#questions or wants elaboration on anything

[herearedragons]

would you mind elaborating on edér's writing in deadfire? i don't recall anything really egregious but im not a Pillars Scholar

I am about to turn into an unskippable cutscene.

so there are four parts to my beef with Deadfire Edér, the first being more nebulous and having to do with his Overall Vibe, the second being the orlan racism (we'll get there), the third being the way him being unromanceable was handled (which tbf largely comes from me being disappointed because I, Personally shipped it, but I do have some gripes with how it was executed from a storytelling standpoint), and the fourth being his companion quest, which I think contains the strongest cases of He Would Not Fucking Say That. (if you just want to know what I referred to in the tags of that post, just skip to the fourth point, titled The Companion Quest.)

Deadfire spoilers from this point on. (also SORRY, this is long, you've enabled this, I'm just going to spell out ALL of my beef here so I no longer have to retype it. this is also very biased on account of me preferring POE1 Edér and my specific reading of his character. if you, the person reading this, got something different from this character and prefer it to my vision, cool! you might get some entertainment out of seeing the hole I dug myself into.)

TL;DR I feel like Edér's Deadfire writing had a change in characterization that I didn't enjoy, and that it drops the ball on things that Pillars Of Eternity and The Reaping (Edér's short story) set up in a way that just makes me feel bad.

The Overall Vibe: this is honestly take-it-or-leave-it, but I feel like Deadfire dumbed him down somewhat? like he has great lines still, there are moments where he's shown to be observant and calls people out on their bullshit, but... idk. I feel like the companion and NPCs treat him with much more scorn specifically related to him bring a Dumb Farmer, and the thing is that... it's kind of presented like they're right? There's a Serafen banter where Serafen kind of says that Edér's a no thoughts head empty kind of guy, which... he's not? Or, at least, that's not the kind of person he's been shown to be in POE1 and in his short story (The Reaping). The vibe I got from pre-Deadfire media was that if anything, Edér is an overthinker, constantly questioning the people around him and himself. He has his blind spots, for sure (orlans.), but he's very concerned with doing the right thing, and he can often offer insights into why people act the way they do. He's critical, and he's empathetic, and... that's just not there in Deadfire, because I guess "Edér is your himbo tank buddy" makes for a better punchline. (<- salty)

and this is me getting REALLY petty, but his Deadfire voice being significantly deeper/more gruff doesn't help matters. like, PLEASE, go listen to the audio of him talking about the farmer and his Hollowborn child in POE1, or him saying ANYTHING at all about Woden. You can hear his voice break. You can hear the sincerity and the uncertainty and the anguish. you don't really get that in Deadfire imo

The Orlan Racism: idk, chat, I agree that the guy is weird about orlans, I wish we had any actual dialogue about that instead of just watching him put his foot in his mouth over and over (we'll GET to the rejection dialogue.), but like I think we could do better than this.

my beef isn't with Edér having prejudices, but with the... general way it's handled? his Hiravias banters are probably my favorite Edér Orlan Racism content across both games, because Edér says a stupid thing, gets yelled at by Hiravias, feels bad about it, tries to backtrack, and backpedals right into another microaggression. But also, there's more to his relationship with Hiravias: they chat about their shared experiences with violence, women and recreational drugs, and it sounds like Edér actually kind of relates to him. Not in a deep way, but in the way that lets them trade stories and go "hey, that happened to me too!". This makes me feel like the orlan microaggressions are something that's baked into Edér's cultural background to the point where (as he says himself) he doesn't understand that it's bad, or why Hiravias would take offense. it's funny, right? or it's a compliment? and he feels bad when he realizes that it's not, because that's not what he was trying to convey.

the Serafen banter could *maybe* be chocked down to the same kind of ignorance, but between that and Edér rejecting an orlan Watcher specifically on the grounds of them being an orlan (which from a Doylist perspective is a LIE, by the way)... idk, it feels like it's veering more into "he doesn't see orlans as the same as other kith", which is kind of not the vibe I got in POE1? and it's kind of played as like, well what can you do, he's just ignorant/prejudiced like that, which... feels bad? considering that the Watcher, potentially his best friend and moral compass, could be an orlan? if he was so prejudiced towards orlans, wouldn't he have not put so much stock into them in the first place? also, might be just me, but combined with the "FARMER /derogatory" of it all it almost feels weirdly classist? like, ah yes, the hick farmer is racist, what can we do. he can't possibly learn or have second thoughts about this. he can't possibly rethink that mindset, nevermind that his entire arc up to this point was about his entire worldview being shattered, he's just so set in his ways, you guys! isn't it funny how awkward he is!

anyway, I've read reddit comments that went "well some people in real life are like this", which, fair! but also, this is a fictional character that serves a purpose, and I don't think that's the best direction to take him in. it's fine if we disagree on this.

The Unromanceability: well, clearly I came out of POE1 an Edér/Watcher shipper, and from the tag dives I've done, I clearly wasn't the only one, and I also wasn't the only one disappointed by what we got in Deadfire (I also understand that companion romances were promised but not which companions, so people went into Deadfire on release fully intending to kiss Edér. and to all those people: I'm So Sorry.)

anyway my thoughts are that him not being romanceable is, like, fine. we could just do a fated besties HawkeVarric situation and whoever wanted to ship it could do it in fic. it would have literally been fine.

what we got was a) the option to confess to Edér and be rejected by him, b) this banter.

let's break it down.

the confession: let me preface this by saying that I know that people have interpreted Edér's rejection as him being aromantic, to which I say, cool! honestly, if I wasn't already deep in the Edér x Watcher romantic trenches I might have picked it up. but it is what it is.

a few things that I have a bone to pick with here.

as I've learned from going through the game's text files, Edér will start his rejection the same way, but will have a different reason for it depending on who the Watcher is. if the Wather is an orlan, he'll claim that back at home orlans and folk "just don't mix" and he hasn't gotten over that; if the Watcher is a man, he'll say that he's not into men and (I KID YOU NOT.) will hit you with an "in another life, maybe" (WILD IN A WORLD WHERE THERE'S REINCARNATION.); if the Watcher is a non-orlan woman, he'll claim that he hasn't really "felt like that" about anyone since Elafa.

so let me get this straight. the orlan and male Watcher lines are basically a lie, right? because he still rejects you if you're NOT an orlan. "maybe in another world" is a lie, because if you're a folk woman, he'll STILL reject you. there IS no universe where he reciprocates. so... why did he SAY that? why did he talk about orlans? WHY did he say "in another life" to a male Watcher, implying that under different circumstances he would have, if he just wouldn't?

I will say that if you read him as aro it works pretty well, because it looks like he's just reaching for the nearest excuse because he doesn't have the words to explain how he really feels about romance. Which is fun. But if that wasn't the intention, then it kind of makes me feel like? he's saying the thing that would hurt the most for this specific kind of Watcher? for some reason?

the thing about him being unromanceable (and here's where the banter is going to come in) is that I just can't figure out how the game wants me to feel about the idea of him and the Watcher being together? does it want me to laugh at it? does it want me to think there's a chance? like, if you want there to be no romance, you just need to not implement it. but knowing that people (including me. I'm people) loved the character in POE1 and came into Deadfire looking forward to romance him, the explicit need to shoot down the idea twice, with someone bringing it up and Edér going "no." is WEIRD. and Tekēhu's "Ngati weeps for such wasted potential" line is WEIRD. it feels like the game is making fun of me for even wanting that to be an option. It doesn't feel good or organic. And if Edér WAS meant to be aromantic, I don't think that's the best way to convey that. It's fine if we don't agree on this.

The Companion Quest: okay, NOW we can talk about Elafa.

The Reaping is a short story by Edér's lead writer, set just before the Eothasian purges started. It gives us a look into what Gilded Vale was like in that time, what the people felt and what it was like to be an Eothasian. It's great, it's freaking sad, I really like it.

In that story, Elafa is a Gilded Vale woman about Edér's age, who he used to hook up with before the war, when they both were younger (so in their teens, I assume). He meets her for the first time after coming back from the Saint's War at a celebration, dances with her, notes how she looks older now. They're still somewhat fond of each other, and he ends up spending the night with her. He then finds out that Elafa has married since he last saw her (I don't remember if we ever learn what happened to the husband), and that she has a child that she's raising alone. Her child is Hollowborn.

I'm going to show you a few passages from The Reaping now.

this is his relationship with Elafa in The Reaping.

fellas, is this what the guy from the above scenes would say about the woman from the above scenes FIRST THING when being asked about her? in front of a stranger? (this is triggered right after recruiting Xoti.)

I don't know. maybe it's just me, but when he finds out that her son is Hollowborn, the FIRST THING he does is voice his support. the second thing he does is try to imagine himself in her shoes. later in the story he kills a man with his bare hands to save her Hollowborn son, she kills another, and they hide the evidence together.

^ he's saying that one TO HER SON. (not the Hollowborn. other son.)

fellas, is this the same people?

(^ being extremely salty)

and then, the other thing about his companion quest is These Lines

chat.... is this Edér? is this Edér "the gods really have it in for you; wish they knew you like I did" Teylecg? is this the guy specifically built up by the narrative to be your ride-or-die? the guy who saw his god crawl out of the earth and instead of doing LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE hoofed it to where he knew YOU were, to save your life?

please explain to me the purpose behind having him go "hey, you know how I said I care about you? well, I kind of didn't mean that. can we go find that woman I hooked up with and see if her second son is mine?" in the exact way he did. like. POE1 and The Reaping conditoned me to think of him as someone who understands people. who FEELS for them. POE1 and the opening of Deadfire, by virtue of him SAVING MY GODDAMN LIFE, also conditioned me to think he cares about the Watcher. deeply. sincerely. WHY is the narration trying to convince me otherwise? WHY are we throwing out every single part of the character that I originally found appealing? POE1 Edér became my favorite because he was funny, yes, but also because he was insightful; because he was questioning; because you could hear in his voice that this is a guy teetering on his breaking point and still trying to find joy in the world, trying to find something, anything that would help him make sense of things; because he cared about people, and he cared about the Watcher. he trusted you with his past, and you helped him make peace with it. he saw you through the horrors and the creeping insanity of an Awakening, and offered whatever help he could, and felt that he knew you. his world shattered during the Saint's War, and you helped him find his place in the wreckage, where something new may grow. you were with him when he found out the truth about his brother and about Eothas, and decided what it meant to him. that's FUN. that's COMPELLING. that REWROTE MY BRAIN CHEMISTRY.

Deadfire is a great game and Edér has great moments in it. But I have subjective, petty beef with it, and I also have slightly less subjective beef with the way it just chooses not to follow through on things like his relationships with Elafa and Hiravias, reducing these topics to one-liners that deny him both depth and growth, which is WHAT I LIKED ABOUT HIM. I didn't like him because he was a himbo tank. I liked the existential crisis. And we don't even GET a fun existential crisis for him in Deadfire, because it just does "is Eothas.... bad?" again. arguably the "am I a dad?" arc could have been a fun existential crisis, but I just don't like the way it was done - and resolved - at all

so... yeah.

[lucifyrfallen]

snippets of my brozone age swap au! although through popular vote [2 people] i shall age swap every single sibling in this au...

two things i want to say, first of all there will be a fanfic - i have a 10k outline and currently writing the first chapter but it probably won't be published this month, just because of i'm busy but hopefully you guys would like it!

secondly, is this just a very elaborate way to ship john dory with a cowboy that isn't hickory and/or delta? yeah. this is MY version of a yumeship shhh 🤫 and i love me a classic age swap au, two birds and a flame torch as they say.

i don't really want to spoil anything right now but feel free to drop questions!

[soclearlytosee]

a primary early s5 threat is likely a s1-style lone Demogorgon hunting kids...

...and that Demogorgon is probably being directed by Vecna.

at this point others have definitely also come to this conclusion, but I just wanted to lay this out somewhere more clearly/concisely.

first, the evidence from leaks/BTS/footage:

an early s5 filming rumor was that Frank Darabont directed a Home Alone-style sequence with a Demogorgon, which came from the same source as a bunch of other things that have been proven true. plus we clearly have a big sequence in a mansion in a Darabont-directed episode (5.03, The Turnbow Trap) reminiscent of the iconic house in that movie.

the lights are flickering in quite a few scenes that we've seen footage of from eps 1-4, and specifically the ones the feature the child characters (Holly's room and the upstairs bathroom at the Wheeler House in ep 1, at the Turnbow mansion in ep 3, and now at the farm in ep 4)

the strangerwriters twitter account saying "Season 5 is like if season 1 and 4 had a baby. And then that baby was injected with steroids."

the rhythmic banging from the date announcement voice memo/teaser feels like a fairly straightforward callback to the s1 Demogorgon's recurring ominous offscreen footsteps (that then escalates, s1 on steroids etc).

There's obviously something going on with Holly and her classmates, and a not quite yet parseable feedback loop between Vecna and the military's interest in them (considering the pap photos of Henry, Holly, and the other kids in the Creel House Mindscape, and the kids at the military base which we've now seen in the teaser footage)

but more importantly, what would that do for us, character- and plot-wise?

Bring up big feelings for our characters who experienced Will and Barb's disappearances in s1

especially since, according to the season logline, a certain anniversary is coming up...

Tee up a reveal about what it looks like when Vecna is directing a Demogorgon remotely

according to the season logline, Vecna is currently laying low: "[Vecna] has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown." similarly, it's pretty clear he's been part of the picture this whole time but if that's the case he had to have been acting from a significant remove in s1 too.

while we are also revisiting Will's time in the Upside Down in 1983 in flashback form, showing us a version of Vecna's s1 strategy in the present would be an additional opportunity to surface some answers after years of the "Was Will taken intentionally or just a bystander? Did Will see Vecna or the Demogorgon on Mirkwood?" discourse.

Serve as a device to travel into the Upside Down

if they bring back the s1 Demogorgon's ability to create smaller, temporary gates, our cast should be more prepared to take advantage of that opportunity to travel to/from the Upside Down this time around. (though the time limit on the lil Demogorgon gates makes that risky...and might lead to something like perhaps a certain character whose early season activities are still a big question mark being stuck in the same clothes for three-quarters of the season)

please don't ask me to square that with Vecna's s3/s4 needing to steal El's powers in order to open his own gates via elaborate teen murder ritual I'm not a writer on this show. let's say it's probably a question of magnitude/temporality for now

so yes, I have come around to feeling like this is probably one of the big drivers of the early s5 plot (after really walking the long way around to get here even though in retrospect like anything it seems like the most obvious choice for them to make, and I think a smart one). other supernatural forces should also be at work - I'm at least feeling some mysterious medical stuff going around, and maybe disappearances via an additional mechanic. plus the Demogorgon situation would start more at a 1.03/1.04 level and escalate quickly, building to a new monster/s reveal around the end of 5.04 with whatever is knocking at the downtown military base's door in the teaser.

and still more to suss out on Vecna's motivations here, what's going on with his Creel House Mindscape set up with the kids (maybe playing both sides by siccing a scary monster on them and then getting to swoop in as a benevolent helper?), how the military's interest in the kids factors in, and then Max's role in all this.

[ofgrenvde]

He'd known she'd been thinking about it too, but hearing her say it out loud made everything feel more real somehow. Like they weren't just two people pretending this was casual anymore. She'd been replaying those months just like he had, wondering what might have been if he hadn't been such a coward about staying put. The look on her face when she asked if he was ready made him want to laugh. Was he ready? Mate, he'd been ready since he'd walked into this bloody diner and seen her sitting there trying to act like she didn't care. Hell, he'd been ready since Chicago when he'd been too much of an idiot to do anything about what was happening between them. All this dancing around each other was getting tiresome. "More than you should have, eh?" He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "Well, that's something we have in common then. Been driving myself mad thinking about what I should've done differently back then." Honesty felt dangerous but necessary. They'd already admitted too much to go back to pretending now. 

Besides, what was the point in lying when they both knew exactly why they were here? She was still fighting this, even now. He could see it in her eyes—that last bit of resistance warring with want. Fair enough. He'd been doing the same thing for months, telling himself he could forget about her while knowing damn well it was bollocks. Some things you just couldn't shake, no matter how hard you tried. Her question about being ready almost made him laugh out loud. Ready? Christ, he'd been ready before they'd even ordered food. This whole meal had been nothing but an elaborate bit of foreplay disguised as small talk. They both knew it. The only question was whether she was finally going to stop pretending otherwise. He reached across the table and took her hand before she could change her mind. Her skin felt exactly like he remembered. "I've been ready, love," he said, already standing up and tossing some notes on the table. "Question is whether you're done talking about it." He threaded their fingers together and started heading for the door, already thinking about what came next. Time for games was over. Finally.

COMPLETED

His confession about never being good at healthy obsessions made something twist in her chest - not because it was romantic, but because it felt like looking in a mirror. She'd built her whole life around unhealthy obsessions too, hadn't she? Helping people who couldn't be helped, staying married longer than she should have, now this thing with him that made zero sense but felt inevitable anyway. The Chicago issue felt like a loaded gun between them. Of course she'd thought about it. Those months had replayed in her head more times than she cared to admit - not just the physical tension, but the quiet moments too. Him reading while she worked, the way he'd actually listen when she talked about her cases, how he never treated her like she was just there to serve him. She'd convinced herself it was all one-sided until right now. "Healthy obsessions are overrated anyway," she said, surprising herself with the admission. "And Chicago..." She paused, weighing how much truth she could handle giving him. "Yeah, I thought about it. Probably more than I should have."

The conversation during their meal had been easier than expected - him telling stories about jobs gone wrong, her sharing horror stories from the safe houses. Normal stuff, almost. Like they were just two people who happened to know each other instead of whatever complicated mess this actually was. He'd made her laugh, which felt dangerous in its own way. Laughing with someone meant letting them in, and she'd spent years perfecting the art of keeping people at arm's length. Now, staring at their empty plates and the check he'd already paid, reality was setting in. They'd been dancing around this for an hour, pretending they were here for food when they both knew better. Her pulse had been racing since he'd sat down, anticipation mixing with terror in equal measure. She looked around the diner one more time, then back at him. No more stalling, no more pretending this was anything other than what it was. "You ready to do this?"

[mercurials]

I really like brandy's design!! can u tell us a bit more about her backstory?

THANK U!! :') i accidentally wrote a huge ramble so i hid it under a readmore and added a tldr paragraph lol! gonna try not to feel too cringe for sharing all this bc shes from a silly little fantasy animal rp teehee. also if anything seems contradictory or lacking in context its bc theres a lot of nuance to the roleplay/dynamics that i had to leave out cuz i could talk forever

TLDR - basically she grew up a religious fanatic who was training to be a priestess of a warmongering god, and left home at too young of an age to carry out missionary work after she received a sign from him. being young, very sheltered, and always in search of attention and validation (she'd suffered through a lot of emotional neglect and outright hatred at various points in her life thus far), it wasn't long before she fell in with a bad, predatory crowd and an abusive boyfriend. this led to her completely cutting herself off from her family out of shame (and fear over abandoning her missionary work) and a long and still ongoing struggle with substance abuse, self worth issues, problems setting boundaries and understanding her sexuality, and self-destructive hedonism. the shitty hand she was dealt felt like a betrayal, considering it was all caused by her leaving to carry out religious duties, so she spurned her god and has been unlearning a lot of religious bullshit ever since. after being dumped by her boyfriend it took her a long time to reconnect with her family, because she spent a while spiraling in isolation with deeply unhealthy coping mechanisms as she navigated a fuckton of trauma with no help. since then, however, she was found by her aunt and finally brought home - though the home was new, as her family had been exiled from their community during her absence due to political conflict. reuniting with them has been the best thing for her; she was welcomed back with open arms and is slowly working through everything that's happened to her, but her recovery has had many ups and downs.

longer version

(content warning for themes of pedophilia and abuse beginning in paragraph 5)

despite being born elsewhere, early on she moved to and grew up in a deeply religious society that worships a bloodthirsty god - and she was all for it in her youth. like, very gung ho about becoming a priestess, cutting off her siblings who still lived in their birthplace, etc etc. her beloved grandmother was one of the rulers of this society and a voice of their god, so it meant everything to her.

this new life gave her the purpose, community, and companionship that she lacked in her birthplace, with no friends and a neglectful and emotionally distant immediate family, so as a lonely and vulnerable child she was caught hook, line, and sinker. she connected with extended family that actually made her feel wanted, she was favored by a god to the point of being granted powers, and she felt whole. i think isolating herself from her immediate family, who did not live here with her, gave her a sense of retribution as well.

buuut there was also a lot of developing political tension and a lot of vitriol toward her family - spearheaded by her grandmother's co-ruler, who had powerful sway. and in a brutal environment like her warmongering clan, this was a major and dangerous threat. so for all the joy brandy found in living here and worshipping her god, youthfully unaware of the conquest this necessitated, she grew more unhappy than she was able to identify. so when she one day manifested the ability to grow (and retract) a pair of wings, she interpreted this as a sign from the red god and jumped at the opportunity to leave her home and carry out missionary work in his name - perhaps out of a desperation to leave this place, although that was largely a subconscious motivation.

she was absolutely too young to be striking out on her own, probably around 15 at most (i was writing her on a feral forum rp so the aging was obv different which makes the conversion fucky so im still figuring that stuff out a bit lmao). but what the red god said, went, so no one questioned it - and she was naively eager and unafraid. she was his chosen. she was royalty. she was invincible.

NOT REALLY! she was more vulnerable than she ever could have realized, so desperate to prove her value to her clan (...and get as far away from those seeking to harm her as possible). desperate to be seen and loved without any judgment for her lineage. so it was all too easy for one of the first men she met beyond her land's borders to take advantage of her, and lead her astray from her goals - she was young, after all, and had very little world experience. finn was his name, and he introduced brandy to an entirely new world than anything she'd ever experienced, one of hedonistic vice. nothing a fifteen year old had any business engaging with, and certainly nothing a grown man had any business introducing a fifteen year old to. this new world, this new attention, was intoxicating to someone as sheltered and high strung as brandy - it wasn't long before she and finn began dating, and relatively soon after that her missionary work fell easily to the wayside.

their honeymoon phase felt amazing, like a dream to brandy, but red flags eventually began emerging that she didn't yet have the capacity to examine or act against. finn would always subtly shut down conversations about her home and family, and grew increasingly more controlling, overprotective, argumentative, and jealous over time. resentment did begin to fester within brandy, but she was easily guilt tripped or otherwise pressured out of it time and time again... until things came to a head in an explosive argument that ended with finn dumping brandy and kicking her out.

distraught, she spurned the god who'd led his devotee down this path and then let her suffer like this, and struck out on her own instead of returning home - the shame of dropping off the face of the earth and abandoning her family was too much to bear. what if they hated her for running away? for abandoning her mission? from there, she spiraled, finding relief in substance abuse and the bed of any stranger that would take her. it was the one area in which she enjoyed any sense of autonomy and control - although it reinforced the lesson she'd learned from finn and his friends that her body and sexuality were what gave her worth. with time her physical and mental health began to plummet, her sense of self weakening and her hedonistic escapism becoming the only thing keeping her afloat despite slowly sucking the spirit out of her. she missed her family desperately, and longed to be a child in their arms once more, but as time went on reaching out to them became less and less of a material possibility in her mind.

but by pure chance and far into the future, she one day stumbled into her aunt, arya, while out and about; though panic overtook brandy at the sudden reunion, arya was only ecstatic to see her again, which was an unbelievable relief. but it was a bittersweet reunion - brandy had missed a lot, including the assassination of her beloved grandmother and subsequent exile of her entire family from their community. the former broke her heart and flooded her with even more guilt about her abandonment. here she'd been gallavanting about, living solely for herself and running away from her responsibilities and family and obligations, while the loved ones she'd been trying so hard to forget were suffering.

it took a lot of reassurance and convincing to ease brandy's nerves about going home and reuniting with everyone else, but ultimately she gave in – and it was one of the best decisions she ever made. everyone welcomed her back with open arms, having assumed she'd died and ecstatic to be proven wrong. she moved in with her living grandmother and began rekindling the relationships she'd lost and missed out on for so much of her life, and though recovery has been a massively uphill battle she's doing what she can with her newfound support system.

aaaand that concludes everything i properly rped before the site i wrote on crashed and burned ✌🏼

[calamarispiderart]

magical girls, generally, have something they fight against. this holds true in hms mg:ljga!.

heart, mind and soul fight 'Shadows', abstracted manifestations of consciousness and circumstance that have a tendency to mirror (or 'shadow') their individual and group situations. they often carry repetitive motifs or themes, functioning as tangible metaphors that must be 'resolved', much like any conflict.

the way in which a shadow is resolved varies. itd be wrong to say that there is ever one true or 'correct' resolution. rather, its a matter of what the group (or the individual,) sees as a proper ending to the matter. often, they default to violence.

it works well (or well enough...) for most shadows, as far as they can tell. its certainly easier than trying to talk it out...

[wundrousarts]

Firstly can I say I discovered your tumblr yesterday and this is everything I've been looking for for the past 6 years since I was first waiting for hollowpox ❤.

I was wondering what you know about the series' chronology, because I was expecting it to be like Harry Potter with one book to a year, but Hollowpox started halfway through mog's first year at wunsoc? Idk, are there any fan theories/confirmed info from Townsend?

It makes me so happy to hear that you enjoy my blog!!! This is truly just my space for me to nerd out about Nevermoor and I love that there are people that feel the same way about the series lol 💜

As for the passage of time with the series, Jessica Townsend has mentioned a few different times that each book will not be a year. Here's an Instagram story from a June 2020 Q&A:

Silverborn is covering the shortest timeframe so far, as it seems to essentially just cover Winter. Based on the snippets and information we know, it'll probably start with the Black Parade and end soon after Mog's 14th birthday. My personal guess is that the series might end when Mog is finished as a junior scholar, so when she's 16? But who knows what the timeframe for the next 5 books are!

I do hope we get an epilogue with older Morrigan though. An early idea for the series was her as a crazy aunt, and I want to see Aunt Mog!

[liquidstar]

wait speaking of getting isekia'd via truck, a couple weeks back me and a friend on were talking abt portal fantasy/isekai tropes (mostly bc i was infodumping abt rz again), and it made me think abt a fun concept for an ocverse. tho its possible similar things have been done obvs with just how inflated the genre is, just hear me out OK

story starts in the normal world, with a typical Nerdy Guy going about his daily life, expositing about how he feels bored and longs for adventure and magic, just like in all of his favorite media. as he's crossing the street, distracted by his mobile game, he doesn't notice The Truck(tm) coming straight towards him. except he's not hit by it- he's pushed out of the way in the last second, saved by a passing girl who gets hit in his place. this is who the story is about now.

mc gets sent to that sort of intermediary dimension that some isekai have, where she meets the Goddess Lady or whatever that was in charge of the whole isekai situation. goddess lady proceeds to freak out, because she nabbed the wrong person, and she's going to be in SO MUCH TROUBLE. she starts questioning the mc, only to find out that this kid has a good social life, does well in school, is in sports, and has barely ever played a video game. basically the opposite of the socially introverted, underachieving, repressed, genre-aware guy she was supposed to have reincarnated. for the sake of fulfilling somekinda hero prophesy or whatever. and the mc kinda bargains to be sent to the fantasy world anyway bc, well, its that or death i guess. so the two of them kinda have to team up to course-correct this mix-up.

mc is kinda given a list of tasks to do that basically mirror how a typical story like this Would Go, expected to fall in line with the tropes in order to achieve the ultimate goal, but kinda ends up failing at all of them... or not? failing backwards, maybe. doing it in a way different from how its meant to go- using the wrong formula, but somehow getting the right solution. while sort of continuing to question the insanity of the whole situation, and the nature of this whole fantasy world. just fucking up all the tropes.

but a layer i'd wanna add on top of all that is the fact that the hero prophesy (or whatever) called for a man. so upon arriving to this new world, the mc is basically put into a "gender swapped" body and... doesnt seem to mind. this isnt an uncommon isekai trope either, but i hardly see it tackled with much care to really explore whole Gender Thing beyond gags about the "mismatch" (which can be in poor taste) or the conclusion that "well because their Body is now this gender, their gender identity changes to match" which i feel is a pretty shallow and binary take-away to draw abt bodies and identity.

but i think there can be more to explore w the prospect if you actually wanna get into gender stuff. in this case, i'd particularly wanna get into the idea of imposter syndrome. the main character was not MEANT to be... the main character. seen as a phony fighting tooth and nail to meet expectations, and constantly fumbling. not a real hero, or a real man. but its meant to be an act anyway, so why does that bother her? it was like that back on earth too, trying as hard as possible to be the perfect girl. a good social life, does well in school, is in sports.... but that good girl thing always felt fake too. or desperate. what was she trying to prove? how long as this BEEN bothering her, actually? why does it feel easier to breathe in this body, despite everything? the way this whole act makes her happy is scary, because its fake isn't it? but wait, which part was fake? the before or after? is it all fake? isn't this all just a mistake?

was it really a mistake? who is more heroic; a guy too focused on a mobile game to pay attention to those around him, or the person who risked their life to save a stranger? but the hero prophesy was for a "man," right? what does that even mean?

[david-watts]

I don't want to talk about this too much for a few reasons but firstly. incredible how different things can seem if you're not suffering symptoms. truly the 'nothing in life matters' meme but replace it with 'I know nothing about my favourite guy (t. e.)'. but still hole in brain aside most of that was suffering symptoms as bad of an excuse as either of those are

[crossbackpoke-check]

thank you to @bhagell!! choose and then tag people you want to get to know better <3

coffee or tea | early bird or night owl | chocolate or vanilla | spring or fall | silver or gold | pop or alternative | freckles or dimples | snakes or sharks | mountains or fields | thunder or lightning | egyptian mythology or greek mythology | ivory or scarlet | flute or lyre I opal or diamond | butterflies or honeybees I macarons or eclairs | typewritten or handwritten | secret garden or secret library I rooftop or balcony | spicy or mild | opera or ballet | london or paris | vincent van gogh or claude monet | denim or leather | potions or spells | ocean or desert | mermaids or sirens | masquerade ball or cocktail party

tagging: @whitenikes @catboy-mahura @gordiemeow @songsandswords @2minutes4yeehawing (if y’all haven’t already) and anybody who wants to participate!!

[mcybree]

Ok ok ok I'm not Tryna start discourse but bluestars prophecy was my first ever warriors book and bluestar will always be my favourite so I'm gonna make some counterpoints to you about her being a Smajor character

bluestar has always been led by an intense loyalty and dedication to those she loves and cares for - this includes her mum, her sister, her clan, eventually Firepaw when he joins the clan, and she has a VERY strong moral compass when it comes to doing the right thing - when she sees thistleclaw teaching tigerpaw to hurt a then baby scourge she very much discourages it and is against it

Afaik scott is Not like that, he doesn't have an emotional or love-driven moral code, he does things because they're smart decisions in the long term or because he wants to. Granted I havent seen a ton of his stuff but I have seen his limited life and 3rd life perspectives and he is very much a singular team player there, there to look after himself and well if people align with him that's great he's got allies (jimmy and Martyn) but he won't go out of his way to care for them

Bluestars defiance of starclan in the first series is BECAUSE she gave herself to them and what the warrior code demanded so much - yes she broke clan rules by having kids with crookedstar but she did everything in her power to make sure they'd have a happy life and felt terrible that thrushpelt was willing to say they were his to save her reputation. She didn't do it out of a selfish want, she only ever wanted to help her clan and those she loved, and her becoming clan leader is emblematic of that want. When she rejects starclan so wholeheartedly in the first series it's because THINGS KEEP GOING WRONG WHEN SHES TRIED SO HARD TO STOP THEM FROM DOING THAT - starclan has never cared about the sacrifices she made to keep her loved ones and clan safe, she lost her mother, her sister, her kits, her mate, literally everything, and things STILL KEEP GETTING WORSE. it's not a demand that she deserves to have everything good, it's a cry for help that shouldn't something go right after she's tried so hard???

C!Scott isn't like that. He puts himself above others and inherently believes he will get the best if he just plays his cards right, and he is good at it, he's very competent at lasting a long time in life series and getting what he wants - the ruthlessness of gem driven by desperation kills him in secret life, Martyn's complete fucking about face kills him in limited life, and I'm pretty sure it's etho who gets him out in 3rd life by luck. He doesn't plan to look after the ones he cares about, because he cares about himself first and foremost. Yeah you can argue when he doesn't get what he wants he gets annoyed, but his is less of a 'why don't I get this don't I deserve it' and more of a 'oh fuck this didn't work. Ok new plan double down on getting what I want by appeasing to people cos they're easy to read and therefore account for'

I don't doubt Scott would make a bluestar adjacent character if he made a warrior cats oc BUT his character would honestly be closer to darktail or ashfur than bluestar and that's that on that.

(sorry you activated 13 year old me's unskippable cutscene sjdjsjsjja this isnt meant to be a serious argument I just love bluestar a lot and love talking about her)

OKAY 1. this is fucking awesome thank you 2. i am going to do something new and exciting (advocate for scott instead of beating him to death with sticks) because unfortunately this bluestar info has only made me believe she is a smajor character even more.

As a general note when I talk about smajor characters as a collective here I’m referring to characters more in the realm of esmp/traffic/rats/pirates/etc, less vampire scott or necromancer scott who are intended to be villainous.

Scott characters tend to operate under a “If I am not a Good Person I may as well die” rule, and consequently abide by a strict moral code to keep themselves feeling clean. For instance: traffic Scott will never go back on his word, he will avoid dishonesty, and he won’t take from others unless he is sure that he can repay them. He will never betray his seasonal primary ally (even when they betray him first), and will often give people things just because they asked him nicely. He stakes a lot of his own identity on this, because it is through being a “good person” that he justifies his superiority (and, by extension, his own existence); in his mind he deserves the best and *is* the best because he is such a good person. When things don’t go his way, he thinks he doesn’t deserve it because he has been nothing but good, so he tries to place a reason. He often assumes that somebody must “have a vendetta” against him, even if this somebody is the world (see: him asking if limlife episode 1 boogeyman is some kind of joke played on him for not giving in to the boogey curse in Last Life.) which is very Bluestar to me, convinced that her misfortunes are a divine punishment.

This is all to say that Scott does have a strict moral code and deep sense of loyalty. Being a “good person” and devoted partner in the ways he understands it are so ingrained into what he is that I think he definitely has the capacity to be a Bluestar if he were raised being taught clan values, even if his internal systems are often built around never letting gross emotions be fully felt rather than what those emotions compel him to do.

[creatively-cosmic]

Hi Starry, I’m back! :D

I’m glad you like the questions and that they aren’t annoying, because every bit of lore I read is like a taking a shot of dopamine lmao. And that picture of Fire getting a hug 🥹 brightened up my whole day. Trust me when I say that you guys reposting pictures and adding content to older ones isn’t obnoxious in the slightest. The art (at least for me) makes it easier to digest and form connections about the story in my head, plus y’alls art is great—who wouldn’t want to look at it? The lore/art in the last one was particularly interesting. (Like, young Red looks like such an polite, upstanding citizen and then you scroll down two pages and now it’s like “Tf you lookin crazy for”? Was that an implication that Steven had something to do with Red going missing/becoming Glitchy? And Leaf is funking DEAD?-)

Anyways, you know what that means! Question time: Leaf Edition!

The First (and most obvious) question: What happened to Leaf? Why is the homegirl dead? (Why was Leaf being dead, out of all the things I’ve seen so far, the one thing I wasn’t expecting?)

Second: What’s the relationship between Leaf, Fire and Blue? You said that Blue and Fire’s murder-suicide loop was spurred on by her death, so were they friends before she died? Did they see it?

And two smaller questions: How tall are the main four (Red, Blue, Fire, Leaf)? And do they have Pokémon Teams? If so, what are their teams looking like?

That’s all till next time! Have a good day/afternoon/night wherever you are!

TUMBLR FUCKING CRASHED HALFWAY THROUGH ANSWERING THIS ASK IM SO MAD FUCK. FUCKKK

We honestly can't thank you enough for all your questions, compliments, and just overall being a huge sweetheart. We're really happy you've been enjoying these, and whatever dopamine you get from seeing these, we probably get like. TENFOLD, just for seeing someone so interested, and giving us a chance to talk about this wild ride of a story. So really- thank you. This has been a delight!

This one is gonna be REALLY long (I have to rewrite fucking HALF OF IT now DAMMIT), as we want to talk on the stuff you crossed out, too.

(I'll put their heights and teams in a follow-up post btw, so watch for that.)

1. Red.

Young Red is an interesting point in time. See, he and Blue had a LOT in common- a lot more than you might think. Of course, Red was a good kid, genuinely- always so caring for his Pokemon, kind and passionate about them. He was polite to the people around him, and always soft spoken, when or if he spoke at all. The adults around Kanto and his hometown always adored him for how well mannered he seemed- a real role model, and stand up child. Just a bit shy.

In all truth though, Red moreso had a very strong mask. One that he only dropped, allowing himself to relax and act like himself around one person: his best friend, Blue.

Both of those boys were a lot more immature and competitive with each other- the main difference being Blue didn't hide it like Red did. They LOVED competing, always trying to one up each other in everything they did. When they were together, Red wasn't afraid to speak his mind, signing or whispering to his friend with a smug grin on his face. Around his friend, Red could really be himself, and they both loved it. Having so much fun, roughhousing and taking jabs and just being children around each other. A lot of people, when seeing this, would assume Blue- who was always rude and a bit more standoffish- was a bad influence, but really, the two couldn't be happier than they were with each other.

... When you spend God knows how long, trapped in a dimension with no human life, desperate and angry with unholy forces eating away at your mind, will, and sanity. Let's just say masking doesn't end up staying a necessary skill. A good portion of why Red being Like That now is honestly? Just because he just gave up on trying to make himself presentable.

He has bigger problems now than worrying about how people see him, anyways.

2. Steven.

I'll try to keep this short, as the Strangled Red elements of this story could warrant it's own post entirely.

To put it simply: Steven is, in part, directly responsible for Red's fate.

It wasn't HIS decision, mind you. He barely even thinks for himself anymore. But there were things that wanted Red, and Steven is very suggestible when it takes the right approach. So it lays itself out so simply.

Red trusted Steven, after all. Idolized him. Missed him. Would follow him anywhere. What better possible option could there be?

Of course Steven is the one to drown that boy on the coast of Cinnabar.

3. Leaf. (cw for animal death.)

Finally, the star of the show for this ask (as if this isn't long enough already). I can see why the information for her is more supriding as we haven't posted as much for her, which. We do feel bad about- our ability and motivation to make art for her was severely hindered by our struggle (I'm talking MONTHS) to make a design for her that we were happy with. Her story is WELL figured out, though, so we're glos we get to discuss! And now that her design is actually finalized, there should be more visual stuff for her coming.

So what happened?

Well! As is the entire premise of Missing Numbers, each major individual is based off of various Pokepastas. The easiest way to answer that is one of two of Leaf's sources:

Abandoned Loneliness.

But first, we have to go further back.

Fire was not the only Vessel made by the Almighty.

... He was the first, and the favorite. But he wasn't the only one. Leaf was the other.

Once Fire had come to Palette town, the next Game was set to begin any time now. But as the Almighty looked down on the world, He looked back at the others that had been built, and realized that the new Kanto was missing something. An alternative option. Though He was reluctant to change the structure of the world, it was, by all means, an improvement, and something the Players would expect after the past Generations.

She was less meticulously made than her brother. She kept her Heart and Mind about her, as there wasn't time, nor was it safe, to rid her of them like Fire. She would serve well enough as a Vessel regardless- and she did, as when the Game began, Leaf was chosen as the player's Avatar. (Not quite what the Almighty had expected, but the choice had been given for a reason, so it would be foolish to change anything now...)

Blissfully unaware of the nature of her existence, Leaf proceeded to go on a triumphant adventure through Kanto.

This is a good time, before we get back to the tragedy, to answer your second question!

Leaf, Blue, and Fire's dynamic changed throughout their journey through Kanto. At the beginning, let's just say things were... Tense.

Fire acted hollow, in the beginning, as he was meant to. Genuinely, it was fully expected that he'd be chosen as the players Avatar. So without it, he was left... Quiet and cold. It seemed he didn't care for anyone- not Blue, nor his sister.

Blue, meanwhile, was NOT in a good headspace. But at this point, after about two years passed since Red's dissapearance, he'd learned to hide those feelings. The people of Palette town, including his Rivals, knew him as this bitter, irritable person, resentful towards the world for incomprehensible reasons.

Leaf was the only "normal" one, basically. A cheerful, excited girl, whose heart bled for everyone she cared about and always tried to stand for the right thing. She didn't know where she came from... She had no memories of her life before "Red" and Hazel (Fire's mother) Yuuji found her, seemingly abandoned in the tall grass just outside of Palette Town, under the falling autumn leaves. Taken in as a part of their family, she grew attracted quickly, her loyalty and love and impulsive need to protect coming to be what she was known for.

With all this given, when the journey started. Leaf HATED Blue- he seemed to despise and bully her brother more than anyone. Blue didn't like Leaf much either, but wasn't as harsh towards her as he was Fire. Fire was as... Neutral as ever. But he silently followed the two once they went out, almost as if he wanted to watch over them. Ensure their safety.

As the journey continued, over time, away from the stuffiness of their hometown, the three started to grow closer. Maybe the fresh air was doing Blue good. Maybe Leaf was learning more about the world. Maybe Fire's deep brown eyes were growing warmer.

Somehow, a death was the tipping point for all of them to finally become friends. It's absurd, how grief was the thing driving them apart, but ultimately went to bring them together.

When Blue's Raticate died, he quickly fell back to his lowest point. Angry and hateful and heartbroken, lashing out, and ultimately running away. ... But it put everything in perspective. Through all her guilt (it was in a fight against her, after all, that the Raticate had been so severely injured), Leaf suddenly understood why Blue had been so horrible before: he was mourning. And he needed someone. It didn't make her forgive him, but it made her extend a hand.

And for once, knelt over the grave of a lost Pokemon, Blue accepted it. From that act of kindness, Blue genuinely began to get along with the others, and slowly, the trio came to be friends- all the way up to and after the Championship, where despite losing again, Blue felt closer to the others than ever.

... It seems in this world, good things don't last.

The events of Abandoned Loneliness happened several months after Leaf became champion. When revisiting Raticate's grave with Blue, Leaf came across a peculiar Pokemon- a horribly sickly little Eevee, too weak to even cry. Leaf had never been the kind to leave a Pokemon in need to fend for itself- kindly, she took the little stray into her care, determined to nurse it back to health.

The properties of Glitched or Corrupted Pokemon aren't something I need to dive into right now this is already ungodly long. What's important is that the Eevee was not a natural Pokemon. It should've been dead.

It always starts with a Pokemon that should've been dead.

Let's just say... Everything unraveled from there. Fully explaining what the events of Abandoned Loneliness translates to in Missing Numbers isn't something I have the energy to write at the moment (this is so long and I've been putting off finishing it cause I'm still mad all my initial writing got deleted >_<).

The important part comes down to Leaf's demise at the hands of this "curse." Bonded to that sickly little Eevee, when the world pushed her to put it out of its misery- voices of the damned screaming, unbearable, suffocating, demanding she DO IT DO IT DO IT, you can't bear to watch it suffer anymore, after all... The destiny bond it held her in dragged her down with it.

Nobody witnessed her death. She was alone and isolated at the foot of a mountain. She thought she could solve everything herself. Thought she could handle it all.

Her body was only found days later, curled up on the ground, rotting blood seeping from her eyes, with the body of the poor little Eevee in her arms. Trapped and suffocated by the hands that killed it. It was far too late. To maje it worse, her friends were the first to know of her death.

Fire was the one who found her body, after all.

Leaf's demise was a SEVERE breaking point, and unlike Fire, she didn't get a chance to be revived by God. Her modern presence in the world was not... Authorized, let's just say. Leaf had to claw and fight to keep hold of herself and climb back to existence in ways unprecedented, and believed to be impossible. But despite being a corrupted entity, her body was stable. And so, rather than Smite her as he would other Glitches, the Almighty decided to make good of an unintended situation: He could make use of her. A man on the inside is a powerful tool, after all.

So long as He kept her anger for her fate targeted towards the "true" threats.

I could keep going but I've babbled on way too much already for this post lol. I'm so sorry about the delay on this one- life REALLY got in the way. And Tumblr's buggy ass mobile app 💀

hopefully i can elaborate more without any crashing in the next round if there is one ashfshf

[courtney-deserved-better]

this might be an odd question but I’ve always been curious about this.

But as the poster child for Alenoah, do you think people have flandarised you to be the ‘alenoah writer’? Ignoring works that have nothing to do with the ship?

that’s an interesting question! i guess i would say that i really don’t take any issue with how i’m seen in the fandom circle. i’ve never been “owed” attention for any of my fics—the fanfiction i write is what i would like to see or explore, and it makes me really happy when other people enjoy it too, but i try not to let that be my primary motivator for my writing. there are plenty of fics i’ve written, especially for other fandoms, that i know are only going to appeal to me and like 3 other people max, and i’m okay with that. i never expected slippery slopes to become such a well-known fic within the td tumblr fandom. it was the 30th fic in the alenoah tag when the first chapter was posted, so i’d just hoped that the handful of other people who liked alenoah would enjoy it. i’m incredibly grateful that so many td fans decided to read it and speak well of it, and i definitely wouldn’t have garnered the audience that i have for my other fics without it. it also just makes sense that i’m known as an alenoah writer when my longest td fic by over 100k words is an alenoah fic. while i do have long wips with f/f ships that i hope are received well once i post them, again, i’m not “owed” that attention. honestly, i’m just happy that fellow fans like my works for what used to be a rarepair enough that i’m actually known for it!

[moe-broey]

I <3 blowing up my save files mid-playthrough or after I've beaten the game and feel aimless or I'm three hours in and incredibly indecisive and perfectionistic and have to start over Better this time or I just get really into One Idea and blow up the save for the sole purpose of achieving the One Idea and once I have it's like. Well. What was the point of that actually. And then I blow it up again

[tvrningout-a]

important people in dorverold | ft. the blythes

the blythe family is one of the noble families of nordrholt and pledged their fealty to delwyn's family -- the brandt's -- long ago. they have been known to raise their heirs to value wisdom and virtue over all else, which is why for years, a blythe has been the right hand of nordrholt's king or queen. this is also why among the northern nobility, they are ridiculed for being too soft to live in such unforgiving lands.

the blythes live within the visamark, also known as the whispering woods, named so for the way the wind whistles between the trees. their home is closest to the border of nordrholt, making it one of the first stops of any traveler entering the north. their castle is of a modest size and build, lacking the flourish that southern castles tend to have.

when edmund seized the throne, the blythes remained loyal. badrik blythe, the true king's advisor, fought and died to give prince delwyn time to escape; his son, norvin blythe, ensured delwyn safe passage to the south and later died at the hands of king edmund's men; alvina blythe, the eldest daughter of badrik, now acts as the head of the family, masquerading as a loyal subject of edmund's while supplying the free army with information. there are whispers that her sister levina is building a small, covert army of her own, recruiting northern nobles and commoners alike.

king edmund has placed a bounty on levina's head, and anyone who is believed to be helping her is to be taken alive. he believes it is the youngest blythe who is feeding his enemies with information rather than alvina.

[thatrandombystander]

Being too conscientious of your own emotions is a goddamn pain.

You feel a bit jealous and annoyed at someone about something, and another part of you goes "hey idiot you're projecting your insecurities onto someone else who has done literally nothing wrong" and then you feel bad about it.