#the post isn't really /about/ spoilers but the conversation that led into it was so

[sir-adamus]

so i was in a voice chat earlier and the question came up of whether Juniper’s antlers resemble the God of Light’s (they don’t - the GoL’s antlers are more intricate while the branches on Juniper’s antlers honestly look like they’re designed to evoke Jaune’s emblem), but that’s not the point

the point was while looking up screenshots for comparisons, i took another look at the tree in the GoL’s pond

and it got me thinking about how people have been speculating that the tree mentioned in Sun’s backstory, that he saw in childhood and uses as a focus when calling on his semblance, is actually the Tree from the Ever After, a theory i’m not convinced by as the tree described in Before the Dawn is explicitly a desert willow, which the Ever After’s Tree is decidedly not

however, it might’ve been a case of, well, barking up the wrong tree, because this is a desert willow

relatively low to the ground with branches also fairly low

and then it got brought up that Vacuo used to have a hospitable oasis, and the land was once abundant with Dust (which the other kingdoms made sure to exploit). and to bring it all together, the God of Darkness, who gave magic to the first humanity, left by shooting through the moon from the above location, leaving Salem to take a moon to the face

so, i mean you know where this is going; maybe the tree Sun saw is actually the tree from the GoL’s lake (because we never actually saw the aftermath of the moon crashing into it), its appearance seeming like a mirage thanks to some divine or magical affect hiding it

[aoxizu]

i have another 2.1 character dynamic post in the recesses of my brain but i need to get this out first

star rail's 2.1 update main plotline leans a lot more into existentialism and absurdism than i thought it would which is a really nice surprise

like i thought before 2.0 that at most it was just going to be some "oh no capitalism bad ipc bad cults also bad" thing but honestly what we got is so much more interesting. the spoilers start now

also massive disclaimer i am not a philosophist and actually i really don't like philosophy because it makes my brain hurt and i would much rather just look at logical nice things like math and plants so. if i get anything wrong please correct me

acheron's past and how she became an emanator of nihility reminds me somewhat of the absurdist theme of how people always look for meaning when there isn't any, until they finally realize that the universe is meaningless

and the entire path of nihility basically is a road towards that realization that people tread on, and the difference between the real world and star rail is that in the real world here we have people who will see that and then go write a book about a guy not crying at his mother's funeral, whereas in star rail it seems that just accepting that the universe is meaningless turns you into a pathstrider or even emanator of the nihility (not sure if i remember the details, correct me if i'm wrong)

and then aventurine's whole motivation is trying to understand why the universe is so cruel to him, and to find meaning when you have everything except freedom, both of which are absurdist themes

the leap of faith argument often attributed to søren kierkegaard claims that even though there is no rational logic for believing in god, you should do it anyway because the alternatives are madness, suicide, and ignorance. this was one solution to the problem of confronting the universe's meaninglessness: choosing to believe in a higher being regardless

later world wars i and ii both contributed heavily to the rise of absurdism as people returned from the war, having seen so many others die around them, and then just going back to a normal society with none of what they as individual soldiers had contributed seemingly doing anything. and then it happened again, but on a much greater scale with even more deaths. both wars and the destruction they brought led many people to start questioning why a supposedly moral god could allow this suffering, and this is where camus comes in and says that actually religion and nationalism both aren't good solutions, and instead we should just accept meaninglessness and keep living despite the absurdity

and i think dr ratio's scroll thing kind of relates to that

he tells aventurine to open it when he's about to die, or when he's completely out of answers for the question of how to confront absurdity

and dr ratio's answer for aventurine is to just tell him to keep living, good luck

which is. yeah

it's the argument that there are more answers to nihilism than just 1) going insane, 2) pretending like it doesn't exist, and 3) dying

it's the bold claim that despite everything, you can still choose to live

sure nothing makes sense but that does not detract from your life. it doesn't need to make sense at all

and with the understanding that things do not need to fit our human definition of meaning, we can continue on knowing our true place in the universe

and with that aventurine walks into the very big black hole like look at that thing you cannot tell me there is no symbolism there

let's go back to acheron.

in the part where you get a snippet of acheron's conversation with some guy just before this cutscene, the other party states that "[IX] leave[s] woven strands of fate for humans to walk, and together THEY weave a great shadow...And this shadow silently envelops them."

which to me sounds like a statement on how people across time and space have again and again come to the same question, what is the meaning of life?

and acheron's whole color thing seems to mean that she is one of the few who, after walking so far on the path of nihility, somehow have not died yet, be it from madness or something else

like it seems implied that many many more have seen the meaninglessness of the universe and have not reacted as well as acheron has

ok i have more to say about the elation and how it in turn relates to the nihility but that will have to come later but there is. a lot of interesting things there to explore

once again disclaimer: I Am Not A Philosophist And Do Not Know What The Correct Definitions Of These Words I'm Throwing Around Are. thank you for coming to my ted talk that was more of a longwinded ramble

[maingh0st]

thoughts on holly black's tithe

fair warning that this isn't really going to be a book review—I went into this book predisposed to enjoying it, and I generally had a good time. rather than a comprehensive review, I just have some loose silos of thoughts I wanted to share. it's still a long post, but I'm not attempting to cover everything! so without further ado (some spoilers ahead):

let's get this out of the way

Tithe was Holly Black's debut YA novel, and it reads like it. it's a good debut—she's clearly a skillful author even this early in her career—but there are some choices (pacing, phrasing, etc) that read as slightly amateur. one of these choices was, in my opinion, including multiple POVs. maybe this is a controversial take, but I would've enjoyed this book more if Roiben's POV hadn't been included. it would've increased narrative tension, led to more intrigue about his character, and allowed us to get to know him along with Kaye (rather than being privy to his secrets and Deep Inner Turmoil from the jump).

I can't remember where I saw this, but someone said that reading Tithe feels like talking to a teen who's just figured out they can swear & make sex jokes, and yeah, that's accurate—but I also found it strangely endearing. Kaye is a teen, and her ~quirky~ teenager-ish musings on boys, alcohol, fashion, etc feel believable. which leads, unfortunately, to the next thing I've gotta address:

Kaye is 16 years old, and most of the time, she reads like a 16 year old. on the other hand, we're never told Roiben's exact age, but the man has lived a lot of life by the time we meet him. now I'm pretty lenient toward the idea that the Folk age differently than humans, so it's not really an exact number that's the issue, but the sheer chasm in life experience between them. I quite enjoyed both characters on their own, and conceptually, I feel like they work well together on a personality level, but yikes guys. the story even highlights that Kaye hasn't gotten her license yet because of her age; meanwhile, Roiben is waxing melodramatic about how many people he's killed in his years of tortured servitude to his evil queen. this age gap combined with the insta-lovey nature of their relationship* made this book feel... well, about as dated as it is.

*they have great chemistry once they're actually having conversations & getting to know one another! I really enjoyed their banter! but that's well into the book, and well after they've already been acting mutually infatuated

laughs nervously while looking at sjm

okay I'm not going to harp on the above points, I just wanted to get them out of the way. but now let's play a game: let me tell you about a plot from a popular YA novel, and you tell me which book I'm describing.

there is an evil queen with beautiful red hair and pale skin. she holds her court beneath a large hill. the court itself is ghastly—full of bloodshed, debauchery, riddles, and cruel games. unfortunately, an immortal fey man has found himself magically bound to her power, and while he tries to carve out pockets of agency in minor ways, his forced loyalty to his queen requires him to compromise his morals and cultivate a fearsome, bloody reputation.

a young woman who was raised in the human world finds herself swept up in the machinations of this court. the man fears for her, because she is vulnerable, but her presence also makes him feel hope, and her strength and cleverness surprise him. many shenanigans ensue, and they kill the wicked queen.

I mean. there are notable differences, of course, but I just noticed too many acotar parallels. anyways. holly black did it better

reading a faerie's pov

I've already established that I love Kaye, but guys, I really do love Kaye. I love that she takes initiative and moves the plot along (breaking her glamour too early is a great example of this—she could've gone along with the Grand Plan, but her curiosity led her to act faster). I like that Holly allows her to be selfish and think ugly things, but still try to do good and be kind. I know these books have less buzz than tfota, but I find myself fascinated that there's not really Discourse about the Kenny situation (for a tldr: Kenny is Kaye's best friend's boyfriend. Kaye accidentally glamours him to be infatuated with her. when she learns how to remove that glamour, she first takes the time to taunt him publicly and humiliate him with his own desire for her. personally, I like that Holly wrote her doing this and then feeling remorse about it, but it is objectively pretty shitty, both to him and to her best friend).

I also like the way Kaye is believably fey. she's playful and blunt and mostly uncaring about social conventions. repeatedly throughout the book, she'll make a decision without deliberating on it beforehand (which at first, as a reader, feels jarring), but then as she's facing the consequences, she processes her choice and often feels regret or course-corrects in some way. it feels very fae to jump into something because it seems fun, then only once you're in the thick of it realize that Oops, My Actions Have Consequences

threads left undone/questions that weren't answered—or maybe I'm a bad reader

who tried to kill Roiben at the beginning of the book? it's a Seelie arrow, but I thought there would be more plot relevance to this attempt on his life. do Seelie fae often try to murder him? it seemed like a significant one-off event, but as it stands at the end of Tithe, it was just the narrative's way of leading Kaye to find him

Kaye pricked her finger on a thorn in Lloyd's jacket pocket, and I now understand that this was (I guess?) meant to connect Lloyd to Nephamael (the knight with the thorn-lined cloak). but hey, this is a magic book, and I really thought there would be some magical significance to Kaye pricking her finger

is Kaye Fierch her true name? Does she have a true name that she's unaware of? How are true names given / received?

what secrets are guarded by the Court of Termites?? I know this isn't really a plot hole because Kaye is so new to the world of the Folk, but I'm just putting it on the record right here that I really hope we learn some of these Deep and Dark Secrets that were teased

because this post has gotten long, I'm going to create a separate one with bullet points of things we learn about/are reminded of re: how the faerie world works. I kept track of these for the fic I'm currently outlining, but also because it's fun to pay attention to little worldbuilding details :)

[butterflydm]

morning thoughts on 2x6 (includes book spoilers)

spoilers through a memory of light; some speculation about future events, including what might happen in 2x7 and in s3.

So much other stuff happened in the episode that I barely pondered the potential setup for what's going to maybe happen next episode!

Siuan showing up in Cairhien with fourteen Sisters... forced into action by being 'officially told' that Moiraine and Lan found the Dragon Reborn, I assume?

Are they setting things up for the coup to happen potentially in the first episode of s3 (which would definitely mean no White Tower return for the Wondergirls)?

Or is this taking the place of the Fal Dara visit from the start of TGH? We are going to get Rand and Siuan's conversation, it seems, from the original trailer before the season started airing ("you are the water").

Is Rand going to be officially known as the Dragon Reborn to the White Tower as a whole next episode? Alanna, at the very least, knows that Lan and Moiraine believe that Rand is the Dragon. But are Alanna and Siuan the only ones in this group who officially know that Rand is the Dragon? (Verin knows, but only Moiraine knows that Verin knows, etc) Liandrin doesn't seem to know anything, after all (officially, she doesn't know anything!).

It wouldn't really be speeding things up too much because, in the books, TGH is when Rand gets banner'd across the sky and people make posters of him, etc, plus Rand has mostly accepted himself as the Dragon in the show already due to differing events so it could also be subbing in for claiming Callandor as well. But it definitely would speed up certain events.

IF Siuan and Moiraine successfully keep their association a secret in the next episode, then it doesn't led directly into the coup at the start of next season, not until it's uncovered that Siuan has been working with Moiraine all these years. But right now, everyone believes that Moiraine and Siuan are at odds and that Moiraine has been doing this all of her own devices.

I am also wondering again about the Rand & Egwene timeline. It is true that at this point in the books (whether we are talking about TGH or TDR), Rand and Egwene are still very much doing a will-they/won't-they, so it's not inaccurate to the books that they're still a major part of the emotional landscape (and Egwene is Rand's motivation for staying and fighting in Falme in TGH as well) but I am still so used to their post-relationship book dynamic that it throws me every time I remember that they haven't emotionally disengaged from their romance in the show yet. And it just really makes me wonder what the reasoning will be in the show for them to break up, given that Rand and Egwene will likely spend all or most of s3 hanging out near each other, given the storyline being covered. Will Rand be trying to stay away from her so as not to trigger Lanfear's jealousy issues and that leads to them drifting apart? The puzzle pieces of how Rand's relationships are going to fit together in the show still eludes me, lol.

What didn't elude me was that Rand & Mat reunion! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Definitely the lightest and brightest part of last night, even with the ending where Mat learns about Min's viewing and isn't willing to go meet with Rand because, in Min's words, "If you love him, you'll stay away from him." Mat and Rand actually trying to talk about their very similar enough damage was like catnip for me. They have so many issues in common in the books and never talk about any of them! (worries over being a puppet; dealing with having an ancient voice/memories in your head)

It wasn't enough and it didn't fix anything, but I loved that they each tried to give each other the advice of "actually your friends love you and aren't better off without you". The hug! (I'm pretty sure they never hug in the books and it is a crime!) Where they were both incredibly happy and Mat was wiping away tears and touching Rand's fuzz and disapproving of his haircut! A+, very romantic reunion, better than I was ever expecting!

And I was wondering how much the show would take into account the differences between book!Mat's journey and show!Mat's journey and they have, once again, shown that they are deeply invested in making their characters emotionally realistic. It would not make sense for Mat to have the same reaction in the show to knowing that Rand is the Dragon Reborn as he had in the books: a. Mat is more mature than he was in the books at this point; b. Mat has known for a year now that one of his group was the Dragon Reborn; c. Mat abandoned Rand & the group at the end of last season and still feels intensely guilty over that.

In s1, Mat's main feelings about the Dragon Reborn situation were "okay, Moiraine is out of her mind to even suggest this idea" to slowly going "oh shit it's me and I'm literally gonna die of the madness before I ever even channel" to "oh shit it's not me (probably) which means that it has to be Rand, Perrin, Egwene, or Nynaeve". Pasting book!Mat's reaction onto show!Mat would not have been emotionally realistic in that context. It makes sense that the relief and joy of seeing Rand again will be his most predominent emotions. Even in The Great Hunt, when he does have that more negative reaction (to being completely shocked by brand-new information, rather than it being information that has had a chance to settle in over the course of a year), he's upset when Rand has disappeared without saying goodbye and hopes that Rand is coming back when they see a rider on the road.

But the biggest question that this episode left me with about the future is: so... how are they gonna do Mat and Tuon after this? Because... this is the same feeling that I personally always got from the Seanchan in the books but the show was able to make it very visceral, in the way that visual media does. The difference between Egwene telling Min about what happened with the pitcher is just gonna feel different from actually seeing on-screen the brutality of the dehumanization process.

This is mostly likely what viewers are going to be thinking about when they meet Tuon, because the screen-time difference is going to be considerably shorter than the page-time difference was between TGH & WH. Because if this season is mostly bk2 (with some bk3 characterization beat wovens in), then on the eight season plan, we'd have s3: TSR (with some TFoH character beats maybe); s4: TFoH/LoC; S5: ACoS/TPoD; s6: WH-KoD, which at eight episodes per season would mean that Egwene's torture (which she is not likely to escape until ep8 of this season) will only be 25-28 hours away from Tuon's introduction (if Tuon is not introduced early).

Compare that to the audio books, where TDR-TPoD are a total of 197 hours (which doesn't even account for the fact that Tuon is introduced part-way through Winter's Heart). Tuon's introduction is going to be a lot closer to Egwene's 'training' than in the books.

And Tuon is a sul'dam, even if she doesn't do it often.

They are going to have to completely re-imagine both Tuon and the Mat & Tuon relationship, most likely. Which is basically what I've been saying but seeing how they committed to the Seanchan culture in this episode really affirmed it for me. There isn't any possible way to do Mat & Tuon the way it was written in the books because Mat will just straight up come across as an evil character at that point. If you read CoT & KoD without bringing in any of the leftover affection from earlier books Mat, he DOES just come across as a callous and selfish monster in those two books; or at least he did to me in my recent reread. CoT/KoD Mat reads as a genuinely bad person who manages to do a handful of non-shitty things per each of those books but is mostly just there to kiss Tuon's ass in the hopes that maybe she'll treat him like a person someday; Mat is one of my favorite characters pre-CoT but, wow, I despise him in those two books for turning his back on all his moral convictions for the sake of ~mysterious eyes~; luckily, the break from his previous characterization is both abrupt and severe enough that I don't hold pre-CoT Mat to account for CoT/KoD Mat's crimes but... it's a lot of yikes in those two books.

The entire Seanchan culture is rotten to the core and I don't think it's fixable. It needs to be torn to pieces. I'm hoping that the show will do what the books were never willing to get around to, and actually begin that process on-screen.

Anyway, I hope Egwene gets some really good hits in on Renna when she's freed. I'm pretty sure we're 100% going to get her braining Renna with the pitcher, because they really emphasized the way that it was used as a torture device in this episode.

And this episode did such a good job establishing what the stakes are against the Seanchan -- all marath'damane will be leashed, Suroth says in ep5 and now we see what it means to be leashed by the Seanchan. It really is the big Fate Worse Than Death from the books.

[livefreeforfun]

Terapagos' Hidden Power

Terapagos is the newest legendary Pokemon, introduced in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Indigo Disk DLC, the second part of the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. While the story of Scarlet and Violet isn’t over yet as we’re getting an epilogue in January, there’s a scene in the DLC that I absolutely have to talk about as the lore implications are nuts. Obviously there are gonna be spoilers for Indigo Disk, so if you haven’t played yet then you should probably click off this post now.

After capturing Terapagos in the Underdepths of Area Zero, you can gain access to a hidden interaction at Kitakami’s Crystal Pool, noteworthy for its… well, crystal formations of Terastal energy. Upon approaching the pool, Terapagos exits its Pokeball and calls forth a cloud of mist and, seemingly, Professor Sada/Turo before retreating back into its ball. This naturally prompts a discussion between the confused professor and the player, but it’s a brief discussion as after a few minutes the cloud of mist closes back in and takes the professor with it. While I won’t be going too in depth into the conversation with the professor, I will be going into how I think Terapagos is involved with it and revealing a potential hidden layer of mystery and intrigue to this new Pokemon.

Sada’s/Turo’s Arrival

So naturally, the arrival of Sada and Turo is what needs to be covered first as it’s what reveals new aspects of Terapagos to us. First, many would be led to assume that this is actually Professor Sada/Turo as this conversation takes place at the Crystal Pool, a location that’s said to allow people to speak to the dead. However, I believe this to be untrue. Early on in the conversation, Sada/Turo come to the conclusion that they must’ve been transported to the future by some unknown force.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ-SiGwyCKA)

This wouldn’t exactly make sense, though. After all, the implication about the Crystal Pool is that those you meet there are dead, so why would this be any different? Even the Milotic you battle with Carmine is coded to have the Tera Typing of Ghost to further allude to this fact. The time machine can’t be at fault either as AI Sada/Turo explicitly states that those who travel through time cannot return to the present, which we see Sada/Turo do. But what if what’s happening here isn’t time travel?

Milotic

As stated previously, the Milotic you battle with Carmine to obtain the Crystal Cluster needed to fix the Teal Mask is coded to have the Tera Type of Ghost. This isn’t a hugely known fact though, as it’s only really viewable if you look into the game’s code (or look at Bulbapedia like I did). Obviously since I’m bringing it up, I think it has some relevance here. I find it odd that despite giving this Milotic a Tera Type different from its original type, it never actually undergoes Terastalization. I mean, why not? Wouldn’t that get the idea of “meeting the dead” across a lot better? Not to mention, we’ve seen the ghost of a Pokemon before in the form of the Marowak from Pokemon Tower. Well…

I don’t think that Milotic is dead at all. In fact, I don’t think it was even alive before you first approached the Crystal Pool with Carmine. “This guy must be an idiot, what could he possibly be talking about?”. First, rude, my feelings :(. Second, I actually do have some evidence to back this claim up, and it all lies in…

The Scarlet/Violet Book

Trust me, I’m gonna tie this all together, just stick with me here. If you read the copy of the Scarlet/Violet book in the Academy, you’ll find a section titled “Monsters of Area Zero”. It’s the section of the book that goes over the first discovery of Great Tusk/Iron Treads, as shown in the photo provided below.

(Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/PokemonScarletViolet/comments/zi7ef7/mysteries_of_the_scarletviolet_book_unlocked/)

So why’s this important? It’s simple, really. Quoting Arven:

“Wait, hold on... Isn't my mom's/dad's time machine the whole reason the ancient/future Pokémon ended up here in the first place? This book is from way before she/he made the time machine, but it mentions ancient/future Pokémon. Isn't that kinda...weird?”

Why yes, Arven, it IS weird! This entry basically confirms that the time machine isn’t what’s creating the Paradox Pokemon. Something else within Area Zero is creating these Pokemon from the “past” or “future” based on which game you play. I think the same thing is happening at the Crystal Lake with Milotic and Sada/Turo. That wasn’t a Milotic, and that isn’t Sada/Turo, they’re recreations of a Milotic and the professor made with Terastal energy. And who molded these recreations?

Terapagos and the “Time Machine”

Time to tie this all together with a neat bow. Yeah, there’s obviously a reason that Terapagos’ presence is required for this interaction to happen. It made the Sada/Turo that the player interacts with at the Crystal Pool, just like how it made the Paradox Pokemon originating in Area Zero. Yeah, I’m going as far as to say it also created the Paradox Pokemon. The “time machine” was powered by Terastal energy, the same energy used to create the Milotic, the phantom professor, and presumably our Koraidon/Miraidon. The idea might strike some as odd, as if it’s not a time machine, when what is it?

While it’s hard to say what it is for certain, we can make some inferences on its true identity. Like I said, the whole machine is powered by Terastal energy, which I’m theorizing has the power to create entirely new organisms. The most difficult part to intuit is what it creates organisms from, but I think I have a pretty solid idea: imagination.  Think about the first Pokemon that was pulled through the machine. Koraidon or Miraidon, depending on the version of the game you’re playing. These Pokemon are meant to represent past and future versions of Cylizar, as stated by their dex entries:

Koraidon’s Violet Dex Entry: “This Pokémon resembles Cyclizar, but it is far burlier and more ferocious. Nothing is known about its ecology or other features.”Miraidon’s Scarlet Dex Entry: “Much remains unknown about this creature. It resembles Cyclizar, but it is far more ruthless and powerful.”

And what Pokemon was Heath, someone who you could say Sada/Turo idolized, prominently shown with in the Scarlet/Violet book, a volume which the professor admits is precious to them in their conversation with you at the Crystal Pool? Why, Cyclizar, of course!

(Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/PokemonScarletViolet/comments/zi7ef7/mysteries_of_the_scarletviolet_book_unlocked/)

I just can’t see this being a coincidence whatsoever, the choice to give Heath a Cyclizar while making both box legendaries past and future forms of it just feels so intentional. The Paradox Pokemon having been created during the original expedition makes sense as well. Before they had ever seen a Paradox Pokemon, they had been researching the regular Pokemon they were finding in Area Zero, and given that they were scientists it’s natural to assume they were most likely theory crafting what other kinds of Pokemon could live down there. It was only after a couple days of descending into Area Zero that the team encountered their first Paradox Pokemon. This could even explain why the Milotic at the Crystal Pool had a unique Ghost Tera Type; meeting the dead at the Crystal Pool is a common folktale in Kitakami, and the Crystal Pool is full of crystals of Terastal energy, just like Area Zero.

So, let’s wrap that neat little bow on all this. Terastal energy is clearly some form of creation energy, as it’s been shown to create not only the Paradox Pokemon, but also Milotic and even a duplicate professor. We’ve only ever seen this form of creation occur in two places: Area Zero and the Crystal Pool. Terapagos is stated to be the source of the Terastal phenomenon in it’s Scarlet Pokedex entry…: “Terapagos protects itself using its power to transform energy into hard crystals. This Pokémon is the source of the Terastal phenomenon.”

…and the interaction with the professor at the Crystal Pool does not happen without the player catching Terapagos. The “time machine” is really a machine that brings Pokemon from your imagination to life, and the Crystal Pool shows you terastal energy copies of those who have passed away rather than genuine ghosts. With all that in mind…

Terapagos’ Hidden Power

The true power of Terapagos, the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, is the power of creation. Be it replications of deceased individuals and books they held dear, or entirely new Pokemon that have never existed before, Terapagos can pull ideas from the minds of individuals and, using Terastal energy, will them into reality.

[hugsforvillains]

As much as I otherwise love, Baldur's Gate 3, I really do not like the game's approach to inherently evil races. Because that approach boils down to 'yes they exist, fuck you.'

It first shows up if you brain bond with the Gnoll Flind: This creature that's intelligent enough to communicate with other species and use tools is also incapable of seeing the world in any terms other than Pack and Food. This is an inherent part of her nature. Gnolls are a type of demon in this setting, but that's the opposite of an excuse. It just means that instead of wondering why this one species is self-sabotagingly dim, we're left wondering why an entire class of species is.

Later act spoilers about the Mind Flayers under the cut:

Yeah, Mind Flayers/Illithids are the other example of this. They are canonically soulless, inherently manipulative bastards who don't see other people as people. Not due to some twisted ideology or because the big bad Elder Brain is controlling them, but because it's in their nature. On one hand, you have Omeluum, who's a genuinely decent person actively looking for a more ethical food source than the brains of sapient beings. But on the other hand...you have the player character.

I went full Mind Flayer at the end of my playthrough because I thought it was my best bad option: Karlach wasn't in the party and I'd feel like a bit of a dick making my friend do something I wouldn't do myself, and I thought that making Orpheus do it would screw over the entire Githyanki people.

It led to some interesting interactions in the post-bossfight and epilogue, but it also had the narrator outright saying that in order to not be a huge dick, I had to overcome my nature. My nature of being a huge dick. And then in the epilogue, I had to roll at the tail end of a perfectly normal conversation not to eat my friend Shadowheart's brain.

Sure, Mind Flayer Karlach will say that she's starting to forget who she was the more brains she eats, so I can buy that the bonds of friendship might fray a bit if you become literally a different person as a Mind Flayer.

But Shadowheart is also an ally and a twelfth level character and at a party surrounded by people who would get really upset if I hauled off and ate her brain. Even the narrator says the desire to eat her brain is illogical. But the game still makes you roll not to do it. Because Mind Flayers, the psychic tyrants with the big brain Intelligence scores, are not only literally soulless for...some reason, but also apparently too stupid and weak-willed not to eat brains even when eating brains would get them killed.

Because it's in their nature. And for a game that goes out of its way to show that Tieflings aren't evil and that their persecution is wrong (I played as a Tiefling), it shoots that message of tolerance in the foot to also say "oh but this other group really is inherently evil and soulless."

Because now the message isn't "persecuting people because of their demographics is wrong", but rather "make sure you persecute the right people because they just can't help themselves from being evil."

[cookie-fox]

Ace Attorney's Gaping Plot-Hole that Flew Right Over my Head

I'm not one to nitpick every microscopic aspect of a piece of media, scrutinizing every plot convenience or plot hole but this is something I realized recently and it's so ridiculous that I had to talk about it.

SPOILERS FOR ACE ATTORNEY: SPIRIT OF JUSTICE AHEAD

(Also, this post is pretty long)

Spirit of Justice has a solid set of cases and an interesting gimmick with the Divination Séances. While during the few times it's used in-game the seances are a fun twist on the Cross-Examinations by viewing the last moments of the victim and cross-referencing them with the court's interpretation of the events. Spirit Channeling has been part of the series' mythos since game one and after being looked over in the previous two installments, Apollo Justice and Dual Destinies, Spirit of Justice not only makes it relevant again but implements an entire mechanic based around it.

The problems start when combined with another major aspect of Spirit of Justice's story. Divination Séances are a major aspect of the country of Khura'in's justice system. The final moments of the victim are used as key evidence against the accused. However, this isn't the only thing that makes Khura'in unique. In Khura'in, lawyers who represent clients are found guilty receive the same punishment at the defendant. Meaning, if someone is found guilty of murder that means their lawyer would be executed alongside their client. This risk has led to there being no lawyers to defend potential clients. This also means the stakes are at the highest they've been. Considering Ace Attorney is based around murder cases, it all checks out so far.

Problem is: There are more crimes than just murder. Nothing is established saying that the punishment for every crime in Khura'in is death, at least to my memory. Even then, if nobody is dead then the Divination Séances in which the country's legal system relies on so heavily are useless. Not to mention misdemeanor offenses where the punishment is not very severe. Surely there would be lawyers willing to defend clients for crimes not punishable by death, right? They would be fewer in number but they'd still exist. Especially in the Ace Attorney universe which presents a very idealized version of defense lawyers. This isn't even considering civil cases where nobody is being prosecuted. Does the defendant and plaintiff represent themselves? It's easy to look over this while playing the game because you're focused on the story and trying to progress. However, once the entire legal system, not just murder trials, are considered it all falls apart. Don't get me wrong, the conflict these plot points set up is really interesting the problem is how flimsy everything is.

Another thing: How high is the murder rate in Khura'in? We see the justice minister, Inga, approve tons of death warrants during conversations with him. Plus, it is shown that after setting up shop Apollo Justice is flooded with work and the wording during this scene implies that all of them are murders. Why are there so many murders in such a small country?

I'm gonna leave it off here.

[daisypath]

Behold: A handful of screenshots from Xisuma's HC8 1019, accompanied by my commentary

SPOILERS beneath the cut!

Okay now that I'm beneath the read more I can express that MICER IS RIGHT!!!!! MICER IS SO RIGHT!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

he's literally just there. just off to the right. just vibing in the background. (of course this was already revealed in that one post from xisuma but i was still surprised cuz i am forgetful ok??)

The whole scene featuring Jeff takes place within a dream, which we can infer from the immediately previous scene of Jevin falling asleep while EX watches.

So. the presence of Jeff in this dream could mean a few things. obviously it means that he is exerting some influence over this conversation-- this whole situation. but what interests me most is that this is Jevin's dream. Jevin is the asleep one here. That implies that Jeff is present in Jevin's mind, that he's influencing Jevin, not just EX.

Perhaps Jeff got into Jevin's head when EX pushed Jevin into that green goo?

(Or yknow. Maybe Jeff just came along with EX when he entered Jevin's dream. Maybe this isn't even Jevin's dream. Maybe the dreamscape is shared between all players. Maybe this isn't even a dream, and Jeff is somehow now an actual physical presence in the world. idk i am but a simple joehills stan leave me be.)

More evidence for Jevin being influenced/mind controlled somehow:

He changes colour. He briefly switches from green, to blue, to green, to blue, to green again. (to be clear, the colour on his sweater changes too, I just forgot to include it in the screenshots)

I'll admit that I don't watch a ton of Jevin, but it is my understanding that that is not in his usual skillset.

This doesn't look like the sort of influence that EX has over X, as there is no lightning, and none of EX's signature red. So I am led to believe that Jeff is the one responsible for this (unless Jevin is secretly part chameleon).

For context, just before this, Jevin and EX are discussing how they can expand their shopping empire and get more derpcoins. Jevin mentions that he has built some farms and that he has many valuable items. EX moves next to him and says: "Well, that is just perfect, isn't it? Greed is good, Jevin. Greed is good. Don't you ever forget that." (Midas's Curse much?) And that is when Jevin's colour changes.

Now uh. I have no idea what that means or why this happens or why this happens at this moment. I suppose that EX stating his (Jeff's) philosophy that greed is good could cause the fluctuation in colour. Maybe the blue flickers represent Jevin doubting this philosophy, this scheme? I really don't know.

(also just after this, there is a point where there are two EX's on screen. Maybe that just is an animation mistake, or part of his dream powers, or something that Jeff is doing. idk)

Okay uh next screenshot:

So this instance of EX's eyes glowing is in line with This Post by micer2012. Basically, the glowing eyes indicate that Jeff is giving EX an idea. And in this case, the idea is to 'add some evil pizzazz into the mix' of Jevin's totems of undying, using magic to turn them into wither-shaped totems. The evil-ified totems will presumably play into the overall goal of exploiting the hermits etc.

My next point is a bit more of a stretch. this 'evidence' truly pales in comparison to jeff LITERALLY BEING THERE

... yeah idk about this. I don't think that the reflection in this episode looks as purposeful as the one in 1013. But I thought I'd include it for completeness's sake.

And apparently, I'm just brushing over EX having dream powers. i have no idea if that is a pre-established thing or not. Don't worry about it.

In conclusion: MICER IS SO SO SO SO RIGHT!!!! OHMY GO-- (I am taken out by a sniper because my neighbours called in a noise complaint)

[basileafpitch]

this isn't too specific a prompt but... post-s3 rayla and ezran bonding?? hope ur doin well xx

hey! i hope you’re doing well, too! omg i’ve been thinking about this since I finished the new season! heres some cute stuff to go with a short chapter that I did! you can read the chapter under the cut :p (chapter includes spoilers to season 3!)

The top of the Storm Spire seemed to be the go-to spot for R & R & R (rest, relaxation, and romantic occasions) now, and Rayla smiled softly as she peered around her at the pink and orange sunset fading into a black night sky, sparkled with stars. She noticed behind her Amaya and Janai, both laughing as they conversed. In a moment, the two stood up and turned to Rayla. 

“It has been a long day, my child,” said Janai smoothly, her voice almost a whisper. 

She cocked her head to look over at Amaya, who nodded and offered her a kind smile. Janai smiled as well, and then in a moment raised her hands, attempting to sign as she spoke. “We are going to… turn in,” she said slowly, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to make the hand signs for her spoken words. Amaya beamed proudly next to her. Janai sighed and shook her head, embarrassed at her work, but then she chuckled a bit. “I’m sorry. I’m working on it!” Amaya laughed now, too, holding a hand to her mouth.

“I suggest you two turn in soon as well. It will be a long day tomorrow as we try to figure out our next plans. But you deserve the rest regardless,” she paused, and then laughed once more. “You specifically, young lady. As it seems that the young prince has already started his rest,” she said, gesturing to a snoring Callum next to Rayla. He had fallen asleep almost an hour ago, slumped against Rayla, but she didn’t mind.

“Thank you, Janai,” Rayla said simply. Janai nodded, and took Amaya’s hand as they made their way down the steps toward the cave, where the rest of their friends had made camp. 

Before they were out of sight, Amaya turned back to Rayla and gave her a bright smile and a wave. On their way down, Rayla swore that she heard other voices, and her hunch was correct as in a moment Ezran appeared on the steps, followed by Soren.

“Hey guy—” Ezran started happily, but quickly noticing his sleeping brother he dropped his voice. “Hey Rayla,” he said quietly, a wide smile on his lips.

“Oh man,” Soren spoke softly, quietly chuckling at Callum. “He’s out like a light.”

“He’s been like this for almost an hour. It was too precious, I didn’t want to wake him.”

Soren smiled. “I should probably take him down to the camp,” he said. He approached Rayla and Callum, offering Rayla a pat on the shoulder and a small smile as he passed her, and then scooped Callum into his arms, holding him as he made his way back to the stairs to head back down the mountain path. “Just shout if you need anything, you two,” he said as he left.

“Thank you, Soren,” Rayla said, although he was probably too far away to hear her.

Ezran paced toward Rayla and plopped onto the ground next to her where Callum had been. Before Rayla could say anything, Ezran quickly turned to her and threw his arms around her shoulders, squeezing her tightly.

“I missed you so, so much, Rayla,” he said in a whisper.

A smile began to form on Rayla’s lips, and she thought she would laugh at the small boy’s kindness, but instead, in his arms she felt a pang of sadness, and began to tear up. “I missed you too, Ez. I missed you too.”

After a moment Ezran peeled himself from her and wiped at a tear on his cheek, still wearing a bright smile. 

“Do you want to see something cool?” Ezran asked his friend, standing up and offering a hand to her. She hesitated, but obliged, and stood up and followed him as he led her to the edge of the cliff top. 

“Promise me you won’t freak out?” Ezran asked her, looking up at her with bright eyes.

Rayla cocked an eyebrow. “Promise?” she said, not understanding what he meant. That is, until he lept off of the cliff. Which, obviously, didn’t stop her from freaking out.

“Ezran!” she screamed, covering her mouth as more tears quickly sprung to her eyes. She looked around her at the bright shining stars and huge glowing moon, and then closed her eyes, ran forward, and jumped herself.

What she didn’t expect was to land so quickly.

She peeled her eyes open, her body shaking with fear, and met Ezran’s eyes right in front of her. 

“Ez, what—” she began to ask, but she examined her surroundings and realized where they were. They weren’t on the ground. They weren’t on any ground, actually— but on a dragon.

“Oh,” she sighed loudly, exhaling relief with a small chuckle. “I’m sorry, I think I may have broken my promise there for a moment.”

Ezran laughed and nodded his head. “It’s okay. I’m still not completely used to it, either. He reached next to him, laying a hand on the dragon’s sparkling red scales, and closed his eyes. He was communicating with it. In a second, the dragon made a smooth circle back toward the mountaintop, and flew over it, its wings flapping evenly and strongly. 

“So,” Rayla said. “King Ezran the Dragon Tamer, huh? Has a nice ring to it.”

Ezran giggled, petting the dragon. “Yeah, I guess it does.”

They sat there for a silent moment, both taking in the dazzling view around them. Finally, when one of them spoke up, the other did, too, and they both stuttered and then laughed.

“You go first,” Ezran insisted.

“No, that’s alright, you go ahead,” Rayla argued.

Ezran smiled. “Fine. I was just going to say… I’m glad that you and Callum are together. That you found hope in each other, and that you’re finding your strength in each other. You are two of the most important people to me, you’re my family. And I’m glad that you’re happy together.”

Rayla blushed and smiled. “Thank you, Ezran. Really. I’m glad that we’re together, too. I wasn’t really sure how I felt, to be honest, about him, or about having any sort of relationship like ours. For a long time I thought that my parents had left me, that they had run away like cowards from the guard. And I guess...” Rayla sighed. “I guess I was afraid that I would run away, too. I was afraid that if I got too close to Callum, I would get scared and leave him just like my parents did. But then… he showed me the truth. He showed me that my parents hadn't abandoned the guard, that they had fought until the very end. And I know I will, too. I will fight evil, and fight for my family. For you, and for him.

Ezran smiled widely, reaching a hand out to mess with Rayla’s hair. “Seems like someone has become sappy since I’ve been gone,” he said with a smirk.

Rayla huffed. “Shut up,” she said, musing his hair back, and he giggled.

“That’s what I was going to talk to you about, actually,” she said. “About you being gone. Gosh, Ezran, you’ve grown and matured so much since you’ve been gone. You’re so strong. I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you.”

Ezran waved a hand with a smile, dismissing the praise, “Thanks, Rayla. It’s not a big deal, though. I haven’t done that much—”

“You’re wrong,” Rayla interrupted. “Ez, it’s only been a few weeks, and since then you made it home and became the youngest king to rule. And whatever you did had to be right, because you got many of your people and the whole remaining population of the Sunfire Elves to follow you into battle. Not to mention that you gathered a whole army of dragons to help, too. You’ve changed everything, Ezran. For good. And that’s… that’s incredible.”

Ezran hadn't realized all of this, or hadn’t taken it to heart. He looked up at a smiling Rayla but couldn’t manage a smile himself, and instead began to cry.

“I just want to make my dad and Callum proud,” he said between sniffles, and Rayla quickly took him in her arms, running her fingers through his hair. 

“Ezran, you have made him proud. You have done so much good in so little time. Imagine how much you’ll do over the years? He’ll be the proudest father there can be, I’m sure. And… I know you didn’t know your mother. And I don’t know much about her, but I know that she too had a kind and beautiful soul, Ezran. I am sure that she would be proud of you, too.”

Ezran sniffled as he held onto Rayla. “I love you, Rayla.”

Rayla smiled, nuzzling into Ezran as the dragon circled once again back to the mountain, returning them to the rest of their people.

“I love you, too, Ez.”

[the-timelord-a-tardis-stole]

I posted 3,326 times in 2021

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3315 posts reblogged (100%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 301.4 posts.

I added 1,039 tags in 2021

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Longest Tag: 137 characters

#like shes been like 'these people are good people dont get me wrong but they are so annoying and i dont want to spend eternity with them'

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

So it's "sad about Sylvie" hours, lads

I'm pretty sure it's already pointed out a lot that Mobius is probably Loki's first real friend and that's pretty sad. But I can't help thinking about the fact that Loki is probably Sylvie's first real friend

After escaping the TVA, she was on the run from people who could track the branches she inevitably caused and could instantly travel to whenever and wherever she was. So she couldn't have made any friends without the certainty that at any moment they would soon be taken away.

Then, once she found out that she could hide in apocalypses, she could relax and do whatever she wanted. However, the only people to make friends with would be the people who were about to die

And we don't know how old Sylvie is. She could be 40, she could be 400. But she has spent the majority of her life on the run, with no one to rely on

All this makes her conversation with Loki about him and his life on Asgard a lot more like she was scouting out how good her life could have been if the TVA had never shown up. Especially when they were talking about Frigga because Sylvie didn't seen to know much about her. So either Sylvie is old enough that she doesn't remember her own mother or she was taken by the TVA so young that she didn't really know Frigga as a person outside of being her mother

8 notes • Posted 2021-07-19 22:55:19 GMT

#4

If Simon Fairchild lived, that's good news for all the other living avatars. Because he was centuries old and this probably means he was mostly Vast-powered. And had done the whole Death to Become an Avatar thing

So Oliver Banks might still be alive somewhere (up in Scotland probably)

18 notes • Posted 2021-03-25 20:07:40 GMT

#3

I have thoughts about the trailer

So the what the cult is like an actual cult, not a group of apocalypse survivors who hero worship the ladies who saved them

What did Georgie and Melanie say to make them think that they were prophets? Like cults don't form by accident

How did they introduce Martin and Jon? Does the cult also think Jon and Martin are prophets? I had in my head the idea that (if Jon still has the right number of eyes) they just went "hey guys, this is Martin, he's great. Also this is our friend Jon"

The tunnels or the cult are Georgie's domain, I'm saying it now. I know the tunnels were unKnowable before but it seems a little convenient that just below the panopticon there's a cult led by a lady touched by the End. Like the End is what Jonah Magnus fears most and it's very fitting that right beside where he is there's an End domain that the Eye has no influence over

Georgie isn't going to be happy when she's faced with the fact that she's not immune to the Watcher/Watched binary and I hope we get to see her reaction to that

22 notes • Posted 2021-01-07 22:01:05 GMT

#2

The "manage your expectations" bit felt oddly familiar to about ten years ago when tubs was like "a lot of elves have been laid off work so you might not get everything you want"

29 notes • Posted 2021-11-26 22:35:46 GMT

#1

109 notes • Posted 2021-11-26 23:49:32 GMT

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