#his characterization may have subtly changed

[shoulderholsterfreak]

Look, I know Eli is the Thrawn fandom’s darling, but he’s not Thrawn’s moral compass. Rebels making Thrawn out to be a genocidal maniac isn’t evidence of Eli’s being the only thing keeping him from becoming pure evil, it’s evidence of Filoni not giving a damn about writing Thrawn as anything other than a flat caricature of his worst moments in early legends.

[fala-alfredo-pasta]

I keep having this brainworm about a post-game Nagito. Where he seems more outwardly calm and restrained, but the others can't help but feel a sense of unease. They can't quite put their finger on what it is, but something feels very wrong. And then one day at lunch or something when Nagito leaves early or something, one of them suddenly realizes what's been bothering them.

"Hey guys. Over the last two months...have any of you heard Nagito say the word 'hope' even once?"

And then everyone's eyes widen as it suddenly hits them. Which leads to a few of them trying to subtly (and not so subtly) nudge him into saying the word out loud. At first he's casually evasive, changing the topic. But as it goes he starts to feel more and more badgered and irritable.

After a lifetime of clinging to the concept to keep himself sane, he's finally fed the hell up with it. Sick and tired of having his faith that there's some kind of fairness to his luck cycle going unrewarded. Now perceiving the concept as a drug he became a slave to. And swearing off "succumbing to it" ever again.

"Hope?...I hate that fucking word. Why? Because it's a lie and always has been."

...This brainworm may have been influenced by Eren Yeager's characterization in Attack on Titan's final arc.

oh my gosh no don't draw parallels to Eren and Nagito I'm going to go feral ohmygosh

they're both so tragic LIKE THEY NEVER WANTED ANY OF THIS

But also I love this concept for a post-game Nagito. Just a different post-game version of him that feels so disillusion by it all that he can't even bring himself to have any energy to pretend he cares anymore. And it's like--great! He's finally not obsessed with Hope anymore and realizes that rationalizing his luck by excusing it as a balanced system and also something given to him in order to better serve those destined for greatness from birth is unhealthy and now he doesn't worship Ultimates either! Hooray!

But also now he just doesn't really believe in much of anything anymore, has become passively nihilistic, and now that he doesn't worship Ultimates he says snarky things more openly with zero hesitation which isn't necessarily bad because his one liners are kinda hilarious but damn bro he can be so savage sometime for reals.

The other survivors try to figure out a way to get Nagito to believe in hope again but in a healthy way following a particularly scathing backhanded compliment about Ibuki singing "It's the hard knock life" and Nagito replying with: "Wow, you have such a nice voice Ibuki! And such a fitting song too considering we're all orphans! HAHA!"

[artblock-tm]

Can I get the director's commentary on literally anything you want from Shadow Rift. You can do the whole book if you want. I wanna hear your thoughts

Okay okay okay SO! Grr Shadow Rift. Me and my complicated relationship with Shadow Rift………

For those who don’t know DP Lore, Shadow Rift was a fic originally posted to a different website by a different author. The author wanted to abandon it, but I really enjoyed it, so I reached out to them and asked if I could continue it. Shockingly, they agreed, but I had to follow the original idea for their story.

Writing (part of) og Shadow Rift really dipped my toes into fic writing, and was what initially drew in some of my oldest readers (hi Marci). However, after some years of improvement as a writer with the publication of Masked, I just… didn’t like the story anymore. So I reached out to the original author again for permission to rewrite it and they basically just gave me full control of Shadow Rift.

I won’t talk about it too much since they’ve asked to remain anonymous, but they weren’t satisfied with it either but didn’t have the spoons to finish it. And that’s what brought us to Shadow Rift THE REWRITE!

Now that I think about it… I wish I hadn’t deleted my SR planning doc as soon as the epilogue was published… oops.

ANYWAY. SR is quite different from the original, both in quality of writing and character. While the plot moved generally in the same direction, some lore things were changed and the characters actually had concrete ARCS! WOAH! INCREDIBLE!

Like Hat Kid had an arc that improved her view on the world, however subtly. Although you may argue that it was the return of her soul that did this, the soul was only the macguffin. Her developing relationship with Snatcher is what made her develop as well!

Speaking of Snatcher… ugh he was so fun to write. I loved his and Hattie’s dynamic of continually butting heads. I love the parallels that originally appear as foils… AND it was great to make Snatcher an actual character too! I got to fill him with transgender allegory! Happy pride!

However, the character that drew the most evil giggles from me as I planned how to screw over was none other than Elliot. Oh, Elliot, how I love putting you through the wringer. I also had so much fun giving him a new character arc… in the opposite direction of Snatcher’s.

While Snatcher’s perception of himself merges together and he comes to accept himself and Elliot as the same person, just with changes, Elliot comes to make a distinction between himself and Snatcher. Snatcher is okay with himself, including Elliot, but Elliot isn’t.

Snatcher to me is a lot of hard edges with a softer demeanor. Even though he’s soulless, that doesn’t make someone incapable of kindness (like Hattie thought).

But Elliot is the inverse. He’s all soft edges with a sharp pointed center. And, understandably, the events he’d been through- bodysharing, getting cursed, literally mind-merging with Snatcher for a hot minute- wore his patience thin. It doesn’t help that his fate, like Hattie’s, was swiftly approaching, only his was unavoidable.

It shouldn’t be selfish to want to live, but isn’t it tragic that his actions only ended up speeding the process of his and Hattie’s death? Hehe.

Those are my thoughts on the main characters, but there are some minor ones I’d like to comment on too.

I’m sure that many readers noticed that Karmin wasn’t originally part of AHiT! Yes, I used Shadow Rift as an excuse to write her more. And if you noticed that the arc with her was surprisingly open-ended, that was intentional! You see, I did it for thematic purposes. I’m not gonna hold your hand on this one though.

More importantly, though, Vanessa.

Urgh. Vanessa.

I’ve never been able to write her adequately (UNTIL RECENTLY!! I LISTENED TO MISS MISERYGUTS BY RIP AND EVERYTHING CLICKED!! EVERYONE SAY THANK YOU TO GRACEBETH3604 FOR INTRODUCING ME TO IT!!!), but I’ve had kind of a renaissance on Prince and Vanessa characterization recently. SR!Vanessa was a way for me to experiment with a Vanessa that regretted her actions.

But don’t get me wrong- she doesn’t regret them because she’s becoming a better person- she regretted her actions because they had consequences for her, too. She lost her prince and she came to grieve that loss, but not what she did.

(Also Elliot getting cursed was essentially a nod to Gracebeth3604 also. A!au my beloved. Makes me go insane)

For those people who know the original story, they’d know that the whole thing stayed in Subcon. I thought that was rather stale, so I had the setting move to Alpine, and then to Time’s End. That was fun :)

and ummmm I think I’ve run out of things to say! Sorry I started watching a movie in the middle of writing this and for so caught up in analyzing it that I forgot everything I meant to say

[transflynnscifo]

Tell me about ur Flynn Scifo thoughts

HI sorry for taking a bit! I decided to take the tangent I caused in my friend's DM's and structure it more coherently

Choc's original question: “Do you think Flynn might get touch starved while hes in the knights? […] I don’t have context, I was just thinking about how Yuri probably gets to casually touch ppl all the time, but Flynn has duties.”

DISCLAIMER this is headcanon-y and self-indulgent. While I give specific examples to support certain ideas, I by no mean intend to act like this is gospel.

This has spoilers for the game too

I assume that because Flynn and Yuri grew up together, they definitely were able to hold hands/hug/nap (and obviously sparred together). The former things probably got dropped as they entered adolescence as a lot of teens tend to be mortified over showing they have any feelings. This is to establish that they have likely always been comfortable around each other. Regardless of how much one may consider side content canon, it is enough to infer from in-game that Yuri’s leaving the knights resulted in their relationship becoming strained. Though Flynn pre-game is stated to have dropped by often enough in the lower quarter, it still shows that they probably barely interacted normally until Capua Nor in Act 1. (and even Capua Nor interactions are something, to say the least)

In my opinion, by the start of the game, Flynn had become good at suppressing a lot of different thoughts and feelings. I’ve already mentioned it in a previous post, but Flynn has a tendency to be quieter in group skits where he isn’t the topic of discussion. Though there is a subtle characterization I enjoy there-- he does react with his portrait changing even whilst not speaking. But even when prompted for an opinion, he struggles to express it, defaulting to saying a general statement that ultimately results in a non-answer on at least one occasion.

This suppression would behave like a sleeper agent. As the game progresses, the player is able to see more of Flynn. His banters get more known, his flaws stick out more, he becomes more closer to a regular man VS the knight paragon that he is expected to be. Those walls could have subtly started crashing around the time he and Yuri started speaking again. Now, I also look at it through a fluri lens. After not having spoken for years, feelings would naturally reignite, and Flynn would become stuck with feelings of longing for more.

That’s where it gets trickier for Flynn. Though he shows signs of opening to the other party members, we are dealing with years’ worth of repression. Though Flynn’s primary character conflict is about where one would draw the lie between crime and justice, there is another that is strongly related to another important theme of the game: choices, and being able to make them on one’s own. This part of Flynn’s character development is most apparent in the second act of the game, especially notable during the part of the game where Estelle is absent. It’s about what he wants to do himself, as opposed to what he should do as a knight. I won’t go too much into it, but the Baction and Heracles dungeons, as well as the scenes before Zaphias castle exemplify what Flynn ends up operating on. Ultimately, he is stuck doing the job he has vowed to take up, as there is no one else to do it. (Much like Yuri choosing things of his own volition, but only because no one else wants to.)

But going back to touch starvation and yearning, this would all come to a head for Flynn until, I presume, post-game. This is because by Aurnion, Yuri and Flynn are finally able to patch things through. The game strongly implies in certain ways that their repaired bond (regardless of whether one sees it as romantic or not) would be stronger than ever, and harder to damage. But even as they become on good terms again, they aren’t able to often see each other. This part is apparent even throughout the game, as Flynn and Yuri are pulled in different directions until their paths cross again. This could be like an odd repeat of the few years they barely interacted, but this would be not because they would be avoiding each other. Rather, this is because they’re finally maintaining the promise over protecting the smiles of people, and making the world a better place.

It could make the times they spend together both a relief and an incredible pain for Flynn, who is able to spend time with his best friend, but the nature of their roles now means that they are ever so slightly out of reach from one another. Flynn would be happy to be in Yuri’s life again, but would he allow himself the selfish wish of having Yuri around always? When he has knights to lead, and Yuri is free to travel and do as he pleases? (in the “Feelings regarding the knights” skit, Flynn, albeit jokingly, wishes Yuri could still be in the knights, while acknowledging that the freedom he has now suits him better.)

And Flynn’s duties matter too much, that much is true. However, Yuri matters even more. Remember how he used his knightly authority to use ships to look for Yuri’s body post-Zaude?

The worst part of Flynn’s touch starvation is if he is actively pining for Yuri in the romantic sense. Imagine wanting to take Yuri’s hand in the same way like you used to, except you are both too busy and important as people to indulge so simply. That isn’t even acknowledging Yuri’s complexes against Flynn and the manner of which he puts Flynn on a pedestal by the end of the game. I don’t think Flynn would worry that he doesn’t deserve Yuri, though I myself like to entertain the idea that if Flynn had insecurities about being good for Yuri, they would definitely manifest differently. The issue for Flynn would be essentially choosing between his happiness as a person or to jeopardize that because he is the Commandant. And Flynn tends to be characterized as a workaholic due to how serious and dedicated he is to his tasks.

Interestingly, Baction (which is the earliest dungeon of the three), has Flynn behave selfishly in his wish to help save Estelle and inquire Alexei for his motifs. But when Flynn wanted to go with Yuri and the others in Heracles and Deidon hold, he went against those wishes in order to lead the knights who needed a leader. Ultimately, it all ties back to the fact that his duties as a knight, and as a leader, mean that he has to jeopardize his desires. He expresses that he missed traveling in the “Battle maniacs” skit. He enjoys fighting, but he also doesn’t get to do it as much when he isn’t in the party. By extension, he would also miss spending time with Yuri like how they used to. He would be biting down leather with his teeth over this, in private. Unable to have time for what he loves.

Though there is warranted criticisms over certain aspects over Vesperia’s comedy, Flynn is, admittedly, definitely repressing certain thoughts. In skits, if a dialogue/topic with a more suggestive tone comes on, Flynn tends to become embarrassed and quiet about it. Though this is intended with a humorous effect, given Flynn is the designated “spoilsport” in many aspects, it does leave an interesting implication: the one most against suggestive topics gets the most embarrassed about them. I tend to see it as Flynn’s imagination running rampant enough to go down the gutter by itself. So it’s worth to assume that Flynn’s self-imposed repression isn’t even doing that well, given it is fairly easy to generally fluster him. Applying that to the fact he already is strongly guarded, he would probably short-circuit if he received a hug from anyone (and for the sake of this post, likely from Yuri too). It’s a metaphorical imagining of Flynn’s very armor. Does it protect him from attacks? Yes. Does it make it harder to see him under the bulk and to touch the skin of his hand? Absolutely.

Even if he took Yuri’s hand, he wouldn’t feel it under his glove, and Yuri, in turn, wouldn’t feel Flynn through it either.

Yuri acting skittish about his insecurities wouldn’t help either. And that’s what makes it even more compelling for me! In many pairings where one character is a knight, it’s usually the other party that wants to push the knight to accept selfishness. In fluri’s case, Yuri first has to stop thinking he’s going to hell in order to consider wanting to push Flynn into indulging his own wishes!

And then Choc told me they meant general touch deprivation, like even with friends, to which I put my clown nose and honked.

[lizzybeth1986]

If you had your say, how would you have wrote Liam and MC's ending? Or how would you have written the royal heir?

Thanks for the question, anon! Honestly if it were up to me changes would be made from the latter half of TRR2 onwards. A lot of the writing for Liam at this point focused pretty strongly on the MC, with little scope or necessity for her to be as supportive. This may have been fair, to an extent, during the time that the MC was still handling the plot that hurt her reputation, but once that is resolved the team never actually bothered to make her as supportive as she was to, say, Drake or (later, especially in TRH) Maxwell. (If someone is going to claim Liam didn't help the MC during her investigation I'm going to laugh. The MC actively chooses not to involve him and even then he's offering help whenever he has the opportunity).

For instance, by the end of TRR2 we have the subplot of Liam wanting to be different from his father, who he respected as a king even though he is disgusted by what Connie has done. In TRR3 that never becomes important - as a matter of fact Liam actually isn't given a consistent plot in TRR3! When he eventually loses his father in the attack at the Costume Gala, Liam is made to leave that grief behind and focus on the next task, with the MC only barely making an effort to even ask about his well-being. This is a pattern you will see throughout Book 3, and it bleeds even into TRH (where - even though Liam is faced with reveal after devestating reveal about his mother's death - little more than a second is spared by the MC to show concern for him). When you compare that to the number of times Liam is supportive and protective and at times offering to help - I have to honestly wonder if the MC as she exists in canon even cares.

So probably 75% of the changes I would want to make would have to do with the MC's imbalance in who she actively tries to help and who she barely makes an effort for (you will notice that the first category is filled with white characters). The remaining 25% would be about centering Liam in his issues (including exploring how his losses and the country's crises would affect him), ensuring that most parts of his plot and stories aren't given away as sympathy fodder to Creator's Pets, and absolutely making sure that the writing doesn't try to nerf him into a duke rather than a king just so the MC has more power - which is what happens subtly in the early books and more obviously in the latter books of TRH/F.

With regards to TRH I'm not even sure if I would want it to exist. I'm pretty certain the team was mostly just making shit up as they went - with all the retcons and absolute inconsistencies in characterization - so either I'd try to incorporate Eleanor's story (without the conspiracy angles) into TRR3, or just do without it and let the fandom headcanon the past to their heart's content tbh.

In terms of the pairing I've headcanoned - Liam and Esther connect to each other most because they are two such deeply repressed people, but have to reevaluate that during Esther's own pregnancy (which happens a year or two after their wedding) when they are confronted with their own and each other's traumas. So there is a reason why they won't delve too much into each other's feelings, but I absolutely see them finding other ways to support each other!

[hanzajesthanza]

omg 👀👀 i was looking thru ang content on tumblr and i saw an old post of yours about the dandelion+countess stael=ang theory and !!! I actually had wondered earlier if you were at all interested/supported this theory bc I read about it awhile back and actually love it so much? :,) It's a favorite hc of mine and I may have tried to subtly incorporate it into my ang design...i just think its too Incheresting an idea not to explore tbhhhh

oh wow! i remember this theory :)...!

post explaining the theory in case anyone is confused

or tl;dr of the theory: essentially, it's that dandelion is 38 years old, dandelion knew countess de stael 19 years ago, dandelion has a penchant for lovin' and leavin' 'em, angouleme is 19 years old and is the daughter of an unknown noblewoman and some scoundrel that seduced her. and they're both blonde.

this is from june of 2019, which should provide some context.

(okay, so... sorry for long and kind of serious response to a lighthearted ask <3 i do not want to spare the details!)

firstly, i was never too fond of it as a serious headcanon in the first place, i proposed it as more of a crack theory. i wanted more reason for dandelion and angouleme to get more attention, and i thought, no harm done in a silly "what if", right? well...

secondly, only a few months after i came up with this theory... netflix's witcher premiered, and... it immediately became insufferable to have headcanons and theories about dandelion because of the shift in fan culture. i did not want to associate with the fans who were making farfetched theories about jaskier-dandelion.

due to the behavior of the netflix community, which in my experience completely disregarded canon facts and characterization, AUs and "what if"s overall stopped being fun to engage with. in reaction to the netflix fandom culture, i felt a need to stop making "weird-fun-silly" headcanons, theories, etc. that would contradict or cut against the grain of canon, and instead focus on headcanons, theories, etc. that would either support or be supported by canon. it's somewhat regretful, but i think it taught me an important lesson about why i'm here, and it deepened my appreciation of the storytelling and literary qualities of the witcher.

thirdly, since more time has passed since then, i've also engaged with new headcanons... @toussaintred and i came up with a lot of headcanons about the countess de stael and dandelion's interactions with her in august 2021. instead of being a romantic peer-to-peer relationship, she was a mature woman who he developed a crush on and was inspired to change his life and identity because of her.

i ended up writing a post about those headcanons re: dandelion and the countess de stael as they exist now, if you are interested :')

but most importantly the reason i didn't go through with this headcanon is because i want dandelion and angouleme to exist in the same space without their relationship being fraught with tragedy and disdain; i think, were he her father, she wouldn't be able to even look at him. and the guilt may destroy him, too.

it's also, for me... i have this interpretation of the hanza in that they have all made such mistakes or been the victims of mistreatment in their lives, but despite these strong emotions, they cannot go back into the past and confront the people who hurt them, or apologize to the people they hurt. all they can do now is live in the present and try to do better in the future. for each member of the hanza, there is no closure.

i see this with cahir, who harmed ciri and cannot undo that, but has now joined the company and denounced nilfgaard. i see it with regis, who destroyed his own life and pushed everyone away, but is now seeking humanity. i see it with milva, who has spilt and lost blood of her own, and learning vulnerability. and angouleme... angouleme cannot know her parents, they abandoned her and will always have abandoned her. they receive no second chances, she'll never know them, and has to deal with that emptiness which persists with her. even when in the company, which comforts her... despite her beginning to heal and try to take care of herself, she'll never find closure about her mother or father, because they're irrevocably gone.

i also think dandelion and angouleme can have a really positive relationship without a biological connection between them. i mean, i think the thought could occur to dandelion: "she is younger than, i suppose, however old little eye is now. plague, she could even be the daughter i never had- ptu, will never have..." but i don't see dandelion ever having a father-daughter relationship with her. it's more like his relationship with ciri, where it takes a village to raise a child, and he's a close friend of the family...

but i do think dandelion would impart some knowledge onto her, especially that around politics and how to navigate the social interactions of a court, which she wants to do but is unfamiliar with. it's somewhat ironic, because he himself completely disregards these kinds of manners and formalities. but he does know them, so he can tell her... dandelion and angouleme have opposite relationships with nobility and i think the most interesting thing about them in beauclair would be that dandelion is using his noble identity to secure a life he wants, but a life that contradicts his broader identity and desires in life, because his vision is clouded by the dreams of toussaint...

[sociieties]

FROM SOME LOST MEME! 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐒 for mura

is   your   muse   subtle   when   it   comes   to   things   they   want   ?   are   they   passionate   about   the   things   they   do,   so   much   so   it   could   come   off   as   aggressive   ?   perhaps   obsessive   ?

murasakibara is a lot of things, but subtle is not one of them. at all times, when it comes to something he wants, he will give you either all or nothing. you will either know exactly what he wants or you will know nothing. this covers all aspects of his life, but it is mostly seen with how he handles his own greed, more times than not just flat out asking or telling someone this is what i want, can i have it? can we do it? because to him, subtly is a pain to dole out &&. to understand. his own bluntness ( at times ) makes it difficult for him to see himself as something like passionate about anything, the same going for aggressive and obsessive. ( save his unhealthy snacking habits for later, that may be his only notable characterization point… )

what   gives   your   muse   passion   ?   what   makes   them   competitive,   what   gives   them   courage   ?   how   do   they   express   these,   by   words   ?   actions   ?

he’d rather not think, or be the decisive one, or the passionate one, if he could help it. it takes a lot to get him there, but when he’s there, he’s there. this is most easily seen when he is playing basketball, not just with anyone, but with people who are around his size. the bigger, the better, especially if they’re good at the game. this isn’t because he looks down on people who are drastically smaller than him ( given his unusually large height &&. build for a japanese guy, a teenager at that, he is the odd one out here ) or aren’t any good at the game ( he does look down on them if they’re the passionate ones, though), as he’s fully aware of his unique circumstances, but to play against someone he can go all out against is something he rarely gets to experience. outside of basketball, there are a few obscure things that can tap into an actively passionate murasakibara, and each time he finds them, his passion is expressed through action.

what   is   your   muses   sexual   energy   like   ?   are   they   a   sexual   person   ?   the   planet   mars   represents   sexual   energy,   whilst   venus   represents   romantic   energy,   so   talk   a   little   about   what   they   look   for   sexually,   to   please   themselves   and   others.

more times that not, his sexual energy is very small, hardly notable. like a dim lightbulb, it’s nothing when compared to a new, bright lightbulb that can actually light a room. needless to say he’s not a very sexual person, not in thoughts or in energy. if/when a person does manage to get him going that dimly lit energy changes to something that burns bright, but only for a short period of time, like a dying star ( yes, another light metaphor, sue me. ) before it is ‘never’ seen again. despite his lazy and sluggish nature, he is a pleaser, preferring to give and do for someone rather than receive such attention for himself. this does include him asking questions so the receiving party can make the most of it.

[mcclanahan00persson]

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[autumnslance]

To be honest I didn't like the twins when we first met them. I thought they were brats who felt their opinion only mattered (considering they come from a nation of scholars it made sense). I was glad we got their character development kinda early cus I really did want to like them. So glad to see them mature as the story went on. What were your first thoughts on them?

I don't think we're supposed to like the Leveilleur twins when we first meet them.

As an adult, I was like "OK, Alphinaud is obviously a combination of privileged upbringing, and being a teenager with too much education and not enough life experience." I could eye roll and get through it, but there were definite times I wanted to metaphorically slap some sense into the boy.

Alisaie was a non-character for the longest time, until I finally got to Heavensward patches and then into Coils with my FC, as well as her Rising short story. I remembered her also being bratty and impatient, in similar and different ways than Alphinaud, but her re-introduction in 3.4 showed her as very changed from her brief moments in ARR.

It didn't help that while I started end of ARR/early HW, it took me two-ish years to play through 2.0 as it was a side game, I had a rough time with the controls, and was still doing a lot of things in WoW. And I was used to WoW characterizations and storytelling, so didn't really pay as much attention my first, disjointed long time through.

I decided I needed a full replay at some point after busting through the ARR patches, after spending a day at the Unending Journey rewatching cutscenes, realizing how much I'd forgotten, and how much was missing. And knowing, once I flipped over to FFXIV as my main MMO end of HW/early StB, that the characterization and storytelling in this game was a whole different thing from my other game.

Alphinaud being nearly broken by the end of ARR and the Banquet is necessary but still heartbreaking. He needed a lesson, but the cost was so high. I genuinely worried for him through HW, and he needed that win in 3.3, to save Estinien after all the tragedy and loss and other traumas through the MSQ. The shift from annoying young coworker in a managerial position cuz inheritance, to beloved little brother and comrade happened over time until it caught me by surprise. Alphinaud rebuilt himself from the ground up, and his empathy with and righteous anger at Vauthry showed how far he's come. In Endwalker, he seems less worried about taking on a leadership role, as he's avoided since the Braves fiasco. He may finally have regained that confidence, tempered with maturity and understanding.

A lot of Alisaie's development comes offscreen after her epiphany in Coils and the events there. Her walkabout of the realm let her experience an entirely different way of life than the pampered Sharlayan lady, and let her truly be herself in a way she couldn't be before. Her compassion for others has always defined her, but with an impatience and temper she's learned to control. To think before she speaks or acts. She's a leader in her own right, but in a different way from Alphinaud, and as always, the twins, while able to stand alone, can also complement each others' styles.

I do think Alphinaud has one of the best character arcs and development in the game. Alisaie's right there with him, but with so much being offscreen or more subtly in the background, he edges her out a bit. The twins are the WoL's co-protagonists through much of the MSQ; learning, reacting, speaking up, and otherwise involved in ways our Silent Hero cannot. So their growth has been necessary, and has been good.

I'm proud of both of them, and love them dearly.

[sentimental-darkness]

Question about King

So I’ve been wondering whether I’m the only one who noticed this and was kinda disappointed with it because I can’t help but notice such a big difference in King’s portrayal between S1 and S2? 

Sure, characterization gimmicks are still the same, there was a nice character growth and so on. But still...

The king of S1 was VERY demonic-minded, power-hungry, full of vile thoughts 24h a day apparently or even full-on sociopathic/narcissistic. Ever so subtly but the show did go out of its way to highlight it on multiple occasions, there is just no way it didn’t because there were so many of these scenes where you could notice that ‘second bottom’ shining through him, some of these when Eda/Luz weren’t even around/not paying attention but it did add up to that ominous enigma that surrounded King as a character. Eda being Eda largely ignored it, Luz and some others thought it was cute etc. so also dismissed it as antics of a child seeking attention but it wasn’t just mere ‘pretending’ - he really did mean these things underneath it all, even if just a part of subconscious or perhaps more like an instinct? Though from his behavior you COULD tell he does know what these things mean and what are their consequences, he may be small but in mind is fully grown and mature even. Other than his appearance THIS was a huge part of why so many different theories about him appeared including the Titan one that we’re now exploring on the show.

But it’s not just that ‘gruesome’ factor and ‘bloody’ jokes because even the weight of his actions changed. In S2 he got powers so became kind of more useful in many situations in fights but on the other hand... in S1 we got LOTS of episodes and scenes with him striving to do great things even without any powers (while being dismissed as a child or ‘play pretend’ attention seeker) and actually pulling them off, even competently at times, whether through manipulation or sheer power of will to seize what he seeks at all cost. We’ve seen him taking advantage of people’s gullibility, messing with deadly dangerous creatures he thought could become minions, raising to fame through manipulation basically, very quickly becoming sort of ‘Bill Ciphery’ authoritarian figure if more capable in Luz’ body and more. True, sometimes he learnt the lesson of the day because he did some stuff that hurt his friends, but it didn’t really change or diminish that overall ‘demonic’ ‘evil’ theme, it continued to be included. Also, most of the time he was more preoccupied with whatever could satiate his narcissistic desires, not with most of the *regular day-to-day* affairs of his friends - though I can clearly understand and appreciate the development done in that department, but still, even keeping that kind of development in mind... there was a sudden shift between S1 and S2. Because all of a sudden all of such evil-minded, manipulative themes around King just disappeared and all we’re left with was this lost puppy without a father figure, with the show suddenly expecting me to believe that’s all there was to him this all time: lost father, some repressed memories, so he play pretended desires for murder and mayhem to cope? LOL? No, that’s not believable in the slightest. At the same time there were those creepy guardians at the temple in which he was found... so that’s a surprising contradiction. But ever since he really hasn’t done a single selfish or mean thing, not even a slightly less innocent and less sympathetic thought or desire. 

There was this early concept art of King/of the show once and it did include some demon servants trying to - kill? eat? - Eda and Luz in front of their ‘King.’ So hmm, even though it could have been just a wacky representation of a concept rather than actual scene planned for the show it did make me believe there is indeed THAT kind of theme behind King’s character. Which would agree with all of that S1 portrayal I mentioned but then all of that was like gone for S2, even despite the origins being actually confirmed as a titan’s heir recently and titans being described as ‘worse than Belos.’ But as I’ve said, come S2 he is mostly just a hugger and a good caring friend and a child missing father/Luz, regular part of the heroic team squad at Owl House, no more side quests of his, no more nefarious desires. So it makes me wonder whether they changed the original idea they had for him between seasons ??? And if so, WHY? Just WHY? I do appreciate all the good, soft things around King and relationships he formed, abandonment trauma is a fitting theme as well, but it doesn’t mean he can’t be torn between that and bloody evil (if that’s in his nature, or his ‘right’ or whatever, or maybe he is a reincarnation of an evil titan overlord). In fact, the original enigma behind King’s character was EXACTLY that concept of ‘soft’ and ‘murderous’ potentially unable to come to terms in the future and King’s friends (but also King himself) having to face this new reality someday. With King maybe kind of ‘nah, now you have a problem, but i’ve been saying for years that i’m king of demons and want to rule the place!’ and only truly utterly conflicted if actual harm comes to his friends

Now, yes... with him being confirmed titan I guess something like that could still happen if he powers up all of a sudden or grows up at rapid speed or whatever... but I guess it wouldn't really be as appealing/nuanced? Since easily attributed to “sudden magic growth confused him” and what we saw in S2 was a nice lovable and caring puppy anyway not in the slightest on a quest for throne or murder. Also, we’ve already had the ‘murderous, vile, pure raw instinct’ part with Eda and her Owl Beast part, what I expected with King based on S1 was something with more awareness on his part, not just the ‘untamed’ beast inside cliché 

I really wonder what others think...

[leakyrocktarot]

What are epidermis pedestrians? First time I'm coming across that word... And your blog so I'm kinda trying to navigate here

An epidermis pedestrian is a "Ski*n W*lker" We don't say the name because it can bring them to you. In the spirit world names are super important and when an entity has your name it can have power over you, and vice versa. Epidermis walkers are beings that can slip into the skin of literally anything to stalk and hunt its prey. An epidermis walker can even take the form of a "Not Deer" Though they are two different things, they can be of the same entity. They originate from Navajo culture, and are called The Yee Naldlooshii and are often times mistaken for wendigos. In Navajo culture, epidermis walkers are derived from ’ánt’įįhnii, which in our terms would be a witch. It is said that after initiation an ’ánt’įįhnii has the ability to become a Yee Naldlooshii. Not all witches are epidermis pedestrians, but all epidermis pedestrians are witches. It is important to note that not all witches are evil, not all of them practice baneful magic, they are a part of two different worlds. "In some stories, people who have attained the highest rank are called clizyati, which means pure evil. This can be achieved by killing a close blood relative, incest, necr0phili4, or other culturally taboo and evil acts. Upon completing one or more of these acts is said to destroy their humanity and allow them to become fully initiated in the way of witchery."

An epidermis pedestrian can take the form of a coyote, wolf, fox, eagle, owl, or crow, but they have the ability to change into whatever animal they need for whatever purpose they need it for. Again I will say Do Not Say The Name Out Loud, Ever. It calls them to you as if you have a target on your back, like being marked by a hunter. I made the mistake of doing it, and there was this bird that followed me for days and it was unlike any other bird. I shit you not, it flew in circles, upside down, and even backwards. I swear to you sometimes it looked like it was hovering in one place. Take note of how animals walk and act around you. If it is a predatory animal and it clearly doesn't think of you as prey, it is most likely a epidermis pedestrian. They often take the high ground, so if you see an animal following you especially from a high place, it most likely will be an epidermis walker. Pay attention to how the body moves, unless they are at the highest level it will always reveal itself by being clumsy. The most obvious example is the countless stories about the deer who turned around, but their legs stayed behind. Sometimes it may walk in a shamble, or jutt around, or even have distorted and crooked limbs. If you see one and you look it in the eye, their eyes will glow yellow whether it is day or night. They can only be found in the desert as that is the only place where they can strive. In the rare case of names, epidermis walkers are the only being that will fear your name. If you call out your given name, it will have to wait until the resonance dissipates. They don't have names, they all consider themselves to be a part of the "Shift".

Below the cut is a clip of a person talking about the things their grandfather has told them about epidermis walkers, how to spot them, and more about them.

Skinwalkers typically live in caves where man cannot reach, or on the tops of mesas. Skinwalkers, while being able to shift, must assume their human form during rest. They are still vulnerable to human patterns of existence. So they seek out places of rest that are seemingly unattainable to humans. The Utes would use this to their advantage, and climb nearby cliffs to catch or kill skin walkers when they least expected it. NOTE: Skinwalkers when sleeping are at their MOST powerful. In the state of rest, the strength to shift circulates through their body over and over again. If they are disturbed during rest, they are at their strongest and can kill at an instant. My grandfather told a story of a particularly Nasty group of two skin walkers who killed several children in a Ute village. A group of brave warriors tracked them to a set of cliffs, where there was a giant half dome cave about 200 feet up. The bravest warriors of the Ute tribe in the region snuck up the cliff, and when they reached the half dome cave, they opened fire on the two skin walkers. The skin walkers were not to be deterred, and instantly killed 3 warriors with their bare hands. The remaining Ute warriors kept firing, and finally the skin walkers lunged toward the edge of the cliff, telling the warriors that they would come back for them another day. The skin walkers ran to the end of the cliff and jumped...but The Utes were already two steps ahead. For weeks they had been bringing in dry brush to the valley below the cave, and by the time the skinwalkers jumped, nearly 3 acres of deadfall was piled strategically throughout the valley trees to look natural. The minute the skin walkers left the cliff, the Utes below lit the pitch-covered dead fall, and when the skin walkers landed, they were quickly trapped in a giant raging bonfire. The skin walkers howled so loudly, that it was said the wind whistled like wolves in that valley for another 50 years.

Skinwalkers sloppily shed fur and you can use it to summon them. When skin walkers turn back, it's just as ugly as when they turn. Instead of cleanly shifting back into human form, skin walkers often leave behind chunks of fur, sometimes up to 6 inches long and 2 inches wide, called "bent skin". If you find "bent skin", you can lure a skinwalker by blowing on the chunk of fur into a fire. The skinwalker will instantly follow the scent to your fire, without question, instinctively. The Ute's would use this method whenever they could, but it was very rare to find "bent skin" without actively knowing the footsteps of a skinwalker.

"The White Wind". That is the expression the Utes used to describe the effects of speaking into quartz rocks to a skinwalker. Skinwalkers are greatly weakened by the voice vibrations of a quartz rock. Medicine Men would carry with them giant quartz rocks, and set them upon a cliff to send out warnings to all nearby skin walkers never to come near their camp. This could only be done when the evidence of skin walkers in the immediate area of the camp could be found. It could not be used as a blanket method to ward off would be attacker skin walkers. The Utes thought that quartz resonated with souls, and that if spoken to with the proper countenance from a Medicine Man or Warrior, that the quartz rock could speak directly to the soul of a person or animal. There was one story about a particularly aggressive skinwalker who chose to stand outside the camp in Elk Form to intimidate the tribe. An elder Medicine Man walked to a nearby rock face, put a giant quartz stone on top, and sang the name of the most recent victims to skin walkers over and over again. Within a matter of hours, the elk began violently kicking, turning from human, to elk, and back again, until it finally started taking the shape of the victims who it killed. The Medicine Man then commanded the skinwalker to turn back to its evil elk form, and jump off a cliff to its final death. The next morning the tribe woke up and found the skinwalker in human form split in half over a pointed stump.

If you can find a skinwalker trail, usually characterized by animal footprints with unusual spacings and variations (example: Deer hoof prints that all of a sudden emerge into 10 feet gaps), you can weaken a skinwalker greatly by putting fish remains in its prints. Animals from the water are highly poisonous to skin walkers in the spiritual sense because they represent water, the killer of the desert. The scent of the fish or other water animal will approach the heel of the skinwalker, and cause him to weaken the more he walks. Warriors who found skin walker trails would alert the tribe, and they would spend days fishing our a local river and then preparing the remains to be used against the skin walkers. The Utes would then follow the footprints for miles, leaving fish rot in each skinwalker indentation, and pouring a mixture of water and fish oil near any pissing sites. Sometimes if they followed the skinwalker closely enough, they would find it wandering half dead in the desert and then kill it or capture it. It is important to note that the use of fish in weakening a skinwalker can ONLY be used when following it. It has to do with the skin walkers sense of smell. They smell for miles both forward and backward, and the fish stench, in order to exact harm, must come subtly from behind, otherwise it will be detected and avoided ASAP. So in summary, one cannot catch a fish, post it at their campsite, and expect to ward off a skinwalker for good. One has to use the fish scent carefully to eventually send the skinwalker into ruin.

Skinwalker Ritual Sites. Skinwalkers have religious sites all across the southwestern desert where they congregate from time to time, (no one knows how often), but they know it happens. These religious gatherings usually take place on the tops of mesas or in secret caves only accessible by skin walkers. At these gatherings the most diabolical happenings occur, innocent captives are eaten alive for sport, children are sacrificed, humans are forced to fight to the death, and abducted women are forced to bear every depraved sex act ever conceived - all for the skinwalkers' entertainment. The Utes told a story of the operator of a Spanish Mine who stumbled upon a viewing of such a ritual. The Spaniard had come to them to trade for supplies and had told them he knew of a skinwalker religious festival coming up that he wanted to sneak in to view it from afar. The Utes pleaded with him not to go, and to head back to his homeland for his own safety and the safety of his men. The Spaniard was far too stubborn to listen to a mere "Native" and snuck into a viewing of the ritual. Weeks later, they ran into the same Spaniard. He had aged at least 30 years. His hair was lightning white, and his skin had been charred by fire. The Utes gave him some water. He tried to speak, but each time he did his whole body trembled. Upon trying to speak for a third time, sweat poured out all over his body. But it was not the kind of sweat that would soak on a warrior's back after battle. It was blood coming out of his pores, because sweat had given up. The Spaniard died seconds later, unable to communicate what ungodly things he had seen at the skinwalker ritual. He didn't have to communicate -- the Utes knew.

Skinwalker Ritual Sites - The Ute Response. 3 Generations before the Spaniard died from sheer panic and fear over the Skinwalker ritual, the Utes had their own tragic experience with it. Four women, including two of the wives of the chief had disappeared within a month. Through dreams the two wives of the chief had reached out to the medicine man to let them know that they were being held captive in a giant room underneath a mesa. The Medicine man and the chief assembled all the warriors in the tribe approached the mesa, which was over 100 miles away. When they approached the mesa they saw a sea of bones, which became more pronounced with each step. What used to be dried and withered animal ribs soon became human hips, skulls, and spines. The plants were dead for nearly half a mile in every direction. The Medicine man and the warriors came up with a plan. The warriors would distract the skin walkers, while the medicine man and his team would build a giant lightning rod on top of the mesa. The warriors and the medicine men went their separate ways and carried out the plan. When the warriors found the cave beneath the Mesa, they formed a perimeter around it and waited in the bushes until its rightful king returned. When the skin walkers came out of the brush and into the cave, they opened fire, from all sides, everywhere, nearly painting the mesa with arrows. Before their arrow fire could finish, the Medicine man at the top of the mesa, grabbed a quartz stone and directed lightning to hit his 4 story tall quartz tower. The lightning hit the tower with such a force that the Mesa cracked in half, and covered half of the tribe in rubble. It is said that the skinwalkers came out roasting alive, with smoke pouring out of their eyes, ears and mouth, covered in charred black skin. The captured native women came out soon after, unscathed, with only a few cuts and bruises on them. The warriors yelled for the Medicine man to come down, that they had been victorious. The Medicine Man then yelled back: "No victory until dust...." The Medicine man proceeded to conduct 50 more strikes of lightning on the Mesa. With each strike it crumbled, until finally it was reduced to a small sand hill. The medicine man was barely able to walk, so succumbed with forcing the lightning strikes when a warrior approached him and said "Look." The Medicine Man looked and saw a beautiful white bird landing on the small sand hill that used to be the Mesa. The Medicine Man, then grabbed the bird and snapped its neck. The bird turned into a muscular human. The Medicine man said: "Let's find his sand hill." This medicine man who was named Fist of Lightning and Death, went on to destroy 4 mesas, and 3 giant caves, but in his words only "chased the wind" of the skin walkers.

[drivingsideways]

Review: Nobody Knows

In a weird way, what’s outstanding about Nobody Knows is how very run of the mill it is. There’s nothing particularly innovative about the characters, plot, structure, editing or direction. It knows its genre and sticks to its conventions, and yet. YET.

Kim Seo-hyung gets to play the lonely, damaged-but-righteous cop we’ve seen a forgettable number of times in the male avatar. There’s usually a dead girlfriend or other beloved female figure whose death/murder serves as the foundational trauma for the man’s character arc. Guess what? Nobody Knows sticks to that convention, and leans into it even: 18 year old Cha Young-jin loses her “best friend” Choi Soo-jung to a serial killer, and her life is changed forever. From that moment on, Cha Young-jin ceases to be a person, and is an arrow that’s left the bow, but is still seeking the target- frozen in time. 

If Cha Young-jin had been a man, or more specifically, a white man in a western show, he would have been an angry white man. He would have been shown moodily boxing alone. Or getting wasted alone. Even his drunken brawls with ten other people would somehow be alone. He would have run hot or run cold, but the defining characteristic would have been the grief-as- anger spilling in all directions, and every one else’s problem to deal with. 

Our Cha Young-jin is just as angry and just as grieved, and yet, all of that is kept under a tight leash. This kind of characterization, especially when the character is a woman, always feels like a double edged sword to me: I’m never sure if the woman is not allowed her anger by virtue of her gender or whether that’s how it would have been written even for a man. Given it’s a kdrama, I’m tending toward the latter here; the narcissistic individualism that permeates western story telling is typically absent in kdramas. 

Still, gender is very integral to this story: Cha Young-jin, is after all, a woman in a man’s job, in both a literal and a metaphorical sense. She’s the protector and the avenger; she’s capable of drop-kicking a man to the ground, and also stepping in to save a lonely little boy. She may cry a lot more onscreen than any man in that role, but she’s also, indisputably, the boss; her authority over her team comes as much from her brilliance as her official position. One of the things I enjoyed about the show was how subtly they talked about how her professional life was affected by her gender: the women look up to her and fawn over her, she’s aspirational to them. The men are wary, even as they acknowledge her brilliance- there’s a simmering undercurrent of professional jealousy and resentment there, even though it ultimately gets smoothed over by the sheer respect they have for her work. 

The queerness in this story then is baked into it from the start; from the fact that Cha Young-jin’s gender performance and role most closely resembles a cis heterosexual man than a cis-het woman; and if that is the case, it’s not a major leap of the imagination to characterize her relationship with Choi Soo-jung as romantic, than platonic or at the very least, a romance that was tragically ended before it could really begin. (Note: I think it’s also absolutely fair to read Cha Young-jin as ace-aro; platonic relationships can be as deep and life-defining as romantic ones- either way, Cha Young-jin is not straight) The writing straight up acknowledges that when  Lee Sun-woo enters the story- and very obviously and sweetly has a giant crush on Cha Young-jin. I thought the interesting thing about this was not just in the way she very sweetly lets him know that she’s not into him, a fact that he seems to have accepted with grace by the end- but also in how different her reaction to his overtures are compared to her reaction to Jung So-yeon’s acceptance of her. There’s this scene in the last episode where So-yeon calls her to invite her over to dinner, and Cha Young-jin’s thrown a bit off-kilter by it in a way that’s not entirely about their antagonistic history; it feels a little like a teenager being asked out by a person they’ve had an unrequited crush on for a bit.

A large part of the story is a straight up apology to a generation of latchkey kids, I think- kids who’ve not had nurturing or trustworthy adults around them- but are expected somehow to grow up into kind, responsible adults. I don’t have too much of the local context for this, but I guess that particular theme is in response to the high school bullying scandals and the insane pressure on children to top grades. The show points out that these kids are forced to grow up before they can enjoy being children- even Cha Young-jin treats Ko Eun-ho more or less like an adult, calling him her “friend”,  even though she acknowledges at some point that he should be allowed to be a child. I think the show tries to acknowledge that difficult space where teenagers are not quite children but definitely not adults and there’s a balance that needs to be found in dealing with them. I still think the show leans toward treating them a bit too much like adults (not helped by the fact that the kids are being played by adults, uff, TV casting!!!), but on the whole the vibe is warm and healing. 

The one thing that entirely ceased to be interesting- despite a glorious performance by Park Hoon as the unhinged Baek Sang-ho- was the cultish serial killer thing. It didn’t feel it had any real substance to it, and the story telling style robs any “suspense” to the reveals- as the audience we’re already ahead of the cops trying to catch the killer. In that sense, the show left me with a strong yearning to get lost in a classic whodunnit again- the really good ones have that trick where they give you all the clues but you’re still left gobsmacked by the reveal in the end. 

Still, you could rightly argue that what the show does- in rather classic kdrama style- is subvert the thriller genre, not just by making a woman the hero and queering the text, but fundamentally viewing this as a healing drama rather than a thriller. This is not a revenge quest, or a whodunnit- it’s about surviving the haunted house of our pasts- every single one of our characters- Cha Young-jin, Lee Sun-woo and even the three kids goes on that journey- and the tragedy of Baek Sang-ho is that his journey is in the reverse direction- in the end, he’s literally and figuratively locked in a dark room again. 

tl;dr watch it for all of the above but also because Kim Seo-hyung in black turtlenecks is the gift we all deserve. 

[depressing-debbie]

fluffy alphabet for Bertholdt 💳💥💥💥💳💥💥💥💳 (if you want too ofc 💕💕)

Of courseee :)

I’m generally very unsure about the way I characterize Bertholdt, so if this is really crappy I apologize <3

As always, I'm using the prompt by @snk-warriors

Fluff Alphabet: Bertholdt

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

He definitely likes more private activities, like maybe a picnic, for special occasions or date nights. In general, though, he just likes spending time with his SO. On an ordinary day, he’s happy just sitting with them while they both do some work or just watch TV. He’s more enjoying being in their presence than whatever activity they’re working on.

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

This poor baby thinks absolutely everything about their SO is stunning. Like every time they walk into the room, he’s taken aback by how amazing they are. But really he does admire their personality more than anything, and it’s what he fell in love with. 

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

I think he’s pretty uncomfortable at first just because he hates seeing his SO unhappy, and he really doesn’t know what to do. His instinct is to just sit down with them quietly and offer a shoulder to cry on. Unless they specifically ask that he do something else when this happens, he’ll probably continue to do it.

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

He honestly doesn’t think about the future much. He absolutely has a lot of inner conflict around his identity, and his future has never really been guaranteed. As long as his SO is with him, he’d be happy.

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

It’s pretty equal, but I think he leads more towards a passive role just because of his personality. He’s a bit shy by nature, and arguably more of a follower than a leader, so I think he’d like to be the one that’s being protected in the relationship. At the same time, he’d definitely want to be the one protecting his SO, so it varies.

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

He doesn’t really instigate fights, and he’s not great with conflict. It makes him sort of retreat into himself, but because of how unhappy fighting makes him, he’s always open to talk and make up. He’s definitely rational in these situations, and he really wants to come to an agreement.

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

He is BEYOND grateful. In his eyes, his SO is absolutely perfect, and he doesn’t even really feel like he’s deserving of their love and attention. He thanks them constantly, and he truly and deeply appreciates everything they do.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

In general, he’s very open and honest with his SO, especially with things that are serious or important. But, he also cares about them and doesn’t want to see them get hurt, so if he finds something out that could make them upset, he may decide not to tell them. He doesn’t love it, but it’s his way of subtly protecting them.

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

His SO is probably a huge inspiration to him. Again, he thinks they are so amazing, and the idea that they would want to be with him gives him the slightest boost in confidence. I think they also help and encourage him to branch out and try new things, so they’re helping him get comfortable with lettin loose a bit. 

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

He honestly does get jealous sometimes. It’s not that he doesn’t trust his SO completely, because he does, it’s just that he begins to question whether they would be better off with someone else. He may start to pull away a bit when he’s jealous, which is pretty easy to spot. And he can be pretty easily reminded that he doesn’t need to be jealous, with just some hugs and positive words.

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

Their first kiss was VERY awkward. He planned it for a while so the general pacing fit the relationship, but he probably messed up the timing in the moment, and it was really unexpected for his SO. It wasn’t bad necessarily, he just way overthought it, and he apologized about a thousand times afterwards. A bit later into the relationship, once he’s let himself relax a bit, it’s probably much easier for him, and he’s actually a pretty good kisser.

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

He spent a lot of time planning, again, but this time, I think he chose the perfect moment. They were probably just out for a late night walk when he looked over to see how beautifully the stars were lighting up their face, and he told them he loved them. It was really sweet, and he makes an effort to say it as much as he can from then on.

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

I don’t think he’s really though about marriage the same way that he hasn’t thought about his future. Legally combining another persons life with his when his own life isn’t even guaranteed is pretty frightening for him. But, if it’s something his SO wanted, he wouldn’t be opposed to it. He probably wouldn’t be the one to propose, but he’d be more than willing to help with the planning for the wedding (and he’s surprisingly good at it)

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

Definitely something just a bit cheesy, like honey or darling. He also just loves to call you by your name, though, because he thinks it’s a beautiful name.

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

There’s such a noticeable change when he first falls in love. He has an obvious air of confidence in his daily interactions, and he’s much less nervous in general. He also probably talks about his SO a lot more in conversation with other people, which is uncommon. He works hard to express it clearly for his SO, so he showers them with little praises and tiny acts of service.

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

He’s definitely a private person, especially with his relationship. His friends and family would be generally aware of it, and his SO is welcome to tell the people in their life as well. But he’s strongly anti-PDA; at most, he might hold their hand in a public setting or let them rest his head on their shoulders. He gets uncomfortable showing off something that’s meant for just the two of them.

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that's beneficial in a relationship.

He’s incredibly empathetic to the point that he looks telepathic. He can almost always figure out what’s going through his SO’s mind at any given point and can predict how they will react to a situation. It also helps him be able to comfort them, and understand them more.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

Probably a nice mix of both creative and cliche. He’s never gotten that cliche romantic relationship with teddy bears and dinner dates, so I think he’d indulge in that once in a while just to make his inner lonely teenager happy. But for the most part, he’s very creative, and they definitely don’t follow the confusing societal norms for relationships. He really is very romantic, though, even if it makes him a bit embarrassed.

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

He absolutely believes in and supports his SO more than anything! They are so terrific, and he knows they can do whatever they put their mind to. He’s only an optimist when it comes to them, and then he’s completely positive in the future. He admires their work ethic and strength in chasing their goals, especially when it’s something they’re passionate about.

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

I don’t think he would want to spice things up very often, he really just enjoys their nice, normal routine. It’s cozy and peaceful for him, and if he had the choice, he’d stay that way forever. But he’d also be more than happy to try something new with his SO, especially if it’s something they’re really interested in. Even if he doesn’t end up enjoying it all that much, as long as they’re happy, he’s happy.

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

Again, Bertholdt is ridiculously empathetic with his SO, so much so that he can practically read their mind. Even if they’re going through something he has no personal experience with, he can understand it through them. The root of this is just how well he knows them, and how much he cares about them.

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

His relationship is very important to him! He loves his SO so much, and they’ve helped him in so many ways. The relationship makes him really happy, and he probably wouldn’t trade it for the world.

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

His SO gets sucked into his pattern of ridiculous sleeping positions. Some nights, they might end up getting pushed onto the floor. Most of the time, though, they just join right in with him and mix in with his crazy position. It’s pretty hilarious, and also pretty sweet.

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

He actually is really affectionate. Even though he can be pretty awkward, he’s so much happier when he can be physically close to his SO. It calms him down a lot, and it’s so much more peaceful. He probably wouldn’t initiate cuddling towards the beginning of the relationship, but once he gets more comfortable with them, he’d definitely go and just silently ask for attention by putting his arms around them and resting his head on their shoulder.

Y earning - How will they cope when they're missing their partner?

His SO is like his safety blanket, so I think he gets more anxious when they’re not there. He would never tell them that, though, because he doesn’t want them to feel bad at all. In fact, he would probably make himself more anxious trying to hide that he’s anxious, and it would just cycle like that. He probably just relies on his friends a lot while his SO is gone, and he does fine.

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lenghts for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

He would absolutely do what it takes to keep his relationship strong. He’s a total gentleman, and he really just wants his SO to be happy, so he’d go to any lengths to make this happen.

[butterflydm]

wheel of time (pre-rewatch)

I’m planning on rewatching the first three episodes of Wheel of Time this weekend, and I might do reviews for each of them, but I wanted to share some overall thoughts first.

So, I actually watched this with my mom, because she’s the one who introduced me to all of these sorts of books (I also went to Dune with her, which is another thing I want to rewatch in order to really dig into it, but going to the theater again is harder than just queuing up episodes on prime, so!), and she and I were both pretty thrilled with the adaptation (my mom actually liked this better than she liked Dune 2021, which I am not personally willing to go as far as yet, lol, but I liked it a whole lot).

They changed a lot of things from the books, but all the changes so far do make a reasonable amount of sense to me. Now, I did deliberately refrain from re-reading the books once we knew for sure the series was happening, because I wanted to be able to experience the show with a somewhat fresh eye, and I think that approach really worked for me. I wasn’t caught up on specific scenes but more thinking about if the flow of the show suited the series as a whole, which it definitely did for me.

(and now we go into Book Spoilers territory)

To start with the most controversial thing... Perrin’s short-lived wife. I get why she existed and why she died. Was she the best way to convey that information (Perrin being scared of his own strength and terrified of losing control and hurting the people he loves)? I’m gonna give that a firm... I don’t know. But there are more than enough female characters with rich and interesting stories that I’m personally not too emotionally hung up over her death. I mean, given that the prologue isn’t in the show (...yet? we might get flashbacks in the future idk), I kinda feel like we just traded one fridged wife for a different one, you know? And Perrin is even more in his own head than the other boys are, so it helps to have something external to illustrate his issues.

I straight-up just approve of the change in Mat’s background. It fits very thematically with where his character goes in the future and gives him some emotionally grounded moments before his personality gets affected by Shadar Logoth.

Egwene and Rand’s romance upgrade before the break-up -- I liked it! I liked all their scenes together, honestly. I’ve always had a soft spot for them, though Rand’s upcoming set of relationships is my everything. If I get canon polycule on-screen, I may well expire on the spot. Like, Rand’s polycule was my Sense8-type emotional awakening before Sense8 existed, if you understand my feelings on the matter. There is a line directly from my love of the polycule to my love for Sense8.

Lan and Nynaeve were perfect. That is all. Oh, wait, Lan and Moiraine’s incredibly-close but non-sexual relationship... also perfect. Moiraine saying Siuan’s name while she was delirious and sick? Perfect. tbh, if they use introducing Thom later as a way to subtly begin to un-canon M/T so that we can get M/S endgame instead, every change they made is absolutely justified and I will defend them to the death.

Oh, other amazing characterization things -- loved the change they made to the Taren’s Ferry scene. Moiraine was so cold there but so justified in it. The show did a fantastic job of illustrating the Three Oaths in action, imo, in that scene and then in the Whitecloaks scene.

(the Whitecloaks? Terrifying!)

I felt like the episodes did get stronger as they went along -- three felt the strongest of all, for me -- oh! yes, loved Dana the Darkfriend. Getting that nihilistic philosophy out there near the start of the show was a good thing and that actress was amazing.

For me, the show is a five out of five banger and I am going to be on the edge of my seat every week waiting for the new episode to come out.

[rockium-z]

so uh... entity neo

what's it about?

im wondering if I should read it or not

*cracks knuckles* Oh boy, are you in for a ride. Buckle up, friend!

Entity NEO is an Undertale fancomic where Napstablook winds up possessing and becoming corporeal in Mettaton’s body after he dies to Frisk/Chara on the genocide route, and with them surviving that encounter, angst ensues and that sets up the premise for the rest of the story. In the aftermath, they find new faces and new friends, and learn to put the pieces of their life back together, even as their complicated relationship with their late cousin continues to haunt them and not long later, another human falls into the Underground and shakes everything up.

This comic primarily focuses on Napstablook, Alphys, Sans and Mettaton as main characters, though there are quite a few original characters introduced later on as either side characters or minor characters that play a larger role in certain chapters, and some canon characters who aren’t dead by the end of chapter 1 (there’s Flowey and the amalgamates and that’s as far as I know). Much of the story is built on its character dynamics and the exploration of these relationships — for instance, Napstablook’s relationship with Mettaton continues to evolve as they learn more about him and draw their conclusions long after his death, shaping much of their character arc, and along the way they slowly warm up to Alphys, who takes them in (pseudo-adopts them?) after the events of the premise, and to Sans, who helps them back on their feet when shit hits the fan for them, both emotionally and literally. Alphys copes with the fact that all her close friends, save Sans, are dead, and with the burden of her rise to power, as well as having a new friend to take care of. Sans deals with his own losses and increased responsibilities as a result of becoming Alphys’s right-hand man. That’s the basic rundown of the major relationships in play.

Now, to answer your question: should you read this?

Short answer: hell yes.

Longer answer (under the cut):

I still stand by my sentiment of hell yes, though you may want to keep in mind the generally dark themes present in this story as a result of its premise. There’s quite a bit of death, some pages with potentially disturbing/eyestrain content such as guns, scopophobia, flashing gifs, traumatic flashbacks and the like, but assuming you can stomach that, Entity NEO handles its backdrop of trauma and grief masterfully. Even though these themes are always lurking, sometimes in the foreground, sometimes more subtly, the story manages to strike a good balance between angst and lighter moments and humor, and portrays these themes in a way that’s both poignant and authentic.

I’ve mentioned previously that character dynamics form the bulk of the plot, and make the story what it is — that’s because the comic treats all its characters with the respect they deserve. The canon characters remain largely consistent with their characterizations in-game, and their growth and changes throughout the story are believable, fleshes them out and gives them an interesting amount of depth that’s fun to ponder. Meanwhile, the original characters are unique, yet are written in a way such that they fit right into the world, from the monster characters having bearing on the story to the humans that fall in having sympathetic arcs. And with all its relationships in place, it’s portrayed with intriguing layers and nuances that make these dynamics hella fun to interpret, and so damn exciting to read about — canon or original, they vibe and create an impact on each other that drives the plot forward.

Am I going to mention art style? Guess I’ll mention art style beyond my opinion that it looks good — the monochrome and sharp lines really get the darker themes of this story across, and make the moments with color stand out all the more.

And miscellaneous things I’d like to mention — at present, the story stands at 24 chapters and feels like it’s going to go on for a lot longer more, and with that much to read there’s plenty of secrets hidden and lots of things to discover with subsequent reads (I keep finding little details and I’m pretty damn deep into reread hell). The creators are wonderful people and are incredibly passionate about this comic, and no matter how long I’ll have this hyperfixation, I’m sure I’ll be happy to ride this train wherever it goes.

So if you’re looking for an angsty, well-written story with a concept that’s out of left field, you absolutely should read this.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk!

[dumblemonchickenwing]

response to @sageoftheuniverse in relation to their post that was the reponse to my post regarding Toffee

Even though I never intended to go in the “Toffee is incapable of  feeling at all” and my intention was never to imply that him being a villain was Because of him being “built different”, I suppose I can actually see the point in your reponse to that post. 

My point in that post was not that Toffee was evil and never knew love Because he “is not capable of it” or “less capable” of it, I gravitated more towards his way of life than his nature or brain structure. I highlighed more the fact that his way of living built his cold attitude, and him living longer further amplified it, because he had to fight wars for way longer times than most others which I think would harden him even more. I may have articulated myself poorly and used wrong words, and if I did, I apologize.

1. A deliberately heartless villain who defined himself by his emotionlessness wouldn’t use kindness as a weapon to recruit Ludo’s monsters.

It may be just a nitpick to your nitpick, but it is actually possible to mask kindness in order to get other to do what one wants, its a sort of manipulation thing, and in order to do that one doesnt have to feel kindness. Tbh I actually more agree with You on this one, because it geniunely seemed that Toffee looked out for Ludo’s monsters more than Ludo did. 

2. Someone like you described wouldn’t walk away from his enemies after they were defeated, he’d just kill them.

It really depends. Some may kill Because of emotion. Toffee being cold toward Moon and Co. didnt mean he would 100% kill them. He got what he came for, he didnt want to waste any more of his time. 

I didnt write responses to your 3rd and 4rth parts because I felt no need in commenting on it for I saw nothing to object to.

I really dislike bringing up my personal issues and stuff for an argument, and I won’t; I will just sorta partly do that by confessing that I wrote that post about Toffee while partly self projecting onto him. kind of the similar reason you came forward to defend him and debunk my post, actually... In other words, I didnt write the post about Toffee from the point of view of someone who doesnt know what its like to be autistic and alienated.  not all individuals can emotionally connect to others, and some may Actually struggle a lot to feel feelings, such as  love due to the way they have been developed.

I do not know what Watsonian and Doylist analysis techniques are...

Although I do agree my post was kind of lacking in terms of characterization. For example: I didnt bring up Toffee’s arrogance, I forgot the parts where he subtly showed his negative emotions like anger in mewnipendence day, how he actually felt some sort of excitement when he fought Moon. Those were emotions, even though not positive emotions but emotions nonetheless, and I kind of forgot about it.

All those things about Star obliterating him and other things, Solaria getting redemption, rubbed me the wrong way too. And I noticed that mewmans get their story arcs and the show follows Their stories and monsters’ stories get kind of omitted (including Toffee) too. Even though I was thinking about how it is unfair and that there porbably was needed more backstory on Toffee, I still think that his redemption arc would not happen, for few reasons i can think of:

1) Toffee would not be willing to change his ways because he would pursue violent ways and see it as the only way

2) Even if he would want to change it would have to take a long time, and it would not fit the show’s time scale (time period?). 

I do believe you probably have a way better understanding on the show’s flaws and in writing than I, because I am no analyst and i am not a write; I cannot articulate myself correctly for cognitive reasons

=

Also I wanted to share my opinion on redemption discourse about Toffee. Usually ppl when saying that Toffee cant get redemption, they bring up reasons such as “he killed Moons mother’ and that he almost killed Star and that he has killed many, manipulated Ludo. But to my mind, those reasons dont sound plausible in the context of the show, because the chaarcters who had killed people in past, have been redeemed: Globgor, Eclipsa, Solaria, maybe even Meteora (she hasnt killed anyone but she did suck their souls out).

Maybe Toffee could get redeemed, if he wanted to change. I kind of wish the show played around with that concept, and shed more light on Solaria and Globgor’s past to create parallel to Toffee’s arc. But, Toffee is dead so... i guess it does not matter no more..

I take back what i said about Toffee being emotionless and I admit my post was flawed (I was not taking my analysis that much seriously to tell the truth, I was just speculating), but I still think that canonically Toffee is an unkind individual. It has nothing to do with him being a monster I think. Buffrog is a monster and he is kind and loving, Ludo is loving toward his brother, Rasticore is a Septarian and he is not resentful and is pretty nice. Toffee is cold and hardened because of his way of living and his resentment that he kept inside instead of letting go, and not really bc of him being a monster. The show was..flawed, but I dont think they demonized Toffee Because he was a monster. He was a monster who happened to be an unkind individual. But.. he deserved to have some more info about him been revealed in the show which never happened sadly.

Thank you very much for responding to my weird analysis with politeness and a constructive critisim, you are very kind and undersatnding. You didn’t lash out or threaten me and approached it without hate, it was very thoughtful and nice of you and I am grateful for it