#character ! but i miss and love that freak so much

[co-mixed]

X-Men '97: Beyond Expectations

Let’s be honest, who was ready for this? 

Personally, I didn’t have many expectations. I knew it was X-men and I knew I’d love it probably no matter what. I had a fear it might be a little too clean and knowing full well what the comics are, making it child-appropriate wasn’t an ideal option. Should I even say the words “pleasantly surprised” at this point? They don’t cover it. 

X-Men ‘97 did something that’s been missing ever since the MCU started. It built the X-men fan community back up, brought in new fans, encouraged people to take a look at the X-titles again. We finally get to namedrop our favorite mutants, share ridiculous facts from their past, and yes, remember things like X-Men Evolution and Wolverine and the X-men. But then the show also showed us how heavily emotional and deep cartoons can be. 

Okay, enough vague statements, and no more avoiding spoilers.

The show really relies on the previously established lore with Charles being taken off-world to Shi’ar and the X-men left under Scott’s leadership. Or so he thinks. Right off the bat in the first episode, we get an epic X-fight like we’ve never seen and a cliffhanger with Magneto showing up. Not much of a shocker and yet, we’ve never seen the movies dare to do that (or anything that strays too far from Phoenix). Whenever that happens, Magneto trying to abandon his murdery radical ways, it always comes down to his clash with Charles. They really manage to make their decades-long disagreement everybody else’s problem. X-men usually pay the price. 

This time though, you finally see the creators working with the comics. We get so many storylines adapted in the span of 10 episodes, it’s unbelievable. That actually does follow the tradition set up by TAS. Only it’s been years, hence more stories and newer, harsher ones. 

To be honest, I never even imagined Genosha being adapted. Not just because it’s a heavy arc but because it’s just so obvious: when you mention Genosha you state the fact. We know what their goal is. It’s removing any ambiguity and allowing no misinterpretations of what the X-men are really and have always been about. So it’s a statement for sure. And I couldn’t be happier they finally made it. Correction, I could be happier if they hadn’t killed off Gambit. We’ll get back to that. 

So yeah, we got Genosha, OZT, Inferno, and Lifedeath (aside from minor elements and arcs I can’t particularly point out at the moment). So this show went to the depth of what makes X-men X-men, they took the personal arcs like Lifedeath or Inferno, the ones that focused on character journeys, and really showed us who the people are behind these stories. That’s mostly  Claremont’s legacy since both stories were from his era and it was his thing to take mutants through their personal hell. Bot arcs were compressed, of course, but the essence remained the same. Which, again is the only goal of an adaptation anyway. So some metaphors had to be sacrificed but ultimately, they just give you a chance to relive it through comics if you’re into it.

But then they hit us with big events like Genosha and OZT. They absolutely go as epic as any movie, because remember how you felt after ep.5? If you’re anything like me, you were devastated and if you’re a Gambit fan, you were shocked too. And this is one of the things that they didn’t just put aside and ignore, something that movies never focused on: the emotions. Throughout the show, the characters say several times that they’re a family. But we actually see that in the friendship between Storm and Jean (which come on, it’s been a long freaking time coming!), or Morph and Wolverine (that one resembles Wolverine’s friendship with Nightcrawler in the comics). But then in the love and drama between Scott and Jean (and Madelyne! And Logan! And probably Emma one day!), Storm and Forge, or Rogue and Gambit (and Magneto!).

Love and friendship - the genuine connections that make you care about the characters and how someone’s death or disappearance or even inner turmoil affects you. We see these things through their reactions, so for them to feel true, we have to see those connections. And here we finally do. Just like we do in the comics. I hope the eventual movie screenwriters keep that in mind because that’s the only way to build an X-men story, brick by brick. 

Look at the way Roro and Jean are cheering each other on, with mind and weather, and then when Phoenix shows up. 

X-men are a superhero soap opera and we all know that. And ffs let’s never again pretend like it isn’t. 

The politics. Now if you’re one of those “keep the politics away from my comics/movies/cartoons” types, X-men are not for you. X-men ‘97 even more so, because this show is all politics. I mean hello, Genosha? OZT? Bastion, sentinels, hate groups? We are even finally calling out Shi’ar! Which I love. We’ve been looking at them through ally glasses since more often than not they play on the side of the X-men. But really, in terms of intergalactic politics, they are no better than Kree or Skrulls (not the cozy ones from the MCU). They can get pretty mean. In one of his finer moments, mainly because it allowed him to rest comfortably on his high horse, Charles points that out. Even explains the short and easy-to-understand version of what being an empire means. But as he does that, unfortunately, Genosha is under attack. 

We give him shit for ditching his family like that but really, he just relied on his pal Magneto to keep it together. And he would’ve too, had his gloved hand not been forced by the likes of Val, Trask, and the evil droid that is Bastion. 

Here’s where X-men ‘97 do the absolute most – they mix and match stories, piling them on to absolutely overwhelm the heroes. To keep everyone preoccupied and focused on their piece of the drama cake to sneak in a shuttering final forte chord. 

And Genosha ain’t even that. 

Let me be corny for a moment there, but it’s probably one of THE moments for every fan, when after episode 5 we were warned that the best is yet to come. And we kept asking how? How do you top that? And we saw today (5.15.) because holy shit, this show raised the bar. 

We got teamwork. Really, one of the perfect elements of this show is the characters’ powers. The limitless force with which they jump into a battle. We knew it at “Give them the forecast” really. Because we’ve never before seen Storm at the height of her power, with all she can and has done in the comics. Right then and there we knew what we were in for. But then, the rest of that, or any other fight sequence was everything you could hope for. There wasn’t a single one you would wanna miss. Powers depicted as they were always meant to and amazing teamwork. That was one of the best elements borrowed from the recent comics. Recent because while they’ve been working as a team since forever, it was Krakoa that really emphasized how powerful mutant circuits can be.

Thanks to that, we got to see a showcase of creative use of abilities. Beast using his knowledge to his advantage, Morph using their power to turn into everyone who’s anyone - I mean they gave us so many little fun cameos, even though every time you had to take a double look and ask wait, Warren’s here? Psylocke showed up? Or ehhh Hulk? That’s very X-men. The characters have fun with their powers too, with the team landing in the first episode or Ororo flying around when she got her powers back (this ain’t about Forge :D). And then there are devastating displays of power like Gambit charging the Wild Sentinel (still not over it) or Magneto turning off the lights. Of course, in any battle you have to keep things interesting, which is why they don’t just let the heroes use their ultimate ability from the get-go and be done with the whole thing. The baddies also have to surprise you with being harder and harder to defeat.

Speaking of surprises, the fact that all the stories have been stitched together like a quilt makes every turn unexpected. I mean you can predict some things and chances are, the better you remember the comics, the more things you can get right. But what’s the fun in that? They don’t simply adapt arcs, they add and remove crucial elements that make it into something new. And that new is always unpredictable. Like take Genosha - Bastion was behind it instead of Cassandra. While Charles was in space, she wasn’t after him, the Shi’ar politicians, however, were. Or the whole ordeal with Maddie - Scott didn’t stand a chance there. Really, no matter how you spin that story, he can’t get out of it looking good. But they did their best and it worked. 

Then again, these are the things that make adaptations work and this is what the MCU is so good with. Civil War was hella different from the comics and it’s still a fan favorite. 

And as if all that was somehow not enough, the show is so quotable. It has all those little callbacks to previous episodes or TAS or even the movies, clever writing, and beautiful lines that stay with you for weeks and probably even forever. All the things about chosen family – tell me you didn’t tear up or straight up cry because that’s pretty much what I did. And yeah the first time you’re watching to find out what happens. The second — you really live through all the emotions. Along with the characters because they so do live them.  

There is so much X-men lore. You can read them like obsessed (which I often do) and still have so many stories to go through. Anyway, X-Men ‘97 finally flipped the page from the stories we know well and picked a new evil, building a new arc with him at the center. 

And then, the details in general. How well the animation is done and how tiny elements you notice help them build the narrative. I’ve been thinking about it since the first episode when I saw the look between Storm and Rogue before the team landed. In that one look, they agreed on a landing strategy they probably trained time and time again in the Danger Room. Similarly, the sneaky sideyes and looks, just pay attention to them when you rewatch (and I know you will), cause the details just make the whole experience even better. All reactions are awesome in this show like Ororo hearing about Forge’s disastrous neutralizer technology and calling an epic thunder. That’s pretty much how the characters stop being 2d even when all they are meant to be is 2d.

Did I mention the soundtrack? Pretty much a masterpiece, right? It feels epic and grandiose and in many ways, it’s because of the music. It’s obvious things it’s still so easy to simply forget to mention it. You pay attention to the story and the visuals but they are tied together by the sound. And it’s most noticeable in the Wolverine/Nightcrawler fight with Prime Sentinels or when Ororo flies around, or when Cable, Jean, and Scott jump into that epic family fight. Breathtaking. 

A big part of this show is about family. The kind that supports you and stands by you. You know, the opposite of Nina DaCosta! It’s always touching too because no other team is like that. You don’t get this benefit of the doubt with the Avengers and FF are actually related. You only get that with the X-Men if you’re willing to share the dream. 

I’m not going into the dream though, been there, done that. But I do want to talk about the finale. 

As many have predicted, we did get a cliffhanger. As if we wouldn’t have come back, pah-lease! But we’re obviously back to Apocalypse and this time he’s gonna mess up with several timelines at once. Now what exactly are we getting - I wouldn’t dare theorize. All I can think about right now is… okay, we’re probably getting some resurrections, some Stryfe, and once again, I’m hoping for New Mutants (even though the only new face I spotted was Dust and she’s from an entirely different team.)

Also, we see a wider universe: Cap and Iron Man, Black Panther (where again did Storm end up ;)), Cloak and Dagger, Daredevil, Strange, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man. If we ever have crossovers… 

Still, it’s been amazing and it’s now forever with us. 

I might be biased, no, I am most certainly biased but it’s the best animated show I have ever seen and I am ecstatic that it’s about the team I’ve loved my entire life.

[raisedbythetv89]

*tw* mentions of sa throughout the btvs series:

Expanding on the thoughts in this post about fandom culture and etiquette for how to make this a safer and more enjoyable space for everyone no matter who you ship

If you are a fan of btvs or ats no matter who your favorite characters are or who you ship - you have suffered at the hands of joss whedon's narcissistic personality and the subsequent emotional abuse he not only put the actors and his characters through but the audience as well

He gave us characters and relationships we fell in love with and then always, without fail, something horrible happens to one of them or they do something horrific and we're forced to cope with the emotional whiplash that happens every time he does it and decide if we love the character or relationship enough to cope with what joss did to them or if that's it for us enjoying that character or relationship

Like Bangel? Surprise! He's gonna lose his soul and completely psychologically destroy Buffy! AND THEN he's gonna come back and turns out he's been lying to this whole time to Buffy and he actually loved Darla so much he tried to be evil even with the soul first and actually stalked Buffy for a year before he introduced himself and fell in love with the sight of her crying at 15 and we made her look SUPER childlike and innocent to really up the ick factor!

Like Spuffy? Here take the most traumatic depiction of attempted sexual assault we've ever seen in the series that comes out of absolutely nowhere and is specifically designed to punish women after Spike was the only person who could be there for Buffy besides Tara as she battles her severe depression!

Like Tillow? Well Willow goes from empowering Tara and standing up for her to yelling at her to shut the hell up and then magically drugging and sexually assaulting her! and then when Tara calls her out on in she uses the "I didn't mean to" line and then is gonna use magic on her in the exact same way! and then we're gonna rush tara forgiving her just to kill her off!

Like Fuffy? Well Faith is gonna steal Buffy's body and then sexually assault both buffy and riley simultaneously while trying to goad riley into violating buffy's body as much as possible!

The list is truly ENDLESS you either survive on btvs long enough to do something horrific or you're killed off in a brutal, shocking and senseless way (I'm not going to list every single relationship and horrific event as it seems unnecessary and I know I can expand on the above example even further but again it feels unnecessary so please don't freak out if you feel I missed something this is by no means an exhaustive list)

Joss hates people, he hates women, he hates people of color, he hates his audience. Doing horrible things to people you claim to love is incredibly normal for him and any abusive narcissist because they don't love people or even see them as fellow humans - they're just things they play with for entertainment or to make them feel good about themselves which is why this is so prevalent in the buffyverse in the first place

Liking a ship where something horrible happens, you're not condoning it - it happened TO YOU. You were going along loving a character or relationship and then the creator got bored or angry and decides to throw a narrative punch just because he can and he likes the control it gives him to make a bunch of people react in certain ways emotionally and he loves to ruin things people love that's a huge thing for narcissists - if they see someone else feeling good about themselves or experience joy they want it destroyed

We have all suffered at the hands of this man, everyone has their favorite characters for very specific and deeply personal reasons. Just because you can't move past or accept certain behaviors from a character doesn't mean you get to dictate that for everyone else. Truly loving or connecting to a character means you have more capacity for forgiveness than someone who just liked them - and loving a character also usually comes with a deeper understanding of that character in the first place that can give you perspective and understanding that helps you contextualize the bad things.

Loving even the worst fictional characters literally harms no one, but attacking, shaming, judging, feeling superior to real people for their fictional tastes does so don't come on here and "well actually" me with "well MY fav didn't do [x]" or "MY fav never did anything.." because that's not the point. The whole point of this post is other btvs or ats fans who like different characters or ship difference ships are not you enemy - JOSS WHEDON is the only enemy here - be mad at him and only him, hate on other characters all you want but being cruel to other fans who don't agree with you is exactly what joss wants and we all hate that fucker so stop playing his game and don't be a dick.

[mintt-tea-2]

two girlies and their pathetic wizards

i don't do comics often at all but i had this idea and well here we are !!

[tomurakii]

Also of course Kipperlily lost her shit about Kristen not taking the campaign seriously. She's a kid who gets passionate about shit and her "friends" use it to take the piss and make her mad on purpose. It reminds me of my own childhood or the treatment of other neurodivergent kids in primary school, where you'd say you don't like being touched or that you want your stuff organised a certain way or bring a fidget toy or something to school with you and some kid would come and harrass you and move stuff and take things out of your hands just to get you to have a meltdown or give them a reaction they can laugh at you about.

She cares about the presidency, and thinks Kristen is taking it to fuck with her on purpose just like Ruben did with their party name and countless shithead kids probably did in the past.

[yo-yo-yoshiko]

Anytime characters swap bodies I always think about which of our silly little guys gets a break from their usual trash bod/brain.

[kdramaxoxo]

Pretty sure I'm the only person who didn't like Castaway Diva ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[backpackingspace]

Okay but daredevil is funny to me because if Matt would just explain things in a normal ass way 80% of his problems would go away but noooo it's all the world's on fire and Matt Murdock is dead

[suck-on-a-fire-ball]

The writer of this letter was clearly excited; the letters almost seem to bounce off the page, at times. There is a small drawing in the upper, right corner: A stick figure is holding a book in its hand. Above it, is a bubble of text: ”The owner of this object has stubbed a toe, and likes wearing orange underwear…” Next to it, another stick figure is standing, rolling its eyes, saying ”You were supposed to tell me about the weapon she created! What kind of a psychic are you?!”. At the bottom of the page, someone has tried to draw a tabby. It looks like a constipated badger...

Hello again, Anders!

Thank you so much for your letter! I was in a fairly dark place mentally when I received it, and it immediately made me feel better. So many new thoughts! It’s also a great relief to know that you have found safe ways of exchanging these letters. I admit I was worried, what with Kirkwall being the way it is.

I’ll save Atlantis for next time, as that is going to be a long story and I want to do it justice. It may, however, relate to many of the things I’ll be bringing up in this letter. You brought up many fascinating things that I can’t wait to dive into! First of all, I want to respond to a couple of things you mentioned. I’m afraid you are right regarding how we found some of the medical knowledge we have today. I’ll tell you more if you like, but I should warn you that it’s depressing. And yes, a heart treatment similar to what you suggested does exist here, but it took us quite some time to figure it out! About the electricity in our brains – sometimes it’s impossible to help or save people here, too, even if we can tell that their brains show signs of activity. Please don’t be upset that you, as you put it, may have let some patients die. With your healing abilities you most likely save lives that we wouldn’t be able to!

You asked if there are any rules limiting the creations of AI, and truth be told it is being discussed a great deal. Some say that we would have to find a way to program ethics into the AI, so they don’t hurt people. But, as you pointed out, whose ethical opinions should be accomodated? One possibility could be to program a variety of ”Asimov’s three laws of robotics” into them, although that too would be problematic. These three laws were invented by a scientist and fiction author (Asimov) many years ago. They are more or less as follows:

1. A robot may not harm a human.

2. A robot must obey all humans, unless doing so conflicts with the first law.

3. A robot must protect its own existance, provided that doesn’t conflict with law 1 or 2.

I suppose they would just be a foundation on which to build, for there are many things that could go wrong! Still... I’d like a world in which we work together with the AI, on equal terms. They shouldn’t have to be servants or slaves.

The witch hunts and executions… yes, they were terrifying. In so many ways. I hope it never goes that far in your society! From what I understand, it’s bad enough as it is. If fear of magic wasn’t constantly being encouraged, I think your society would benefit a lot! Being aware of risks is one thing, fearmongering another. But I don’t need to tell you that! There are actually those here who say that they can do magic; summon spirits or demons, manipulate energy, curse or heal others… It doesn’t seem, however, that they can do anything even close to what mages are capable of in your society. No fire balls or lightning bolts! Nevertheless, there are phenomena here that sound like magic to me. If even five percent of the personal accounts I have heard or read are true, and don’t have another explanation, there is definitely something interesting going on!

First off, we have what we call telekinesis or psychokinesis - the ability to move objects with one’s mind. Perhaps I’m wrong, but isn’t this what you call force magic? It isn’t common here, but some people claim to have done it on purpose, while others seem to have this happen to them involuntarily. It’s supposedly more usual among young people about the age of 11-12, especially girls. At what age does magic manifest in your society?

Then we have telepathy, or mind-to-mind communication. Some are also supposedly capable of communicating with animals this way. In our society, a medium contacts spirits, or the souls of the departed, while a psychic may claim to be able to see the future, ”read” the minds of others/ feel their emotions, remote view through time and space, hold an object in their hand and tell you about the person it belongs to or its history (psychometry), seeing auras, astral project… Any or all of those things. These abilities are referred to as ESP (Extra Sensory Perception), and whether they exist or not is often debated. It’s of course difficult to know whether a person is a genuine medium/psychic, or not. And the source matters – just as you said. What spirit is this medium in contact with, and what is it’s intention? (I do hope you meet that tabby one day, by the way! They are so lovely…!) As for guardian spirits, I personally believe that we all have them and that they may be souls we have known and loved (in this life or another, as I am a believer in reincarnation). Or perhaps other benevolent spirits. Sadly, I have never seen my spirit guide.

Some of our scientists believe that there are many dimensions, or realities, parallel with each other. They can, for example, exist in the same place but be seperated by time. To me it sounds almost as though there are a form of membranes between them. Or a kind of veil. We are unable to see or hear the other realities most of the time. It is claimed by some, however, that there are portals or openings in certain places - and those places are often ripe with strange phenomena, some of which appear to be paranormal. Do you think the Fade could be what we would refer to as another, parallel dimension? It could perhaps, if so, be that we are drawing on power from another place. But I wonder if maybe it is within us, somehow, like electricity. What do you think?

I can understand why you’d take comfort in Andraste. She sounds kind. Caring. Similar to Jesus, in a way.

I would love to hear about your thoughts and experiences regarding all this! Please be safe, my friend, and pet the cats from me! It’s really too bad people can’t purr, come to think of it...

AidanTheCryptid

The author of this letter (first of all adores all the little figures you draw on your letters) has once more sent you a crumpled bunch of papers he attempted to smooth out with his hands, only to have some of the ink smudge – aka, the second page (bottom half of this letter) is a little difficult to read despite him trying to fill out the letters again. The wrinkly letters have been neatly folded into a fancy envelope, which has the Hawke crest on it again.

A little note has been added for you that reads: “Pardon my friend’s abhorrent manners, I’ve sprayed the papers with some of mother's perfume for you so it wouldn’t smell of healing draughts (those make me sick to the stomach and I didn’t want you to go through that) – Hawke”.

At the top of the letter, Anders has drawn a cat in the same style as yours – not intentionally. He’s a healer, not an artist.

Hello, my friend @aidanthecryptid (have I ever mentioned how I adore your name?),

I am sorry to hear that you were not feeling good mentally last time. Knowing these letters help you oh so much was incentive for me to write this response quicker. I hope by the end of this that I managed to do so too. Scribbles have been inserted at a later point here, with ink of a slightly different colour, reading: (I needed to move my clinic, things have been hectic… Kirkwall is getting less safe each day. I am sorry this letter reached you so late, my friend! A close friend of mine has helped me send this to you with swift mail only nobles get access to.)

It’s fun to hear that we have so many future things to talk about! In a world ever changing, and ever dangerous, it’s nice to know that I have two familiarities grounding me in life. Our letters. And cats.

In the future, when we get the change, I would love to hear more about Atlantis and even the heritage of your anatomy studies. It is okay if it is a little depressing, there are plenty of heritages in Thedas that are depressing – sometimes the depressing heritages are the ones worth continuing to discuss so we never forget and never repeat prior mistakes!

Thank you for your kind words. Saving people is one of my priorities in life, and even thinking I might have doomed people to their death (people that weren’t Templars, mind you) was quite painful. Does it beat my love for cats? No. But it definitely nudges it.

I’ve read through this Asimov’s three laws, and I find them quite intriguing. Perhaps I find them the most intriguing from a point of view of fear – I don’t condone slavery, in any form, however these three laws seem… ruthless. Perhaps specifically the second one. If a robot needs to defend itself, it is not allowed to do so if a human is attempting to hurt it? If a robot disagrees with a human’s moral standards, then it is not allowed to do anything about it? That is scary. Then again, they sound like a power capable of destroying humans easily, so rules need to exist… Still, living alongside them requires trust. I agree, they should not have to be slaves or servants, these rules need tweaking before robots are created! Let’s hope AI will not walk among you before a trust is built.

I think the notion of trust is lacking in our society concerning magic too. As you say in relation to witch hunts (although how far away aren’t we from that with the way Templars drag mages out of their homes…), fearmongering is never a solution, nor is it a proper way to control a people. Far too often have those with agency over others used fear to stay in control. What purpose is there to fearmongering? If your power is no longer needed, have you not succeeded in reaching a goal for your people? Why cling to power through fear? Help your people in some other way… Though, I digress, and I apologise. The second my brain even hears a whisper of mage rights, I go on rants. I haven’t had the time to write much on my manifesto as of late, and the words are itching to be written down!

Nevermind that. You write of interesting things in your society! For a place that says magic does not exist, you sure have quite a lot of mysterious “unexplainable” things happening! If the people you speak of tap further into these abilities, you would have full blown mages, I have no doubt of that!

Magic appears in each person at different ages here in Thedas, and with various degrees of intensity. For some it appears at age 4, for some at ages 12. I had a friend who had magic manifest to him at an early age, only for him to never be able to fully tap into his mana, leaving him rather useless at the Tower in relation to magical lessons. He ended up becoming very good at potion making instead though, which one can do without magic. I wonder what happened to him… whether he is still alive…

And, to answer your question, that sounds exactly like force magic! I have a friend in Kirkwall who is very keen on Force Magic. He has adapted it to be strong enough to push people away from friends in a battle. Saved my life quite a few times! Although, he does prefer punching with his hand. These people you speak of, they talk about their Force Magic openly? Without repercussions?

Oh Maker, telepathy? I would not openly admit I am scared of any magic (aside from, perhaps, certain kinds of blood magic) but telepathy? I don’t want people to know what I am thinking of them. Specifically if said person has a nice… behind… Once more I am surprised by the amount of magical attributes many of your people claim to have, and yet magic is not a subject of discussion amongst your leaders? Oh how such a thing sounds like such… freedom. I could open a clinic and heal those in need of it, those who believe in me, with my magic without fear of being found. I could openly move objects around with my magic without hermetically sealing each and every window shutter first. Amazing!

Though, you touch upon an important point too. How safe is this freedom? If people do not take it seriously, do people stay safe? Are there books to guide those who need it? Are there teachers you can find easily? Schools? Spirits can easily claim to be someone when in reality they are demons. One needs to know how to walk the path in order to not stray into the dark forest.

And do not fret, my friend! Spirit guides will reveal themselves when they feel it is right. Sometimes they also reveal themselves in your surroundings rather than directly (of course, I speak now of our teachings, I do not know how it is in your part of the world). They can also appear in dreams when we walk the Fade (or wherever your mind takes you). Look for signs. Look for what your eyes are drawn to, look at what symbols you see each day. A cat? A crow? Multiple people wearing a red scarf? And think of what you remember from your dreams. Your spirit guide might already have revealed itself to you but you have not noticed it yet.

Your scientists believe in multiple layers of the Fade? Interesting… Would that entail there are multiple… aspects of me?

In regards to your questions, yes. I believe the Fade could be what your scientists have found, or seen. I believe the… “portals” your people speak of could be where the Veil is thin. Strange occurrences appear in places where the Veil is thin. Demons can pour out, spirits or other creatures too, and they can attempt to manipulate their surroundings the way they are used to in the Fade, only for it to not be possible. Instead, things are flown around. They get upset, scared, or angry that their surroundings are not what they are used to, and they lash out. Sometimes, demons pour out purposefully to find a willing host so they can stay. What, exactly, is alluring about the mortal world is something I do not understand just yet.

Whether these dimensions, the Fade, can exist within us…? This is an interesting concept. Perhaps it is a bit of both? Perhaps where we go when we dream, whether you are a mage or not, is a part of the Fade which our souls are connected to. Perhaps this within us is an internalisation of the connection we have to the Fade, creating an entire world within ourselves? Or, perhaps, it is simply a connection in the form of a leash which we follow to the Fade when we dream, and follow back out when we wake? I do not know. I know I can tap into a pool of mana, which in turn is the Fade, or dangerously close to the Veil at the very least. It feels as though that exists within me. But I can also feel it outside of me. It is a comforting thought nevertheless, no? To both not know for certain and be able to believe something that puts us at ease, and to be aware that there is something that potentially connects all on this world… Something that connects us, and shows us that despite differences of culture or otherwise, we all belong together.

Perhaps, that is sometimes more comforting than my belief in Andraste.

I will admit, my thoughts were all over the place. You bring such interesting subjects to the table! Your world is a wonder, truly, and so different from mine with SO much unexplored still! It is new, filled with mysteries and close to breakthroughs. Hearing of your world is fascinating, and I hope I can offer some interesting thoughts to you too.

I have let a certain tabby (yes! I found a tabby down here! And he lets me pet him) sign off this letter for you. He says hello (I think, I can’t do telepathy the way some of your people can!). He is purring very contentedly as I write this last paragraph, though if I purr back, he gives me a strange look. If even cats look at us strangely when we purr, perhaps that’s why we don’t.

Yours truly, Anders.

Below Anders’ name is a blob of snot (not intentionally put there by a kitty sniffing the paper) and a cat’s paw print!

DA letters guidelines Scroll through other letters here Buy me a coffee here

[torgawl]

Gojo being back in story made it so boring from a "What's gonna happen next?" perspective. I'm so happy that we're back to seeing what the students have been learning/how they're gonna get through this. That'll always be more interesting and important to me than anything that Gojo could've added to the story.

yeah, i agree so much!!! i think gojo being pushed away in a more definite way really made the cogs start spinning again and shone light that we're finally reaching a resolution point or climax of the story. not that things weren't making sense before but especially taking so long with post unboxing gojo kinda made everything a bit meh and less exciting, at least for me. but i do think it was necessary to build momentum. regardless of how gojo died or regardless if he comes back eventually (still can't shake the rebirth thing completely out of my mind, especially if jjk endgame ends up mirroring jjk 0 and hidden inventory but anyways) i really think this was necessary to push the plot forward. and it makes sense with jjk's themes that a character like gojo isn't the one bringing what's needed now. especially having in consideration everything that has been happening around the kids and other characters that was building up until now and that could only really shine in this sort of scenario. gojo being out of the picture really opens lots of possibilities for other characters and i'm really excited to see what's going to happen. i was always a believer that the kids' generation is the one bringing resolution to the story and i think that's what's going to happen. even if the ending isn't really a happy one, i think seeing the fruit of everyone's effort and journeys is gonna be like the cherry on top. so can't wait to see how everything will turn out :]

[ghostlyheart]

This might be something that's already been done, but I just finished ethersea recently and I'm curious!!

[thedeadthree]

Happy birthday dearest Allegra! 💕💕💕💕🥳🥳🥳🥳 I hope you have a most wonderful day for being such a sweetheart! You deserve that and more!!! Plus all the dilfs 😌💗💗💗💗

GABBY YOU DEAR AND ABSOLUTE SWEETHEART YOU ✨🤧 beloved fellow dmitri/dilf appreciator! 💞😌 GOLLYY UR THE SWEETEST im not emotional at all? like thank u so much? AND NOOO U ARE AND U DESERVE THE MOST WONDERFUL DAY TOO? and! you too! we really have the best taste dont we ✨😌 I LITERALLY ADORE U SM AND SO GRATEFUL WE BECAME MUTUALS LIKE?? ur support of my dmitri nonsense and you leaving the SWEETEST tags on my edits? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS if anyone needs me I’ll be crying thanks!

[kyouka-supremacy]

uh, i agree with lack of female characters in bsd :( so disappointing. i am angry how authors push them in the far back. at least kyouka, yosano, and lucy got their spotlight! this is why yosano's backstory is so important <3

Ye I knowwwww let's talk about it bestie 😔😔

All the female characters have so much potential and their abilities are pretty cool yet they barely get any screentime ;;;;;; Really praying we'll get to see any more of them soon, even if it's Teruko. And Yosano's story was amazing!!! It added so much depth to the character, unironically I consider it the peak of bsd. Anyways stan all of bsd women ❤️❤️❤️

[aesoka]

as much as i wanna see galen again, disney would ruin his character in the new game. the last game ( jedi: fallen order ) was set up to be pretty okay & i’ll start with what i enjoyed!

the storyline is what really made it a cool game ; the style of storytelling through force echos and the like was clever and i haven’t seen that level of creativity in a while? they actually did a good job of showing how inevitable and expansive the empire was. the story could have been filled with more diverse characters but the places we go and the alliances we make are pretty cool & heartfelt.

the work with conceptualizing planets and their inhabitants and flora and fauna was amazing. the information & time spent on it was ….wow like by far amazing! esp fortress inquisitorious

trilla and the inquisitors were actually set up to ACTUALLY be the terrifying force they were. inquisitors weren’t prestigious in the sense of job hierarchy, sure you were above everyone due to your force sensitivity but most didn’t want to be there and the training was basically vader torturing you a bit and making u a good combat fighter.

the musical score was nice! really immersed you.

combat & controls were pretty good.

some of the customization , the lightsaber specifically

things i didn’t really care for:

white boy as our main character? like if you went this far at least go a bit further and let us customize our character, sure it would have taken longer but you would’ve made more extra cash bc literally everyone and their mom wants kotor customization but with better graphics ( kotor & swtor is amazing i’m not saying it’s not but you’re telling me you wouldn’t want some better graphics? ‘ it’s apart of its charm!’ mhm ok. )

killing off trilla was….biggest L for me i honestly did not care if they made a sequel once they had vader kill her ( brutal and cruel esp as she was beginning to open up and consider options besides death via inquisitor lifestyle. )

the customization ; ponchos , bd1 skins & mantis ship skins was weak but u know. better than nothing! but still. LACKING.

the god . damn. map. was so confusing and small and maybe i’m just not the brightest bulb but you get lost on sub floor 5 when u need to get back to above ground floor 2 ok. like. damn.

why’d we have to like. tromp thru dathomir’s night brother tribe and like. were forced to kill lots of them. what the fuck was that about.

i would have preferred if we leaned more into EU / LEGENDS force user type deal with these games but that’s just my own personal gripe bc i miss when force users were op

at the end of the day the sequel was announced and i’m sure they did a 5-10 year time skip? or something like that & honestly i don’t really know what else they want us to do? we personally fought and escaped vader , penetrated a fortress & now vader is gonna want us dead 10x more than before lol. i’d like to say galen would be a good addition, but i know they’d just fuck him up so i think it’d be best to just not even add him lol.

[lelianaslefthand]

stumbled upon your blog and you loving garrus leliana and astarion specifically are such a blessed holy trinity like. You Get It. they attract hot girls

isdmjjksdjsk the girls that get it get it!! what can i say i love sexy voices, questionable morals, and rogues with bloodthirsty tendencies. it aint much but its honest work 🫡

[arolesbianism]

I have such a love hate relationship with Ellie. On the one hand I have my petty grudge against her, but on the other hand shes so sillyyyyy being Jackie's lil lackey did her so many favors in my mind she's not only a lil shit but also a lil teachers pet I love her

[todayisafridaynight]

watched all the mole song movies yesterday btw they were great LOL

feeling totally normal and definitely not thinking about ttm in all those pretty butterfly suits. totally (fr though the costume design for hiura and reiji went hard)

also reiji straight as hell i would gone Crazy

YEAAAAAAH IM GLAD YOU ENJOYED THEM !!!!! ON GOD everything about the mole song movies is done SOOO well from its (admittedly goofy at times but they're lovable that way) effects to the wardrobe and hair styling- everyone stylish as hell... I ESPECIALLY LOVE HIURA'S SUITS THEY'RE SO PRETTY personally a big fan of his wardrobe in the second movie... im a fan of black idk what you want from me

and SPEAKING of the second movie reiji looked so pretty dolled up.. AND THE WAY HIURA HAD THEIR OUTFITS MATCH WITH THE BLACK AND GOLD BUTTERFLIES AND FLOWERS Girl.

reiji really was dedicated to the mission though bro i woulda thrown it all away for a dude who can just summon a big ass fucking mantaray from the ocean like that. Fire Me For Real i'm fuckin with this dude and the plane he's going to crash only to replace three weeks later so he can crash it again