#the knight worlds being the most of obvious example

[minweber]

Musings on Custodes: Nobilitas Terra

Ah, the now famous “all Custodians begin their lives as the infant sons of the noble houses of Terra” line from the 8th edition codex (not reproduced in the 9th one, btw). It has now experienced the kind meteoric rise in quotation previously enjoyed only by biblical verses in times of major church schisms. Let’s talk about the part of it that’s actually interesting though.

So Custodians are drawn from the children of Terra’s nobility. It is apparently not exclusive and other sources are allowed on Custodes’ own discretion, but this is both the traditional and the main one. It seems that originally the Emperor was doing something of a mamluk/janissaries thing with them, taking infant children from the families of his potential rivals as both hostages and soldiers that could be raised loyal only to him. Later, when his power grew to so far outstrip that of Terra’s aristocracy as to make any internal challenge of it inconceivable, it instead became prestigious to submit a child of a family to this service - not conscription, but an offering to the golden idol of humanity instead.

So surely, in 42nd millennium, with the Emperor’s eclipsing presence… changed, if not gone, there must be some sort of interesting dynamic between the Custodians and the bloodlines that spawned them? Well, the codex seems to dismiss the idea out of hand, stating that there is no real way for nobles of Terra to recognize their scions once they become Custodians - which presumably means that there is no grounds for interaction? And sure, I can recognize why the official lore in its current state isn't interested in that: Custodians are fixated on the Emperor to the exclusion of everything else, and the Terran nobility itself is a fairly faceless thing in the lore, one of which we don't really know enough about to build any kind of investment from their perspective.

But here we are all about the things that could yet be, rather than the things that just are! And I honestly think a bit of lore expansion in this direction could be pretty interesting!

Between the origins of the Rogue Traders and the Custodians themselves it seems that, much like the priesthood of Mars, some clans on Terra were indeed once powerful enough to make the newly ascendant Emperor deal with them in terms other than total subjugation or destruction. Would the meteoric rise of the Imperium during the Great Crusade grow or diminish their powers? On one hand - the previously mentioned growth of the Emperor's power in relation to them and the whole new "breed" of imperial elite he was literally creating (I know that in modern lore there is some speculation about what were actually his plans for the Astartes and the primarchs post-Crusade, but however things would have turned out for them, had he his way, I doubt it would have resulted in even a modicum of power returning to the hands of his once-rivals)... But on the other - during times of obscene growth and expansion rich and powerful tend to grow even more so, and I doubt that grimdark future avoids this tendency. So I will go out on a limb a little and say that while during the rise of the Imperium the power of Terran nobility may have waned in relative terms, it probably grew in the absolute ones.

And the following ten thousand years of sitting at the top of a stupidly expansive feudal confederacy probably did not hurt them either!

In the days of the Era Indomitus, then, these vague "noble houses of Terra" must be some sort of force to be reckoned with - politically, culturally, and probably even militarily. Likely on a galactic scale. And the personal guard of the Emperor, the supposedly most advanced beings in the entire Imperium, the living symbol of his power - are staffed almost exclusively by the scions of those houses. Do you see my vision? Do you agree that something simply must be there?!

Custodians are the Emperor's representatives and envoys, the single most powerful military force on Terra and the organization in full undisputed control of access to the most holy site in the entire Imperium, a place from which, technically, ALL authority within its borders is derived. Even without the bloodline connection there should be some kind of a relationship between them and the other powers of the throneworld! Even if we look at the pre-codex, fully palace-bound version of Custodes that care for absolutely nothing other than the Emperor's corpse physical safety - they still recognized that the events on larger Terra influence this safety and need to be at least reacted upon. And in the modern version they have never even been that shut-off. Even before the lifting of the Edict of Restraint, Solar Watch patrolled the Sol system entire, Aquilan Shield departed on their mysterious protector missions and the Emissaries Imperatus were busy being a diplomatic corps, for fuck's sake. I find it hard to believe that they would simply ignore Terra's political players, leaving them to do whatever unless someone rolled up armed to the Imperial Palace. So there definitely would be interactions - and once that hook is in, the fun begins.

Are custodians willing to "stoop down" and play nobility's games with them? Do they even have aversion to doing so? Surely, with all the talk about their talents beyond head-chopping, they are capable of scheming with the best of them? And if doing so is the most efficient way to get the job done - why would they object? And if they are no strangers to political manipulation and the noble families desperately want the prestige that comes with having produced a Custodian - why wouldn't the demigods indulge them and use it as a tool? Especially since they - if we keep the codex idea of it being impossible to recognize surrendered infants as the Custodians they become - hold all the cards and can basically present any of their number as a scion of this or that family? And while we are at it - do they themselves actually know? I imagine it must be not that important to them, but are there any records kept? Could you be a 200 hundred year old Custodian fresh out of training (a random example - like so many things, it is not known how long the creation and training of a Custodian takes) and be suddenly told that the aging matron of a noble house with whom you have to go and negotiate is actually your biological mother? Would that stir something? Curiosity, at least? Or is the Emperor’s light so absolute that it can blind one to even the most deep-nested human impulses?

Do Custodians remember sins and glories forgotten by the tapestries of gold and jewels? Do they watch some relatively minor and unimportant house with baffling prejudice - all because someone from it almost outdid the Emperor in something more than ten thousand years ago? Do some bloodlines enjoy unseen protection due to secret deals that have passed out of all human memory?

What about the internal politics of the organization? Millenia of drafting from a relatively closed pool of families means that some Custodians are related to each other - does that matter to them in any way? Even if the golden demigods are completely free of prejudice and superstition - which their history of paranoia kinda tells me they are not - genetics do play an objectively huge part in their existence. Is more expected of those drafted from families that produce more Custodians than others, or have spawned some especially renowned heroes? Once again - is it even public knowledge amidst the Custodes?

And what about the nobles themselves? Do they seek favor of the Adeptus Custodes? Is such a thing even possible? Do they view them as another player in their political games, or are they more of a force of nature, a condition that everyone has to deal with and adapt to? How does the process of submitting children even work nowadays? Is it compulsory? How many are taken from each family/genertaion? Do any struggle against this harvest, or has the honor of the thing completely overshadowed any resentment that they might have had?

Basically what I am saying is that, for the purposes of worldbuilding, interaction between systems is always better than the lack of thereof. And if one were looking for the ways to expand Custodes' lore - this one feels like a great source of characterization for them.

[bellshazes]

dreaming up a syllabus for an imaginary course on metanarratives about gameplay, which i think would go something like:

unit 1: who do you think you are i am - auto-documentary & games

Vlogs and the Hyperreal, Folding Ideas

The Slow Death of Let's Play Videos, Meraki (to ~10:00)

World Record Progression: Mike Tyson, Summoning Salt

ROBLOX_OOF.mp3, hbomberguy

Life as a Bokoblin: A Zelda Nature Documentary, Monster Maze

optional: Braindump on the History of Let's Plays, slowbeef

unit 2: what like it's hard? - intro to challenge narratives

Chapter 26: Games as Narrative Play: Two Structures for Narrative Play, Rules of Play

A different kind of challenge run: Minimalist 100% (BOTW), Wolf Link

Surviving 100 Days on Just Dirt, Mogswamp

Can You Beat DARK SOULS III with Only Firebombs, the Backlogs

Is it Possible to Beat Super Mario 3D World while permanently crouching?, Ceave Gaming

The Pacifist Challenge - Beating Hollow Knight Without Collecting Soul [CHALLENGE] - Sample

optional: How to 100% Snowpeak Ruins in under 15 minutes, bewildebeest

unit 3: nelly you don't understand, i AM the narrative - form and function

The Future of Writing about Games, Jacob Geller

Can You Beat GRIME Without Weapons?, the Backlogs

Mushroom Kingdom Championships, Ceave Gaming

My Life as a Barber in Hitman 2, MinMax (Leo Vader)

MyHouse.WAD - Inside Doom's Most Terrifying Mod, PowerPak

optional: Mega Microvideos, Matthewmatosis

the theme and structure is mostly intended to introduce at least one critical or historically contextual work followed by examples of the type of narrative in question.

in unit 1, this is the idea of "How do people talk about their own experiences in the context of YouTube and playing video games?" across three rather different kinds of documentaries. unit 2 is intended to take that lens of who is telling what tale and dial in on challenge running, where i first noticed the way some videos turn the story of overcoming a challenge into its own narrative that is distinct from but related to the narrative events of the game itself. unit 3 circles back to the bigger picture with a variety of examples that, to me, are maximally metanarrative, the emergent story of the player-narrator now functionally replacing the game's embedded narrative.

bonus unit: broken narratives

Glitch & the Grotesque at the MLA, Sylvia Korman

Watching time loop movies to escape my time loop, Leo Vader

The Stanley Parable, Dark Souls, and Intended Play, Folding Ideas

Breaking Madden, Jon Bois

The TRUTH about the Pizzaplex in FNAF: Security Breach, AstralSpiff

this one is highly underdeveloped, but i'd love to work out something more robust building on randomizer challenges that produce intentionally bizarre, semi-ironic "lore," and bois-esque endeavors to break games so hard the story itself crumbles. but that's really out of scope so i'm just including the links to things i couldn't bear to get rid of. more rambling abt the challenge runs I chose under the cut.

Challenge runs represent one of the most obvious places to start, due to being extremely plentiful and having a hook that makes a "here's how I did X thing in Y video game" format almost unavoidable. Minimalist 100% is an underrated and sweet straightforward example that I mostly include as a baseline for reporting-out style narrative; here are the facts, here's what happened, this is the thing that it is. Mogswamp's 100 Days on Just Dirt is similar in style, but the physical measuring of days is a delightful and, more importantly, external narrative device.

Now oriented, we get a taste of Ceave Gaming's narrative approach to Mario challenges with the no-crouching run, and while we still aren't at the degree of player-characters being constructed for the narrative's sake, the spirited belief in crouching sets the stage for other rhetoric in more extreme cases we'll see later.

The Backlogs' entire body of work qualifies here, but GRIME is the strongest inspiration for putting this list together. I include the DS3 firebombs run because what was initially a factual description of how his wife's use of firebombs inspired him to play differently in the original DS1 firebombs run has developed into full-blown multi-game narrative arc with the Firebomb Goddess (his wife, who also voices the character) compelling his in-game character to achieve his destined quest. Grime takes that even further,

In-Game Documentaries

I include Life as a Bokoblin mostly as a contrast to My Life as a Barber - there is a level of fictionalization and roleplay involved in the Zelda in-game documentary that highlights exactly what I want to single out when I am talking about metanarrative, the story about a story.

[itsdeniini]

⋆JAKEHOON BOND⋆

୧ ‧₊˚ 🦇⋅ n☆ote : i am a self-taught tarot reader, and the interpretations i provide are personal. if anyone would like to share their own insights, i would be more than happy to hear them! please be kind <3 ⎛⎝( ` ᢍ ´ )⎠⎞ᵐᵘʰᵃʰᵃ

Oh, those two are such a playful duo in MANY ways. Whether that is good or bad, it doesn't matter! Doing the dumbest sh!t together, like getting drunk in a hotel and starting a pillow fight? Yes. A common idea pops into their minds, like assembling a drawer together, where Jake will study the instruction attentively while Sunghoon will assemble it according to his logic. Yes? OF COURSE. What I want to say with this is that their connection is very strong. I may sound boring and quite obvious, but Jakehoon are certified soulmates, and I can't put that in any other words. It's just like that! They're vibing, a perfect fit for each other in terms of friendship, so I think destiny is most probably involved here. (The Fool, 2 of Cups, The Lovers)

They take good care of each other and are protective of their friendship because they don't need third-party intervention; they're cool in two. Also, sometimes they make no sense. They're really extremely random, and if that is the case in the future, they may organize something spontaneous together, like a trip to the countryside, where they can enjoy each other's company. (The Empress, The Hermit, The Knight of Wands)

One thing about them is that they bring their softer sides to each other. While they're trying to appear resilient with others and just occasionally joking around with them to not appear blunt, in private, Jake and Sunghoon are two different people. They enjoy their local jokes, which can be quite dirty, mock each other's expressions or actions, take embarrassing pictures while sleeping, or do it stealthily, and then use them as compromising evidence. (The Moon, 6 of Cups, The Page of Swords)

Into the bargain of those things I said until now is that they enjoy to improve simultaneously, be well-traveled, and introduce themselves to new people. They are doing that to expand the circle of their interests and not stomp on one place in their own connection. They want a highly structured bond that is based on principles and ethics that both should follow. Since Jakehoon are both career-oriented people, they are willing to advocate for each other even if that will cost them something. Either way, they know that they have a lot of opportunities together or separately, so they won't back off until they achieve justice for both. (The Chariot, Justice, The World)

Now I want to specify one thing that can sound a bit somber, but let's not forget that in terms of being controlling, Jake and Sunghoon are taking the first two spots in ENHYPEN. They are not only protective of each other but also of their partners. Let's take this example: One of them gets a partner, and the other one is still single, and he would obviously be supportive, but with a pang of jealousy. Maybe he would like to take his revenge in a playful manner just to tease his buddy and see his reaction. Why not? What can he try? Flirt with his lover? Hm, good idea! So here it GOES... If 1 sees just a hint of flirtatiousness in the behavior of 2, then it's DONE! 1 will be infuriated and will demand explanations; why would he do that to him when he knows that he's protective of his lover? 2 would just brush his words off and say that this was just a joke, but then he wouldn't be happy with that joke at ALL. That may create a conflict between them that they will solve shortly after, but the aftermatch will taste bitter. They will warn each other to never do that in the future if they want to protect their friendship. (The Emperor, 7 of Swords, 5 of Wands)

Did I say something about bantering higher? Anyways, the thing is that they're both so stubborn about how they live or should live, how the world works, and how life situations should be approached. Damn! Those dudes are bickering too much 😭 In a way, it's something that keeps them entertained, and they know that only when they're together can they debate such topics. (5 of Swords, 2 of Pentacles, The Magician)

They got that sense that they both belong together, and they make a quality team! Don't you ever get the feeling that Jakehoon is just THAT duo? You can't see them in any other way, can you? They're just so natural in everything they're doing together, and that's what attracts other people to look after their friendship. Their details don't have to be the same when both of them are Siamese twins. (2 of Cups, 4 of Wands, 2 of Wands)

Public image. They want to show everything to ENGENE. They want to trust them with the front and back sides of their friendship! They've been through a lot, and they are continuing to experience things that the majorities don't know about. You know how it works; there is always a hidden aspect to every connection between people, and they are not an exception. There are also things that are not for the public's eyes or ears, something that they can share with each other. And in fact, they have some secrets that they would like to keep in a box under a lock. If they started together, then they will go together until the end, and everything in the name of their joint goals. One of those joint goals is working in order to represent something, so I think they will continue with the double brand deals. There is the start of a new thing, a new beginning... (10 of Cups, The Hierophant, The Sun)

[thekingofwinterblog]

Why Izuku FEELS like a Failure Hero

So, it's no secret by now that the final chapter of My Hero Academia ended on a less than universally loved ending.

There is a small host of reason why this is, but one i see thrown around a lot withouth any analysis really going into it, is the idea that Izuku was a failure hero.

He wasnt of course, Izuku though he could not save Tenko... But he did defeat both Shigaraki and All For One.

He saved the world, he restored peace and order to Japan and stopped a rampage that would have seen the entire island sunk beneath the waves and everyone on it except for Shigaraki's personal inner circle dead.

He saved millions, upon millions of lives and ended the life and times of AFO, the great evil of over a hundred years.

He was also instrumental in stopping the third movie's villain, and was one of the people of saved billions of lives by doing so.

He is withouth any doubt, the MHA World's greatest hero, bar none.

So with that in mind... why does izuku FEEL like an utter failure in the end? He might not logically be one, but he sure as hell FEELS like one.

Why?

Well, to put it bluntly, this particular problem stems from 2 overarching parts.

The first is of course that Izuku had a bad ending. He returned to being Quirkless, didnt get to live his dream, he seemingly begun to be the one guy that Class A begun to leave behind(Even with the surprise at the end, it doesnt change the fact that we get nothing to suggest he remained particularily close with any of them, and the fact they kept this plan a secret for 5 years just makes everything worse), and has been forgotten.

That is a full on bad ending, and the fact the narrative refuses to focus on that and acknowledge the fact that this is a horrible outcome for izuku, is one of it's mayor problems.

However, that is only the first big problem of the final chapter, and it's the more obvious one that pisses so many people off.

But just because he had a bad ending, does not mean that Izuku had to feel like a failure hero. After all, plenty of Heroes had bad endings, and did not feel like failure Heroes.

Batman both in the DCAU and in the Dark Knight Returns stopped being Batman, and yet i dont think you would find many people who would say either felt like failures at the end of the day in their stories.(well unless you count the terrible sequels Miller wrote after he went off the deep end, but that's a subject for another day).

I could pull out a lot of examples of similar heroes who in the end quit or died and who very much doesnt FEEL like failures, but i want to continue to focus on DCAU Batman in particular for one, very specific reason that illustrates so well why Izuku feels like a failure, even if he ultimately isnt one.

Batman Beyond opens on an old Bruce Wayne's last night as batman, when he decides to finally quit after a heart attack forces him to threaten a man with a gun.

In his own mind, he is a failure, and it is this action that finally breaks his spirit.

But most fans dont consider this Bruce a Failure at all. Why?

Well it certainly helps that he has so many other amazing feats and accomplishments across the rest of the DCAU, so it's hard to blame him for this one, single moment, but there is a bigger reason.

Bruce Wayne's big mission in life, was to clean up gotham city.

He did a lot of things outside of that, such as saving the world multiple times, but this was his great mission, his goal, the thing that truly drove him.

And you know what?

He suceeded.

Crime would return both big and small scale, but Bruce Wayne's choice to keep going for years and years, ending up outlasting all the traditional supervillains and street criminals of his age, allowed Gotham to flourish, and become an incredibly advanced and developed futuristic city.

For All that Batman Beyond is about deconstructing Bruce and his personal relationships and how they fell to pieces, He WON the war.

It might not have been a total victory, but every single episode of Batman Beyond that showcases Gotham showcases that The Dark Knight's Crusade was NOT in vain. He gave EVERYTHING for this cause, and he won.

Bruce might never be able to mentally appreciate it, because it was not a total victory that led to no more crime forever, but we the reader can.

We can see the change in Gotham from before he started, into his early years, his prime, the later years, and finally where it is now in Beyond.

It was a long, and bumpy road, but Gotham's number one son succeeded in his great goal of cleaning up his city and making it prosperous and reaching the heights his parents dreamed for it.

His legacy is clear and lives on, long, long past the days when he stalked the night.

He was not a failure, neither on the logical level, nor in that he feels like one.

And you know what? The DCAU crew managed to make that clear, even though I dont think there wasnt a single statue in all of Gotham dedicated to the Dark Knight.

Now, lets compare this to Izuku.

Izuku also gave EVERYTHING for his cause.

His body is a scarred and deformed mess, because time and again, wheter it be to defeat villains, or just helping people, he was always willing to sacrifice every bit of himself to do it.

Izuku gave away his quirk, and with his future.

and though it was reversed, he gave away his arms just to TRY to help Tenko.

He more than anyone else, gave EVERYTHING for this fight. He gave away his body, dreams, future, EVERYTHING for the cause, and he pulled it off!

He beat All For One, he saved the world and countless lives.

So, why then does he feel like a loser at the end?

Is the fact that he ended up alone and forgotten by society at large really why?

That's what happened to DCAU Bruce Wayne after all... But that's not really it.

The Reason Izuku Feels like a loser at the very end, is that the last chapter does not in any way feel like he contributed anything to help usher in this new age, nevermind that HE above ANYONE ELSE was the one that made it happen!

The idea of having a final chapter showcasing the successfull futures of everyone else EXCEPT for Izuku who ultimately didnt get to live his dream is NOT a bad idea at all.

It might not be how i would have ended it, but even taking away the idea of a reversal at the end, you could make that sort of ending satifsying.... IF you spent that chapter showcasing what a difference Izuku made in everyone else's life.

Because that would have hammered in the point that HE was the one that made it all happen. HE was the catalyst for all of these people to continue on and grow into great Heroes.

Shoto is a great example.

What we get of how he ended up is a really sweet thing... But you know what would have been way, way better?

If we had a scene of him being interviewed, and he talked about how it was IZUKU who was HIS great hero, and inspired him to become the hero he ultimately became.

But we dont. For anyone.

Not one time, amongst all of Izuku's friends and acquaintances are we reminded or shown in this final chapter how much he inspired and motivated them forward.

Not ONCE.

The closest we get, is Kota asking Izuku a question while blushing, and the only thing that tells us is that Kota is still a bit shy in his teenage years.

The ONLY character in this ENTIRE chapter who actually feels inspired by Izuku is Dai, and even is untientionally backhanded, when it's clear that it's not that Izuku really inspired him, the way All Might Inspired Izuku, but rather that this kid is a Hero Otaku like Izuku himself who just so happens to recognize Izuku amongst a lineup of heroes.

He's not even the first Hero the kid Thinks of after All Might!

ENDEAVOR IS!

THE GUY WHO IS PUBLIC KNOW TO HAVE ABUSED HIS KIDS, RAPED HIS WIFE, AND WHO'S OLDEST SON WAS AN INFAMOUS SERIAL KILLER THAT ENDEAVOR BROUGHT ABOUT!!!

THIS is the problem with this chapter.

This chapter elevates EVERYONE else, EXCEPT for Izuku.

When people complain that Izuku didnt even get a statue for saving the world, when monoma did, and it's shut down as "it was never about fame for izuku", they are missing the forest for the trees.

The Problem is not that Izuku didnt even get a statue. The fact he didnt get a statue, is part of a greater problem that new age does not in ANY WAY fell like something that Izuku was the main driver in bringing into being.

---Edit---

So apparently there was a statue after all... And the fact it's so inconsequential that at first point you'd be forgiven for thinking it was actually Kirishima, as I thought at first.

That said, the fact it is so tiny a detail actually hammers in my point that Izuku feels completely inconsequential to this chapter even more.

---

Even the whole class A getting Izuku back into the game feels like it completely shits all over Izuku, like he did not matter at all in making this new age, the age where this class is able to shine.

We are not in ANY WAY given a SINGLE insight into their thoughts about all this! The reason why so many people shit ALL OVER their stupid plan to NOT tell Izuku ANYTHING is that this is the ONLY THING we actually know about how they felt about all of this!

And because this is the only insight we get into their thoughts, the only thing we can say for sure, is that whatever their feelings were, they did NOT RESPECT Izuku at all, despite everything they went through together.

They decided his future for him withouth ever asking, and let him continue for over half a decade resigned to his new job that despite everything he says, he clearly was not happy with.

This moment could have been the culmination of their bonds with Izuku, where they finally repaid him for everything... But instead it just hammers in the point that Izuku FEELS like a huge loser that DID NOT MATTER in the slightest in the end.

That's not true, but that IS how it feels.

Izuku could not achieve anything by his own power, and the people who helped him achieve his goals? Well they clearly did not respect Izuku, and they did not seem to care to go out of their way to keep their relationship with him going strong through the years.

what it FEELS like, is that a bunch of school buddies throwing one of their former friends a bone now that they have all made it big, rather than an actual long term motivation because they really loved Midoriya.

honestly, this entire chapter feels like Hori took it for granted that the reader would just think "See all these people Izuku was aquainted with succeed? Remember how strong his bonds with them are?" and make us immediatly just take the most charitable reading possible at face value.

It clearly WANTS us to think that way, that all of this was only possible thanks to Izuku, but it doesnt actually do ANY attempt at selling this idea.

This world, and the people in it, does not in any way feel like Izuku was the one who brought it and them about. That might be the logical truth, but it does not feel like it at all.

Instead, at the very end, when all is said and done... Izuku feels like a complete loser, a side character in his own story who never amounted to anything, and does not inspire love, admiration, and respect from anyone he actually knows.

That is why, even though he saved the world, he FEELS like a total loser.

[nonbinaryspy]

Meta: Timerra and Tellius

Timerra’s (belated) birthday gives me an excuse to talk about one of my favorite Engage topics: the parallels between her and various Tellius characters.

(Spoilers for FE9/10 and FE17.)

The obvious place to start is Ike. As Timerra’s personal Emblem, his build and paralogue in Engage focus on turning defense into offense to endure and protect others. This synergizes with Timerra’s Sandstorm ability as well as her priorities as Solm’s future queen.

Compared to other Emblem summonings in the game, the scene where Ike is summoned is quick and to-the-point. The Solm royals are highly competent, with a wide spy network, and already had a plan in place for when Alear shows up. They have a healthy wariness they don’t immediately display, as they welcome Alear with open arms while secretly testing if they are the true Divine Dragon. By the time Timerra meets Alear, their identity has been confirmed and bandits are already attacking, so she jumps straight into action to get Ike’s help and protect the village.

I’m sure Ike would approve of her no-nonsense approach and her focus on keeping people safe, especially after all of his own bandit fights. He has no patience for bureaucracy or noble trappings, but he understands the need for discretion when danger and politics are involved (see: his own ‘sometimes you have to fool your allies’ maneuver in RD part 2), so I think he would appreciate how the Solm royals handle this.

But you don’t have to take my word for that. Between Timerra and Seforia saying they always wanted to meet him, Timerra calling him family, Ike telling Fogado that Solm castle reminded him of being with the mercenaries, and his first Somniel dialogue saying that he already misses Solm, I think it’s safe to say there’s a lot of natural fondness between Ike and the Solm royals. Is there any wonder, when one of Solm’s main norms is accepting people regardless of their origins, possibly Ike’s defining ideal?

My favorite example of this is when Alear’s origins are revealed, and Timerra and Fogado have some of the most affirming reactions:

[ID: Four screencaps with the following dialogue toward Alear: Timerra: What matters to me isn’t how you were born. It’s what you do with the life you’re given. Timerra: If you choose to live as a Divine Dragon, then that’s what you are! Timerra: Nothing’s changed as far as I’m concerned. The you that’s in front of me—that’s all I need. Fogado: The people of Solm don’t care about origins. We care about the you NOW. And you are amazing.]

This aspect of Timerra shines throughout her supports, most notably in her relationships with Merrin and Panette. Their love and loyalty toward her stems from a time before they even knew she was a princess. They both see her as a beacon in their lives, as they wished to escape the confines of their pasts and find new futures for themselves. Timerra saw them for their ideal versions of themselves—Merrin as a chivalrous knight, Panette as someone who isn’t caught in a destructive cycle—rather than the situations they came from. Her acceptance helped them create those realities for themselves.

Anyway, unrelated to the above, just a completely random pair of images that don’t make me cry at all:

[ID: In a screencap from Engage, Timerra is saying, “No matter what’s happened, you’re still you. Let’s go save the world, Ike!” In a screencap from Path of Radiance, Ike is telling Soren, “No. It doesn’t change anything. You’re still you, Soren!”]

Another example is Timerra’s attitude toward Veyle. In the main plot, she’s one of the few main characters to express distrust toward Veyle even after the truth is revealed. However, once Veyle has proven herself as an ally, Timerra is extremely friendly toward her in their supports, with Veyle appreciating how Timerra treats her like any other friend rather than a Fell Dragon’s daughter. Again, this is reminiscent of Ike’s blend of skepticism and treating everyone the same.

I think it’s also interesting that Timerra struggles with conflicting desires for freedom vs. connection, as shown in her S support. Despite Ike’s love for people, he doesn’t always deal well with the responsibilities and expectations that get placed on him, and his ending shows he shares some of her wanderlust.

Timerra: When we connect with people─you know, really bond with them─those bonds make us stronger. Timerra: I mean, our closest allies help us do things we could never do all by ourselves. Timerra: That’s powerful stuff. But those bonds─those friendships─can feel like obligations too.

Finally, one of my favorite parallels between Ike and Timerra is a shared charm point: the fact that they live as they please, regardless of what others think, while also acting like everything they do is super obvious. An extremely ‘have your cake and eat it too’ mentality that I can only respect. 

Alear: Still, you never cease to amaze. You take it upon yourself to help root out bandits… Timerra: What, is that not normal? Timerra: I’m just protecting my people. I thought that’s what royalty was supposed to do. Alear: You say something completely radical like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Timerra: Hahaha! That’s my charm!

Ranulf: Well…a little crazy, yeah! I’ve never worked for a leader who’s as blunt and straightforward as you. It’s pretty shocking to have a commander who doesn’t care what anyone thinks, no matter how powerful they are. Ike: Well, that’s just my style. I don’t have to be like someone else, do I? Ranulf: Why are you so confident? I don’t get it. Normal beorc just do what people tell them and try not to make a fuss. But not you. I heard you even yelled at the apostle! Ike: Yeah, that wasn’t my brightest moment. Ranulf: Then again, worrying about a beorc like this is definitely not normal laguz behavior. I guess I’m a fish out of water myself… Wait, did I just call myself a fish? Ike: Wha–? Ha ha! You’re a cat, remember!? I thought you ate fish. Ha ha ha!

Okay, that last bit isn’t relevant, but I just want to highlight that while Timerra and Fogado talk about how serious Ike is compared to them, they would definitely enjoy his secret love of bad puns. Here’s a bit of Timerra’s own sardonic humor that brings Ike to mind:

Alear: What?! How do you eat that much?! Timerra: Oh, you know. Open my mouth, bite, chew. I won’t bore you with all the details.

Of course I have to mention their love of meat, even if I don’t find that to be an important part of Ike’s character. What I will say is that Ike is shown in his supports with Oscar to have a genuine appreciation for artful cooking, so I think it’s neat that Timerra is one of the best cooks in the army. It’s also endearing that she feels bad for cooking around Ike when he can’t eat, though he tells Fogado the smell is enough.

Next, I want to talk about a couple of characters who aren’t in Engage: Mist and Elincia. I adore that the focus on Timerra protecting Ike flips his dynamic with both of these ladies on its head. Speaking of protection…I believe that Mist and Ike’s relationship mirrors Timerra and Fogado’s, with their fond, casual banter. It makes sense, since both duos are close in age.

Interestingly, despite Timerra being Fogado’s older sister, he is as protective of her as Ike is toward Mist. In Fogado’s case, he seems to almost see himself as Timerra’s retainer, given that he will one day be her advisor. He travels around to prepare himself for this role. Timerra, however, doesn’t always like this, as she wishes they could hang out more and that he would be more candid with her. While they’re clearly close, the distance still leaves her lonely.

Though it’s a different situation, Greil’s death puts Ike in the role of Mist’s protector at the same time that he gains dangerous responsibilities. He also takes it upon himself to get revenge on their father’s killer. She stresses that she does not want him to do these things if it means she’ll lose him, too, and as the game goes on, they lose some of the lighthearted dynamic they had at the game’s start. Having already lost her parents, it’s easy to assume Mist feels lonely in this circumstance. She even has her own protective streak toward Ike, such as in her battle conversations with the Black Knight and Ashnard. Like Timerra, Mist wants to stay close to her loved ones and protect them, and she joins the fighting to that end, even learning swordplay despite being a healer.

Despite their troubles, Mist and Timerra share a bubbly personality. They tend toward optimism and try to hide their cares them. Their sunniness gets them and others through tough situations. However, those around them still want to be able to support them even when struggle with being vulnerable.

In my opinion, some of Mist’s designs evoke Timerra’s, such as in the colors and flowing accessories. While the clothes aren’t super similar, I think the two of them would definitely enjoy going clothes shopping together. I also think they’d like to sing together. Timerra’s silly songs may be a far cry from the galdr that Mist and Elena safeguard, but that would suit Mist just fine.  

Possibly my favorite character to compare Timerra to, though, is Elincia. Timerra’s bangs and the fact that her hair is tied up even follow in the character design traditions of Elincia and other characters in her archetype, such as Nyna and Guinevere. Granted, Timerra’s ponytail is a lot looser than those other characters, which is an excellent design choice as she has a much more free-spirited personality.

Still, Elincia once upon a time was not so different. She grew up in secret, frolicking in the countryside with no expectation of becoming queen. As a result, she did many things most princesses didn’t do, such as chores, horseback riding, and sword fighting. It’s commented many times that due to cultural differences as well as Timerra’s own personality, her lifestyle and activities are often at odds with what others expect from a princess. While their allies might find both princesses strange at times, they end up trusting and supporting them due to their approachable natures.

Elincia is shown to have a playful streak in PoR when she is reunited with her retainers, around whom she feels comfortable enough to drop her more stately personality. On the flip side, while Timerra is more frequently playful, she never forgets her role. Even her more casual supports show this, such as when she susses out Ivy’s weakness during a camping trip, or interrupts a training session with Diamant to ask if he believes peace is possible. Many of her exploration quotes show this as well, with her referencing the other nations’ politics and even in her response if her allies die.

“My brother, my stewards…gone. It’s so cruel. But as the future queen, I will not crumble!”

Elincia and Timerra’s upbringings contrast with each other, since Timerra has always known she would be queen. Her free-spirited nature stems from Solm’s ideals and the role of its government. After Daein invades, Elincia has to travel incognito, giving her a chance to learn about the world. She develops a strong desire to protect her people. The endpoint of her character development in PoR is where Timerra is already at when we are introduced to her—Timerra has been training and traveling incognito and is ready to defend her country. Regardless of where they start, Elincia’s compassion and resolve are reflected in Timerra, who only wants to make her people happy and believes the best way to do that is to get to know them, so she can better understand and protect them.

The games’ plots present challenges that test both characters’ resolve. While Elincia has to make a variety of decisions, the one I want to highlight comes at the end of RD part 2, when Lucia is taken hostage. Elincia is told that Lucia will die unless she gives up the throne to a usurper. However, she refuses. Despite the sacrifice of someone dear to her, she will never give up on protecting Crimea. In the end, both Lucia and Crimea are safe, but it has nonetheless been demonstrated what Elincia would do under that pressure.  

I thought of this when I got to one of my favorite moments in Engage, when Timerra and co. have to take back the palace from the Elusians. Hortensia holds her mother hostage, assuming Timerra will bend and hand over the Emblem rings. However, doing so would doom Solm along with the rest of the world. Timerra refuses to back down, and she saves her family along with her country.

[ID: Five screencaps alternating between RD and Engage. Elincia and Timerra look resolved, while Lucia and Seforia as hostages look on proudly. Elincia: But I will see Crimea through this trial. I will give my people the future they deserve, no matter the cost. Timerra: So threaten us all you want. Take my whole family hostage, if it makes you happy. Timerra: But I stand for Solm, and I always will. Lucia: People of Crimea... Behold a true queen! YOUR queen! Long live Queen Elincia! Seforia: There she is, the future queen of Solm. And her ally, the Divine Dragon.]

Back to characters who are in Engage: the other Tellius Emblems. As with Elincia, Micaiah is presented with a series of trolley problems throughout RD. There’s a big focus in the Tellius games on making decisions for personal vs. political reasons, and whether to prioritize a loved one/a situation that is right in front of you over the bigger picture, and I think this is most complex with Micaiah’s story. This is highlighted when Sothe is held hostage and she is told to stand down to save him. This recalls the situation I already discussed with Timerra.

Like Timerra, Micaiah is a tactical thinker who has to foresee long-term plans as well as use strategic approaches in situations where she’s outnumbered. Micaiah ends RD as Daein’s queen, despite not being brought up for that role and having traveled in disguise, getting to know and love Daein’s people. Again, this fits with Timerra traveling around incognito and being passionate about protecting Solm.

Timerra expresses that Solm didn’t reach out for help when Sombron returned because they’d have to return other nations’ support when it was taking all of their efforts just to keep Solm safe. This brings to mind Micaiah’s conflicts, as she has to make difficult decisions to protect Daein from Begnion’s occupation and the blood pact, which sometimes involves rejecting outside help when a situation is too complicated, such as in her 3-13 battle talk with Ike.

Unfortunately, Emblem bond supports don’t have the scope for these sorts of complexities. However, I was tickled by the fact that Timerra invites Micaiah to sing with her, as a reference again to the Galdrs.

Speaking of bond supports…I don’t have anything deep to say about Timerra and Soren, but just look at how precious they are:

[ID: Two Emblem Bond screencaps. Soren is bowing with his hand over his heart, and he and Timerra are smiling at each other. Soren: You’re the princess of Solm, is that right? I thank you for protecting Ike. Timerra: He’s told me so much about you. I expect big things from you, talented advisor!]

Her careful approach to protecting Ike’s ring won the trust of someone with deep trust issues and a protective streak toward Ike, aww. They’re friends in my files every time. It’s also sweet that she wants to understand him and Ike better by learning about the mercenaries. I know she loves her moodier Emblem pals, but I’m sure she’d feel right at home with the whole rambunctious crew, like how Ike felt at home in Solm.

While this post is long enough without going into depth on Yunaka, as Micaiah’s guardian she also has a combination of Tellius influences, between her obvious parallels to Yune and Sothe as well as some of the themes of Micaiah’s character. Micaiah’s introduction, with her calling out to Yunaka, even mirrors Micaiah hearing Yune’s voice. For these reasons, I really wish she and Timerra had talked. I think Timerra’s simultaneous hidden wariness and acceptance of people regardless of their backgrounds would definitely play well with Yunaka’s arc. Fogado, as someone who shares Timerra’s ideals, certainly had a positive influence on Yunaka in their supports with his compassion. Plus, can you imagine the silly phrases Timerra and Yunaka would invent together?

I’ll end this before it strays too far from the main point, but I hope someone else enjoys these observations! Timerra is my favorite Engage character, and since Tellius is so dear to me, noticing these connections definitely made her character even more special.

[dryococelas01]

I've been thinking lately about a particular character archetype that's been really emotionally resonating with me for a while. I've had trouble pinning down exactly why and thought if I rambled on a bit maybe that would help get my thoughts in order.

I'm gonna dub the archetype the Quixote, for reasons that will soon be obvious. Both of my examples are, funnily enough, created by games workshop.

Content warning for, I guess, severely altered states of mind, alzheimers/dementia, insanity, cannibalism and I'm not sure what else. This is a bit of a weird one to tag. I'll put mental illness as a tag even if its a fantasy mental illness rather than anything real.

So I'm gonna introduce the 2 examples first, so everyone's on the same page. They are Nemesor Zandrekh of warhammer 40k and the Flesh-Eater Courts of Age of Sigmar.

So quick Zandrekh crash course. He was part of a race called the necrontyr, they got forcibly uploaded into robot skeleton bodies by soul eating gods called the c'tan and got their souls eaten in the process, becoming the necron. In the process most of them lost all personality, with the nobility being allowed to keep between aspects and the whole of theirs. They then managed to turn on and kill the ctan, and went into a several millenia long sleep. Many of the ones who still had their personalities have odd quirks as a result of their uploads, the long sleep, too early wake ups etc.

Zandrekhs condition is that he does not see the world as it is. To him, his body is flesh and blood. The many aliens and armies he fights are necron rebels and separatists, the mindless robot armies he commands loyal troops.

He has a bodyguard, Oberyn. Oberyn takes care of him. He stands by as his Lord holds feasts of rotten food for prisoners of war he regards as enemy ambassadors, watches his lord attempt to shove food into the flat metal grin where his mouth was. If one of these PoWs or a noble under zandrekh, sick of his nonsense, tried to deal with Zandrekh, Oberyn deals with them.

He stands by him until the end. He knew and loved his lord before they were machines, and he does so now.

(Quick note: some people interpret this as romantic love. I don't but I can see why. To me I have strong recent memories of my dad and me taking care of my grandma whos mind has aged, and that's how I see it. We do explicitly as of the novel Severed have obyron describing it as love). (Second quick note: these 2 are explicitly based on Don quixote and Sancho, one of Zandrekhs old abilities was called something like tilting at solar mills)

That's your crash course on Z. Now the Flesh Eater Courts.

The FSC ars a faction of flesh eating undead ghouls. They are withered and rotten, riding giant bats and undead dragons into battle, devouring the flesh of soldier and citizen alike.

But much like Zandrekh, that's not how they see things. They have a form of infectious delusion.

They are Noble knights. The giant bats are magnificent pegasi, the zombie dragon is alive and majestic, their barren wastelands beautiful and fertile, the hordes of ravenous ghouls the loyal citizenry at their command.

When they invade a civilian village, tearing at their flesh, devouring young and old alike, that's not how they see it. They see a goblin warcamp, a chaos cult hideout, a Necromancers castle. They ride in on their noble steeds, their loyal armies at their back, and save the day. And after? They have a grand feast, peasant and knight feasting side by side on rich and expensive meats.

You get the idea

This archetype so interests me for so many reasons.

Lets start with them as a moral question.

Is The Ghoul Evil? The ghouls have taken part in the butchery of innocents, the slaughter of villages and destruction of homes. They've eaten people and serve the whims of a far less deluded master.

But they don't see it that way. Not only that but they are incapable of seeing it any other way, their senses and minds completely in thrall.

There are plenty of people who do horrible things and see their actions as good, but they have the capability to be different. A violent white nationalist will no doubt say everything they are doing is for some greater good, but they have the capacity to change, they can be something that isn't a voilent white nationalist and there is evidence in the world around them that their views are wrong and abominable.

The ghouls cannot not be ghouls, they can't see the evidence in the world around them.

They can't see their rotten fraying flesh, their sharp teeth. They can't see the farmer they killed, they taste delicious chicken instead of human flesh, drink wine not blood.

They are Noble heroes to their eyes. And there's no way for them to know otherwise. They are doing good, to their eyes.

So is the ghoul evil? I don't think so. Their acts are evil acts, but there is no evil intent to them.

It's a very interesting moral question to me. I'm curious on your thoughts, if anyone sees this.

When the veil lifts.

Nate crowley recently wrote a novella about zandrekh called Severed, from the perspective of obyron. In it he based zandrekh on his experience of a relative with, and I can't remember which, alzheimers or dementia (hence the / in the content warnings).

There is an amazing moment, at one point, that I'm just gonna quote.

So obligatory, spoiler for the novella Severed.

__________________

‘Well fought, old friend,’ said Zahndrekh, with companionable warmth. ‘You really ought to have rested more, but we need to leave. I must commend your rather… straightforward method of dealing with the sorcerer’s engine, and it very much appears to have done the trick. Doahht has gone off like a light, and its legions with it. But without the engine, I fear the stability of the planet itself won’t last, so we’d be much better off in orbit. Are you ready for a short jaunt up to the Horaktys?’

Obyron nearly said yes, but then he remembered the engine’s true purpose. Or what it might have been – it was so hard to recall now.

‘But… our souls, Zahndrekh. The machine… it could give us our souls back. It could give us our bodies. Please, lord, let’s at least take part of it with us, so we can know for sure.’

‘Oh, dear vargard, why do you hold on to such things? You must let the thought of this awful contraption go.’ Zahndrekh put an arm round him in consolation, and continued.

‘Let me pose you this thought, Obyron, in the hope it will bring you ease. What do you think caused you to hold true to me for all this time despite all the power you might have enjoyed through betrayal if it were not a soul? What can love, but a being with a soul?

‘Even if we all ceased to be flesh and blood millions of years ago, which of course I don’t be-lieve for a moment,’ – Zahndrekh actually winked – ‘wouldn’t it have suited us better to live in denial of that, as some fools might say I had done? Wouldn’t it be better, Obyron, just to accept our fate, and enjoy immortality for the everlasting life of merry campaigning it has proved to be?’

Obyron stared hard at Zahndrekh, unsure of what he was hearing.

‘You old bastard. You knew all along.’

‘I knew nothing of the sort, old friend. But since you seem to be labouring under some delusion that you’re a soulless machine, I thought I should at least make some attempt to set you straight.’ Zahndrekh stood up then, and patted his thigh for Obyron to join him. ‘Come now, soldier. Up on your feet, and let’s return to the flagship. If we’re quick about it, we can have this all cleared up in time for a truly astonishing feast.’

Obyron, ever loyal, obeyed his lord. He would have wept, but he had no tears.

__________________

With the authors statement I'd say this is a moment of clarity, not zandrekh having known all along as Obyron imagines. I've seen grandma having many similar ones.

Zandrekh sometimes sees the horrifying reality he lives in, sometimes the fog lifts. And he prefers the fog. There's a lot more to pick apart from that quote but that's what I want to focus on.

Age of Sigmar has a trpg called soulbound, in which you can play a ghoul. If I ever find a play group I will.

Imagine a scenario, out adventuring team has just butchered a village. The ghoul is huddled on the ground, lifting the arm of a murdered young man who tried to defend his home, ready to eat it.

For a moment, the veil lifts. The noble Knight, defender of his people looks around him.

His good freind, the hedge mage, is raising an undead abomination out of murdered civilians. The noble Knight he rode besides has lined up survivors and is draining them of their blood. The beautiful noble lady he traveled with and hoped to court has no flesh, she's a vengeful spirit.

He sees his claws, and sees what he's eating.

Imagine the horror that sets in in that moment.

He doesn't know if he's seeing the truth, or if he's gone mad. If it's the truth then he knows he's a monster, his friends terrors, the people he saved flesh eating ghouls and the people he killed innocent civilians. If its not the truth, then he's gone mad, he's being tormented by some daemon or spirit, he's cursed.

Now, the veil would likely fall shortly after and he'd forget that moment of horror, but let's say it doesn't.

Let's say our noble Knight has a choice. He knows the truth of the matter, and can choose between the veil falling again or staying lifted.

Does he choose to keep it lifted?

I like to imagine I would, that I'd accept the guilt and horror of my existence and past actions and try to be a force for good.

I know that I wouldn't. I would accept the delusion, because fundamentally the horror of what I am and have done would be too much. Reality would break me, so I would retreat and allow the delusion to take me.

I'd like to imagine my noble knight would stand up and become a force for good, redeem himself. He is a noble knight, after all.

Zandrekh sometimes sees past the veil, but keeps acting like he doesn't because the veil is preferable to reality.

It makes a wonderful character moment, something beautiful and tragic beyond my words.

Whenever I think of these moments the veil lifts something in me cries. There's something so tragic about, in the case of the ghouls, someone that is noble, is trying to do good, but is incapable of. Something sad but strangely beautiful about zandrekh choosing to retreat into joy and fantasy rather than face reality.

I don't know how to put it, it just touches something in me.

I don't know, there's a lot more I want to say but I can't figure out how to say it. Hope my rambles were at least interesting.

[robototron217]

Something I don't see people talk about whenever they talk about combat in souls games is how specific moves enemies use can inform world design in such a unique way.

Sure there's surface level stuff like "oh we're in the library and the knights here use magic as well as sword fighting" but also some enemies have sword swings that are directly references to a boss they're a recruit for, or sometimes even to another game whose design informs the one you're playing currently.

The clearest example I can think of off the dome for the former is the Enir-Ilim knights having the same swings and moves as the final boss of their area Promised Consort Radahn. You can recognize the patterns of their attacks and when you recognize those same arcs and combos in the boss there's a really cool "oh shit" moment where it clicks that these people learned from other knights, there is a style that they're fighting in that has specific moves in it.

It's actually super prominent in sekiro where these different styles have names. You know you're fighting a warrior of Ashina based on the moves they use and it is extremely effective at placing an enemy type in the world. Even more is that you can tell the hierarchy of the enemies you're engaging with because they will use the same moves but *worse*, they are clumsily appropriating their bosses moves to try and be better. Or if they're a higher ranking enemy they will incorporate the bosses moves and also mix in their own unique attacks on the style.

The clearest and most obvious references to other games is the overhead frontflip swing that PCR from Elden ring does being a reference to the Artorias fight from ds1 (they've referenced this multiple times and you can even do this move yourself in Elden ring) but they also have done similar cross game references elsewhere like with Malenia doing the kick move that the interior ministry ninjas do in sekiro. You are being told as a player of these games that this fight is designed with the same principles in mind that sekiro fights were made with. I am 100% certain that waterfowl dance would be an incredibly engaging move to parry in sekiro, but you have to translate how to dodge it in a system that doesn't let you do that which is what makes it such a difficult move to deal with.

I know that if I had played bloodborne there would be references to that game in sequential ones. it's why people say Gale from ds3 is a bloodborne boss in a souls game, and I'm making the claim that Malenia is a sekiro boss in a souls game.

It's such a unique phenomenon to these kinds of games that I find very very cathartic to recognize in real time, like "I know you, I see what you're doing and it's fucking genius"

Long and short is that I love these games and this kind of reference, I'd love for people to share anything like this they've noticed in other series or even ones I might have missed in souls borne games!

[celaenaeiln]

ive been enjoying so many metas that youve written for the past few days about bruce & dick’s dynamic (thank you anons for sending them to cl and thank you for answering them cl 🙏) but i think we need yo balance the tip: lets talk about how important bruce is to dick, and how bruce is a ‘specter’ a ghost a shadow that is ever present in every other dick’s relationships (newest case in point: wftt #5 issue; went as far as dick’s shadow being drawn as batman)

Thank you and thank you anons 💞

Let's!

At first I was like, I got this! But then I was so used to Bruce showing how much he needs Dick, that I completely blanked on remembering Dick showing how much he needs Bruce!

World's Finest: Teen Titans Issue #5

Bruce quite literally haunts Dick. His presence is felt in everything Dick does and the Titans in particular get pissed off by it because they want Dick's undivided attention and loyalty to them. I love how it's Roy again in this comic that brings about Bruce because it's always Roy's biggest contention with Dick. It's like a staple in their relationship for them to fight about how much of an influence Bruce has over Dick.

One of the clearest examples and why the Titans hate Bruce so much is because Dick would do anything for Bruce.

Batman (1940) Issue #500

He says it again too

Batman and Robin (2011) Issue #34

Dick hates being Batman, but for Bruce? Anything. Anything for him.

What I value most about Dick and Bruce is their unconditional loyalty to each other. Whatever crisis Bruce is going through, Dick right there by his side with a hand on his shoulder.

Batman (2016) Issue #54

Nothing makes me cry except their love for each other.

"Bruce, man. It's cool. I know you're fine. Just know I'm here if you don't want to be fine."

Dick will get down on his hands and knees and throw everything he hates away if it makes Bruce feel happy. Between the two of them, it's a kind of religious devotion the way they feel.

The way Dick feels about Bruce carries over into all his relationships. The Titans are obvious because their dislike of Bruce and Dick's relationship is in every Titans comic, but it affects Dick's relationship with the Justice League and the batfamily too.

When the Justice League and Batman fight and they separate, the JL (John and Ollie) go to Dick to ask him to be on their side but Dick chooses neutrality. However Dick drops by the Batcave later to let Bruce know because that's how much bruce means to him.

When Bruce is deemed a killer but it turns out he's not, there's tension between the family and Bruce. Dick tells Tim that Bruce's had a stressful time to which Tim replies, "We've all been through a lot, Big Brother."

Gotham Knights Issue #33

But the conflict doesn't end there because Tim is still pissed off about Bruce lying to all of them.

Gotham Knights Issue #33

To which Bruce clarifies Tim's anger and gently reprimands him.

His relationship with Bruce is the reason why Dick is the mediator between the JL and Batman, the Titans and Batman, the Outsiders and Batman, and the Batfamily and Batman. Because what he has towards Bruce, what he feels, it isn't blind loyalty - it's unconditional loyalty.

Over and over again, Dick tells Bruce how he saved him that night his parents fell. What he sees in bruce is a pure, blinding goodness of character that he loves and Bruce in turn feels blessed and shook by Dick's utter faith in him.

Dick once told Roy that Bruce is probably the most important person in the world to him. And he means it.

[realunderlake]

Fantasy Ideology Part 1: Magic

I don't know if this is anything, but sometimes I like to think about the ideological and social impacts about elements of fantasy worldbuilding.

Like, take magic for example. There are generally different ways it's presented in fantasy fiction. Sometimes, it requires an innate aspect of being to use (a la the force in Star Wars, or however the heck harry potter magic works.) Sometimes this innate aspect is heritable, and sometimes it is completely random. Other times, magic is something that requires rigorous study. And yet, we seem to have one broad conception of magic in most fantasy media: Wizards sitting off in their tower, doing spells and stuff. Most settings don't think about how magic would impact the world that much, and instead make the world a bland, medieval Europe pastiche.

But lets look at magic from a social perspective, taking the classic DnD approach of "A wizard can be taught magic, though it generally takes a long time, and they should start from adolescence." You know what Magic is then comparable to? Because it's not a university professor... It's a Knight. For much of human history, aristocrats were warriors, because learning to be a *good* warrior, who used the most high tech stuff (whether that be chariots, or the couched lance) took a lot of effort, and you had to start pretty young, similar to how magic works. Thus, the social consequences of magic should be obvious, magic should be something that is used by the upper classes of a society, as they are the ones that are able to invest the time and energy into mastering it.

Perhaps however, as technology advances, magic becomes more widespread. Rather than having to painstakingly craft your own equipment, you can get it mass produced. Rather than working on outdated theories of physics (Aristotelian perhaps) you can observe the effects and costs of magic in a much more scientific way, increasing the effectiveness, and perhaps lowering the barrier to entry. Magic would be less blacksmithing, and more welding.

But in an instance like that, the ruling classes would not simply give up this power that they have, unless they have a reason to do so. Perhaps a king supports an up and coming magical bourgeoise to counteract the power of the magic-wielding noble class, for example. A good example of this is in the webnovel Mother of Learning, where the social forces have driven magic to be more equally available, after a devastation of the magic using ruling class through a combination of calamitous war, and the magical equivalent of the black death. In this gap of experienced mages, most of the polities have begun to allow "middle class" non-mage families into magical academies to bolster their ability to fight in the next continent-spanning conflict. This in turn has led to a backlash by the magic-wielding aristocracy, who have engaged in power struggles with the central government of the kingdom in which the story takes place, with many of these "Nouveau Riche" mages taking the side of the monarchy which has formed an unsteady alliance with these more progressive voices.

In any setting that puts some thought into how magic works in it's society, magic should be, by necessity, controlled by the ruling class. Whether that be because the ruling class are the only ones with the means to produce mages due to the required investment, or because those with the power to warp reality itself have decided that they, quite reasonably, want to be in charge.

Most wizards are written as weirdos off in towers because of Lord of the Rings, and because of cultural assumptions from Europe. But crucially, Europe never actually had wizards, and Gandalf was an angel, not a mortal man.

Even in settings where magic is not something trained, but instead something innate, there would be some method by which mages interact with society on a systemized level. Having them be simply random hermits makes no sense. Ars Magica, the TTRPG, for example, has a situation where most mages have a magical "gift", but said gift also makes it impossible for them to be liked or trusted by normal people. Despite this handicap, the Order of Hermes in that setting controls a good amount of political clout, with powerful Covenants being able to ignore the rulings of kings, and the Tribunal of Transylvannia basically co-ruling much of the Kingdom of Hungary with it's actual king.

These interactions of magic with class dynamics has interesting implications for the developments of ideologies. Will access to magical education be seen as a proletarian struggle in the development of socialism? Will Aristocracy persist for longer periods due to the inherent bias of the elites literally having magic? Can liberalism exist in a society where some people can warp reality with a snap of their fingers? Will it do *even better*, due to the radical individualist message meshing with the individual power held by magic?

Interesting Questions.

[wildfire-wordsmith]

Nimona Worldbuilding vs. Character Motivations

The Nimona film adaptation features exceptional high fantasy world building combined with futuristic science fiction technology, in which awe inspiring knights further capture the attention of viewers with flying bikes or glowing swords and projectiles. However, the most interesting parts of Nimona's world building are not the ways in which it is eye-catchingly different from the real world, but in how it is meant to mirror society, and how it uses its depiction of the world to comment on cyclical violence and how it impacts different groups of people.

After Ballister Boldheart, a commoner granted the rare opporunity to train for the opportunity to become a knight in The Institute, is seen killing the queen who gave him this opportunity, he is the kingdom's newest villian. During the incident, his arm was cut off by his boyfriend Ambrosius Goldenloin, decendent of Gloreth, an old hero of the kingdom with almost God-like reverence among the citizens (characters ask "what in Gloreth's name?" or ask what Gloreth would have wanted in her plan for the kindgom). With the help of shapeshifter Nimona, Ballister sets out to clear his name and prove that he was framed by, as he later uncovers, the director. Meanwhile Goldenloin must overcome the fear of a threat to the kingdom and learn to trust Ballister's innocence to fight on the right side of history. The movie comments on the violence within the world and how it is perpetuated. Unhealthy fear is instilled in children of all backgrounds, and the "monsters" often bear the brunt of the violent consequences.

The film makes full use of its background in each scene, paying attention to the small details to flesh out such complicated themes in a short children's movie. A train station in which Ballister and Nimona attempt to escape the knights that are after them is called Vanquisher Square, reflecting what their society values. As Nimona walks past a small child playing a violent video game, she unplugs it. A commercial for cereal features the company's Kwispy the Dragon mascot being gallantly slain by the children in the commercial. The need to defeat monsters is casually pervasive in all aspects of the lives of people and children in the kingdom. It is most directly put in a quote from Nimona : "They grow up believing they can be a hero if they drive a sword through the heart of anything different. And I'm the monster?" The effects of this world can be seen when Nimona attempts to comfort a child during a run-in with the knights, although the child still raises their swords against this "monstrous" shapeshifter. The impacts are also seen as major plot driving elements.

The heroes in the film are the ones that learn and change their world views, while the villains are the ones that hold onto their fear. The most obvious example would be the director, who frames Ballister due to a dream she had as a child. She saw the kingdom's protective wall crack and eventually break in this dream, while no one listened to her warnings. Clearly the director has been afraid of the mysterious unknown ways of life beyond the wall since childhood, and feels that she needs to take matters into her own hands to get rid of potential threats to the kingdom, to protect the people and their children. And the world building has clearly shown where the director would get this idea as a child, she has been surrounded by taught vigilance and fear since childhood. However, in protecting the kingdom, she posed the greatest threat and killed the queen.

The violent video games, commercials, and names in the film often reflect the themes and goals of their real life counterparts. By contrast many forms of love, such as queerness, are seen as inappropriate for children in the real world, but the movie takes care to represent a queer main couple. In the director's motivations and plot lines, this is especially relevant. "Protecting the children" is often cited in anti-queer sentiment. The director, who is "protecting" the kingdom, actively causes the very kind of destruction she aims to prevent by killing the queen, a major political figure. The movie demonstrates to audiences that society often perpetuates fear, but that this fear often causes the harm it aims to prevent, and that choosing to instead accept those who are different is the more worthwhile pursuit in order to bring peace.

[frenchfriedgiraffe]

dghda season 2 and childhood

this is adding on to this post i made a while ago. basically, i fully believe that the writers of this show set up the perfect opportunity to have the theme of s2 be about childhood, specifically exploring the effects of trauma (and escapism/maladaptive daydreaming). its already something that is featured or referenced to, however i think that there was a lot of potential for the show if they fully embraced the theme.

the biggest and most prominent example of the theme of childhood being present is in the character of francis (The Boy), who experiences severe childhood trauma and as a result creates a fantasy world that he can escape to. this world is full of stereotypes of a conventional children’s fantasy, with knights, a magic train, and even a crazy evil wizard guy. yet despite this, the world he created also contains elements from real life, specifically things that he found traumatic. francis witnesses his father get killed with a pair of scissors, and the main weapon used by the characters in wendimoor are a pair of giant scissors. also, in the house within the house, theres a copy of his kitchen, featuring the scissors and smashed flowerpot.

this is probably the most obvious display of the lasting effects of childhood trauma in a character, although there are a LOT more, though they are quite subtle.

dirk may be the second most obvious example of the presence of this theme. his very first scene in season 2 is set in blackwing, the organisation that took him and experimented on him as a child. blackwing is hinted to have abused him as a child, although we only see how they treat him as an adult. (there is a deleted scene of him when he was a child talking to the previous head of blackwing, meaning that there was a possibility we could have seen what it was like for him as a child too.)

however it is clear that he suffered trauma from his time at BW as a child, as many of his mannerisms throughout both season 1 and 2 mirror those of someone with c!ptsd. and having that trauma resurface in s2 also causes him to be more distant and get upset more frequently. (theres more but this is long enough already)

despite escaping blackwing early on in the season, dirk is obviously extremely shaken from his brief time back in there, and its pretty safe to say that the experience brought up a lot of bad memories. he is much more subdued throughout s2, and his previous optimism is rarely present, with his attitude towards the case being very different from s1.

like francis, there are a few tiny hints to escapism as a result of dirks trauma from blackwing (although im probably grasping at straws here). while in blackwing, he frequently dreams about being rescued by todd and farah. while being chased near the end of the season, dirk is lethargic and rather unresponsive, which could be some sort of dissociative state that he entered in order to escape from the reality of his situation.

while these are the most prominent examples where characters are shown to be effected by their childhood experiences, most of the other characters can be interpreted this way too.

farah is another good example, where she mentions the passing of her dad, and talks about how he wasnt a great father figure and caused her to often feel like a failure. she actually gets a resolution to this, with hobbs seeming to step in as her new father figure (yay!)

this was also something that seemed to be half set up for other characters. for example, todd and amanda having to learn to accept the changes in their relationship and amanda having to recontextualize her past. tinas frequent references to her struggles with addiction as well. farson and his whole family… thing. oh, and also like EVERY other blackwing subject. (more examples but again, this is a fucking long post)

essentially, the characters in this season struggle a lot, and a lot of this is because of things that happened (or possibly happened) because of their childhood experiences.

which leads me onto my next point (oh god, theres more!?) about the missed opportunity with this set up. many people agree that a lot of season 2 felt rather… aimless? while things were loosely connected, they definitely felt a lot less connected than in season 1. events happened and because there were plots happening in different DIMENSIONS, there was often very little overlap. having an underlying theme like this would have made each plot connect much more seamlessly, and it would have been a nice opportunity to further develop and explore some characters.

for example, throughout his journey in season 2, dirk could be seen recognising the parallels between the case and his own internal conflict. as he sees the destruction caused by francis’ powers, he could mirror the events with his own experiences and perhaps realise the effects of what pushing down trauma does. i think it would have been nice to see a conversation between dirk and francis about blackwing, ending with francis telling dirk he needs to learn to face the shit he went through and stop trying to ignore his trauma. this would have been a good way to connect their characters more as well.

it would have been a good opportunity to connect ALL the characters, especially if the show embraced the idea of escapism and pushed it further through wendimoor. as they got closer to solving the case, we could have seen them recognising their own flaws and looking back at their pasts.

and they wouldn’t have really had to make any super drastic changes, because theres already so much material for this theme to be introduced!!

tl;dr: s2 set up a lot of cool themes and the season would have been a lot more well-rounded if they embraced them more.

dont even get me started on the concept of good and bad…

[margindoodles2407]

heyyy margin I was wondering

for the sw high fantasy au, how are you planning to make the story go down? Will it be pretty similar to the movies, or will you be making any changes? Also, are you gonna be doing anything with all the crazy creatures found on every planet connect? Like, some of them are dragons and so on? Or there being different families all the creatures fit into? and finally, are you gonna include any ships that aren’t canon?

Ok that’s it XD

HI EVIE THANKS FOR CHECKING IN ON ME!!!

Okay SO. Let me answer these one at a time :D

(this is over a thousand words so it's going to be below the cut)

In terms of story, everything from the Prequels through the Original Trilogy is going to be pretty much the same. What I can tell you is that although I haven’t actually put that much thought into the Sequels yet, they are going to be markedly different from the current Disney canon in that they will combine elements from both the Disney canon and Legends, including Mara Jade and the other Organa-Solo kids (Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin as well as Ben) because they live rent-free in my mind. 

However, a few things in the Prequels especially are going to be markedly different because the way they are executed in canon doesn’t fit into a High Fantasy world, and I’ll put these as bulletpoints:

Kamino is going to be introduced very differently. While Dooku destroying all evidence of its existence works in canon, because it’s in the outer rim and canon Star Wars is a digital, data-based world, in a fantasy setting it would be extremely difficult to cover up all the evidence of an entire island- especially in regards to its references (or lack thereof) in the Jedi Archives, because these would obviously now be a paper-and-pen, books and scrolls and tapestries library, instead of a digital archive where data can just be erased. (Though, the mental image of Dooku checking out all the books on Kamino and then burning them is very funny to me. Especially if Jocasta Nu walked in on him. “Master Dooku… what are you doing?” “Oh, nothing, dear Jocasta.” *book makes a FWOOSH sound as it goes up in flames*) Instead, in the AU Kamino is an Atlantis-esque legend to the people of the Galactic Archipelago: in the days of the Old Republic, it was sunk in divine retribution for the unnatural genetic alchemy practiced by the Kaminoans. After leaving the Jedi, Dooku discovers that Kamino is, in fact, real, and that the Kaminoans preserved their ancient fortress undersea by way of a magic barrier. When Obi-Wan learns about the Kaminoan dart from Dex, his problem in looking for Kamino is now that no one takes him seriously because at every turn, it’s dismissed as just a children’s tale.

This isn’t necessarily a story thing, but the map is slightly different; the most obvious example of this is the changing of Mustafar’s location, because it and Coruscant are part of the same chain of volcanic islands- Coruscant just happens to be dormant. In fact, Coruscant’s underworld is built into the caldera of the volcano, because it hasn’t erupted since the early days of the Old Republic and is widely thought to be extinct.

C-3PO has his own new lore now. He’s the ghost of a knight- Sir Anthony Threepio, so I can keep it phonetically similar (C-3PO = Sir Threepio) and also give a little reference to Anthony Daniels- who died in a surprise pirate ambush on Tatooine centuries ago, and the stress he retains from the events surrounding his death has made him neurotically obsessed with being prepared for absolutely every possible situation. In life, he was also incredibly intelligent, and spoke almost every language in the Galactic Archipelago. When Anakin is a little boy, he meets and befriends Threepio’s ghost, and, being the kind soul he is, offers to build him a suit of armor so Threepio can be in the world again. In gratitude, Threepio swears a knightly oath to serve Anakin’s family for as long as he is able.

R2-D2 (and, actually, all astromechs) ALSO has his own lore. Astromech Gnomes are a race that lives far below the surface of the Galactic Archipelago, and have for so long that sunlight is actually toxic to them. They are gifted with a masterful knowledge of machinery- an art lost to the rest of the Archipelago- and can build and/or fix almost anything, including ships. In addition, because they live in near-total darkness, they have an excellent internal compass, so they often work as navigators. However, because they can only ply their trades on the surface, and sunlight will kill them, they use their mechanical genius to build themselves small dome-like suits from which they can safely practice their craft without endangering themselves. In addition, they can understand but cannot speak basic, due to the fact that they have avian-like mouth structures and can only speak in whistles and chirps. 

On a similar note, let’s talk about Battle Droids. I’ll try to breeze through this pretty quickly. Regular Battle Droids are necromanced skeletons (General Grievous is an ancient, undead Lich Warlord and necromances all of them), Super Battle Droids are centaur-esque automatons (in the classic sense, like in Greek and Roman mythology), and Droidekas I… haven’t actually figured out yet (if you have any ideas let me know!). 

Creatures! Well, obviously I just talked about Astromechs and Battle Droids. But yes, I have thought about this! I have a few ideas which I actually came up with while I was designing Padme’s area outfit from Attack of the Clones, and then obviously I’ve been thinking about the alien races that are too bizarre to just put into my system of “There Are Many And Diverse Human Cultures In The Galactic Archipelago”. And anyway, this is a fantasy world, we need fantasy creatures. I’ll put these in bulletpoints, too. In regards to all of these, I’m trying to keep their in-canon appearances as much as possible while just amping up the fantasy vibe, so- for example- Admiral Ackbar will still look like Admiral Ackbar, but with lobster legs. And such.

Nexu are manticore-esque

Acklays are something like a Cockatrice

The Rhino Thing whose name I can never remember? The thing Anakin fights? That’s a Tarasque now.

The Aquatic races are all types of merfolk: Nautolans are your classic mermaids, and still have their head tentacles (for reference, I’ll upload a picture of Heroforge!Kit Fisto at the end of this list); Mon Calamari are crustacean-legged; Quarren are squid-people; and the other fish-people (like the one who steals Ahsoka’s lightsabers in that one episode) are. Well. They’re fish mermaids. 

Heroforge!Kit Fisto:

Thisspiasians are like Nagas, but with four arms. 

Besalisks are centaurs. But with four arms. (There’s a lot of four-armed creatures in star wars.)

Yoda is a delightful little imp-creature. 

Kaminoans are. Well. Kaminoans. I think they’re weird enough to just leave alone.

Geonosians are malicious insect-like pixies (in the classic sense)

Darth Maul specifically is a Drider- a spider-legs person. The Clone Wars writers were cowards (affectionate), but I am not, so he keeps the spider legs.

If you have any more ideas for creatures to fantasy-ify, I’d LOVE to hear them!

Ships. Both in the boat sense and the romance sense. But I suspect you’re talking about the romance sense here :) So here’s the thing, most of my Star Wars ships are. Already canon. (A few I think might just be widely-accepted fanon, but that could just be because I’m not quite done with TCW and I haven’t started TBB yet, so that remains to be seen). HOWEVER. There is, in fact, Mara Jade, and as she is no longer Disney canon, I think it’s safe to say that she and Luke are no longer canon, so yes, there will be at least ONE non-canonical ship in this AU- that being the aforementioned Luke and Mara Jade. There might be others, which I will get back to you on upon completion of TCW and TBB. (Oh, and there’s also pre-Sith Dooku and Jocasta Nu, because old people in love is near and dear to my heart, and I don’t know if this counts as non-canon or not, but that will be at least briefly touched upon.)

I hope you found this enjoyable and enlightening. And also, you know me, if you have any follow-ups, I will be DELIGHTED to scream about those with you :D

[raptorfae53]

Kārember (Flying-Fire) ,Circombust and Scorchaast. (Steel-Fire)

Kārember are small and highly manoeuvrable fliers, barnstormers and daredevils who spend their days honing their flight skills and fire powers deep in Ãrohwas forests to become defenders of the innocent and in need, though at present many take to delivering news to those with more experience or authority if trouble arise,baby steps yknow...

Circombust are more experienced fliers and love to show off their skills to crowds, often tourists who come up to the Ãrohwan wilds to catch a glimpse of the rare pokemon and the most frequently spotted of its evolutionary line as a consequence, though despite their showoffy nature, they will not hesitate to jump into action at injustice, an audience witnessing its heroic deed being a nice bonus.

Scorchaast are the lords of the Ãrohwan skies, their internal furnaces now enabling them to jet across the sky faster than the speed of sound, and hitting with steel,fire and flying attacks even harder. Despite all this power like the similarly armoured knights of old these pokemon are deeply honourable warriors, and despite many desiring a Scorchaast for their own teams they only pick trainers with a similarly moral attitude towards humans and pokemon alike, lest the old tale about a Scorchaast being strong enough to carry a human in a single claw be put to the test...

A few days ago @glimwood-tangle-national-park reblogged this previous post and said that they'd love to have a falcon to help them take out Weasoil akin to the invasive mink in their native Scotland, lucky for them I have just the pokemon for the job, and then some...

This pokemon actually started out as a starter concept that I liked so much I couldn't bear to completely can (not wanting a second bird-based starter line), so some revisions later here they are as the first avian psuedo-legendaries!

Ihope you like these designs and all likes and reblogs for my art are always appreciated!

Design inspiration down below:

If it wasn't obvious by the name Scorchaast and its pre-evolutions are based on the birds of prey of New Zealand and Polynesia, with secondary inspiration coming from various sorts of warplanes and pilot uniforms from across recent history.

Kārember (Kārearea/Kāiaia, maori names for the new zealand falcon + ember) is based on falcons, the only falcon native to New Zealand as well as ornithopters and early fixed wing aircraft.

Circombust (combust + Circus, the genus name for harrier birds) is based on the Swamp Harrier and the Eyles Harrier, the former a cosmopolitan native to much of south asia and Australia as well as the south pacific and the latter a larger, extinct relative endemic to New Zealand as well as world war two-era monoplanes.

Scorchaast (scorch + haast) is based on the Haasts Eagle, famously the largest Eagle known to ever live and modern jet fighter aircraft.

(As a final side note,if the red and grey colours of scorchaast remind you of a certain treacherous jet robot, it was very much intentional being the transformers fan i am, I also like the idea of Scorchaast's shiny being either black and purple or blue and red as an homage to the jet transformers skywarp and thundercracker, themselves famous examples of palette swaps)

[newartistgirl]

Lu little details (1)

  It’s the little details what make me hallucinate every single time there’s an update. Now, eventhough I may forget plenty of the ones I noticed while reading or thinking through (and some other I might have missed), I’m gonna try to list some of them.

  Im going to focus more on reference-to-games details not little details about the dynamics between the group.

  1. The first posts actually are full of references. Like really full. It would be endless to point out all of them. (Twilight and the soup, Legend and the seagulls, time being the one talking to the fairy, different views of the princess, Wind and the soup too, Twilight quoting Rusl (It’s not the only time), Legend thinking of “a separete world”) My favourite, probably, is Wind asking for Kaepora to repete what he had said. In this category I might add everything she took under consideration when decicing not just their personalities but also even their ages, and all the answers to some questions, being actually incredible the fact that Twi is ambidextrous (Tbh i don’t know what’s actually more impressive, the fact that jojo carefuly has in mind the dominant hand of each Link or the fact that someone, actually managed to notice Twilight would change hands) (Maybe I was not paying attention) (Now, I’m wondering if that drawing of Time shooting it was intentional. Because, if you look carefully, he is actually holding it like a right handed person would)

  2. Wild not knowing about wallmasters. This is the most obvious and straight to the point one of the boys having lived in different Hyrules and having had different adventures, however, in the comics that follow the stroryline you can also get from what they say several times hints of this exact same thing. Anyway, my favourite example of this is Sky asking who Ganon was.

  3. I would add here the different opinions of the Links on different matters (I’ve already mentioned the different views Hyrule and Wild have on the princess). Another example of this would be Wild and Wind “arguing” about Kings of Hyrule. It makes so much sense. (I’m not gonna go down that opinion/personlity lane, but it’s worth mentioning) And Twilight and Legend complaining about knights, all based on the game experiences.

  4. That image of Twilight holding a puppy and Wild, completely unbothered, next to him. I really like that kind of sense of humour, and it’s a funny tiny irrelevant detail that I very much appreciate.

  5. Warriors referencing his game. I think it’s happened three times. First, when they are talking and he hides himself from a lady and Hyrule laughs at him saying it’s the third time he’s done that, because being a lady’s man has already been proven as a danger .Second time, with the traitor little comic (I missed that one, ups). And third, while talking about the master sword and how “believing you are invencible” it’s a dangerous way of thinking. I know all Links actually make references to their respective games, but some other references feel more remarkable. 

  6. I almost forget about it. That conversation between Time and Wild about having entered Gerudo Town is another example of diference between the Links. It’s just that this one has a special place in my mind merely because I had never actually thought of that and it’s in fact wonderful how Wild reacts to hearing Time’s approach into granting himself respect and access to the town. Similar to this, due to the fact that it’s straight up linked to Wild, we have that scene where the gerudo outfit is descovered and he gets teased. (Fun fact; I had no actual clue that goron spice was actually a cooking item in botw until I red this. I had never shopped in the Goron City. And yeah, either I had already beaten Ganon or I was about to)

  7. In Lon Lon Ranch, as expected, we also have several references. Being the most noticeable; Malon explaining Hyrule wht they keep sugar water bowls around, the couple’s mask hanging on the wall, or how sky loves cuccos. (A little also “innocent” one may be that Malon straight up mocks her husband’s nose? Being this a reference to the design of the hero of Time)

  8. One that I also skipped (and very much love) is Twilight seeing some kind of resemblance between Time’s Captain’s hat and the Heroe’s Shade. We also see more Majora’s Mask references, being maybe the most obvious one Time saying: “Poor kid... He met a terrible fate”. Like, I can hear the Salesman’s laugh.

  I`m gonna leave it here for now evethough there are plenty more nice details that show the attention to detail of this comics. However, maybe it’s better to divide this into more defined categories, such as the different games or even characters. And maybe, that way, I can stress how much I appreciate some of those, because, let me tell you that I could rant on about every single one of this nonstop, specially if it’s related to who they are as characters. There’s in my opinion just too many good things to say about this guys and how the whole group works.

(please, correct any spelling mistake. I’m not a native speaker)

[thebestofoneshots]

Hey love.

So i was just tagging a post about morally grey characters and letting them do whatever they want, and it got me thinking that Siri is for sure in that catagory. I mean yeah hes a 🦁 but he was raised by 🐍's. And yes he's charming, loving, caring; a real Patrick Swayze character but i think, because of the way he grew up, he'd be more than willing to go to extremes to protect the family he built.

For example, if someone was becoming a problem (like Snape) he'd always be suggesting ways to 💀 them (i think? in his own way, that was what 'the prank' was). Or if someone was inapropriate to one of the girls, that person would simply disapear. Siri is in 🦁 for his courage and bravery but they're all traits he's developed from the way he was raised, not because he's inherently the hero. Siri is couragous because he's already faced what most wizards are scared of; he's brave because weakness was exploited.

Anyway, i spiraled on this for a little. I love the way you write Siri in GC and wanted to know your thoughts on it 🩷🩷

Oh, I 100% agree with this one. Being a Gryffindor does not exclude you at all from being morally grey. In fact, I think the traits of a Gryffindor are easily juxtaposed with a well-written morally grey character.

While I don't think he'd go into the extremes of 💀 someone for insulting a friend, I do believe he would retaliate in some way, be it a prank or a straight punch in the face.

And being morally grey will never exclude you from becoming a hero. Of course, their story won't be as clean-cut as Captain America's or Superman's who have very strong moral compasses, but it is the depth these stories have that makes the characters even more charming.

Think of names like Loki, Bucky Barnes, Moon Knight or even Din Djarin (The Mandalorian): these characters all started with questionable attitudes, and they were all extremely morally grey if not downright villainous, and even then, with their background and with the world giving them everything to become a villain they didn't (some of them did for a while). They fought against that, and eventually, in their own way, ended up doing good. Not because they were inherently good like Cap or Suppy, but rather because they chose to be like that. And, frankly, I believe that makes them even more compelling.

Sirius is no exception, he was about ready to unalive Peter back in the shack and it was because of Harry (whose moral compass I believe developed from how he was mistreated by the Dursleys and hanging out with Ron and Hermione) who stopped both him and Remus and convinced them they had to take Peter to justice that he didn't yield to those dark desires. A choice that, even though was morally correct, ended up costing Cedric's life, and the comeback of Voldemort.

I mean, there is a reason why he punched Evan with no restriction (GC canon) and did The Prank on Severus (HP canon). Sirius is impulsive and reckless, which goes fairly well with other Gryffindor traits. Even Harry is a bit reckless at times.

I also don't think Sirius is the only one. Remus, while having a stronger moral Compass, also kind of fits into this category, at least when he starts doubting himself and his belonging in the Wizarding World. I mean: Why fight for a world that does not accept you?

And yet he did, he fought for them over and over again, because he believed in change, he had it all to become a villain like Greyback and chose not to do it, and that speaks a whole lot for his moral character, perhaps making him braver than characters who had a clear-cut moral compass since the beginning.

Can you tell I like these dark-leaning characters by now? I feel like it's pretty obvious at this point.

I LOVE writing Siri, I think he's an incredible character and getting to explore his thought processes and emotions in GC has been a delight. It truly fills me with joy that you're enjoying reading him as much as I'm enjoying writing him ૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡

Read Gilded Constellations

[ilikecrocssuckit]

As is often what happens, my mind finds its most burning ideas late at night. Not sure if this is anything but here goes.

The Nolan Batman movies are failures.

They fail to effectively show what makes Batman a hero when done properly. And they fail to show what his thematic meaning is without deeply undercutting it. The biggest reason is that they are too interested in the villains. It's a common and understandable trap. Batman has some of the most interesting and complex villains of any comic book hero in history. And yet, the Nolan films do the thing that you're not supposed to do with a villain: they make you root for them.

Ra's al Ghul's rhetoric in Begins being foundational to Bruce's own version of morality is already a scary thing because while yes Bruce draws the line at murder, he still believes that violence and fear are the tools with which to change the world. And sure he rails against al Ghul when he and the League of Shadows attempt to do that to Gotham, but that's presented more as because it's his home and not because of the principle of the thing. It also dodges Bruce's complicity in it by making the Waynes out to be angels but they're not.

The Joker, by obvious examples in the real world that have sprung up since, is the ultimate failure. By making him more or less just a libertarian anarchist, his politics are easily coopted by people who are justifiably angry at the state of the world but his successes in terms of disruption and making rich people uncomfortable suddenly make his tactics seem justified and even appealing. This is not to say that there's no place for violence in change, but Joker's is cruel, mindless, and reckless. And yet Heath Ledger's performance, while befitting the character as written and extremely compelling, makes all of this sexy and powerful, and that's what's wrong with it. Christian Bale's performance cannot stand up to it and neither is Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent given enough time to attempt to do so before his cracks show and his character breaks. This is the other failure. Yes, Harvey Dent represents the ways in which stressors can break the human spirit, but his break is so overblown and bolstered by the Joker, that it becomes simply another way to kill hope. Batman coming up with the lie that he is responsible for Two-Face's murder is a surrender to this hopelessness. Heroes should not surrender unless it can be a way to show a villain's true colors. The ending of The Datk Knight is the film acknowledging its own failure for the hero to be a hero.

The Dark Knight Rises is often seen as the weakest of the trilogy and it's clear why. It tries to thread a needle that doesn't exist. The lie that Batman has built the current state of Gotham on has been exposed and the people he wronged have returned in fuller force. But it tries to postulate that by simply eliminating these foes and declaring yourself a self-sacrificial symbol, you can erase all your wrongdoings and be remembered fondly and make a difference. That just...doesn't work. Change, all change, requires continuous effort and work. Yes, eliminating the nuclear bomb as a threat to the city is a good thing, but there's still the matter of the displaced populations of Gotham, the lack of governance to sort through that, or the inability to distribute funds and aid to those in need. This is where Bruce Wayne could have stepped in. Had he as a character aimed to better the city from that angle after shedding Batman as a symbol, the ending would have worked much better. Instead, he fakes his death and leaves his home as an orphanage. Oh how lovely.

Contrast all of this to Matt Reeves' The Batman, a film in which the character becomes desperately and unavoidably aware of his own failures, weaknesses, and blind spots throughout the course of the story. By the end, he realizes that his selfish and reckless desire for vengeance will only lead to a bigger and stronger fire that will burn the city he cares for to the ground in ways he cannot comprehend. And the fact that his view of his parents as perfect embodiments of goodness is shaken over the course of the film only serves to highlight the strength of this Batman's heroism. After learning this, he confronts the embodiment of evil that he knows in the city, Carmine Falcone, a man whom his father had saved in the past. And he is offered a devil's deal. It is here that this Alfred serves the purpose that Alfred ought to in a Batman story. Though wounded by the consequences of his former employers' mistakes, and by which he could justifiably be angry at Bruce or otherwise resign himself to leaving his position, he stands resolute in his belief that it is the sum of the choices we make that define us, not the value of an individual one. This gives Bruce the key to understanding what his role can be in this world. It's why the fact that he saves the boy as himself during the funeral scene is doubly impactful. It allows him to realize that he can save people without the mask as well. And even when Falcone is gunned down, he does not feel complete relief. And he also does not accept the characterization that Riddler and Falcone assign to him as an agent of pure disruption and chaos. And by the end, when all his blind spots cause the flooding of Gotham,he steps in not just to stop Riddler's acolytes, but to stay and help the rescue efforts. And as he says in his narration, he realizes then that vengeance is not the sole way, and shouldn't be. He realizes that the fight against evil must be two pronged. He must put in effort as both Bruce Wayne and Batman. He must be the light that does not fear the dark. That is what Batman is at his best. Someone who grows, who changes, who finds the light to follow in the darkness, and can navigate the way there.

Christopher Nolan's Batman surrenders to the darkness and hopelessness of his existence. Matt Reeves' fights against it and hopes that he can be and do better. And that's why I'm very excited for his next effort.