#and then they see her and don’t recognize her from Critical Role meaning that they literally only watch TLOVM

[moghedien]

I’ve watched two reactions for episode 9 so far where the people saw Ashley, didn’t recognize her, heard her voice and went “that’s Pike from The Legend of Vox Machina!” which is objectively the funniest way to recognize Ashley Johnson in this situation

[revenantghost]

Heyo, let’s talk about my girl Meryl and why she’s so critical to the plot of Trigun Stampede and Vash in particular! (Well, that’s true for any Trigun, but Tristamp theories are rotting my brain atm.) Some spoilers for Tristamp and vague talk/references to the other series ahoy!

Meryl gets way too many accusations thrown at her for doing nothing/not enough in Tristamp. To the point that I started a rewatch to see if I was misremembering, but absolutely not! Those first three episodes alone, she’s critical to how things develop! She’s a foil to Vash, just like Wolfwood is!! She’s essential to his humanity!!!

But it took until I was watching ‘98 for the first time this weekend for it to crash into me like a freight train exactly what Meryl means, just like it took Trimax for the full weight of Wolfwood to click into place for me. Because she’s set up a lot like her older anime counterpart (though no one gets the same amount of character interaction—Tristamp, I adore you, but please slow down and let these poor folks breathe). She doesn’t understand Vash at first, she even goes so far as to call him a coward in a really low blow for what she easily recognizes as his bravery (and sometimes stupidity) later. And while they both (well, pretty much all the Trigun protags, let’s be honest) share their bullheadedness, I see a lot of people say she’s just like Vash... And I disagree, sorta.

She’s just like Rem. Just look at that last episode.

The two women don’t have the same belief systems, they have wildly different paths, and they come into Vash’s life in incredibly different ways. Meryl may keep Vash in check sometimes, but she’s not a mother figure imo. But they still play a similar role.

After over a century of traveling alone, we see (especially in other versions of Trigun) that Vash is often used and abandoned. Even when he makes genuine friends, they let him drift in and out of their life—and to their credit, he’s good at that! He can’t handle any more pain, so he slips away before the hurt catches up. But not Meryl! She ain’t gonna let that happen!!! At first, yeah, she follows him because of her job, but it never takes her long to go from frustrated and fed up to growing fond of Vash. And I especially love the career shift in Tristamp allowing her a complete out, to walk away and abandon Vash when things get rough, and no one would blame her for it.

But she stays. Because she sees that he’s good and worthy of the love that he denies himself. She sees this vile, hopeless world that they live in through his eyes, and sees the beauty in it too. She’s the first person to have faith in Vash not just as a savior, but as a person—unlike anyone has since Rem.

When all hope is gone, when Vash has lost his way, when he stumbles and falls, Meryl—who starts off doubting him!—is the one there to pick him up and remind him that he’s loved, that his love for humanity isn’t for nothing. Throughout the entire series, she has faith in him. She chooses Vash even when he won’t choose himself. She’s tired and done living in this selfish world of awful people, and she becomes the anchor that ties Vash down to what’s good in humanity. She’s just as critical as Wolfwood in taking a distant, disheartened, and broken Vash and reconnecting him to a world that cast him aside. And we’ve already gotten so much of that in Tristamp. It’s most obvious in the ending, but it’s built up so beautifully imo. She’s not as flashy as our fighters YET, but she’s absolutely essential to Vash, and I will die on this hill. I can’t wait to see her come crashing back into the picture with Milly next season.

[msbarrybeeson]

Listen (F!Reader Insert)

A/N: When the movie trailer dropped, I knew there are many opportunities for angsty fan fiction, so I kind of took one. Some of the dialogue is canon, everything else is from my imagination. Anyway, getting the characters’ "character” was a challenge. I’ll appreciate any constructive criticism to improve it. Enjoy!

Summary: Casey Jones is trying to warn them of their future.

Pairing(s): Rise! Leo X Reader (Established Relationship)

Reader: Feminine pronouns are used. No actual appearance, only mentions.

Genre: Humor / Slight Angst

Warning(s): Rushed writing. Written before release. Mentioned character death.

Word Count: ~840

~

“So what’s your business with our friend, pal?”

Casey slowly opened his eyes, groaning through the headache. The world seemed upside-down, but judging from the ropes tying his body to a chair, he got the memo. So he was knocked out and taken into the underground subway station. The human boy grimaced; the stench reeked here.

In front of him stood four mutant turtles, in addition to the presence of a sewer rat and another human. “Master.. Leonardo?” Casey murmured as he recognized the blue eye-mask and red markings.

“Hey, did you hear that?” Mikey gasped. “He knows your name!”

Leon smirked. “And he added a nice ring to it, too.”

“So Blue does mature after all.” Splinter scratched his fur.

“Great,” Donnie rolled his eyes. “Thank you for inflating his ego.”

“Guys, come on now—,” Raph began.

“Shh. Give a minute, hermanos, I’ve got a plan.” Leon announced with confidence.

All the voices blurred. Casey glanced around groggily, only to realize there was one person missing from the group. “(Name).... Urgh…. Where’s.. where’s (Name)?”

The group quieted down.

“Oho, skipping the introductions, are we?” Leon narrowed his eyes. He stepped closer to the human boy. “You got something against her too? …I’d let it go if I were you,” he threatened.

“This is what happens when random people jump straight to asking about his girlfriend before doing introductions,” Donnie remarked. Casey panicked under Leon’s glare, especially once he saw Leon pull out his katana. “Hey, hey!” Casey shook fervently. “Hold on a minute! It’s not—.”

“My hermanos, what do you think we should do with him?” The turtle pointed with the tip of his blade.

“Ooh, ooh!” Mikey raised his hand. “Give him a nasty haircut!”

Raph thrusted his fist forward. “We could use a nice punching bag.”

“Or here’s a better idea,” Donnie pulled down his goggles, doing a quick analysis of Casey, “how about I alter his brain, so we can remote-control him?”

“Pfft. Think we’ve scared him enough, boys.” April clapped her hands, making them drop the act and fall into laughter. Raph was snickering in back, seeing Casey all pale and shaken up. “Oh man, that was good.”

“Okay, okay, okay.” Leon wiped a tear. “In all seriousness, who are you, ‘cause we need to call you something other than— I don’t know, human guy?”

“...The name’s Casey Jones—.”

“Hold up, Jones as in Cassandra Jones? Never knew she has a brother,” April asked.

“Son,” he grumbled. God, how many times would they be interrupting him? “I’m her son.”

“Guys, I think he’s gone insane,” Donnie remarked.

“Careful, Don,” Mikey hushed. “Maybe he’s got trauma, and was put up with his sister being the mother role.”

Leon scratched his chin. “Seriously? Casey— I mean, Cassandra here— acting like anyone close to a mother?”

“For the record, I’m not insane!”

“Then, explain how you might be Cassandra’s son, when you’re just about her age.”

“Woah, Donnie, don’t tell me—.”

“That I took DNA samples from his teeth while he were knocked out? Why yes, yes I did.”

Casey shook in the air, which only had the rope swinging him from side to side. “Listen! You want to know how I’m her son? Simple answer is: I’m not from your time.”

“Huh?”

“...Is this going where I think it is?” Donnie covered his own mouth with his hand.

“I know how this sounds,” Casey cautioned. “But I need you to believe me, because I’m from… the future.”

…

Once again, everyone bursted out into laughter. In fact, even Splinter was amused.

“Y-you cannot be serious!” Donnie crouched over, dying. “That’s not possible!”

“Look, person named Casey,” Raph wiped another tear, “no offense, but if you’re trying to scare us, I can assure you you’ve got better things to do.”

“No! I’m trying to warn you guys about the future!”

“Right,” Leon rolled his eyes playfully. “And uh… how do we know whether we should take your word for it?”  

“Because if you won’t do something about this,” Casey’s face contorted in anger, “(NAME) IS GOING TO DIE!”

Noise slipped into immediate silence. Everyone stopped, eyes wide.

“Woah, woah,” Raph’s tone lowered, “You crossed the line there, pal.” The snapping turtle looked to his red-eared brother in concern. He found Leon clenching his hands and narrowing his eyes. “Yeah. There are other ways to get us to listen, y’know.”

“But you wouldn’t listen! And I’m not lying when I—!”

“Then, what are you talking about?!”

“Fine. Let’s start over.” Casey sighed, “My name is Casey Jones. In the future, an alien race by the name of Kraang decimated the planet. Master Leonardo gave me a mission: find the key and stop them.

When I arrived, I couldn’t recognize the place at all. Seeing Commander O’Neil, I thought she could the best person to start with.”

“What’s (Name) got to do here?” Donnie questioned.

“She—.” Casey hesitated, meeting Leon’s eyes. The red-eared slider crossed his arms. “Say it.”

“…She was killed trying to save Master Leonardo.”

[agirlwiththoughtsandnegativity]

Dear Reader (by Taylor Swift) Analysis. I suddenly got obsessed with this song so here’s an analysis of the whole thing. please read it took me like 30 minutes 🙏 warning: it’s a bit long

This whole song is extremely interesting. It is one of Taylor’s songs that addresses not only her fame, but also how she sees herself, and her flaws. It’s almost like anti hero, but somehow more self critical. At the conclusion of the song, we see Taylor is really trying to tell us that we shouldn’t be looking up to her, a flawed and broken person, but she is too famous and too perfect to the public. She “shines too bright” for us to look away now, and it is impossible to give up the fame at this point. 

Dear reader

If it feels like a trap, you're already in one

The song opens with the phrase “dear reader”, a pattern which continues throughout the rest of the song. We can only assume that this reader she is addressing is us, the fans. “If it feels like a trap, you’re already in one” it is unclear if Taylor is just starting off with giving us life advice here, or if this is addressing something relating to her.

This pattern follows for the rest of the verse, lines starting with “dear reader” and the ending with a piece of life advice:

Dear reader

Get out your map, pick somewhere and just run

Dear reader

Burn all the files, desert all your past lives

And if you don't recognize yourself

That means you did it right

Does this advice have to do with Taylor? We can perhaps relate the map line to Taylor disappearing after the feud in 2017, or perhaps running from the paparazzi and press. The second advice, about burning files and deserting past lives, could possibly be about Taylor reinventing herself during each era. “And if you don’t recognize yourself, that means you did it right” could relate to her most drastic changes, like going pop and her bad girl rebellious reinventing for the Reputation era. It could possibly be Taylor stating that these “transformations” or “eras” do make her feel different not only in her work, but in her personal life too. It’s possible Taylor is also stating that she has become so famous/popular that not only is the brand of Taylor Swift and her artwork getting reinvented, she herself must be too.

Never take advice from someone who's falling apart

Never take advice from someone who's falling apart

(You should find another)

Directly after giving us lots of advice, Taylor follows it up by saying “never take advice from someone who’s falling apart”. Is this her telling us to forget all the advice she has just shared, to not listen to not trust it? Or should we not even listen to this advice either? I believe this is Taylor sharing that she feels like she cannot give us advice or be a role model because she is not doing well. She is saying not to base ourselves off of her, not to listen to things she says because she is falling apart, yet we all believe her to be perfectly fine. It is contradicting to put this right after her advice, but I believe that is the point. At the end, Taylor says “you should find another” this is the beginning of a later line “you should find another guiding light, but I shine so bright”. Not only is it the beginning of that line, I think it can also be read as it’s own line. The fans should find another idol, role model, favourite, etc. because she is falling apart.

Dear reader

Bend when you can, snap when you have to

Dear reader

You don't have to answer, just 'cause they asked you

Again, after telling us not to listen to her advice, she gives us advice again. It is hard to decipher this, but I think the deeper meaning could be she so desperately wants to be giving us this good advice, but feels hypocritical because she is falling apart. “Bend when you can, snap when you have to” she is telling us to compromise, to only give in when we really, really need to. “You don’t have to answer just cause they asked you.” Don’t give everyone everything they want or ask for. This follows the same train of thought as bending when you can and snapping when you have to.

(You should find another)

Taylor throws this line in there again. Could it be said that it’s almost like her interrupting herself, reminding us (and her) not to listen to this advice? It could also be noted that this advice does not seem to be bad advice, depending on your opinion/situation you apply it to I suppose, but perhaps Taylor believes she is not qualified to tell it.

Dear reader

The greatest of luxuries is your secrets

Dear reader

When you aim at the devil make sure you don't miss

“The greatest of luxuries is your secrets” Taylor would know this better than anyone. When you have her kind of fame, can you really have secrets? In her own words, celebrities get their secrets splashed in the news front page. 

“When you aim at the devil, make sure you don’t miss.” Perhaps Taylor is saying that you’re sure someone is the devil before you shoot, that they are enemy instead of friend. Or maybe she’s saying to make sure you are strong enough to make that shot before you attempt it. Is she inferring to a personal experience of hers? I couldn’t be sure, especially depending on which interpretation of it we’re talking about.

Never take advice from someone who's falling apart

Never take advice from someone who's falling apart

Again, after her advice she tells us to not trust this advice, to not take it from her. 

So I wander through these nights

I prefer hiding in plain sight

Now we launch into the bridge, which I think is one of the most telling and personal parts of the song. “I prefer hiding in plain sight” Taylor is perfect to us, we don’t say she is falling apart, yet here she is telling it to us directly, and yet so many would still take her advice. Even after releasing songs like “My tears ricchoet” or “this is me trying” or “mirrorball” many still see her as perfect and unflawed. She is hiding this in plain sight.

My fourth drink in my hand

These desperate prayers of a cursed man

“My fourth drink in my hand” is very very very very interesting because many fans have been worried about Taylor’s alcohol consumption for awhile. She mentions drinking a lot more on recent albums, lots more pictures of her holding wine being released, and if I’m not mistaken her saying at the eras tour that she was “borderline alcoholic” during the pandemic. This line seems to be Taylor admitting to relying on drink to escape her mind, to forget that she is falling apart. The second line could be a bit confusing. Who is this “cursed man” that is praying, and what are they praying for? Is this a character in Taylor’s life, or could this “cursed man” just be Taylor herself?

Spilling out to you for free

But darling, darling, please

You wouldn't take my word for it

If you knew who was talking

“Spilling out to you for free” Taylor shares her songs and lyrics with us for free, all her deepest feelings public and on the radio. “But darling, darling, please. You wouldn’t take my word for it if you knew who was talking” Taylor almost seems to be begging now, for us to see she is not perfect and not the person we should be listening to this advice from. “If you knew who was talking” If we knew who she really was, we wouldn’t look up to her or trust her words.

If you knew where I was walking

To a house, not a home, all alone 'cause nobody's there

“If you knew where I was walking” again, if we really knew Taylor past how she presents herself, we would not feel the same way about her. “To a house, not a home, all alone cause nobody’s there.” Is this a literal house, Taylor feeling lonely in her big mansion, or is it metaphorical? Could this perhaps relate to what is discussed in “Tolerate It”, saying the man she is in a relationship isn’t putting effort into it, isn’t paying attention to her, and so she feels alone? Or could it perhaps refer to her mind, where she feels lonely and like no one gets her? Or is she too famous now to have any real friends?

Where I pace in my pen and

My friends found friends who care

No one sees when you lose

When you're playing solitaire

“Where I pace in my pen” Some people pace to think, but Taylor writes songs to think. That is her method of seeing her thoughts more clearly. “My friends found friends who care” Is Taylor saying here that she is a bad friend? Or does she have bad friends? Perhaps we could also read from this that Taylor gets so caught up in her work it can seem to others in her life that she doesn’t care about them. We already know she is constantly working and writing songs. “No one sees when you lose when you’re playing solitaire” we can guess at the fact that fame and constant attention from the press could make Taylor feel isolated. She feels as if she is “playing solitaire” and so no one sees her losses, including us, blinded by the image she wants us to see.

You should find another guiding light

Guiding light

But I shine so bright

You should find another guiding light

Guiding light

But I shine so bright x2

You should find another

She ends the song in her telling us this full line “you should find another guiding light but I shine so bright” which she repeats a few times. She is saying you should find someone else to look up to, another idol, but at the same time she knows how famous she is, how impossible it is to look away from her. How she is plastered across every tabloid and newspaper and piece of media, on billboards and on the radio. And she knows how strong her “perfect” image is. How easy it is for her fans to see her as that. She is saying she shouldn’t be the guiding light, she is falling apart and is not qualified for it, but oh how she seems like she is.

The song ends on the line that has been going in and out the whole song. “You should find another”. This is the message she has really been trying to share all of the song. The message is that we should find another. We shouldn’t be Taylor’s fans, shouldn’t idolize her, shouldn’t follow her advice or look up to her, because she is falling apart and a flawed person who pretends to be perfect. At the end of the song, it almost seems like she is begging us (the reader) to understand this, and the thing is, we probably still don’t.

Dear reader, thanks for reading this, especially if you read it all the way through lol. I hope it made sense and was entertaining, not just me rambling, I really did try my best.

[keyleth-clay]

I genuinely love Callopea and I hope that it goes fully canon.

Not because a ship has to go “fully canon” to be legitimate, or to be enjoyed by the fandom, but because I think the dynamic between Fearne and Chetney is so different from the vast majority of ships that we’ve seen on Critical Role so far.

Because the thing is, I feel like a lot of the fandom kind of sees Callopea as a joke? And not just goofy or lighthearted, but kind of mean-spirited. Like, the idea that this could ever be a “legitimate” ship or that it has any meaning to it is laughable. (This is also kind of reflected in fanworks, since there’s basically no art of them, and there’s like... two people making gifs. In comparison to pairings like Imodna or Dorym which, while I do also ship, there is arguably less concrete evidence of in canon at this point in time).

Which I don’t think is true! I think there’s a lot of depth to both Chetney and Fearne, despite being largely comedic characters, and I think there’s also a lot of potential depth to their relationship, despite it being largely played for laughs.

Take Chetney, for example. I think the depth of his character is best summed up with this quote from The Night Before Critmas (and yes, I know that was Chutney, but he was the basis for the character):

“He told me to make Voltron out of wood. No one wanted it. He told me to make a Game Boy. I can't do circuits. He told me to make the little trolls, but the hair didn't move.”

Again, yes it’s comedic, but the core idea of the character was here – because Chetney/Chutney isn’t just talking about toys. He’s talking about himself. A huge part of this character is dealing with the feeling of obsolescence, of the world moving on without you and you not being needed anymore. That same idea also shows up with Bertrand at the beginning of the campaign, and I don’t think that’s an accident, and I don’t think Travis is doing that just for the joke.

Growing older can be scary. Feeling like you’re out of touch with the world, or that you aren’t needed anymore, or that you just don’t understand things anymore – that’s scary. In a way, it feels like parts of the fandom treat a character being old as a punchline – it sometimes feels like the very idea of a character being elderly, and an elderly character wanting some form of intimate relationship in particular, is worthy of mockery.

I’m sure we’ve all seen commercials or interviews or something that contain some variation on “as we age, our need for intimacy does not diminish”. Yes, Chetney has flyaway white hair and wrinkles and a squeaky old voice and a hat he’s almost laughably attached to and goofy curly toed boots, and he is still deserving of love, and that isn’t a joke. Not that that love needs to be romantic love, necessarily, but love nonetheless.

And I think that it makes perfect sense that Fearne would be the one to recognize that! For one thing, she’s the only one in Bell’s Hells that is anywhere near his age (though there is still a noticeable gap, but who knows how the fuck time works in the Feywild anyways). For another, with her wildshaping and his werewolf transformation, the two of them are the only ones in the group that understand that idea of letting animalistic instinct take over, of the freedom of being wild, and also the occasional lack of control or fear that can come with it. Not to mention both of their… impulsive morals.

But there’s two more ways I feel that these two connect, which are even deeper than what I previously mentioned – one of which I only realized after this most recent episode.

The first is related to this wonderful bit of meta from @captainofthetidesbreath, which I’m not going to reiterate here because a) you should go give them some love, and b) because this is long enough as it is. But to sum it up, Chetney is a toymaker, and takes great pride in that. He takes great joy in seeing other people, especially children, finding joy in what he’s crafted. Out of everyone in Bell’s Hells, I feel that Fearne is the only one who would truly appreciate that. Just look at what he’s made for everybody else – a box, which isn’t a toy. A skyship, which was immediately left behind for a child who would actually play with it and appreciate it. A wooden hand? And a house for Pâté and Sashimi, which is kind of a toy and kind of being played with, but also kind of not.

Fearne, on the other hand, has always had a certain whimsy about her. She enjoys the frivolous, she appreciates the silly, and she makes it a point to collect and steal and have things, simply because they make her happy. That, to me, is closest to the heart of why Chetney is a toymaker in the first place.

The second was something that Fearne said in episode 25. When Dusk showed her the locket that contained the portraits of her parents and that whole conversation started up, Fearne said”

“I don’t know where they are, and I’ve been looking for them, but maybe they just forgot? ‘Cause it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen them.”

I’m very curious as to whether this is a thought that she’s had before during her search for her parents – or if this will continue to weigh on her now that she has thought of it, at least until she’s able to reunite with them.

Because I feel like this ties in with the idea I mentioned above of Chetney feeling obsolete now that he’s gotten older. I could see a real and genuine heart-to-heart happening between them over this. I also wonder – Chetney’s never mentioned any family; no parents, no siblings, and most importantly for this Callopea ship manifesto (apparently), no spouse(s) or children. I get the sense from both of them of just… getting used to being alone and being lonely. That they are genuinely lighthearted and humorous individuals, but that humour does still help to hide some heavier feelings.

CHANGING TOPICS ENTIRELY, I also want to touch on something else that might seem completely counter to everything I’ve written here so far, and that is that this ship doesn’t need to be deep! They don’t need to have a “You know I’m in love with you, right?” or a “My heart belongs to someone else” or a “You were not born with venom in your veins”,  etc etc etc.

A ship doesn’t need to be deep and intense and Romantic-with-a-capital-R to be real and genuine and enjoyable! It can be as simple and light and fun as just two people being attracted to each other and having fun exploring that attraction. Hell, their relationship doesn’t even need to be romantic! I’ve seen people headcanon Fearne as arospec, and I love the idea of a non-romantic but still sexual relationship being explored, and not being treated as lesser because of that.

Hell, they could still end up as a romantic relationship, but start out here, with heavy-handed flirting and overt sexual overtones, and see their relationship as fun but ultimately not particularly meaningful, but then *intense and emotionally-heavy moment later in the campaign happens, especially if one of them nearly dies or does die and is brought back*, and then they realize Oh shit, this isn’t just for funsies, I’ve got real actual romantic feelings for them and I’d be miserable if they were gone. Oh fuck.

And that’s not even touching on the wolf/deer theme they’ve got going on, or the sun/moon vibes that they’re rocking, etc.

Basically there’s just… SO much potential for Callopea, guys. I can’t wait to see where it goes.

[amarumpersici]

My issues with Princess Peach's personality in the Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Not everyone will like this rant, I’m aware of it. I promise that I’ll accept any criticism of my writing, as long as it’s reasonable and in good faith and that I’ll respect your opinion, regardless if we agree or not. Before commenting, please, read it throughout it all or if you’re lazy, go directly to the TL;DR section.

Last month, like most of us, I saw the long awaited Mario Movie: it was generally a really enjoyable experience which made me smile during pretty much its entire length, from its reference and its lighthearted humor. If I have the chance, I wouldn’t mind rewatching it.

It had some flaws, many of which are generally recognized and I agree with: I wished that the movie would be a bit longer and I felt it was too childish for my tastes, as in general Mario games are enjoyable to all ages. Today, however, I want to focus on the aspect of the movie I generally found to be the weakest: Princess Peach’s personality.

There has been a lot of discourse in merit, some of which I contributed to with a previous rant I published in my other blog before the movie released, which luckily partially aged bad. I’m sorry if I sound angry or overly harsh: Princess Peach is a character I deeply connect with since I was a child and I’m not lying that her portrayal in the movie worried me ever since the first trailer she appeared, so it’s also kind of personal.

If you like Princess Peach in this movie, you're fine! But I also ask you to respect my positions as well.

Please don’t label me immediately as a misogynist who hates to see women have larger roles in movies (I mean, I’m a woman myself) or as a snobbish cinema critic who expected to see Citizen Kane from the Mario Movie. I’m just a huge Nintendo fan who loves the franchise but also likes good writing.

Before starting to write, this rant WON'T be:

A political commentary, so don't expect me to talk about culture war or whatever debate is occupying USA’s society at the moment (I'm not even American). So I won’t complain about how the Leftists or the Republicans ruined a children’s movie. I’ll also refuse to use terms like “problematic”, “girlboss”, “woke” or any words which are fashionable right now.

A judgment about Anya Taylor-Joy's performance, as I didn't watch the movie in English.

What I attempt to do, instead, is to judge Princess Peach’s character based on the writing and how well it adapts with her games’ counterpart.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The criteria in which I’ll base myself

For my judgment of the Princess’ portrayal in this movie, I also need to make an important distinction, to clarify my point: the one between Role and Personality.

In brief, the Role is the placement that one character has in the story, its social placement, how it affects the plot (e.g. Protagonist, Antihero, Damsel in Distress, Princess). In general, while analyzing a piece of media it’s useful to recognize a role in a metatextual way, an abstract way to see the character’s dynamic.

Personality  is the combination of the psychological qualities that form an individual's distinctive character. On a broader side, this includes how the character’s interests or how they view the other characters along with them and the actions that would be made, based on their tendencies, hopes or fears. (e.g. optimistic, greedy, stylish, likes baseball or dislikes soda)

Sometimes both parameters influence each other but there are many others they do not, depending on the author’s writing styles, the plot or the development of those specific stories.

From these two theoretical traits, I’d like to add a third one, partially disconnected from these two: adaptation.An adaptation is a re-development of a piece of media, whether a book, a movie or a videogame into another. They usually base on the original plot but many others would rather use some elements to make another story, like it happened with the Mario Movie. Usually a good adaptation, regardless if it uses the original plot or not, either keeps the original’s feeling and morals or it coherently expands it. Here’s why this cinematic adaptation of the Mario games, as flawed as it is, is already regarded more fondly than the 1993’s movie.

With my criterias now made clear, let's start this rant.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The positives

Of course, I like the role the writers got her in the movie: while I don’t mind her classic damsel in distress role, seeing Peach in a position in which she could constantly help Mario put a huge smile on my face. She constantly encourages him and her people as well, like an actual ruler would do and she would even sacrifice herself to save even one of her subjects. Her combative side was somewhat accurate to the Princess Peach from the games and her dynamic with Mario was rather interesting. Her not being kidnapped and being more experienced than the plumber also makes quite sense, since the movie is an origin story to the parable of Mario. I even say that switching Luigi and her role was actually a clever choice, since it gives a much stronger motivation for Mario to explore the Mushroom Kingdom and a reason for them to bond.. Many argue that this version of Peach was too perfect: I can see their point but at the same time I think that while the writers overblown her combat capability, Peach still needed some help to succeed, whether from Mario or the Kongs. She had some flaws, even though they only affected her relationship with the plumber that could easily be explored in the sequels. Not everything it’s perfect with this writing choice, mostly regarding the management of her role with her personality, but I’ll explain myself better in the next section.

Her backstory and fascination with humans could have potential as well, if we take the context of the movie as a separate universe from the games: it gave this Peach a sort of flavor that differentiates her from other similar characters in recent animated movies. Throughout the projection, there were a few moments in which her caring side from the games somewhat emerged, such in the scene in which she advises Mario to be more cautious against Donkey Kong or when she saved Toad multiple times, most notably by surrendering from Bowser. Unlike what the trailer made many of us believe, Princess Peach could have been managed way worse, but still this doesn't imply that I liked her personality, with which I still have a load of issues with.

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My criticisms Even though she could have been even dirtier, I still don’t like Peach’s personality in the movie, sorry. Let’s not confuse (negative) potential with the actual result: an idea, as good or bad as it sounds, it’s often not good enough to make a final product worthy of praise or loath. It also needs a deliberate narrative choice to make it shine. For these reasons tropes and cliches are constantly invoked even by non experts. As I mentioned in the section above, my issue with this version of Peach wasn’t the role she was attempting to do: it was nice to see Princess Peach in action and having a mentor role to Mario but I still feel her arc was managed poorly, which also affected the pacing of a good chunk of the movie. Even the positives I mentioned earlier seem to be afterthoughts put by Illumination, probably under Nintendo’s pressure. Whoever was in charge of the writing seems to have missed the point of what made Princess Peach unique in the first place, some common characteristics present both in the games and in the comics: her sweetness, well integrated with a bubbly side. In the games she seems defenseless, however here also resides her strength: she’s not always ready to combat but she always is to forgiveness and kindness, even to villains. Emotional strength is not always explored in recent narrative but in reality it’s just as important as combat capabilities. Even the times in which she decides to join the adventure she always sees the big picture, contributing to her party with her grace and femininity. Even though she was often kidnapped she wasn’t a complete pushover: even in difficult times, the Princess always tried to do everything she could to escape or to help Mario to find her. Among the main Mario characters, Peach is among the most developed ones, with Luigi, Rosalina and Bowser, especially in the RPGs, because she never fulfills a stereotype, whether being the damsel in distress or the competent warrior. Despite being pure by concept, she’s still a flawed character who pays her kindness and patience with naivety and dizziness. We’ve even seen her prideful and stubborn side from time to time!

In the movie, I barely saw any of these traits, especially in the first half: in general her dialogue, especially with Mario, is left vague, not in a way that felt mysterious but rather lazy. In general, Princess Peach may have had more agency, but at what cost? Compared to the other characters, who kept their loose but iconic characteristics, she didn’t feel like her game self but rather a toned down version of a generic action heroine like many others seen recently. With this I don’t want to imply that there mustn’t be a place for stoic and capable characters, I even love many of them, I just prefer to see new ones rather than an adaptation of a character who already had a developed and different personality. Luckily, she wasn’t as bad as other offenders: she seemed to support and cherish Mario and Toad throughout the movie but at the same time her tough mentoring style felt really forced and out-of-character. She felt really aggressive and condescending, both in her animation or small remarks, as by calling Mario “Mustache” or "unimportant" (this last one was a joke but it was in a rather poor taste) or even by even much bigger scenes, like in the infamous training level scene. She was almost never the center of a joke, even if the movie was filled with gags and it seemed that her role was just to remark how much she was capable of fighting. In general, Peach's character doesn't seem to evolve through the movie (if we leave the really quick moment in which she didn't trust Mario) nor is connected with a solid theme like Mario, Luigi (brotherly love and overcoming one's own fear), Bowser (the effect of an obsessive love) or Donkey Kong (feeling worthy of a parent's approval): even if the movie was not deep, the writers did attempt to attach some moral for the kids, even as trivial as it is, which is unfortunately missing from Peach's arc.

The more I think about her movie writing and more questions I ask myself. Aside from the vague defeating Bowser, does she have an objective which motivates her to do everything she does? Does she really appreciate the Toads’ company or just thinks that she’s superior to them, as it’s evident to her reasoning to bring the one who presented himself to Mario on an adventure? Does she have some other personality traits than being headstrong, smug, supportive and self sacrificing? 

Why does she often recur to action even if there may be a more diplomatic alternative to resolve a problem? For example, let’s talk about Peach’s first encounter with Mario: the situation may not have been the best but I was surprised that she, alone, could lay the plumber on the ground. If I were to write this part instead, I would have debuted the Princess by either being extremely confused and telling the guards to do anything or, alternatively, to tell the guards that she would take care of Mario, ever since he already tried to apologize to her and, later, to calm him down. Turning back to the movie, it’s fair to assume that the castle is pretty big but then, why hire some Toads, if she’s so strong as well as the first to admit that they’re weak creatures and therefore not the greatest option to even protect an eventual treasure she may hide? I may get a lot of hate for this but I also need to criticize the Ice flower scene that many seemed to love: at this point Peach was aware that Bowser liked her, she could have been way more cunning by at least attempting to convince him to not do any harm to his prisoners while Toad himself could have been using the ice flower in case Bowser misbehaved, therefore letting Peach to escape safely to search Mario, to reciprocate the sacrifice that the Princess did for him and let Toad to guide a riot with Bowser’s prisoners against him. In this quick idea, I also gave more purpose to Toad, which is only used in the movie as a way to introduce Mario to the Mushroom Kingdom and to make it even more evident that Peach was awesome, whether telling him or with the facts. I also gave the princess a moment of evident emotional vulnerability.

While I found her fascination with humans rather interesting in the very context of the movie, it still feels an arbitrary choice considering the extended Mario lore: in canon, it's implied that Rosalina is born in the Mushroom Kingdom and had a family there. If we also involve the spinoffs, how Princess Peach didn't know about Sarasaland, which is ruled by Daisy or even Diamond City, where many humans live? Peach’s backstory in general makes sense if you don't think too much about it: when you do, many canon discontinuities emerge, too many to be ignored. And even without caring about the games lore, this plot line goes nowhere: when she’s transported to Brooklyn, she seemingly doesn’t react to how her surroundings changed so drastically, not a single cue, dialogue or even a small animation to express at least awe or confusion. The only thing she does is to support Mario and Luigi and, lastly, to feed Bowser that mushroom which will be the final straw to his demise. 

In short, despite her popularity I don’t like Princess Peach’s personality in the Super Mario Movie at all, since it’s a rather cheap adaptation of the characterization that Nintendo and its affiliates were giving to her during the nearly forty years of her existence to give a characterization that is too similar to other characters in recent cinematic times. Even considering this Peach as her own character, her writing still comes out flat and inconcludent to the movie’s plot line.

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Movie Peach and Comic Peach: a comparison

Speaking about this portrayal of Peach, a lot of people and even Nintendo itself like to mention the Nintendo Power comics that were released in the 90s. I can definitely see where this connection may come from: she is indeed more proactive than in the games. However, she retained a dreamy and dainty side which is evident when she interacts with Mario. She directs her sarcasm and even violence towards Bowser and the Koopalings themselves. As a characteristic that also was brought up in the games, Peach was snarky, with those who annoyed her in the first place. It’s especially evident in the first three Paper Mario that she uses it when she’s fed up with everyone’s misbehaving.

In everything she did, Peach had a strong and personal purpose which it’s absent in the movie: to save Mario and herself and she was not above failing in her plans, as it's evident in the Bowser Marriage scene. Hence this is why I think that, even by Nintendo itself, the comic was just used as an excuse to justify the lazy writing for the Princess, since it was the closest example to what the authors wanted to do with her.

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Conclusions

TL;DR: Princess Peach’s role in the movie could have had a lot of potential and I’m glad to see her helping Mario in a more involved way but I’m disappointed in how the writers butchered her personality from the games just into a mellower version of a common Hollywood trope, especially since the essence of most other characters seemed to have been respected to the most part.

I’m even more disappointed that even Nintendo, after those first concept arts in which Peach retained her personality, could approve of a similar change, even because the others retained their characteristics. I think they tried to overcompensate the widespread (and, to be honest, unjustified) hatred for the Princess with a personality that has little to do with her character, and judging from the general consensus, they succeeded to make her liked. I may have an severe opinion regarding this topic but it’s fine to appreciate this version of Princess Peach, even prefer her to the games' one: everyone likes different kinds of characters and there’s nothing bad about it. 

I ask you to respect my opinion as I accept yours. Mario movie debates have been really exhausting, and I genuinely hope that this rant could lead a constructive dialogue from both sides, which wouldn’t use ad hominem/political party insults or to assume my political affiliation basing on this rant, let’s keep politics out of this rant.

In general, I strongly encourage you to correct me whenever I was wrong or if there's anything you'd like to add to my points!

I hope that you won’t hold a grudge against me and I hope to see you soon!

[nell0-0]

I had a feeling you be excited seeing them. It does answer a few things to help with people’s fan stories. Rei was the one who fell and similar to Ingo, he has amnesia and admits he only faintly remembers his life before Hisui. However, while he says Pasio feels familiar he also admits it doesn’t feel right and that it isn’t where he came from. Whether that means simply not that location or if Ingo’s theory that Rei came from a different world/universe may hold weight. This may also keep the theory Rei=Lucas alive since while they imply they are two different people, there is the chance Rei is Lucas from a different universe. I guess we will have to see when Ingo falls if he has those feelings of familiarity to see. For the main story it’s mainly the two protags learning to become sync pairs with Akari using a Samorott she caught to avoid dying in the space rift since the rest of her pairs aren’t taking Pasio well and Rei exploring with Cynthia after getting jump scared by her Giratina(to be fair, the other three Hisui members apparently don’t know about the whole Volo thing). They came across ruins Rei recognizes and Giratina starts behaving erratically. They leave and the last shot is a Togepi running behind a pillar to confirm he’s been there the whole time. As for their sync pairs, Akari further explains her want to become great pairs with Samorott so she can be Rei’s equal while Rei concludes Kukui would be fine in Hisui after he has Decidueye shoot triple arrows at him for research. They also interact with Irida and Adaman in selections and victories which is cute.

As for battle wise, they are completely broken. Akari is a Field pair who has potions, a move to summon a dark zone while raising speed by 4 and adding both types of move next effects by 2, Ceasless Edge with crits easily and adds a type of Field to the opponent side that damages them when they do a move, and that damage unlocks a move that will never miss always crit and increases in power by 20% when use in succession. Both characters have a passive that reduces sync move countdown, raises attack by 4, and raises crit rate by 3. She also has Quick Tempo and Critical Strike 2 while Rei has S Move:Team Free Move Next 9 and Soften Up 1. He is a Sprint pair who has a move that reduced sync countdown, raises speed by 6, applies Supereffective next, and increases his physical move effect by 2. He has the move gauge boost move, Triple Arrows has crits be easy as well as 50% change to lower defense and 30% chance of a flinch, his sync move gets stronger the faster he is, and that activates a move that targets all opponents without lowering chances for additional effects while critting, lowering defense by 2, and flinching. They both also get additional strike roles if they eat the cake roll and have ex. I only fed Rei but now his Sync hits all opponents and reduces the countdown by 3 while also having a 50% boost to his attacks.

So yeah…busted but interesting characters

I mean, it's not the first time that Masters just glosses over something just to not mess too much with canon (which it does, anyways!). Not a surprise they went with something vague when it comes to the memory stuff.

I love that the Hisui characters are so strong in this! But it does raise some concerns when in general for the game. Irida and Adaman were already bamf. Don't get me wrong, it absolutely makes sense that Rei + Akari would be powerful too with that premise, but then what are they gonna do for Volo??? He's supposed to be stronger than most in Hisui once he actually fights you (MC). As always, the only option left is to wait and see.

[ricelikesnow]

initially posted to main blog but i wanted to expand so

i think a good rule of thumb is artists don't need to disclose their medical history to "prove" their credentials. i understand how the fortnight MV and suicidal lyrics throughout ttpd can read as careless; i had some initial hesitation because i haven't stopped thinking of britney spears' memoir since i read it, and the lineage of women in her family being institutionalized against their will by and pumped full of lithium. but just because one blond pop star publicizes this doesn't mean every other should follow.

however, strong reactions to fortnight, in particular, must come from the discomfort of taylor's proud ownership of her songs as "about her life" (miss americana doc), but this wasn't even true of her discography at that point in time, before folklore; they've been about friends' lives, the kennedys, characters from books and film and tv, like she says about "death by a thousand cuts" and much of her older songs at NPR tiny desk. but taylor hasn't framed her music as narrated by characters since folklore and evermore, and she's never not appeared in a self-directed music video; i think she's only been a supporting role twice, in the ATW "film" and "i can see you."

i wonder if some more obvious buffer between her and the material might help its reception infinitesimally, like having an actor in the fortnight MV. then again, i'm reminded of pj harvey:

'Some critics have taken my writing so literally to the point that they’ll listen to 'Down by the Water' and believe I have actually given birth to a child and drowned her,' scoffed Harvey to Spin in 2005. It’s a curious trend: unlike her old pal Nick Cave, a man always left free to slip into the skins of murderers, sleazebags or demonic preachers because he’s playing characters, Harvey has often been shackled by folk desperate to bolt autobiographical meaning to her every song. 'It can be very frustrating, particularly when it seems almost preposterous that it could be autobiographical,' she told me in an interview for the Quietus in 2011, just before the release of Let England Shake. 'People don’t allow the metaphor, the imagery, all the things that you work with as a writer … standing completely outside, as the narrator of a story.' (The Guardian, 2015)

i don't bring in pj harvey for no reason. her late career has included incidental music for ivo van hove's west end productions, including all about eve starring gillian anderson and lily james. a few years prior, gillian anderson played blanche dubois in a streetcar named desire at st. ann's warehouse dir. benedict andrews. the ending of "hits different" (feeding into beginning of "fortnight") made me think of a streetcar named desire on first listen, which ends with blanche involuntarily committed after her brother-in-law assults her, her sister helpless to intervene. you might recognize the line "i have always depended on the kindness of strangers" that lana quotes somewhere on born to die, said by blanche to the nurses taking her away. i suppose early lana's midcentury nostalgia successfully separated lana from lizzy, and pj harvey did not start her career claming her lyrics as autobiography. unfortunately, taylor swift may never be allowed such estrangement because she doesn't seem to want it ("i hate it here"), even if her next directorial outing is something vastly more "period" than fortnight, even if she doesn't appear onscreen.

as much as people fantasize about her writing a musical one day, 1) "beautiful ghosts" was redundant to an already nonsense libretto and really just the ingenue version of "memory," so you're back to a ybwm madonna/whore binary, groundbreaking and 2) based on her music video treatments, i question her interest in writing in someone else's voice, as in a flesh-and-blood character with material context, not loosely-defined devices like betty and james

[joealwyndaily]

Joe Alwyn currently occupies one of the strangest spaces in the greater celebrity matrix. He’s not yet the sort of movie star your parents would recognize at the airport and text you about, nor does he have the box-office draw of a Chalamet or Pattinson, at least not yet. The 31-year-old has been working steadily in film and television since his straight-out-of-British-drama-school debut as the lead in Ang Lee’s 2016 high-def experiment Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. He racked up a series of well-received supporting roles in big period Oscar dramas and small critically appreciated indies, usually playing a Ken-doll-faced dick (Harriet, Operation Finale, Boy Erased, The Last Letter From Your Lover) or a blushing Brit from a bygone era (The Sense of an Ending, The Favourite, The Souvenir Part II, Mary Queen of Scots). Now, his first lead role since Billy, in Hulu’s second Sally Rooney adaptation, Conversations With Friends, threatens to make him fully Recognizable to Moms.

For a specific and rather substantial subset of the global population, however, Alwyn is not only a household name but a dinner-table centerpiece. To Google him is to stare straight into the stan-culture abyss. Lengthy YouTube videos are dedicated to his rare and rather unremarkable public interactions with his overwhelmingly famous longtime girlfriend — “Taylor Swift turns around to look at her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, and sticks her tongue out at him” — or to the opaque references the two have made to the mere fact of each other’s existence. Breathless lists of “everything Taylor and Joe have said about their private relationship” abound in the Us Weekly universe. Alwyn is left to choose his words and body language wisely or risk their becoming permanent parts of the elaborate Swiftian canon. The man is not simply well-versed in the art of concealment; he is the Criss Angel of conversational dynamics. In interviews, he often demonstrates an ability to politely answer a question while revealing absolutely nothing about himself, sometimes even backtracking mid-answer to negate a benign detail. (From a recent piece in Mr. Porter: “Well, do you like football?” asks the reporter. “Football?” replies Alwyn. “Yeah. Am I allowed to say those kinds of things?”)

Yet he believes he has gotten better at the whole press thing over the years. “I don’t think I don’t enjoy interviews,” he says carefully. “I think I have seemed guarded.” He definitely “would like to not seem so guarded in them.” I can see those contradicting desires roiling inside Alwyn now, sitting across from him on the patio at Fairfax, in the West Village, for lunch. His energy is vaguely uncomfortable but determined, like that of someone preparing to swim laps in the English Channel in January to prove something to themselves. Perhaps sensing he has already revealed too much, he falls back on one of his tried-and-true lines: “If you were to ask a stranger on the street questions about their private life, let alone with the intent to then post it everywhere, why would that person not be like, ‘Sorry, what, why?’ So why would I not be like that?” He points at a woman sitting across the way from us who is, to my knowledge, not on a press tour. “I’m not going to go over there and ask that woman about her personal life.” “Actually, maybe you should,” I suggest. “I mean, I might do later,” he says, now looking cheered. “I’ll just holler across the street.”

Alwyn orders a Guinness (which is not available, so he opts for an IPA) after confirming I will also be drinking. “I’m just clinging on to that Irishness,” he says, referring to the five months he spent filming Conversations With Friends in Belfast. I start with some simple questions — When did he realize he wanted to act? What was he like as a child? “See, these are the questions I find hard,” he says. Was he introverted? Outgoing? Sporty? “I was on the introverted side but not a crippling introvert. Like an extroverted introvert,” he answers. “Is that allowed?”

In small spurts, I learn Alwyn was “not hammy” as a youth — instead, he was the family baby, “displaced” at age 12 by a new sibling, and an athlete who realized what he really wanted was to act. He kept his burning theatrical desires quiet, à la Zac Efron in High School Musical. He admits to an early obsession with Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet and talks joyfully about how he was brought up watching “random French movies” with his documentary-filmmaker father and psychotherapist mother. Occasionally, he broke free from the chains of jockdom and played Banquo in a version of Macbeth performed entirely on Rollerblades, and Snowy the dog in a production of Tintin despite looking exactly like Tintin: “Snowy was more of a stretch.”

Alwyn says he “secretly would look up drama schools online” as a teenager. Once in university, he applied to four and was rejected by all but one. He was yanked out in his last year by Lee, who had fought with the studio to cast an unknown as the naïve, PTSD-ridden Billy Lynn. “It was terrifying and surreal and happened so quickly,” Alwyn remembers. Critics were almost unilaterally derisive of the film, but Alwyn was praised for his naturalism, his believable innocence, and, per one review, a “cuteness roughly akin to that of Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting.” Like most things that have happened to Alwyn, that image has proved to be both a boon and a curse. Directors feel they must either play off it directly (place him somewhere in the past when evidently it was more normal to look like that; make him the evil, rich trophy husband to 1960s amnesia victim Shailene Woodley; cast him as Margot Robbie’s devoted, winsome courtier) or subvert it (he looks this way because he is an actual Nazi). Before filming Billy Lynn, Lee had been concerned that Alwyn was “too handsome” to play a run-of-the-mill contemporary dude; ultimately, he decided Alwyn’s face is “so compelling it doesn’t matter.”

The conversation about his looks gets meta in Conversations. In the series, he plays Nick, an emotionally walled-off, married, 30-something actor who begins an affair with a college student and slowly lets his guard down. His character is a classically attractive, heavily restrained man with hidden depths who struggles to be taken seriously while everyone around him says stuff about his face. In one scene, he and his paramour, Frances, are bidding each other farewell after a drawn-out romp when she blurts out, “You’re so handsome.” Nick turns pink. “I thought you were attracted to my personality,” he jokes half-heartedly. “Do you even have one?” replies Frances, who then looks equally humiliated. Alwyn begins mock-pulling at his cheeks and widening his eyes at any talk of said face. “Two eyes, one nose, one mouth,” he says. “I don’t know what to say.” But did he relate to that moment with Nick and Frances? “It’s not something I wrestled with,” he says, studying me as he spoons up some steak tartare. He tenses a bit. “What are you trying to get me to say about my face?” I explain that I have no specific face-related agenda, and he visibly relaxes. “No, sorry, I’m sure,” he says. “I would much rather work with an interesting director in a smaller, weirder, darker part, than something big and obvious and getting typecast just for the sake of it.”

COVID had messed up his plans to star in an “Emily Brontë origin story,” so he put himself on tape for Conversations director Lenny Abrahamson one weekend at an unnamed friend’s “beautiful, immaculate” house. Thinking he needed to look older than his three decades to play the mid-30s Nick, he went upstairs to find a jacket from his friend’s “older husband,” where he found a paperback copy of Conversations With Friends lying on​ the bedroom floor​. He got the part a week later. “I’m not superstitious,” he adds, b​efore spending the next five minutes discussing the things he actually is superstitious about — namely, and randomly, magpies. (“If I see one, I’m like, ‘Oh, shit,’” he says, whipping out his phone to show me a photo of a magpie, appearing genuinely thrilled to be talking about this.)

Alwyn’s performance in Conversations is his best yet. He’s convincing as a sensitive, depressive guy who desperately wants to open up to someone but doesn’t quite know if it’s safe to do so. The role is bold. There are more sex scenes per capita in this series than anything he has ever done, scenes of the caliber and intimacy that turned Paul Mescal, the previously unknown star of Hulu’s first Rooney adaptation, Normal People, into an icon of early-pandemic-era sensuality. “When they sent the audition, they said, just as a heads up, that it would be to sign up for the possibility of full frontal,” Alwyn says, though he ended up going tush-only. Is he prepared to be the subject of a new type of public frenzy? “To be honest, I forget that other people will see it.”

In the summer of 2020, Swift surprise-released the Grammy-winning album Folklore. Fans speculated endlessly about the identity of William Bowery, a mysterious co-writer on two songs. That November, Swift revealed that Bowery was in fact Alwyn and that the pair had taken up songwriting together in quarantine. I assume Alwyn will give me one of his speak-arounds on the subject. Instead, he leans forward, putting his English Channel–swimming face back on. “What would you like to know?”

Although he grew up playing a bit of piano and was the guitarist in a “crappy school band called Anger Management,” Alwyn doesn’t consider himself a musician or songwriter and insists that he is, in fact, an awful singer. He was merely “messing around” on the piano when Swift heard and walked over, intrigued. He had been singing the fully formed first verse to the song that became “Exile.” (Bon Iver handles the male vocals on the final version.) “It was completely off the cuff, an accident,” he says, shrugging. “She said, ‘Can we try and sit down and get to the end together?’ And so we did. It was as basic as some people made sourdough.”

I press him on this point — he wrote an entire verse to a Taylor Swift song without trying? “Who doesn’t walk around the house singing?” he asks. I explain that it’s unusual for hit songs to spring forth like that from nonmusicians’ heads. He says he wasn’t trying to write to Swift’s personal sound but had been listening to a lot of the National (Aaron Dessner ended up producing the album). Alwyn wrote the chorus for “Betty” just as casually, albeit less soberly: “I’d probably had a drink and was just stumbling around the house. We couldn’t decide on a film to watch that night, and she was like, ‘Do you want to try and finish writing that song you were singing earlier?’ And so we got a guitar and did that.”

Initially, Alwyn didn’t want his name credited, anticipating that what he describes as the “clickbait conversation” would distract people from actually listening to the music. So he went by William Bowery as a nod to his music-composer great-grandfather and the Manhattan street. But then he recognized the “clickbait conversation” was happening anyway — “I don’t say that vainly,” he adds quickly — so why not let the world know it was him? He stresses his blissful ignorance of, say, those videos dissecting his relationship with Swift: “I’m aware of those when people tell me in these situations.” It seems like a healthy, practiced denial; he has worked at tuning this shit out because otherwise he might never utter a single syllable again. And despite having a face that launched a thousand Swift songs, at certain angles in his normal-boy outfit, he does have a certain ability to blend. None of the other 30-somethings lunching at Fairfax seem to have any clue who he is. “I suppose it’s not as if you’re Jennifer Lopez,” I joke. “I beg to differ,” he shoots back with a laugh. “I am Jennifer Lopez.” I start to warm to Alwyn. He knows that what he wants (privacy) and what he has to do (publicity) are fundamentally at odds and has embraced that contradiction with dry, charming wit.

We’ve finished our food, which means the moment we’ve both been dreading can no longer be avoided. “You have things you have to ask,” says Alwyn, folding his hands together. “And I’ll either choose to answer or not.” I look him gamely in the face and ask if he is, indeed, betrothed to marry one Taylor Alison Swift. He exhales. “The truth is,” he begins, “if I had a pound coin for every time someone told me I’ve been engaged or I’m getting engaged, I would have a lot of pound coins. If the answer was yes, I wouldn’t say. If the answer is no, I wouldn’t say.” I’m struck briefly speechless. It is perhaps the best non-answer I have ever received. I ask him how often he’s practiced it, and he explains that recently, back home in the U.K., a journalist had tried to sneakily phrase the engagement as a statement rather than a question. “You’re not the first person to ask,” he says. His tone conveys that he understands I will also not be the last.

Before I release Alwyn back into the wild, I ask why, in one of his rare forays into celebrity endorsement — a perfectly confusing Tom Ford perfume commercial — he appears physically appalled by the sight of his own neck in the mirror as he sprays himself with the scent. “How dare you!” he says, laughing, looking both offended and delighted. “If that’s not how everyone puts perfume on themselves, then I’ve been lied to.” He suddenly remembers his professional obligations: “Tom Ford’s amazing as a person.” He stands up and bids me a polite farewell. Walking solo toward Tribeca, he is instantly snapped by the paparazzi.

[melis-writes]

It’s surprising to see how many readers don’t like or flat out hate Victoria in some post comments and submission. Personally I love how you’ve written Victoria as a character with a unique personality with challenges, successes, a whole family, and a backstory that could be an independent standalone character from the main male characters and she doesn’t get overshadowed. I enjoy that she could be paired with Al Pacino’s different characters in prompts and still works cause it’s fun a dynamic non-canon scenario. It’s so refreshing to see fanfics that’s not just “Y/n” over and over again cause I don’t like to self-insert “your name” into fanfics but we could still read from your OCs pov

I could understand how some may not like some of Victoria’s actions or decisions like any other character but I’m loving her spicy attitude and the interesting dynamic she adds to the GodFather story. I appreciate the effort of character development you put into OCs like Victoria and continuing with Celeste 🥰 🥰 Team Victoria forever!!! Gatekeep Gaslight and Girlboss 💅🏼💅🏼💅🏼

-From a very dedicated Meli supporter 😘🫡

To be honest, everyone has their own opinion about Victoria and that's fine. ❤️ The beauty of it is that everyone will experience her story, her actions, her lifestyle and her decisions differently and I completely respect that, but Victoria's character has also been rudely slandered in the past and called "annoying" or any other unhelpful criticisms which I absolutely don't accept. There's definitely a way to word how you feel about a character, their mannerisms and their role in the story you're reading without writing/sending literal anon hate which sadly I have seen in the recent past for Victoria.

I didn't create Victoria to be a likeable, relatable and quirky character. She fits in the world of Moth to Flame for The Godfather as one would expect a character in the canon world of The Godfather to. I love how you mentioned Victoria does have her own challenges, successes and a backstory without being overpowered by other main male characters. It's true! 🥰 She's a human being, she's not a stone cold monster who would let something like lies, betrayal and manipulation go past her. Victoria has emotions, her own values and morals too. There's things that get Victoria upset and there's things that don't even get under her skin.

I think somewhere along the way, some may have misunderstood this and expected Victoria to be cold, ruthless and a demon but we can't forget she's a mother, an aunt, a daughter, an academic, and a whole lawyer. Victoria had a life before she married Michael too, and she still does. She's not Michael 2.0 and she isn't designed to be. To be fair, it's not in my interest whatsoever to have Victoria be a likeable character or not just as I won't write out character personalities for the sake of being able to relate to them. I mean, Victoria's a corrupt lawyer and in the mafia... Should not be relatable. 😂

Of course Victoria isn't perfect. She's only human and she's not made to be a "perfect" character. She has her flaws and she has things she needs to work on; don't we all? At the very least they are mentioned and Victoria recognizes them too. You step into her perspective and see how Victoria reacts, speaks, and acts in Moth to Flame. Sometimes we may not agree with what she's said/done but it all adds to the story! That's what it is.

I also agree with what you said about the prompt shipping! 💞 It's for fun, it's unique and based on reader submission and I love interacting with you guys and playing around with suggestions/input!

GATEKEEP, GASLIGHT, GIRLBOSS -- VICTORIA CORLEONE 💅🏻

Lots of love to you and thank you for sharing your opinion on Miss Victoria!! ❤️❤️❤️

[thought-42]

Fictober Day 6: “Adaptable, I like that”

Critical Role, 666 words, Patia, Laerryn Patia drags Laerryn to parties at least once a month in some sort of haphazard socialisation program for young weapons of mass destruction. Laerryn is less grateful for these opportunities than Patia thinks she ought to be, but she is Patia's friend and pet project both so she forgives herself the indulgence.

She looks the part, if nothing else. She's lovely when cleaned up properly, all sharp angles that somehow become elegant in the right light. She wears her arrogance like haughtiness and her boredom like poise, and the conversations Patia has practised with her flow like they're natural. For the most part she's lost interest in attempting eye contact and is visibly more at ease for it, and should she get too distracted Patia holds no compunctions about using her nails to full effect in the crook of Laerryn's elbow.

She's also on her fourth glass of wine. Patia sighs in what she tells herself isn't envy.

"Slow down," Patia says. "You don't get out of here any faster if you talk to every person in the room or finish more drinks than there are courses to the meal."

"There are so many things I could be doing," Laerryn says under her breath. "I'm sorry. I do appreciate what you’re doing for me."

"You don't have to lie to me."

Laerryn tugs them both to a halt, turning to look down at Patia. She's bitten all the lipstick off her mouth. "I'm not. I really do appreciate the intent. It's not your fault the methods are bullshit."

Patia’s about to respond when she catches a glimpse of movement from the corner of her eye. She swears mentally. “Don’t look, but --Laerryn, I literally just said don’t look-- there’s a particularly unpleasant member of the Ring of Silver heading our way. If she asks you what you’re working on, lie. If she asks you if I’m forcing you to spend time with me-- well, I suppose you can predict the outcomes of either response and choose accordingly. She hates me because she knows she’s never going to be considered for the Ring of Gold, and I am.”

“Bold,” says Laerryn, the corner of her lips twitching up.

“Honest.” Patia carefully steps sideways, sliding behind a group of arguing visual artists, their over-exaggerated conversations hopefully disguising her presence. Laerryn stumbles along after her, Patia’s grip on her elbow tight.

“Are we running away?” Laerryn asks. If it were anyone else asking the question Patia would have bristled, but she knows Laerryn only means it as a sincere request for clarification.

“Perhaps a little,” she says. “I’m having such a nice night, I would hate to ruin it.”

She’s also about 75% sure that Laerryn likes her enough to defend her against antagonistic third parties, which would not go well for anyone in this particular environment.

“Ok,” says Laerryn, and then says something else that it takes Patia too long to recognize.

She takes a half step forward and is stepping onto the gravel path outside the party, far enough down that the light from the house doesn’t illuminate their presence.

“You can’t teleport,” Patia accuses her.

“I can teleport 120 feet,” Laerryn says, cheerfully, and that’s when Patia remembers handing over the spell the previous week-- an absent-minded reward for Laerryn’s latest world-shattering scientific breakthrough when Patia herself had been too far into her own project to offer attention.

“That’s meant to move potential enemies away from you,” she points out.

Laerryn nods. “Technically she is now further away from us.”

Patia wants to lecture her on the terrible impression literally vanishing out of a party will give, but Laerryn looks so calmly pleased with herself, and the teleportation was so breathtakingly smooth --the way Laerryn casts has a terrifyingly mathematical precision and the magic suffusing her entire body allows for perfection every time-- that all Patia can do is laugh.

“Adaptable,” she says. “I like that.”

“Give me more spells,” says Laerryn immediately. “See what happens.” Shatter

[cognidoodledoo]

We can’t forget about giving these guys their own intro, types and enneagrams, now can we?

More info down below:

From top to bottom function, they get visibly less and less humanoid + the dark sclera compared to the main functions since they aren’t as developed or even expressed/made aware of as often as the first four (especially Te and Si).

In a way they’re all symbolic “opposites” to their functions’ counterparts! More of this will be detailed in their individual bullet points.

The similar color schemes and designs for Ne and Si to @cognitivedoodles​’s still apply here: shadow ENTP/INTJ and ENFP/INFJ have Ne and Si in the same slot, but influenced by different auxiliary/critical and tertiary/trickster functions!

The introverted functions having a more muted palette and the extraverted functions with a more saturated palette still applies.

Introverted functions tend to have longer hair while extraverted functions have shorter hair; I’ll delve into this a little more for each relevant individual function.

Hopefully I delivered with the semi-compensated colors that represent both Fi and Te!

Opposing Ne

Ne’s design is meant to be reminiscent of a spider, since I associate opposing Ne as being “caught up/stuck in a web of possibilities”.

The intuitive functions are the only functions that don’t contrast each other through the “roles” they represent; they do it via imagery alone.

Compared to Ni’s ponytail made of converging the strands of hair, Ne gets twin tails and diverge at the end as a contrast to their way of processing patterns and information!

Another part of the design that points towards this is Ne’s multiple eyes; seeing multiple possibilities in equal weight.

The ribbon-like part of the outfit are supposed to act like extra limbs since I figured the actual extra limbs are reserved for Se. They’re also used to further hammer in the “multiple possibilities” aspect of Ne.

Ne has a bad habit of provoking Ni (re: everyone) when given the opportunity, which further serves Ni’s paranoia of needing to suppress them as much as they can.

Ne has a soft spot for Se though, given that they’re both the only manic functions around.....maybe when Ni finally slips up Ne can make her acquaintance with Se.

For all her teasing, Ne can at least respect Ni’s dedication to the user. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t harbor any hard feelings toward them though....

Critical Fi

Fi’s a ragdoll, which explains the stitches around on her body, fake blush on her cheeks, patches on her dress, and heart motif patched onto it which contrasts with Fe looking more clean and polished as a China doll with porcelain glazed skin and his heart motif as a shiny brooch of sorts separate from his body/outfit.

Also eye contrasts! Fi having buttons for eyes and basically an ‘x’ for pupils while Fe gets “actual” eyes with a pure white heart for pupils.

Not to mention hair contrasts- Fi with her long, lush, and thick hair that touches every inch of her body while Fe has shoulder-length hair and neat bangs.

Fi contrasts Fe’s role as a doting and sociable parent by being the silent and critical parent; she could give Si a run for his money when it comes to who’s the least talkative, given that she generally only speaks when spoken to.

In that same vein, Fi actually more often than not calls out Fe on his bullshit when she gets the opportunity and sees it, much to Fe’s chagrin. But there are also other times where Fi’s the only function to notice and recognize what Fe actually misses when reading others. and himself

Trickster Te

Te’s an automaton, hence the shiny body! (Based on many Te dom characters I love lmao) Also his “glasses” are actually just a visual provided by the screen, they’re not real glasses (or eyes for that matter).

Te contrasts Ti’s role as an innocent, tight-lipped, knowledge-hungry school girl by being the stern, aggressive teacher that always has something to say when everyone else is being inefficient, or worse, unable to make their plans work out.

Te definitely has issues with the entire main function stack being “disorganized” and “inefficient” because of the many notes he’s jotted down about why and how they could improve if they just let him and the other shadow functions take control for one second.

He mostly has issues with Ti, calling her “slow” due to her need to know every single little detail and fact (unbeknownst to Ti of course because of a few strings Ni and Fe managed to pull so a function like Te and the rest can stop threatening to take control of their spots and ruin the user even more than Se could ever dream of)

The whip is also another reason Ni and Fe don’t want him around lmao

Demon Si

Si’s a timekeeper demon that actually hates his face so much he opted to wear a mask so he doesn’t have to face (heh) himself

Si contrasts Se’s role as an eternally youthful, joyful teenager by being the eternally elderly, depressed time demon that would rather be left alone forever but sticks with the shadow functions under the excuse of “keeping them in check”.

The broken off demon horn is to emphasize the fact he’s a demon since the original one whole circle horn is supposed to symbolize him being a timekeeper (eternity). The demon and self-loathing emphasis references how INFJs/INTJs internalize Si negatively more often than not.

Si has only ever interacted with Ni a few times and Ni’s more paranoid about him than any other function; he fuels their anxiety more than everyone else combined, to say the least.

No one admits it, but Si is in some weird way the glue that makes the shadow functions stick together.

[hologramcowboy]

Watching the main panel from Sunday the last question which was about Danneel got me thinking. The way Jensen has been talking about her lately with saying she constantly criticizes him do you think it’s a cry for help from him? I mean in the beginning of their relationship shoot even the beginning of their marriage he had never said things like that. After the pandemic he started saying things like he did in the panel. I know she said stuff to shade him before the pandemic. But then he could escape cause he had filming or cons to where he was surrounded by friends to help him forget. But when the pandemic hit and everyone was locked down he was basically stuck with her for a year. I don’t think she is abusive physically but she definitely is mentally. I think during the lockdown she got worse. So soon as he could Jensen started accepting all these roles no matter how small the part was so he could be away from her. Doing that he didn’t really deal with what is going on. So he says the things he does about her as a defense and a way to ask for help. I think he is in a way scared to come right out and say how she really is to him. I mean if he would have done that anyway no one would believe him. When it comes to men people sadly think they can’t be abuse victims. Look what happened to Johnny Depp he told the world Amber abused him. No one believed him and she made it like she was the victim. Johnny ended up losing roles because of it. It’s just now that he is finally getting his life and career back on track. I think Jensen doesn’t want that happening to him so he tries to joke about it. But secretly he is hoping someone around him recognizes it as a cry for help. I mean we can see that his attitude and body language towards her changed. It makes me wonder if those around him notices this or not. Sorry this is so long but that is why I think he says what does what do you think? 

There is a sense he is afraid to be confrontational, therefore, he airs things in passive aggressive ways by using those stories. Devaluing someone is extremely toxic behavior that leaves a powerful psychological toll so I hope Jensen has professional help if he plans con continuing his relationshit with Danneel.

People are noticing the disharmony between this couple and it's not just the fans but also people from the outside.

Jensen is powerful on his own so I don't think he subscribes to the victim mentality in any way, I think he tollerates certain things no one should, except he can't process them and then asks for help by telling those stories. It's a very convoluted dynamic and I hope, for his sake, that he has the right people in his corner. Because, no matter how strong or well meaning someone is, devaluing and similar behavior will still take its toll and erode wellbeing. This is exactly why anyone who supports Danneel is toxic in my book. Because if they truly cared about Jensen's wellbeing they would recognize she is toxic to him.

[kalosstarters]

Okay, I saw the new episode and here’s some negative nebbying (with a bit of positivity in between):

First of all, I didn’t super love the battle. Yeah, I’m not all too surprised that Cynthia ended up winning (the fandom would have rioted if she hadn’t) but the only match up that actually felt like something (to me! If you liked the other ones, good for you!) was Haxorus vs Garchomp. I was happy that our little Axew has developed so much that he is now a genuine threat to the /Evil Shark/ itself. It ended up being a close call even despite Garchomp mega evolving so that speaks volumes about Iris’ development - and I’m proud of her! I’m also happy that Excadrill got a win. But, now we get to the but part. Tomioka continues with a very similar battle writing style as in the previous battles, with the four first mons getting knocked out so fast. I get that there are only so many minutes in one episode but comparing this to the Alola league, I would say that Alola benefited from /not/ having 3 on 3 battles until Ash vs Gladion. That way each match up got the screen time they deserved. Of course people can disagree with me on this but I personally would rather take quality over quantity, meaning I consider a well made 1-on-1 (or 2-on-2) better than a rushed 3 on 3. 

Then to the non battle stuff: the cameos were cool again (was especially happy to see the BW rivals because I actually really like that squad. Minus Cameron. We don’t talk about him). But. WHERE. WAS. CILAN??? YOU CAN NOT TELL ME THAT HE WAS NOT WATCHING BECAUSE HE MOST DEFINITELY WOULD. It wouldn’t have been so hard to add a similar still pic of him as they did with the other characters. Okay, there’s a chance that they WILL show Ash’s friends, Cilan included, during his battles, but I still feel that Cilan belonged here too.

I... also am not sure how I felt about that scene with Iris and Ash. Okay, I guess it was in character on Iris’ part, she cried and then was able to smile again but... I don’t know, I wish Ash as her friend would have done a little more to comfort her? But well, maybe that’s just me. We know poke/ani isn’t often too big on that kind of stuff, we rarely see hugs etc. 

Then to plus sides: I’m always happy to see Alain no matter how small his role is! This time I was particularly amused by how he was standing behind the others in the champion room like ‘idk how to interact with ppl so gotta keep my distance’. Very relatable. 

Hop being so shocked about hearing that ASH KNOWS IRIS TOO. Like, I’m so sorry to break this to you, boy, but he knows EVERYONE :’D And has seen p much every single mon out there.

TR continues shining in this tournament that otherwise feels a bit lackluster to me. Loved how they recognized the ‘Isshu twerpette’ and were rooting for her. And in the preview they called Ash ‘the Alola champion, competitor brat boy’ which honestly might be one of my fav things I’ve ever seen Ash being called :’D I’m so happy they’re here. 

Okay, time to wrap this overly long post up: I dunno, I may also have been in a bit of a wrong mindset when starting to watch this battle so yeah, I might have been more critical than maybe in some other situation but... maybe I’ll enjoy this episode more in another watch? I hope so. But as this post proved, it did have some good parts too. Well, either way, I hope the Ash vs Steven will be a good one!

[keyleth-clay]

I posted 4,527 times in 2022

That's 4,132 more posts than 2021!

176 posts created (4%)

4,351 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@quinn-of-aebradore

@vethbrenatto

@viciousmollymaukery

@sparring-spirals

@rainydaydecaf

I tagged 4,527 of my posts in 2022

#critical role - 4,434 posts

#fanart - 3,255 posts

#cr 2 - 1,518 posts

#cr 1 - 1,489 posts

#cr 3 - 883 posts

#moodboard - 578 posts

#vex'ahlia - 317 posts

#keyleth - 313 posts

#vax'ildan - 312 posts

#exu: calamity - 282 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#i'm also fully prepared for some emotionally devastating shit in their backstory and how that affects their relationships with the other pcs

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Critical Role Moodboards: Essek Thelyss

165 notes - Posted August 19, 2022

#4

I genuinely love Callopea and I hope that it goes fully canon.

Not because a ship has to go “fully canon” to be legitimate, or to be enjoyed by the fandom, but because I think the dynamic between Fearne and Chetney is so different from the vast majority of ships that we’ve seen on Critical Role so far.

Because the thing is, I feel like a lot of the fandom kind of sees Callopea as a joke? And not just goofy or lighthearted, but kind of mean-spirited. Like, the idea that this could ever be a “legitimate” ship or that it has any meaning to it is laughable. (This is also kind of reflected in fanworks, since there’s basically no art of them, and there’s like... two people making gifs. In comparison to pairings like Imodna or Dorym which, while I do also ship, there is arguably less concrete evidence of in canon at this point in time).

Which I don’t think is true! I think there’s a lot of depth to both Chetney and Fearne, despite being largely comedic characters, and I think there’s also a lot of potential depth to their relationship, despite it being largely played for laughs.

Take Chetney, for example. I think the depth of his character is best summed up with this quote from The Night Before Critmas (and yes, I know that was Chutney, but he was the basis for the character):

“He told me to make Voltron out of wood. No one wanted it. He told me to make a Game Boy. I can't do circuits. He told me to make the little trolls, but the hair didn't move.”

Again, yes it’s comedic, but the core idea of the character was here – because Chetney/Chutney isn’t just talking about toys. He’s talking about himself. A huge part of this character is dealing with the feeling of obsolescence, of the world moving on without you and you not being needed anymore. That same idea also shows up with Bertrand at the beginning of the campaign, and I don’t think that’s an accident, and I don’t think Travis is doing that just for the joke.

Growing older can be scary. Feeling like you’re out of touch with the world, or that you aren’t needed anymore, or that you just don’t understand things anymore – that’s scary. In a way, it feels like parts of the fandom treat a character being old as a punchline – it sometimes feels like the very idea of a character being elderly, and an elderly character wanting some form of intimate relationship in particular, is worthy of mockery.

I’m sure we’ve all seen commercials or interviews or something that contain some variation on “as we age, our need for intimacy does not diminish”. Yes, Chetney has flyaway white hair and wrinkles and a squeaky old voice and a hat he’s almost laughably attached to and goofy curly toed boots, and he is still deserving of love, and that isn’t a joke. Not that that love needs to be romantic love, necessarily, but love nonetheless.

And I think that it makes perfect sense that Fearne would be the one to recognize that! For one thing, she’s the only one in Bell’s Hells that is anywhere near his age (though there is still a noticeable gap, but who knows how the fuck time works in the Feywild anyways). For another, with her wildshaping and his werewolf transformation, the two of them are the only ones in the group that understand that idea of letting animalistic instinct take over, of the freedom of being wild, and also the occasional lack of control or fear that can come with it. Not to mention both of their… impulsive morals.

But there’s two more ways I feel that these two connect, which are even deeper than what I previously mentioned – one of which I only realized after this most recent episode.

The first is related to this wonderful bit of meta from @captainofthetidesbreath, which I’m not going to reiterate here because a) you should go give them some love, and b) because this is long enough as it is. But to sum it up, Chetney is a toymaker, and takes great pride in that. He takes great joy in seeing other people, especially children, finding joy in what he’s crafted. Out of everyone in Bell’s Hells, I feel that Fearne is the only one who would truly appreciate that. Just look at what he’s made for everybody else – a box, which isn’t a toy. A skyship, which was immediately left behind for a child who would actually play with it and appreciate it. A wooden hand? And a house for Pâté and Sashimi, which is kind of a toy and kind of being played with, but also kind of not.

Fearne, on the other hand, has always had a certain whimsy about her. She enjoys the frivolous, she appreciates the silly, and she makes it a point to collect and steal and have things, simply because they make her happy. That, to me, is closest to the heart of why Chetney is a toymaker in the first place.

The second was something that Fearne said in episode 25. When Dusk showed her the locket that contained the portraits of her parents and that whole conversation started up, Fearne said”

“I don’t know where they are, and I’ve been looking for them, but maybe they just forgot? ‘Cause it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen them.”

I’m very curious as to whether this is a thought that she’s had before during her search for her parents – or if this will continue to weigh on her now that she has thought of it, at least until she’s able to reunite with them.

Because I feel like this ties in with the idea I mentioned above of Chetney feeling obsolete now that he’s gotten older. I could see a real and genuine heart-to-heart happening between them over this. I also wonder – Chetney’s never mentioned any family; no parents, no siblings, and most importantly for this Callopea ship manifesto (apparently), no spouse(s) or children. I get the sense from both of them of just… getting used to being alone and being lonely. That they are genuinely lighthearted and humorous individuals, but that humour does still help to hide some heavier feelings.

CHANGING TOPICS ENTIRELY, I also want to touch on something else that might seem completely counter to everything I’ve written here so far, and that is that this ship doesn’t need to be deep! They don’t need to have a “You know I’m in love with you, right?” or a “My heart belongs to someone else” or a “You were not born with venom in your veins”,  etc etc etc.

A ship doesn’t need to be deep and intense and Romantic-with-a-capital-R to be real and genuine and enjoyable! It can be as simple and light and fun as just two people being attracted to each other and having fun exploring that attraction. Hell, their relationship doesn’t even need to be romantic! I’ve seen people headcanon Fearne as arospec, and I love the idea of a non-romantic but still sexual relationship being explored, and not being treated as lesser because of that.

Hell, they could still end up as a romantic relationship, but start out here, with heavy-handed flirting and overt sexual overtones, and see their relationship as fun but ultimately not particularly meaningful, but then *intense and emotionally-heavy moment later in the campaign happens, especially if one of them nearly dies or does die and is brought back*, and then they realize Oh shit, this isn’t just for funsies, I’ve got real actual romantic feelings for them and I’d be miserable if they were gone. Oh fuck.

And that’s not even touching on the wolf/deer theme they’ve got going on, or the sun/moon vibes that they’re rocking, etc.

Basically there’s just… SO much potential for Callopea, guys. I can’t wait to see where it goes.

244 notes - Posted July 6, 2022

#3

Y’know, the “Big moon, little moon” reveal makes the whole conversation with Fearne and Dorian about big/middle/little spoon hurt a whole lot more in retrospect.

305 notes - Posted March 18, 2022

#2

You’ve heard of Elf on the Shelf, now get ready for

783 notes - Posted August 12, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

From the moment that Exandria Unlimited: Calamity was announced, everybody was saying that “we already know how it ends, what matters is how they get there. We already know it’s a tragedy.”

Except... it wasn’t tragic. Not really.

Nydas made sure that as many citizens of Avalir survived as possible. He made sure that the students of the Sorcerer’s Academy, his pride and joy, made it out of the city. His brother and his sister-in-law made it out of Cathmoira.

Zerxus got to see his husband again, got to see his son one more time before everything went to shit, He made sure Tempus got out, and because of that, they were reunited. And even though he ended up damning his soul and serving the Lord of the Hells, he did it because there was no other choice he ever would have made.

Patia realized as she died, 1 in-game second into the episode, that you can have all of the knowledge in the world, but it means nothing if it dies with you. Against all odds, she got a second change, a grand total of an hour and a half before she ended up dying for good, and she fucking took it. She made damn sure that that knowledge didn’t die with her. And she always served Avalir, but Avalir is not the cobble streets or the ivory towers or any of the Rings. Avalir is it’s people, and she served them to the very end.

Loquatius was given the opportunity to leave, and he chose to stay with the woman he loves, with the world he loves, with the people he loves. He got one final message out, and with it, made sure that as many people were warned of the danger as possible, made sure that they knew to escape and where to go to do so. He got to be there to see Laerryn’s life’s work reach completion, and that was the whole point, wasn’t it?

Laerryn got to see her life work reach completion - not the way she thought it would, but in a way that mattered infinitely more. She did something brilliant and incomparable, surrounded by her loved ones, in and for and as the Heart of Avalir. She and Loquatius made amends and rekindled their love, and in the last few minutes of their lives were married again. ‘Til death do they part.

And Cerrit broke off from the rest of the party, one of the most taboo things in TTRPGs, and because of that he was able to find a way to make sure his family was safe, he was able to get to his children before things got too bad, he was able to get them out of the city. He fucking killed Vespin Chloras, saved his friend’s life, and made it possible for her to prevent the Primordials from re-entering the world. With one final telepathic map from Laerryn and a symbol of a broken pact from Loquatius, was able to escape and make it back to his family.

None of them died with regret. None of them wished that they had done things differently, there was no would-a should-a could-a. There was more hope than anything else in this story.

925 notes - Posted June 17, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[i-love-magi]

Chapter 1: A Fated Encounter

“Lady winters, Look!! Look!! We completed our first dungeon!” Rudie yelled out in excitement.

I couldn’t help but smile, They were all so happy and excited. I had only been there in case something happened but luckily nothing did. Seeing the five of them reminded me of the debauchery tea party days.

“Minori what is that?” Serara asked.

My eyes went straight to Minori’s hands ‘Is that a celestial crystal?’ I wondered. For context, There are said to be 20 celestial crystals each one representing a critical power. The 6 I have are basic, Water, Fire, Earth, Air, Light, and Darkness.

“I’m not sure….It seems to be some kind of crystal.” Minori said in confusion.

“Minori….” I called out. But before I could ask her to let me see the crystal my vision started to blare.

___________________________Sometime Later____________________________________

“Miss? Miss?” I heard.

‘That voice I don’t recognize it.’ I thought. I slowly opened my eyes to meet two men. One with white hair and what looks to be some sort of uniform, like an advisor, and the other with pink hair and armor that reminds me of a gladiator.

“Who are you? Where are my friends?” I asked as I tried to get up but almost fell due to a dizzy spell coming upon me. ‘Mister Gladiator’ caught me before I fell and helped me stand.

“Miss? Are You alright? I don’t know where your friends are. You were the only one here.” Mister advisor said.

“ I’ll be fine, I’m just a bit dizzy, thank you, Mister. May I ask where I am?” I asked. I was starting to feel better but didn’t let go, not trusting myself right now.

“ You're in Sindria, more specifically you're in the palace gardens.” He said in a confused tone.

I looked up at him in confusion, “Sindria?”

“Miss, what do you remember last?” He asked if I could tell he was trying to figure out the situation.

“Ja’far! Where have ...My who is this lovely lady” The strange man with purple hair asked. ‘He must be some sort of royalty…possibly some sort of Ruler.’ I thought. The discoloring on his skin….Is that a curse?

“This is…” Ja’far paused ‘Ja’far? So that's his name.’I thought. “Winters….My name is Winters.” I said when I noticed that Ja’far realized that he didn’t know my name.

“This is Lady Winters, We found her passed out in the garden. I was just asking Lady Winters what was the last thing she remembers because it seems as if she does not recognize her surroundings. Lady Winters, This is his highness King Sinbad, King of Sindria and head of the Seven Seas Alliance.” Ja’far announced ‘Knew it...He was a ruler of sorts.’ I thought.

I let go of mister Gladiator feeling better but not straying away just encase the dizziness decides to return. I curtsied as a noble lady would and said “ My name is Winters, I am a high-ranking adventurer and I am one of the members of the round table conference, my role is a representative for unaffiliated adventurers and non-adventurers”

I could see that the interest peaked in King Sinbad's eyes but there was no recognition to be found in them. He gently took my hand and pulled it to his lips and kissed it before pulling away, Though he did not let it go. “You're quite the interesting young lady….I can’t help but become curious.” I mentally rolled my eyes at his seductive words and mannerisms. ‘ If I were normal, that might have worked on me. But I will say he does give Shurigo a run for his money in the looks department’ I thought which brought a gentle smile to my face. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ja’far and mister gladiator roll their eyes.

“I understand what you mean, your highness, But curiosity could come with consequences if one is not careful,” I said sweetly. His smile fell a tiny bit and I could hear the other two trying to keep themselves from laughing at their king.

“You're very wise, Lady Winters.” His Highness said.

“ I would hope so, I am quite a curious person. So I should know a thing or two about the subject.” I teased. King Sinbad was not used to someone teasing back because I saw a small amount of blush appear around his cheeks. Looking out of the corner of my eyes I could see the absolute shock on Ja’far and mister Gladiator's faces. ‘Two can play at this game.’I thought.

“Well….I….Um….I see, perhaps we should take this inside. I’m sure you would like to sit down and we do have questions of our own but fear not we will do everything in our power to help you.” He said as he positioned me on his arm like a gentleman would with a young Lady.

“Of course, I will answer all your questions to the best of my ability….As I would hope you would do the same for me.” I said as he led me down some halls while Ja’far and Mister Gladiator followed close behind.

“ So Lady Winters….” His Highness started but stopped when we passed by an open courtyard. I sensed magic power. I looked up to the sky to see what seemed to be a barrier being breached.

“How….? Judar!!!” King Sinbad exclaimed. I let go of his arm and walked into the courtyard.

“Lady Winters!! It’s dangerous. Please come back and allow us to take you to safety.” Ja’far said firmly.

I stopped and looked back at the three men “ You are helping me...so it’s only fair that I help you.” I said.

My staff appeared in my hand, it was silver with the 6 celestial crystals floating around it as if they were planets and my staff was the anchor. Holding my staff up toward the sky I said “Crystal Dome” Before a cyan-colored beam shot up from my staff and started to enclose the whole country. The barrier looked like it was made out of crystal as it shimmered due to the light reflecting off of it.

I turned back to see the three of them pale in the face and shocked “ What? I did say I was a high-ranking adventurer. Though I'm starting to think you don’t know what that is, never mind that right now, I think it would be best to get rid of your attackers.” I said.

This seems to snap them out of their shock “My what do we have here? You're new? Who the hell are you?” The mystery attacker 1 came down from the sky.

King Sinbad grabbed and pushed me behind him protectively “ No one, What do you want Judar?”

“I came to ask what you think about ‘that guy’ but now I found something more interesting.” He said, peeking over King Sinbad’s shoulder at me.

I popped out and waved at him “ Hi, my name is Winters, These nice people are helping me find my friends. Who are you?”

King Sinbad tried to keep me away from the man named Judar as he tried to get closer to me. This however was a failure because I just went around the King and walked right up to the man “I know your name is Judar because that is what the king called you but that is all?” I said.

“Why aren’t you quite brave? Most would tremble in the presence of a Magi.” He gloated while he circled me in the air.

“Magi? What's a Magi?” I asked. ‘Is that a title for a noble or something?’ I thought.

“What?!! You don’t know what a Magi is? How stupid are you?” He said.

I tilted my head and with a big smile, I said “ Ignorant…Me not knowing what a magi is makes me ignorant not stupid.”

This seemed to tick the man off because he summoned what looked to be ice spears and threw them at me. I dodged them easily, which only pissed him off more. He was slow compared to some of the monsters I had to take down on those quests, so it was easy to dodge his attacks. I noticed his demeanor change, which caused me to transfer magic to the tip of my staff and draw a circle around me. As I did this Ice came up from the ground. ‘Man, it’s a good thing I noticed that or that would have hurt.’ I thought.

King Sinbad seemed to be analyzing my fight with Judar, while the others were shocked at how easily I was handling him. “ Why you little…!! I was just trying to test you…but you're pissing me off!!” He said. I felt an abundance of magic being formed.

I stood my ground. ‘ This is boring and a waste of time.’ I thought as I cast thorn hostage Bind. Thorns of pure magic power appeared from the ground and wrapped around Judar. “If those thorns are cut you will be electrocuted with pure magic power and I do have the power to cast it multiple times. What your problem is that you don’t think nor do you care to. You have the power to be a force to be reckoned with, but sadly you're too self-absorbed to see it. Also a little advice, even the weakest of persons can take down the strongest if they know how to analyze a situation. So don’t underestimate someone just because their power is weaker than yours. I say this because I didn’t become well-known for how much power I had. It was the ladder that made me well known and feared.” I released the spell on Judar and then melted the ice from his previous attacks before turning to the others.

“I appreciate that you were trying to shield me from him but as you can see I can handle myself. As for Judar, he will be taking his leave, won’t you? Or will you behave yourself and finish your business here.” I said looking over my shoulder before making my way over to the king and his subordinates.

“Your something else and I like it…I think we could have some fun together. But I guess I should get to the point. So what I was talking about earlier was “Aladdin.” Don’t you think it’s strange? That there exists another Magi in this world!!?” Judar asked.

His highness Sinbad seemed to not be happy with what Judar was getting at. My lack of knowledge of what was being said annoyed me but by listening to the conversation and observing their body language I can come up with a few theories. One is that Magi’s seem to have great influence and another one showing up is causing concern. I could feel the king's eyes on me as well as Judar’s. I’m sure they were curious about my thoughts.

“In all the previous Eras…there were only three magi…you know about this, right? History proves that…there were always three magi who chose kings, created countries, and built this entire world! It used to be like that in this era also, right?” He said.

Everyone stayed silent listening to what Judar had to say. But a smile graced my lips realizing I knew what was happening but no one else had figured it out. It would make sense, I know quite a bit about balance, chaos, time, and space. Ja’far looked at me confused as well as the king though it was hard to tell he was watching me from the side.

“For the first, there is me, and then that old hag in Reim, and the last one is that guy who travels around the world, making dungeons appear and disappear as he pleases.” Judar continued.

‘Dungeons? Appear? Disappear? What is he talking about?’ I thought as he continued his speech. He was buying time that I knew but still the things he was saying are interesting no less.

“That should be all of them. If a new Magi appears, someone among these three people must have died…but, I didn’t get such information. So then…what the hell is “that guy”...? For the first time in history, the “Fourth Magi” has appeared…Plus, that time… he displayed a mysterious power that even I don’t know anything about…From that moment onward, those old men from my organization desired that power. Could it be you’re interested in that, too?” Judar asked the King.

King Sinbad was silent for a moment and then asked “ What are you trying to say?”

“Quit acting innocent! What do you intend to do? What do you intend to achieve by using that midget? Or better yet what do you tend to do with that girl? Both have usual power?” He asked.

I rolled my eyes “ Leave me out of this, Mister. My power is my own to wield and will use it as I see fit.” I was annoyed that he was trying to get me involved.” These people are helping me so I will help them in exchange but it's under my will and my will alone. Do you understand me?” I said, making it clear to everyone what my intentions were. But my answer seems to amuse and cause them both to become more curious.

“It’s none of your business.” King Sinbad said coldly.

Judar picked up because he said “So cold…Do you want to make me feel lonely? You should have joined forces with me, and yet…of course, there is still a chance for you Winters.” This caused me to roll my eyes.

Sinbad tensed up and his anger flared “ you’re one of the people of that organization!! Did you forget what you did to us…That time in Partevia!?” He yelled in anger.

I instinctively place my hand on his back to calm him, he seemed surprised at my actions but I felt him relax a little.

“Don’t give me that look, Sinbad. I am, too…I am, too…one of altharmen’s victims!” This outburst seemed to surprise everyone but I can see his true intentions as I looked at him with a blank expression.

He seems to notice with an almost unrecognizable smirk he continued. “ That little magi…showed me… my past…I was chosen by the rukh and was born in a small, eastern village…But…but my father and mother, everyone, were immediately killed by the “organization”... I was taken by the “organization” and they took advantage of me even before I understand a thing…I’ve been in this situation since I was an infant…I wanted to live a normal life!! And yet, are you saying that I’m at fault here!!? Sinbad!!?”He crouched down as if he was crying.

I’ll give him that he is a pretty good actor, award-winning I would say “Judar…!” King Sinbad said before trying to reach to comfort him.

I stopped him from reaching out he looked at me confused and then turn back to Judar the moment he heard laughing. “Buhahaha…I can’t do this anymore…Gyahahahaha!!! Hahaha!! Did you pity me!? You are a good person!!! I’m surprised though the only person who didn’t believe me, was that girl!!! Hahaha!!”

This seemed to anger the king because he became angry when he said Judars name but it didn’t seem to faze Judar because he continued. “Don’t get me wrong!! Everything I said before was the truth…But I don’t care about those things at all! I’ll just keep doing as I please, just as I’ve been doing until now!...” Judar paused and the mood around him shifted “Hey…This country is a beautiful place…It stinks of humans no matter where you go. This country that you created isn’t half bad. And that magi as well…it’s not like I hate him…It’s for these reasons…that I decided that I will destroy both of them!”

The tension in the room could be cut with a sword everyone was tense and no one knew what would happen. Well all but me of course, I may not know what they were talking about but I knew what I sensed and what directions things are flowing toward. With that, I could predict the moves of people and monsters giving me an advantage.

“Hey Sinbad, Are you sure that you don’t want to join forces with me? You are the king vessel…with a superhuman quantity of Magoi, that Commands 7 Jinns and strong familiar vessel users! I thought that it would be incredibly fun…to conquer the world together with you! Even you, girl, I think it would be fun, with such skill and power! But…lately, I noticed…That people like you two who are incredibly strong…would be more fun to kill than anything else!! Isn’t my Kou empire incredible!? It even has 5 dungeon conquerors. Ren Hakuei was the first imperial princess. Ren Kougyoku the 8th imperial princess and the sons of the emperor ren Kouha. Ren Koumei. Ren Kouen!! Among them Kouen is good…not only he is a king vessel that would not lose even to you two…he also likes war. If we join forces we could gain control of the eastern continent in a blur of time! And after that…this place…the Kou empire will destroy Sindria!!” He yelled in excitement.

‘He’s a fool like the rest of them but that makes it even more fun when I break them!’ I thought then gasped at my dark thoughts. ‘ I need to be careful thinking that way after all they are the people of the land and not Naotsugu or Crusty. Those two are my favorite to torment.

“...This country, is our enemy now…See you.” Judar said before flying off. I blushed to realize I was so in thought that I missed completely what was said and who is the girl.

For some reason, I felt the need to comfort the girl because she seemed conflicted. I walked up to the girl and pulled her into my arms “ People get caught up in what's right or wrong…their responsibilities along with many other things…the only advice I can give you is to do what you want, don’t think about anyone else or what they might think…This is your life do what you want or what you think is best. Do what makes you happy!” I said everyone was watching us. I could that they were uncertain but I could feel three sets of eyes on me.

“But what if I don’t know what to do or what I want to do?” The girl said her sad eyes staring up at me.

“You take some time to figure it out and even if that doesn’t work talk it out with someone you know you can trust. I good friend will never judge you for your actions.” I said as my right hand played with her hair.

“... what's your name?” She asked.

I smiled at her gently and said “My name is Winters and what is yours?”

“Kougyoku…Can we… We are friends?” She asked shyly.

I gave her a big smile and said “ I would love that and as your new friend might I suggest you get some rest.”

She paused before pulling away from me and nodding, turning toward a man in black, he led her away.

I sense the king move toward me, I turned to him causing him to stop. “Thank you, for everything. I appreciate your help even though we just met.”

“I did it because it was the right thing to do and because it's only right to help those who are helping me. That being said I do not care what power you hold but I will be respectful unless I’m given a reason not to be. Your pretty face and sharp tongue won’t achieve anything. If that’s going to be a problem, let me know now.” I said with my head held high. I could tell what kind of man he was.

He let out a loud laugh and said “ I like your honesty, you seem to have figured me out. I'm impressed, as for it being a problem I have no problem with it. I would love to get to know you better. You are quite an interesting person. While the princess is resting, how about we continue our talk." Despite my warning, he still tried to use his sharp tongue on me.

“ I would love that…After the whole incident with Judar…I do have questions.” I said Making it obvious that I was not falling for it.

“That's great because I have some as well.” He said.

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Chapter 111 + 110