: I don't buy into this. I think this is an extremely generous reading of Korekiyo's character, and that it removed his agency and the horror of his crimes to make him more sympathetic (particularly for shipping purposes - if you glance through the Miyadera tag, you see a LOT of Korekiyo/Rantaro fics with Miyadera as the evil abuser Rantaro must rescue Korekiyo from). I also think that people give too much credit to the canonicity of Miyadera's "possession" when it isn't clear, even in the universe of the game itself, whether Miyadera is actually a tulpa or if it's an identity that resulted from Korekiyo's trauma, like Syo/Jack.

But on its own, I don't care about it THAT much. People have headcanons I disagree with all the time. I don't really like a lot of people's thoughts about Nagito's backstory, either, but I don't think about it very often, and I certainly don't care enough to get mad about it. The problem is...

People are very, VERY violent about Miyadera.

I'm going to ask you to reread the quotes from Miyadera as a reminder of literally everything we know about her personality. And then I'll ask you to read this post.

This...is, in fact, despite all odds, the predominate opinion on Miyadera. If you go into her character tags, there are an endless number of posts like these, daydreaming about doing violence on her person, murdering her, torturing her, etc.

As a Grandparent (25, the age of spinsterhood), this sets off some alarm bells. This is how people used to treat female characters who got in the way of their favorite ships, like Kairi from Kingdom Hearts. Now, that is popularly understood to have been a result of misogyny. It is horrifying to see that it has survived.

Fantasizing about committing excessive violence against a woman...is misogyny. Making up crimes a woman did not canonically commit as an excuse to justify fantasizing about violence against her is misogyny. It is one thing to dislike a character based on headcanons. It is a totally separate matter to participate in and encourage this level of vitrol solely to make a male character more sympathetic.

To clarify: I do not think that misogyny is the sole reason for this interpretation. By nature, Danganronpa appeals to teenagers, who tend to fall into this type of fandom-wide trap more easily. But it is, in fact, more concerning to normalize this sort of thought process among teens and young people. And so I am very defensive of Miyadera's actual character as a result.

[frankensteined]

31 Days of Dragon Age (Days 18-20)

Oct 18 - Favorite DA2 NPC

i'm not gonna go find a picture of her because her makeup is terrible. but i'm really fond of orana, hadriana's former slave that you can rescue and employ at the hawke mansion. she really ends up becoming a part of the family if you hire her, from the little lines you get about her music skills, to sandal's keenness towards her (she smells like cinnamon buns!), to the genuine sympathy she displays after leandra's death.

and i know that gamlen is far from a likable dude, but i still find him to be a sympathetic character in a lot of ways as well. yeah, he sure did gamble away his sister's inheritance, but i really don't like the attitude that surrounds it because not only had leandra not intended to ever return to kirkwall for it, but it was gamlen who'd taken care of their ailing parents until their passing, to no credit. the chip on his shoulder makes a lot of sense if you look at his perspective there, and he is also capable of softening up towards hawke as the game progresses as well, so i find it hard to really dislike him. he feels human. introducing him to charade is a highlight for me, as is his interactions with hawke after leandra's passing, and if he's all that they have left after the legacy dlc. lowlights for him really do circle around his commentary re: your love interest, and how he acts toward isabela to the point where she complains about him in MotA, but i also need to keep in mind how gross a lot of the dialogue can get in that game (the amount of slut shaming from both your companions, and even hawke themself? woof), so it's not just a gamlen problem, and it doesn't negate the nuance of his character that i appreciate.

Oct 19 - Favorite DA2 scene/dialogue

orsino's transformation at the end of the game is utterly nonsensical if you side with the mages (so much so that it's lampshaded in inquisition!), but the scene leading up to it is heartbreaking and shows the desperation that even a mage who'd "done everything right" can feel when faced with the hatred the rest of the world has for them. his dialogue -"why don't they just drown us as infants? why wait? why give us the illusion of hope?"- with the unspoken implication of they're just going to kill us all eventually anyway, is so memorable and so devastating that the scene has stuck with me since 2011.

and. of course. gotta toss in flemeth's big line here too. it's a classic: "we stand upon the precipice of change. the world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. watch for that moment… and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap. it is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly."

Oct 20 - Favorite DA2 lore/codex entry

this game gave us a deeper look at the qunari and their societal structure from a variety of viewpoints, so while i can't pinpoint an exact codex entry, i'll definitely give this one to: alla that. from the arishok, to ketojan, to seamus dumar trying to understand them, to even tallis and her lore dumps in MotA, i really appreciated getting to understand more about the qun from the people actually operating within it. i haven't yet read the comics that delve a bit deeper into this stuff, so i still hold this game up as my standard in terms of Qunari Stuff. for now. hopefully there'll be more in the future!

[random-thought-depository]

Regarding my idea that you could make a cool animated film adaptation of William Hope Hodgson's The Night Land: have a description of how I'd do it:

To approximate the atmosphere of the book (which lacks dialogue and doesn't give the protagonist a name and I feel has a kind of Temple Grandin thinking in pictures vibe) it would be in the format of an old silent film, without dialogue, mostly just images and music, with some use of cue cards to establish context. Cue cards are in this summary rendered as ALL CAPS.

I think this would be appropriate music for it:

I'd develop Naani's side of the story more, make it a symmetrical companion narrative to X's, and to that end my depiction of the fall of the Lesser Redoubt would deviate substantially from the information we get about it in the novel. I took some inspiration from Nigel Atkinson's A Mouse In the Walls of the Lesser Redoubt, but my version wouldn't exactly follow that narrative that either.

Opening shot would be in space, showing stars, the sun, the moon, and the Earth, almost unrecognizable. The sun has become much dimmer, like a white dwarf, and the Earth and moon are little more than disks of blackness against the stars. The viewpoint begins to move toward the dark Earth.

MILLIONS OF YEARS IN THE FUTURE. THE SUN IS DYING, AND HAS ALMOST CEASED TO GIVE OUT VISIBLE LIGHT.

The viewpoint moves in toward the Earth. Passes briefly over the ruined highlands, with their frozen oceans and glaciers and, poking out here and there, the crumbling remains of huge buildings, just barely visible in the dim sunlight, which is like present-day moonlight. It comes to something like a huge rift valley, the bottom of which is an eerie landscape dimly lit by volcanic activity and bio-luminescence - except, there is also a brightly lit and unmistakably artificial three-sided pyramid down there, which the viewpoint quickly approaches and circles like a bird.

THE LESSER REDOUBT, OR THREE-CORNERED WORLD. PERHAPS THE LAST HUMAN SETTLEMENT.

The pyramid sits atop a large mesa, and around the mesa there is a glowing circle. The viewpoint comes closer. We see that the circle is something like a large glowing conduit, and inside its inner perimeter there is something like a wall, patrolled by armored and armored human figures - I'm thinking something like Matt Isitt's design for the weapons and armor.

THE AIR CLOG AND THE PERIMETER WALL AND THE GUARDIANS KEEP OUT THE PREDATORS OF THE NIGHT LAND.

BUT THE DIREST ENEMIES ARE COLD AND DARKNESS, AND THE WALLS AND LAMPS AND HEATERS OF THE REDOUBT KEEP THEM OUT.

The viewpoint moves into the pyramid. Now we're seeing interior scenes; public spaces filled with people, huge machinery being worked by technicians, gardeners tending plants in huge artificially lit gardens. I think I'd take inspiration from Mexican Art Deco/Nouveau architecture for the Lesser Redoubt's interior spaces, so they'd look a little like this:

But a lot of the architecture and machinery is noticeably run down, and everyone looks similar, like they're all related.

Shots of technicians tending huge machines.

THE LIGHTS AND HEATERS AND THE AIR CLOG AND EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE REDOUBT IS POWERED BY ENERGY TAPPED FROM THE EARTH CURRENT.

ALL IS NOT WELL.

A PERFECTLY ISOLATED POPULATION, THE REDOUBT IS SLOWLY DYING. SKILLS ARE LOST WHEN PEOPLE DIE BEFORE THEY CAN PASS THEM ON. SO ARE GENES; ITS PEOPLE ARE BECOMING DANGEROUSLY INBRED. MACHINERY DECAYS BECAUSE THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE TO DO ALL THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. ONCE LOST, KNOWLEDGE IS NOT EASILY REDISCOVERED, AS IMMEDIATELY NECESSARY WORK MUST BE PRIORITIZED OVER SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION.

THE REDOUBT HAS DEFIED THE ULTIMATE NIGHT FOR A MILLION YEARS. BUT ITS PEOPLE KNOW THAT IT IS SLOWLY DYING, AS THE GREAT WORLD DID BEFORE IT.

THEIR HISTORY BOOKS TELL OF ANOTHER HUMAN SETTLEMENT, A GREATER REDOUBT. BUT THE LAST CONTACT WAS LONG AGO. SHIFTS IN THE LAND HAVE MADE THE LONG ROAD TO THE GREATER REDOUBT HARD. SIGNAL CABLES FAILED AND WERE NOT REPAIRED LONG AGO. RADIO AND AIR TRAVEL ARE NOW LOST ARTS.

EVERY FEW SLEEP-WAKE CYCLES, THE PEOPLE TRY TO CONTACT THE GREATER REDOUBT THROUGH THE MASTER WORD.

The people stop what they are doing. Delicate-looking, complex, golden, glowing things, reminiscent of Arabic calligraphy float up from their heads, float through the air, and gradually disperse and fade. The viewpoint follows some of these glowing floating things as they drift out of the Redoubt and over the Night Land. Some drift over the Night Land until they fade to nothing. Some drift up the kilometers-high cliffs at the edge of the deep lowland the Redoubt is in and dissipate in the highlands where glaciers slowly settle over the ruins of the human civilization of the Bright Days. Some continue to drift across the valley floor, until... They come within sight of an immense brightly lit four-sided pyramid of literally mountainous dimensions, an instantly recognizable bigger sibling of the Lesser Redoubt: the Greater Redoubt! Some of the glowing floating things fade and dissipate before they can reach the bright four-sided pyramid. A few make it inside, and float through the bodies of people in the Greater Redoubt... but the people they float through show no reaction, no awareness of the floaters.

INBREEDING HAS WEAKENED THE MASTER WORD. THE PEOPLE OF THE LESSER REDOUBT CAN NO LONGER TRANSMIT IT STRONGLY ENOUGH FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE GREATER REDOUBT TO HEAR THEM.

THERE IS A LEGEND THAT IF SOMEONE CALLS OUT THE MASTER WORD IN A MOMENT OF GREAT NEED AND PAIN, ONE WHO LOVED THEM IN A PAST LIFE WILL BE ABLE TO HEAR, EVEN IF OTHERS CANNOT...

THE END COMES SLOWLY, THEN QUICKLY...

The huge machines that tap the Earth Current. An alarm goes off. Technicians frantically making adjustments. A great shaking like an earthquake, and an explosion.

Exterior shot of the three-sided pyramid. The pyramid goes dark.

THE MACHINES THAT TAP THE EARTH CURRENT HAVE FAILED.

Interior shots. People going about their business in the Redoubt. People working in the gardens. Each one ends with the lights going out.

The armored guardians outside the Redoubt are plunged into almost-darkness as the glowing circle and the lights of the Redoubt go out.

IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE. THERE ARE EMERGENCY BATTERIES AND GENERATORS. REPAIRS ARE ATTEMPTED.

The pyramid lights up again, though less brightly.

Engineers in consternation before the huge, ancient machines that tap the Earth Current. Trying to make repairs.

THE ENERGY AND FUEL IN THE EMERGENCY BATTERIES AND GENERATORS BEGIN TO RUN LOW.

HARD DECISIONS ARE MADE.

The glowing circle at the base of the mesa goes dark. The armored guardians look at each other in trepidation.

THE BLOOD OF THE GUARDIANS WILL BE SPENT SO THE CIVILIANS CAN CONTINUE TO HAVE LIGHT, WARMTH, AND FOOD.

The armored guardians outside the Redoubt in battle. Their enemies are things like huge black wolves with glowing eyes.

The pyramid goes dark again. More interior shots, each ending with the lights going out.

THE EMERGENCY GENERATORS HAVE RUN OUT OF FUEL.

More scenes of the engineers trying to fix the machines that tap the Earth Current. One of them collapsing, crying, being comforted by others.

THIS TIME THE MACHINES ARE BROKEN BEYOND REPAIR.

A great exhalation of the glowing calligraphy-like floaters of the Master Word from the Lesser Redoubt. We see that some make it to the Greater Redoubt, but the people of the Greater Redoubt cannot perceive them.

A grim meeting of the city's leaders. The room is dim, lit only by emergency lights.

"THE GREATER REDOUBT MAY YET SURVIVE. THEY ARE OUR ONLY HOPE."

"WE SHOULD SEND ONE OF THE GUARDIANS, SOMEONE STRONG, TO TRAVEL THE OLD LONG ROAD, TO SEE IF THE PEOPLE OF THE GREATER REDOUBT YET LIVE, AND, IF THEY DO, TO TELL THEM WHAT WE ARE SUFFERING."

"EVEN IF THEY YET LIVE, AND WOULD AND COULD HELP, IT WOULD TAKE TOO LONG."

"WHAT ALTERNATIVE IS THERE?"

"WE SHOULD ALL GO. ALL OF US. ALL THE PEOPLE."

"WE SHOULD PUT IT TO A VOTE."

A great assembly, in an auditorium dimly lit by emergency lighting. Ballots being taken.

"THE THREE CORNERED WORLD IS DYING, AS THE GREAT WORLD DID BEFORE IT. SOON THERE WILL BE NOTHING LEFT FOR US HERE BUT COLD AND DARKNESS AND GRIEF. SO WE WILL ALL GO. ALL OF US. ALL THE PEOPLE. IN CARAVAN, DOWN THE OLD LONG ROAD ACROSS THE NIGHT LAND. IT IS OUR BEST HOPE FOR SURVIVAL."

"IT IS A SLIM AND DESPERATE HOPE, BUT WE DO NOT HAVE A BETTER ONE."

Preparations are made. Supplies are put into containers and the containers are put onto improvised carts and sleds and trailers and into backpacks. Bedding and light clothing designed for inside the climate-controlled Redoubt are torn apart and sown back together into improvised cold-weather clothing. Chains are put around the wheels of construction machinery so they won't slide in snow while being used as improvised tractors for trailers. The Great Vehicles are brought out from the Hall of Dead Generations.

A huge gate opens at the base of the Redoubt and the column of refugees set forth. They have some vehicles to carry people and supplies, but nowhere near enough to carry everything and everyone; the majority of the people have to walk. The people are bundled up against the cold of the Night Land, and their breath steams in the cold air. Armed and armored guardians walk at the front, back, and sides of the column, to protect the civilians from the predators of the Night Land. They set out along the old long road.

They travel (various cues are used to suggest considerable time passing).

They come to a place where the land has risen. The road now ends in a place of rough, jumbled rocks. With difficulty, a person can walk across this terrain, but it is impassible to the vehicles.

Scouts are sent out, but when they return they report they have found no way around the obstacle for considerable distance.

The vehicles must be abandoned. Supplies and equipment are unloaded from them, to from here be carried on people's backs. Improvised stretchers are made, and people who cannot walk are helped off the vehicles and into the improvised stretchers, so they can be carried. Much supplies and equipment are abandoned with the vehicles; too bulky and heavy for unassisted humans to carry.

The people slowly make their way across a stretch of rough, rocky terrain. Again, cues are used to indicate a significant time passing; if there were still days, it would be days. Eventually they come to a place where the road is relatively intact again.

The people continue walking. More indicators of time passing. The road begins to pass along the floor of a long gorge.

All through the journey, little golden calligraphy floaters of the Master Word go up from the traveling column of humans and disperse into the night. Sometimes they go up in ones, twos, threes, fives, sometimes there is a great simultaneous exhalation of very many of them.

Somebody collapses. Others help them back up. On the high ground above the road, one of the creatures like huge black wolves is watching. We see its thoughts. It imagines itself attacking the person who collapsed, dragging them off into the darkness and feeding on their flesh. Then a second thought: itself trying to do that, being slain by one of the armored guardians. Then a third thought; many creatures like it attacking the refugee column simultaneously, some are slain but they overwhelm the defenders and the ones that are not slain feast.

We see the three scenarios playing out in parallel in three thought bubbles above its head. Then the thought bubbles have something like glowing threads around them, as if they're a bundle bound together with string. This is indeed the visual metaphor being developed; this bundle begins to float away from the creature. The creature generates another bundle like it, which begins to drift away too, and then another. The viewpoint follows some of the bundles as they float away across the Night Land, until they encounter another of the black wolf-like predators and enter it and disappear into it, at which point the creatures instantly raise their heads alertly (one of them is sleeping, and springs to its feet when the bundle disappears into it), look to a point on the horizon with intent, and begin to walk in that direction.

A stylized depiction: the refugee column walking along the road, seen from far above, and a great number of the wolf-like predators are following it and converging on it from many directions.

One of the predators dislodges a stone from the lip of the gorge. It falls down the sloping sides of the gorge. Down in the gorge, somebody looks up and sees many shining eyes looking down from the darkness on the top of the gorge. Spotlights and flashlights are turned on the top of the gorge, revealing many of the wolf-like predators walking atop it and some of them beginning to make their way down the slopes.

A roiling agitation of the moving crowd. Fear. Screaming. A mother grabbing a toddler off the ground to hold them close and carry them.

At the front and back and sides of the column, armored Guardians spin up their diskoi (the circular saw pole-arm this person is holding) and hold them tightly.

"GUARDIANS, EN GARDE!"

A man in Guardian armor with his helmet off and some older people conferring tensely, eying the advancing predators nervously.

"SHOULD THE PEOPLE DISPERSE?"

"THE TERRAIN HERE TRAPS US. THEY ARE CUNNING CREATURES."

"THERE IS A REASON WE CHOSE TO TRAVEL TOGETHER. ALONE OR IN SMALL GROUPS WE CAN BE PICKED OFF ONE BY ONE. THE GUARDIANS CAN DEFEND THE PEOPLE BETTER IF THE PEOPLE ARE IN A MASS. AND WE WILL BE MORE LIKELY TO SURVIVE THE JOURNEY TOGETHER."

Fear is starting to curdle into panic. People are starting to run. Somebody falls and is stepped on. The walking column is in danger of becoming a stampede.

An older woman still wearing the remnants of some fancy clothing along with her improvised insulating jacket and leggings and the blanket she's wrapped around herself to keep warm climbs onto the shoulders of the leader of the Guardians. The leader of the Guardians is walking backwards and near the head of the column. He and the woman on his shoulders are holding recognizably megaphone-like devices, and with her other hand she holds some jeweled badge of office high in the air.

"THE GUARDIANS WILL DEFEND THE PEOPLE!"

"WALK, DO NOT RUN!"

"STAY TOGETHER! WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER! WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS TOGETHER!"

"NIGHT-HOUNDS CAN READ SIGNS OF HUMAN FEAR AND INTERPRET THEM AS SIGNS OF WEAKNESS! DO NOT LET THEM SEE YOU ARE AFRAID! WALK, DO NOT RUN!"

"KEEP YOUR CHILDREN CLOSE!"

The people take up the ... suggestion? Command? The column resumes a relatively orderly walking progress. The armored Guardians walk at the front and rear and sides of the column, their spinning diskoi held ready.

A steady stream of little calligraphy golden floaters of the Master Word goes up from the column of humans and drifts away into the ultimate night; sometimes they go up in ones or twos, once there is a huge exhalation of many all at once.

For a while there is a tense stand-off. The night-hounds are much smarter than their ecological equivalents from the sunlit times, and they can use their thinking-in-pictures distant cousin of the Master Word to coordinate much better, but they are still much less social and much more selfish than humans, and here they've encountered a collective action problem. They're smart enough to realize the vanguard of the attack can be expected to take heavy casualties, and none of them want to be in it. Every hound hesitates, hoping others of its kind will take the initiative to attack and thus accept being in the vanguard.

In the end, a sort of hierarchy of desperation begins to shake out among them. The hungrier, leaner, sicklier, more desperate hounds are tempted toward the column of humans, while the better fed and therefore less desperate hang farther back.

In the end, they hit upon a solution many human armies of the sunlit times used: file closers. The better-fed and stronger hounds begin to attack the hungrier, leaner, weaker ones that have ventured closer to the humans and feed on them cannibalistically. Trapped between the jaws of their stronger cousins and the diskoi of the Guardians, the weaker, leaner hounds begin to choose the latter.

"GUARDIANS, LET NO ENEMY THROUGH YOUR LINES, NO MATTER WHAT!"

The Guardians defend the people bravely. To the last Guardian. There are too many night-hounds, and this battle is the last stand and Ragnarok of the people of the Lesser Redoubt, and in the end the night-hounds that don't die by the diskoi of the Guardians or the improvised weapons of desperate civilians get the feast they came for.

All through the battle, little floaters of the Master Word continue to go up and disperse into the night.

In the last, bloodiest, most desperate phase of the battle, as the battle shades with queasy ambiguity into the victors' enjoyment of their gruesome reward, a single young woman manages to survive by hiding a crack in the earth.

After the battle, she wanders around the road with a flashlight. Its beam illuminates nothing but ancient road surface, barren earth, blood, gore, and corpses. She finds and weeps beside the corpses of her mother and father. She curls up on the side of the road, rocking and covering her ears with her hands, and a Master Word floater rises up from her.

The viewpoint follows the floater into the night.

It crosses the Night Land, to the still shining pyramid of the Greater Redoubt. It floats into the Greater Redoubt. Sometimes it floats through people, even through their heads, but they do not show any reaction. Then it disappears into a young man sitting at a table reading something, and he suddenly stands up, visibly shocked.

HE ALONE HAS HEARD.

Scenes of the young man talking and arguing with other people.

AFTER SO LONG WITHOUT CONTACT WITH THE LESSER REDOUBT, THE OTHERS ARE SKEPTICAL.

IF THE VISION IS TRUE, THEY WANT TO HELP THEIR DISTANT COUSINS, BUT...

THE OLD ROAD IS LONG AND THE NIGHT LAND IS DANGEROUS. THOSE WHO VENTURE PAST THE AIR CLOG MAY NOT RETURN.

THEY ARE RELUCTANT TO RISK THE WASTE OF PRECIOUS RESOURCES AND LIVES THAT MIGHT HAPPEN IF THEY ACT ON THE VISION AND IT IS AN ILLUSION.

HE OFFERS TO GO OUT INTO THE NIGHT LAND ALONE, TO SEEK THE ONE WHO HAS CALLED OUT TO HIM.

HIS OFFER IS ACCEPTED.

We see the young man, now in armor and with a diskos, being given a farewell ceremony at a gate of the Last Redoubt and leaving the Last Redoubt (he doesn't put his helmet on until after he walks out the door, so we know it's him).

After this we get a fairly faithful to the novel depiction of the young man's crossing of the Night Land; the battle against the Grey Man, coming to a place where the old road ends in land jumbled by geologic activity after its construction, the journey across the country of darkness...

I think a good way of rendering the journey across the country of complete darkness would be, like... At first we see the young man making his way across that country with the help of an electric light. He periodically checks an indicator, and we can see that the light's batteries are running low (the indicator should be something intuitive). Maybe have a cue card saying the battery is running low and he's going to risk continuing in darkness. Up to now in this sequence the things illuminated by the light have been visible. When he turns the light off, the only things visible are now the man, and a very small area of things he's touching or has explored through touch. So, when he's walking, we see him in almost a black void (maybe there are stars above, and a line of a horizon visible by where they end), with tiny circles around his feet when he puts them down (so, we may occasionally see a rock by his boot or something). Then he trips and takes a bad fall, as in the novel. His body strikes something sharp, and the edge of it becomes visible in the void. After recovering, he explores the sharp thing by touch, and we see a big, sharp rock. He explores his armor where he hit it by touch, and we see a scratch on the armor. After that, he dares not walk, but continues the journey crawling on his hands and knees. Again, he appears to be in an almost in a black void, with only things he's touching and tiny circles of whatever he's recently explored by touch illuminated. Eventually he comes to an area where there's some dim lighting by volcanic activity and bio-luminescence and we're able to see a landscape again and he starts to walk normally normally again. Maybe have a cue card at this point something like

"OH MARVELOUS LIGHT!"

... From there the film would continue to follow the novel fairly faithfully; the journey along the underground river (and avoiding being noticed by the big slug creature), the journey through the dark forest...

Interspersed with the young man's heroic journey, we get scenes of the young woman survivor trying to survive in the Night Land, occasionally finding and eating some edible wild plants or fungi, but becoming noticeably weaker and visibly thinner and thinner, eventually to the point of emaciation.

Every once in a while a Master Word floater goes up from the young woman or the young man. Sometimes they dissipate. Sometimes one sent out by the young woman reaches the young man or vice versa, and they visibly react to it (sometimes with joy, sometimes the young man will react with visible increase of urgency in his travels).

At one point we see the young woman, starving, thin, staring at a small animal.

THE REDOUBTS MUST BE EFFICIENT. THE FOOD OF THE REDOUBTS IS VEGETARIAN. LIVESTOCK WOULD BE INEFFICIENT.

THE CULTURAL MEMORY OF HUMAN CARNIVORY HAS BEEN LOST.

IT DOES NOT OCCUR TO HER THAT SHE MIGHT HUNT AND EAT AN ANIMAL.

The animal ambles away from her, untroubled.

... The young man finds the old road again, travels down it to the empty shell of the Lesser Redoubt, meets the young woman nearby...

That's about the point in the novel I've gotten up to so far, I've been doing other stuff, but based on the Wikipedia summary I guess from there the film could follow the plot of the rest of the novel relatively faithfully.

[slayerdurge]

WIP WEDNESDAY

Tagged by @merge-conflict! (Thank you so much!)

I'm going to share a bit of two different fics that I've been working on lately.

The first excerpt is from "Secure Your Soul," which is a Cyberpunk 2077 AU in which Corpo V never left Arasaka but still ends up with Johnny in her head. Though that hasn't happened yet as this scene takes place prior to the events at Konpeki Plaza. For context, after Jenkins asked V to assassinate Abernathy, V warned her instead but was then arrested for "framing" Jenkins. This scene takes place in an interrogation room in Arasaka Tower.

“Get up, you goddamn backstabbing bitch.” V’s mind crossed the threshold into consciousness, and she jolted awake. Her neck ached from sleeping while sitting at a desk, but it was a familiar ache. It was the ache of all-nighters in front of a pile of paperwork, of endless stakeouts tracking a particularly elusive target, of netrunning sessions staring at lines of code until the one she needed jumped out at her. It was the ache of a rightful victory. She looked up at Abernathy and smiled. “Good morning, m’am. Something I can help you with?” Abernathy slammed her head into the desk. “Fuck,” V muttered. She had cranial armor implants, but they’d been taking a serious beating lately. “That's the second time in 24 hours someone’s done that to me.”

The second excerpt is from an untitled SWTOR fic featuring Ashara Zavros and my Light Side Sith Inquisitor, whose name is Nevara Kallig. It's from Ashara's point of view and takes place on the starship.

“I've been thinking more about what Master Cyman said,” Ashara began, abruptly breaking the peaceful silence that had hung over the room for the last few hours. “And I think he was wrong.” Lord Nevara Kallig looked up from the holographic display of the artifact she'd been studying and examined Ashara with the same curiosity. “Wrong about what, specifically?” Ashara mentally prepared herself. She knew this routine. Their dialogues often followed the same pattern. Lord Kallig pushed Ashara to explain and justify her every word, then she presented the opposing viewpoint, often so well that Ashara found herself changing sides. Only if she ever expressed agreement with the new perspective, Kallig would turn right around and make her defend that one, and the process would start over. Sometimes they'd circle around an idea six or seven times before her Master finally allowed the conversation to move on. “He believed that you were leading me astray. That you would corrupt me and cause me to fall to the dark side. But what bothers me is that although he believed that, he did nothing about it.” Kallig’s lips twitched upwards slightly. “What could he have done?” “He could've stopped me,” Ashara suggested. Then, more forcefully, she added, “He should have stopped me. If he really thought I would fall to the dark side, then it was his job to stop me. His duty as a Jedi.” Kallig nodded. “The Jedi do allow for violence. Generally as a last resort only, however.” Ashara couldn't help the twinge of annoyance she felt at a Sith correcting her about Jedi teachings. “But that's the problem! The Jedi's refusal to do what's necessary, to fight, it makes them weak! The Jedi will never beat the empire if they won't go on the offensive. And they'll never win peace either, if the empire can't respect them.”

I'm tagging @another-corpo-rat, @fereldanwench, @ghostoffuturespast, @luvwich, @daerani, @bnbc and @just-a-cybercroissant. No pressure!

[pinkeoni]

I think the problem is we are so involved in the fandom and miss the point of the average/normal audience members. Audience members won't remember the lines said by Nancy in the UD because that line was just said one time and the show quickly passed that. They can bring it up again via another flashback sequence but does the audience really have to watch another 2949324 flashbacks or sequences to understand a plot? You can tell a coherent story just naturally instead of pulling all these 'gotcha' or twist moments. The majority of the audience will already feel like Byler came out of nowhere and on top of that also including all of this will feel very jarring imho. That's why there had to be more obvious setup and more Will screentime in the previous season.

Idk if ur the same anon who has been sending me similar stuff but I feel like we are just going to have to agree to disagree man 🤝 it’s not that I think you should stop believing in your opinion or stop discussing it, and I do appreciate your asks, but idk how much longer we are going to keep going in circles 😂 unfortunately I do still disagree with you.

The thing about Nancy’s dialogue is that it isn’t just her dialogue. I could believe that people would forget that, but many people would remember Will talking to Joyce through the lights in season one, which is what she is talking about. Nancy’s dialogue is just there to imply more direct action from Will himself “Will found a way” as well as remind the audience.

And if it was just the dialogue from this season then I could brush it off, but it’s the accumulation of evidence from all four seasons beginning with the very first episode that makes me confident enough to make these claims about Will’s involvement with the UD in the first place. I can believe that audience members may not remember one line of dialogue, but they can remember Will’s time spent in the UD, his possession, and his continued connection with Vecna.

The thing about surveying the GA is that there are so many different viewpoints and opinions. When I was on twitter, there was plenty of speculation about Will’s powers from my end. There are GA members who don’t see it that way. There are GA members who don’t believe Will is gay. I have a friend who confuses seasons 2 and 3, but when I mentioned byler endgame to her she said “Oh well that’s obvious.” so it’s really a mixed bag.

I can agree that the setup may not be obvious, but I disagree that it should be obvious. Why should a twist be obvious? Why should the reveal be obvious? Why should the audience have its hands held? Why should the story tell you exactly where it’s going, wouldn’t that be boring?

[dearlystars]

not to complain about two things in one day but the last post got me thinking about how popular todd ingram became in fat gay artist circles after takes off when stephen stills is right there and at least to some degree intended to be a canonically fat gay character (even if the only real indicator of that is that he's drawn a bit broader than most of the guys [which frequently gets forgotten. looking at you volume six and the game. and also was portrayed by an actor that isn't fat in the movie] which i still have some thoughts about.) but i do think the biggest frustration i have with takes off is just how dirty they did stephen stills. this ended up getting kind of long so hi read more sorry for anyone that reads through all this

the whole point of the show was meant to be a "what would happen if scott wasn't there" story and when one of the biggest examples of scott being self-centered and hardly knowing anything about the lives of his friends in the original graphic novels was him not only not learning that stephen stills was gay until he saw him with his boyfriend but also not even knowing that one of his best friends has a boyfriend until a good few months into their relationship. yet in the one scott pilgrim story we got that doesn't center scott and his viewpoint it's genuinely unclear if stills himself even realizes that he's gay by the time the final episode wraps up because almost all of his screentime outside of just general main cast shenanigans is dedicated to his musical gag with knives.

at first when i finished the show i was kind of just hoping that it'd be for the sake of bringing over the "oh yeah i came out last volume but you looked busy so i didn't think to mention it, scott" gag just translated into "oh yeah i came out last season but you looked busy so i didn't think to mention it, ramona." in a stills-centric episode but then they confirmed that they had no plans for a second season and the sequel baiting credits scene with gideon and julie was meant to be a gag at that sort of sequel baiting credits scene and not a genuine one (despite not being written like a gag at all. no julie saying the goose is loose honk honk does not count this is scott pilgrim have you seen half of the dialogue in this series.) and it's just like??? okay so what happened with stephen stills then. i still think the way the novels handled knives' arc is far and away the best anything has but at the very least knives got to have a bit of her own thing coming into her own w/o scott in takes off but stephen stills really was basically just all the musical gag subplot in takes off.

i get that at the end of the day some things need to be cut for time especially in an eight episode tv series of half hours and that ramona really doesn't know stills all that well so it makes sense that he doesn't get to do a lot and he also didn't get a ton of focus or his coming out scene in the movie which is what takes off seems to be pretty heavily based off of so like, again, it makes sense, but god it's frustrating. scott pilgrim has had three major adaptations (four if you include the animation but considering that had a far more narrow scope and didn't even feature stills i'm leaving it out of the discussion) and in all of those stephen stills is kind of just there to be there. at the very least he gets to be a playable character in the game which joseph does get to show up in but even then his ending is one of three that doesn't feature any romance (with the only other two being nega scott who gets a gag ending about taking over the world and wallace, the other out gay man in the main cast) like. i don't really want to say that stephen stills getting shafted so much (pun very much intended) boils down to simple homophobia because like i am very much in the camp that believes that scott pilgrim as a series is just like. stupidly gay incredibly gay like it's still shocking to me how popular it is with cishet white guys gay but it's just like. weird to me how so consistently the characters that get the short end of the stick are him and lisa (who at the very least got to have her moment in the animation.)

it really does feel like this is Just A Stephen Stills Thing and i can't help but wonder why that is, i guess? i don't really think it's an aversion to the character or anything considering o'malley was willing to give him multiple cameos in seconds and he was also happy to own that noda gaku doujin about him and joseph so it's kind of just confusing to me. my only real guess is that maybe it's because he's named after a Real Ass Guy and o'malley wanted to avoid cluttering any online discussion about The Real Ass Guy with discussions surrounding a gay guy from a series that starts with a grown man dating a high schooler but at the same time young neil got to play a pretty big part in the series all things considered who that is also applicable so it's kind of just??? why stephen stills???

also this is just meant as an aside since i know o'malley has a tumblr and occasionally looks through scott pilgrim things on here. so like. if you're reading this, hi! i promise this isn't meant to be a slight towards you or your work like. scott pilgrim is and has been very important to me especially when i was younger and i love seconds i still recommend it to people to this day. i'm just an annoying gay that cares arguably too much about one of your side characters and frequently think about what could have been when it comes to him and his writing.

[natanics]

Jupiter Transit in Gemini (14th May 2025 – 17th October 2025)

The much-anticipated Jupiter transit in Gemini will take place from 14th May 2025 to 17th October 2025, marking a period of intellectual growth, dynamic communication, and expansive learning. As the planet of wisdom and fortune enters the quick-witted and curious sign of Gemini, this four-month window offers a powerful opportunity for transformation through ideas, connections, and education.

What Does Jupiter in Gemini Mean?

Jupiter, known as the planet of expansion, optimism, and higher knowledge, influences the areas it touches by bringing growth and opportunities. Gemini, ruled by Mercury, governs communication, learning, social interactions, and adaptability.

When Jupiter transits Gemini, these two energies combine to:

Enhance mental agility and communication skills

Promote travel, education, and writing

Encourage networking and forming intellectual alliances

Support learning new languages or technologies

This is an excellent time to engage in courses, explore diverse viewpoints, and refine your communication abilities—whether you're a student, professional, or entrepreneur.

Key Dates and Influence of Jupiter Transit (14 May – 17 October 2025)

This transit will especially impact those with key placements in mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces). The effects will vary based on individual natal charts, but here’s a general overview of how each zodiac sign might experience this transit:

Aries

An excellent period for contracts, communication, and sibling relationships. Expect success in writing, teaching, or media.

Taurus

Financial growth through clever thinking and multiple income sources. Great time for learning money management.

Gemini

With Jupiter in your sign, personal development is highlighted. You’ll feel more confident, optimistic, and ready for new challenges.

Cancer

Inner growth and spiritual exploration come to the fore. Ideal for therapy, meditation, or healing from the past.

Leo

New friends and social circles bring opportunities. This is a powerful time for networking and community involvement.

Virgo

Career growth is possible through strong communication and innovation. Your ideas will be recognized by authority figures.

Libra

Perfect time for expanding your mind—whether through travel, higher education, or philosophical inquiry.

Scorpio

Expect transformation in the realm of shared finances or partnerships. Intimacy and deep communication improve.

Sagittarius

This transit blesses your relationship sector. Partnerships, both personal and professional, will flourish through honest dialogue.

Capricorn

A great time to improve work routines, communication at the office, and overall productivity.

Aquarius

Creativity blooms. Great for artists, performers, or anyone working in media or entertainment.

Pisces

Focus shifts to your home and family life. Communication improves with loved ones, and property matters may go smoothly.

Caution During the Transit

While Jupiter’s transit is generally beneficial, Gemini’s duality can cause scattered energy and overthinking. Some may face challenges in staying focused or may over-promise without delivering. It’s important to stay grounded and not jump to conclusions during this time.

Remedies and Tips

Strengthen Mercury: Since Gemini is ruled by Mercury, chanting the Budh Beej mantra or wearing green on Wednesdays can help.

Read and Reflect: Take time to absorb information instead of rushing.

Practice Mindful Communication: Think before you speak, especially in important conversations.

Conclusion

The Jupiter transit in Gemini from 14th May 2025 to 17th October 2025 is a period of great mental and social expansion. Whether you want to study, travel, build networks, or simply refine how you communicate, this cosmic shift invites you to explore new ways of thinking and expressing yourself. Embrace the curiosity of Gemini, and let Jupiter light the way to wisdom and opportunity.

[chulltventertainment]

Young Adult Movies & Shows - Coming of age, falling in love

Young adult (YA) television and film possess a special kind of power: they don't merely entertain, but shape aspirations, inspire dialogue, and leave a lasting impact on a whole generation. YA media has come a long way over the years — from mere coming-of-age stories to rich, layered stories that address real-world problems with candor and sensitivity. But why do these television shows and films occupy such a special position in our hearts?

Chull OTT – Bold Stories, Boundless Streaming

Flickfusion Media INC, a U.S.-based digital media company, has officially launched Chull OTT in India. This next-gen streaming platform promises to revolutionize digital entertainment with a dynamic blend of regional and global storytelling. Chull OTT focuses on bold narratives, emotional depth, and cultural diversity, aiming to captivate a wide spectrum of viewers. With its unique content strategy and inclusive vision, the platform is set to challenge the status quo and become a fresh voice in the streaming world—where stories know no boundaries.

A Mirror to Growing Up

In its purest form, YA media encapsulates the experience of transition. It mirrors the bumpy ride from adolescence to adulthood, complete with self-discovery, heartbreak, rebellion, and resilience. Whether it's a reserved teen finding their voice or a circle of friends coping with love and loss, these stories ring true because they ring familiar. Shows such as The Fault in Our Stars or films like Lady Bird tap deep into emotions that most teenagers feel but rarely get to witness honestly on television.

Furthermore, YA television like Euphoria have broken taboos by dealing with issues of mental illness, drug use, and identity crises without euphemizing the facts. Rather than providing neat, tidy, happy endings, they celebrate the messy, complex realities of adolescence.

Diversity and Representation

One of the biggest changes in recent YA media is its attention to diversity. Consumers today crave stories that reflect the world they know — a world full of diverse cultures, identities, and viewpoints. Series like Never Have I Ever highlight multicultural experiences, and films like Love, Simon focus LGBTQ+ stories in an emotional, accessible manner.

This increasing inclusivity has not merely provided more opportunities for people to see themselves represented but has also brought new voices and styles of storytelling into the mainstream. It's evidence that YA media isn't merely teens; it's about all of us who've ever had to deal with change, uncertainty, or the need to belong.

The Rise of YA Adaptations

The rise of book-to-screen adaptations has been a defining trend. Franchises like The Hunger Games, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and Shadow and Bone have shown how passionate YA book fans can drive massive success. These adaptations often come with built-in audiences and spark new waves of fandoms, fan fiction, and online communities.

But good adaptations transcend popularity. They honor the source material while rendering it visually in terms that enhance the story. Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other streaming services have played a big part in this, allowing YA stories room to breathe through multi-season storylines and movie franchises.

Why It Matters

Critics reduce YA media at times to "too dramatic" or "over the top," but they're missing the point. Drama, emotion, and intensity are all a part of being young. YA film and television affirm the emotions of adolescents who are frequently told they are "too young" to comprehend the complications of life. They offer a protective platform on which to examine topics such as loss, love, ambition, and fear — frequently catalyzing meaningful dialogue among teenagers, parents, and even teachers.

Additionally, adults get nostalgia from YA media — a poignant reminder of first love, grand hopes, and coming-of-age anguish. It makes them remember the time when the world was so big and so small at the same time.

Watch now: Garam Mehmaan Adult Hindi Web Series

Final Thoughts

Young adult television programs and films are more than entertainment. They are cultural touchstones that deepen with each succeeding generation. As times change, so too do the narratives we share about adolescence. And in that process, YA media keeps reflecting back to us — sometimes brutally, sometimes compassionately — the beauty and mess of becoming.

Source: https://sites.google.com/view/hindiwebserieswatch/watch/young-adult-movies-shows

[newsservicesnews]

Elon Musk’s Political Stance: A New Kind of Influence

Elon Musk, the innovative genius behind companies like Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink, has consistently shown his influence in various industries. However, his involvement in politics has grown increasingly prominent. Musk’s political views are anything but conventional. Known for his outspoken comments on social media, he has used his platforms to voice opinions that span the spectrum of political ideologies. His comments about freedom of speech, government regulations, and voting preferences have earned him attention, particularly from political analysts and media outlets. His involvement in political discussions has redefined how tech entrepreneurs engage with governance.

Elon Musk’s Political Leanings: A Fusion of Views

Elon musk political leanings are often seen as a unique blend of libertarian and progressive ideas. He advocates for individual freedoms, minimal government interference, and environmental sustainability, which are central to his business philosophies. His stance on taxation, however, has stirred controversy. Musk has disdain for high corporate taxes, claiming they are counterproductive to innovation. Despite his criticism of government spending, he is also a vocal advocate for addressing climate change through sustainable energy solutions. His unconventional mix of progressive ideals for the planet and conservative business views has made him a complex political figure.

Elon Musk and the Conservative News Landscape

Elon Musk has undeniably impacted the conservitive newslandscape as the world's richest man. His take on politics has sparked debates across various media platforms, especially on outlets that lean toward right-wing ideologies. Musk has aligned himself with certain conservative principles, such as the importance of free markets and limited government. His acquisition of Twitter further amplified his voice in these circles, as he positioned the platform as a bastion for free speech. This move resonated with many conservatives who felt that social media platforms were increasingly stifling right-wing viewpoints. Musk's actions have created a dialogue between Silicon Valley and the political right.

A Look at Musk’s Influence on Political Dialogue

Elon Musk’s influence extends far beyond his technological achievements. He has become a key player in reshaping political dialogue. His vocal opinions on various issues, ranging from space exploration to the role of government in everyday life, have made him a polarizing figure. Musk represents the epitome of innovation for many, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in business and politics. His outspoken views challenge the status quo and encourage debates on societal issues. Whether through his companies or online presence, Musk has created a platform that forces people to think critically about their political beliefs.

The Future of Musk’s Political Involvement

Looking ahead, it’s clear that Elon Musk’s political involvement is poised to grow. Given his considerable wealth and reach, Musk has the potential to influence future elections and policy debates in ways previously unseen. His active engagement on social media and direct communication with his followers keep him in the public eye, ensuring that his political ideas are heard. Whether or not Musk runs for public office, his role in political discourse will likely continue to be significant. His actions could pave the way for other tech entrepreneurs to take a more direct role in shaping political outcomes.

Conclusion

Elon Musk’s political influence continues to evolve in fascinating ways. As a tech entrepreneur with strong views on freedom, innovation, and government involvement, he has sparked new conversations in progressive and conservative news circles. His ability to engage with political issues, challenge norms, and influence public opinion sets him apart as an influential figure in the modern political landscape. His growing impact suggests that his voice will only become louder in future discussions about policy and governance. To stay updated on the latest political trends involving Musk and other key figures, visit jvpolitical.com.