#there's nothing in the games that directly contradicts it

[albi-mander]

I like to think that, when Archie and Maxie were trainers like three decades ago, showmanship was a huge part of pokemon battling? Like, it was still important to fight skillfully and see who was the better trainer--that’s the answer anyone would give you if you asked why trainers battled--but a significant number of people also REALLY cared about the aesthetic side of battling too.

You were kind of expected to put on an over-the-top act of some kind, and legit people would get really into it. People were coming up with their own unique trainer personas, putting together their own flashy, homemade costumes, and practicing cool poses and one-liners. Half the fun of battling was acting over-the-top and looking awesome, and if you think the pokemon weren’t in on it too, you’d be wrong. Superheroes like the Pokemon Rangers were all the rage and practically every other kid was either a superhero or superhero-adjacent, which of course prompted a lot of the adults, edgy teenagers, and edgier preteens to come up with supervillain personas.

You had this whole pro-wrestling adjacent scene where trainers would just outright put on a staged performance and everyone would go along with it and pretend to think it was legit. Certain trainers could become fan favorites because they were really good at losing in the most dramatic way possible. Even rivalries were more about whether or not you could put on a good show with the other person, and you’d get “rivals” who would end up competing to see who could make the other look coolest.

Sure, you definitely had the more reserved or shy people who didn’t vibe with that, but the coolness factor was still a part of what it meant to battle respectfully? Even in the (smaller, more niche) competitive scene where you were expected to take battling very very seriously, you’d have pros who would take liberties to show off sometimes, or to set their opponent up so they could go out with style.

Archie and Maxie were 100000% into the superhero thing, they LOVED this type of battling. They absolutely made their own outfits and set up little skits with each other and flipped a coin to see who got to be evil this time. As far as they’re concerned, it’s barely even pokemon battling if you CAN’T dress in cool outfits and deliver dramatic monologues.

I think the showmanship thing started slowly dying off shortly after Archie and Maxie returned from their pokemon journeys and left the battling scene. There was a recession like 25 years back (yes, Hoenn had a recession, I’m not making that up, that’s just canon), and I think that cut into a lot of people’s free time, creative energy, and disposable income. It also caused a bit of a shift in the culture, prompting people to be somewhat more skeptical and jaded.

By the time Red and Blue show up on the proverbial cultural map, I think pokemon battling had become extremely hard for some kids to actually participate in? A lot of them just couldn’t get their foot in the door, and a lot of them would end up joining gangs because it was their only real way to participate. The invention of the pokedex ended up creating a ton of opportunities for kids who might’ve otherwise never had a way to get started on their journeys, and I think Red and Blue’s success as champions ended up sparking a bit of a renaissance, both as an inspiration to kids who might’ve otherwise never tried to go on their own journeys, and as proof of the pokedex program’s effectiveness.

Red and Blue happened to be excellent competitive pokemon battlers, so I think both the competition and battling parts of pokemon got...somewhat overemphasized with the revitalization of training culture. Pokemon training became more of a sport than anything else, and I think the reason pokemon contests hadn’t been invented sooner was because the culture around pokemon battling actually used to be more permissive towards people who wanted to show off their pokemon or do skits with them. Interestingly, even though contests do fill that niche, they don’t really get away from the “competition” aspect that strongly defines high-level pokemon battling.

I think Archie and Maxie made their leader personas with the battling culture of 30 years ago in mind? They kinda missed the boat on becoming the fun, wacky supervillain adults they battled against as kids, and I can see them making Teams Aqua and Magma so they could help the kids they saw fall through the cracks, giving them an opportunity to connect with pokemon, feel like they’re part of a community, and maybe change the world for the better in the process?

[butwhatifidothis]

Just saw a giant word wall personalized copy of Fodlan. Were Duscur wasn’t on good terms with Duscur before Lamberts death. Sylvain support with Dedue was wrong. AG is wrong only the kingdom killed Lambert. And get this Claude doesn’t ally with the church in ssvwamag. When he literally helps them take the bridge of Mrydinny and distracted southern Adrestia in AG. The people you fight along side aren’t your allies anymore lmao.

That my friend is what we call overdosing on copium

[arolesbianism]

Ok so I think I'm done collecting all of the oni logs straight from the files, but the somewhat sad news is that either the dr. Mason thing was either fixed at some point recently or it was an error on the wiki I never realized wasn't actually in game, since I saw in the code they're referred to as dr. Ross in that email and I just opened the game and what do you know, it's there too. I swear it had both last names last time I checked, but I could also easily be misremembering. Either way, rip Devon mason-ross, you're just Devon Ross now

[poptartmochi]

breeze wiki coming out of left field and flipping the table on the gioiaverse 🤪🍻

[wileycap]

So, uh, Netflix Avatar, huh? Yeah. I guess I'll make a really long post about it because ATLA brainrot has is a cornerstone of my personality at this point.

So.

It's okay. B, maybe a C+.

That's it.

Now for the spoilers:

The biggest issue with the Netflix version is the pacing. Scenes come out of nowhere and many of the episodes are disjointed. Example: Aang escaping from Zuko's ship. We see him getting the key and going "aha!", and in the next scene he's in Zuko's room. And then he just runs out, no fun acrobatics or fights, and immediately they go to the Southern Air Temple where he sees Gyatso's corpse, goes into the Avatar state, and then sees Gyatso being really cheesy, comes out of it, and resolves that conflict. Nothing seems to lead into anything. The characters don't get to breathe.

The show's worst mistake (aside from Iroh fucking murdering Zhao) is its' first one: they start in the past. Instead of immediately introducing us to our main characters and dropping us into a world where we have a perfect dynamic where Aang doesn't know the current state of the world and Katara and Sokka don't know about the past, thus allowing for seamless and organic worldbuilding and exposition, they just... tell us. "Hey, this is what happened, ok, time for Aang!" There's no mystery, no intrigue, just a stream of information being shoved down the audience's throats and then onto the next set piece.

The visuals are for the most part great, but like with most Netflix productions, they just don't have great art direction. It feels like a video game cinematic, where everything is meant to be Maximum Cool - and none of the environments get to breathe. It's like they have tight indoor sets (with some great set design) and then they have a bunch of trailer shots. It's oozing with a kind of very superficial love.

Netflix still doesn't know how to do lighting, and with how disjointed the scenes are, the locations end up feeling like a parade of sets rather than actual cities or forests or temples. As for the costumes, Netflix still doesn't know how to do costumes that look like they're meant to be actually worn, so many of the characters seem weirdly uncomfortable, like they're afraid of creasing their pristine costumes.

The acting is decent to good, for the most part. I can't tell if the weaker moments come down to the actors or the direction and editing, but if I had to guess, I'd say the latter. Iroh and Katara are the weakest, Sokka is the most consistent, Zuko hits the mark most of the time, and Aang is okay. I liked Suki (though... she was weirdly horny? Like?) but Yue just fell kind of flat.

The tight fight choreography of the original is replaced with a bunch of spinny moves and Marvel fighting, though there are some moments of good choreography, like the Agni Kai between Ozai and Zuko (there's a million things I could say about how bad it was thematically, but this post is overly long already.) There's an actually hilarious moment in the first episode when Zuko is shooting down Aang, and he does jazz hands to charge up his attack.

Then there's the characters. Everybody feels very static - Zuko especially gets to have very little agency. A great example of that is the scene in which Iroh tells Lieutenant Jee the story of Zuko's scar.

In the original, it's a very intimate affair, and he doesn't lead the crew into any conclusions. Here, Iroh straight up tells the crew "you are the 41st, he saved your lives" and then the crew shows Zuko some love. A nice moment, but it feels unearned, when contrasted with the perfection of The Storm. In The Storm, Zuko's words and actions directly contradict each other, and Iroh's story gives the crew (and the audience) context as to why, which makes Zuko a compelling character. We get to piece it out along with them. Here - Iroh just flat out says it. He just says it, multiple times, to hammer in the point that hey, Zuko is Good Actually.

And then there's Iroh. You remember the kindly but powerful man who you can see gently nudging Zuko to his own conclusions? No, he's a pretty insecure dude who just tells Zuko that his daddy doesn't love him a lot and then he kills Zhao. Yeah. Iroh just plain kills Zhao dead. Why?

Iroh's characterization also makes Zuko come off as dumb - not just clueless and deluded, no, actually stupid. He constantly gets told that Iroh loves him and his dad doesn't, and he doesn't have any good answers for that, so he just... keeps on keeping on, I guess? This version of Zuko isn't conflicted and willfully ignorant like the OG, he's just... kind of stupid. He's not very compelling.

In the original, Zuko is well aware of Azula's status as the golden child. It motivates him - he twists it around to mean that he, through constant struggle, can become even stronger than her, than anyone. Here, Zhao tells him that "no, ur dad likes her better tee hee" and it's presented as some kind of a revelation. And then Iroh kills Zhao. I'm sorry I keep bringing that up, but it's just such an unforgiveable thematic fuckup that I have to. In the original, Zhao falls victim to his hubris, and Zuko gets to demonstrate his underlying compassion and nobility when he offers his hand to Zhao. Then we get some ambiguity in Zhao: does he refuse Zuko's hand because of his pride, or is it his final honorable action to not drag Zuko down with him? A mix of both? It's a great ending to his character. Here, he tries to backstab Zuko and then Iroh, who just sort of stood off to the side for five minutes, goes "oh well, it's murderin' time :)"

They mess with the worldbuilding in ways that didn't really need to be messed with. The Ice Moon "brings the spirit world and the mortal world closer together"? Give me a break. That's something you made up, as opposed to the millenia of cultural relevance that the Solstice has. That's bad, guys. You replaced something real with something you just hastily made up. There's a lot of that. We DID NOT need any backstory for Koh, for one. And Katara and Sokka certainly didn't need to be captured by Koh. I could go on and on, but again, this post is already way too long.

It's, um, very disappointing. A lot of telling and not very much showing, and I feel like all of the characters just... sort of end up in the same place they started out in. I feel like we don't see any of the characters grow: they're just told over and over again how they need to grow and what they need to do.

To sum it up: Netflix Avatar is a mile wide, but an inch deep.

[narumi-gens]

yandere!morax/zhongli x adeptus gn!reader

morax finds you where he always does on the few occasions he allows you time to yourself, kneeling in the garden with your hands folded in your lap and your head respectfully tilted down. it's been only a few decades since he took you for his own, a self-reward of sorts for a still freshly won war.

and what are a few decades to the immortal?

he supposes you spend so much time here because the gardens are so wide and open that they make the high, stone walls that keep you caged within his grasp seem slightly smaller by perspective.

there's a soft, spring breeze in the air, which picks up for just a moment as he chooses to sit on the grass directly in front of you with his legs crossed before him and his wrists casually resting on his knees.

your head remains down and your eyes stay closed, choosing not to acknowledge his presence.

"have you not grown bored after spending so much time alone with nothing but your thoughts?" his deep voice and teasing tone shatter the garden's tranquility, yet still you refuse to look at him. "I'm happy to provide you with whatever book you would like. all you need to do is ask."

"my prayers keep me occupied."

it's a dangerous admission on your part. as liyue's archon, he hears every prayer his people make yet he's never once heard yours. which means that your prayers aren't to him.

but he'll indulge you and play your game – for now at least.

"what do you pray for?"

"for liberation." your answer isn't a surprise. what else could you pray for?

"oh? and to whom do you pray?"

finally, you open your eyes and lift your chin to meet his gaze. there's a hardness in them that reminds him of the jewels the people of liyue put so much time and effort into mining. even the warm, gentle wind and the smell of blooming flowers it brings are incapable of softening your demeanor.

"the archons."

any trace of amusement immediately vanishes as his eyes flash dangerously. his pupils morph into the slits of his true, draconic form.

"I am your archon."

he doesn't mention the contract you signed during the archon war in concert with the other adepti, agreeing to protect liyue. he doesn't need to.

although with your powers now sealed away through his own means, there's little protection that you would be able to provide should you ever actually be called upon to do so. the only part of the contract that still pertains to you as you are now, as he's made you now, is the provision accepting morax as liyue's archon.

it's a provision that he worded carefully in the specific contract he offered you, where you not only accepted him as the prime of adepti, but also swore eternal subservience to him as part of it.

"you are one archon," you remind him coldly, raising an eyebrow in challenge, daring him to contradict what is fact. "one of seven."

he offers you a patronizing smile in return.

"tell me, then. which of the remaining six do you think would be foolish enough to answer you?"

he only decides to humor you because he knows the answer is none of them. no archon would risk upsetting the peaceful but precarious balance they had just spent centuries, more than a millennium, fighting for.

and to break this unspoken contract amongst the seven in order to steal his greatest treasure right out from under him wouldn't just be foolish. it would be reckless.

but then his sight turns a pure, blood red that he hasn't experienced since the final days of the archon war. his fingers begin to elongate as they transform into claws. his horns make a grotesque cracking sound as they emerge from his skull. his teeth sharpen as he bares his fangs openly.

because a sudden divine energy has appeared between you and you open your clasped hands to reveal a glowing, teal-colored gem bearing a pair of spread wings.

"the god of freedom, it would seem."

[cerastes]

The new Arknights artbook is out and they straight up cannot make up their minds about how Mudrock works.

Mudrock is a huge armored warrior.

Wait, not really, she's actually short, only 163 cm tall, it's just that (Trust 50 Files) "Mudrock uses Originium Arts between the cushioning materials as padding. One could ask whether her tremendous form actually intimidates the enemy", so she's short, but her suit is in fact massive and makes her look enormous.

Wait wait no scratch that, as you can clearly see in the artbook, she fits the damn suit of armor perfectly, meaning the suit of armor cannot be significantly bigger than her, so even in her armored form, she necessarily needs to be roughly the same height and size as her supposed "tremendous form". The only possibilities that remain are that she is in fact short and doesn't look enormous in her armor, or that is she is in fact enormous and Human Resources are awful at their job. But the previously stated, in-game official resource everyone that has Mudrock can read directly contradicts this, citing her as small, but looking 'tremendous' when wearing the armor.

Also the instagram model yoga pants is historical revisionism:

There is nothing there, you've gotta be drinking spoiled milk if you think otherwise.

Fellas you have GOT to get your shit together, you're going to give Mudrock an identity crisis. The accounts of Mudrock's appearance are less concise and more inconsistent than Big Foot reports. The Loch Ness Monster conspiracy theorists are more consistent with their descriptions of Nessie than Hypergryph is with Mudrock.

[hehe-hoho-ohno]

Submas canon vs fanon

The entire time I have been in the Submas fandom I have seen a lot of confusion about what is canonical and what is a wide-spread fanon. Both in the sense of people thinking things were canon when they were not, and (more rarely) people thinking things were fanon when they were not. So I thought it might be useful to put together a little guide.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with using fanon. I use most of these headcannons in my own fics because I like them and canon is dumb anyway. (Note: pokemon is a huge sprawling mass and tends to contradict itself, and there have been changes across the various games/manga/anime)

All quotations are taken from bulbapidia.

Nimbasa Trio - FANON

Elesa has no connection to Ingo and Emmet besides living in the same place. There is one interaction between them in Pokemon Masters, and while they are on friendly terms they don't appear to be particularly close. Similarly, the idea that Ingo likes bad puns/Emmet does not stemmed from their fanon friendship with her.

Uncle Drayden - FANON

The only confirmed family Ingo and Emmet have are each other.

Cilan is a huge fan - CANON

Cilan is a fanboy of both of them in the anime.

Ingo is the older twin - CANON

In the original Japanese Emmet calls Ingo "nii-san" which means older brother.

"Do you have any siblings? I have an older brother, Ingo."

- Emmet, pokemon masters

Emmet's joltik hoard - FANON

Emmet's galvantula knows the move cross poison. This is an "egg move" which can only be learnt through pokemon breeding. Since it would take several tries to get this move it probably would have left Emmet with a lot of Joltik. In theory. We don't see Emmet with joltiks in canon.

Ingo's kitty smile - CANON

He smiles like that in the manga. (Admittedly, it's not as exaggerated as the full on :3 people sometimes draw him with.) He also briefly smiles in PLA, but less cat-like.

Ingo's perpetual frown is unintentional - CANON

"<player>! Someone just told me something that troubled me deeply! They said that compared to Emmet, I'm too stiff! But that's just a misunderstanding! I know I smile when I'm having fun! I'd even say that I'm quite proud of how expressive I am when I speak! What? You say you've never seen me smile? I-is that so..."

- Ingo, Pokemon Masters

They are both autistic - FANON

They are related to the twin heros - FANON

They share similar themes and motifs to the twin heros/Zekrom/Reshiram but that's it. They have no canon relationship.

Both of them are heavily coded as autistic. However, it's never been directly stated in the games that they are autistic and (to my knowledge) nobody at Game Freak/Nintendo has confirmed anything.

Ingo has a receding hairline - (debatably) CANON

He is drawn with one in the art book. Does the art book count as canon? Until something in the main games says otherwise, probably. (Though there is some argument to be had that it might be an unflattering haircut instead.)

Ingo arrived in Hisui via wormhole - FANON

"For my part, I simply found myself one day here in Hisui, a region whose name I'd never heard... All I could remember was my own name. I was still standing there in bafflement when the Pearl Clan came to my aid."

- Ingo, PLA. (However, the art book depicts the pearl clan finding him facedown on the ground, so take his standing claim with a grain of salt)

We still don't know how he got there. Similarly, it is quite common to show Ingo arriving during a blizzard/freezing to death and generally in poor health/injured/unconsciousness. But the way he recounts it sounds much more peaceful.

It'a also common to have Sneasler be the one to find him. The art book (of dubious canon) shows a human pearl clan member finding him, and Ingo's quote seems to confirm that. It's possible Sneasler was involved but she isn't mentioned.

Ingo got amnesia from hitting his head - FANON

We don't know how he got amnesia.

Ingo remembers Emmet as "the man in white" - FANON

"I'm starting to recall a man who looked... like me. We'd battle and discuss Pokémon, I think... The words "I like winning more than anything else" flashed through my mind just now..."

- Ingo, PLA, about Emmet

He makes no mention of remembering Emmet wearing white or smiling.

Ingo calls her "Lady Sneasler" - FANON

Ingo only calls her Sneasler, no Lady. In fact, nobody calls her or any of the ride pokemon Lord or Lady because...

The ride pokemon are noble pokemon - FANON

There are 10 blessed pokemon descended from the heros of old, and these pokemon are revered by the clans and have wardens. The blessed pokemon are divided into two groups, the rides and the nobles.

The ride pokemon are not called noble pokemon, and they do not get titles. Mai talks about "the great Wyrdeer" but does not call him lord or noble.

"This suggests that even Pokémon that are not nobles can become frenzied..."

- Kamado, PLA, about the ride pokemon Ursaluna seemingly becoming frenzied

Ingo lives in Sneasler's cave - FANON

We don't know where he lives.

Ingo became a Warden because Sneasler liked him - FANON

"I showed a natural affinity for taming Pokémon, which is why I eventually became a warden. But still I wonder what my true purpose is here..."

- Ingo, PLA

There is no further information about his wardenship. There is no information on what his relationship with Sneasler was prior to him becoming her warden.

Ingo likes having photos because of the amnesia - CANON

"Ah, photographs. I appreciate having physical keepsakes—less ephemeral than memories. Would you do me the honor of posing for a photo with me, <player>?"

- Ingo, PLA, at the Photography Studio

Ingo has been in Hisui for XX years - CANON

The art book uses the placeholder XX for the amount of time Ingo has been in Hisui. Some have taken the double digits to mean 10+, however the first digit could easily be a 0. So, we still don't know. Net 0 information.

Emmet must be taking Ingo vanishing badly - FANON

We have not heard from Emmet.

***

That's all for now! I'm sure I've missed or forgotten something, feel free to add stuff in the reblogs! I might edit the list later to add more if needed.

[ganondoodle]

it might seem like im just a totk hater, and to be fair, i AM, but its not bc i think its bad in every way- if it was all bad, ok, then its all bad and we can forget it happened and can all accept that-

but totk specifically hit the jackpot of -things that frustrate me so much i cannot let go and need to talk about it-

its part of my current hyperfixation (or whatever is the right word), botw is one of my all time favorite games, and that one had so many mysteries i was DEEPLY invested in, its got great music and some absolutely fanatstic moments, some ideas are great to fine, but it doesnt make sense, i hate time travel like little else in games, it constantly contradicts itself, the franchise, even its previous game its supposed to be a sequel to, i felt like i was made fun of by the game itself, for caring so much about what they had set up or done in botw, the moment i saw what they did to the shrine of life i felt so devasted i could hear people pointing and laughing at me for having cared about it, the writing treating me like i am so brainless i cannot connect dot one and two when there are only two dots in front of me labeld 1 and 2 that it then tells me to connect directly, to my face, multiple times, before showing me how to draw a line, its full, so SO FULL of missed opportunities, its got choices in there that are just nothing but frustrating bc there were a hundred other ones, i can see what you could do wit hthe basic ideas, theres people that worship it to a point you cant say anything even mildly critical, even about objectively bad things (there is no excuse for that godawful arrow menu) bc they will jump at you like a rabid animal-

i could go on but you get the point, never in my life has anything hit me like that

[whetstonefires]

The reason I keep banging the Jiang Fengmian drum so hard is not that he did nothing wrong--he's definitely in contention for best parenting in this book but that bar is in the ground--but because most of the takes I see about him are so extremely bad.

If you want to slag him off for trying to make choices that would hurt no one, and winding up properly protecting no one as a result, that's valid! That's an interesting and text-based critique, which opens into his parallels with Lan Xichen!

If you want to blame him for being weirdly over-invested in Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng being bffs, that's fair, that definitely contributed to the weirdness between them. If you want to say he was a poor communicator, that he fundamentally misunderstood his son, that he failed to be emotionally available in a way his kids could get much use out of, even that he should have figured out a way to stop Yu Ziyuan from creating such a hostile environment, all of that is fair game!

If you want to tackle how the worst thing he did to his kids was die I am so interested in how Wei Wuxian went on to abandon A-Yuan by going to his death, and how that might be tied to how his primary adult role model tied him to a boat and went off to a fight he knew he was going to lose.

After his parents had already left him like that once before, presumably less intentionally.

But no, instead I keep seeing that Jiang Fengmian didn't care. That he never expressed affection. That he actively participated in Yu Ziyuan's fucky game of forcing proxy conflict onto the boys instead of constantly trying (and failing) to shut it down, or that he ignored her bad behavior because it didn't affect him, or that he fought with her constantly, or that he was too much of an unmanly coward to stand up to her when she wanted something.

All of which are directly in contradiction to every scene he's in, and several of which manage to invert or erase the actual conflicts between him and his wife that were the source of all that tension.

And which are really interesting, because some of the most intractable elements are ideological--Yu Ziyuan is fundamentally a conservative and Jiang Fengmian seems to want to be an egalitarian, which ofc matched poorly with his hereditary authority as patriarch of a large sect.

The fact that the bit where we get to actually see him failing to parent Jiang Cheng consists of him gently and firmly trying to correct Jiang Cheng's ethics when what was actually needed in that moment was reassurance for the well-founded insecurities that were causing him to be a little bitch, only for Yu Ziyuan to charge in and make everything fifty times worse, is so much more interesting than literally any version of this family dynamic I have seen in fic. It's to the point I'm relieved when writers kill Jiang Fengmian off, because it means they probably won't feel the need to character-assassinate him too badly.

The number of people I've seen come right out and say some variation of 'men can't be abused' is killing me here. No, Yu Ziyuan wanting to hurt her husband does not constitute sufficient proof that he abused her first and deserved it! That's not how anything works!

[bitchhiker]

actually how do you all interpret tcm Grandpa...because I am positive the intent of the 1st movie was that he was just a normal slaughterhouse worker and the unspoken humor/horror in his grand kids feeding him human blood to keep him alive and making him bash people with hammers while describing him as the best killer (of “beeves,” plural form of beef) there ever was, all without his lucid knowledge, is the unseen fall from grace—that without him they can no longer meaningfully differentiate between human and not, their treasured anecdote of Grandpa at his slaughterhouse job equivalent with their abduction and murder of an innocent girl, a logic developed in increasing isolation that the cook expects Sally to accept.

The old ways, Grandpa as their figurehead, are obsolete, no longer apply to THEM, but they emulate memories of Normalcy (often distant) the best they can. The way he is now he can't tell them they're wrong.

This passage from Chainsaw Confidential about Drayton—

On the one hand he’s getting off on it, and then he becomes ashamed of himself, and he looks back to old Grandpa, and he gets afraid of his own thoughts, and he gets afraid of what old Grandpa is going to think of him; and Grandpa doesn’t have enough sense to, he doesn’t even know he’s there anyway.

—could be interpreted in a couple of ways, but juxtaposed with his shame of "getting off" on it, maybe there's a fear that Grandpa would think he's a bad person? Not for NOT killing her, but the opposite...

Nothing directly contradicts the idea that Grandpa is a killer (of humans, too), but if their serial murdering and cannibalism had only started since they lost their jobs due to the “airgun,” it would be not too long ago if Hitchhiker is about 25, long after Grandpa stopped working if he is in his 100s. I know most of the sequels have their own take on the Sawyers being a serial killing clan with Grandpa as the serial killing patriarch, and the game is 100% that way, but I never got the impression from the 1st movie that there ever was a "family business" before Drayton.

Grandpa being an authoritarian and abusive figure who taught the boys everything they know (and is thus responsible) was never suggested by the first (and 2nd?) movie—all we know is that they love and care for him—but it is accepted by fandom/the video game as an explanation for their current state, since by design we know absolutely nothing about these people and where they came from, and that makes the most sense. This I mostly agree with, imagining the Sawyers as having a history of domestic violence, inwardly directed violence, just not. a long history of murdering randoms, given how bad they are at it.

idk I like the dramatic irony in Grandpa, who I doubt the younger Sawyers ever got to know, being forced into crimes he's not aware of, especially if it was all inspired by his previous, Normalized cruelty (the Normal Socially Acceptable kind of abuse it takes to maintain a nuclear family). Still in the end it’s about imitating the violence they know and directing it on a more…plentiful resource.

[demodraws0606]

Why I am a die-hard believer that Whit is the mastermind

You know I was going to make an entire structured theory thread about it but Tumblr decided to be a little bitch and remove all my writing so I'll just kinda throw a messy list of evidence here.

Notice how Veronika's summary of Forever Dead is suspiciously similar to the secret dialogue

Notice how the main character's gender is pointed out

It's also interesting how the mysterious dialogue in the beginning who seems to be related to the hidden text (the idea of not being able to remember anymore link those two) seem to often mention the fact that they're grieving the loss of someone.

That someone most likely being Mai who seems to have suffered a tragic fate due to Teruko, which can explain the mastermind's hatred of her.

Guess who's character is linked with grief ?

(I know this is most likely about his mother but there is nothing contradicting the fact that he could be idolizing multiple dead people)

Wow it's interesting how these secret texts about Mai seem to be really idolizing her.

We can also add how the person who wrote the note to Xavier is very clearly the mastermind and how Whit's tool is a Stationery (it's spelled Stationary but i believe its a typo) which is commonly known as writing and other office materials.

Which includes paper, pens, ink, highlighters and other tools for writing

It's even made worse by the fact that the note seems to be written by a specific type of blue pen that we haven't seen anywhere in the series.

And even worse is that Charles, who knows Whit's handwriting, couldn't point out the writing is his as he couldn't access the scene of the crime due to his trauma therefore he couldn't see the note's handwriting.

It's really really interesting how the hidden text points out how they can predict everyone's behavior in a killing game and Whit's intuition is highlighted three times in this game.

Another suspicious thing is how the mastermind of the game talks about how they basically can predict anything that can happen. It's almost like how Whit jokingly predicted Arei's death.

Along with how Whit is the only one who has directly talked to the audience (him showing the papers) or how he's nudged the killing game into more interesting directions/avoided it from going off the rails.

Other exemples would be him defending Teruko/Charles in the first trial, him not revealing David's secret until the last minute (as well as the note that suspiciously pointed to Eden), him not trying to help with the fight in episode 4, him insisting that Charles and Teruko talk about their family life (aka nudging them to talk about their backstory which would entertain the audience) and other stuff i don't feel like adding.

It's also important add that Mono-TV and Whit also have similar personalities. They both don't take anything seriously and make constant jokes about the killing games, Mono-TV and Whit also act constantly incompetent and like they're a lot dumber than they actually are.

Another thing is that it's interesting how Whit opens up about his secret so easily, even though almost everyone's secrets are something they're at least flustered about and at worst completely ashamed by. If he was the mastermind, it would make sense that his secret wouldn't be anything that could ruin his character and that he could just admit easily.

Also another point, the mastermind character talks about a time when they cared so much about people and how it hurt them so much when they died. Which you can see that caring nature shine through a lot with Whit as it's possible that Whit's personnality is not actually a lie but more so a reflection of how he used to be before he went through all this alledged horrible stuff.

We can also note how the mastermind has to be one of the students and how there is an extreme likelyhood that Mono-TV saying it isn't bait because it's not actually told to the students but to us. Why would Mono-TV tell it to us and not to the students if it was a lie meant to make the game more interesting, wouldn't it be more entertaining to reveal to the students of a fake mastermind among them to get them to kill one another more easily. It's why I have no doubt someone in this class has to be the mastermind behind it.

Mono-TV also seems to not have any contact with the person controlling him which would make sense if it was someone in the killing game as they would have a hard time communicating without being caught.

(It's a stretch but it would make more sense if Mono-TV didn't know if the mastermind was one of them as if the mastermind was behind the scenes there would be no reason why it wouldn't interact with Mono-TV, although take this with a grain of salt as he could be lying)

And just really there aren't a lot of other options for the mastermind that would be compelling unless they introduce a mysterious new character.

It could be the mysterious red haired girl but everything hints towards her being dead or hurt and it being the cause for the killing game rather than her being the one behind it. There is some decent evidence that it could be her but I genuinely don't think so considering it again feels a little too obvious and doesn't work with how the story/secrets present her.

(It's just not very compelling to make your ONE mystery character the mastermind and again it would be weird considering Mono-TV telling the audience the mastermind is in cast doesn't make sense logically as he would have no reason to try and trick the audience)

Not a lot of characters in this cast can be really put into the mastermind category as they are either too obvious (teruko, veronika) or too farfetched (eden, hu etc...).

I honestly am a die hard believer that Whit is the mastermind however what's interesting to me is not If Whit is the mastermind but more so the Why ?

Which honestly might be a question for another time...

But yeah this is why I 95 pourcent believe Whit is the mastermind

If anyone has anything more to add I would be really interesting in seeing what other people have in terms of evidence.

[captainremmington-13]

A Lady Made of Snow

DISCLAIMER: I don’t own The Hunger Games franchise, the images above, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, or any of the characters in this fic other than Bellova. I also do not condone the beliefs or actions of Coriolanus or Bellova.

SUMMARY: Coriolanus begins to manipulate Bellova, and decides she needs to stay out of the way while he rearranges her life completely.

⚠️Warnings⚠️: THIS IS A DARK CHAPTER. It contains manipulation/gaslighting/brainwashing, drugging, and misogynistic undertones.

A/n: This is when Coriolanus’s true colors begin to reveal themselves. I also recommend listening to the song “Milk and Cookies” by Melanie Martinez while reading this.

After the incident in his office, Coriolanus locked Bellova in his study and rushed to Dr. Gaul’s lab. He was slightly mortified by what he had just done. 

What would the public think of him if they found out?

When he burst into the room, one of Dr. Gaul’s assistants immediately pointed towards where she was. The people who worked with the doctor knew that Coriolanus only conducted business with her, and didn’t want anything to do with the others in the lab.

“Ah, Mr. Snow,” Dr. Gaul said, setting down the bird carcass she had been inspecting. “You look troubled. Whatever is the matter?”

Coriolanus adjusted his tie, as he often found himself doing when he was nervous. “I used the serum.”

Her face split into an unnerving grin, and she gestured to a chair next to the table she was working on. “Sit. Tell me everything.”

As Dr. Gaul continued poking and prodding at the dead bird, Coriolanus explained how Bellova had come to his office proposing a marriage for social and political benefits. He vaguely described how it had gotten heated, and that his mind immediately went to the serum in his desk when she had started to blackmail him. 

“She lunged towards me, and I felt my instincts take over. I was able to regain control of the situation and injected the serum into her neck. And a few minutes later, it was like she was completely new person.”

The doctor smiled. “The serum erased any trace of combative behavior in her personality.”

Coriolanus nodded. “It also seemed like she’d experienced some kind of amnesia. She remembered who I was, and appeared to know how to function as a civilized human, but that seemed to be it. I don’t know how to proceed.”

“Her memory was specifically erased and altered to work in your favor,” Dr. Gaul said. “You can rebuild her into what you want her to be.”

“Yes, but what if she relearns her old ways? If she becomes the same Bellova from before-“

“Mr. Snow,” Dr. Gaul cut him off abruptly. “You are failing to realize that you are in control. While she may have been your rival and a threat, she is now nothing but a shell of who she once was.”

“I know that I can influence her perception of the world,” Coriolanus said, slightly frustrated. “She is gullible and easily impressionable, she will believe anything I tell her, even if it directly contradicts reality. But I don’t know what kind of person I want her to be.” 

The doctor hummed. “Think of it this way: what are the things you hated the most about her in the past?”

“She was stubborn, ill-mannered, headstrong, and somewhat intimidating.”

“And what are the opposite of the words you listed?”

Coriolanus thought for a moment. “Compliant, polite, submissive, and weak?”

Dr. Gaul nodded. “I have already paved the way for you to cultivate those traits within her mind. All you must do is maintain those characteristics by encouraging her when she acts the way you want her to, and punishing her when she does not. That’s what I do with many of my most intelligent mutts.”

Coriolanus thought this over. Despite the ethical issues, Dr. Gaul had a solid point. If he went about it correctly, he could train Bellova to be a valuable but harmless asset. 

“Thank you for your guidance, Dr. Gaul,” he said, standing up. “I think I know how to proceed now.”

He gave her a respectful nod and started towards the exit.

“Oh, and Mr. Snow…”

The doctor’s voice stopped him in his tracks, and he turned to face her.

“She was right about one thing: having her as a bride would do you nothing but good.”

When he returned to his office, he found Bellova sitting in his desk chair, drawing on a piece of scratch paper she had found. As soon as he entered the room, she smiled brightly at him, setting aside her sketch. 

“Hi, Coryo!” she chirped. “I missed you.”

Coriolanus let out a small chuckle. “I was gone for ten minutes.”

Bellova pouted. “Where did you go, anyway?”

“I…went to go see Dr. Gaul. I was concerned that something had happened when you hit your head. She concluded that you have suffered from some memory loss.”

She frowned. “That’s not good. But you can help me remember, right? You can tell me what I have forgotten?”

A smile spread across Coriolanus’s face. “Of course.”

And that was how the new Bellova came to believe that she had always been sweet, dutiful, and soft-spoken. That she had been Coriolanus’s sweetheart since their second-to-last year of the Academy. 

And that she had sworn on her life to always be by his side, no matter what.

Of course, there were still issues that Coriolanus had to address. What would all of Bellova’s friends and family think when they discovered this drastic change in her personality?

He had to figure out how to preserve his reputation and erase any suspicion surrounding her transformation. Or all of the atrocities he had committed were for nothing. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coriolanus wished he could steal Bellova’s ability to lie flawlessly. With all of the false information he would need to distribute, it would be quite useful.

After locking Bellova in his office again, he rushed back to Dr. Gaul’s lab to borrow a sedative. She handed him one she used for experimenting on larger animals without question. 

He took the elevator down to the bottom floor of the Citadel, where there was a small café for workers to eat at during breaks. He quickly purchased a cup of hot cocoa for Bellova and a sandwich for himself. While in the elevator returning his office, he poured the sedative into the cup, stirring it a few times for good measure.

When he returned this time, Bellova was leaning back on his chair with her feet propped up on his desk, staring up at the ceiling. 

“Please don’t do that,” he said, gesturing for her to remove her feet from the desk. She obeyed immediately, muttering a quiet “sorry”. 

He held out the cup of cocoa to her. “It’s alright. Here, drink this, you need to keep your energy up.”

Bellova immediately took a sip. “What for?” she asked. 

“For…the events we have later tonight.” 

He winced internally. The old Bellova would have immediately reminded him how bad of a liar he was. 

Fortunately, the current Bellova didn’t question him. She simply gave him a naive smile, continuing to drink her cocoa. 

After less than a minute, she was laying on the floor of Coriolanus’s office, fast asleep. 

Coriolanus double-checked that his door was locked before sitting in his chair, sighing loudly. 

He would tell emergency medics that she had passed out suddenly, and that he was the first one who stumbled across her unconscious form. She would be in the hospital for a couple days, giving him enough time to execute another crucial part of his plan. 

When she woke up, her world would revolve solely around him.

✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊

TAGLIST: @daenerysqueenofhearts, @squidscottjeans, @euphemiaamillais, @gracieroxzy, @effectwalker, @vxnilla-hxrddrugs, @mystargirl-interlude

Author’s Note: Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think in the comments! I’m so excited for you guys to see what happens within the next few installments!

Also, let me know if you want to be added to the tag list!

[chunkypossum]

@azrisweek || DAY 6: Changes || 11k words

CW: These first two chapters aren't so bad but consider not picking this one up if you have problems with blood, gore and heavy shit like that.... I am rewatching Hannibal and it is quickly taking this fic in a direction I wasn't sure I was going to go in.... not saying I will, but it might become more of a horror than it was originally intended to be The long list of things Eris had found to be grateful for over the years, not so surprisingly, didn't exactly feature a quiet, unassuming existence. The thrill in what he was demanded pride and exhibition, and gods was he good at playing that game. Well, he had been good at it. Now, as much as he loathed to admit it, there was an odd satisfaction to be found in the simplicity he had agreed to. Unfortunately, as Eris quickly finds out you can't always have the brutes you want... and eat them too.

Azriel doesn't want a lot out of life. His abusive father sold him to the underground as a teen to pay off debt and that's all he has known ever since. Night after night, fight after fight. When he witnessed something he was definitely not supposed to, a part of him was changed forever. Azriel chases dreams he never thought he would have and finds himself facing choices that might force him to change more drastically than he ever thought possible.

F I C

P L A Y L I S T

SPECIAL shoutout to @acourtofladydeath @pippsmcgee and @born-to-riot for their eyes and thoughts and MAJOR help with this fic. It struggled coming out of me and thanks to them I have such a better vision for it.

READ CHAPTER 1 AND 2 ON AO3

The ceiling was arched in carved gray stone. Archaic scenes lining the walls and ceiling depicted men being torn apart by beasts, babies thrown into fires and women dancing naked in great forests. Some of the women were smiling, and some of them were screaming. It was another round room bookend by hallways. Both the hallways and the round center were lined on all sides with Iron doors. Stamped designs in the metal directly contradicted the harshness of the stone reliefs with innocent-looking animals, fields of flowers, and night skies. Designed to put people at ease, the peaceful art stood out in the otherworldly glow of the greenish light emanating from the wall scones, hiding the horror of the stone from all those but with the sharpest eyes.  Where the party went to die. Once-upon-a-time it had been a favorite of Eris’, mostly because the party wasn’t dying for him, nothing ever did. The Abyss was a depraved seduction all its own. Many doors were shut, but some more remained open, either vacant or because the occupants enjoyed putting on a show.   Taking his time, Eris let his senses open up, relishing in the past for a lingering moment or two. He marked the closed doors where faint screaming could be heard from the other side of the near soundproof material, both in ecstasy and … something else. His hands rested easily in the pockets of his jeans keeping him from reaching out and peeking behind half-open doors to the treats waiting within. 

If anyone wants on or off the taglist please let me know!

Holla at ya boi if you want on or off the Azris tag train : @talibunny30 @iftheshoef1tz @born-to-riot @fell-in-luvs @fieldofdaisiies @aktrain @honeysuckle-daydreams13 @secret-third-thing @acourtofladydeath @pippsmcgee @youvereachedthenearest-lovergirl @baileybird71 @skyesayshi @yanny-77 @areyoudreaminof @unanswered-stars @futurehunt @ninthcircleofprythian @matrixsss @going-through-shit @c-starstuff-man0 @jules-writes-stories @the-darkestminds @krowiathemythologynerd @cauldronblssd @hieragalbatorixdottir @yourlazykitkat @hellolordling @climbthemountain2020 @christeak @lilah-asteria  

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Prime (Timeline Placement)

So, now that the finale of Sonic Prime has aired (although I still wonder whether it was really the finale because were still missing one episode), everyone is asking themselves the question of when does it take place in canon.

After all, it is general knowledge that the producers stated that it should be treated as part of the Sonic mainline series canon. But, what does that mean?

I still remember how people weren't happy about Sonic's more immature personality, especially since this just came after Sonic Frontiers, where we saw a more mature Sonic, and even TV Tropes lists the statement as Fanon Discontinuity:

As well-received as the series is, when the producers of the show stated it was being treated as canon to the mainline series, this did not go down well with certain fans, believing much of what appears in the show appears to contradict what the games state, such as Green Hill being stated to be the home of Sonic and his friends. Probably the most egregious change is a flashback that shows Sonic and Knuckles' first meeting in Hidden Palace Zone (which, while there is a boss fight with Knuckles in that stage, the two meet much earlier).

Fans then started asking Ian Flynn about when the show takes place in the game timeline, with Ian's answer being that he'll tell them after the show ends. Now, the ending of the show revealed absolutely nothing in regards to when it takes place, with Ian Flynn posting this tweet:

Yeeaaahh, from what I've heard through the grapevine, people weren't happy:

Misblamed: People blame Ian Flynn for the rather vague suggestion of the timeline of when Prime is set, even though 1) Ian Flynn was not a writer of Sonic Prime. He was a consultant. 2) The Lore team weren't the ones that decided to make Prime canon. That's a matter that's decided by Sega's higher-ups. Likewise, any inconsistencies are the result of the writing team, who likely didn't (or couldn't) research every detail of the series' characters and lore within any time constraints they had.

That should explain things and it's bad enough that people are using Ian Flynn as a scapegoat over something he had no control over.

So, what is my opinion in regards to this situation. I believe that Sonic Prime's placement in the mainline series canon can be viewed from two different points:

Point 1) The show is a standalone story, taking place in a slightly different universe at any point after Sonic Advance 3. It has all the Sonic game characters and any detail that got messed up could be chalked to writer error as said above. It is connected to the main canon in some way, but not in the way that you could insert it directly into the mainline series games.

Point 2) It is an event that takes place after Sonic Advance 3, and connected to the mainline games despite the inconsistencies, but it is supposed to be treated similarly to Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) in the sense that, as Ian pointed out above, Prime wipes itself out. It happened, but it has no impact on the main canon aside from the fact that Sonic and Shadow remember the events and probably won't ever be mentioned again.

Now, these are just general conclusions to Sonic Prime's placement's in the canon, but what about my personal view?

In my personal headcanon, Sonic Prime takes place sometime between Sonic Colors and Sonic Forces. Why after Sonic Colors? Because Orbot and Cubot made their debut there. Why before Sonic Forces? Because the Sonic the Hedgehog IDW Comics detail the events that occurred after Sonic Forces.

One could argue that Sonic Prime could be placed between the Sonic IDW Comics and Sonic Frontiers, or maybe even take place after Sonic Frontiers, but I'm certain that people's argument over Sonic's lack of maturity in Prime in comparison to Frontiers nips that theory in the bud. Not to mention, we already got a game that takes place after Sonic Frontiers, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, and we saw how Sonic acts in that game.

Another thing I would like to add is that I'm treating Sonic Prime in the same manner as Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). It is a standalone story with minimal impact to the main canon, an adventure that happened and was subsequently erased, with the only ones who remember it being Sonic and Shadow.

So, these are my personal thoughts and before anyone starts an argument, I do not speak for the community. That said, what do you guys think?

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

[gamequoteshowdown]

Quote 1: “We are a path in the woods. We have no beginning, and we have no end, but something cold and unnatural sits watching us from just beyond our edge.” - The Wild, Slay the Princess

Quote 2: "When life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don’t want your damn lemons, what the hell am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life’s manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I’m the man who’s gonna burn your house down! With the lemons! I’m gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!" - Cave Johnson, Portal 2

Propaganda

Quote 1: The phrase I submitted was said by the Princess herself, in a form called the Wild. In this form, she has become one with the world, and you have become one with her. You are the Wild as much as the Princess is. And without spoiling too much, the Wild has gotten closest to the truth of who she is than any other Princess. So this game technically has three characters: You, the Princess, and the Narrator. You and the Princess each have many different forms of themselves, which make up the rest of the characters in this game, but the Narrator is just himself. He opens every chapter with the phrase, “You’re on a path in the woods. And at the end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a Princess.” At this point in the game, you’ve heard this quote at least twice before, and it’s likely you’ve heard it many, many more times. So the fact that the Wild opens with this quote is strange. The quote itself is also interesting in that it directly contradicts the Narrator’s version. “You’re on a path in the woods.” No. We ARE the path in the woods, so we can’t be on it. “And at the end of that path is a cabin.” This is the only chapter in the entire game where you don’t go somewhere that is/was a cabin, or even a building of some sort. “And in the basement of that cabin is a Princess.” She isn’t in the cabin. She is with you, similar to how the Narrator was with you. But this time, it is the Narrator that is foreign to you, as the Wild says that he is “watching us from just beyond our edge.” Her first line is the antithesis of the Narrator’s. Nothing she does aligns with what the Narrator wants. No wonder he wants you to slay her. - Submitter

Quote 2: You should vote for this quote because of course it's funny, but also because it is a great callback to earlier in the game when Cave Johnson says “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” referring to continuing to use moon rocks for portals, despite them making him “deathly ill”. This quote also provides a lot of characterization for Cave, showing how he is slightly insane and has a very big ego, big enough to think that he has the capability to somehow burn down life's house. - @knight-of-hallownest, a person who has quoted this countless times to my face