#this is definitely a uniquely army problem

[bubblegumbi-tch]

No offense but were you born yesterday! Those aren’t armies those are literally scam/farm accounts. It’s 2024 how the hēll do you not know already the IG is filled with bots and trolls. I don’t know a single person who goes on there and hasn’t had the same thing happen to them with other fandoms, news, celebrity, product accounts, etc. Massive face palm…

Prove my point harder babes, go on 💀

[foundtherightwords]

🪖"Warfare" thoughts🪖

I finally got around to watching "Warfare" (I couldn't catch it in the theater because it wasn't playing anywhere near me). A lot of people say that it has to be watched in a theater for the full experience, but luckily, I have access to a screening room, so I was able to recreate that theatrical experience. No comparison to a real theater, of course, but at least it's something.

Thoughts below the cut to avoid spoilers, as usual!

First, to address the elephant in the room: Is it war propaganda? To me, the answer is a resounding "No". In fact, I don't think it's particularly pro-war or anti-war. It's just a survival story that happens to be about war and soldiers.

People love throwing around that quote by Frankie Boyle ("Not only will America come to your country and kill all your people, but what's worse is that they'll come back 20 years later and make a movie about how killing your people made their soldiers feel sad") to claim that any movie depicting war from the POV of the US Army is, by definition, pro-war, but "Warfare" is not like that. Character development is non-existent here (this is not a criticism, just an observation). There are very few personal moments, if at all, mostly with Ray (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Erik (Will Poulter), and Tommy (Kit Connor), and these moments are to show how the characters are grappling with the reality of their situation, not with guilt. In fact, the most guilt the characters show is at the very end, when they pull out of the house after almost destroying it. As the Iraqi family screams at them "Why?" over and over again, Erik only says, "I'm sorry." That's it. So it's safe to say "soldiers feeling sad" is not the focus of "Warfare" at all.

But it's not a gung-ho, jingoistic movie where the soldiers just mow down everything in their path to survival either, far from it. From the press surrounding the movie, it's clear that it is meant to be a recreation of what Ray Mendoza and his fellow SEALs went through, presented as accurately as possible. War in "Warfare" is not glorious or rewarding or exciting; it's just a lot of waiting around, followed by the most intense, traumatic things you've ever experienced.

And boy, was it intense. The first 30 minutes or so was kind of slow, but they did such a great job building up the anticipation and apprehension that when Elliot (Cosmo Jarvis) was scoping out the buildings across the street, I found myself breathing along with him, waiting for something to happen... and when it did, I still jumped.

Joe was very good in this, but when is he ever not? The performances that stuck with me though, were D'Pharaoh and Will's, because, as I said above, they were the ones that got some quiet moments to show their emotions a bit. I also love the little humanizing moments before the shit hits the fan, when the guys joked around and made fun of each other. Still, Joe was great - it would be easy to just rest on "agony" throughout the entire thing, but he managed to inject something unique and different into his performance each time the camera was on him, so it wasn't repetitive. Be warned: some of the injuries were very gnarly. Usually, I can take gore with no problem, yet here I had to look away a few times.

So yeah, "Warfare" doesn't tell you what to think but rather lets you draw your own conclusions about these characters, about what they did, what they went through, and about war in general. It was an immersive and intense experience. The last time I felt this tense watching a movie was during the sandstorm chase sequence in "Mad Max: Fury Road", but even that has an end where you can let out a sigh of relief. With "Warfare", the tension was relentless, and then, when the last ramp was up and the last tank pulled out, it was just... over. There was no moment for the characters to draw a breath and come to terms with what happened, and there was no moment for the audience either. Yet it stayed with you. It's the same with real war, I guess.

[mindoctopus]

My opinion on Obi-Wan Ships Part 2 i guess

Darth Maul x Obi-Wan

That awkward moment you start feeling bad for your stalker. When obsession starts to taste like admiration. They are the definition of its complicated (try to explain to someone that this guy killed your master , you cut him in halve, he came back started murdering jedi with his magic steroid brother , overthrew a goverment with a groupe of terrorists just to kill your ex girlfriend because he was to salty to die after you beat him ...for again kill your father figure). I don't think therapy will fix it.

Jango x Obi-Wan

The guy you fucked once because he was hot and you had a bad day is now hunting you because now your the general of an army of his clones. This surely is a very unique problem to have.

Dex x Obi-Wan

Simply because he looked like an exited school girl meeting him . Dex was quite attraktiv and Obi-Wan is still not fully over his school girl crush.

Grievous x Obi-Wan

I don't get this but as I have said before and will say again this man has no self preservation and his favourite dessert is a hear me out cake.

Rex x Obi-Wan

I can see it but I think it would be more of a friends with benefits situation which means venting/worrying over Anakin and a quick fuck than an actual relationship

Obi-Wan x 212th Battelion

Oh boy thats equally impressive and scary but if their is a man who can do it its this one . Also some of the fics I have seen tagt with it are very cute ...others are down right well wet is a good sfw word for it .....again I bow to you. Do I think its a good one naw I think its way to complicated and to much but its a fun idea plus our boy gets all the huggs he so desperatelyneeds. More platonic than romantic is very sweet I like that more.(Is this even a policule anymore or a beehive with Obi-Wan as the queen bee?)

[blue-and-gilt]

17th Century Shell Guard Broadsword

There's something unique about holding a piece of history that dates back four hundred years. They have a presence, a gravitas that, more recent swords lack.

So, what is this sword? The Royal Armouries simply describes the examples in their collection as an early 17th-century broadsword with shell guard (Object IX.172). While Ewart Oakeshott in his book "European Weapons and Armour - From the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution" describes two types of swords with related characteristics: the German sabre, circa 1540s, with forward and rear quillons, a knuckle bow, and a distinctive shell guard covering the outside of the hand. Plus, the second type of Sinclair hilt, with its one-piece S-shaped crossguard forming the rear quillon and knuckle guard.

At the same time, the Dutch sword historian J.P. Puype describes these as a Solingen horseman's sword of the classical type: "The problem with this type of sword is that so far there has never been written a proper monography on them and that opinions on them are practically always unsubstantiated by evidence. The other problem is that they are often seen as naval but there is more evidence to tell us that they were army swords.

I think that I may be the first arms historian who identified these swords as cavalry swords, but I have to admit that in publications prior to 1998 I (too) identified them exclusively as shipboard cutlasses.

In the 1990s I became increasingly involved in writing publications and doing museum exhibitions on Prince Maurice and the new Dutch so-called  States Army of the 1590s. In the course of this involvement I analysed the pictures by Jacob de Gheyn made during the 1590s of the infantry drill and cavalry drills. These infantry pictures were published in a book in 1607, although we know that its manuscript was already in existence c. 1595-c.1597, but was withheld by Prince Maurice for reasons of security.

Simultaneously, a book on the cavalry exercise was conceived, but its publication was permanently withheld by Maurice, partly for security reasons, partly also because Prince Maurice in 1597 or 1598 abolished the lancers.

Among the cavalry prints the heavy cavalry has as its chief weapon the lance (it was abolished in 1597 or 1598 in favor of the wheel-lock pistol, and the lancers became 'pistoliers'). However, the light cavalry is armed with swords with shell-guard hilts.

So we can only prove that the seashell-hilted sword apparently originated in the cavalry. The earliest proof that I have of its maritime use is after 1700. I do not know how to explain the picture of the French privateer Lolonois of 1684 (the year of appearance of the original Dutch edition) who is armed with a seashell-hilted cutlass with a curved blade with clipped point.

One other of the very few other 17th C pictures I know in which appear  what seem to be shell-hilted cutlasses is on the title-page of a book published in 1673 (see the attachment). There is a heap of apparently seashell-hilted cutlasses in the foreground but it is clear that the hilts are rendered in a wrong version. The blades, however, are curved and with clipped point.

In or before 1978 the wreck of a flatboat was found in the lake what once was the Zuyderzee. This boat was full of arms and military equipment, destined for what were army outposts on islands against a possible French invasion in 1672. Among the cargo were four swords with seashell guards and straight blades. In the attachment are two archaeological drawings.

All this does not bring us definitive answers to the problem when we view the portrait of the French privateer l'Olonnais (spelled as Lolonois) in which he is holding a seashell-hilted cutlass with curved blade with clipped point. I do not know of the actual existence of such a sword - nowhere in the world. I dare not go so far as to suggest that swords of this type may be artists' impressions only but somehow it does feel that way!"

Jan Piet Puype.

In short, these are another variation of military broadsword that would have been common amongst the military armies of the first half of the 17th-century. While it is appealing to look at the portrait of the French privateer Lolonois as evidence that these swords have a naval connection, the unfortunate reality is that the artist likely never met his subject. Furthermore, he made a notable error in the sword's detailing; with the quillon and knucklebow reversed, the sword becomes impractical to wield. In conclusion, we see an artist's impression, not a historical representation.

In German and Dutch references, these swords are called houdegen or houwdegen, which translates to 'hewing sword'. Although short, their weight and broad, double-edged lenticular blades give these swords a no-nonsense functionality. A single fuller runs for the first 20% starting at the guard. The ricasso is a square block with two smaller side fullers running along its length. On both sides of the ricasso is a maker mark of a crown above an O and T. According to the Royal Armouries, this is the mark of a Spanish smith. However, I have seen one text attribute this to a Solingen swordsmith. Given that the blade has ME FECIT and SOLINGEN (Solingen Made Me) stamped into the fuller, it seems more likely that the stamp is either a copy of the Spanish maker mark or one unique to a Solingen blade maker.

The grip retains its' original wire and Turks head knots at each end. It has a pear-shaped pommel with a tang button on the top for the peen. Although I can't be sure, I expect the pommel is hollow, like we see on the Amsterdam Walloon swords.

The S-shaped crossguard and shell guard are two separate pieces that appear to have been forge-welded together. While the hilt and pommel on my sword are solid, the guard is loose. There probably used to be a fabric or leather washer between the blade shoulder and guard to hold them tight. On the inside of the guard, it continues to cover the thumb, curling around on itself to form a thumb ring. This combination of knuckle bow and shell guard offers the wielder a lot of hand protection.

Stats: Overall Length - 870 mm Blade Length - 725 mm Point of Balance - 90 mm Grip Length - 140 mm Inside Grip Length - 80 mm Weight - 900 grams

[kradogsrats]

Okay, so new day; new insane lore history theory.

Looking at the tapestry from ToX again more closely, after my very quick scan this morning, there are actually five distinct types of soldiers shown:

Based on careful examination of the contemporary armor/uniforms used by the Pentarchy armies, I landed on this breakdown:

I could explain in great detail how I made those distinctions, but honestly it doesn't matter and people don't care. Just trust me, I thought hard about it.

Originally I misidentified there as only being three types of soldiers, because the Katolis/Evenere and Neolandia/Del Bar designs are very similar. Also because the tapestry shows three cities:

Katolis is obvious, and I still think the other two are Berylgarten and Neolandia. The map helpfully tells us there are five known cities in the human kingdoms, complete with little pictures:

I've left out Hinterpeak because it's very obvious none of the tapestry cities is Hinterpeak, Hinterpeak is literally inside a mountain. Del Bar's secondary city, Serpentongue, looks like a candidate based on its map drawing, but ToX tells us that Serpentongue actually looks like this, which is... less representative of what the tapestry shows:

We see Berylgarten briefly in s2 during Viren's flashback sections, where it's a sort of tiered city with towers around a central dome:

I think that's closer to the top tapestry city than Serpentongue is, though it's still fairly abstracted. It also makes more sense for the "capital" city of a kingdom to be represented.

Finally, we have Eboreus, which is a bit of a problem child because we have no long-distance views of Eboreus that I can recall... there are depictions of the inside of the city, but nothing that would characterize its silhouette for us. However, ToX does have another piece of "old" artwork, meant to be probably some kind of fresco, depicting the founding of Neolandia and Eboreus:

(This is the latter, Eboreus half, the right half just shows the people migrating from the east and going through a nomadic tent-based civilization period.)

It doesn't help a ton, except that construction of the city wall is given a pretty dramatic place in the visual narrative. I would definitely assume, from this, that Eboreus is a walled city similar to the bottom tapestry city. Combined with the many-spired depiction on the map, I feel okay about that identification.

It's interesting that they geographically represent only three of the five kingdoms, but if the tapestry pre-dates parts of the kingdoms' formations... well, the kingdom that's a swamp infested with magical megagators and the kingdom where they still choose the next monarch by having a literal melee free-for-all are honestly the ones I'd say probably took the longest to establish like... actual government.

However, something to keep in mind is that while I've been talking about this tapestry like it's a super-old historical document within the setting, it may actually not be from all that far in the past. All we really know is that it shows a conflict between humans and elves, divided by the Border, and that's not exactly a historically unique scenario. The main things that suggest it's showing an earlier time than "now" are that it includes only three cities, and that it clearly depicts mages being heavily involved in warfare. If that was something that was expected at series time, a lot of things would be very different. I could, however, see it being a thing as late as, say, the time of the Orphan Queen. I mention all of this because the tapestry is one of several "old"-looking art pieces in Tales of Xadia, but we have to keep in mind that one of those literally depicts Harrow killing Avizandum, so. It could be very old, it could be not-very old. (I mean, 300 years is still pretty old, in the scope of known human history.)

Really, though, what I wanted to talk about is this:

We have our "Katolian" soldier, but the heraldry on their shield is not the Katolis uneven towers, even though that's already a distinguishing feature of the kingdom (as seen in the city depictions). Instead, it's a layered uh... thing. But it's a thing we've seen before:

The guards at Allhaven Hill have their own heraldry, presumably because they're supposed to be neutral regardless of their kingdom of origin... but it's almost exactly the same overlapping geometric design as we see in the tapestry.

We also have Blondie McKatolis, in the flashback scenes during Zubeia's account of Aaravos's imprisonment, strongly implying that we are seeing representatives of the human kingdoms at the time of the Orphan Queen:

We pretty clearly also have Neolandia, Del Bar, and Evenere at this table. Also Duren, I just always get confused by her since they gave her those purple-y pink accents instead of blue. Why? No idea. What is this, Sleeping Beauty?

Anyway, Blondie up there also does not use the modern Katolian uneven-towers heraldry, nor the crown that matches it. Depending on how long the Aaravos bullshit had been going on, it's not surprising that the Orphan Queen would try for a clean slate when taking the throne. Having just averted devastation on both sides of the Border by working together with Xadia, "finding strength in our differences" is a pretty good choice for new logo inspiration. (I don't actually know how you adopt/change heraldry. But I do know logo design and branding strategy!)

Given that all five kingdoms technically appear in the tapestry, the "Pentarchy" heraldry could already be a united human kingdoms symbol... except then why isn't it on any of the other soldiers? Some of them have shields almost exactly the same as the Katolian soldiers, but no heraldry.

So here's a thought: what if it actually is the Katolian heraldry of the time, or a symbol of the kingdoms united under Katolis?

Katolis is one of the older and larger kingdoms, it's implied to have had a larger and more organized military for a long time (holding most of the Border), and Blondie is the one with Aaravos whispering in his ear. It wouldn't be super weird if Katolis at one point held a higher position than the other kingdoms, whether as "first among equals" or an actual system of vassals with a "high king" or whatever. The center, frontmost piece of the overlapping geometry, so to speak.

We have occasionally gotten weird little hints/implications that the current era of peace between the human kingdoms, even the entire concept of the Pentarchy, is fairly recent. What if that's not because they were all squabbling amongst themselves even after the mage wars wound down, but that prior to the Orphan Queen, they were all varying degrees of vassal states to Katolis? If part of what the Orphan Queen did was reset the human kingdoms as equals, doing a "this symbol now belongs to all of us, not just Katolis, and Katolis will adopt new heraldry" could be a nice gesture.

But yeah, that's how my brain has been spinning today.

[lyalagushkina]

Hai!!! Hallo!! Your artstyle is very unique ngl, reminds me of those street caricatures n all :]

Also i'd love to see some headcanons of your ocs with Andre, it'd be very nice to see them interact :3

(Sorry if i disturbed you or anything!)

Hi!!! First of all, thank you very much, THIS IS THE BEST COMPLIMENT EVER

Secondly, Holly

I think she wouldn't care about Andre, they're from different worlds, but if it happened that they had to do a joint project or just cross paths somewhere, there wouldn't be any problems, she'll laugh at any of his dumb jokes

Marta

It's better not to catch her eye, anyone who's not in a white shirt is a punching bag. She'd probably trip Andre up when he skateboard or just pick on him if he was in her field of vision. It's hard to talk to her if her neck is thicker than your leg, especially if you're a guy haha. Does Andre go to local punk bands' concerts? They'd probably definitely cross paths there and Marta would always look at him very sullenly

Sid??

I don't know what would have to happen for these two to find themselves in a situation where they need to interact, but Sid is a calm guy until something provocative is discussed. You can talk to him, but he is sooooo slow and thinks for a long time, he can discuss girls, the army and football for a long time, does Andre agree to such pleasure?

[reason-with-the-underdog]

haikavetham & childhood finances, pt 2

(analysis of alhaitham's & kaveh's attitudes towards money, with a focus on kaveh since more of his character story is about financial struggles)

part 1 here

to recap, i'm outlining aspects of kaveh's current financial mindset that make sense if he knowingly experienced poverty as an adolescent

4. his belief in mutual aid

Kaveh’s expresses a belief in mutual aid (& shows it by giving money to unemployed shipwrights + referring them for a job)

basically mutual aid acts like an unofficial social safety net for poor folks. Pay it forward, be generous within your community, etc... do a favor for your neighbor and they might help you back, that kinda thing

It’s a mixed bag research-wise on if poor people are more generous than rich people

but anecdotally, i've seen many ppl saying that their experiences w poverty made them not care if they were getting scammed by a homeless person, the risk of not helping was much worse.

like yea that’s kaveh

5. inability to ask for help

Ok i admit this one’s pretty complicated and definitely wrapped up in kaveh’s own guilt complex

however an inability to ask for/accept help and gifts is definitely a character trait that many people who experienced poverty as children can relate to

6. couponing/discount-shopping but not buying in bulk

This one’s more a sidenote than “evidence”

Kaveh’s famous locally for being able to catch when high-quality wine gets discounted by 90%

buying in bulk has higher up-front costs even if the per-unit cost is cheaper, so it’s more of a middle-class habit (rich people don’t necessarily care, and poor ppl can’t afford it)

so onto the counter(?) evidence!

His teapot dialogue at first glance seems to have him talking about his bankruptcy and how it shocked him as an otherwise financially privileged and idealistic/naive student. But i dont think it necessarily contradicts my headcanon here

His teapot dialogue talks about abject poverty in relation to his bankruptcy period (living at lambad’s)

This makes sense to me bc homelessness is a uniquely harrowing experience& idt he’d consider childhood financial insecurity as “abject poverty” (again they always had a house)

+ he naturally has the desire to minimise any problems his mother had as a single parent

And being poor as a kid doesn’t mean he couldn’t still have strong ideals/pride as a student (and still does have as an adult)

Ok so that’s my case for why i think kaveh experienced being “cash poor” as a kid

Why am i so invested in this hc?

Beyond it explaining a lot of his financial habits/helplessness, it also makes for fun comparisons to Alhaitham!

Alhaitham is very much set up as a middle-class saver and spender. I think there’s a case to be made for him lacking insight into the struggles of the poor in a "hidden blindspots" middle-class kinda way

(the whole “free healthcare” comment vs dori’s backstory about her sister dying from being unable to afford healthcare, kaveh believing in the reality of kids in sumeru starving, etc)

here he gave decent advice (their skills are obsolete, they need to transition to more relevant industries/skills)

but at the same time… he’s asking them to leave their families behind for possibly months while they’re at sea, to invest a lot of up-front money for training, etc

ppl who grow up privileged (middle class/rich bg) tend to have those "blind spots"

good well-intentioned advice, but maybe not understanding that it may not be practical

Real life examples might be like “young and unemployed? Join the army” or “stop buying lattes/avocado toast”

(ok the latter advice may not be well-intentioned, but a lot of the rich folks saying “stop buying X” do seem to genuinely believe their words... but the problem is that if your debt is massive or buying a house is forever away, saving a teensy bit over time isn't going to fix things really)

if kaveh is set up as having experienced living as low-income, it makes sense why he’s more sympathetic to the craftsmans’ concerns and gives them what they’re actually asking for

(money for short-term needs & gigs to gain more mots asap w/o having to completely switch industries)

Anyways that’s my very long-winded soapbox. Hope this gave some food for thought on the implications the potential years of grieving faranak not working or being underemployed have for kaveh's childhood!

As a final parting shot, here’s dori in a nutshell

dori's interesting, she's more like kaveh's foil than alhaitham is (alhaitham being his mirror and sharing similar values/goals, just having different ideas and approaches to getting there)

in conclusion: there's a reason why so many thought kaveh's bg was underprivileged pre-lore drop. so many of his behaviors & ideals align with that sort of upbringing

reposted with permission, ty river!

[warsofasoiaf]

Is there a reason that so many modern militaires seem to be incredibly incompetent? From Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Hezbelloh and I suspect China why with better technology they can't accomplish what empires thousands of years could do with vastly more limited resources? Is this a unique problem in the modern era or am I misreading the situation?

A lot of it has to do with training and exercises being carried out. The US actually spends a lot of money on conducting exercises regularly to ensure that things work correctly and that everyone knows what they're doing. In Russia, plenty of exercises are run on paper and the command staff quietly pockets the money they got.

Other times, nepotism and cronyism ensure that military leadership are picked primarily for their loyalty and inability to pose a serious threat to the ruling regime. That was the case with Saudi Arabia and Syria.

Other times, the army is simply outmatched. Hezbollah was thoroughly penetrated by Israeli intelligence. Iran's equipment is largely lackluster.

As for the modern era, part of it is that also it is far easier than ever before to fight asymmetrically. Guns are very easy to use, IED's are harder but still well within the capabilities of even quite humble groups. A bullet will kill or incapacitate a soldier easily, a Molotov or IED could knock out a vehicle if you're lucky. That makes the risk of military action quite high. Destructive capability is so very high (you can even end human existence in a nuclear war, that was never possible in ages past - that definitely creates reluctance to engage in large-scale wars)

The public is also a lot less willing to accept large-scale war and the costs of war mobilization than they were in ages past. People are quite attached to their standard of living and the thought of doing anything that would be required for a full-scale mobilization of a country into a war economy, like rationing of food and other valuable materials.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[humor6969]

Mom said it's my turn to talk about how Edgar and Mike’s interactions affects the relationships they build with people around them, how that in congruence with the plot, helps develop the themes of self-identity, tyranny, and how we perceive the world around us through the lens presented to us by the very society that limits us, as presented in WOE.BEGONE.

Mike and Edgar’s relationship exemplifies w.bg strongest narrative theme. Both of their characters are introduced with the uncomfortable sword of damocles that is power hanging over their heads.

When Mike was introduced he was powerless. It’s clear he was unhappy with his life and that playing  w.bg was the only thing he thought he could do to feel in control. Nothing could dramatically change your future like putting your life on the line for internet fame. Ironically w.bg only served to further demoralize him, taunting him with the promise of power while further taking his agency.

Edgar was introduced as someone who hadn’t realized the power they don’t have. There was a massive gap in knowledge between what Edgar knew and everyone around him knew. In that way he was isolated from most other tier two co-workers without realizing it. Even Mike was getting to know him on false pretenses. Mike had power over him, he also had knowledge similar to the rest of tier two employees and was manipulating Edgar into helping him learn more.

By dating Mike, Edgar gained new kinds of control/power. A growing desire for more is always one of his strongest motivations, as opposed to Mike’s motivations that vacillate from desperately wanting power to running away from it.

Mike is not only the person who first introduced Edgar to time travel, but also provides Edgar with people willing to follow his orders. He is someone who totally shares those desires. (power hungry assholes <3). We never hear Edgar speak much about people he knows outside of base even before it was created. Edgar might have felt lucky to have found someone like Mike, who (had already done the hard work being social with his co-workers) comes with a pre-established friend group.

His new boyfriend came with not only immense world shattering knowledge and power (as well as near total compliance concerning) but a loyal army for him to command.

These problems are typified by all the ethical/moral dilemmas they are forced to face with the idea of iterative personhood. 

I said "near total compliance" above as most disagreements he and Mike have are caused by how differently they both treat iterations even when they share the same definition of that concept. Mike (as he has made it very aware) sees iterations as a unique individual. His iterations are just some real fucken weird guys who happen to share a lot of his memories.

Edgar doesn’t. Even as the person who created and defined the term ‘iterative personhood’ he views them as disposable copies of the ‘real thing’ or as a back-up. When someone dies he can just load a new copy of them from his save data good as new. 

And as much as Edgar has said he would never hurt any Mike he does so repeatedly throughout the whole series. Edgar might think it's a pity to kill an iteration. Edgar clearly doesn’t like killing anyone (especially a Mike) but he never empathizes with them. He nods his head sympathetically and probably does truly believe it's a waste of a life, but he never has acted like he’s losing a person he cares about. Edgar has shown little to know remorse when it comes to lying or manipulating Mike. Only apologizing when his plans cause Mike permanent suffering or trauma. Although this does not come from a place of malice (*cough* read this post by orchidbreezefc *cough*)

Even iterations of Edgar don’t seem to care about any of the differences between the many Mikes.

When Mustardseed is captured by the Flinchites and interrogated by Michael. Mustardseed immediately speaks to him in the exact way base Edgar has been shown to speak to his Mikey. And not just the same tone of voice. He uses the same playful comments, affectionate teasing, and pet names without any of the hesitation Micheal was noticeably experiencing. To Edgar, he was picking up just where he left off with OverMike. 

(I wish we had more moments with Edgar. Most speaking lines he has are in scenes that have some kind of big Plot Event. I wanna listen to him and Mikey talk about movies. I wanna dissect them)

Edgar may be smart enough to work in a top secret government weapons compound but without Mike he's stuck working a 9-5 desk job with no real human connection. 

Without Edgar, Mike is a dumbass cutting his body parts off for podcast views. 

Mike and Edgar’s relationship changes the whole structure of the show. I feel like the ‘Mike talks to the audience while openly referencing he’s making a podcast’ framing device ends in the middle of season three. Specifically, episode 31 where that pretense drops. I honestly don't know if it's just a coincidence or if Dylan Griggs has made a comment about it (if so whoopsies but I'm trying to make a poetic-y point here). But it's the first episode with only character dialogue and has no narration. It’s also the first episode where Mike shows more serious romantic interest in Edgar. Obviously the narration is still a major part of most episodes but Mike stops breaking the fourth-wall to quip about episode production.

Honestly Edgar’s whole character is my favorite part of w.bg. He makes such a great contrast to the Mikes’ personalities and beliefs while still being a strong guiding force for him to depend on. 

Hope this reads as more then sleep deprived rambling. Inspired by @orchidbreezefc's post (this might not have made sense without reading it)

[aphantomr]

Let’s Reread Commonweal, book 1, chapters 6-10 part 2

Because late-night me is bad at compliments, and I ended up having more thoughts. Next time I'll let it simmer a while before posting.

We almost didn’t get Blossom because it was taking so long for another Independent, any other Independent, to learn this specific ritual. Blossom did every single one of the hundred-fifty-odd bronze bulls pulling the experimental battery around, and all four tubes. Nobody else has managed to make one of those; they’re mostly cobalt instead of iron, and the engraved runes are silver and samarium instead of copper and gold and whatever’s in the black enamel.

Really need book 4 context to get how unique Blossom is, but once you have it this is a bit scary. Somehow I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Halt and Blossom are here now, and the Commonweal split. Haven’t looked at the timeline for contingency planning but the Paingyre has definitely been causing increasingly worse problems already, the Captain’s been here for two years.

The rules for Independents have a lot to do with “as directed” and “noncombatants”. The Line doesn’t like using Independents as anything but support, and preferably distant support, doing things like making artillery and sorting out the logistics. Front-line Independents spend their time figuring out what that thing the battalion just squashed was, and if there are likely to be more.

Hmmm. Thinking about how the Captain pretty much ignores this, and drawing some parallels to what the Captain explains to the kid at the end of this book, about being a weapon in your own hand and doing the job as well as you can, not as well as someone thinks you should. Accidentally joined a political cabal indeed.

Someone is being sneaky. It will sound very good indeed if there is an incursion and a territorial short company and an experimental half-battery sent off to test a new bronze bull enchantment stomps it. Things like that do wonders for the Line’s myth of invincibility.

I parsed this as the usual propaganda you have for your own army at first, but given Commonweal sensibilities about the Peace and what it’s for, it comes off a bit different. Still, people want to believe they’re safe, and that's not a bad thing.

It’s hot; summer humid-hot that makes you very glad you’re up on a meadow with a bit of breeze off the hills, the snowy Northern Hills, rather than in some chunk of creekside land that might as well be swamp for humidity. The bronze bulls are too hot to touch with your bare hands, and just as completely desirous of having their faces scritched as the oxness in them ever was in life. Most of them are getting shiny patches between the eyes as the drovers resort to wire brushes; fingers don’t really get through.

Cute. Also thinking about the bronze dog with bendable ears. Just — everything’s made out of the little things.

Edit addition: bronze animals are content, but do they still feel pain / aversion to harm, is avoiding damage handled with flesh-life instincts, or is damage not a concern?

It’s Twitch’s turn to look flummoxed. “Not much point; it’s not natural dry, it’s made dry. Anybody goes down into it’s got maybe five minutes before they’re fatally mummified.”

I do love the sheer variety of deadly landscape the world has. Also, belatedly, about the sometimes-dragonblood creek — given what unicorns are in this world, I’m a little afraid to find out what they call dragons.

“What would it cost to take trees from the top of a pass in the Northern Hills?” The creepy, shifting geology of same seems to have a thing for really big trees. There’d be some serious worth to it if not for the logistical difficulties. The bewildered turns to horrified. “You couldn’t, you’d never get anybody back alive without years of road-making … ” and the honourable Gerefan subsides. Subsides, and then the confused look, the confused looks of the other other eight, all firm up together. Anybody at all from Reems, come by stealth over the Northern Hills, is an invasion.

I do love when the protagonist gets to win at conversation (subtype: successful explanation). It’s not a useful mindset but it is very satisfying.

Rust smiles like a caricature of avarice, into faces going half-slack with outright fear now, under their crowns of butterflies.

Glad someone’s having fun.

Somewhere in the focus, there’s a mutter with not dying dry in it. “Farewell”, says Rust, and ten of the men of Reems sag in the grip of the standard.

Incoherent thoughts about (un)common decency vs the ends justifying the means. The journey is also the point.

Blossom’s battery isn’t officially a unit; they don’t have a battery banner, and they don’t have even a theoretical artillery battalion standard of their own. So the crews are latching to the tubes, and those are latching to Blossom, and Blossom’s latching to the standard. That shouldn’t work, but I’m giving up on “shouldn’t” this summer. The individual artillery teams can latch directly to the standard if they want to, we tested that, they’re just happier treating their commander idolatrously.

Nothing unusual going on here, nope. Are these guys Creeks, or did they come with Blossom? Experimental battery implies guys who volunteered to do science, but there’s been no mention of social friction at all.

Grudging agreement, and a few hopeful thoughts about eel-trees. I have to smile.

First-read me didn’t know how bad weeds were and now every time I see one mentioned a ping goes off in my head.

If I didn’t get to die with the best company I could have had, I could have done worse than the company I look to get.

I do love how the Captain is so calm about it. No hesitation, no courage, just, this is the job I signed up for and it needs doing.

I’ve been trying to find songs and poems for characters, and this one matches The March North okay. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57431/for-all-we-have-and-are

[astrogre]

Blue Eye Samurai - Mizu Birth chart

Ita 6am I have to wake up in 1 hour and I just spend 8 hours binge watching the cinematic masterpiece “Blue Eye Samurai” on Netflix because it was so good. This is not even astrologically possible and completely for my own entertainment -but these are the placements that Mizu reminded me of, let me know what you think.

*BEWARE THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS*

5H Virgo sun Definitely a mercurial dominant, intelligent too. The crafty ways she operates utilising all of her resources available, wit, body, allies, furniture, weather, all in ways she creates herself through precision and high performance standards, she is an artisan, devoting all that she has the her sword craftsmanship, she understands this at the very end, sticking to her dogmatic sword artisan principles. If it were not for revenge plans -at the core she is an artist of metals. Her Virgo Sun qualities come out especially when she feels constant shame and is self critical of her self, even if the problem is caused by other people she blames herself.

I have also noticed that Virgo suns are very good at taking accountability… too good. They can end up taking responsibility for things that aren’t their faults.

6H Saturn Capricorn Her meticulousness and samurai skills that are near impossible, Mizu trains daily and always feels like she hasn’t learnt or done enough, she is organised but in her own unique way. She has this Saturn kind of way of Self mastery and perfection. Like she has to be perfect if she wants to be anything at all.

Capricorn Mercury in 4H Mizu also is surprisingly polite when confronting others and respectful of boundaries, she is very witty but kept to herself like when she requests for audience at the dojo before murdering everyone. Not only that but when she sword attacks people her precision is IMMACULATE. She is formal when dealing with other people, and again has extremely witty confident comebacks. Her words are rather empowering too because since she doesn’t say much unless she feels safe, when she speaks it means a lot. The way she thinks too is very straightforward and direct. No shortcuts just blunt and cuts right to the chase.

Scorpio Uranus conjunct Scorpio Mars in 8H She is SO unexpected in combat, SO mysterious too, at first with everyone perceived her to be a beggar from the street, weak and incompetent. Not only that but her being a WOMAN Scorpio and 8H rules over genitals so this placement being here makes a lot of sense. There is plenty of Ambiguity, secrets and allure to her. She is so full of mystery. The way she kills her husband, the way she kills armies, children, all and anyone for her path of revenge is erratic, gory, cruel and immoral. Her actions are quite literally ruled by death just like the 8H. She kills in a very unique and clever way. No matter how many times her organs rupture and her chest gets severed she still is alive, that’s why I’d place Mars here she will fight to live just to kill. That and her eternal long drive for revenge tied in with her marriage, the story of Onryo all of it is completely Scorpion.

“If I don’t come back... I failed, or I’m dead.” -Mizu

“Don’t be silly, Master. You can’t die, you don’t know how.” -Ringo

Chiron in the 1st

I mean the entire plot was just talking about how her appearance made her a monster while acting like one and even when she could finally be loved in marriage her husband couldn’t love her for who she is because of her identity, what her appearance made her. She experienced betrayal in all ways.

Aquarius Moon She actually has such a soft way about loving others to her. She is very compassionate. The way she gave the gold she took from the fight with Taigen to the freezing family outside, she is always saving people when she can, rather apologetic towards Akemi for deserting her. She has such an empathetic soul. She’s so generous towards others too.

Pisces Venus She is a sweetheart in love too. Very forgiving. She selflessly tried the whole wife act for her mother and once again when she did love she unfortunately pretended to be someone she wasn’t to please her partner. She has tendencies of being anyone but herself in love, when taigen got a boner from play fighting Mizu told him not to apologize and is very soft with the people close to her like Ringo and Eiji her swordfather. She is also rather deceived in relationships because at the core Mizu has a very pure inexperienced soul. She is not used to luxury, pampering, being provided for and the sort, it seems like a dream to someone like her.

I mean look at those glasses and clean cut gaze, that’s a mercurial if I ever seen one. Virgo rising men, please, my DMs are open.

[ryttu3k]

Challenge: LotR Characters as VtM clans!

Hmm. Hmmm.

Gandalf: I'm half-tempted to say he's of the second generation just as a cheat ;) But no honestly he's most likely an Antediluvian, given his age and status, and that means either replacing one of the existing ones or potentially being a forgotten Antediluvian. I want to say the latter? Definitely one of Enoch's Seer Lineage clans (the clans that have Auspex and a tradition of wisdom, ie. Toreador, Malkavian, Salubri, and Tzimisce), although he doesn't actually fit any of those. Yeah, I'm actually going to go with a forgotten childe of Enoch.

Saruman and Radagast: By inference, also Antediluvians. I would say that Saruman is part of Irad's Philosopher-Kingship Lineage, which led to the Ventrue, Brujah, and Lasombra (and Cappadocians, although their main inheritance from Irad is Fortitude). Definitely uses Dominate and Presence. Radagast fits very well into Zillah's Hunter Lineage (Haqim, Set, and Absimiliard), who all possess Obfuscate and are considered a little on the wilder side. All, however, are fairly unique in terms of clan, although Saruman I think does fit Ventrue or Lasombra decently, and Radagast would work as Gangrel. I do like the parallels of all three being unknown Antediluvians.

Fittingly, no one knows anything about the last two Istari, the Blue Wizards, which fit in with those clans who don't neatly fit into the Enoch, Irad, or Zillah trio (the Gangrel and Ravnos). Wanderers of mysterious background!

Aragorn: So he's 100% passing himself off as a Gangrel. Everyone he meets as Strider just goes, yeah, he's a ranger from the North, he's a Gangrel, he's super Gangrel. He's not, he's one of the few valid Ventrue who actually have leadership skills instead of just ambitions, and of surprisingly low generation. I want to say he's the 5th generation childe of Nefer-meri-Isis and definitely has her Auspex:

"Unlike many of her peers, she never held a throne, instead preferring to wander the African continent. Her reputation is one of self-sufficiency. Where other Ventrue methuselahs throw armies at problems, Nefer-meri-Isis tackles them herself.

Tales within the clan tell that she single-handedly fought Set and managed to incapacitate him after he had turned against her sire. In the Modern Nights, she is an active part of the Inconnu and monitors the activities of the Followers of Set.

Descendants of Nefer-meri-Isis have acute awareness, as a result of their progenitor's self-sufficiency. They find it harder to obey orders. Many Ventrue antitribu with an affinity for Auspex descend from her line."

Boromir and Faramir: Banu Haqim! Both are high-minded in terms of justice and are intensely capable in what they do, and both have to fight temptation (here, Boromir nearly succumbs to temptation to diablerise Frodo). While they're still biological brothers, they have different sires and thus belong to different castes - Boromir is Warrior caste, Faramir, the wizard's pupil, is Sorcerer caste (with Dur-an-Ki and Auspex). I can see Denethor being Boromir's sire as well as the brothers' father, opting not to Embrace Faramir, except, whoops, a clan mate swooped in and did so anyway, and so he ends up quite resentful that he's stuck with what he sees as the poorer excuse for a son…

Anyway I think Faramir should be able to diablerise Denethor. For a treat. (He doesn't, because he's better than that, tyvm.)

Legolas: Unlike Aragorn, he genuinely is Gangrel. Happiest outside and hunting on his own, tyvm. I can see his beast form being some form of elegant big cat over a wolf. Cougar, perhaps? He's not particularly low-gen, but his line is surprisingly solid and can be traced back easily to Ennoia.

Gimli: Brujah, of the older Philosopher King type, but also of the 'willing to go after you with an axe' type. He very much shows why the Brujah were considered High Clan, and also why it's a bad idea to annoy them.

Frodo: His soft poet hands and gentleness make him very obviously Toreador. His ass is not made for walking in the wilderness! He's meant to be studying poetry and lore and being comfortable!

Sam: Another Brujah. Deeply loyal to the cause (Frodo's happiness). Is 100% willing to throw hands for the cause (Frodo's happiness).

Merry and Pippin: Also Toreador - they're Frodo's cousins by bloodline, both enjoy partying and a distinct Lack Of Seriousness at first, both considered High Clan, stuff like that. As for their emerging combat skills, have you ever seen a Celerity-focused Toreador gunslinger build? Yeah.

Gollum: I mean. Malkavian is the obvious answer, but I would argue he could work well as Gangrel, just one with a derangement. He's become less 'human'-looking over time, has a fondness for raw fish, and is Not Happy to be around others. Yeah, I'm going with Gangrel here, low on Humanity and not doing great, with his hyperfocus on the Ring being the one thing that's kept him from going wight so far (his own Path of Enlightenment, more or less). Meeting Frodo helps him start recovering his Humanity; his struggle between Humanity (represented by Frodo) and the Path of the Ring ultimately leads him into wassail. A tragic tale!

So, of the Fellowship, we have a Ventrue, a Banu Haqim, a Gangrel, two Brujah, three Toreador, and whatever Gandalf is. Fun times! :D

Thanks for the ask, this was really fun!

[teratron]

The Sovereign

I talked about this guy already in my review of the first arc of Tom King's run but since I plan on going into depth on other WW villains, I figured I get him out of the way first since he's the new hotness at the minute.

Wonder Woman's rogues gallery is often regarded as one of the weaker, or worst, ones by a lot folks. I disagree obviously, but I can see why would one get that idea. They typically aren't represented well outside of WW's book and pretty much every new author when they come on to WW bring in their own new villain to hype up only to be quickly forgotten once they leave.

This brings us to the Sovereign, the latest in this long line of hyped up new villains but he's had a bit more attention as he's the creation of Tom King. The best kinds of villains for superheroes reflect some aspect about the hero or stand-in for a certain problem unique to the hero they face. This goes true for Wonder Woman villains, so what does Sovereign stand in for?

There's a lot one could say just going off the image provided and his whole status as the latest in a long line of "secret Kings of America". To me however, I find the more interesting interpretation of the Sovereign as a stand-in for well...certain types of superhero fans.

If you're a WW fan you're probably familiar with the type. The fan who doesn't actually read WW and yet has very strong opinions on her and her place in the DC universe. The type of fan to say Wonder Woman has no good stories and then admit in the same breath they've read maybe less than 5 issues of WW's adventures in their life. The fan who likes her being on the Justice League but doesn't want her to do anything that could outshine her male counterparts. Can't be strong as Superman, can't be too fast because that would impede the Flash, can't be smart because that's Batman territory. She can fight well they'll say but then they'll bring up every rando in the DC Universe they claim is a better fighter if Diana didn't have powers, so even that has an asterisks. The type of fan who cheers when Superman lifts planets with his pinkie or when Batman defeats capital-G God "with prep time" but if Wonder Woman lifts so much as a heavy rock than she's a Character I Don't Like. And definitely don't want Diana espousing any feminist talking points that might make them uncomfortable.

That's the Sovereign.

There's been criticism so far that lot of Sovereign's plots in each issue can be summed up as "Sovereign thinks this will be what breaks Diana but she triumphs in the end". And that's fair honestly but looking at it through this interpretation of Sovereign than of course that's what he'd do. Of course Sovereign would think sending in the U.S. Army would be enough to defeat her; she's not Superman, she's not Batman, she's not the Flash, she's just Wonder Woman. Of course he'd lose his temper when Wonder Woman not only triumphs but exceeds his expectations. Sovereign, like these fans, doesn't truly appreciate Diana as her own person/character outside of the role they've arbitrarily assigned her. Wonder Woman fans know this stuff isn't a threat to her, but Sovereign doesn't and he fails as a result.

It's only when Sovereign begins recruiting Wonder Woman villains from her long derided rogues gallery is when he starts seeing some results. 20,000 U.S. soldiers couldn't do it but a witch, a psycho, a giantess, a swan, a thief, and a goddess dominatrix could.

And it's also when he goes recruiting her villains it shows what he thinks of Wonder Woman. Unlike the others where he sends his lackey, Sargent Steel, to do the recruiting. He goes to meet Grail in person. Why? Well he says it's because as a goddess she's afforded certain respect but it's interesting he doesn't seem to consider that towards Wonder Woman, who for all intents and purposes is a goddess as well. What makes Grail different?

Grail's an empowered women but doesn't seem interested in going about changing the world to make a better place like Diana (at least not anymore). Notice how his dialogue notes he only respects her because of her Darkseid lineage, a patriarchal figure whereas Diana draws strength traditionally from the female Olympian goddesses, her mother, and her Amazon sisters' training. He shows reverence to Grail because of her father and ultimately, she doesn't fundamentally threaten the status quo like Diana's very existence does. In essense, she's the "acceptable" version of Wonder Woman to the Sovereign and what he represents. A strong sexy woman but one who isn't here to upstage any of their favorites or challenge any of their beliefs.

And as see from the dialogue throughout King's issues, it was all for naught as Sovereign finds himself imprisoned on a small island ultimately defeated regaling his tale to Lizzie Prince. If only he hadn't underestimated Wonder Woman...

As I said, this is only my interpretation but taken into account the 10 issues so far I've read of this run, it's the one I've best come to and how I think Sovereign can fit into Diana's rogues gallery going forward.

[iamthemaestro]

you asked for weird questions and i will deliver >:)

rate all of your ocs (and william),on a 1 to 10 scale, 1 being "would've been the guy to musket blast marcus in the chest" and 10 being "regimental handjob besties"

I love that we are putting the guys in some sort of Hypothetical 18th Century Military Setting with with this, which is both a normal and likely thing for me to do

percy - depends on which point in his life you’re asking him at. though he exists in sort of a parallel universe he is Most Definitely British and spends a large portion of his life believing that imperialism is fine and good so if you catch him at that point it would probably be like. a 3. not because he has any personal problem with marcus but because he’s Doing His Duty To King And Country Above All. if you ask him much later on in life when he calms down quite a bit I would say maybe a 6, I’m not sure how much they would have in common interest-wise and he’s also just generally kind of high-strung but they’ve both got kind of the same timid 18th century white man vibe about them and they could bond over that

sydney - sydney has the unique ability to get along with just about anyone regardless of how much they have in common. prior to his relationship with percy he also had a tendency to sleep around with people of far more dubious character than marcus. I think he could probably be like a 7 at a friendship level because he can be a little much for people even if they can generally have quite a good relationship but could Potentially move up to a 10 in a certain sense if. you know. One Thing Led To Another in the continental army camp.

william - although he’s based on the Concept of a hypothetical person he is still an oc at a technical level so I can interpret him however I want. while I do think he believes he’s fighting on the right side I also think he’s comparatively more passionate about his Job than the Greater Cause of it all and could pretty easily overlook their differences in allegiance if confronted with marcus as a person. he’s also definitely less uptight than percy and is kind of perpetually in want of friends in the first place so I think they could get along quite well. I would probably rate him a 9 with the caveat that will is not great at maintaining relationships and he’s also generally uninterested in pursuing anything Beyond friendship with anyone so the number is more indicative of their Potential. but I definitely think if marcus himself were to make the effort to get to know him they could be Buddies <3

[nicnacsnonsense]

Okay so. BtVS s7. It’s bad, but not unsalvageable I don’t think. We’re going going to have to tear it down to the studs, but there’s some good bones here.

Firstly, I do like the threat of trying to end the Slayer line. It’s unique in terms of threats but it’s also easy to understand and clear to see how it would be a very bad thing. Plus it allows us to dig more into the lore of the Slayer more which is nice in the last season. Mixed feelings on the scythe, but I suspect if they fixed the pacing so the storyline around the scythe were spread out and not jammed into the last 3 episodes, I would like it better (and if they got a better prop). I’m also overall a fan of the Slayer activation spell at the end with the very important caveat that the spell should give every Potential the right to choose if she wants to accept the powers or not. Having it go from “one girl in all the world” and “is chosen” to many girls who get to chose is actually a fairly cogent feminist critique of the show itself, which would also be fun in the final season.

I also like that we’re opening the Hellmouth for the end here. Bringing it back to where it all began. And destroying the Hellmouth and the whole town is an incredible way to be like I swear to god you guys, we are done done for real this time. Just obviously we can’t have this done via a magic necklace that Angel randomly turns up to hand over to Buffy with zero set up and minimal explanation in the very last fucking episode. Staggeringly awful writing.

And related to both the above points, I think it needs to be made a little clearer how they connect. Specifically that destroying the Slayer line and opening the Hellmouth are the two prongs of the First’s plan to flood the world with evil. The explanation is there but it could be clearer.

Speaking of the First. I think this is an unpopular opinion, but I like it as a villain, in theory at least. Admittedly the it’s the original evil or whatever thing is kind of cheesy, but it already existed as a character in the series anyway, so might as well bring it back. But the actual threat the First poses and the things it can do make for an excellent villain. I mean it’s incorporeal! How is Buffy supposed to beat an enemy that’s incorporeal? But instead of treating this like an amazing opportunity, the writers apparently saw this as a problem to be solved by inserting a minion who can punch & kick harder than anyone Buffy has ever fought before — the Turok-Han — and then when they were afraid that was getting stale adding another minion who can punch and kick even harder — Caleb.

The Turok-Han in the Hellmouth can stay; we do need a big action set piece for the finale. Which also means Buffy can still have her vision of them and Giles can still explain that they are super old and extra strong vampires. But the one Buffy has that big confrontation with as well as any other ones running around Sunnydale all need to go. Firstly as already alluded to they time away from the First and the unique threat it poses in favor of more of the “this guy is even stronger” stuff that is starting to get really stale by now. And then also if our only experience and knowledge of Turok-Han is that they are extra strong vampires then that’s enough of a framework for us to understand this huge army is definitely a threat, but it’s also vague enough that it’ll still feel reasonably plausible in the finale when our protagonists start taking them out left and right.

Caleb I waffled on but ultimately I think you need to keep some version of him if for no other reason than it’s a useful storytelling device for the First to have a minion it can have conversations with. You know, they can have scenes where the two of them are discussing the progress of the evil plan so the writers have an excuse to tell the audience what the evil plan is. But obviously don’t wait until episode 18 to introduce him. Have him pop up in the beginning as a random recurring side character only to have a reveal midway through that he’s evil. If Robin is meant to be a suspicious red herring, let’s have Caleb be what he’s distracting the audience from. I’m kind of ambivalent as to whether Caleb should be super strong or not — I just don’t have a clear enough picture of how the plot looks to know if that’s necessary or helpful — but if he is going to be strong then we should see the First power him up before we see how strong he is. We want to make sure any focus on him is as a tool of the First, not an independent threat.

And now on to the First itself. The biggest problem is it’s all tell and very little show. The characters can talk about how they can sense something big coming and about the overwhelming feeling of ancient power coming off the First, but that means very little to me, the viewer. I can’t feel the power while I’m watching this on my couch. The idea that the First is even more powerful than Glory was always going to be a hard sell, because conceptually I don’t really even know what that means, that it’s even more powerful than a god. So stop trying to sell me on that and instead focus on the First’s strengths. Let the theme of s7 be paranoia.

The First can appear as any dead person it wants. But not just appear as them, it in some respects becomes them, perfect recreation of the mannerisms, their speech patterns, every little quirk about them. It’s the First, but it’s also your loved one. How much of what it says is lies to manipulate you and how much is really what your loved one would think and feel?

And that’s just the people you know are dead. Any random stranger you meet could be the First, disguised as a dead person you’ve never met. And then there’s the people that you know, the ones you know for a fact are alive. But do you? Do you really know that for sure? When’s the last time you touched them? Do you know for a fact that they’ve never had a brief near-death experience? Maybe they also received a timely bout of CPR.

So maybe you touch them. There, proof positive they aren’t the First. But how do you know the First isn’t in the room talking to them right now? Maybe they’re more convinced by the First in their loved one’s form.

Or maybe they have a trigger. Spike has a trigger, who’s to say he’s the only one? And yeah sometimes he turns feral when it’s used, but sometimes he acts perfectly normal right up until he sinks his fangs into your throat. How do you know that whoever you’re talking to doesn’t have a trigger? How do you know that you don’t?

And then there’s the Hellmouth. The end of the season has this whole thing where apparently the Hellmouth is giving off this crazy energy, making everyone flee town. What if that was a slow build across the season? Start off small and innocuous, Dawn mentions need to make new friends because Janice’s family moved away and Buffy is pouting about her favorite shop closing. But then it builds, more and more people leaving. Buffy walks down Main Street and half the shops are boarded up. People stop moving away in favor of just picking up and leaving in the middle of the night. We see Buffy walking down through the school for the last day of work and the halls are practically abandoned. By the time we get to the end of the season, the entire town being empty just feels like the natural conclusion that we’ve been building to all this time.

And it’s not just people leaving, we also see the Hellmouth heighten anger and aggressive urges. So again maybe in the first episode again it’s just a casual mention from Xander about how one of his guys, nicest guy you’ve ever met, totally snapped at work that day. But you know he’s been under a lot of stress at home, Xander gave him the day off to relax a little, he’ll be fine. Except again, it just gets worse and worse until you’re hoping that stranger you pass is the First because at least it can’t attack you.

And so maybe Willow has to cast a protection spell around the house. As long as you’re inside you’re safe. But the second you step out that door, that Hellmouth energy starts seeping in. Slowly, there’s time to run out for errands if you need to. But be careful. The longer you’re out there the more and more seeps into you. And who knows who you’ll run into. Better to stay all of you crammed on top of each other in this little house. Better stay inside where it’s safe.

[its-callum-everybody]

I CANNOT DRAW. You see chat, I can’t draw, so I need to think of ways to share my TWST oc with the world. So instead of learning how to draw, I’ll be doing it the best way I know how: In Depth Character Analysis!

Part 1 — Basic Character Information / Relationships

Part 2 — Everything to do with her Unique Magic

Part 3 — Lore

Part 4 — Appearance

Part 3 ➤

LORE.

I love it, you probably love it. (At least I would hope so if you’re still reading this.) Lore is what makes up any good storyline. And makes up even better character because all characters have a backstory! Even if it’s something completely rudimentary. Not every backstory has to be completely tragic. But I am inclined to make my OC (Cyrielle) go through the wringer. So that’s what we’re doing!

Lets start off with some explanation about the movie she is inspired from though, shall we?

The Black Cauldron~!

Now, The Black Cauldron is framed around a young boy who dreams of being a hero. But is in charge of taking care of a pig instead. As it turns out, the pig can create visions and The Horned King (the main antagonist) wants that pig so he can find The Black Cauldron.

The Black Cauldron was the prison/death sentence type deal used to rule over the mystical land of Prydain. He was so good at being evil that everyone was scared of him, even the gods. So when they put him in this cauldron it made the cauldron evil. So now whoever finds it can grant themselves a bunch of power by summoning an undead army. The problem is The Cauldron takes up a lot of power and ends up actually consuming The Horned King at the end because it truly can’t be controlled.

So let’s straighten out one thing, which character is Cyrielle based off of???

Taran, the pig keeper and protagonist? No.

Princess Eilonwy? No.

Dallben? No.

The Creeper or Gurgi? Definitely not.

The Horned King? Surprisingly no.

The Black Cauldron and The Emperor Inside of it whom we barely know any past lore of because the movie doesn’t really tell you anything besides how evil he was? DING DING DING! WE HAVE A WINNER!

Now, while the Cauldron played great inspiration in her Unique Magic (check out Part 2 for that grand explanation) Her character isn’t precisely based ON the emperor. No. She plays OFF of him.

Cyrielle, as explained by her upcoming lore, acts as a sort of explanation as to how The Emperor (Teivel, as I named him.) ties into the world of TWST and sort of just how his legacy played out. Granted. She is still connected to him, a fact I will elaborate on later.

But now that we have that explained lets move onto phase one—

World-building!

World building is important here because I somehow have to manage to literally input the entirety of Prydain somewhere in the TWST-verse.

Now we don’t have names of continents per se, we just have the names of Nations which are on those continents and then places in those kingdoms like- you have The Queendom of Roses but inside the Queendom of roses are villages and cities like Clocktown.

Or in the Shaftlands you have characters from Harveston or Fleur City IN THE SHAFTLANDS. So most of characters are only identified by the nations/kingdoms they hails from instead of the villages. No clue how those Nations/Kingdoms are positioned geographically or how they link up.

But from what I can tell from the Wiki and a now inactive blog (thank you @twstarchives, you are my saving grace.)

They do take up entire if not certain sections of a land mass, except for The Coral Sea obviously because that going to be part of a larger ocean instead of land. Like how the North Atlantic Ocean connects to the Caribbean sea.

[ For those wondering the difference between a Sea and Ocean, here’s the summary of a googled answer:

Oceans — Larger, Deeper, more open divisions of earths salt water, typically higher salinity levels.

Seas — Smaller parts of the ocean, located where land & ocean meet, usually partially enclosed by land, shallower, lower levels of Salt.]

So I’m basically throwing darts at a board here. Except I have no idea where anything else is located. So what better idea than to just have it to not exist!

Prydain simply just won’t exist. Also. Another good reason for just not having it exist will be because at the beginning, as she and Crowley are searching for Prydain. It will make it harder to find information and throw them off the trail, red herring style, even though Prydain will still, at one point have existed in TWST wonderland.

And what better a place to put in than the Shaftlands.

“ A large country with a diverse population. Because it's comprised of several different biomes, it's home to a variety of cultures. ”

In the Black Cauldron we see a grand shot between different area. There is a drastic change between the farm at the start, The Forbidden Forest, and the land where The Horned King resides which is sort of like an Alpine Tundra. So given the difference between all there places and the fact the Shaftlands is described as large. I’m gonna say that it’s sort of towards the Northwest as pure North is very snowy according to Jack’s Wish/Birthday card but we don’t see a lot of snow. So Northwest it shall be!

That leaves me with explaining how Prydain became a lost Kingdom. And just as The Black Cauldron was never really a popular Disney film in its time, I’m going to say it worked the same for Prydain. Prydain. may have been well-known, but as time progressed it grew smaller and many of its people branched off to go to different lands or just generally lost itself. So as these people naturally went away from Prydain, along with a bit of land change from the elements over the years. There isn’t much to be noted about the lost kingdom as there wasn’t much left behind from it besides a few legends, records, and buildings. And most documents and writings left behind probably would be unable to be translated. As many of them would many be in a lost common tongue.

So thats taken care of! Onto phase two,

The Legends and Lore!

Now of course, all the villains and hero’s featured in Twisted wonderland some long, long time ago. So that’s the same for all the characters featured in The Black Cauldron. So obviously The tale of Taran, The Horned King, and The Cauldron is well known. And is probably one of the legends that was best kept alive because of how directly it impacted Prydain as a nation.

Still lesser known, but not entirely forgotten!

Which brings us to how The Cauldron, or Teivel, and Cyrielle are related. I mentioned earlier there wasn’t a direct inspiration from the cauldron in her personality. More so in her ability. Now why is that?

Because she’s meant to both reflect and go against him.

I’m adding a legend to Prydain’s catalog:

~ The Princess and The Thief

“ Long ago, in the faraway land of Prydain there was rumored to be a King so cruel, so evil that even the gods feared him. As no prison would hold him, he was thrown alive into a crucible of molten iron. There, his demonic spirit was captured in the form of a great Black Cauldron.

The King had no wives, though his mistresses were many. And with one he had a child. A princess who at the time was but just a babe. But, just in case she had inherited his evil heart, she was cast away into a manor deep within The Forbidden Forest. Through trees so thick and under the canopy so dark not even the bravest soul would dare venture in.

However, no one dared to consider that even a brave soul would not enter, a foolish one certainly would. A young lady, who laid claim to the keep of gold of an ex-nobles by trickery was the first and last of the fools. She took her goods as the good-men chased her down. Ducking into the forest on the whim no one would dare follow. Her whim was correct though it cost her much.

Loosing her gold to the vicious forest she had no chance but to re-treat. The forest forbade it, growing and churning to keep her inside as she ran in endless circles. Until, instead of the end, she came upon a grody manor to which she let herself inside with no hesitance. Wonder her delight when she found that the inside had been far kinder. Orante walls and Avant-Grade Roofs. Imagine her surprise when at the top of the stairs, peering down at her, was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen— ”

I’ll cut the story off there for everyone’s sanity but to summarize the rest The Theif (Named Verity) and The Princess (Named Enora) begrudgingly start to form a friendship to which Verity promises to help Enora escape her fate [to reside in the manor for the rest of her life] because she doesn’t want to live forever in punishment for her fathers crimes. But the son of the Nobleman whom imprisoned Enora in the manor gets word of it and sends one of his best hunters after them.

The girls attempt to navigate the seemingly endless manor through multiple magic rooms but end up having to lock themselves in the clock tower. In one last culmination, they both decide they know what they have to do. Locking themselves in a kiss as the Hunter breaks through the door. Though what he finds on the other side is two girls, clasped in each other’s arms, a sword through both their hearts as their bodies slowly eroded into nothing but blood. Which then began to form a different woman from both their forms, she removes the sword from her chest, kills the hunter. Then leaves. Disappearing nameless into legend.

As you could guess, the woman formed is Cyrielle. Though she had no recollection of these memories herself and memories she does have of her past actually fake (though no one knows that yet).

It’s a generational process of cycle-breaking.

Teival is the one who does the crimes. He does not feel sorry for anyone, and even trapped inside the Cauldron he will remain wicked.

Enora has to pay for them just as he does despite being innocent, having others fear her and her power simply because she was the daughter of a cruel man. All she wants is a life her own. Undecided by fate and fear.

Cyrielle is the one meant to break it. She is the creation of love between Enora and Verity even during their fates, having but one purpose but to do what they couldn’t, break free from fate. Still. Cyrielle is cursed just like Enora was.

She has Teival’s blood running through her veins just as Enora did. Only now it is less, only now is it covered by the spite that came from love. She can bleed out however much she likes but she will always be the granddaughter of Teival until the world decides she is not that, but just Cyrielle.

Teival’s Lamb. It was once the unique Magic Enora had. Now it is Cyrielle’s. The haunting reminder of their own power drags them back to their Father/Grand-father. Anytime they bleed, they can make it into something else, even something used for good. But will always feel evil because they have bled for it. Bled for it because it is his.

So that brings me to phase three;

Why and how is she at NRC?

Cyrielle would appear similar to how MC/Yuu does. Dragged to school by the dark mirror because she is filled with power magical abilities. In fact, given the fact the mirror may be even older than the school itself; my whole basis is that it immediately sensed someone equal to Teival’s power had appeared and immediately sent a carriage to retrieve them.

The problem is, Cyrielle doesn’t remember anything and what she does remember is [unknowingly] fake. Why is that you may ask?

Because The Manor is magic, I mentioned that earlier. Even if Enora had managed to escape there certainly would have been more precautions in place in case she did. One being a spell that made her drowsy, possibly making her forget everything that occurred so it was easier to transport her to somewhere back to the manor or somewhere with higher security.

Then Why is she so young then if this happened such a long time ago? I head you ask

She’s young because of the forest and because she, on some level, was literally created via magic. She wasn’t born, she was crafted. Meaning that she had more control over how she appears because just as the appearance of clay can be morphed so can she. She doesn’t realize this though as she would spend most time after the manor ordeal trying to find a way out of the forest. So long, that it would be modern day by the time she exited. Only to be subdued by magic that made her forget all that struggle.

And now that I’ve answered your questions let’s move into more of Why she’s there, shall we?

Now. The simple reason to the mirror would be ‘Hey. There was just a weird spike in really powerful magic energy. We should probably get that person an invite.’ And it did.

The more lore-complex, my reason, is because it’s a school of villains. The people here embody on some level what Cyrielle is trying to escape from. (Not that she knows that, *cough* amnesia *cough*).

So what better way to have her do that then to have her also make everyone go on a journey of self-exploration with her by pointing out their cruddy flaws and giving them some accidental therapy. Even though it’s hard because ninety-eight percent of the student population all suck.

But she’s going to try her best and, hopefully, by the time its over with she can be recognized not by her grandfather but as her own person, get her memories back, not have an identity crisis, get a really awesome boyfriend (Silver), and save some people from their toxic and dangerous qualities!