#might be some meta fun to be had with the fact that D&D and Blades In The Dark play VERY differently too

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Valicer In The Dark Vs Baldur's Gate III

Okay, so, yesterday I happened to mention that I'd gotten into Baldur's Gate III -- and that a certain Crime Trio of mine (based on an entirely different RPG, I might add), had decided to lay claim to it as a potential AU of their OWN AU. No, I don't know why I'm like this either. *sigh* Anyway, there's not really that much to it at this point in time -- while I have spoiled myself on the story (and seen a bunch of cutscenes thanks to my friend @gaydragonwizards), I haven't actually played that much of the game itself and thus don't know exactly how the trio would react to EVERY quest and NPC in the game. I do know some basics, though:

-->The AU starts with the Nautiloid happening to pop into the Valicer In The Dark universe by mistake while navigating -- the mind flayers decide they may as well abduct some people while they're here, and unfortunately Victor, Alice, and Smiler, walking the streets of Six Towers, are in range of the tentacles and taken aboard to be infected

-->Smiler wakes up in the canonical pod and finds their way to Us, saving them and immediately bonding with the little intellect devourer ("I'm a they/them too!"); Alice wakes up in a different pod nearby and is the first to meet Lae'zel, and helps her fight the imps; and Victor wakes up in the same room as Shadowheart, and is working on freeing her when the others arrive -- they get her out, get to the helm, and manage to fight their way to the transponder and connect the nerves

-->If you're wondering about potential language barriers, one of the good things about the tadpoles randomly connecting your mind to other people's is that it allows you to pick up Common super fast -- I basically see them getting a bit of an "information dump" on a few key things about the reality they're currently in during the initial connections

-->Also, in the process of freeing Shadowheart, the group find that woman in the other room and mess with her console, accidentally causing her to change -- a creepy moment made even creepier by Victor's Ghost Mind ability letting him briefly see the woman's soul escape...and then burn up as she transforms into a mind flayer. We will come back to this later

-->After the crash landing, Victor, Alice, and Smiler are very confused when they wake up to see a blue sky...and then, after waking up Shadowheart and being told, essentially, "it's blue because it's sunny?" are utterly GOBSMACKED to find themselves in a world with an ACTUAL SUN. Though shock and delight quickly turn to "oh wow, this is actually a lot hotter than we're used to, we need to find lighter clothes fast" XD

-->From there, they pick up the rest of the companions and work their way through the main plot, hoping to both find a way to get the damn tadpoles out of their heads and get home (because as nice as a world with a sun is, it's not Duskwall, and Smiler in particular would like to see their parents again plz)

-->Naturally, being pretty good-hearted people, they do the nice versions of the quests and help people out as much as possible -- though, also being a group of Shadows who nick things and sabotage schemes for their living, I can see them offering tips to the gang of tiefling children thieves and scam artists to help them in their chosen path. XD Also, Alice probably has to be talked out of killing Kagha right then and there when she threatens Arabella, and I'm not sure the snake survives THAT little encounter. Alice has a thing about people threatening children, as you might expect!

-->I foresee a lot of confusion on both sides about how different Duskwall and the Shattered Isles are from Faerun -- not just the sun thing, but also Victor having access to an entirely different form of magic (Gale in particular is like "wtf is this??? This is not Weave???"); the group not knowing what horses or cows are (both animals are extinct in their world) and having to be introduced to them -- while, on the flip side, being perfectly cool with eating rat; and the trio being briefly like "well, it's horrible what happened to that poor woman on the Nautiloid, but at least her ghost won't be slowly going insane and trying to feast on the life essence of the living" and the others being like "what." Leading to Victor, Alice, and Smiler learning that this world has an afterlife and being like D: as it dawns on them that the total destruction of the soul is not an accepted way to keep the world from being riddled from ghosts here. (The others are once again like "what the FUCK is wrong with your reality?")

-->Smiler spends a good portion of the early game looking for Us, before finally accepting sadly that the intellect devourer probably didn't survive the crash...and then they get to the mind flayer colony under Moonrise in Act Two and "Friend! You found the helm!" :D They are beyond happy to see Us and won't hear a word said against them from the other companions (who are naturally BAFFLED as to why Smiler wants an intellect devourer as a pet) -- and Us, for their part, is entirely loyal to their friend Smiler and all THEIR friends, because the kindness Smiler showed to them on the Nautiloid caused them to bond more closely with them than the rest of the hive :) Victor and Alice warm up to the little thing pretty quick, while the others...well, they get used to having a brain wandering around pretending to be a kitty. XD

-->Part of me would like Shar to somehow be responsible for the Shattered Isles no longer having a sun...and thus be real annoyed that people are still living in that world eight hundred and forty-seven years later (as Alice puts it, "you brought the darkness, and we just lit it back up again")

-->And in the "overpowered nonsense that wouldn't make it into any actual story stuff but is fun to think about," I enjoy pondering the possibility of the trio, when faced with the Avatar of Myrkul, using Victor's Whisper ghost-fighting stuff on it -- and successfully forcing it into a spirit bottle. I imagine the other companions would be like "how the FUCK did you bottle part of a GOD?!" while Myrkul would be just "...guess it beats dying again." Oh, and Withers finds it hilarious in his droll way. XD Bonus points for talking to Myrkul about what the damn plan with the Absolute even gets him, Myrkul realizing that he's somehow been had by the Netherbrain, and switching sides against his former compatriots because, yeah, this mind flayer invasion does NOT benefit him in any way, wtf.

-->Or, if you would like DIFFERENT godly intervention, I did have an idea where Mar-Mal is also able to access Faerun through the blessing they gave Smiler, and uses its influence to protect Smiler from the tadpole instead of Smiler having to rely on the Dream Visitor and the artifact. They task Smiler with spreading their influence and getting worshipers so Mar-Mal can do more on this plane, and Smiler happily talks up their god to anyone who will listen (also sharing what samples they have left of their Joy Serum). And fortunately for them, people are willing to throw at least a few prayers the way of a god of pure happiness...meaning that during the endgame, when it's time to fight the Netherbrain, Mar-Mal's gotten just enough power to come into Faerun, filling the sky with spiral clouds as they manifest. The gang still has to fight the Netherbrain, but it's easier as the Netherbrain is, um, a bit distracted trying to not be mindwarped by Mar-Mal! XD And once the threat is defeated, Mar-Mal is able to open up a temporary portal to bring Victor, Alice, and Smiler home. With the implication that they could get back eventually...like, say, in six months to catch up. :p

Whew -- bit more than I expected here! I don't know if anything is actually going to come from this -- I mean, I definitely have to get the REGULAR Valicer In The Dark stuff done first -- but it's fun to think about as I play the game. And it has inspired me to make a few not-incorrect quotes/shitposty scenes...

[bladekindeyewear]

HS^2 bloggin’ mainline 2020-08-06

♪ HS2 HS2 is baaaaack ♪

♪ HS2bloggin here we gooooo ♪

♪ Structural changes on their team but I don’t caaaaare ♪

♪ Already resooolved myself that its NOOOT gonna beee as good ♪ with inattentiveness to details characters like Terezi forgetting-what-they-used-to-know and an obsession with dwelling on traaageeeDEEE without relief-or-considering how weee’d feeeeeeel~ ♪♪♪ --so just gonna enjoy-what-i-caaaaaan about iiit~ ♪♪♪

Okay time for bankruptcy

> CHAPTER 11. History's Most Notorious Haters

Let’s see how effectively my perky new lowered-expectations attitude lets me enjoy this comic  *click*

wut

Oh.  so is this Dave drawing comics about current events or Regular Calliope doing so for our very first lanky look at her presumably-grown-up-more cherub form

> Knight: Keep it real.

HOLY SHIT IT’S DAVEBOT AND ARADIA

so we just get to SEE them?!  just like that???  no buildup or anything?  :D

Okay I’m marking out a little that’s a good sign.  Also what a nerdy cop-out to turn the roboteyes into glasses that’s barely passable which is perfect, the rest of his outfit looks pretty cool tho

DAVEBOT: and thats reason four hundred nineteen why despite my mans many accomplishments i will never acknowledge big skateboardings contrived message that tony hawk is the quintessential skater of our generation ARADIA: o_o DAVEBOT: not in these trying times

Good to see Ultimate Dave is being true to form with regards to the core of his personality

DAVEBOT: beep boop ARADIA: i have told you several times that i was a robot before and i know for a fact you dont have to say beep boop DAVEBOT: hm that sounds fake does not compute ARADIA: david DAVEBOT: mom

I was with this conversation until the last two lines what the fuck

(I’m reading into it aren’t I, Aradia was trying to be atypically proper -- even though she wouldn’t have the frame of reference to know without being specifically told that “Dave” was considered nickname shorthand for the human name David, and thus if she DID know there’s no reason she’d use it except to troll him -- and Dave’s just mocking her response.  Without any shame about his continued weirdness of calling people Mom, and by without any shame I mean he made the choice EXPLICITLY to intentionally evoke the awkwardness.  Wow I got a lot out of two lines.)

(Oh, also alt!Callie’s true Jade-body incarnation here probably prompted her to start using “David” by example.  There, various mysteries solved via a pile of assumptions probably to be disproven in the next couple lines I read.)

The Knight and the Maid stare at each other briefly, having exchanged enough meaningful glances over their time together to know when to drop it.

Would Time players have an easier time gelling this way, like this particular smoothness?  Dropping it just before it gets weird or excessively irritating?

(Overclasspecting)

ARADIA: i think we have exchanged enough meaningful glances over our time together to know when to drop this DAVEBOT: what i enjoy about our conversations is that you just say things like that

OKAY I SNRK’D AT THAT.  That was funny.

Initially.  And now I’m concerned whether Aradia is being controlled by the narrative-speak, or whether they’re both just humorously referencing the meta-text they can both see, or--

ARADIA: oh is that what you enjoy ARADIA: well we are both an infinite number of years old living countless lifetimes at once but thats no reason to waste any of our...

WHAT??!?  She’s an Ultimate Self too?!?

Um, okay!  Yeah!  So they’re BOTH just riffing on the narrative then.  But... why would Dave need a robot body to accommodate his Ultimate Psyche without getting sick but Rose not need it?  I can understand Dirk not needing it because the merging of the full breadth of his multiversal individuality gels well with him being a God of the aspect governing the power of his multiversal individuality, but Aradia?

Were the robot bodies not necessary after all, and the sickness Rose suffered and Obama thought Dave would have suffered some sort of ruse?  Are there shenanigans afoot?  (Or are we going with the “troll biology is better” cop-out?)

She knows how this will play out, having undoubtedly tried this joke on her friend in some timeline or another. Their rapport reflects a unique combination of their matching aspects but greatly differing classes. One a passive but powerful servant to time, the other wielding the aspect like a honed blade.

WH

WHAT????

PASSIVE SERVANT OF THE ASPECT?!? WHAT THE FUCK

Okay if that means anything like it sounds like I guess my class chart is finally blown up, sure, they only waited (*checks last edit date*) SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS TO BLOW THAT GUESS UP, SURE

Wow.  Okay, I feel some obligation to jump to conclusions and say the whole class chart is wrong, but let me stay strapped in to see if “passive” is as literal as one would expect alt!Callie to mean, or it just means “an active class passive compared to other classes”.  And, serving the aspect?  Oh dammit, now people are gonna come at me advocating a Maid / Page dichotomy about actively serving the aspect versus allowing the aspect to be served... or Page / Maid even, jesus

I wish I had enough energy to have those chats anymore.  I’d rather hold on and see the whole ridiculous chart scheme they have in mind... which is definitely (and hopefully) the one Andrew really drew up at the time and not made up by the staff, even if it throws away plenty of my old work...  I’ll just stop thinking about it and keep reading.

...

--no, I don’t think I can just stop thinking about it yet.  Dammit, brain.

So um.  Maids serving their aspect.  There was a whole “Maids serve” thing going on throughout the whole plot of Homestuck, but despite how prevalent it was, I wrote it off as the story riffing on the classical definition of Maid when the actual stuff Maids accomplished was something different and more specific, just like Knights constantly got riffed on for chivalry and the like.  Furthermore, service seemed like a really shitty class definition, when class definitions are the verbs one uses to interact with reality through Aspects to change the way reality unfolds, and “serving” isn’t really an action that results in change, implying a distinct deficit of agency that I wouldn’t have viewed as fair.  (Especially since you originally think “meant to serve others” and not “meant to serve the aspect”, implying even LESS agency.)  Furthermore, MOST passive classes from their descriptions seem to have a propensity to act “as if by the will of the aspect”, so even with the nuance of “serving the aspect”, devoting an entire class verb to service would just step on the territory of other active/passive class pairs’ passive sides, right?

But... IF we were to take this for granted as what it SEEMS... then concentrating on that angle of “serving the aspect” implies a whole lot more agency than a service class might sound on its surface.  The definition fits with the story better once you contextualize all the Maid-y references to service around Jane, for instance, with the additional idea of “serving Life” by baking prolifically and creating more of its symbols in food and--

--fuck.  “Serving”, like serving to others.  Serving the aspect as its attendant AND serving it out to others that need it.  Maybe this still IS part of the Additive class pair!  Whoa.  :O

Okay okay so, what I/we thought before was:

Create/Add - Maid / Sylph

Destroy/Reduce - Prince / Bard

But “additive” really isn’t an elegant verb compared to the “Destroyer” classes, so... could it be the “Servants” and the “Destroyers”?  Like Maids cleaning up and healing the broken wreckage strewn through the halls by a bratty Prince’s tantrum???

It’d certainly be weird... and it’d CERTAINLY be a wild twist where I was partially wrong in some fascinating ways but not entirely off base?

One a passive but powerful servant to time, the other wielding the aspect like a honed blade.

And yet, I can’t bet on this being the situation yet; not at all.  First, it relies on the idea that alt!Callie’s explicit narrative here is slightly misleading, which would be a pretty extreme thing to commit to, even for a technical truth like “she was saying it was passive relative to other classes even though it’s technically “active””.  Second... it would mean that Muses are even more wildly defined than the previous insinuation of hers, that the Sylph -- what we thought was the passive additive class -- was not enough like a Muse compared to a Witch.  Muses not being that Additive?  I could grudgingly understand that, but Muses not being anything like passive Servants?!  That would be EXTREMELY weird!

So... there’s not a whole lot of chance that I’m not dramatically wrong somewhere about these classes!  In a way that throws the entire chart into disarray!

I’m... oddly excited?  Huh.

That’s a pretty nice surprise that I actually feel that way.

:)

(Don’t hit me up all at once to discuss this Classpect development over Discord, I’ll still need a few days without talking about Homestuck to recharge as usual.  Like... maybe wait and come at me as a group chat? So I’m not talking about the latest developments separately with everyone?  No that wouldn’t work, how about... guh I dunno, look my outlook’s a little more positive right now but dealing with Homestuck still takes emotional energy okay?)

Okay the rest of this page...

ARADIA: ... DAVEBOT: time then make a weird face ARADIA: ........ DAVEBOT: waste time DAVEBOT: time ARADIA:............. DAVEBOT: i experience all points of time simultaneously please just say time and make a weird face

This is true.

ARADIA: .................. DAVEBOT: cmon megido youre killing me clocks ticking ARADIA: ... ARADIA: time o_o

The Maid casts a furtive glance around the empty crew quarters, as though to search for someone more sympathetic to her bit.

ARADIA: tough crowd

Dorks.

> ==>

(Lazy fruit-throwing sword-training I won’t bother to screenshot but looks fun)

(I mean, really lazy looking, these people really don’t have Andrew’s knack for action composition that would make the same amount of gif-creation effort feel like a microcosm of the event they’re depicting, unfortunately.  Again, I don’t blame them; Andrew was just too good at it.)

DAVEBOT: ok heres one DAVEBOT: how old do you think you are ARADIA: emotionally? ARADIA: that is a pretty heavy topic DAVEBOT: you know damn well thats not what i meant ARADIA: you know I have been through a lot dave DAVEBOT: ok ARADIA: its just so kind of someone DAVEBOT: ok i get it ARADIA: to finally ask how i feel ARADIA: i am beside myself with emotions ARADIA: i want to open up DAVEBOT: jesus christ ARADIA: shall i open up about my past traumas to you ARADIA: would you enjoy that ARADIA: to think even a frog like me can work through their pain with a dear friend ARADIA: you have truly blessed me on this day dave strider

Is Aradia JUST trolling here or is her Ultimate Self grappling with a ton of real unresolved trauma too that she’s bullshitting around Dave-style?

DAVEBOT: times fun when youre having flies

Okay that’s a damned good frog pun.

Alright now Davebot’s rapping

DAVEBOT: lacking tact i stay stacked while i breach contract DAVEBOT: sacred vows disavowed got divorce fever DAVEBOT: i leave her DAVEBOT: dont look back dont perceive her ARADIA: do you want to talk about it :( DAVEBOT: about what ARADIA: would you say you are hung up on leaving your wife and friends behind

Goddamnit is DAVE’S ton of real unresolved trauma leaking into his raps unintentionally Dave-style??  I knew we had to address it when we cut to Davebot but how about LESS TRAGEDY IN THIS COMIC MAYBE

DAVEBOT: arent you even a little guilty about ditching your boyfriend ARADIA: what ARADIA: oh fuck

Wh

But she knew what she was doing when she did it she explicitly did it didn’t she?  Epilogues quote:

DAVEBOT: what about your boy DAVEBOT: eyepatches ARADIA: oh sollux is in one of his moods ARADIA: this was all getting to be a bit much for him ARADIA: if i go ill probably just cut him loose DAVEBOT: good move

And then they stepped through the sky hole more or less.  Did like, distracted Ultimate Aradia not realize exactly how long she was leaving Sollux for, ie forever?  Or did she “ascend” to Ultimate status later and hadn’t thought back to the full consequences of her actions within this timeline?  Or both?  From the looks of the link we’ll probably find out on the next pa--

--Wait.  Something else I just thought of, unrelated.

If Aradia is an Ultimate Self, that’s another coincidentally Ultimate version of someone hanging around that happens to be on the prospective list of Soul-Powered Jujus that might have their creation loops closed in the coming story.  Could those two things play into each other somehow?  Like instead of their souls getting stuffed into the items, their “Ultimateness” is?  Or as if that’s a necessary component, or...  no, I’m probably overthinking things.

> (Months in the past, but not many...)

Uh huh.  Is that flashing because he’s “watching” Aradia leave?  But I thought Aradia SAID she was leaving--

> (==>)

--and that black hole portal doesn’t look as cool as it sounded in the Epilogues.  But why was Aradia acting surprised, she said “I’ll probably just cut him loose” mere MOMENTS before entering the portal, did she mean “cut him loose” as in “I’m going to talk to him before leaving” and then just IMMEDIATELY forget that she didn’t say anything to him because she cared so little???

Wait.  Waaaait wait wait.  I think.  I think maybe I missed some subtext.  Lemme do some fuller quotes here:

ARADIA: oh sollux is in one of his moods ARADIA: this was all getting to be a bit much for him ARADIA: if i go ill probably just cut him loose DAVEBOT: good move

His gaze remains fixed on her. She blinks and looks away, unsure what to say next. He’s standing perfectly still, presumably waiting for her to say something. She met him... what was it? Once, twice before? She can’t remember. But she knows this is a very different Dave. Aside from the metal skin, he seems implacably confident. But then, people go through changes. She’s been through more than her share. She cocks an eyebrow, recalling her own stint with a metal body.

DAVEBOT: hey earth to whats your face ARADIA: oh ARADIA: its aradia

[...]

DAVEBOT: youre coming DAVEBOT: better decide quick i doubt that dank fuckin hell funnel is staying open for much longer ARADIA: yes i suppose so ARADIA: thats where all the action is right? DAVEBOT: all the action that matters yeah ARADIA: off we go then :) DAVEBOT: word

He holds out his hand. She looks around, and assumes he means for her to take it, so she does. She didn’t know someone could fly this fast. He nearly yanks her arm out of its socket. She considers reminding him that maybe this isn’t necessary, since she can fly too. But she doesn’t want to risk saying more embarrassing stuff around this outrageously cool dude. Besides, they’re through the wormhole before she can even finish the thought. It vanishes the moment they’ve crossed.

...this was a SHIPPING thing wasn’t it.  She’s impressed as hell with Striderbot, she SAID she’d cut things off with Sollux, and then she was so busy being swooped off her feet and into the portal that she forgot to actually say anything to him.  Is that what happened????

Ultimate Self Davebot x Ultimate Self Aradia.  Huh.  Didn’t see that coming.  (Though, again... they could make it SLIGHTLY clearer that this wasn’t just a blatant continuity error.)

Anyway, a rare-don’t-get-used-to-it [S] page...

> [S] (Gaze.)

...Okay that was kinda funny.

> (==>)

SOLLUX: h0w the fuck am i g0ing t0 get d0wn fr0m here.

HAH!  Okay, he’s taking it pretty well.  :)  --and THAT’s what she realized she forgot, giving him a flight down from the tower before leaving.

GOOD.  KEEP THINGS HUMOROUS EVEN WHEN LITERAL ABANDONMENT IS HAPPENING.  THAT’S the Homestuck I was missing.  :)  :)  :)

> Back to reality.

(Since the black hole is outside “canon” reality.)

Those are some cool poses-AHAH JESUS CHRIST ALT!JADE YOU LOOK ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING XD

COULD YOU MAYBE HAVE CLEANED UP THE DRIED BLOOD AT SOME POINT OR IS SOME OF THAT FRESH FROM EATING MORE RAW MEAT

(Lord English’s blood leaving permanent timeless bloodstains would be a cool new thing to squeeze into canon i admit, i wouldn’t blame them for taking the excuse even if you could find small canon counterexamples I’m not sure of but dimly think might exist)

((ALSO SHE’S GONNA BE TINY NEXT TO THEM I DUNNO IF THAT MAKES IT MORE TERRIFYING OR LESS, PROBABLY MORE))

DAVEBOT: so youre telling me you dont even feel a little bad that you ditched him to be a weird death acolyte ARADIA: no i think he found my wiles both charming and irresistible DAVEBOT: not even an ounce of guilt or self doubt huh DAVEBOT: just like that DAVEBOT: no conversations about the greater good DAVEBOT: no revelations about your feelings

Is Aradia a jerk or weird?  Can’t decide.

ARADIA: do you often find your faith in yourself shaken like this or is it a new experience now that your mortal coil has been left behind DAVEBOT: what ARADIA: do you think now that all that is left of you is a literal ghost inside of a machine you are more or less likely to embrace finality DAVEBOT: oh dope more cult of one shit DAVEBOT: immortality changed you ARADIA: could it be that you are projecting your feelings onto my situation DAVEBOT: does not compute rose jr ARADIA: ... ARADIA: we dont have to talk about it DAVEBOT: thanks

Wow, I actually can’t follow this conversation at all.  Let me stare at it for a sec...

...okay, the first part she’s talking about DAVE’s faith in HIMself being shaken, not her own.  She’s not asking if he relates to HER experience, she’s contrasting it.

Then, asking if he’d be more likely to embrace death, or... Time?  Death.  Whether his self-worth has changed because he might view himself as “less real”, something Aradia doubtless struggled with when she was a robot who already had so many excuses to devalue herself at the time?  And then Dave talks about “cult of one” shit what does that even mean-...

OH.  Like she’s a death cult.  Gooot it.  Because Aradia’s of the position that death and ending should be celebrated, and Davebot understandably isn’t entirely bought in.  This is as hard to parse down as one would EXPECT conversations between two Ultimate Selves to be hard to parse down, unlike Rose and Dirk where their insane missions and glaring flaws shine bright enough through it all that you can follow their conversation flow easily.

JADE: They sit in each other's presence, the silence between them as meaningful as any words they could exchange. DAVEBOT: its always really cool to hear how meaningful my silences are DAVEBOT: especially while DAVEBOT: CALCULATING DAVEBOT: CALCULATING DAVEBOT: especially while i am attempting to experience them

Alt!Callie pulling a narrative-text AFTER a talk-identifier like “JADE:” is really hilarious in my opinion.

JADE: i do not need your approval. the story will continue how it must. DAVEBOT: beep boop hater detected ARADIA: wow is that true JADE: i am not a hater. DAVEBOT: classic hater line DAVEBOT: i know this because i am pouring through genuine actual quadrabytes of information on historys most notorious haters JADE: no, you aren’t.

Pffffff. This is pretty fun.

DAVEBOT: you are the exact opposite of a hater ARADIA: a liker DAVEBOT: ok DAVEBOT: perfect example your tolerance for whatever is going on with DAVEBOT: all this ARADIA: i think she looks quite lovely covered in the viscera of the all-powerful enemy she consumed ARADIA: floating lifelessly in our periphery ARADIA: observing our every action and noting its relevance :) DAVEBOT: uh huh thats what i mean

I was gonna note “liker” as additive for pointless classpect purposes, but really more quoting it just because I really enjoy this conversation.  I’m starting to get sold on the chemistry of these two a lot faster than I expected.

JADE: even though I understand that it must happen, i am growing frustrated with the direction of this conversation. DAVEBOT: do you want to talk about something else stinky JADE: what would you suggest?

How long has that dried fucking blood been on her

DAVEBOT: ok hear me out DAVEBOT: kanaya DAVEBOT: but like DAVEBOT: wearing huge jorts

That explains Homestuck’s twitter earlier

> Weeks in the future, relative to the original point of interest...

Wait wait which point of interest?  This time we were just viewing? *click*

I love what must be this shitty imagination-ship they’re using to cross the substrate of reality

> ==>

Whoaaaa.  So they DIDN’T stay in those outfits for long?  It showed them in a bunk bed earlier, it showed CallieJade still going around blood-covered afterward-- dammit, I’m having a hard time gauging exactly how much time is supposed to have passed between their entry into the black portal, their earlier conversation, and this moment.  And as likely as some are to call this poor scene composition, I can’t think it’s anything but intentional, given we’re dealing with a couple of Ultimate Time players bullshitting with each other.

Moments like these are not rare, and serve a valuable function to the story. They are able to show a passage of time with the bulk of the emotional labor of a lengthy bonding process happening off screen. How did we get here? What have they been through? These questions are often better left open to individual interpretation and can give the one interpreting a sense of ownership of the story.

See?  We’re being trolled is why.  (Even if the authors are pulling the trick Alt!Callie describes maybe a little too damn often, because a cut like this where we’re supposed to fill in the emotional gaps and intervening events ourselves as readers depends on readers’ faith that sensible events and decisions for these characters would OCCUPY the gaps, as if readers don’t have faith that what intervenes WOULD make sense to their understanding of the characters the way the authors are writing them... it just seems like an excuse to do whatever you want without adequately explaining yourself, when in reality if you’d spelled out the events that led to it we’d all cry foul at the mischaracterization.)

...okay, maybe I’m a BIT bitter.  Sorry.  Where were we?

JADE: As a point of curiosity- ARADIA: oh shit!!!!

The dead Cherub possessing the body of an equally deceased Goddess of Space pauses at the interruption.

She doesn’t talk much, then?  Too busy doing whatever talking you’d do as your other possessed Jade body?  Just how temporally related is you controlling THIS Jade compared to when you were controlling the other?  When that Jade pegged you as enjoying contact with friends, are these two just not enough for you, or did you “experience” the trips entirely separately?  I don’t THINK the alt!Callie possessing either Jade is a separate entity from the other, but...

Were she to voice her opinion, it would be that --actually-- it is not unusual for those whose primary concern is The Grander Scheme to have a passing curiosity about the insignificant. So when one really thinks about it, any annoyance with the attendant’s small mindedness is both understandable and warranted.

She pissed

...also, “the attendant”.  Even if “serve” is really the verb here, that phrasing really irks me as if she’s talking down to her.  Which, I mean, makes sense for alt!Callie’s character, but doesn’t make me feel better about this new definition being foisted on us.

ARADIA: :( JADE: as a point of order, you never answered dave’s question. ARADIA: which one he is very chatty JADE: you experience time in a way that is woefully unfamiliar to me and it has... piqued my curiosity enough to learn more. ARADIA: ?_? DAVEBOT: shes asking how old you are

Wait a minute, is Alt!Callie asking a question about a dropped topic from WEEKS ago?!  And is Davebot so in touch with Time and the meta ordering of topics that he actually CAUGHT ON that fast to what she was actually wondering about?????

This is getting more disorienting by the minute.

ARADIA: in this form our bodies stop aging once we reach maturity i think ARADIA: the god tier keeps our physical form locked in a state of undying ARADIA: even in death the bodies do not decay ARADIA: only lay dormant

THAT LAST PART IS FUCKING IMPORTANT.  It’s being brought up intentionally to tell us that JOHN’S DEAD BODY can still be in the wallet Terezi’s carrying around RIGHT NOW without having decayed over the past years.  I remember remarking in SOME previous HS^2 liveblog post of mine that I was alarmed by the decay that would have happened there (can’t find my remark on short notice and don’t really care to), so this explicitly dismisses it so we won’t be surprised by the fact that she could keep it in just-dead condition.

DAVEBOT: like how long have you been alive JADE: yes, that one.

[...]

ARADIA: oh maybe a few hundred years or so DAVEBOT: what JADE: what? ARADIA: well if i had known you were going to be so judgy about it DAVEBOT: when did this happen ARADIA: oh i spent some time in other doomed realities and timelines and came back before anybody could tell i was gone

Hm!

We knew she spent a LONG time in the dream bubbles, enough to talk to “pretty much all of the Nepetas”, but she was actually able to access a universe or universes and hop between them?  That’s not something any time traveller we’ve seen has been explicitly able to do intentionally before, quite like she’s describing.

DAVEBOT: oh just out for a bit of fun then DAVEBOT: just hopped on over to a different reality DAVEBOT: real casual like DAVEBOT: oh hello dont mind me just popping in to see if it really is as doomed as they say it is DAVEBOT: did not disappoint ARADIA: yes almost exactly like that :) DAVEBOT: who did you hang out with are they cooler than me ARADIA: it is complicated to explain DAVEBOT: oh ok nevermind then DAVEBOT: all clear

Yep, he’s kinda bewildered.  Is this Pesterquest stuff she’s referring to?  Did she stop by Pesterquest?

DAVEBOT: a whole alternate universe ripe with the coolest motherfuckers imaginable ARADIA: you were there too i threw your air conditioner into the sun DAVEBOT: wow thats fucked up DAVEBOT: thats not where that goes at all JADE: these events are not-canonical. ARADIA: rude

Ah!  Yeah, almost certainly Pesterquest.  (Still haven’t played that and have little inclination to now that I’m more sure we aren’t being gaslit with intentional continuity errors, just disappointed by actual continuity errors.)  Oh!  And that makes a bit more sense because I imagine that’s Black Hole territory, and that territory outside of Canon seems pretty rich and easy for time-travellers to hop between stories and timelines willy-nilly.  As they’re apt to in fanfics, which is the most appropriate way for things to be in that realm!

DAVEBOT: is that the trope of being hundreds of years old but looking young forever patently sucks ass DAVEBOT: a plot device an asshole would write ARADIA: :( JADE: that is not what i am trying to say at all. DAVEBOT: hmm wow yeah thatd really be a sort of pot/kettle situation i guess DAVEBOT: i cant believe im the only woke one here DAVEBOT: its hard being such a visionary AND such a fine metallic specimen DAVEBOT: but im an altruist first and fucking foremost ARADIA: so selfless JADE: yes, the greater narrative is truly blessed by your beneficent presence. DAVEBOT: oh so you got jokes now huh JADE: i have always had the ‘jokes’ of which you speak, but i have heretofore exercised restraint in laying you low. JADE: i possess knowledge of many of your iterations, as the scope of my powers allows me to exist in several narrative structures at once. DAVEBOT: but can she see why kids love the sweet cinnamon taste of cinnamon toast crunch JADE: i do not know, or care, what that means. ARADIA: neither do i :)

I’m actually really enjoying this conversation

JADE: its cultural significance to you as an earthling is wasted on the two of us entirely, as we have not conflated the misguided notion of clinging to nostalgic cereal advertisement trivia with socially relevant conversation.

Pff she literally checked her meta notes just now to learn what the cereal ads were after admitting she didn’t know what it meant and pretending not to care

> ==>

Oh, closer look at Davebot.  Are those actual SHAPED shades over his robotic eye bulges?  Weird, I thought it was just a lazy line drawn between them with red sharpie at first, Sans style.  That would’ve been funny.

> ==>

Ohh, I get it.  I was gonna say that was an unwarranted reaction... but he just realized that the Time-wait puns will be coming from BOTH his shipmates from now on.  That’s gotta be a downer.  :)

> ==>

HOLY

FUCKING

SHIT

IS ALT-CALLIE LAUGHING!??!?!?!??

That’s REALLY, REALLY GOOD!!!  SHE’S ALREADY LAUGHING OCCASIONALLY THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY

“BEST NARRATOR” COFFEE CUP

SHE’S ADORABLE

> ==>

Ah, was that Jade kicking you out?  Or just the multiverse punishing you for being briefly happy :(

--oh, end of the update.  Guess that’s it for now!

...

Alright I know I’m A BIT BEHIND on covering the HS2 commentary,

But

I really would rather wait on that a bit longer if that’s alright.  Real busy and stressful week or two.  (Found out my hair is starting to thin noticeably at age 31!  Quite suddenly, too.  Blood test looks fine so it’s nothing serious... gonna see a doctor to check if anything can be safely done about that, it’s really hurting my self-esteem more than I thought it would.  Didn’t think it would hit my emotions that hard when it eventually happened, knew it was likely but not so SOON... really messing with my anxiety every time I accidentally touch my hair, now.  I’ll deal with it.)

If I sound really aimless in this post, I think it’s cause I am?  My mental and emotional energy’s REALLY drained.  I’m glad that June/July break in HS^2 happened when it did, and I’m definitely glad there’s apparently plenty in HS^2 I can really enjoy, if this update is anything to go by.  Maybe this comic can help lift me up instead of knocking me down.  :)

See y’all later!  More Patreon commentary blogging catchup after some other upd8.

[abalonetea]

If I remember correctly, there's a big evil villain in your story (I think the only reason I remember is because she(they?) hurt Aba in some way and he's my absolute favorite so how! dare! she(they)!). Could you tell more about my now sworn enemy? :D (nothing to be concerned about I just .... *pulls out switch blades* want to have a talk with them is all :) nothing to see here folks :)) )

!!!! i have two big evil villains in my story, and they have both hurt Aba horribly!

(also i am absolutely thrilled that Aba is your favorite, because he’s a super fun character to write about and just!!! adorable!!! i’m so glad you like him! when this move is over, i’ll try and write up some more things about Aba for you!)

and yes, i will absolutely tell you about your new sworn enemies! *blatantly ignoring those switch blades* :) i am sure it’s going to be a very pleasant and all together friendly talk! :)) ) 

Queen Midnight

of my two villains, i talk about Midnight the most. this is because Kee’s role isn’t particularly prominent until you get into the later Arcs, or you’re talking about before the story begins.

Midnight is the current Queen of Fara. she exists in two forms, and i’ll happily talk about both of them! they share the same history, and only subtle differences.

as a whole, Midnight comes from a land that has been lost to time and code. during the Beta Wars, her kingdom was stripped down to nothing. some theorize that she was the only survivor. others speculate that the Butterfly People come from this strange, forgotten land as well.

one thing is known for sure: her words are saccharine sweet, and she’s very good at being Queen. 

some facts

*she’s got cotton candy hair, literally

*her weapon of choice is a lollipop scythe

*on her orders, the Royal Scientists are researching the Code of the World

*she aims to create a kingdom of eternal life and beauty; a true utopia

*loves to paint, often pictures of her old home

*vicious and brutal and rotten under all that sugar

*good intentions can still lead to horrific actions

*a Queen that doesn’t mind killing

*has a personal collection of humboars and licorice wolves

*remembers the time loops, though no one else realizes this

Fields of Fara

in Fields of Fara, Midnight has a very pink color scheme.

you can find a moodboard i did for her here!

the main difference between the two worlds, at least as far as Midnight is concerned, is that, in Fields of Fara, Midnight hasn’t yet discovered how to steal other’s codes, raised her army, or made a grab at total power. her True Intentions are still hidden, a secret, and the vast majority of the kingdom consider her a good and wonderful Queen.

she talks with an air of love and knowledge to her words; sweet enough to be trusting, but with enough poise that there is no doubt of her lineage. her rule over Fara is purely circumstantial. the kingdom needed a Queen, and she needed a kingdom.

Midnight has her own passle of humboars, which she swears are simply pets. she also has a pack of licorice wolves to help the population. she comes off as very caring, and as someone that genuinely wants to help her people. which is true! the problem, of course, is that she doesn’t care how many of her own people die as they search for that perfect utopia.

saving a few is better than losing them all, isn’t it? Midnight certainly thinks so!

her right hand man is Polynya, the head of the Royal Guards. her left hand man is Flame, General of the Royal Guards. 

some facts

*soft gowns and pretty dresses are her favorites to wear

*very manipulative

*not above using threats and black mail

*gives the order for Polynya to kill Locke in one loop

*has been the direct cause of Aba’s death in several loops

*in fact, she becamse Queen directly before the First Loop started

*coincidence? i think not!

*she isn’t actually the trigger for the time loops, but she’s one of the Main Markers for them

*the second born child of the lost queen has no importance to her; his death can only serve to help her own goals

Fara Falls

in Fara Falls, Midnight has a very blue color scheme!

you can find a moodboard i did for her here!

in Fara Falls, the game is set in a version of Fara in which Midnight was able to carry out her original plans - only for the power to dislodge her sanity, thus creating the brutal, vicious world around her. in Fara Falls, long live the queen is something of an anthem; whispered out as she parades through the kingdom, surveying her domain, hoping that if one pleases her enough, she might spare their life.

in all of creation, Midnight is the only character to ever reach Level One Hundred. this is because she is using the Butterfly People, now known as the Corrupted, to harvest the code of other characters and directly weave it with her own. she is power incarnate, a pretty little thing with power that pulses through her veins, a longing and love for the beauty of destruction.

while her sanity is no longer intact, her poise never wavers, her smile never drops. she hosts balls that double as executions, she kills any who oppose her name, and she will rule over this land until the day it turns to code. her right hand man is Captain, head of the Royal Guards. her left hand man is Bolte, General of the Royal Guards.

she loves to feel beautiful, though her soft furls from her alternate self have been traded in for stunning couture gowns, things clad in diamonds and silk. even though it’s well known that she has a vicious, mean streak about her, it’s still hard not to take her curling, sugar coated words at face value. Midnight’s lips drip with honey and venom.

some facts

*she has a personal passel of humboars that she frequently uses to punish her Court with

*always looking for more ways to ensure her place on the throne will never shift

*many don’t remember a time before she was Queen

*her kingdom is built on the ashes of a failed rebellion

*if you speak out against her, she will either have you killed, or she will kill you herself

*will make allies, but only if she feels it can benefit her, and only if she feels she can later cut ties with them

*has issued an order to kill Aba on sight

Kee

and then, of course, there is Kee. now, if you want to learn about someone that has caused Aba endless amounts of pain, it’s Kee you’re going to want to watch. she is, at heart, the one pulling all of the strings - while also not being involved in the going on’s of Midnight.

there is only one version of Kee, just like there is only one version of Aba. technically speaking, Kee and Aba don’t exist in Fara Falls; on a meta level, they weren’t meant to be included in that game, since it’s a gritty reboot about failing the quest for the original Fields of Fara.

that being said, Aba has been glitched into Fara Falls several times, and Kee can travel through all versions of Fara without issue. 

now, i haven’t spoken very much about Kee, so if this post raises any questions (about anything, really!) feel free to ask them!

Kee is labeled as a Hero, just like Aba is labeled as a Villain. they’re both stunning examples as to how labels can be wrong. the fact of the matter is this: there is no one in all the lands as cruel, furious, and vicious as Kee. there is no one that has cut down more innocents than Kee. there is no one that has hurt Aba worse than Kee.

and - you might know about the lock, you might be focusing on the bolt, but it’s the key that will finally unlock all of the secrets you’ve been missing.

simply put, every glitch can be traced back to Kee. she is the one who first stepped off of her chosen path as Hero of the World, who took hold of ?͚͚͡?̷͈̝̲?̗̺̼͍͙͜ and drove a knife into his gut, slaying her brother and, with it, the very path that Fara had previously existed on.

some facts

*she is searching for Game Over, and will stop at nothing to get there

*she manipulates Aba, turning him into a Villain that kills for her

*when her uses for Aba run out, she kills him, too

*this is repeated on many, many time loops

*her preferred weapon is a sword

*if you know the Witch of the Woods, you will see the resemblance

*all but one Spirit of Fara has been felled at her hand

*the spirits are not reborn when the new loop starts

*she has been looping for a very, very long time

*she gave him a new name to go with his new form, isn’t that enough of a gift?

this has been such a fun ask to answer, and i’m sorry that it got so long!

[why-this-kolaveri-machi]

Notes on SPN 14.02

So! I saw 14.01 yesterday, which was for the most part, surprisingly, a blast, and since I have a bit of free time today I thought I’d keep a hold of the momentum and watch and liveblog 14.02 as well. I’ve heard it’s one of those Buckleming plot-a-paloozas, but I’ll try my best to provide semi-reasonable commentary instead of incoherent ranting.

Right. As always, typing this post up as I watch. SPOILERS for the episode ahead.

1. We start with a recap of last season’s finale, and Show, do you really want to remind us this many times about that wire-fight?

1.25. Show’s lore regarding possession has been dizzyingly inconsistent, but the more I think about it, the less sense it makes to me that Nick is alive? Because Nick couldn’t actually house Lucifer for very long in s5—he was deteriorating, which was why Lucifer needed Sam so urgently. The last we saw of Nick, he was dead/dying in a dingy room in Detroit, when Lucifer jumped ship to Sam. Even if Lucifer assumed Nick’s visage in the Cage and afterwards when he was brought back, Nick-the-person with Nick-memories and Nick-feelings isn’t there anymore.

1.255. So what does this mean? Like, if this was explained away sometime over the last two seasons--I’m very sorry, I really wasn’t paying a lot of attention to large chunks of them—please let me know. If there’s no explanation, then has Lucifer disappeared inside a Nick-construct? Did he use a loophole to escape the worst of the Archangel Blade right at the moment Dean plunged it into his side? Lucifer was “human” for a while in s13, iirc. Did he have enough “human” to hide behind and recover? And has he filled that human with the memories/personality of one of the humans he knew best? Is it because he spent centuries assuming Nick’s body in the Cage that he’s most comfortable being him here?

… I don’t know. Maybe I’m missing something obvious, but, hey, it’s fun to speculate.

2. We start off with people artfully tied up in an artfully derelict church illuminated artfully by artful lightning.

… *groans* I hope we aren’t getting a torture scene already.

2.25. Well, Michael’s certainly chirpier than he was last episode.

2.5. Is he trying to make new angel minions, is that it, by feeding them blood and his grace? Leaving aside the lack of creativity in the mechanism, the whole thing kind of makes a weird sense. Michael is looking for those with purity of purpose—among religious leaders (and refugees, apparently), angels, and then finally monsters—and rejecting those ‘poisoned’ by nuance and experience and supposed sin. After all, no being whose wants are even slightly more complex than ‘food’ is going to be a perfect follower.

It also plays into his assholey, self-righteous personality and, well, god-complex.

(Dean would’ve appreciated this quest for pure purpose.)

3. There’s a kind of sitcom-y vibe to this little expository scene: Bobby talks shit about angels only for Castiel to walk in with a quirked eyebrow; the group talks about Jack and Lucifer only for Jack to walk in and go, “hey, you talkin bout my father again?”

(these are the tiny ways I feel SPN is at cross-purposes with its own theme of ‘found family’. Everybody’s obsessed with blood relations, to the point that Lucifer and Jack are constantly referred to as ‘father and son’ when there is no need to bring that relationship up. Last year, even Castiel referred to Jack while talking to Lucifer as ‘your son’ without any prompting from Satan. Words are so powerful, and so revealing.)

3.45. Castiel “as you know, Bob”-ing is hilarious. Oh, Buckleming.

3.5. Um, not to dismiss or compare Castiel’s considerable trauma at the hands of Lucifer, but is anybody going to acknowledge even once that Sam, who appears to have taken the brunt of caring for Nick so far, is also going to have trouble looking into his abuser’s face??

4. Nick continues to make no sense to me.

(I like little touches like Castiel telling him that he needs to remind himself to eat.)

4.5. I kinda like this scene, sue me. It makes sense to me that Nick would obsess over and over again about how he could’ve let himself say yes to Lucifer, although Lucifer is as old as time and had all the power in that situation. The ‘monster’ bit is a little too on-the-nose for me, but I like it. Really drives home what an intimate, horrifying violation possession is and how scarred and twisted it can leave the survivor who spirals down a well of undeserved guilt and self-loathing.

I wish Sam was the one talking to him now, or was at least present. He’d talked in the previous scene about how Nick was only ‘housing’ and deserved a chance to rebuild his life, and that hard-earned generosity of spirit would’ve been a balm to all three of them, I think.

5. ETA on the TOD, Bobby? *sporfle* Seriously though, I love this role-reversal: usually it’s Bobby who’s rolling his eyes at SamnDean’s eff-bee-eye shenanigans.

5.25. Ah, but where this Bobby has become an expert now is in telling the difference between smiting patterns!

5.5. I wonder if trying to appear non-threatening is just Sam’s default whenever he meets with, uh, ‘civilians’.

6. I really, honestly hate that the Bunker just happens to have ‘lore books’ on whatever the hell random question they’re having that day. I just kinda hate the Bunker in general, now that I think about it.

6.25. But doesn’t that ‘human component’ (lol) make a Nephilim strong enough to take down even archangels?

6.5. As pep talks go, that wasn’t bad. A few notes:

a) there’s an earnestness to the words that I’m sure that Castiel learned from Sam.

b) I think this is the first time that Castiel—or anybody—has referred to the events of 8.23 as “The Great Fall”. It’s interesting that it’s already gotten a name among angelkind and that Castiel would call it that, given how close he was to the events that led to it.

c) I want to both laugh and cry at Castiel’s assertion that Sam and Dean were there for him after he lost his grace. He was mostly left to fend for himself, obviously, but there’s no space for that in a pep talk.

d) Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Jack is actually just only a year old. Asking him not to dwell on something so… immediate is a tall ask.

7. Ok, so that was a nice snappy little counterpart to Lucifer-talking-to-Sam-in-the-mirror from the s5 finale. I like how Michael is blunt and matter-of-fact while Lucifer relished in the moment, bragged about how he’d had Sam’s number all his life, and seduced him with violent revenge. This is nice.

I don’t know, guys, I’m really enjoying this episode so far!

8. Sooooo Lucifer is residing in some subconscious layer of Nick’s mind? Is this PTSD shaped by his possession? Is Lucifer bleeding through his own construct? Are we going to find that it was actually Nick who killed his own family? (I think we are.)

8.2. Castiel looking for residual Lucifer in Nick reminds me of when he was doing the same for Sam re: Gadreel, and that reminds me of Dean’s ‘teen mom’ joke from that episode and now I’m pissed off.

8.5. Nick is fascinating, but is he fascinating enough that I care about his little revenge sub-plot? Eh. Jury’s out. Plus I just can’t stand the actor anymore

9. Sam’s just kinda there to move the plot along. Give him some more character moments, episode!

10. Michael reminded me of Dean in the scene with the werewolf. I’m really not getting a capital P personality from Michael, though that may be due to a personal choice. Or maybe because Michael was never a distinct character to begin with, and this is far more noticeable when Ackles plays it and ‘Dean’ threatens to take over any minute.

Or going meta for a second—maybe Michael’s deliberately infusing some Dean into his persona. Possession isn’t simply putting a thing inside a box: both entities are influenced and informed by the other, but only one has all the power.

11. … ok, so my interest in this Nick subplot is rapidly decaying. Nick did it. He killed his family. It’s not a mystery.

11.5. The emotional dynamics of this scene… checks out, actually. Of course Nick is projecting all his rage on Castiel. And of course Castiel regrets destroying Jimmy Novak’s life the most. More than toeing the party line and being instrumental in almost bringing the Apocalypse about in s4; more than releasing the Leviathan; more than trusting Metatron in s8; more than killing his brethren, who’ve tortured him back and tried to kill him on more than one occasion. But Castiel has been both angel and human—both possessing and being possessed—long enough that he’s intimately aware of the devastation it leaves both within and without. And there are no excuses for the way he and other angels have done that damage—so carelessly, so casually. Even the most well-intentioned angels are deceptive and manipulative and give not a second thought about their hapless vessels. It’s a sign of Castiel’s growth and compassion that he recognises his responsibility in this and that he invokes Jimmy’s name with both reverence and regret. In all this shouting and crying that Show doesn’t acknowledge the deep-seated trauma of possession survivors, this is actually a great moment.

12. That werewolf leader looks familiar. Has the actor been on SPN before? He kinda reminds me of one of the leads on Suits.

12.5. That’s a lot of clunky dialogue, but Michael is basically confirming what I speculated in point 2. Cool.

13. How Jack managed to get away and find his grandparents is never explained, but that’s a familiar Buckleming trope—characters are put together in a scene without any regard to how it might connect to other scenes or how/why those characters might’ve gotten there.

13.2. That said, it’s kinda poignant that Jack, having lost his angelic powers, is now trying to understand the human side of his heritage. He’s trying his best to adapt to his situation; this one year old kid is more well-adjusted than most of the adults on this show.

13.5. Well, holy shit, Jack talking about Kelly to his grandparents is just… making me feel emotional in a way this show hasn’t made me feel in a long, long time. This Calvert kid is good.

13.6. It is bizarre that Kelly’s parents are mostly ok with not knowing Kelly’s whereabouts for over a year—I don’t think we ever found out what position exactly Kelly held in the President’s office, and I can picture them in a bit of denial by telling themselves the reason they haven’t heard from Kelly is because she is in the middle of super-secret government work. I don’t know! But it’s just about handwave-able though, and their scene with Jack is worth it.

14. Honestly, Castiel, how did he travel so far and for so long without you noticing? So much for “Don’t worry, Sam, I will babysit this defenceless creature.”

(Speaking of Sam, wheeeerrreee’s Saaaaammmm)

“I suppose there are worse ways to be human than to be kind.”

“Have you heard from Sam?”

I LOVE YOU, JACK.

14.5. No, actually, Dean wouldn’t want it any other way. He said as much when Gadreel took over Sam completely back in s9.

15. Shoo, Nick.

16. FINALLY MORE SAM. With only like 4 minutes of episode left. What, Show, did you think you spoiled us too much last episode with all that glorious, glorious Sam content?

16.25. And finally a bit of action! The rapid-fire editing is making my head hurt, though.

16.5. Soooooooooooooo Dean’s back? Obviously Michael is playing a long game here, but it says something about the show that they can’t keep Dean away for more than two episodes without getting the shakes. I honestly miss Sera Gamble and her desire to rattle the status quo: in s6, she kept the so-called ‘real’ Sam away for half the season, which gave us imo some of the best storytelling, characterisation and acting from both Padalecki and Ackles in the entire show. In s7 she took away all the Winchester markers: the Impala, weird motel rooms, Bobby’s house. Of course, after she left the show settled back into a familiar rut (substituting Bobby’s house with that thrice-damned Bunker). I wish the show would take risks with these two again. s9 and the beginning of s10 were so very promising but there was no follow-through.

I guess they want to MotW fillers for a few episodes and that would be weird without SamnDean SamnDeaning it in the Impala, but Show, why don’t you just say ‘fuck it’ and try weird on for size? What do you have to lose? I mean, seriously?

17. Nick’s the murderer—called it!

18. This wasn’t terrible, you guys. 95% of the episode was just people sitting around having conversations, the dialogue was clunky, ideas derivative, scenes progressed without any rational links between them, the pacing was wonky, and there was too much exposition. But the emotional beats were solid and the set up is reasonably intriguing. I’ve seen far, far worse BuckLeming episodes.

Pacing is a real issue in this season, though. And Michael is not remotely intimidating as a threat.

[panicsprey]

    This doesn’t have anything to do with you-!

    ... Iida... what’re you saying?

     Look, child, since when does anything Izuku gets himself involved in have anything to do with him? So first of all, invalid argument. And another thing: yes this damn well does! You just said at the station you were friends; that’s literally crew status invite to dive in up to your elbows the second shit gets real. This has nothing to do with Midoriya my left toe.

    And gosh, I’ve been on a kick of reasons I love Izuku Midoriya and here it damn is: he’s so scared, and you can see it- he’s not the reliable, infallible hero that he idealizes and wants to be. He’s a scared, fledgling student-hero who would be much more intelligent to duck and cover. But instead, his mind goes to All Might, his mind goes to recognizing his opponent in a time when someone else would be panicking and scrambling with a desperate escape plan. But Izuku’s clever, he’s devoted to saving as many as he can and that includes the unexpected presence of Native. 

   ...... I have to wonder if he’s thought of the pin-drop plan before this, or if that was sporadic.

    But tbh I love???? how malleable and adaptive he is, how flexible his cunning is. He’s watched so much about heroics and given so much assessment to strategy that he’s so much more cunning and able than those who have been working on their quirks and such for years, and that’s just a damn hobby for him. He enjoys it, and he’s damn good at it too. It comes down to the argument again of are you talented by nature or by work, and Izuku is goddamn talented by both. He enjoys it, he’s good at it, and he works extremely hard to maintain and expand on it. And it saves him, and will save those that he loves and wants to help, too. 

    “I’ll just have to protect these two and stall for time.”

    Not escape, not go get help, not keep himself safe. While he recognizes instantly his own error ( Telltale games message: Midoriya Izuku will remember that ), he instantly decides on a strategy and dedicates to it. It’s amazing to me how opposite he is socially from how he is in combat. He’s decisive, and while he’s not confident he’s definitely assured that he’s doing what he has to- he dedicates to actions and to decisions, whereas in social settings and low-key events, he’s much more in his own head and can’t trust instinct. It’s just amazing to me that he slips into this sort of almost comfort when he’s got his adrenaline going... 

“Meddling when you don’t need to is the essance of being a hero!”

    HI WOW I LOVE IZUKU

    Okay but seriously, Izuku lives by these words. He would give Donald Duck a conniption fit from meddling. That’s all he does.

    And the fact that even as he’s darting in with the expressed purpose of distracting and buying time, his mind is whirring- focus on the sword, since he thinks that right now the quirk is cutting someone to paralyze them. He works well with what he’s given and strategizes around it, but he’s not so stiff or rigid that he can’t adapt those assumptions when presented new evidence or ideas. Get in close with a long ranged weapon and you have disadvantage on your attack- D&D rules, and it’s impressive that Izuku can make that kind of assessment without honest practical training ( he’s mostly been fighting hand-to-hand; I want these kids to get some kind of weapons training at some point, if only so they know how to defend against them, too ).

    ALSO LET’S TAKE A SECOND AND THANK BAKUGOU THAT WAS A KACCHAN MOVE HE USED TO FUCKING DODGE THE SWORD AFTER DUCKING UNDER STAIN’S LEGS OKAY PRAISE BE TO THE FACT THAT BAKUGOU’S NATURALLY TALENTED AND IZUKU IS A GODDAMN SPONGE ( which Iida does, praise be ).

    But seriously- how quick did Izuku recognize the new blade and dodge just wrow look at him and his insane reaction time. 

    And also let’s level I’m still not surprised Stain got him, though- the fact that it was such a tiny cut is what really impresses and amazes me. It was never a matter of if, but when. Stain is a killer and well versed with fighting a variety of heroes and quirks. Even if he’s an amazing talent and so very impressive, Stain is a class of his own. It’s incredible that he was only slightly nicked then. 

    .... I have to wonder if Izuku accepted Stain’s assessment. It’s funny to me: I never realized, but this is the first time that someone has edged Izuku toward prediction rather than assessment and reaction. Izuku is a very reactive person, and while he’s very good at anticipating, predicting is something he learns he should focus on more later, from Mirio, from Nighteye, and yet Stain mentions it here. That’s really Izuku’s next step, isn’t it... clearly the mark doesn’t land, and for good reason: he’s a little rightly distracted- doesn’t matter if this guy “think(s) [he] should leave [Izuku] around” because he’s better than these two ( Izuku vc: wtf no I’m not- ), his friend is gon’ get stabbed-

     AND THEN TODOROKI SHOWS UP. -confetti-

    “You need to give more details in times like this.”

   Gestures emphatically to the butt-pin conversation I had with Lyn maybe not practical bud

    But thank goodness- and this just shows that Todoroki’s pretty quick on his feet too- get a message like that and extrapolate well enough to be timely. But I digress because I also love literally all of these characters- Thank goodness Todoroki was in Hosu, though, lbr...

    “Next time try to send more information than just your specific location. But then, you’re not one to send cryptic messages without a reason, are you?”

       Thanks, Todoroki- you get it. But seriously, you’re still just getting a pin next time.               I believe you’ll figure it out. :thumbsup:

....... as I now wonder who all got that pin did Mom get that pin did Aizawa get that pin who all knew where Izuku was at that moment and just looked at their phone like ‘wtf did Izuku sit on his phone or something why’s he in some weird ass alleyway in Hosu....’........ panicked Momdoriya noises??

    God but I love Izuku how many times have I said that in the last three days this is getting problematic. I’m glad he figured out that quirk as quickly as he did- again, he’s been exposed to so many quirks and so much about the Hero Killer and everything that his mind just clicks and I’m just dfjkas;fd \ o /

    You can tell it’s almost 2am because my vernacular is devolving into keysmashes and emoticons

    I WON’T DEVOLVE INTO META ABOUT TODOROKI BUT HOLY SHIT          You’re Ingenium now? Strange. The Ingenium I knew never had that look on his face.                 fdjklsaf look at how he’s already changed he’s helping others and I’m just 

    .... I weirdly like Stain giving them advice as he fights them. Imagine if he escaped and came back like a Team Rocket montage. Just pops in, fucks ‘em up a bit, gives ‘em a tongue lashing, then bolts into the night to kick their asses and teach them valuable life lessons another evening........... because why bother.... giving them this advice... when he’s gonna kill them..... Stain’s such a fun character....

    MIDORIYA DODGE

WELL SHIT TODO GIVE HIM TWO SECONDS OF WARNING HE COULDA BEEN A POPSICLE 

    “I’ve got three guesses as to why [ his quirk wore off on me ]”. HOW QUICKLY HE COMES UP WITH THOSE DEDUCTIONS IS BAFFLING HE’S SO DAMN PRACTICAL I LOVE HIM. And appreciate that he’s willing to divulge that to others fjkldsa;fds

     ;-; We can protect them. I cry, these two are a kick-ass team I die-

    AND TODOROKI BEING WORRIED ABOUT IIDA I’M FJKDSLAFDKSA;

         GOD I have so many emotions about the whole ending with Todoroki, particularly about how Izuku helped him, but I’ve just devolved into little squealing sounds that made Muppet bark with concern so I should probably go to bed.... 

[elizabethrobertajones]

This or That - SPN

I was tagged by @bluestar86 and then ignored it for 3 days because I suck at doing these things >.> 

I’m going to tag @shardspoon @destiel4life67 @fangirlingtodeath513 and @teenwolf45537 for always being in my notifications ;)

1. demon!dean or soulless!sam?

Demon!Dean!! And not because I love Dean more but we got probably exactly enough Soulless!Sam... We had some build up like oh no something is wrong, and we had the goofy cracky episode about it, and then it turned serious and got resolved in one of The Best Episodes Of The Show Ever so all in all I am completely content and happy there. 

And then demon!Dean was only 3 episodes and the Mark of Cain stuff either side was so LONG and honestly the crack spec in the start of season 10 that Dean would get killed a come back as a demon like multiple times would have improved season 10 so much. You get crack episodes where it’s like oh shit I’m a demon. You get episodes where they use demon!Dean to get shit done. You get the inevitable time when it’s too much of a mess and Something Has To Be Done. I mean the 3 episodes packed in a lot but there are gaps and I think season 10 suffers a LOT from all sorts of random plot jerking around things, like not wanting Dean to be a deomon in the 200th episode just so they could have a musical, etc.

2. balthazar or gabriel?

I don’t really have a preference because I like Gabriel better in canon maybe but there’s SO much fanon about him it even ended up in 9x18 and it takes a serious meta workout to reconcile it all... Balthazar had a much smaller part (although I guess about the same no. of episodes) and at least in the fan fic I read, rarely shows up except to do exactly what he did in canon, basically :P I think he’s much more fun without it being really complicated but Gabriel is far more interesting. Since I’m lazy I’ll pick Balthazar for being fairly low energy to enjoy and of the 2 of them with nearly identical deaths his was way more glamorous to Gabriel’s over-dramatic :P

3. cas’ blue tie or striped tie?

1: I agree with Saz that tbh “no tie” was the best, but I think the classic tie is better. It had a lot more of Cas’s rebellious, scruffy personality in it. I associate it with him being windswept and angry, which are my 2 favourite Cas traits.

4. season 5 or season 12?

Season 5, because it’s just so epic and unlike anything the show has ever done before or since. I do get the old Kripke nostalgia even if I actually prefer pretty much every season since’s emotional arcs and characterisation much more. There’s still something electric about it for all its problems.

5. the colt or the angel blade?

There isn’t really a “the” angel blade... I mean I think the flippy flippy thing is awesome, whoever is doing it, but the Colt has style and history and fires in slo mo and is a one of the kind thing the show was practically built around... It has way more personality, so it’s not really a contest to me. I mean if it was “Dean shooting the Colt in slo mo or Cas doing the flippy flippy thing before he’s about to fuck something up” it would be a much harder question. :D

6. spn verse or au?

Canonverse aaaall the way. 

7. “mystery spot” or “free to be you and me”?

What sort of questions are these?? :P Do you prefer Sam angst or Sam angst with a side of Destiel bonding? I mean it’s not really a choice but are we supposed to get deep with Carver’s writing of some of his more iconic original episodes or what? :D I don’t think these episodes compare in other ways because they’re 10/10 for completely different reasons like crack or plot or character stuff or concept, none of which the other can remotely compare to even when it’s got its own 10/10s. Like the only common thread is the flower boxes in the diner are in the motel room when Cas is getting up in Dean’s personal space. 

Am I in too deep in the meta of this show.

8. jimmy novak or emmanuel?

Jimmy! He’s his own character and we probably need to take a moment to remember him every other time we talk about Cas or Claire so he’s so important even if his role is just the one episode and a few lines in Heaven. I really love everything about him in The Rapture. Also, these are weirdly biased Carver questions so I’m just going to lol that he has the same job and wife as the fake backstory Gabriel pretended to have in Mystery Spot when they confronted him. I have a mental venn diagram for weird little Carver tropes and it *cracks me up*.

Emmanuel is interesting but I don’t see a lot of “variations” of the characters as their own distinct people in the way they often get depicted as unique versions. Like I get separating them out for distinctions of who you’re talking about, but Emmanuel was just Cas with memory loss and his “Emmanuel” identity had very little development or exploration - we really just knew how Daphne found him and how he picked his name and some other little tiny details like his sweater or house... All the rest including healing people and all the stuff between him and Dean was ABOUT and FOR the fact he was Cas and ties into Cas’s characterisation anyway so... I don’t see any need to separate him out except for being clear about what I’m talking about :P 

9. favorite hair: sam’s, dean’s or cas’?

DEAN. It looks so fluffable. And soft. And then spiky and ready for a fight. Dean is his hair. His hair is Dean. Please pat him on the head someone. Or grip his hair really tight and pull it. Hee.

10. “i lost my shoe” or “you have a guinea pig? where?”

“I lost my shoe” is a CLASSIC kind of line that gets put on mugs and bumper stickers and shit. How can I not say it??

11. abbadon or ketch?

Abaddon because she’s terrifying and sexy and deserved to take over Hell and get a whole season as the big bad/Queen of Hell and I am still disappointed. Ketch was fun and all but he was in and out and did exactly what he needed to do in the story. Abaddon just got TEASED to us and then they murdered her awfully instead of letting her be awesome. I’m always going to be frustrated they brought her back and never worked out what to do with her.

12. lucifer or michael?

Michael absolutely any time ever. He’s legit scary and the big bad of the show. Lucifer is a joke and even in season 5 when he’s scary he’s not AS scary or important as Michael. Like yeah he’s the devil or whatever, but it’s all branding. Look at him. It’s all paper thin because he’s the Worst Sam parallel but it’s just like, so what if he was actually a monster with all the expected murdery-ness - Michael’s the Worst Dean parallel and taking THAT bundle of anxiety about what Dean might be and turning it into an enemy is horrifying. 

13. benny or charlie?

Long live the Queen :(