#you can try changing my mind

[skylaryozora]

Enemies to Friends in an Instant: Riven and Nabu's First Encounter S3 EP21/22 [My Interpretation]

I've been posting comments on S3 episodes on my IG, and at one point I gladly provided a pretty long take on the episodes 21 and 22, where I explained how I have always interpreted the first encounter of Riven and Nabu. I received lots of positive feedback because apparently my view differs from the popular opinions and common interpretations of this scene in the fandom, with which I'm very familiar as well. I decided to post my remarks here as well, since the scene gave me a lot of food for thought.

Disclaimer: This is my subjective view!

To give you some context, Winx girls, Sky, Timmy and stowaway Nabu (at this point known as Ophir) go to a place called Red Tower along with pixies to acquire Water Stars. Unfortunately, they crash their ship and are attacked, first by some monsters and then by Red Tower's pegataur guardians. Nabu eventually turns out to be of help to them, even though the group is still quite wary of him. But before they crash, Flora sends a recording to Helia who stayed at Red Fountain... just to say hello. Riven sees the recording too, and notices that Musa stands weirdly close to Nabu whom Riven has never seen before. He jumps to a conclusion that she might be kissing the unknown, suspicious guy, which sparks his anger. Moments later, Riven sets off to join the group. He encounters Timmy trying to fix the ship, and with Piff's help, he manages to catch up with Winx and Sky but finds them unconscious, and sees Nabu holding Musa. And so, here we go.

Riven: Look right there, see that? Who's that guy? And why is Musa about to kiss him?!

This shot of Musa and Nabu does look kinda ambiguous, it's a bit weird though that she seems to be looking straight at him instead at his hands because apparently she's putting handcuffs on him, but I guess they needed to draw them as suggestively as possible to trigger Riven. Helia also appears to have a sneaking suspicion as to what is going on there.

The question remains whether Riven's reaction is adequate. Riven's development from S2 is said to have been thrown away and he apparently came back to being a jerk... which I don't think I agree with, to be honest. I mean, you could have done some personal progress and still battle with some issues, and frankly speaking, I wouldn't find it credible if Riven started acting all nice and polite all of a sudden. He tends to be viewed as possessive and jealous here, yet I don't find his reaction to be that exaggerated, I believe such scenes are likely to cause some tension, especially when people have abandonment issues and tend to jump to conclusions. I would also ask the following question: how would other characters behave in his place? Still, I have to agree that his impulsive decision to follow them was extra, but what also bugs me is that for some unknown reason he knew in which direction they'd gone. Did they all know the location and the way to Red Tower? Or did he acquire the coordinates of their ship? I like transparency and logic, and I think it is kind of missing here.

I also asked myself how I would write this whole scene, and this is my alternative suggestion: imagine if Helia and Riven got to know from Flora or anyone else that Nabu is a stowaway and he'd been stalking Aisha, but the recording cuts off suddenly with some disturbing glitches when the squad loses control and crash lands. This would leave Riven and Helia utterly concerned, and they would both consider an option that it might be Nabu's doing since he looks sketchy and it would explain his timing. Having traces of coordinates from Flora's recording for example, both guys decide to set off and rescue their friends. Let me know what you think about it, and if that could make more sense.

At the beginning of EP22 we have a shot from above, showing girls lying unconsciously on the ground, and Musa apparently lies the closest to Nabu and that's why he soon runs up and lifts her up. My questions are the following: why exactly are the girls unconscious (and Sky too)? Apart from Aisha, who was thrown on the ground which could understandably cause loss of consciousness, the others were just pinned down to the ground by big forks (pegataur guardians' weapons) which disappeared all of a sudden for no specific reason. If you go a few scenes ahead, you see that they all wake up by themselves and move as if nothing happened, which confuses me to say the least, but the bottom line is that they didn't really need any help after all. Also, Nabu didn't really care about others earlier; let me remind you that he jumped over Tecna and ignored girls falling from the museum's roof, apart from Aisha for whom he made an exception and prevented her from falling. But now instead of looking for Aisha, he goes to save Musa which feels random, unless he got to know that Musa is Aisha's close friend, and he felt it could help him get Aisha's trust if she saw that he tends to her best friend too. That's a possibility, I guess.

Riven: Put her down.

Nabu: Look, she needs help.

Riven: I won't tell you again. Put my girlfriend down, NOW. / Get your hands off my girlfriend.

It's also unclear to me how Nabu intended to help her, unless he possesses some healing abilities, but at this point pretty much everyone appears to need help even though, as I've just pointed out, they're all perfectly fine later on (they're not visibly injured or on the verge of death, and none of them is bleeding). Yeah, I know I'm nitpicking right now but if I am to understand a scene, I do try to pay attention to details and scrutinize if they make sense.

Now, I have seen people mentioning this scene as an example of Riven being ridiculously possessive, blinded by jealousy, and not caring that his girlfriend needs help...

Oh, boy, I strongly disagree with that.

Let's think about Riven's POV. He arrives there knowing there's an unknown guy who looked as if he had got too close to his GF, which made him upset, and he finds his friends knocked out, while this unknown guy, suspiciously the only one standing and appearing fine, is holding unconscious Musa. At this point Riven has no right to know who Nabu is, and what his intentions are. His squad scattered around and not moving a muscle looks very much like Nabu's doing, because the poor guy's timing puts him in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'd say that Riven's reaction is very much justified, as from his point of view Nabu could be a villain who just pretends to be helping Musa. Like, what else is he supposed to assume? At that moment, there's nothing to back up the fact that Nabu does mean well. If Riven actually knew that he is a stowaway and he'd been stalking Aisha, I imagine heads would roll even quicker.

If you think about it, Riven's reaction is kinda natural, because survival instinct is in general much more likely to suggest that someone is a threat rather than a friend, and Riven looks like the type to rely on this kind of instinct.

Besides, let's assume you find yourself in the same situation: you arrive to a place where a random person towards whom you already feel animosity is standing among your unconscious friends and holding your significant other, claiming they're here to help. Are you sure you'd believe them and be like "Oh, thank you so much for taking care of my S/O, are they okay?" which apparently is what people expect from Riven...? I'm afraid that such naivety might be deadly if you meet someone evil, assuming the best of people and not taking into account that they might take advantage of your gullibility and hurt you too can get you in serious danger.

Riven: Nobody takes down my buddies, and nobody hits on my girlfriend!

Nabu: You got it all wrong, man!

Here Riven clearly emphasizes that it's not only about Musa, he actually thinks Nabu hurt all of them, and so he attacks him. Nabu tries to tell him it's not how he thinks it is while fighting back in self-defence, but Riven is not likely to believe him anyway.

On this occasion I would like to say that you absolutely don't have to like Riven, we all have our preferences, interpretations etc., but please refrain from cherry-picking the bad (and what you consider as bad) in him without understanding the context and his POV as well as without remembering he does have issues and insecurities, like every human being. In his case, there seems to be a panoply of rough life experiences which has shaped him the way he is.

Off-topic, but I genuinely love their fight, the whole sequence is well animated, dynamic, and lively, I could watch it all the time.

Sky: Riven, Ophir's a good guy!

Riven: Hey, I thought you were all out cold. (...) Okay, and what about him and Musa?

Riven expresses my point, and after Sky assures him it's all good, Riven inquires about the relation between Musa and Nabu, still with suspicion, but without aggression.

Nabu: What? If anything, it's... Aisha. Uhm, look, nothing's going on with me and Musa.

When it becomes clear that Riven misinterpreted the situation (but honestly, how could he know?), he looks apologetic and relieved when Musa walks up to him. In the original Italian dub he actually says "I'm sorry", so he is aware that his reaction was way too extra, and I don't like that they cut it out in Rai, because it shows that Riven knows how to take accountability and be humble. Also, he believed Nabu right away and didn't even question his statement, or ask Musa the same question (!), which, in my opinion, isn't something an insanely jealous and possessive person would do.

Musa: Nice to see you go to bat for me, Riven.

Riven: Really?

Musa: Yeah. I'm so glad you decided to join us.

Riven: Me too.

As for Musa being impressed with what Riven did, I find myself asking if she, like, understands the whole picture. She appears out of nowhere, doesn't even ask why and how Riven got here, and doesn't know what Riven assumed when he saw the recording, and that he was fighting with Nabu because he thought he took all the group down. But it's implied she knows all of that, or at least that he was mainly fighting for her, and that she appreciates it. Here her reaction is interpreted as unhealthy because it romanticizes jealousy (and allowing it now might be to blame for all the jealousy drama in S4). Speaking from my personal experience, jealousy to some extent might be desirable for some people, because it ensures them that their partner doesn't take them for granted and is uneasy about the possibility of losing them. Several episodes earlier Musa admits that she doesn't feel like she had got closer with Riven recently (I won't go into details now, but that scene confused me as well, since apparently a lot of things in their relationship happen off-screen...), so I guess she considers Riven's behavior an evidence of him not being indifferent about their relationship after all. Still, I do admit that S3 Musa is quite a mess (unnecessary bike drama flashbacks), and it's sometimes hard to follow her train of thought. However, I'm inclined to think that this might be an option why she likes what Riven did.

Nabu: So when you see me trying to get over your defence, it's just an illusion, I'm actually trying to come from under.

Riven: Nice!

Nabu: You see, the trick is: never let your opponent anticipate your battle moves.

Riven: You're a cool dude, I like your style, where'd you learn all this?

Nabu: Well, I grew up on this island where there were no kids my age and I had no friends to play with, so you see, I spent a lot of time hanging out with the security guards who taught me all the battle tricks.

Riven: Sounds kinda lonely.

Nabu: It was.

A minute earlier they were like enemies, now they're already spending their free time together and enjoying it, which is honestly so cool to watch. They clicked right away, Riven got rid of any prejudice or animosity towards him, to the point he even admits that Nabu's style appeals to him, and doesn't mind actually being tutored by him (he would never allow that if it was someone like Sky)! Riven doesn't like losing, and yet he smiles brightly when Nabu "defeats" him, while Nabu feels comfortable enough to disclose his tricks to a brand new friend and share his childhood story. I mean, isn't that crazy, but in a good sense? They seem already kind of attached to each other, Riven gets to know about Nabu's feelings for Aisha and promises not to spill the tea (together with Bloom and Sky), and to top it all, he shields Nabu from Icy's spell!

To sum up, if Riven had been salty, distrustful, and passive aggressive towards both Musa and Nabu still after all the explanations and discovering the truth, that would have been very nasty and I wouldn't like it at all. But instead he did a 180 degree turn immediately, and got himself a good friend as a result. If you remember his first impression of Nabu, who would have expected what might happen later? Friendship does sprout in unexpected contexts, and that's what I truly adore about their unique, maybe I'd say even wholesome, relation.

Thank you for sticking until the end of this short essay <3

[butchfalin]

the funniest meltdown ive ever had was in college when i got so overstimulated that i could Not speak, including over text. one of my friends was trying to talk me through it but i was solely using emojis because they were easier than trying to come up with words so he started using primarily emojis as well just to make things feel balanced. this was not the Most effective strategy... until. he tried to ask me "you okay?" but the way he chose to do that was by sending "👉🏼👌🏼❓" and i was so shocked by suddenly being asked if i was dtf that i was like WHAT???? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?????????? and thus was verbal again

[br3adtoasty]

We would like to interrupt the usual art program with—

✨Some Spiderverse doodles!✨

[missjashin]

I’ve seen few fics hinting about Claudia and Wayne being a thing and I’m not against that at all, it’s kinda cute and all but what actually is selling that one for me is how goddamn hilarious it would be. I mean…

There’s Claudia Henderson. Dustin’s actual mom. And then there’s Steve Harrington. Dustin’s side mom. And then there’s the Munsons. Dustin with wavering voice asking “Did you fuck my mom?” And Eddie and Wayne just looking at each other like “is he talking to me or you? Because the answer is yes”

[buqbite]

Mutual comfort

[thebrainrotsreal]

EVIL MARK, EVIL MARK, EVIL MARK!!! I want to be coherent about this season but please picture me foaming at the mouth and running on the walls. S2 being what if Mark's just like his Dad? Insanity. I love this show. Anyways, AU where an Evil!Mark tries to make Our!Mark worse, and Our!Mark tries to make the other better. Something something confronting your idea of the worst version of oneself. Plus, tweaked black and yellow costume because I saw it and immediately went murder hornet lookin' ass and knew I had to draw it. Evil ass Mark. Horrible. I think he should be dragged kicking and screaming into redemption.

[ryssbelle]

Poppy for N2 au, it took me so long to make her design cuz I didn't really know what I wanted to do only because I feel like her design is pretty perfect.

But then I just thought about fun outfits to give her or outfits that I would find comfortable if I was wearing them and it all came together.

Poppy here is pretty much the same as here movie counterpart, as nothing really changes on her end of things other than having more insight on Branch through his brothers, and through Lief. Shes also a bit more understanding a bit earlier on because of it but it doesnt do much to change her own character arc I would say.

Bonus

Part of Poppys design was based off a design I had made for previous rulers of Troll Village/Tree

Namely Queen Protea who I designed as Poppys grandmother

Named after the Protea flower which part of her design is based off :D

In the context of this Au Protea was the one who conceptualized the tunnels while her son, King Peppy, was the one to follow through after her death

[hawnks]

Satoru Gojo’s cursed abilities began to manifest at the age of two. By five he could read and write with ease, he could do basic arithmetic, and had better special reasoning than most adults. It was a given that his secondary traits would manifest early, and the clan was happy to welcome a dominant alpha to the family. Except—

He wasn’t.

The revelation that their messiah was an omega, frankly, appalled most of the Gojo Clan, but they wouldn’t deny their interest in a few incredibly powerful offspring.

By the time Satoru had truly and fully manifested at the age of fourteen, they had already thrown a few dozen alpha suitors his way — he had his pick of any of them, he could just drop out and raise children like a good omega. Except— he wouldn’t.

Satoru insisted on school, where it quickly became apparent that he would outclass even the strongest alphas. The clan was once again disgusted with him; the way he behaved, his strength and charisma, it simply wasn’t like an omega. He should be demure, and sweet, and happy to let everyone else order him around. Except he wasn’t.

He showed absolutely no signs of omega tendencies, except for infrequent heats, which were so mild he didn’t even need to take time off school. The clan had hopes that maybe that alpha boy he was always hanging around would get Satoru to settle down and mate, but no luck. When asked about this, Satoru said he found alphas “boring,” and would “rather drink bleach than fuck one.” The clan decided it would be best to wait a few years before broaching the topic of marriage again.

It wasn’t until his final year at Jujutsu High that Satoru showed any sign of libido at all. Lounging on the porch, ignoring his English tutor, staring out as the gardener tended to the koi pond. Then— Satoru bolted upright.

The tutor startled. “What? What is it?”

Satoru pointed. “Who is that?”

It took a second for the old man to spot who he was referring to. Someone else had joined the Gardner at the pond, peering down into the golden arc of fish. “The groundskeeper’s child.” A follow up question formed on his lips, “Why—“

Why are you interested when you’ve never shown an inkling of curiosity about anyone else in your entire life? But it died just as quick.

Satoru was staring at the gardener’s child with a look that could only be described as hungry. The shortened breath, dilated eyes, and flushed cheeks were unmistakable, although the unhinged grin he wore was a bit unusual (and unsettling). Nevermind whatever was going on below the belt.

“I want her,” Satoru said. Unshakable, bottomless lust— now that was just like an omega. Finally, he was experiencing a true heat, triggered by the presence of a potential mate.

Except—

“Gojo… that’s a beta.”

[sneakyboymerlin]

Since we’re all talking about it: I don’t want a Merlin reboot unless I’ve written and produced it all myself. At best we’d be getting plastic-wrapped fan service that fixes none of the issues with the original series. I don’t trust that easy 💯

[fried-manto]

Hmm.. it can't just be me, can't it...

Click picture for better quality

[finn0la]

sorry wolfwood if this looks gay to the viewers!

[sergeant-angels-trashcan]

There is an entire category of superhero that became a superhero because they wanted friends and I find it truly hilarious that the Young Avengers, arguably some of the most badass heroes in Marvel, all joined the team because they were lonely

[myfairkatiecat]

not my friends being 400x less supportive about me being Christian than I am about them being atheist

[puppyeared]

Been LOVING your lil magician folks recently please continue they're beautiful and very cute and cool and also very well-designed!! 🥺❤️

thank you for the kind words !!! im not much of a writer, but i do have some sort of story in mind for them.. theyre bitter rivals who end up as roommates bc of their scatterbrained elderly landlord lol

[2hoothoots]

i was having a chuckle to myself last night about Gristol, and how his plans are basically:

Restore Ford Cruller's memory

Find Maligula

???

Profit

but then... of course they are, right? this is Gristol we're talking about. Fatherland Follies drives home again and again that he's still operating on a child's logic, a warped and reductive version of the world that he never bothered to grow out of. both of his memory vaults center on the images of his childhood, this idealized version of the past that he clings to no matter what. and that's still how he remembers Maligula, too - as this saviour figure, who rushes in to help him when he's in trouble.

[ID: Two slides from Gristol's memory vault, Glory to Grulovia! Left: Gristol clings to Maligula's back as she summons waves to sweep away his assailants. Right: Gristol and Maligula waving from a balcony as the people cheer. Gzar Theodore brandishes a dagger in the background.]

like so much else, Maligula represents a return to this idyllic childhood - to the peace and simplicity of his youth, when he was free from worries and responsibilities. in his mind, he doesn't need to make any further plans - once Maligula's back, everything will go back to normal. Maligula will make everything better.

...is what i thought, but then i remembered this line:

[Screenshot source. ID: Gristol, in Truman's body, bows on his hands and knees in front of the newly-awaked Maligula. The caption reads: "Yes, High Priestess! I am here to correct the mistakes made by my father!"]

and that's kind of interesting, right?

to be clear: this happens directly after Maligula sees Helmut-in-Gristol's-body, and recognises him. her line before this is:

"Little Gzesaravich! Have you come to pay for your father's sins?"

my first thought was that Gristol hadn't expected to still be in Truman's body by the time he managed to find Maligula, and this was him trying to placate her and buy some time until he could explain the situation. but watching the cutscene back, that's clearly not what's happening here. Gristol is answering as himself, and his response of throwing himself to his knees before her is, as far as i can tell, genuine.

so what is going on here?

in Fatherland Follies, there's this line in the ride narration that stuck out to me:

"Why didn't the Gzar help Maligula in her time of need? No one knows, but historians agree - it is Gzar Theodore's biggest failure."

other lines mention Gzar Theodore's "mistake", and it's wording Gristol himself echoes in the screencap above. evidently, he believes that his father abandoned Maligula, leaving her to her fate at the hands of the Psychonauts, and it was that mistake that lead to them being driven out of the country - that mistake which he seeks to correct. maybe he even feels like he has a debt to repay to her for his family turning their backs on her all those years ago.

the 'High Priestess' thing, though - that's kinda weird, and threw me for a loop the first time i played the game. it took me until my second playthrough to connect the dots, and remember how the room in the Lady Luctopus - Gristol's room - was full of Delugionist scribblings and symbols.

[Screenshot source. ID: left, the walls of the hidden backroom in Gristol's hotel suite, covered in scrawlings of eyeballs and Maligula's name. Right, the pinboard from the hidden backroom. On its surface are photographs and newspaper clippings connected by pieces of string.]

i mean, look at this stuff! he had a whole conspiracy board and everything!

we learn very little about the Delugionists and their beliefs as a whole during the game, but i think drawing the connection here suggests two important things. one: that Gristol was in deep with this stuff. i don't know how he linked up with them - maybe via old family connections, or just good old-fashioned digging (we know he's skilled at worming his way into peoples' good graces, after all) - but it seems likely that he's begun to internalise their ideas, maybe even warping his own memories of events. and two: the Delugionists themselves are, if you'll pardon the pun, pretty far off the deep end.

like... i understand why PN2 didn't go heavy on the "mass-murderer cult worship" aspect of things, in the end, but man this is such a tantalising glimpse into the wider mythos around Maligula. Gristol is proud and haughty and thinks himself above everyone else; the fact that his first reaction seeing Maligula is to throw himself to the ground at her feet says so much about the way he's come to see her. he's not just trying to bring back Maligula, his childhood bodyguard. he's trying to bring back Maligula, the High Priestess of the deluge, the semi-mythical figure whose supporters believe even death couldn't stop. he doesn't even flinch at the way she confronts him, and maybe it's because he's bought in so completely to this deified figurehead, this idea of Maligula; more a living force of nature than a person. and it all comes back to the same place: an abdication of responsibility, not just to the person who protected him when he was little but to this avatar of floods and destruction. Maligula will make everything better.

i'd write more about my thoughts on the Delugionists but that'd be taking a hard turn into speculation, and this is already kind of long and rambling so i'd better end it here. but what an unexpected and evocative line, right? it's some of the only stuff we have to go off of regarding the Delugionists as a whole, but i think it does such a good job of hinting at the wider story - at teasing another layer to the mythos surrounding Maligula, one whose ripples we see throughout the game but which never quite breaches the surface.

[deoidesign]

So I know you said you aren't allowed to promote your merch store or patron on your webtoon but would it be okay for people in the comments to remind others that they exist?

I have no control over what anyone posts in my comments... (eyes emoji)