#look. I know this is needlessly thorough

[boinday]

I know absolutely nothing about the publishing world so forgive me if this is the stupidest question ever, but I was wondering why you're aiming for traditional over self publishing? Is it cause of the marketing publishing firms do, or cause you want TWD to be a physical book (which I assume isn't possible in self publishing without a lot of money), or something else? I'm thinking about the self publishing success of Wool/Silo (and no smut like you said about TWD!) but I know that's probably super rare

it's not a stupid question at all! Self publishing and traditional publishing are two different routes towards a similar goal, they both have advantages and disadvantages and it really depends on the author for what they're going for.

Needlessly detailed breakdown of self pub vs trad pub under the cut:

Self publishing can be very attractive for creators with a small but passionate online following. It allows fans of your work to support you financially and have their own copy (digital or physical) of your book! It also gives the author a higher cut of the sales revenue their book makes. Royalty rates vary based on a bunch of factors (what publisher you use, what paper you print on, how many pages your book is etc) but here's a breakdown by McZell Book Writing (as of 2023):

But there are also some significant disadvantages to self publishing. For starters, ALL the marketing is on you. You don't have the machine of traditional publishing pushing your book. It's not going to be in brick and mortar bookstores, it's not going to have publicists and advertising campaigns, it's only going to reach as many people as you, the individual author, are able to reach. And of those people it reaches, only a small percentage will actually pay money for it.

Statistically, most self published authors sell less than 100 books during the entire lifetime that book is on sale. At least, that's what all the agents and writing forums on the internet tell me -and it's probably correct. And once you've self published, it becomes exponentially harder to sell that book to a trad publisher should you change your mind in the future.

Additionally, though your royalties are markedly less with traditional publishing, you're also likely to have an advance* - a lump sum the publisher gives you in good faith, which your royalties are then deducted from. Let's say a publisher pays you a $50k advance for your first book (that's slightly less than the average for a debut, according to google). Well, that's money that you can use to pay the bills while you write your NEXT book, which you'll hopefully sell to the publisher for even more money. This has an obvious appeal over self publishing, where you have to fight and claw to sell every single copy for that $5 cut. Basically, instead of quitting your job and using that advance to write for a year, with self publishing you'll have to keep your full time job, and take on the second full time job of marketing and selling your book, AND the third job of trying to write your next book. Glamorous, it is not.

(*Important acknowledgement that publishers are capitalist enterprises and there's many reasons they fuck with an author's advance, delay paying out, or simply don't pull their weight on the marketing side of things. There are many instances of publishers failing to pay out an advance for up to TWO YEARS after the book has hit shelves. I've mostly seen this done to women of colour, and I do think that's a factor in this fuckery. Having a trad publisher is not a guarantee that you'll have meaningful financial stability or industry support. Essentially, authors are being fucked on all sides)

Now, with self publishing, you DO have more control over the story! You can prioritize the story you want to tell without worrying about what the market research team in Penguin Randomhouse thinks. I have seen horror stories of authors being told "We like the story, but the queer characters aren't relatable, axe them" by the publisher they're in submission with. Trad publishers are also notoriously fickle, and can change their mind at any point in the process - basically until that book is printed and on the shelves, it doesn't matter how much interest they're showing you. They can and do back out of deals. I saw one absolutely heartbreaking case of an author who had been in submission with a trad publisher for over 8 months and had done 3 rounds of edits that they'd requested and was waiting for the final feedback, when they called her and told her they weren't going to move forward with her book because she didn't have a large enough online following. I cannot IMAGINE the spiral of despair that would send me down. But that's the publishers prerogative - their job is to make money, and that is how they look at the books they receive for consideration.

However, there are also significant limits to your control with self-publishing. For one, Amazon is practically your ONLY route to self publish, whether you like it or not. Vanity Presses (publishers you have to pay to get your book printed) are scams who prey on naive authors that are blinded by aspiration and don't realise they're being conned. IngramSpark isn't UNattractive as a self-pub option (for starters, it gets you on a global distribution list, so you have SOME chance of getting into a brick and mortar bookstore - though not much). But IngramSpark sell most of their books via Amazon ANYWAY - and what's worse, sometimes they'll "sell" books to Amazon, which will appear to the unsuspecting author as genuine sales. But when Amazon fails to sell those copies on to actual customers, they'll return them to IngramSpark, leaving the poor author to foot the bill for the refund. Amazon is the unavoidable beast in the dungeon here, so swallow whatever ethical objections you have towards them if you want to self publish. Selling on Amazon guarantees your book will never appear in a physical bookstore, because Amazon sells books at a loss as a way to put bookstores out of business. What bookstore is going to buy from their direct competitor, try to sell the book at standard retail price, and make a loss because Amazon has it for 40% cheaper?

There is one other self publishing option: Print and distribute your book independently. This is the hardest of all publishing options, because it requires CAPITAL. To put this into perspective, to print my novel at its current length with the cheapest, shittiest paper, completely ignoring any additional costs such as shipping to the author's home for storage, printing a colour cover, any decorative/hardcover editions, and distribution to customers: It costs $7.28 per copy. Now consider that the average cost of a paperback novel in the US (the largest book market on earth) is $5-$7. So you the author now have to convince people to buy your book for higher than market price so that you can make a miniscule profit per copy - AND you're still working your full time job, AND you're still doing the work of marketing and selling your book, AND you're now the distributor of your book so that's ANOTHER job, AND you want to write your next book.

Etc, etc. All of this to say... Isn't it a bit fucked up? Think about this for a second. We live on a planet that is brimming with art. Books, podcasts, music, theatre, illustrations etc... There is more art on this Earth than anyone could enjoy in a lifetime, and the people making that art want desperately to share it with everyone they can, and yet the only way We The Everyman can interact with it is through the grubby, greedy hands of some of the most morally bankrupt institutions in the world. Amazon and Spotify and whoever the Monopoly Man Of The Day happens to be - they don't make the art, they don't pay the artists any more than a trickle they can get away with, and they rake us for every red cent they can just so we can experience a second of escapism from the cruel reality THEY made the world into.

Anyway. Self publishing is definitely not out of the question for me! It's just not my first option :)

[augustsails]

hmm might change my little blog title thing to ‘Cowboy Connoisseur’. It feels accurate to me

[zenruu]

A Needlessly Thorough Analysis of What Hardening Actually Means for Alistair

You can also read this analysis in a Google Doc if you find that format more palatable: here.

(I do recommend desktop for the comfiest viewing in either case, but both should be serviceable.)

Disclaimer: If critical discussion of a character’s feelings, motivations, and reactions to certain in-game choices could be personally upsetting to you, maybe don’t read this. None of this analysis is me judging you/your choices as a player, I am simply looking through the lens of Alistair’s characterization and the in-universe consequences of choices. Of course this analysis will be colored by my own bias, it’s inevitable. I can’t realistically include every potentially relevant line of dialogue, but I’m always happy to discuss if you think there’s something crucial I left out.

Hardened Alistair is often described as learning to stand up for himself and becoming more assertive, but why? Is it an accurate assessment? Even Alistair himself reacts to the hardening dialogue by saying he’s going to start thinking for himself and looking out for himself more, so surely it’s true… right?

To the contrary, I would actually argue that hardened Alistair tends to put others before himself more than unhardened Alistair. Let’s start by looking at how he becomes hardened.

The Hardening Process

After meeting Goldanna, Alistair is understandably devastated to find that the family he’s been dreaming of his whole life is not what he had hoped. He’s just been yelled at and turned away by the sister he’s never met, the only family he’s ever had a chance of knowing. He’s lost his hope at finding that sense of connection and belonging he’s always been looking for.

If the Warden wants to harden Alistair, they need to tell him, “Everyone is out for themselves. You should learn that.”

The message being sent is basically: suck it up, move on, grow up. This is the way the world is. Stop being so idealistic.

The message Alistair seems to receive, however, is a bit more complicated. In the follow-up conversation after meeting Goldanna, Alistair tells you that his takeaway from the hardening dialogue was that he needs to look out for himself more. This is, obviously, perfectly in line with the common belief that hardened Alistair is more assertive and more willing to stand up for himself.

But is that the reality that we see reflected in hardened Alistair’s choices?

Pre-hardening, Alistair tells you many times that he feels like no one cares what he wants; he believes it’s unfair and openly complains about it. Hardened Alistair, however, knows that no one cares what he wants and he accepts that as the way things are and must be. Unhardened Alistair will freely say he doesn’t want to be king and fights against it until he can fight it no more, while hardened Alistair will accept it, even going as far as to say he wants it.

Why would he change so suddenly from saying it’s his worst nightmare to saying he wants it? Does he mean it fully? Is this truly him seeking to fulfill his own wants and meet his own needs?

What actually changes if he’s hardened?

he is seemingly less reluctant about becoming king

if romanced, he will agree to a threesome with Isabela

he will agree to make you his mistress if you push the topic

if not married to Anora and chosen to fight Loghain, he will execute Loghain and take the throne

if not chosen to fight Loghain, he will insist on being made king

if married to Anora, he will become king instead of being exiled if Loghain is spared (Alistair will still leave your party, however)

he will approve of executing Jowan in Redcliffe

With the idea of “hardened Alistair putting his own wants/needs first” in mind let’s break them down one by one:

Note: some lines of dialogue have flags for “hardened”/“changed”, alternatively referred to as Alistair’s motivation being changed from “good to glory” or “Alistair 2”. These all refer to the hardening mechanic. The screenshots do have text that’s a bit small, because I wanted to be sure that I included the flags that show when lines are exclusive to hardened Alistair.

Less reluctance about becoming king

All along he’s said he doesn’t want it. You could potentially make a case that he didn’t truly feel that way and was only saying it because he’s insecure (which he is), but I don’t find this to be a terribly compelling argument. 

This is hardened Alistair’s response to being told he would be a good king after he’s decided to sacrifice himself. There are several lines like this that I feel contradict the theory that unhardened Alistair only says he doesn’t want to be king because he’s insecure in his abilities. It’s not that his insecurities are not a factor, it’s that hardening him doesn’t get rid of those things, meaning that this factor alone would not change his attitude about accepting potential kingship. In fact, he still believes that realistically Anora is better suited.

I’d argue that someone who has consistently said one thing without fail and is now only changing the tune after basically being told to shut up and grow up may not be expressing their truest desires. He is going along with what Eamon is telling him, with what the Warden is telling him, with what he’s told is his duty and responsibility. For the greater good, not for himself.

And you might be saying that can’t be true, hardened Alistair says he wants to be king!

Personally, I’d argue that Alistair saying he wants to be king is much the same as your average person saying they want a job. Do most people want to go to work every day? No, not really, but you have to because it’s just what you need to do. So when asked, you’d say you want a job. Of course you would, because you have to have one. But removed from that necessity, would you still say the same? Likely not. I believe the same holds true for Alistair. If he wasn’t being told at every turn that him being king is what must be done, he wouldn’t feel a need to bow to that.

Hardened Alistair confidently wanting to be king is often accepted as plain fact, when it’s really not so cut and dry. We can dig into some of his dialogue and really look at his feelings on the matter.

Hardened Alistair is saying he wants to be king. Even he’s surprised by it. But what is the context of this line? He’s about to sacrifice himself. He believes that his sacrifice–not living to rule–is the single best thing he can do as king.

But is it pure happiness and willingness, or is it a man simply trying to make the best of a situation he’s locked into? I vote for the latter.

I often see the argument that having a Warden queen would make him happier with the idea of being king, but by all evidence it really doesn’t seem to be the case. Here is his response to the Warden confirming that she does want to be queen. Alistair still doesn’t like the idea of ruling. This isn’t a line exclusive to hardened Alistair, he will always have this line available.

“I wouldn’t be in this position if it weren’t for you” … “you owe me” … Even hardened, Alistair seems to see being king as something negative being thrust upon him. A punishment, perhaps? What would his response be to being told that being king is not a punishment?

On the surface, he agrees, but take a look at that VO comment for his actual feelings on it. He does consider it a punishment. This is indeed a line for hardened Alistair, as it occurs during the mistress conversation, which is a hardened Alistair exclusive.

Even if hardened, Alistair would prefer to stay a Warden if he can.

And if you don’t make hardened Alistair king? He’s grateful. Happy. Happier.

Agreeing to a threesome

Unhardened or hardened, he will push back when you suggest this. However, only hardened Alistair will relent and agree to it. Unhardened Alistair will simply refuse. Which one sounds more like someone standing up for his own wants?

This is the path the conversation goes if Alistair is hardened. His initial refusal and discomfort with the situation remains, but if you tell him to go along, he will.

He is, regardless, clearly not as comfortable with the situation as one should be. It certainly isn’t the kind of enthusiastic consent one would look for when asking someone to engage in a particular sex act. But he had fun, so it’s okay, right?

Well… did he have fun? Isabela jokes about borrowing him in the future and it seems quite clear that he isn’t interested in a repeat occurrence. Not only is he not interested, he’s awkward, uncomfortable. “Oh, but he makes a joke about wet frocks right after this!” He does. But it’s Alistair. He’s constantly making jokes to mask his discomfort.

Agreeing to making the Warden his mistress

Again, he will push back on this at first, only relenting if he’s hardened and you push the issue. If unhardened, he’ll stand by his original statement that he feels it would be wrong. Is he just saying he believes it’s wrong, or is that what he truly believes? Based on what we know of Alistair, I’d say it’s far more likely that he truly does find the idea of making the Warden his mistress to be disrespectful both to the Warden and to his wife, and that he is somewhat disregarding his own beliefs on that to bend to the Warden’s insistence that he take a mistress.

Whether he’s marrying Anora or not, his views on the matter are the same. He intends to be loyal to whoever he marries, and he knows he cannot do so if he continues the relationship with the Warden.

It’s clear that he finds the entire idea distasteful.

Much like the threesome, you do have to press him to get him to agree. He’s quite set in his beliefs on the matter, but he will acquiesce if the Warden pushes it.

Insisting on becoming king in the context of dealing with Loghain

These are the choices where I’d say there is potentially a case to be made that Alistair is making the decision he wants to make. However, I wouldn’t say that the decision being made is that he wants to be king. I would argue that becoming king is simply a means to an end to give him the power to get revenge in the way he wants.

In the first potential scenario here, Alistair will insist on being made king if he is not chosen to fight Loghain. Why? He wants Loghain dead, and he isn’t being given the choice to make that happen. He wants the power to make that choice, all else be damned.

Here you can see that hardened Alistair insists on taking the throne while making it abundantly clear that the reason for doing so is to take care of Loghain in the manner he wants.

Unhardened Alistair does the same. Why? Because the motivation remains the same whether he’s hardened or not. Unhardened Alistair simply hasn’t become so resigned as to pretend he’s any less displeased with it than he is.

In the second potential scenario, Alistair is chosen to fight Loghain and kills him. He finally achieves the goal he’s been working towards all along: getting his revenge on Loghain. He’s running on that high when Eamon immediately suggests he take the throne, he says yes, he’ll do it. There’s not really anything to break down dialogue-wise in this scenario, as his acceptance of the throne is the exact same dialogue as it would be in any other case. He simply says he accepts when it’s proposed.

Is it what he truly wants? Maybe. You could make a case for it. However, I interpret it more as running on that adrenaline high, feeling powerful and not fully thinking it over in the moment.

Accepting being king & marrying Anora if Loghain is spared

Alistair has been tunnel visioned on getting his revenge on Loghain the entire time, and this is the only circumstance in which sparing Loghain will not result in Alistair leaving and becoming a drunk. He both accepts marrying Anora (which he isn’t happy about) and sparing Loghain (which is very counter to his wishes).

He doesn’t like Anora and doesn’t want to marry her, but he does anyway. Hardened Alistair knows that marrying Anora is politically advantageous and prioritizes that over his personal desire to enact his vengeance, though he makes it clear to the Warden that his personal feelings on the matter have absolutely not changed.

Hardened Alistair goes along with marrying Anora after Loghain is spared and leaves the party, unhappy with the Warden’s choice to spare Loghain. If this line alone didn’t make his displeasure clear enough, there’s also this one:

He refers to the Warden’s actions as a betrayal. He’s obviously not happy.

Unhardened Alistair, however, stands his ground and refuses.

Approving of executing Jowan

Another case of a changed tune to go along with what the Warden is doing. Unhardened Alistair actively disapproves of the Warden executing Jowan. We could assume that hardened Alistair is just more pragmatic, or perhaps simply more willing to accept it when the Warden tells him this is what must be done.

There is no Alistair specific dialogue to look at here, just the approval points, so it’s really just a matter of looking at what we know of him and the situation. I would say in general Alistair values life and values mercy. Are there exceptions? Yes. Loghain, for example, whose crimes Alistair has judged worthy of death. Clearly unhardened Alistair does not feel that way about Jowan. Hardened Alistair though? He approves of his execution, but is it because he personally thinks it’s best or is it because he accepts the Warden’s judgment?

I would argue that it’s the latter primarily because it’s completely in line with everything else we’ve seen from hardened Alistair. There really are just no solid cases of hardened Alistair asserting his own will when compared to unhardened Alistair, so I don’t see this case as being any different.

In Review

In each case of behaviors changed by hardening Alistair, we see him putting his own wants and needs on the backburner in favor of an externally imposed sense of duty or to bend to another’s will because he accepts that his personal feelings are irrelevant. I’d go as far as to say that hardening is really a misnomer, because what we’re really looking at would be better called resignation.

I actually didn’t include every single line I found of hardened Alistair expressing the sentiments I’ve laid out in this analysis because I didn’t want it to be too long, but there is more in the game. Now I will get into less concrete analysis and a bit more of an explanation of my own personal opinions on hardening.

Aside from looking at what hardening actually means for Alistair, we can also question its necessity. Do you need to do it if you want to do certain things in Origins (threesome, mistress ending, etc.)? Yes. But I often see people argue that hardening Alistair is necessary for him to grow or mature as a person, and I completely disagree.

My personal opinion is that hardening Alistair is neither necessary nor kind.

In terms of helping Alistair to grow as a person, I maintain that Alistair will become more naturally “hardened”, or more accurately, he will mature on his own if you give him the chance to do so. Why do I say so? Look at Alistair in Inquisition. That is not the same idealistic young man we see in Origins, and this remains true regardless of hardening status. Whether it’s Warden Alistair or King Alistair, he’s clearly grown and changed.

Sure, you can mod the game to make the hardening dialogue more palatable, but that’s an entirely different discussion. As is, you’re required to essentially kick him when he’s down, and I simply do not find it to be necessary for his own personal development.

If it’s not already completely obvious by me doing all of this in the first place, I really, really love Alistair. Of course I’m quite settled and happy as an unhardened Warden Alistair truther, but I’m always happy to discuss and debate. I’m very interested in any thoughts you might have, whether you agree with my assessment or not (as long as you’re nice).

Thank you for reading my (almost sickeningly thorough) little analysis if you made it this far!

As a treat (or unhardened Warden Ali propaganda depending on your perspective), here's my Warden, miss Neria Surana with her very happy unhardened Warden husband:

[colinrobinsonscardigan]

A Needlessly Thorough Examination of Raphael’s Diary Entries

A close reading by ✨me✨

-

Raphael’s diary entries are, without a doubt, some of, if not my favourite piece of video game flavour text, ever. They provide far more depth to our encounters with him in the game, an insight into his horrible little brain, and detail his downfall in three acts.

This close reading seeks to pick apart the entries, and see what they allow us to glean about this evil doom-seeking-missile of a man, starting with…

ENTRY 1

“[A chapter from a diary penned in Raphael's sybaritic hand].”

So right off the bat, this one line does a lot. His handwriting being described as ‘sybaritic’ is delightful: it’s not just neat, it’s not just nice, it’s luxurious—this is no utilitarian affair. Raphael consistently surrounds himself with fine things, so it’s unsurprising his hand reflects this, he probably wrote all these entries with a silver-nibbed, peacock feather quill or something.

It’s also notable that it’s not ‘a sybaratic hand’ it’s Raphael’s: his handwriting is distinctive. As someone who wants to be king of the Hells, and then the entire multiverse, it’s unsurprising that he wouldn’t want his handwriting to get mixed up with anyone else’s.

Lastly, this sets up a clear precedent for what Raphael’s handwriting normally looks like.


“While I have (over many a sumptuous season) cast the net of my contractual predilections both far and wide, never have I been so attracted to mortals as I am to those infested by the tadpole.”

First of all, and most obviously, his choice of words really is something: “sumptuous”, “contractual predilections”, as with his dialogue Raphael writes like he swallowed a thesaurus. Notable, however, is that this is a diary: this is private, he isn’t speaking like this to impress someone.

Whilst I do think Raphael likes to think of himself as a bit of an intellectual, it also alludes to his love of words. He’s constantly reciting poetry (his, perhaps?), Yurgir’s contract takes the form of a song, he has a giant fully stocked library. It’s showy, obviously, but I do think it displays an earnest passion for language.

This is furthered by the consideration for how his writing sounds. The sibilance (I got my Nat 5 English!) in “sumptuous season” especially displays obvious intention in regards to sound, perhaps shared by the repeated ‘ck’ sound in “contractual predilections”. This all serves to reinforce that Raphael’s love for poetry and music is more than just for appearances.

This is firmly headcanon territory, but I do wonder if Raph’s preference for poetry, music, and plays (see his frequent references to theatre), which are usually spoken aloud, are an attempt to distance himself from his father, Mephistopheles, who is basically Hell’s No 1 Wizard, and therefor almost certainly a book-guy.

Second of all, in terms of the actual things that he’s saying, Raphael essentially conveys that he finds those infected by mind flayer tadpoles unusually interesting, which I think is indicative of Raphael’s love of struggle.

He finds Hope fascinating because she’ll never bend to his will; he outright says Act 1 “I like it when my clients out up a fight, only to realise victory was never an option”; he picks up Mol and rejects Voss in Act 2, yes, because Mol is desperate and Voss has little to offer, but I suspect it’s in part because he respects Mol’s struggle, and objects to Voss’ pursuit of what he sees as an easy answer. He won’t even let you make a contract with him following his offer in Act 1! Dude this is literally your job!!!

So yes, undoubtedly the reason he finds the victims of ceremorphosis so interesting is because they are struggling against the inevitable. I also, and this is purely headcanon, wonder if this reflects the belief that he has set himself apart from his father and forged his own path, rather than accepting his nepo-baby status. Who knows!

This section also sets up the fishing metaphor he uses consistently through his diary entries, because of course he has an allegorical through-line in his own private diary.


“These particular fish find themselves splashing towards their doom, towards a steel hook unblemished by bait. How they resist the current! How inexorable its whelm, its tug, its dark undertow! At the other end of the fishing pole, the illithid. How their tentacles must quiver like cooled jelly at the prospect of more catches: more and more each day along the troubled riverbank. This process has a name I sample now aloud, to saver its taste: Ceremorphosis.”

Minor notes: the alliteration in “unblemished by bait”, and Raphael’s remark that “I sample now aloud, to saver its taste” do continue to emphasise his love of performed language.

“These particular fish find themselves splashing towards their doom, towards a steel hook unblemished by bait.” I would assume this is a reference to the fact that in order to take/corrupt mortal’s souls and take them to the Hells so they can become Devils themselves, Devils must make deals. This isn’t something illithids must do.

“How they resist the current! How inexorable its whelm, its tug, its dark undertow!” Continues Raphael’s delight in struggle.

“At the other end of the fishing pole, the illithid. How their tentacles must quiver like cooled jelly at the prospect of more catches: more and more each day along the troubled riverbank.” I feel that Raphael’s choice of “cooled jelly”, a slightly gross sounding comparison, does betray some level of disgust, disdain, or even just plain weirding-out at the notion of illithids. Remember, this the same man who brought us “sumptuous seasons”, he could have gone with something more appealing.

I personally just think he finds them icky, but maybe he’s trying to place them beneath himself: ‘yes, you kind of do the same thing I do, and maybe you do it in a more efficient manner, but I’m a lot cooler about it’. Who knows?

“I shall make crafty use of this development.”

Not much to say besides “crafty” definitely fitting with his perception of himself as a fox*: a cunning, resourceful creature. Raphael in general has an extremely high view of himself (sometimes to slightly deluded extremes) so this reinforces it, and I think it’s kind of funny.

*when Raphael meets the player, he recites the poem

“The mouse smiled brightly, it outfoxed the cat

Then down came the claw, and that, love, was that.”

If asked whether he’s the cat or the mouse, Raphael will answer ‘the fox’.


“For with the hook glinting, and death so close, what could loom larger in the stricken fish's mind than the prospect of rescue?”

So, amongst Raphael’s fixations, another which stands out maybe a little less but once you see it you can’t unsee it, is his love of perceiving himself as a saviour. He describes himself as “helper of the hopeless and despairing”, even here he picks ‘rescue’ over say ‘help’, which I (subjectively) feel has less knight in shining armour connotations. And of course let us not forget the ever-iconic "Am I a friend? Potentially. An adversary? Conceivably. A saviour? Now that's for certain".

To be absolutely clear, this is not a benevolent interest, getting people out of doomed situations is generally implied to be how he makes most of his contracts (including how he tries to, or does, make a contract with Tav). He is a saviour who takes complete and total advantage of those he “””saves”””. That said, idk, it’s an interesting thing for him to mention so frequently, and I wonder to what extent he believes it.

Still, for his possible misgivings regarding mindflayers, his final line confirms he finds ceremorphosis fascinating. “This process has a name I sample now aloud, to saver its taste: Ceremorphosis.” Perhaps because it’s very different to what do Devils, undoubtedly a little because he enjoys the struggle against the inevitable, and because, to dip wayyyy back into headcanon territory, I think it’s an erasure of the self that he finds morbidly fascinating.

Ceremorphosis, an assimilation into a hive-mind, stands starkly against the sort of prideful individualism that Raphael revels in. He wants to be King of the Hells! He wants to be the saviour! He wants to be the specialist little boy that ever lived! But becoming a mindflayer wipes out who you were, links you up to a collective consciousness, and makes you identical, cookie-cutter, incapable of going against the grain. You cannot be Hell’s specialist little boy if everyone else is just as special as you.

I think the idea of becoming a mindflayer scares him, but becaus it’s not happening to him, he finds it morbidly fascinating. It’s a bit like body horror having a tendency to appeal to those with negative/complicatef relationship with their own bodies, it’s seeing your worst fears played out whilst you’re totally safe. That said, where they did not actually turn Demi Moore into a horrible two-faced abomination for The Substance (as far as I’m aware) this is a real thing happening to real people, so it’s a little more fucked up that Raphael takes pleasure in it.

-

The only closing note I have on Entry 1, is that fishing as a choice of metaphor is important because it’s a very tranquil, very methodical form of hunting. You are not stalking your prey through the undergrowth, prey which has the chance to flee if they hear you, or you miss your shot; you are sitting back and luring your prey, and once it has bitten down on your hook it can thrash and thrash but is unlikely to get free. Fishing is even often regarded as a way to relax. This reflects the mindflayers’ and Raphael’s remove from their prey, and their relative positions of safety.

Uh, RIP king you would have loved Shakespeare.

———

ENTRY 2

Entry 2 is by far the weirdest, but it’s also probably my favourite. I will say that this whole entry, to my mind, is not supposed to tell a clear narrative (i.e. the fire represents Mephistopheles, the hooks represent his plans, etc. and when you slot those in you get a coherent story). I think it’s more representative of Raphael’s subconscious fears, and the forces he feels are acting upon him.

“[A chapter from a diary penned in Raphael's steady, imperious scrawl]”

Right in with entry 2, even before you’ve got the actual content, there’s an obvious tone difference from the previous entry. ‘Steady and imperious’ implies a lot less enjoyment than ‘sybaritic’. It’s a little more practical, there’s less flair, maybe even implying tension in the usually flamboyant cambion. ‘Scrawl’ is perhaps also a little less grandiose than ‘hand’ in terms of word choice. Still, it is collected: Raphael hasn’t gone off the deep end - yet.


“Last night I dreamt of a river. Waist-deep I waded it. Rusted hooks curled up from the water like the snaggled teeth of something ancient and diseased and submerged. The moon over the water cracked and fire flew out on the stubby wings of gormless insanely chirping chicks. They transformed into wriggling oblongs like sperm, yet by the time they hit the water they were fish with scales of orange and gold. There came a rushing sound, the dark water ablaze as if the fish were matches and the river a snake of oil. Approaching me out of the flames came the tadpole-infested. There was one among them who spoke for the rest. They gestured to the melting hooks, suddenly glanced my way, and in their face I saw they had the best of me.”

Because this paragraph is quite big, I’m going to go through it section by section for ease of reading. I would also like to point out the paragraph’s size as a possible indicator of Raphael’s descent. This is a man who delights in language, and takes pride in the way his diary is written: a structureless unburdening this not. Entry 1 has several, mostly even, short-ish paragraphs. This block of text evokes an unbroken stream of consciousness.

“Last night I dreamt of a river. Waist-deep I waded it.” These two sentences immediately place Raphael in the previous domain of the infected. Where before Raphael was the fisherman, casting his net, now he’s right in there with the fish. “Waist-deep” is also pretty deep, if you’re waist deep in a river, especially a fast moving one, you are very much at the mercy of the water. Does this represent that he feels he’s losing control over his situation? Mayhaps.

“Rusted hooks curled up from the water like the snaggled teeth of something ancient and diseased and submerged.” There are, I think, two main ways of interpreting this, but regardless this furthers Raphael being placed in the position of the fish (the en-tadpoled), no longer the hunter but the prey. Where before Raphael was either the fisherman, or a safe and removed observer, he is now in the shit with Tav and the gang. He is now in danger of being caught.

The first way of interpreting this line is that he has grown tangled in his own (and others’) metaphorical nets. He suspects (perhaps unconsciously, and almost certainly correctly if you’re rifling through his pockets) that Tav and Co, the increasingly powerful gaggle of oddballs, are going to turn against him.

He’s also battling with the Emperor, who has its own goals, and Most Certainly Does Not want Tav and Co making deals with Raphael, and is also actively subduing the threat of ceremorphosis, which was Raphael’s former point of leverage.

This also to say nothing of the rogue elements, like Gorthash and Helsik, whom Korilla accuses of spreading the word that Raphael has the Orphic hammer.

Raph may be beginning to wonder if he’s bitten off more than he can chew.

Speaking of chewing, based off Raphael’s allusion to “snaggeled teeth”, the other main interpretation I see is Raphael’s subconscious fear of being eaten. If you look in a crystal ball in the second floor of the Devil’s fee after you murder Raphael in his home, the Narrator informs you ��*Within the ball you see Raphael, broken and bloody, dangling above the maw of the archdevil Mephistopheles, who is preparing to devour him.*”

Raphael’s mention of teeth could indicate this is a fate he already suspects will befall him if he fails, whether because it’s something Mephistopheles has threatened him with in the past, or because he’s seen the same fate befall others who incur his father’s wrath. It is notable that Mephistopheles is well known for killing those Devils in his court who threaten to exceed him, and it’s possible Larian feels that consumption is an appropriate execution method for a Devil as hungry for power as Mephistopheles.

I should clarify that I don’t think the hooks represent his father, rather that his choice to compare them to “snaggled teeth” indicates being eaten is one his mind (and not in a fun, sexy way!).

I think both these interpretations are valid. This whole entry is probably the most up to interpretation of all of them, and if you disagree with both these readings and/or have your own, please put it in the notes, I would love to hear.

“The moon over the water cracked and fire flew out on the stubby wings of gormless insanely chirping chicks. They transformed into wriggling oblongs like sperm, yet by the time they hit the water they were fish with scales of orange and gold. There came a rushing sound, the dark water ablaze as if the fish were matches and the river a snake of oil.”

This is a passage I am a little hard pushed to interpret, and I am certain other people are going to have different readings.

The chicks turned sperm, turned fish are almost certainly supposed to represent the tadpole infected, as indicated by the reference to fish (something Raphael previously compared the tadpole infected to in Entry 1) and sperm, something that the tadpoles do kind of resemble. The transformation from ‘gormless chicks’, a freshly hatched - flightless animal of little danger - to fish - something adapted to their marine environment- could perhaps represent Raphael’s fear that Tav and Co are growing more competent than he’d like.

I think that here fire implies Raphael’s own fears about his father. Mephistopheles is literally called the Lord of Hellfire, both for his fiery temper but also because one of the lates in Mephistopheles’ long line of arcane interests is hellfire. Mephista, the main city in Cania and where Mephistopheles resides is also often remarked upon for its warm, blazing hearths. Tldr, Mephistopheles is closely tied to fire, and it seems unlikely that Larian’s writers would have included such a prominent reference to fire without this in mind.

This doesn’t literally means that Raphael thinks Tav and Co are being aided by daddy-dearest, though Haarlep (gifted to Raphael by Mephistopheles) can end up a great ally to you in the House of Hope, rather that his father’s possible influence, or just his father in general, are on his mind.

Finally, the burning of the river is the transformation of his previously tranquil hunting grounds into something dangerous and volatile. Comparing the river to burning oil brings to mind a loss of control, something Raphael is averse to (before he fights Tav in the House of Hope he complains about their bringing chaos into his house). Raphael likes method, order, a fishing rod and bait, he doesn’t hunt his prey with oil and flame. His river no longer serves him.

“Approaching me out of the flames came the tadpole-infested. There was one among them who spoke for the rest. They gestured to the melting hooks, suddenly glanced my way, and in their face I saw they had the best of me.”

This section outright states Raphael’s fears of being bested. Out of the burning wreck of Raphael’s domain comes Tav and Co. The hooks (Raphael’s schemes and traps) are melting in the heat of the burning river. The leader, presumably Tav themself, has defeated him. This is Raphael’s worst-case scenario.


“In waking, my courage has firmed. I progress my plans for the tadpoled even now.

I am Raphael. I am not easily bested.”

For all the tomfoolery of the rest of the entry, these might be my favourite lines. Raphael dreams all of that, goes ‘nope! Not listening!’ and shoves it back down into the depths of his subconscious. No doubts to see here, folks! Because of course he is Raphael, and Raphael doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t fear, “retreat begets regret” as he once said to Mol, and he is not about to have his ambition checked.

“I am Raphael. I am not easily bested” is such a brazen display of arrogance, but paired with the entry we just read it feels more like he’s painting over the cracks. I don’t think that Raphael can admit the possibility of failing to himself, at least not consciously, but he’s kind of increasingly - though subconsciously - aware that it is a distinct possibility.

But also, he writes all of this down! For all his pomp at the end, he does not write ‘I had this really weird dream about a burning river but it probably means nothing lol. Anyway, here’s how my dastardly and most ingeniously constructed schemes are coming along.’ Raphael, is, in his own way beginning to doubt himself, which is fantastic because when you see him in the game he never comes across as anything less than 100% confident. He is bluffing, regardless of how much he would like to admit that to himself, and it adds a lot more depth to your encounters with him.

Fantastic! Peak flavour text! Amazing soup, Larian!

———

ENTRY 3

And so, this brings us finally onto Entry 3, and though I think Entry 2 is my favourite because I like my men pathetic and suffering, Entry 3 100% ends things with a bang.

“[The final chapter from a diary penned in Raphael's hand. Here and there his composed hand stiffens and moves erratically, as if he were by times seized by emotion both powerful and unexpected]”

This is it, folks! The culmination of our Raphael handwriting arc. Immediately, his hand is no longer ‘sybaritic’, not even ‘steady and imperious’ it is just his handwriting.

Furthermore, there is one thing Raphael seldom is (outside of brief bursts of quickly concealed anger) it is ‘erratic’. The handwriting and language in the first entry displays a level of care that goes into his diary, care which he has obviously been unable to maintain. Call this man officially ruffled. We have been told that Raphael is not his usual self.

“The plot thickens goes the aphorism - entirely inadequate. The plot mutates. It fluctuates. I have conceived no less than thirteen variations by which I might seize the Crown of Karsus. Yet in the tumult of this eternally flowing river of schemes, I, the most careful of fishermen, finds his catch elusive and difficult to wrangle. Even in cooperation such ambiguity and delicious surprise! But the hook has snagged, the doom of ceremorphosis has abated, yet they could not predict (could they? could they?) that in leaving behind the river they have in fact welcomed the fishbowl? I am master here. A prince of bargains cloaked like scarlet satin. All that hidden under sublimely obvious truths that cannot be discounted.”

Here again we get another large text block. Again, this diary is becoming less and less a leisure activity and more a confidante.


“The plot thickens goes the aphorism - entirely inadequate. The plot mutates. It fluctuates.” ‘Mutates’, ‘fluctuates’, these are not the words chosen by a man who is in control. ‘Mutates’ stands out especially because of its more organic connotations, the plot is alive and sick, something that undoubtedly does not appeal to the control-loving Raphael.

Also note the short sentences: these increase the tempo of the writing, like a quickening beat in music, as well as standing out as odd from the usually verbose Raphael. The staccato sentences convey a feeling of intensity, stress.

“I have conceived no less than thirteen variations by which I might seize the Crown of Karsus.” So we don’t know what Raphael’s typical number of contingencies is, but his use of “no less than” would seem to imply this is a lot for him. It could imply he is worried, and it could also be a form of self-reassurance - ‘I have devised so many ways by which I might gain the crown, surely I must succeed’ - I suspect it is a bit of both.

“Yet in the tumult of this eternally flowing river of schemes, I, the most careful of fishermen, finds his catch elusive and difficult to wrangle. Even in cooperation such ambiguity and delicious surprise!” He’s having difficulties, obviously, but Raphael of course delights in struggle, as he always does. I do think that Raphael found his battle for the Crown exciting, at least on a surface level, but I also suspect that this stroking of his own ego, describing himself as “the most careful of fishermen,” is similar to when he says he’s ‘not easily bested’ at the end of Entry 2. Yes, he believes it, he’s so far up his own arse he can probably see daylight again, but he’s also trying to reassure himself.

“But the hook has snagged, the doom of ceremorphosis has abated, yet they could not predict (could they? could they?) that in leaving behind the river they have in fact welcomed the fishbowl?” Raphael, at this point, sounds manic. “(could they? could they?)” marks the return of the short sentences, and also clearly expresses doubt: Raphael fears that he’s met his match. I’m also fairly certain the second ‘could’ should be capitalised, and if so, I feel that Raphael would have to be in a fairly dire state of mind to let slide poor punctuation.

His metaphors are also growing more strained. “in leaving behind the river they have in fact welcomed the fishbowl?” It gets his point across, but it’s not elegant, he’s stretching. Are you wanting Tav and Co as pets now, Raph? I thought you were hunting them.

This is also Raphael acknowledging that he has lost his original bargaining chip - the offer of saving Tav and Co from ceremorphosis - but he tries to reassure himself that they’re out of the frying pan and into the fire.

“I am master here. A prince of bargains cloaked like scarlet satin. All that hidden under sublimely obvious truths that cannot be discounted.”

See here the further boasting. This is Raphael at his most nervous, and it’s also when he’s the most self-aggrandising. He wouldn’t feel the need to clarify that he’s the ‘master’, that he’s in control, if he didn’t feel that control slipping. If you heard someone describe themself as “A prince of bargains cloaked like scarlet satin.” you would laugh, because it is a fundamentally ridiculous thing to say about yourself, and yet here he is, committing it to paper.

Having “All that hidden under sublimely obvious truths that cannot be discounted.” as a separate sentence is possibly for rhythmic reasons, but given the subject hasn’t changed, it should grammatically speaking definitely just be the same sentence as ‘scarlet satin’. Raphael’s punctuation has taken a wee bit of a nose-dive, which is absolutely deliberate. It is also a second, fundamentally ridiculous thing to say about oneself. On all levels possibly including physical, Raphael is white-knuckle gripping the bathroom sink as he goes through the world’s most absurd list of daily affirmations.


“So the fisherman reels! The tadpoled are my catch. Struggle as they might, writhe as they wish, flop and squirm and thresh with every ounce of strength, no matter.”

Return of the fishing metaphor, but Raphael has presumably dropped his previous ‘fishbowl’ comparison, unless we are to believe he’s casting his line into a fish-tank. There are two short sentences, followed by one very broken up one, which serves to ratchet up the tempo and tension before the final line. Raphael continues to try and convince himself of the inevitability of his victory, because surely he can’t fail.


“By all the reeking flames of Hell I will not be denied.”

What a closing line. Were I more trite, I might be tempted to call this bratty: to be clear, I do not believe he was spoilt by Mephistopheles, but his initial station as son of the Lord of the Eighth must have earned Raphael a certain level of entitlement, and the sheer magnitude of his ambition undoubtedly would have done the rest. Raphael will not allow himself to entertain the idea of failure, not least of all because he probably suspects that defeat would cost him more than the centuries of sunk time and energy.

-

My closing notes on Raphael’s final entry, is to point out how starkly it contrast with the first. Entry 1’s closing remark, “This process has a name I sample now aloud, to saver its taste: Ceremorphosis.” is an especially poignant comparison: he is savouring, he is taking his time. Compare this to Entry 3, which is rushed, impassioned, manic, and dare I say just a little bit scared.

The last entry also casts a whole new light on your final encounter with him in the game if you decide to kill him. That’s the first time you see him properly angry in the game (he quickly recovers himself if you accuse him of being scared of Yurgir in Act 2), and almost unprompted compares Tav to ‘doomed Karsus’: projecting much?

This entry shows us what was roiling beneath the surface to cause his agitation, and definitely gives an edge of desperation to Raphael’s final act. Perhaps that’s even why calls on Yurgir to aid him in his fight, someone you can make your ally instead, for a - granted, quite challenging - persuasion check, another of Raphael’s schemes you can turn against him.

———

Overall, Raphael’s diary entries serve to both reinforce and subvert what he see of him during encounters, and allow us a glimpse beneath the mask of a character who is always performing. Where Raphael wants Tav to see a cunning negotiator and saviour, one later catch seemingly completely off-guard, the diary entries paint the picture of a man driven to mania by his own ambition, and subsequently caught on the hook of his own line, then devoured.

Anyway, I do have more things I could say about Raphael’s fucked up little brain, but I think I’ll save that for another post, because this one is already pretty long.

Please, please share your own thoughts about this examination. The diary has been rattling about the echo-chamber of my own brain for weeks, so undoubtedly I have missed/misinterpreted things.

[jstor]

I saw something about generative AI on JSTOR. Can you confirm whether you really are implementing it and explain why? I’m pretty sure most of your userbase hates AI.

A generative AI/machine learning research tool on JSTOR is currently in beta, meaning that it's not fully integrated into the platform. This is an opportunity to determine how this technology may be helpful in parsing through dense academic texts to make them more accessible and gauge their relevancy.

To JSTOR, this is primarily a learning experience. We're looking at how beta users are engaging with the tool and the results that the tool is producing to get a sense of its place in academia.

In order to understand what we're doing a bit more, it may help to take a look at what the tool actually does. From a recent blog post:

Content evaluation

Problem: Traditionally, researchers rely on metadata, abstracts, and the first few pages of an article to evaluate its relevance to their work. In humanities and social sciences scholarship, which makes up the majority of JSTOR’s content, many items lack abstracts, meaning scholars in these areas (who in turn are our core cohort of users) have one less option for efficient evaluation. 

When using a traditional keyword search in a scholarly database, a query might return thousands of articles that a user needs significant time and considerable skill to wade through, simply to ascertain which might in fact be relevant to what they’re looking for, before beginning their search in earnest.

Solution: We’ve introduced two capabilities to help make evaluation more efficient, with the aim of opening the researcher’s time for deeper reading and analysis:

Summarize, which appears in the tool interface as “What is this text about,” provides users with concise descriptions of key document points. On the back-end, we’ve optimized the Large Language Model (LLM) prompt for a concise but thorough response, taking on the task of prompt engineering for the user by providing advanced direction to:

Extract the background, purpose, and motivations of the text provided.

Capture the intent of the author without drawing conclusions.

Limit the response to a short paragraph to provide the most important ideas presented in the text.

Search term context is automatically generated as soon as a user opens a text from search results, and provides information on how that text relates to the search terms the user has used. Whereas the summary allows the user to quickly assess what the item is about, this feature takes evaluation to the next level by automatically telling the user how the item is related to their search query, streamlining the evaluation process.

Discovering new paths for exploration

Problem: Once a researcher has discovered content of value to their work, it’s not always easy to know where to go from there. While JSTOR provides some resources, including a “Cited by” list as well as related texts and images, these pathways are limited in scope and not available for all texts. Especially for novice researchers, or those just getting started on a new project or exploring a novel area of literature, it can be needlessly difficult and frustrating to gain traction. 

Solution: Two capabilities make further exploration less cumbersome, paving a smoother path for researchers to follow a line of inquiry:

Recommended topics are designed to assist users, particularly those who may be less familiar with certain concepts, by helping them identify additional search terms or refine and narrow their existing searches. This feature generates a list of up to 10 potential related search queries based on the document’s content. Researchers can simply click to run these searches.

Related content empowers users in two significant ways. First, it aids in quickly assessing the relevance of the current item by presenting a list of up to 10 conceptually similar items on JSTOR. This allows users to gauge the document’s helpfulness based on its relation to other relevant content. Second, this feature provides a pathway to more content, especially materials that may not have surfaced in the initial search. By generating a list of related items, complete with metadata and direct links, users can extend their research journey, uncovering additional sources that align with their interests and questions.

Supporting comprehension

Problem: You think you have found something that could be helpful for your work. It’s time to settle in and read the full document… working through the details, making sure they make sense, figuring out how they fit into your thesis, etc. This all takes time and can be tedious, especially when working through many items. 

Solution: To help ensure that users find high quality items, the tool incorporates a conversational element that allows users to query specific points of interest. This functionality, reminiscent of CTRL+F but for concepts, offers a quicker alternative to reading through lengthy documents. 

By asking questions that can be answered by the text, users receive responses only if the information is present. The conversational interface adds an accessibility layer as well, making the tool more user-friendly and tailored to the diverse needs of the JSTOR user community.

Credibility and source transparency

We knew that, for an AI-powered tool to truly address user problems, it would need to be held to extremely high standards of credibility and transparency. On the credibility side, JSTOR’s AI tool uses only the content of the item being viewed to generate answers to questions, effectively reducing hallucinations and misinformation. 

On the transparency front, responses include inline references that highlight the specific snippet of text used, along with a link to the source page. This makes it clear to the user where the response came from (and that it is a credible source) and also helps them find the most relevant parts of the text. 

[superconductivebean]

#1593: kind of a rant on the am

A video appeared in my feed. A Needlessly Thorough Look At HL. Very interesting, I though. This rant isn't directed at the video itself nor the author. I'm sighing at the narrative lead of the game, so, yeah.

I'm also going to be straight: I don't take Mоira's explanation for The CanonTM because it creates a lot of conflicting stances; the second paragraph will be self-explanatory enough, as it's obviously a speech needed for the press. Still.

What the video mentions:

Ancient Magic of the books was ancient in the sense it was rare, often forgotten, complex, or unfathomably dangerous.

Understanding it as existing somewhere on the meta level, aka something only the selected few can interact with yet it explains so a lot, means Mоira Squiеr perhaps understands abstract concepts such as Ancient Magic of the Books on the same level many redditors understood the concept of the Backroоms.

The Backroоm is the Sartre's nothingness. It scares us, because we expect an open field or an open space, like a well-maintained office or a parkin lot, or at least, them being not decrepit that it's obvious they have been abandoned, to naturally have people. Their absence, the quietness, the stillness of the air, all frighten us and sharp our senses.

We fear the vacancy of presence. We dislike being stranded—*alone*.

The Backrooms don't require monsters, almond water, battery packs and other useless items, nor they are a quest. The only thing needed is to realise you fear the inability to describe what you are seeing—to face the most primordial of fears that created us gods and demons.

The *feeling* of unknown that wants to be soothed by a fairy tale.

Ancient Magic, if you look at it like this, looses all charm and purpose and creates another Redditor's Backrоom.

AM wasn't created as an entity of its own—after all, the Backrоoms have few more settings which do work with the original premise. It was thought about as of a kind of an over-explanation and an over-complication for the sake of the…

I will try to explain most eloquently.

Was his ability to control others drawing an Ancient Magic?

When faced with something seemingly inexplicable, she pulls the card conspiracy theories enjoyers like to pull—the All-Explanation Mysterious Force Or Entity.

Ancient peoples build pyramids, but how, must be aliens. Ancient peoples built terrace farms, but how, must be giants. Architecture looks kind of same-y in different cities and towns, but how can it possibly be, must be Fomenko's "Tartаria".

I hope we see the pattern: Grindеwald was amazing and powerful, but how so, if not more wizards we know were, besides Tom maybe, so it must have been the so-called Ancient Magic and not his outstanding ability that made him the formidable wizards and enough power to potentially overthrow the Stаtute of Sеcrecy?

But it has been his skill. Tоm Riddlе was also amazing and incredible at magic. Olivаnders are amazing and incredulous at magic. Hаrry Pоtter, the boy who could cast without incantations, who fought the Dark Lord alone, was able to connect the wands with the rarest spell Priori Incantatum, was seemingly born into becoming a powerful and strong, combat-smart wizards—because he *was*. And the list goes on. Neither of those people had an all-mighty meta-planaric ability.

They all had skill. Trained, grown, groomed, and put to shine.

Calling it Ancient Magic means to disregard the effort, the study, and the dedication; it's equating skill with talent—as if it's an innate ability to be able to pull through challenge after challenge.

And so you lost it the moment you have introduced a very gimmicky kind of magic only the selected few could wield, of whom nobody remembers. Brilliant.

So how to fix it?

Maybe creating a disambiguation. Ancient Magic of Lily Pоtter's is Ancient because it is exceptionally rare. But Ancient Magic of MC's is Ancient because it is the ability to sense certain aspects of magic better than most—and by that I mean, be magick itself in the same way The Eldеr Scrоlls' protagonists are the avatars of Lоrkhan or the same way the Outsidеr picks his chosen.

The magic does not need to be doubled.

It is magical enough to manifest however it pleases.

Magic is magic. Only its manifestations are ancient or modern.

[ttrpgcafe]

Heya! TTRPG trick or treat, please! 🎃👻

This one's got a backstory, so stick with me.

When I first got into TTRPGs, I learned about the big 6: D&D, Pathfinder, CoC, Cyberpunk, WoD, and Shadowrun. Of those, I've still, to this day, only played 5, and Shadowrun has remained the odd man out, despite having probably my favorite setting of all of them after Pathfinder. Part of this is its reputation for being a really crunchy game, keeping me from getting players, and part of it was that it's a very crunchy game that explains its rules SO POORLY (in recent editions at least, I'm told 3rd is the best in this department) that I couldn't even really convince my friends to get over the hump because it's hard for ME to grok the rules.

For well over a decade, Shadowrun has been my white whale, always on my shelf, never my table. So I did what any other well meaning TTRPG player does when they have a setting they like but a system for that setting they hate: I looked at every hack on the planet for every other system.

So here's your treat: every Shadowrun hack I've found!

Up first, Runners in the Shadows by Mark Cleveland:

This is a Forged in the Dark hack for the Shadowrun setting that is probably one of the better ones for emulating the "crew going on heists and doing cool shit" vibes that Shadowrun tries really hard to say is its core. I'm a sucker for FitD games in general, I think the system is *so* elegant, and I struggle to find a system more suited for the setting (SR's own rules included) than Blades, so this one has to go at the top.

With that said, there are still plenty more!

I'm going to give 2 PbtA games a shout out here, the first I've played, the second I haven't, but have heard plenty about.

Up first: City of Mist!

"But that's not a shadowrun hack!" I hear you saying behind your screen, and you're almost right, it technically isn't, BUT it's asymptote certainly approaches shadowrun, for my math nerds out there. This is a game about the (literal) power of stories, about struggles against an unseen and unknowable force trying desperately to remove every semblance of magic from your life, and about the yearning to keep your mundane life despite, or maybe in spite of, your magical adventures. City of Mist proper is a fantastic gritty noir urban fantasy game that works wonderfully as the framework for an early 6th world setting with minor tweaks, but it's sequel: Metro Otherscape, leans into the Shadowrun of it all, adding a 3rd axis along which your character can struggle, being "noise". In Otherscape, you're balancing a mundane, magical, technological life, and trying not to let any of those three overwhelm your being. A lot of cyberpunk games try to say that cybernetics reduce your humanity in one way or another, but I think Otherscape does the best job at embodying that balance in a way that isn't deeply ableist in its messaging. It's ALSO the only PbtA game I actually LIKE.

Hot take: I can't stand Moves, they annoy me to no end, and needlessly complicate an otherwise brilliant system. I might make a follow up post if anyone wants to hear my deeply bad take, but for now, just know that I'm a ttrpg heretic, and we can move on.

Otherscape completely does away with moves, and instead just lets the MC and the players decide whatever is most relevant to the action being attempted! It solves almost every problem I've ever had with PbtA games, AND kicks ass as a shadowrun stand-in, so this also deserves a place at or near the top.

Second PbtA game: Shadowrun in The Sprawl. This one is a hack of The Sprawl, a PbtA cyberpunk game in its own right, SRiTS adds the setting and magic of SR to its formula, and that's all I know about either system, due to my aforementioned PbtA-phobia. I've included this one for thoroughness, not because I have any stake in it.

Most of the other hacks I've seen use generic systems like Fate, Savage World, Cypher system, Genesys, and a hero system hack I've heard a bit about but can't find anywhere. All of this is to say that there is a wealth of options for generic systems that try to emulate SR, and most of them are fine. The last game I'm going to talk about though uses its own system, its own setting, and manages to be completely, utterly unique while capturing the vibes of SR so well that I'm still a little in awe at how well it does all of the above. I'm also not 100% certain it's a particularly good game, but the fact that I'm unsure about it should tell you that it's definitely still better than SR proper, because I KNOW that system is bad.

Without further ado: NewEdo

NewEdo is fascinating to me in that it feels like the same jump from Shadowrun that 3rd edition D&D made from 2e, or even the same kind of jump from 3rd to 4th, where you can clearly see the spine of the game it's evolving, but almost every other part of the system has been changed and improved in new, interesting ways that can still be used to tell VERY similar stories, but has its own identity at the same time. I mentioned that City of Mist is Asymptotic to SR earlier, and I stand by that assessment, but I'd say that NewEdo is closer to a parallel line, or a tangent from SR's line, if we're using the same terminology. To get into the nitty gritty, NE uses a system the author describes as "Crunchy lite easily managed", which amounts to a priority system during character creation very similar to the one SR uses, but with each tier you can select having pretty impactful ramifications for your character going forward. The easiest example is the modifications priority, at its top tier, you basically make a mythical creature into robo cop for your character's ancestry, but at its absolute lowest tier, your body actively rejects any and all implants, such that your character will NEVER have implants. On the same note, cyberware is handled REALLY well, with your body only being able to handle so much at a time, but otherwise the only ramification is a "biofeedback" line on your fate card, which I'll get to right now!

Almost every option your character picks gets added to a little personalized random d100 table on your character sheet called the fate card. This includes your character's crit rate, the possibility of a deity intervening on your behalf, or the aforementioned biofeedback line, which briefly fucks you up as you cyberware malfunctions. You get new lines on your fate card through picking certain character options, making impactful decisions during the story, and otherwise fulfilling the express goals of your character. The entire system kind of hinges on the fate card as a mechanic, which is weird, because I don't think I super love it, as it adds additional rolling to an already pretty dice heavy system.

Which brings me to the dice! New edo uses a d10 as its primary die for dice pools when rolling your characteristics like strength, speed, etc, but the rest of the polyhedral family for your skills. (D20 excluded) The skill system is a little funky, but I like it. Basically, each skill has a rank, which indicates how many dice it has, but each rank is assigned a die, each having a different cost associated with it. So my swordsmanship could be rank 4, but what that really means is that I've got 1d6, 2d4, and a d8 that I get to add to my strength rolls every time I attack with a sword. As far as resolution, you total all of your dice together to try and hit a target number. I don't have the table handy, but it's something like 15 for a moderately challenging task, and up to 40 for a nearly impossible task. I dislike addition in this context because math at the table usually slows things down, but it looks like you're probably only rolling 2-5 dice at a time at the beginning, which isn't *that* bad.

You'll notice that the two major mechanics I've mentioned so far have received pretty luke-warm responses from me, and that sounds like I hate the system, but those aren't that makes me like (\love?) this system is the back end, the choices that happen during character creation, and the things that those choices let you do. Every skill is attached to feats that unlock at different skills, magic is a skill, and its feats unlock better relationships with the Kami in your repertoire (magic is up next, I promise) and your class (path, they call it) doubles as a way to tie your character to the world, with each being associated with an in world faction which gives your character an immediate stake in the world and their community. It's a lot, but it all comes together to make something greater than the sum of its parts.

The last thing I want to talk about is the magic system, because I found it deeply interesting, as it's one of the very few skill based magic systems I've interacted with, and one of my favorites on a narrative level. Instead of spells or spell schools, your character instead develops relationships with Kami, and each new "order" or "type" of Kami your character gets access to represents them finding out how to supplicate, make an offering, or otherwise convince a given Kami to do a certain effect. If you have a relationship with the fire Kami (that's plural, not singular), then your character has learned that their local fire Kami really like a certain type of hot bun, so they offer them that hot bun after a scene where they invoked those kami, to maintain their relationship. Mechanically, this works instantaneously, you simply make a roll on your "Shinpi" skill, invoke whatever "rote" you want to use, and the relationship building is left for the GM and player to work out at the table.

(That's the last I have to say on the game itself, but I would ask anyone who has read the game and is more intimately familiar with Japanese culture to tell me if the game feels respectful to that culture, because I truly don't know, and the book doesn't list any sensitivity consultants. The author is Canadian, but spent many years sailing to and from Japan as a professional sailor, so idk. )

I guess the moral to this post, if there is one, is to acknowledge when a system or setting has faults, but learn from them, and don't ignore the good or cool stuff that's there! It might inspire you to make some amazing shit like City of Mist, Metro Otherscape, or New Edo, all of which, their relationship to Shadowrun aside, are fantastic games in their own right! (NewEdo is still up in the air, but it has its teeth in me, and that has to count for something)

That ends my trick or treat, thanks for asking!

[adonisnt]

vide aurora borealis | meos amor aeternalis.

a skystar fanfic :] || chapter three of twenty !!

notes: skystar meeting for the 'first' time....soooo silly tbh starscream is such a sulky little thing. petulant princess fr. and ohhh skyfire my beloved scientist how dorky and beautiful u are...

song for this chapter: "heaven knows i'm miserable now" by the smiths. i picked it because it felt like such a funny way to describe starscream's misery.

per usual chapter is under the cut :] !!!

Archive 1920118: Starscream’s memory log. Data Source: Rodion, Cyberton. Nine million years ago.

This entire affair is, by far, the most boring thing Starscream has ever experienced, he decides about two or three breems into the first presentation of the conference.

While he was rather pleased to have been invited to the Cybertronian Ministry of Energy and Nutrition’s conference on energon production efficacy and resource acquisition, the other attendees left much to be desired. Seldom few ‘bots had anything of note to say, and those who did were so unbearably unremarkable in looks that the Vosian couldn’t be bothered to remember anything beyond their theses or preliminary findings. The thought of leaving crosses his processor several times, a tantalizing concept as some drab grounder stumbles their way through their presentation on energon synthesis. Unluckily for him, however, not only did he legitimately need to withhold his commentary, he also had to stay for the entire conference. His attendance was an immutable reflection of his influence in Vos’ political sphere and,, as such, he had to keep up appearances, lest his absence harm the city-state’s reputation––and, by extension, his own. 

So Starscream stays.

That said, by the time the final speaker is slated to begin, the Seeker is fully resentful of his status and influence; what good was power if it only made one suffer, he wonders, especially if that one is himself? To be perfectly candid with himself, if he could, he would use that glory to simply leave as he so dearly desires to, but if he chooses to be flighty, then Vos will be seen as unreliable––or, worse, uninformed––and the province would be liable to outside pressure from less refined locales. 

His jaded reverie is rather rudely interrupted by the sound of heavy pede-fall, and he is very obviously sullen when he directs his attention to the holodisplay. Standing alongside it is, quite legitimately, the largest Transformer Starscream has ever seen, save only for the archived images of the Thirteen. While he looks like a needlessly gentle dope, he’s still sturdily built, as far as he can tell, and he’s got confident posture, loosely speaking. Further still, his voice is even somewhat pleasing to the Seeker’s audials, what with its mixed accent and steady intonations––though naturally that voice isn’t even remotely as enjoyable as the sound of other Vosians or the sound of his own. Not wanting to waste energon on such trivial matters, Starscream doesn’t listen to the bot introduce himself, but from what he can observe, the lumbering oaf of a mech appears to know what he’s talking about, even if the subject is only vacantly entertaining. Yes, he seems put together well enough, yet there are obvious marks in the mech’s white armor, scuffs and dents and scratches all signs of damage only a long-travel mech would have, not a small-bearinged and bumbling scholar.

Interesting. 

The final thing that Starscream notices, though, is the bot’s optics. Even as the lights dim to better illuminate the projection he’s pulled up, theTransformer’s optics glow enough to illuminate his face in a somewhat pleasant blue hue.  Much like the jargon-dense and overly-thorough diatribe the shuttle goes on, the patience and thoughtfulness in that gaze is secondary as he studies the other aerialist; has he ever seen optics so bright? Has any other mech noticed the vibrancy and irradiance of that blue light emanating so freely, or was Starscream the first to pick up on it? The smaller flight-frame shifts forward in his seat, peering solely at the presenter and his strange optics, though after only a few astroseconds, he recoils back into his chair, because the big scrapheap is looking back at him, and that easy, once ‘dopey’ gaze is piercing as it fixes on Starscream unapologetically. The Seeker averts his own gaze almost instantly, hostile confusion and insurmountable irritation warring within his frame. The mech does not stop his insufferable staring, though, save only for a few moments during his lecture on xenobiology or whatever it is that sharp-eyed giant prattles on about. 

When the time finally comes for that final presentation to come to a close, Starscream is possibly the first mech out the door, positively Pit-bent on leaving before the strange speaker approaches him. The last thing he wants is to interact with that unblinking anomaly.

Unfortunately, his briskness is rewarded poorly, considering that he collides directly with the presenter as he rounds the corner before the exit. Quick servos come to steady him, the careful touch both surprising and unwelcome. “Ah, my apologies,” the far larger mech says, pulling away as soon as the seeker is steady once more, “I did not see you; I hope you are alright." Starscream waves off both the concern and the apology, and chooses to be rather obvious about his intentions as he tries to look past the mech for an easy exit. But the narrow halls are now more congested than they were only a klik ago, and the other mech is still talking.

“I am happy for the opportunity to speak with you, though,” he says warmly, smiling down at the smaller Transformer, "I apologize for looking at you so intensely during my presentation, but I believe I recognize you from somewhere. Did you attend the Harmonex Institute of––?” Before the giant can finish speaking, Starscream exasperatedly interrupts, says tersely, “No. I don’t know any mech from Harmonex. You’re confusing me for a different ‘bot.” The other Transformer hums thoughtfully, a contemplative look tugging that smile of his into a more neutral expression whilst he considers the idea.

The mech brightens, then, and Starscream’s systems alert him to the stress presently straining his cerebrocircuits. Great. Not only is he entertaining a conversation with a bot with a few wires loose, now he’ll have to do so with a headache.

Fantastic.

"Yes, I was mistaken; I recognize you from the Astrobiology and Deep Space Exploration program, at the Nova Cronum Research Institute,” he says, nodding to himself at the idea, “your name is Starscream, yes? I recall that you gave a presentation once on geo-biographical surveys as they pertained to a specific planet you studied, no? Though I believe you were in a different cohort than I was. I am Skyfire.” Now that gets Starscream to pause, albeit reluctantly. It had been a very long time since he had even thought about his time in Nova Cronum, and even longer since he had actually studied there. Despite skyfire being far too friendly, any ‘bot that could recall the Seeker’s research from so long ago was at least somewhat worth his time, he decides; though it irritates him to do so, he finally looks up to see the other mech, gifting him with his full attention. 

The first thing he notices, upon making eye contact with the oversized scientist, is how vibrant his optics are from such close proximity. 

It’s not that Starscream hasn’t seen such shades of blue before; for Primus’ sake, the color is almost impossible to avoid wherever any mech was on Cybertron, not to mention that Starscream was perpetually greeted by a backdrop of blue every time he took to the skies. In every possible sense, the color was absolutely ordinary to him. And yet…Skyfire’s optics were, unfortunately, anything but ordinary. Granted, he had noticed immediately at first look that there was something different about the luminescence of the other flier’s gaze. By the fragging Pit, that fact had been impossibleto miss, considering how the tall scientist had stared at him incessantly for the last groon and a half. But at this distance, the gleaming blues are, woefully, somewhat stunning. Not that Starscream legitimately cares: the appeal of Skyfire’s gaze was of no concern to him, and surely would, in time, fade from his consciousness. Sharply, he says, “Yes, I am that very same genius. Your memory drive’s data is regrettably accurate.”

The confirmation has Skyfire smiling, the sight of which has Starscream grimacing. “I am glad,” the white ‘bot answers, his sincerity palpable, “to see that you are doing well for yourself. it's fortuitous to see you here, Starscream. If you have the time, and if you can still recall enough of your dissertation, perhaps you could be of some assistance to me. I would be deeply grateful for your insight.” that only gets the smaller ‘bot to scoff, however, his optic ridge knitting in irritation as he sourly asks, “and to what end could I  possibly help you , Skyfire of Harmonex? I’m a very busy mech. My help does not come readily, or freely.”

The answer he receives is stunning, to say the least. 

“I have developed a series of research endeavors––deep space explorations to a number of planets outside of our stellar system,” Skyfire explains, gesturing thoughtfully, “and I could use insight from an expert on geological surveying and electromagnetic activity monitoring. If i am not mistaken, you do not seem to have continued your work, and while I have a list of other possible references, many of them are already off-world and will not return for some time. You are likely my only hope, Starscream.”

Primus. If Skyfire wasn’t inclined towards the sciences, he could make a fine diplomat or politician with that silver tongue of his. But, then, all of what he said had seemed genuine, a sincere display of admiration for Starscream’s intellect….

“You will have one singular groon to explain this mission of yours,” Starscream snaps, pointing a digit at the other mech, “And if i find your cause to be sufficiently…shall we say, ‘mutually beneficial,’ I will consider helping you. One groon, Skyfire. Not a single klik more.” Skyfire merely smiles at the offer, that same gentle disposition on display again, and the two depart readily and make their way to Skyfire’s aparthotel habsuite. 

One groon becomes two. Then four. It’s not until a full decaphase has past that the seeker realizes how long its been, and even then, he is surprised by his own reluctance to leave Rodion––to leave Skyfire. He dismisses his reticence, waves it off as a mix of being inebriated from the engex and overly charmed by the flattery Skyfire gifted him freely. Or, well, he thinks its flattery; the praises seem to be authentic, though Starscream’s internals are a little too preoccupied with the influx of energon for him to care enough about such discernments. They talk seemingly endlessly––or, rather, Starscream talks, mostly, and Skyfire is evidently content with listening––about quite possibly everything, and Starscream finds himself enjoying the researcher’s company more than he’d expected to. 

It is not until late in the solar cycle that they part, Starscream making for his own temporary lodging for the night. Skyfire’s proposal would require more contemplation come morning, but the smaller mech was well aware of his own inclinations to accept. Charity work had never been particularly high on his own list of lifetime achievements, but perhaps starting with the larger mech’s case wouldn’t be so bad. 

Perhaps.

For several arcs after they split ways, Skyfire does not leave Starscream’s processor. It infuriates him to no end, at first, how the shuttle persists in his circuitry, worms into his mind like a scraplet infestation. 

Worst of all, the blue of Skyfire’s optics linger in the Seeker’s thoughts, even when he drifts into recharge.

[1800duckhotline]

could i have all of the ones that apply for my good friends jutta and/or adona bg3 :) no salice shes kinda scaring me today something seems off about her but i cant place what…

protags as companions

... my dumb ass didnt see the readmore, which means i had no fucking idea this was a dragon age specific ask meme. but well the general questions are universal enough . still works. TY for the ask...

and what do you mean my friend... salice is perfectly fine!!!

Anyways let's get on to answering some questions. i'm going to answer some of these for adona, because i haven't thought of jutta in a bit and don't have consistent ideas for her. similarly to this I won't answer some of these for Adona either because I haven't thought deeply enough about them

What would their personal quest look like?

It would probably revolve around her "title" of "Wayward Plague-Witch" and the events that lead to people calling her as such. Adona's sardonic, humorous and avoidant personality is only a small part of the bigger front she works to maintain that segment of her past hidden, and I think it would be interesting to see it broken down through facing a current situation that reflects what she has gone through in the past.

The short of it is that she still hasn't forgiven herself for what happened, even though she was essentially a child with little to no control over her magic skills. A type of questline that culminates in her fundamentally accepting that while the damage was done, if her intent to better herself in order to avoid that again, then it's okay to leave and enjoy life without sacrificing the genuineness she hid so deep in the back of her mind.

While I don't know if it would connect to the bigger plot of the overall game, I think it'd be still complimentary and a nice alternative way to approach a companion quest that's not necessarily based in the grand scheme of things. But something more about how even small events or catastrophes are still, well... tragic.

How would their approval raise? What would make it drop?

Adona loves to troll and joke around, which means sometimes she'll approve of actions/words that mock others just for the sake of having fun and picking on them. That said, she draws her limits at violence (unless it has to be enacted for self defense).

So, something like making fun of someone in distress, would have her approval. Needlessly letting a child be hurt because you think it's funny will make the approval drop.

She also enjoys humor that veers into jabbing at oneself, and enjoys joking about herself and others in a dry manner, which means that if you insult her in a lighthearted/jokey manner her approval will still raise (no weird stuff like insult the fact she's a tiefling, or her gender, and stuff. I mean things like unusual but harmless habits, fashion choices, etc).

Approval Greetings: Low/Medium/High/Romanced

Low:

"Oh, what an honor. You grace me with your presence. What is it?" (said in annoyance)

"(groan) Just make it quick... I've got better things to do than chat. Like tune my lute, for instance. Or pluck my brows."

Medium:

"Why, hello there. You wanted to talk?"

"I imagine you need me for something? Maybe some fashion advice..."

High:

"I paused my beauty routine just for you. Aren't you honored? Well, you should be!"

"Ever at your service, my friend."

Romance:

"My darling? What is it? Everything okay?"

"I'll always make space for you. You just need to ask."

"Oh, aren't you a sweetheart, checking up on me! What can I do for you?"

Do they have location specific dialogue?

Interestingly enough, most of Adona's location-specific dialogue takes place in the Underdark area because, as you may discover thorough said dialogues, her caretaker/adoptive mother was a Drow that escaped to the surface. Initially Adona is skeptical in being specific, but once the memories start flooding, it's hard to stop. She's extremely entranced and passionate about the Underdark, even if Ilphra (said mother figure) rarely spoke well of it. Adona would also take a lot of interest in the Myconid colony and Omeluum and Blurg's activities...

In Baldur's Gate proper, she would have dialogues mostly at the Circus of the Last Days, as well as the Society of Brilliance. The former because, as you may guess, Bard is her second class and she does so much love performance arts; she would have special dialogue with Zara the Mummy because Adona would find her genuinely so cool and entrancing and would spend hours mhhmhing with her if she could. The latter is always due to Ilphra: she remembers her caretaker often mentioning the institution while she was being raised by her, and for a time she wanted to become part of it too. Well... it was a long time ago.

[flavinbagel]

A US Army helicopter crashed into a jet airliner

Everything we've so far seems to suggest that the Army is entirely responsible, and there's things I've learned from the days before this deadly accident that are just shocking.

CW: Mass Casualties.

I mentioned in an earlier post I reblogged that final reports on this incident wouldn't come for a while, that we would have to wait for a thorough investigation and report from the NTSB. For now, though, a lot of important details have been made available just through the recorded Air Traffic Control (ATC) audio regarding the mid-air collision over Washington DC's R**gan National Airport (DCA) between a CRJ-700 regional passenger jet and a Sikorsky UH-60 BlackHawk military helicopter. I firmly believe something is deeply wrong with how the US Army is operating--moreso than usual, I mean.

In this video, an airline captain does a fantastic breakdown of the radio communications/radar screen from this incident, (VIDEO OF THE COLLISION IS SHOWN) helping translate all the chatter and offer his insight. Basically, the Army Blackhawk helicopter was asking for "visual separation" from the tower, meaning it's all on the chopper to look out the window and not hit anything (in sky right-of-way, helicopters must yield to airplanes), and the tower let them do this while asking, "Hey you see that plane that's trying to land, right? Go behind him, ok?" and the chopper said they had the traffic in sight, but it seemed as if they were looking at a whole different plane, much further away. After all, these Army choppers are used to just kinda...doing whatever, and the controllers at DCA know this.

What gives this tragedy a sordid twist is when you see this series of events literally the day before, in which a (different) US Army helicopter very nearly does the same thing to a landing airliner at DCA, triggering the TCAS system on each plane... and then they do it twice more.

TCAS is basically an airplane's "if(goingToCrash){ dont(); }" system, which, if flying planes get close enough, feeds the pilots of both planes on a collision course opposing evasive maneuvers, called an RA. An RA occurring at all is cause for serious scrutiny in any event, because it means something else went terribly wrong. It also sets off alarm bells in the actual control tower. This shit has saved many lives.

In the video from the night before though, you can see the military helicopter ask for visual separation (familiar), fly so close to an airliner that they get an RA, continue flying right up the line of approaching planes, buzz past, and trigger an RA on TWO MORE landing airliners. That's three RAs from the TCAS system, almost like the army guys were playing connect-the-dots.

The following fateful night, this CRJ-700 was exactly where it was supposed to be: turning on a weird short final, focused on the runway, making sure the plane is landing safely without worrying about anyone getting in the way. Once you get low enough to the ground, TCAS shuts off (for complicated but pretty sound reasons) so these helicopter pilots did not have that last line of defense to lean against when they got as close as they did. If what I see is what I think I saw, I am disgusted at the cavalier mentality and behavior of these Army pilots. In the video with the three RAs the helicopter didn't even acknowledge what they'd done (over civilian radio, at least) as three airliners had to fly off and reset their approaches.

Now three Army soldiers and a whole plane full of innocent people, including members of the US figure skating team, have been needlessly killed. Obviously this was an accident, and one from which we will learn, but the more I learn about what happened the angrier I get.

[weirdstrangeandawful]

Part XIV – Family

TW: none (kind of a bland one I'm sorry it gets interesting soon)

Word count: 1979

<-Part XIII – ‘You Can Say No’

Table of contents

Part XV – Ship Things->

The soon-to-be-familiar soft knock of wood on wood accompanying Carroll’s every other step alerts Ethel to Carroll’s presence on the ship and she appears in the hatchway. ‘We’ve got our boatswain back to-day?’

‘Not sure. He says he’s fine, but I want O’Friel to clear him first. Why?’ Carroll shields his face from the glare of the rising sun as it suddenly crests a bank of clouds on the distant horizon.

‘Master’s worried about the weather,’ Ethel explains, ‘It would be good to have the ship looked over before we set off.’

‘Where’s his mate? Have him start and Sinclair can take over if he’s able.’

‘Boatswain’s mate’s already at it, sir.’

‘Of course. Where’s Sinclair?’

‘Right here.’

Rowan’s voice from behind startles Kyte, upsetting his balance on the just-barely-rocking ship and nearly sending his face into the deck if not for Carroll’s arms. Carroll steadies him gently with a smile and a friendly pat on the back.

‘Have you talked to O’Friel yet?’ Carroll inquires, a pointed reminder.

‘I just got here!’ Rowan whines defensively.

‘Fair enough. Where is Helen anyway? It’s not like her not to find something to report.’

‘Dealing with a crew member’s sprained ankle.’ Ethel answers, ‘I’m sure she’ll be up in a moment.’

Carroll pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath. ‘One day. One day with no casualties is all I ask,’ Shaking his head, he looks back up at Ethel, ‘It’s barely five o’clock in the morning, what the bloody hell happened?!’

‘Unclear,’ Ethel voices around the hairpin in her teeth, she pulls it out to tack down an unruly sprig of hair. ‘O’Friel can probably give you more information than I.’

‘Right. Okay.’ Carroll gathers the thoughts swiftly, ‘Chisholm, I trust you know what you’re doing and don’t need my help. Oh, and tell Snowball they can take their time. I’ll always appreciate thorough work over quick work, especially after the last storm.’ He turns to Rowan, ‘And Sinclair, you’re going to see O’Friel before you touch anything on this ship.’

‘Okay,’ Rowan agrees easily, ‘and after that?’

‘Yeah, I’m not an idiot, Rowan. I’m not going to tell you what you are going to do after that or you’re going to try and get a head start. Besides, I have my doubts as to whether Helen should actually clear you. All right, off you go.’

‘You said not to touch anything,’ Rowan starts cheekily, ‘Does that include the hatchway?’

Kyte bursts into stifled laughter at Carroll’s side, sparking a smile from Rowan.

Carroll presses his lips together, failing to contain a smile and looking off into the distance, a hair’s breadth from reciting a prayer. He takes a deep breath. ‘Rowan. You wee dunderheid are going to get your arse down that hatchway without hurting yourself.’

Raising his hands in mock surrender, Rowan hurries over to the hatchway, Carroll and Kyte a few steps behind. Carroll pauses, suddenly unsure.

‘You okay?’ Kyte’s voice is concerned. As is Rowan’s expression peering up from the lower deck.

‘I… yeah…’ Carroll hesitates, ‘I sort of need both hands and…’ He knocks his cane bitterly against a nearby thing.

‘Come on, you’re you: you’ll think of something needlessly complicated!’ Rowan encourages jokingly, ‘I know you will.’

No less than a handful of seconds later, a small twinkle appears in Carroll’s eyes as his gaze lands on a tangle of decommissioned cord laying off to the side. Before Rowan can question his plan or even ask what he’s doing, Carroll fashions a loop in the end just large enough to thread over the cane’s handle.

Then, with absolutely no warning, he tosses it casually down the hatchway.

‘Ow!’ Rowan wines. ‘Dunderheid!’

With a wink, Carroll gently hauls himself down after it. He hops the bottom rung, barely maintaining his balance. Rowan, having already forgiven his assailant, spreads a hand across Carroll’s chest, concernedly helping him recover his balance – and dignity – as Kyte follows down the ladder. Slightly out of breath with laughter, Kyte inquires, ‘‘Dunderheid’?!’

A collective breath of laughter escapes Carroll and Rowan’s (not collective) noses.

‘Means ‘idiot’,’ Carroll explains helpfully, retrieving his cane from the rope and securing the rope out of the way but still reachable for future use.

‘Like every other insult he knows,’ Rowan adds on, rather less helpfully.

‘I learned all my insults from you. Sharing is caring of course. And who are you not to care about your family?’

‘Have you got family?’ Kyte interjects tentatively.

Over Carroll’s shoulder, Rowan freezes slightly and looks over, his gaze fixed on Carroll. He’s listening. His expression is not quite one of concern, more a precursor to it. Kyte prepares to retract his question. He didn’t intend to hurt Carroll. Clearly Rowan thinks this is a difficult subject. Carroll’s eyes betray only slight pain and something else that Kyte can’t quite pick out. They flit over to Rowan as briefly as a flash of sunlight on a cresting wave, then back to Kyte.

‘Yeah I do,’ Carroll says, somehow both flippant and thoughtful.

Rowan closes his eyes and bites his lip softly as though trying not to cry. Giving up the battle, he engulfs Carroll from behind in a smothering bear hug. Carroll lets out a childish squeal.

‘They’re Scottish and Protestant, but I love them very much anyway,’ he explains to Kyte.

‘I love you too much right now to be offended,’ Rowan mumbles into Carroll’s hair, ‘Besides, you’re a Sinclair as much as the rest of us.’

Smiling slightly, Kyte holds back his questions, letting them have their moment. Of course they’re brothers – that much is obvious if you spend any more than five minutes with them – but Carroll wasn’t born to Rowan’s family. Rowan’s ‘Scottish and Protestant’ in Carroll’s words and very proudly a Sinclair whilst Carroll’s Irish and Catholic and, well… a Carroll.

‘Let me go!’ Carroll squeals, giggling like a child, ‘That’s an order, Rowan–’ more squeals.

Rowan lets him go, ‘You’re lucky your boyfriend has a question.’

‘Um hi… yeah,’ Kyte starts, trying and failing to formulate his question, ‘I’m confused.’

‘Right, of course you are,’ Rowan answers, realising that Carroll’s simple affirmation had quickly devolved into context-less chaos. ‘I found this little hellion,’ he explains, pointing at Carroll, ‘hanging ‘round a tavern at Dublin port one day about ten years back. You were what? Eleven?’

‘Eleven.’

‘Right, well he looked about eight and was all skin and bones. He was so tiny for his age. Hadn’t had enough to eat in a while, poor thing.’

‘I feel like you’re leaving out a good many details, Rowan,’ Carroll interjects, ‘It’s not like you to not want to spill all my childhood secrets in front of my boyfriend.’

‘Well, if you insist,’ Rowan says sarcastically, ‘I had gone down to the tavern with a couple other people to get a meal and a drink and I’d gotten distracted by something, I don’t know what–’

‘You do know what,’ Carroll interjects yet again. If Rowan’s going to spill Carroll’s secrets, he may as well spill Rowan’s too.

‘I had gotten distracted by a cute seaman from another ship,’ he glares at Carroll, ‘and I turned back when my crewmates had started laughing at me and saying “You had better pay attention, Sinclair. A little thief’s got your food.” I turned back to see little Carroll, all skin and bones and tattered clothes, standing guiltily a couple paces away, holding my piece of bread in both his little hands. And before I could say anything, he was just a little head of ragged blond hair bobbing away!’

Kyte smiles at the image of Carroll as a tiny little thief running away from Rowan. He wouldn’t have known, looking at Carroll now, that he had ever been particularly small. Compared to Rowan who now has their arms casually draped over Carroll’s shoulders from behind, of course he looks slight but everyone does. Blond? Carroll’s still got it. Mischievous? Kyte most definitely sees that.

‘I found him hanging around The Piles– how much do you know about Dublin, Kyte?’ Rowan starts up again.

‘Not much. I’ve never left Belfast, actually. I know of The Piles. Word gets around when you work at a port. It’s been damaged, no?’ Kyte responds, testing the limits of his geography.

‘Yes. It’s still around but they’re building a stone wall now, I think.’ Carroll clarifies encouragingly.

‘Well, I found this little hellion hanging around there. With my bread.’

‘I tried to give it back!’ Carroll pipes up indignantly.

‘And I didn’t let you and told you to eat it. You looked like you could use it more than I. And I bought you a meal.’

‘I remember that! I remember protesting.’ Carroll tilts his head back so he can see some of Rowan and continues in a shockingly accurate re-enactment of how he would have sounded as an eleven-year-old, ‘But I haven’t got any money, sir.’

All three of them start laughing at the accuracy of Carroll’s rendition and at the visible effort Carroll had put into it.

‘Luckily you had some hungry little kid money.’

‘He means, I didn’t blow all my pay at once,’ Rowan clarifies to Kyte. ‘You learn to be frugal when you were raised a Scottish Gaelic farmer. Unlike those raised by sailors.’

‘I was raised by sailors! And I don’t blow my pay all at once!’ Carroll protests.

‘You were raised by a family of farmers, laddie.’

‘Hey, what’s up?’ Helen emerges from the cabin followed by a limping crewman.

‘I was about to ask you that!’ Carroll retorts, ‘And why you’re treating a casualty at five in the morning– Lewis, what happened?!’ Carroll turns to the injured sailor.

‘Honestly, I wish I had a better excuse, sir,’ Lewis, the sailor, explains, ‘I just tripped.’

Carroll acknowledges with a bedevilled gesture.

‘I’ve just told him to take it easy and not overdo it but he’ll be fine in a couple days,’ Helen interjects, sending him off before turning to Rowan, ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Fine. Carroll’s just decided I need to be gawked at a little more before I can do anything,’ Rowan grumbles.

‘I agree with Carroll. Come on, in you go,’ Helen prompts him into the cabin and shuts the door.

With Rowan safely delivered, Carroll hauls himself back up the hatchway to talk to Quinn, leaving Kyte to explore the lower deck on his own. Most of the spaces seem to be berths and very limited room for cargo. He lightly pushes on another door

‘What are you doing?’ A voice from behind startles him.

‘Exploring, sorry!’ Kyte turns to the crew member who he recognises to be gunner’s mate.

‘No, no, not your fault. That door should be locked.’ They fish in their pocket for a key, quickly realising they don’t have it, ‘One second. Don’t blow anything up. Actually, explore something else, please. Don’t mess with the ship’s magazine when I’m not looking.’

Kyte nods briskly, slightly overwhelmed, and heads off what he deems a safe distance from forbidden areas, poking around at the opposite end of the ship. He places his hand on a small door at the very front of the ship.

‘Hey Kyte?’ Carroll’s voice beckons him back to the hatchway.

‘Have I done something wrong?’

‘No?’ Carroll’s face peers down the hatchway at him, ‘Just thought you might like a warning now that we’re about to head out. Make sure you aren’t somewhere where falling over would hurt you.’

Kyte nods then cocks his head with a realisation, ‘Are you flat on your stomach up there?’

‘Yeah, I am,’ Carroll responds with a warm chuckle, ‘I can’t kneel.’

‘Didn’t think so! Hold on, I’m coming up.’ Kyte scales the ladder just as Quinn calls out to Carroll in some nautical jargon only they can comprehend.

[blughxreader]

How would yandere Batboys(Separate like Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian) react to reader receiving a parcel or a package? Will they try to pry in and see what’s in it?

Oh yeah, for sure. I feel like they would all root through your stuff without fail.

Some would claim they investigate for your own safety, while others flat-out say they deserve to know everything about you.

Bruce and Tim would at least try to make it look untampered with. Just because they do these things for your safety doesn’t mean you have to know. They know you would be upset and want to avoid needlessly causing drama.

Dick would unbox and check everything, but would clean up after himself. He wouldn’t care enough to repackage your stuff. “You already know I’m doing this, so why hide it? As long as I’m respectful with your stuff it’s fine.” He wants to know you’re not buying anything that’s against the rules, but he also wants to know your interests.

Damian and Jason are assholes about it. Why would you order stuff without their permission? Everything that reaches you must go through a thorough inspection, so they think you’re either forgetful or trying to hide something. Both involve punishment.

They’d go through your stuff, blacking out/removing anything they don’t want you to see, then would leave the mess on your desk. Your packages should go to them before you, unless you want to find your things in disarray.

[beyondspaceandstars]

A Not-So-Lovely Surprise

Relationship: Kate Bishop x Reader feat. Yelena Belova Warnings: N/A Summary: You accidentally walk in on Kate and a mystery woman chatting. A/N: This is a short and sweet little thing I had the idea for one day. I enjoyed writing it and I hope I did the characters okay??? Also this is a vague recount of The Scene lmao hopefully you enjoy! also crappy title pls ignore

Masterlist

You tried to carefully balance the boxes of Chinese food as you made your way down the hall to Kate’s apartment.

This was a usual routine for you and your girlfriend. Whenever you both were back in the city, you’d pile on the Chinese food, drink too much wine, and watch whatever documentary was trending on Netflix. You brought the food, Kate always managed to swipe the bottles of wine.

She’d also usually be so kind to help you carry the boxes of food — the girl had quite the appetite — but you hadn’t been able to get ahold of her today. Or, well, for a few days, actually. Every text, call…all unanswered. You figured your best bet was to just saw up and hope everything was okay. Which, of course, was a little ridiculous but the last thing she and her family needed was more attention. You had some understanding of their high-profile life.

When you finally got to the door, you fished out the key she had given you and awkwardly shoved it into the lock. Just as gracefully, you opened the apartment door.

"Kate?" You called out into what you maybe thought would be an empty apartment. "Babe, are you—,"

Your words died on your lips as you looked beyond your stack of Chinese food boxes to see your very-much-present girlfriend and a blonde stranger sitting at the table. They stared back at you, Kate with a look of surprise, the blonde seemingly humored by your arrival.

"Ah!" The woman exclaimed. You briefly picked up on a heavy accent. "Kate Bishop’s girlfriend, what a lovely surprise."

Kate’s eyes grew even wider — if that was even possible. "You know my girlfriend?"

The mystery woman nodded. "Of course. I told you, I know everything about you, Kate Bishop."

You frowned and quietly stepped away to put the Chinese food on the nearest end table. You don’t think you’ve heard your girlfriend’s name said in full so many times before.

"Okay — Sure, but she doesn’t have anything to do with this—,"

"I am thorough, Kate Bishop." The woman shrugged and turned back to you. There was something…unsettling about her. Well, on the surface she seemed…fine, nice even, but then you caught a waiver in her gaze, a drop in her tone, and the name thing… "My name is Yelena, by the way. It is nice to formally meet you."

You opened your mouth to needlessly share your name, and Kate began frantically shaking her head.

"Yeah, um, nice to meet you as well… I guess…" You cleared your throat. "How—How do you know Kate?" You couldn’t resist asking — how could you not? It wasn’t every day you found your girlfriend chatting with a random Russian woman and…was that a pot of macaroni and cheese between them? Seriously, what the hell—

"Oh, she is just helping me with something, yes?" Yelena turned back to Kate and you could no longer see the expression on her face. But the look on Kate’s told you enough.

"Maybe I should… I… I’m actually feeling a little tired, I think I’m going to head out—,"

Your attempts to shuffle towards the exit, maybe to find help or — or something for whatever was going on here was immediately halted by Yelena.

She turned back to you. "No, no. Please, come join us, Kate Bishop’s girlfriend."

"I really—,"

"I made macaroni and cheese," Yelena continued. "Do you like macaroni and cheese, Kate Bishop’s girlfriend?"

Slowly, you walked around the table and took a seat next to Kate who mouthed, "I’m sorry."

"It’s…okay," you said, glancing back at the forgotten Chinese food. "If you know so much about Kate, I assume you know my name. So, why do you…"

"Intimidation." It was Kate who answered your question. "It’s a power trip, a high or something."

Yelena just chuckled and shook her head, her bangs moving with the motion. You finally took your time to really look at the woman who had invaded your girlfriend’s place. She had an air of confidence surrounding her, which you couldn’t tell whether it was malicious or not. Still, the entire thing was off — clearly. Even the woman’s impeccable fashion sense couldn’t hide it.

"Why would she need to be intimidating?" You asked. "Kate… What’s going on?"

It was absolutely no secret your girlfriend could be…bold. You always told her her head-strong personality and bleeding heart were going to land her in the trickiest of situations.

Yelena’s cocky smirk didn’t falter as she said, "Yes, Kate Bishop, why don’t you explain to your girlfriend what you’ve been up to?"

"What—What you’ve been up to?" You sighed. "Kate…"

Kate let out a heavy breath. "If I tell you, you have to promise you won’t get mad."

"Oh my God—,"

"Promise."

"Kate, it sounds like I’m gonna get mad no matter what—,"

"Promise me, babe."

You shook your head in defeat. "If you killed someone or stole something I’m going to—,"

"I’ve been working. With an Avenger." She paused. "Like…as partners."

The room was deadly silent as her words settled.

You cursed. "You’ve got to be kidding me."

[densi-mber]

The One Where Densi Is Always Interrupted

A/N: This takes place in season 6, after Humbug.

***

2015

“Alright, that should be everything for this lot. Now just three more to go,” Deeks said, placing the last gun in its appropriate slot in the armory. He pulled the the fencing down, and locked it.

“Yep,” Kensi agreed. She reviewed the inventory list, signed off at the bottom, and then handed it off to Deeks for his signature. She glanced around the room. “I can’t believe that Sam and Callen passed armory duty off on us again.”

“Mm, the perks of being senior agents.” He was a little annoyed by the mild misuse of rank, but at least he got to spend the time with Kensi. Unlike at LAPD during his early days, where he’d spent entire weekends slogging through old files in the basement or other menial tasks.

“I could be soaking in my bathtub with a book and ice cream right now,” Kensi grumbled.

“Sorry my company isn’t enough entertainment,” Deeks teased. Giving him a perturbed look, Kensi rolled her eyes.

“You know that’s not what I meant.” She sidled up to him, and drew her finger across his chin. “There’s room for two in the tub.”

“Ooh, I like the way you think. Of course, you’re forgetting one benefit to our current situation, Kensalicious,” Deeks drew the name out as he tugged her towards him, settling his hands low on her back.

“Oh, and what’s that?” Kensi asked. A little thrill ran through her. This, being able to touch each other without needing an excuse, was still so new and exciting.

Deeks dipped his head to whisper in her ear. His breath was warm, making a shiver slide up her spine. “It’s very private. Just the two of us.” He brushed his lips over her cheek, drawing closer to her mouth.

“Ahem,” someone interjected loudly. They both jerked apart, Deeks turning smoothing his hands thorough his hair while Kensi needlessly straightened her shirt. Nell lurked in the doorway, a clipboard in her hands, and one eyebrow raised.

“Nell,” Deeks said smoothly. “Didn’t realize you were still around.”

“I had to finish running a program. Hope I didn’t interrupt anything,” she said in a knowing voice.

“Nope, we were just finishing up the inventory,” Kensi explained quickly.

“Uh-huh. So…I was just stopping by to see if you guys want to grab some dinner, but it sounds like you already have plans.”

“No, we don’t have any plans,” Deeks insisted. “At least I don’t.” Kensi turned just enough to glare at him, and he shrugged.

“Great,” Nell said brightly, her lips twitching. “I’ll be waiting for you in the bullpen.” She started to leave, then popped her head back in at the door. “By the way, there’s a great blind spot over there in the corner.”

[howl-core]

I love your account so much! Quick question (that could definitely have a long answer): which era of fashion do you see HMC inhabiting? There are certain context clues, like velvet and petticoats, but it seems DWJ kept it intentionally vague. She mentions the world being a fairy tale brought to life, but what kind of storybook, is my question.

Hi!! Oh my god I’m so sorry it took me this long to answer this😭….. but still! Thank you:D I LOVE this question, especially because we don’t really have a definitive ‘canon’ answer. I’m so curious what Diana herself would say... but even though we sadly can no longer ask her, I think in some ways not knowing can be even better, because it gives us so much freedom! Since you seem amenable to it, I would love to indulge in a long, needlessly thorough answer, to make up for how long it took me to reply:

I think there are two factors to consider. Number one is, “If Ingary is set in an era based on one from our world, what are the clues in the text we can use to help narrow down which era(s) it could be?”

The second factor is, “Ingary is a fantasy land, so does it mirror an era from our world at all? And in what part of our world?”

However, regardless of which “factor” you ascribe to regarding Ingary, it’s helpful to have as much textual evidence on hand about clothing in Ingary as possible when forming an idea of it overall. I skimmed through my copy of HMC and tried to find as many notable descriptions of clothes as possible (which was not as labor-intensive as it sounds, I promise!! By now I know the story very well so I already knew roughly where to find everything.) Here is what I found:

- The hat shop!! Right off the bat, we learn that there are hats made of straw, felt, velvet, and silk; they can be decorated with veiling and ‘hidden twinkles’, feathers, flowers and fruit made from wax and silk, and that they can be wide-brimmed, or bonnets, or ‘smart’.

- Clothing items mentioned in the Mayday scene: “Trailing silk sleeves”, “trailing cloaks and long sleeves and stamping buckled boots they would never have dreamed of wearing on a working day”

- The iconic blue-and-silver suit, of course, is on separate occasions described as “fantastical” and “flamboyant”; on Mayday Sophie observes that “His [Howl’s] sleeves trailed longer than any in the Square, all scalloped edges and silver insets.” When Sophie is mending it after the Green Slime Incident, she cuts it into triangles. It is unclear to me whether the suit actually consists of triangles of fabric, or if Sophie is just cutting triangles out of it: “She hobbled up and fetched the blue-and-silver suit, which she spent the rest of the day cutting little blue triangles out of in order to make a patchwork sort of skirt.” (p. 107) “Poor Lettie! Sophie thought, putting brisk, tiny stitches round her fifty-seventh blue triangle. Only another forty or so to go.” (p. 168) When Sophie and Michael accidentally gigantify it, we learn that it has “a frill of collar” as well as silver buttons. (p. 183-184)

- The grey-and-scarlet suit — Presumably similar in style to the blue-and-silver one?

- The Witch of the Waste is described as wearing: “A sable wrap drooping from her elbows and diamonds winking all over her dense black dress... the lady’s wide hat [had] real ostrich plume dyed to reflect the pinks and greens and blues winking in the diamonds and yet still look black.” Interestingly, while I guess I could picture this ensemble in a 19th or 18th-century style, the first thing this description made me think of was actually more like a 1940’s prima donna/movie star look lol. (perhaps even a bit like Lady Dimitrescu😳)

- p.101 “[Lettie] was wearing a dress of the same kind of pinks and white as the crowded apple blossom overhead. Her dark hair trailed in glossy curls over one shoulder,”

- p.6 “There was one deep rose outfit [Sophie] made for Lettie… which Fanny said looked as if it had come from the most expensive shop in Kingsbury.”

- In another appearance (p.157) she is described thus: “Her hair, instead of being orderly chestnut curls, was a rippling mass of red, hanging almost to her waist, and she was dressed in floating flutters of auburn and pale yellow.”

- p. 151: The soldiers at the palace are “splendidly dressed” in red and wear white gloves (the ones upstairs wear blue instead of red)

- p.51: “Outside stood a personage wearing a stiff white wig and a wide hat on top of that. He was clothed in scarlet and purple and gold, and he held up a little staff decorated with ribbons like an infant maypole... Scents of clove and orange blossom blew into the room.” (Michael also mentions that he thinks this person is the Chancellor’s clerk)

- Michael wears “his best plum velvet suit” to see the king (p. 68)

- The clothes Howl buys Sophie and Michael: “Several pairs of silk stockings; two parcels of the finest cambric petticoats, with flounces, lace, and satin insets; a pair of elastic-sided boots in dove-grey suede; a lace shawl; and a dress of grey watered silk trimmed with lace that matched the shawl... the lace alone was worth a fortune.” “Michael unwrapped a handsome new velvet suit.” (p. 122)

- Mrs. Pentstemmon’s estate: The trio are greeted by “an elderly footman in black velvet”; Mrs. P herself wears “a gold-mesh mitten, on a gold-topped cane. She wore old-gold silk, in a very stiff and old-fashioned style, finished off with an old-gold headdress not unlike a crown, which tied in a large old-gold bow beneath her gaunt eagle face.” (p. 143)

- Howl’s black ensemble includes “a long jet pendant” as his earring (his single earring?? king) on p.184

…Ah fuck I bet there’s more but that’s enough for now. I think I would want to make a separate post talking about the hints we get about the world *itself*… But one that pops out to me is actually that Howl having an indoor toilet is described as a kingly luxury, lol. That definitely helps us narrow down the time frame. We know that indoor toilets of some kind do exist, but having one is very rare. (I kind of don’t like to treat this as canon lmao… somehow I can’t picture the streets of Market Chipping flooded with chamber pot contents, as realistic as it may be) That puts it probably a little before the 1700’s or earlier, if we are comparing it to our world’s timeline. Interestingly:

“In the 18th century, the first public water supply networks (examples of old water supply piping pictured above) were installed in London by private companies. They served limited areas of the city, allowing the wealthy to access fresh water on tap.” According to the same article, “The S-bend was introduced to the design of flush toilets by Scottish inventor Alexander Cumming in 1775. This modification allows for fresh water to sit in the toilet bowl, at the same time as preventing sewage water and fumes from rising into it, generally improving hygiene. The basic technology has been in use ever since.” (Wild I never knew this lol… trivia night here I come!!)

…So that seems to put us roughly around the 1700s?

That mostly checks out with the descriptions of the clothes, I think! Both of these slides seem to at least somewhat match the descriptions of big/trailing sleeves, boots, the “suits”, and general elaborateness:

And these fantastic timelines are certainly compatible with the descriptions of dresses and hats that we get!

Additionally, although the heyday of European fairytales was a bit earlier (1500’s-late 1600’s), lot of fairytales were still written roughly around this time — Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve published the first official version of La Belle et la Bête (Beauty & the Beast) as we know it today in 1740, Johann Karl August Musäus published the Volksmärchen der Deutschen between 1782 and 1787; and Grimm’s Fairy Tales, or Kinder- und Hausmärchen, was first published in 1813. So this would absolutely work as a time period around which to base a fractured fairytale such as HMC, although the 1500’s and 1600’s would also work… If I weren’t deciding to base this entire argument around ONE mention of a toilet………. but anyways. That’s Option One. (Cannot believe I’m basing all this off a toilet…)

But anyway. Option Two — ignoring *our* world’s timeline entirely— is… me doing whatever the hell I want. And that is, essentially, one big historical mishmash! CHAOS!! A Frankenstein-ed together Victorian, Georgian, Elizabethan, and Edwardian tilt-a-whirl of frocks and finery, along with a dash of style that has no equivalent in our world at all!

I must admit, the Ghibli movie has a bit of influence over my idea of Ingary — I absolutely love the post-Industrial Revolution, quasi-steampunk aesthetics of Ghibli’s Market Chipping, and the mid/late 1800’s fashions that the characters wear! I could easily see the Hatter sisters wearing those lovely side-buttoning Victorian boots, and my god, that film did hats SO much justice. I also adore Markl’s little waistcoat+bow tie+trousers combo in the movie and usually mentally give Michael something similar to that, just in different colors. But overall, I don’t see Book!Ingary being steampunk or post-Industrial, as much as I love it in the film. Perhaps little elements of that here and there, but again, I see it as a big mishmash of multiple eras. I love picturing the King’s guards with frilly Elizabethan collars, pageboy/squire haircuts (even though the King’s chancellor has a white wig, suggesting a more Georgian aesthetic) and puffy little breeches. Lol. I think of Lettie’s pink dress in the orchard as very mid-late 1700’s, perhaps similar in design to the 1763, 1785 or 1790 dresses in the dress timelines above. Mrs. Pentstemmon I imagine in full, damely Victorian splendor. Somehow, as I mentioned before, the Witch of the Waste seems almost outside of this timeline entirely, like a grand 1930’s movie star.

And as for for Howl and Sophie… Well, I actually have a project pending this May Day for my official headcanon of Howl’s blue/silver suit and Sophie’s gray dress;) So perhaps you will see that then! But for now, I will say that Sophie’s grey dress has a fairly consistent design in my mind, but Howl’s suit changes a LOT. Sometimes I imagine him in these very crisp 1700’s clothes, almost like Lestat, but sometimes it’s more of a costumey, wizardly, elegant-but-slapdash getup. Like, the blue and silver patches on his suit are all made from different fabrics, almost like a quilt. And rather than the prim silver-buckle shoes of the Lestatcore version, he wears taller, pirate-y boots — elegant and very well-made, of course, very debonair, but much better for dirty work and running around. That’s how I imagine it anyway.

…Oh god, this got SO long lmao. But I hope I was able to give you the kind of answer you were looking for! I LOVE hearing and seeing other people’s versions of Ingary and its chaotic cast of characters. Do feel free to tell me yours, I’d love to hear them! Sorry again that this was so late, thank you for asking<3

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket Manga Review , ch 111

sigh~~~ I feel that my recent posts are a bit negative towards the anime, but thats cuz the chapters I’ve read so far are either unbelievably important character depth content cut for no valid reason or content in the anime but packed with million other things that it lost its purpose or importance. Basically tohu’s ep 6 which consists of 4 chapters & now ep 5 which is a momiji ep & yup, packed with 4 chapters as well... so, I apologize for any negativity, my intention is just analyzing artistic & story-telling aspects, I love se03, but yeah it screwed up lots of important characters due to its not so thorough plot decisions & harmful character insight choices.

today.. we explore Momiji... but only before his curse breaks.

Furuba anime struggling to know how to design an episode based on various plot-heavy chapters?

so, they decided 13 eps, & decided one ep for momiji cuz motoko’s graduation & the fanclub is the core of the furuba & have already cut tons of tohru, cuz who cares? she’s kind. be like her. end of lesson. No. really, jokes aside, how to do this?

How to combine several chapters in one ep? collect small snippets from chosen chapters/content like a bee does flowers? you gotta skip some content, you gotta highlight others. The ep is only 20 min after all & you got an op & Ed that you cant always skip.... so.. furuba team decide that momoji’s ep should be true to his zodiac animal, this is the rabbits last appearance in spirit. so, they went with quick hopping from one chapter to the other like a rabbit?

No really, ep 5 is really like a rabbit in its flow, you can’t savior a moment enough before jumping to the other: we learned momiji grew up!! loves toheu romantically, challenged kyo, really meant it, wanted a fair love game, got freed, lost tohru romantically & faced momiji! but that’s not all? we still have space!! quick add akito’s moodiness & love triangle with her dog & her submissive bed partner, add a happy comedy for no reason whatever & make shigue kiss tohru & wish shes 'was his lover instead!!!!!!!!! Mind you all this happened in the anime before shigure hurt tohru with his “the truth of the zodiacs talk & them accepting & feeling consolance that kyo is doomed”talk. 

-Gets whats my biggest surprise after reading this chapter ?????????

Shigure is consistent!! He isnt a rabbit hopping here & there. The dog is loyal & is tired for good reason! Him being depressed & his weird talk with thoru makes so much sense given the manga’s order.

Kyo is consistent!! In the anime, momiji surprise him with confession he loves tohru & challenge him, then kyo la~la~la~joins them downstairs for curry. Not a single expression on his face, where is the expression? it will appear when the plot is forced to address it: by the end of the ep when momiji face hin again. Then we get kyo’s reaction.

I need someone to tell the anime that actions require a reaction. You can refrain from showing a certain reaction if you can’t address it now, but you can’t erase it, negate it, then make it appear when have to!!!! couldn’t they make kyo refuse to join them & eat together? the     other characters wont be surprised they think he’s needlessly moody. The audience will know that kyo is troubled with momiji’s challenged & it will excite them!!! having kyo just go eat & watch the momiji/hiro/haru/yuki comedy skit is weird.

The manga’s author wanted kyo to join the dinner, like the anime did. but huge difference. the author actually cares for logic reaction & understands that the audience aren’t dumb little kids that will sit & wait for kyo’s turn to...react! nope! she did this: (a) & (b) below.

-Lost Small Bits/ Panels from the chapter.. But Sadly Big Huge Chunks for Characters buildup & Growth:

(a) addressed the fact the hiro noticed kyoru is in love & dressed that shigure was right!! the cat being in love is a weird concept to the zodiacs! hiro reacted naturally & the author used hiro to flesh yuki’s (the rat), momiji’s (the rabbit) & haru’s (the cow) decision to silently watch the kyo (the cat) makes his own decisions to live!!! They won’t interfere or tell akito or remind him of his state as the doomed caged cat. So sad this moment is cut from yuki. Why must yuki only interact with kyo to beat him (all seasons)? why must yuki only think of kyo to envy him (all seasons) ? Here, yuki’s growth towards kyo as a person & his relationship with tohru is 1000 times better than all tohru is my mom’s sh!t & I envy kyo’s Sh!t we saw in the anime over & over till we memorized it.

(b) kyo didnt just go la~la~eat with momiji after knowing he loves tohru. Nope, there’s small bits missing: called logical emotional reaction. He was surprised he’s caught pining over tohru! cuz yuki, the audience representative, has told us in the previous chapter that ppl in love dont notice anything around them. Kyo thinks him being cold hid his feelings. the dummy’s feelings are as bright as the sun in the Sahara, tohru too. a child read her! such small thing that wont take much space from the ep but was cut cuz kyo only needs to be responsive at the ep’s end. & this scene of kyo & tohru looking awkwardly at each other is minor in space but so important cuz kyo is determined to let go but his decision is challenged by not only momiji, but his natural attraction to tohru. Here he knows he’s caught & exposed... here he knows momiji is a better choice for tohru cuz he wont didn’t hurt her mom... here he knows that even yuki is better cuz never had to pretend to be cold to her... here he knows the world is better than him... & here he just cant help by smile & walks towards her... T_T ... another lesson in writing slow burns by Takaya-san.

-Why would the anime team pass on this?? drawing kyoru closer after the epic tear in Cinderella ep, cuz they want empty suspense~! The anime team thinks that if kyo & tohru stand next to each other, then it means all their issues are solved & the audience are so stupid as to forget tohru’s mom, kyo’s imprisonment, kyo not confessing his sins to tohru & tohru’s need to make a choice wether to fogive hom or not.. nope! you see, they think, ppl who read mangas are smart, so the author can give this epic symbolism & pp would still be not sure kyoru is end game & tohru will forgive him or kyo even fogive himself, but ppl who watch, oh no, gotta cut all the plot worthy content, produce a graduation song for a minor character, cut all kyo/tohru interaction cuz it only means romance & not at all character depth & oh if we show yuki actually formulating deep thoughts that aren’t centered around him, the audience might forget his se02 struggles! or that might ruin yuki’s upcoming growth moment in the finale where he .. you guessed it hits kyo.. as he always do & sulk &  think abt himself cuz yuki can only do monologues when he’s directly involved.... man~it is so sad how the anime is dumped down.. Who is the target audience again? not kids as young as hiro cuz even hiro is smart!

-just look:

 Momiji talks abt kyo shouldn't give up loving tohru & the authr shows this this ghost!!! his mom! The author reminds us that kyo isnt da~~~~ forgetting anything. He’s a deeply troubled soul & hos mom wants him locked cuz she too was locked in a cage & thinks that’s safer...why oh why you dump ur own story! sh!t~

Side Notes:

I like the closeups on Kisa’s face as she interacted with kyo. It’s very rare for kisa to have a world beside the endearing parental/big protective bro/big doting sister love she has with tohru & haru & off course the romantic love with hiro which was perhaps since their birth or sth. lol.  Kisa & kyo arent much on the brotherly side as they rarely interact, but its one of those  refreshing  interactions she has that helps cast a new light on her as tiny as it is,  but its sth out of the norm around her. She sees him  around tohru & gets to perceive his true unprovoked character. “He is  nice guy”.

I really wanted to punch kureno this chapter.. like Shigure is a jerk shitty dog for sleeping with akito’s mom but kureno... dude.. you submissively sleep with the guy’s eternal love interest & still walks in on him talking to her!!! lol. you’re mentally, emotionally & physically weaker than him & yet, she puts you on her bed, not him & you, tho not wanting her at all, dont walk away. No wonder shigure is defeated & wishing for someone like tohru, lol! Even if shigure met an older tohru-like person, it wont work. shigure deserve someone like him mean, schemer & loves playing power games. Tohru is someone who values honesty & commutation, not saying she’s an angel on earth, but tohru knows who suits her.. except fate is saying: NO. .... currently. lol.

I know kureno’s weakness is part of his character & I love that such characters exits. There are ppl ike that in real life. It’s just this chapter, I felt shigure’s frustration. XD

Yuki in this ep is the best yuki. no exaggeration here, I love when yuki is calmly thoughtful of others & here its kyo of all ppl !!!! cutting this scene is sad.. without it, kyo & yuki remain a cat & rat in the anime. Only ever thinking abt each other thro envious binoculars or hateful words or yuki giving kyo comedic hitting or life’s problem-solving hitting. Why can’t anime yuki be interactive outside his self-centered issues is beyond me.

Momiji & kyo’s interactions are always the best! whether comedy or drama.

I hated the curry cooking scene in the anime... so weirdly out of the ep’s flow.. very forced comedy... in the manga it had a purpose! not just quick add comedy cuz next shot momiji curse breaks & drama & we’ll close the ep with tears & sadness & glimpses of hope...

I love haru’s answer to hiro... so him.. “a guy can’t fall in love?”so chill.. so..simple.