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tobiasdrake · 10 days

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One consequence of the DB heroes' anonymity is a lack of organizational interference in their affairs. Compare the Marvel and DC universes, where countless shadowy government and/or corporate organizations are always trying to control, copy, or counter superheroes whose abilities and origins are all public knowledge because they're incredibly famous, justifying themselves (with various degrees of sincerity) with claims that the superheroes are too powerful to go unchecked.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Super Hero, which leans into that American comics iconography, has a plot along those lines.

It's worth noting that the political structure of the Dragon Ball Earth is completely unlike our own.

King of the World, not to be confused with the World-King.

The planet has long been a single monarchist nation governed unilaterally by a king. This centralization of all political global authority under a single throne means Big Picture the world is at peace but Small Picture... the government doesn't seem to do much.

There is a small standing military force that King Furry employs.

They aren't good for much against the likes of Piccolo or Cell (or, in filler, Nappa). But they do exist. This is the Royal Defense Army. They are a thing that exists, and their existence makes the government's inadequacies kinda damning?

Because. Like. Obviously they're no good against Piccolo or Cell. But what about these clowns?

Sure seems like something the Royal Defense Army should probably be doing something about, huh? Has anyone contacted the Earth's King about this?

Do we even have a way to contact the Earth's King? Or are we just paying our taxes into a black void?

...

Do we even pay taxes?

This centralization of supreme power makes the planet's system of governance supremely vulnerable to a powerful enough guy walking in and declaring himself king by way of conquest. It's literally what Piccolo does.

Piccolo marches in, sits his ass on King Furry's throne, and declares "New rule: There are no rules! Let's kill all cops and put Monokuma heads on everything!" And. Like. He can do that. Because any system of supreme authority centralized in a single autocrat who wields absolute power is always susceptible to this sort of coup.

But also. Like. It doesn't seem like the world Piccolo would make if he didn't die this afternoon is substantively different from the world that already exists.

A region of the world is famous for a barbarian warlord who massacres anyone who approaches his mountain and who raids and pillages the surrounding countryside to steal their wealth for himself.

I mean, Goku gets along well with Gyu-mao, the Ox Demon King, but that's because he's an old friend of the family.

But. Like. A barbarian warlord who's been raiding the countryside long enough to become a famous legend sure does seem like something King Furry should be doing something about, doesn't it? The same administration that's Shrug Emoji-ing the Red Ribbon Army also seems disinterested in doing anything about this.

Earth's King has also allowed Fry-pan Mountain to remain on fire for ten years.

So. Like. It seems like, so long as you don't threaten the capital, the Royal Defense Army will let you be. Cynically, though fairly accurate to real-world politics, their only job is to defend the consolidation of power under the throne; Not the citizens.

This is not a product of malice; King Furry genuinely cares about his subjects and even risks his life to undermine Piccolo.

So I don't believe he's just, like, a greedy despot sitting pretty on everyone's tax dollars or something. He's just. Woefully inadequate as the sole authority for an entire planet of disparate cultures and regional disputes. He has no idea how to fulfill the role he's been given.

Could any single person ever responsibly fill that role? It's fair to note that God himself suffers from a similar malady, and even expresses dissatisfaction in his own performance as the Earth's God.

Any time he speaks of his tenure as God, it's only ever with regret for his mistakes. It's hard, whether as a political or spiritual leader, to wield unilateral authority over an entire planet responsibly.

The system of laws that Piccolo would have torn down are defended by cops who aren't only useless against cosmic space aliens and demons. Like, that's understandable. I'm not going to hold it against the police that they couldn't handle Android 18.

I love how these two stand by and watch themselves get robbed. They were putting up token resistance in the form of going "Hey, quit it." But then 16 picks up the truck so they withdraw their objections and hang out.

Sipping their coffee and going off to call the company they work for. Like, "Hey guys, it happened again."

In any case, nothing against the cops for not being able to do anything about that.

They don't prepare you for this at police academy.

But they're also useless against everyday bank robbers and gunmen, of which the Dragon Ball world seems to have in plentiful supply.

That guy has a fucking RPG. Americans aren't even this well-armed. These are two random thugs, and the most the cops can do about them is to phone a high school girl from a couple towns over to please come here in a helicopter and deal with the robbers.

This is, like, Gohan's second day of school. And on his first day, this was happening in Satan City itself.

This is Satan City. Home to the man who defeated Cell. Arguably the most dangerous place to be pulling this, but here we go.

This is just what life is like in Dragon Ball cities, I guess. Remember that time Goku got mugged in West City?

When Piccolo says "Go nuts, there are no laws," how much would that really have changed society? Even in times where "the world is at peace", we're basically living in The Purge.

So. We have roaming warlords and also massive crime problems. But at least the central authority's taking care of the economy and keeping its people fed, right?

Does the world government not have systems in place for global management of public services? Because water is a pretty important public service. I sure hope these people aren't paying taxes.

Hey, remember that time a ten-year-old child was the sole provider for a family of five and had to enter a martial arts tournament so that none of these children starve? Thanks, World Government!

Theoretically, the existence of a King of Earth means world peace and an end to international politicking. We are all citizens of the same nation and have no reason to fight over territory or whatever, and we exist under a centralized government that can step in and take care of disputes.

But in practical terms, the existence of a King of Earth means global anarchy. It's everyone for themselves in the Dragon Ball world because any form of governance or law enforcement is tied to a single monarch in a faraway land who has no idea what is happening in your backyard. The mechanisms of power are one big Shrug Emoji, and the people are left to fend for themselves in every city and every rural environment.

So, overall, I'd say the Dragon Ball world is in the opposite boat as Marvel/DC. Instead of shadowy government forces trying to control all the heroes, we have an extremely hands-off system of governance that isn't just woefully inadequate to protect its citizens from cosmic threats but also utterly disengaged from even terrestrial problems that a government would naturally be responsible for.

#dragon ball #dragon ball z

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darkestprompts · 7 months

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DD2 Shrine Rewrites Part 5: The Occultist's New Clothes

It's been a while. Enough to cross a desert, feels like. Which apparently Alhazred never had to do, because he's into astral travel.

The Occultist shrines are in an odd place. They aren't particularly offensive to his character considering how lacking in detail his original comic was. But it manages to kill off a lot of the mystique of that simple story and feels underwhelming as a result. It's also our best example so far of something that will become much more of a problem with characters like Jester and Vestal: the complete reframing of the narrative.

One thing at a time, though.

Alhazred as we knew him

The Occultist is an intriguing hero with an unique weapon: the very evil you seek to purge. His in-game descriptions emphasize the danger and unreliability of his power: it is a profane thing that requires extraordinary will to master. The Occultist, however, remains undaunted. He knows his skills come at a heavy cost and even shows some degree of nihilism (the Abandon Hope skill). This man knows there are no kind gods looking down upon him.

Unlike his Lovecraftian namesake, Alhazred is no madman. His barks portray a confident, proud scholar; civility mixed with arrogance; overconfident affability. All the good and bad traits of the enlightened. He scoffs at the savagery of his "uncultured" allies and enemies. Reason, knowledge, power, that's all that matters. Even so, we are often faced with another entity spouting blasphemies and curses through him, breaking his veneer of control. Whatever it is, it's not fond of humans and appears to use Alhazred's body to access our reality. We learn during afflictions that he fears it and can't be rid of it.

The comic and CC set paint a clearer picture. The Occultist sought out a mysterious pyramid, where we find piles upon piles of skulls with candles, exactly as the one his in-game model possesses. The inscription highlights the candle slowly melting away... An hourglass counting down, perhaps? Our Occultist isn't dissuaded and proceeds with the operation. The candle comes to life. There's no turning back.

What I find most intriguing about this sequence is that we don't know what exactly Alhazred expected. He doesn't seem entirely satisfied with his present condition, but supposedly he knew the cost to pay. Or did he? Did he hope to outsmart the old gods? Where did such unbridled ambition even come from? There's just enough information for the player to explore at leisure and I appreciate that.

Abandon hope

The DD2 shrines start off with the odd decision to transfer the Occultist's pyramid journey into the astral plane. Alhazred sits at the table with some "devotees" (students?) that act as supporting mediums in this excursion to the void. Honestly, I'm not fond of this decision, and I will explain in depth why further ahead. But on the most surface level we have this new-age-y addition that undercuts the gravity of Alhazred actually having to make his way alone to a tomb he discovered heaven knows how. It's less "medieval scholar scours the Earth in search of secrets of the ancient world" and more... ouija boards and moving tables.

Moving along, it turns out Alhazred needs to give away a part of him to acquire the power he desires. He fights and effectively kills the most human parts of himself to make away for the fire of the stars. This is a pretty great moment that adds dimension and horror to the event. Which is followed by... A shambler? Coming out of the void to attack him? The shrines aren't played one after the other, but I can't help but find jarring that we went from this highly psychological moment to "beat the big octopus to steal its magics".

So yeah, apparently Alhazred can beat an entire shambler by himself, he has only been holding out on us. Maybe things are different in the void or something. Apparently eldritch entities abide by Pokémon rules over there, because defeating it means you get its power at your disposal. Still not sure how this is a pact in any meaningful sense.

And then, the kicker. We learn why Alhazred needed company in this venture: so they could tragically die in the last shrine! As the Occultist broods sadly over the corpses, we are told that he became a beacon for the creatures beyond.

Mesmer would be proud

The sole reason for the séance, it seems, is to provide convenient deaths for Alhazred to feel bad about. It's heavy-handed and awkward, but at the first glance, not a big change. Let's look closer, though. I want to argue that imposing the seance as a framing device over the events of the comic significantly alters and weakens the narrative.

First thing off, the implied cultural background is different now. H. P. Lovecraft's Alhazred lived in the period of the Ummayad Caliphate. While it would be a stretch to call the Occultist's design historically accurate, one can accept that it's trying to portray a character of the medieval Islamicate world. DD2 eschews that in favor of a westernized suit. Note that I say "westernized", not western. There was an attempt to keep the Arabic influence in another style of dress. We see this a lot in modern fashion. But here's the catch: this blending of indigenous and western/European styles is a direct consequence of colonialism. It's a way to preserve culture in face of an imposed model of "modernity". Alhazred, on the other hand, was previously situated in a context where European dominance over MENA countries wasn't a given.

Maybe you will say now "well, but Darkest Dungeon isn't real life". Fine. But it's inspired by real life, which is why we can easily understand concepts like crusades and plague doctors, even though they are highly specific. If I take Medieval Arab-inspired Alhazred, I'm led to assume he comes from a bustling centre of science and political power, not a colonized backwater.

Now you ask, "wait! Why are you discussing his clothes, what does it have to do with the séance?" I'm getting to that. I bring up the design because it's another sign of the shift in cultural focus. Let me ask you back: why do you think séance is a term of French origin? Why don't you see terms like "medium" in relation to DD1 Occultist?

Séances became a big thing with the Spiritualist Movement in the XIX century. It's a strongly European and North American phenomenon that has roots in XVIII century mesmerism and would influence New Thought, Theosophy and, later, New Age thinking. When the game places our Occultist in a seance, wearing that outfit, it's shedding the premise of the Medieval scholar seeking out the wisdom of Antiquity, who travels and values original sources. It mindless pushes the setting in an eurocentric direction for no visible gain.

Second, the pacing isn't great. By now we expect every DD academic to be overtaken by the consequences of their hubris, it's a theme, it's fine. But we could do better than introducing a whole ham-fisted framing device just so Alhazred has companions that conveniently die off as the big neon sign that he fucked up. Other backstories try to pull off the "shocking twist" at the end (looking at you, Vestal, Jester) and none of them work particularly well. A twist still requires build up to not feel gratuitous and when every other story is about making the character as sad and sympathetic as possible, it looses a lot of impact. It's a technique that gets less effective the more you force it on the audience.

Third, the relevance of the dead acolytes evaporates once they conveniently die for dramatic purposes. I'm not saying he needs to bring them up every other bark, but consider how other characters carry their losses with them. Reynauld and his wife, Barristan and his soldiers, Dismas and the woman and child he killed, plus his "sweetheart". These are all haunting presences that let us know how much past events affected our heroes. The Occultist extras, however, are never mentioned again, even though Alhazred supposedly knew and worked with these people, these devotees who trusted his wisdom and guidance. It really highlights how they are merely a plot device.

Alhazred's problem, as far as we can tell from his barks, is not guilt. It's that no matter how hard he fights, he will lose himself someday. So why not emphasize this tragedy instead?

That's not to say there aren't good elements to the DD2 shrines. The supression of parts of Alhazred's soul is a great segment that lets us visualize what goes on in one of his dreadful rituals... although I'd suggest not make his soul have that piss-colored glow (don't color-theory me, it looks weird). Anyway, to make the Occultist's real opponent his own conscience is a great touch of characterization.

The shambler fight is less exciting in comparison. I know some people already considered that the eldritch creature within the Occultist was a shambler, but as often happens, what you can't see and can't fight is much more horrific than a random encounter, even with a wandering boss. It also raises a couple of questions. Why is it fighting if DD established that they struck a pact? If it's a shambler after all, why does the Occultist Come Into Your Maker bark refers to the Heart of Darkness as "the face of (his) tormentor"? Exposing the black-beast goes nothing for the story. It adds inconsistencies and reduces the unknowable entity of the pyramid to a regular monster we beat many times before.

Unquenchable fire

So let's try to fix all of this, shall we? First off, no séances. We'll keep the comic version, which implies a real, physical place lost to time and ruin. Instead of a suit, we will give Alhazred cool desert travel clothes. He has been searching for this pyramid for years, through moth-eaten texts, broken monuments and torn maps. It is the last stop before the object of his ambition.

He enters. The many skulls are a warning the Occultist gladly ignores. With him it shall be a different story. He's no fool, he's prepared. The ritual begins. This second shrine should use the "combat" sequence between Alhazred and his conscience.

He succeeds. Instead of a shamblet fight, we will opt for some good old evocative descriptions. You have Wayne June, you literally can't fail at this. Finally, Alhazred is faced with power beyond his understanding, dreadful, fascinating, mind-shattering. He's lost to the infinite possibilities unravelling before his mind. Then, the Beast is here. It asks a questions to which the answer is obvious. The pact is struck.

The Occultist returns to his scrolls and books. He experiments, takes notes, asks his new "companion" for advice. But something is amiss. There are gaps in his memory, strange inconsistencies. His hands tremble. He interrogates the beast, but It is silent. For the first time he feels the gap in his soul, a wound across dimensions, and he knows that it will swallow him whole someday.

He must try to stop whatever is happening, find a way to regain control. He seeks help, he searches for sources, living and dead. Can the pact be changed, broken? He blinks, unaware of his surroundings... And then there's fire and his hands are wet. Victims of flesh and parchment expire around him. If there is a way out, the black-beast won't let him find it. The voice in his head breaks the silence; It laughs and mocks him for believing he was ever in control.

I hope it's clear where getting at with these rewrites. Often, less is more. If a story works, it works. And you don't need to hit your players over the head with tragedy for them to care.

Ah, but things aren't going to get any better going forward.

#darkest dungeon #dd occultist #dd alhazred #dd2 shrine rewrites

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netherworldpost · 7 months

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I of course think of another segment to add to my epically long "how to get a weird job" post

so I'm adding it here

at least 50% of your ability to build / get -> keep a weird job is figuring out how to do more with less (...or nothing)

how to rent without buying

how to borrow without renting

at least 50% of your ability to succeed -- make something better, more unique, more personal, more whatever -- is because you have a lot of built up resources

scraps of fabric, old paint, ...knowledge... of a warehouse you can do a photoshoot in (don't get arrested, lawyers are expensive), knowing how to take old bits of wood and paint them to look like stone, etc.

A HUGE part of this is, frankly, experimenting

which is why I spend so much time on that post (and in general) with "make stuff, just make stuff, if it sucks and you enjoy it then make more"

you watch a low budget film and you love it because your invested in the story and the lore and the whatevers, you're purposefully ignoring the fishing wire and the cheap paint and the flubbed lines

you go to a tavern play where everything is stitched together hours (...laugh, no, seconds) before the performer came into view because you're suspending disbelief

you order a book from a small shop (maybe the author themselves) and you wait 3 days to 12 weeks or whatever their shipping time is rather than going to The Named After River Website That Sells Everything that can get you a book mass produced, written for a wide audience, because you want that author's very unique view

Independent stuff has longer production times because the folks making it are, by nature, scrappy as hell

Independent does not inherently mean better than made en masse

Big is not necessarily worse than small

Small (usually) means "this took longer to make, and was worked on with less expensive equipment, and may cost more

HOWEVER

The scrappy "God damn it, I am going to make this work via will power alone if necessary" comes across in the production. "I WANT to do this, I CHOOSE to do this. And so I'm going to make the experience AS GREAT as I POSSIBLY CAN."

Knowing how to do this is not an inborn skill.

If you want a weird job, the nature of acquiring/building it is part of its running / continuing.

The best way to start is to figure out what you can make instead of buying. Or improving something that you did buy.

Yesterday I bought a small table for photoshoots.

Small tables that fold up are super cheap, so it doesn't make sense to try to make one.

But.

It's very.

Plain.

So tonight I'm figuring out "what can I glue to this table to make it less plain." Surprise surprise the answer is very likely going to be old comic books and Scooby-Doo stickers that get cut up, glued down, and sealed to protect against damage.

You (the audience who sees my table top photoshoots) are unlikely to see said table.

That's entirely not the point.

The point is part of my weird job is to make things, experiment constantly.

Part of my weird job is to make my live my life on my terms.

And part of living my life on my terms is having a table that is Extremely Scooby-Doo.

That link to the original post that generated this post one last time.

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oblonger · 2 months

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For a while now, I've been spinning around the idea in my head of the Hero in EOS being aware of the player. Knowing that their actions are being puppeted by a being outside of their comprehension. One that, somehow, has more power than how Arceus is spoken of.

But as much as I love Kris Deltarune, I don't really see a whole lot of potential with the idea. At least not without some heavy thinking to get it to be unlike the direction people think Deltarune's plot is being taken.

But then I had a different idea. What if instead of the hero being aware of the player, it was the partner, and only the partner?

At some point after becoming friends-to-die-for status with the hero, the partner pieces together that something is influencing how the hero acts. And then they have memories of different playthroughs return. The exact same events with only minor differences in what the hero says, but the partner and hero are in different bodies with different names. Alongside memories of events that haven't happened yet, with all of the intense emotions associated with them.

It would be awful. It would be like a time loop, but infinitely (heh) worse because they don't know when or even if it will reset. And they'll be back at square one with no memories of what has happened, and forced to go through the entire process of remembering all of these now intensly horrifying memories.

And as much as they want to avoid getting the player's attention, it inevitably happens. They can't not feel intense, constant anger that their best friend is being puppeted like some play thing.

They can't help but be paranoid around Dusknoir while knowing what he will do in the future. It was an intensly traumatic event, that they've literally lived through multiple times.

They can't stop expressing a silent grief at remembering how the hero was erased from time, while seeing some of those lives be reset and cut off before they could get them back.

At some point they would confront the player directly. Just trying to figure out what the heck they think they're doing. Playing with their lives as though they are something disposable. It feels to me like it would start to slip into creepypasta at that point, but I still like the idea of the partner facing off against, from their perspective, some unknowable comic horror that could instantaneously delete them with just a thought.

And perhaps they do. And the partner goes through the ringer again. They would be back where they started, but with slightly more knowledge than last time. I would think that it would start to play out like a combination of Doctor Strange bargaining with Dormaurmu, and Flowey confronting the player after the true pacifist ending. "Just leave us alone to live our own lives! / I'll do this as many times as I need to!"

And then! Maybe the partner starts to become friends with this being. They start to understand them better. The player still wants to play this game, but they would feel bad by continuing to basically torture this one person in order to do it.

I'm not sure where it would go after that, but it's quite an interesting concept I've been thinking of.

#text post #writing idea #writing #pmd eos

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thevindicativevordan · 2 years

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Thoughts on Gods and Monsters Superman ?

Other than Kenan, he's probably my favorite non-Clark Kent take on the concept of "Superman". Took Timm completely revamping Superman from the ground up to finally get a Superman he could like, but against all odds it's a Superman I like too!

Hernan Guerra is similar to Calvin Ellis in that while there's no mistaking this guy for the "traditional" Superman... he's still recognizably Superman. He still saves people with his powers, he was raised by a kindly couple that took him in, he's the Last Son of Krypton, he cares about Earth, he and Batman are close, and he dislikes Lex Luthor. Having had a different upbringing than Clark did, he doesn't see the world or his role in it the same way. Probably the best illustration of Hernan's attitude can be seen in his costume, a dark black longcoat over a jumpsuit with the traditional red and blue color scheme of Superman. Like his costume Hernan has a darker surface than Clark, but underneath he's a principled guy trying to do the right thing, same as his mainstream counterpart.

Where they do differ drastically is interesting all the same, which the movie shows a little of but the comics tie-ins explore in-depth. Unlike Val-Zod - who is boring because ultimately none of his background results in him differing from Clark the way he logically should - Lor-Zod's differences DO affect how he acts. His kindly couple were Mexican migrant workers, who had to work out in the fields for little pay. Hernan didn't grow up with an idealistic view on what America was - how could he? - given he grew up watching his fellow workers toil in poverty and die of cancer. All because the bosses sprayed carcinogenic chemicals from crop dusters on the fields while the workers were still there, since after all the crops were "worth" more. Valentina, who was Hernan's Lana, ended up in a wheelchair because Hernan shook the tree she was climbing in as a prank and she fell. The guilt from this consumed him for years, resulting in him suppressing his powers, until one day he couldn't repress himself any longer from all the racist insults thrown his way. Burning a man's face after being called a slur resulted in a bunch of racists attempting to attack his family, and pushed Hernan to unleash himself. Only Valentina's intervention halted him from slaughtering the lot, and his adopted father exiled him for how he acted. Clark got sent off from Smallville with expressions of love and support from his adopted family, Hernan got fear and hate.

Both of the two travelled the world after leaving their hometowns, but Clark sought knowledge whereas Hernan wanted the luxuries he had been denied in his upbringing: good food, women, and comfortable lodgings. Chance or fate would push Hernan towards a similar path as Clark despite their differences, with Hernan also becoming Superman after he rescues a group of schoolchildren from a cartel. Again the difference in character manifests because Hernan does not hold back: he slaughters the cartel guards and admits to enjoying it. Killing the cartel leader in his bed is his first official action as Superman and sets the tone for what kind of Superman he'll be.

More egotistical, darker, lacking the unimpeachable moral purity or inherent optimism of Kal-El, this is a Superman that does feel more reflective of the reality of America rather than the ideal. The Authority was apparently a big influence on the DCAU, and Lor-Zod seems to be an answer to the question of "what does a post-Authority/post-9/11 Superman look like"? Answer isn't very kind, nor should it be, but Hernan isn't totally without principles or ideals. He tries to work with the American government, even if he refuses to take orders from them. While it's not his go-to, he's not incapable of attempting to talk threats down rather than immediately cutting loose, demonstrating an ability to recognize that not all of his foes merit the same fate.

His animated short does the best job of showing his deal. He's called in to kill a child because the authorities want him to do their dirty work. Before using lethal force he attempts to talk the child - this universe's version of Brainiac which was created to kill him - down by empathizing with Brainiac, and sharing that he had trouble controlling his powers in his youth too. Only once that fails, and the child begs Hernan to kill him before he totally loses control, does Hernan oblige and gives him a quick, painless death. After he does so he sighs deeply and looks crushed, showing that he's not callous or cruel. Killing a child weighs on him and he does not enjoy it, even when it's necessary. Makes for a marked difference from how he reveled in killing the cartel guards before, establishing that it's not the slaughter itself that he enjoys, but eliminating "evildoers". Clarifying this keeps Lor sympathetic despite how he "breaks" with our preconceptions on how Superman should be.

Honestly the biggest irony is that Hernan is able to conquer his demons more easily than DCAU Clark does. By the end of the Gods and Monsters movie he's decided he wants to reign in the killing, and stop doing the American government's dirty work. Being a hero is more important to him over grabbing power, an internal conflict that takes DCAU Clark a lot longer to resolve. Ironic that despite this version of Superman toying with the idea of seizing control - something attributed to his Zod parentage - he really doesn't act all that differently from Clark as depicted by Timm. DCAU Clark had fascist impulses too, he wanted to kill people, and his arc over the course of the CADMUS storyline revolved around whether he'd rise above those temptations or not. Hernan is able to decide where he stands in a shorter period of time comparatively, and he actually recognizes these inclinations as wrong, unlike how DCAU Clark lacked self-awareness about his own authoritarian impulses.

Main difference is simply that Timm likes this guy and let's him stand up for himself and be cool in a way Clark never gets to do. Arrogance radiates out of Lor-Zod, yet he never gets humbled and embarrassed the way Clark does. Wish we had gotten more movies starring this incarnation of Superman, frankly it's the only Superman I'd trust Timm with at this point. If he ever does get a chance to revisit this guy, I'd be there because against all odds he's a better demonstration of what Superman "should be" than any of Timm's efforts with the default model.

#superman #justice league gods and monsters #hernan guerra #lor zod #bruce timm

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fernsandsunflowers · 10 months

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I hyperfocused on Good Omens, Crowley and Lucifer so here's a 2000 word essay that I'm not sure even makes sense. I'm going to go and salvage the rest of the day and do some of the work I'm supposed to be doing to live or whatever now. thanks for coming

I don’t know how popular the Crowley is Lucifer theory is I haven’t read into it, but I knew of it being out there. I started thinking about it randomly today and now I am obsessed. If I’m repeating anything that’s already out there I am sorry but I – went on a whole ass journey and here's why Crowley has to be Lucifer.

Most of my knowledge on Christian mythology is based on media/books that I’ve read. I have consumed A LOT of western media and I personally love stories inspired by Christian theology, including Neil’s Lucifer comics and the TV show. So, I am familiar with the concept of using Lucifer as a medium for critique. I was however, under the impression that Lucifer and Satan were one and the same, that Satan was Lucifer before he fell. And so, when I first came across the theory that Crowley was Lucifer I was a little confused. It stuck in my head though – because, wouldn’t that be just a good fucking twist?!?! – and I started researching Lucifer and Satan. And omg.

I don’t know if there’s a lot of different things in the books that I have missed not being Christian or being born into a Christian family, where Crowley would have done things that was traditionally associated with Lucifer/Satan. I’m assuming there is and that’s what led to the theory coming about? The only thing that stuck out to me was him being the one to tempt eve. I thought Satan, as a snake, tempted Eve to eat the apple. [based on google searching I know this is also debated and maybe not actually in the bible? It was just a crafty ol’ snake?]. But everything changes when you separate Lucifer and Satan.

First on why Crowley’s angel identity is one of importance:

Crowley clearly was a high-level angel, that much is clear from S1/Book and more so in the light of evidence from season 2. S2 also starts to put more emphasis into who Crowley was before the Fall, not in the very apparent ways like that first scene where he creates a Nebula. No, in clever little foreshadowy ways.

There is overt emphasis on the miracle in terms of Aziraphale’s power than Crowley’s. I know it was half-half, but while the show never once denies that it was their combined power, it continues in a way where Aziraphale is the focus of the miracle and it’s 25 lazarii power and Crowley’s part in it is made subtler almost like Mr Gaiman is trying to get us to forget. But if that miracle is so powerful and it is so unlikely that Aziraphale could have done it being just an angel, then it implies that Crowley is incredibly powerful too.

Crowley had access to Gabriel’s files.

Crowley has clearly been mind-wiped. We all agree on that right? “I know it hurts”, “looking where the furniture isn’t”. It doesn’t seem like any of the other angels/demons have. But I think everyone’s been made to forget something, erasing memory seems to be an easy enough and common enough thing for the higher ups to do. Or for Metatron to do anyway. A little tweak here and there and everyone forgets Crowley was Lucifer, including Crowley. Someone (it’s Metatron) is playing a very delicate little chess game (Metatron I see you) and there’s a lot of little signs to show that small details are missing from everyone’s memories (Metatron!!! *shakes fist at sky*). An example is that Aziraphale and Muriel have met before. In the Job memory she was the one who went through Crowley’s contract. And I know it’s a small thing – the writers could have just decided not to acknowledge it or imply that maybe they had forgotten they had already met. People forget things all the time, and it was 100s of years ago! But the whole thing struck me as exceptionally odd. I even expected there to be a comment by Aziraphale that he had met Muriel and so her pretending to be a ‘human police officer’ was doubly hilarious. But there was nothing and, to me, it felt like there was a heavy emphasis that both individuals believed this to be their first meeting. I know they’ve lived for thousands of years and memory is a fickle thing so they could have simply forgotten that meeting. But Aziraphale isn’t the type to forget a face, especially one that helped him go through a contract for something that was very important and honestly kinda life changing for him. And Muriel honestly, also doesn’t seem the type to forget the time she helped Heaven’s ambassador on Earth go through a contract involving a pretty popular and consequential bet between God and Satan. Anyway, I digress. I don’t know why it was important to erase Crowley’s (and everyone else’s?) memory of Lucifer [but I have a theory, more on this later] but Crowley would have needed to be significant as an angel and instrumental in the Fall for it to have been necessary.

What I’m trying to say is that I believe S2 was riddled with hints that Crowley’s angel identity, his past, will become important as we move forward. So his identity is possibly one that we as the audience will immediately recognize.

That’s all the technical reason’s why I think Crowley is Lucifer, but none of that stuff actually give any real foundation as to why he is Lucifer and not just another high-level angel. So here are the more abstract and very emotionally biased foundational reasons.

First a bit on etymology and history:

Lucifer (latin) is used to describe the morning appearance of the planet Venus. Venus is the morning star, the bringer of dawn or the light bringer. We all know it – it’s that big, big, bright star that always catches your eye when it’s out. Being the brightest object in the sky, outside the sun and the moon, Venus is extremely beloved and a major fixture throughout recorded human history. Because of the way she orbits around the sun, we on earth see her at different times depending on her orbital period. Either in the morning or in the evening. The morning star and the evening star. Same star. Lucifer was used to describe Venus in the morning, translating to the dawn-bringer. Venus’ appearance in the sky throughout recorded human history is described with such reverence and love. Every culture has their own stories and mythologies surrounding her and in nearly all of them (generally - each culture had specific beliefs) she represents love, light and joy. The stories differ based on whether cultures are referring to her morning appearance or her evening appearance or whether ancient cultures believed her two appearances to be the same star or different stars - There are stories of Venus’ two appearances being star-crossed lovers in ancient Vietnamese folklore, for instance.

In a lot of stories where she was seen as one and the same, including Greco-Roman folklore, the stories often featured Venus ‘falling’ or being ‘cast down’ from the heavens. These particularly related to the way Venus moves in the sky as observed from earth. Because of trajectory of her orbit around the sun, the planet never reaches the very top. That is she never rises above the sun or the moon always appearing just below and the planet never actually falls below the horizon. Apparently, this was different enough from norm (hi i don't know a lot about space) that it was included as a key point in a lot of these folktales. Numerous mythologies spoke of Venus being cast down from the heavens for trying to reach the throne. Including, in Roman folklore, that later feeds into Christian mythology. See below

Lucifer became Satan due to a small mistranslation from the Book of Isaiah. It was from a single passage following the death of the oppressor in the story, where lucifer/morning star was used, sarcastically, I gather. “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, "I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit. Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?". This dude was just taunting his fallen adversary, but this then, over the slow passage of time, led to the idea of Satan being a fallen angel called ‘Lucifer’ who tried to take the kingdom of heaven.

On Crowley and Venus:

We know that no matter how many times or how loudly this fool (affectionate) denies that he is ‘good’ and ‘kind’, it is his entire being. His love for the universe that he so so soooo lovingly, so excitedly, helped create led to his ‘fall’. He doesn’t just love humans in all their exceptionally flawed glory, he loves all the little things that made the universe, the universe – from ducks to nebulas. Love, joy and kindness comes to him entirely naturally, more so than it does for Aziraphale (I love you, boo, I do I do I do - but Crowley is definitely the lighter grey). So taken very literally, just based on character alone, he is like Venus, he is light and joy, excitedly rising before even the sun to herald a new day for earth. The morning star, the light-bringer.

But Crowley finds out about Armageddon and he has… suggestions. I don’t know if I can see him making a direct play for the throne. Ruling isn’t him. But I can see him starting out by wanting to stop Heaven’s plans of destruction and then ‘sauntering vaguely downward’ from there. He is different from the rest of the host of heaven in that he never quite, metaphorically, at least, reaches all the way down. Point blank: he's not quite - 'evil' in his beliefs. Venus doesn’t quite fall in an arc either. There’s no clear drop, she never disappears below the horizon – she never quite ‘falls’. She just slowly loops around the earth, horizontally, sauntering vaguely at a downward angle.

On Crowley and Lucifer (A speculative association):

Crowley’s opposition to Armageddon would gradually have led to his complete disillusionment of heaven and God’s ineffable plan, over-time (see above on sauntering downward). I think he would have genuinely tried to argue and fight the Armageddon plans. Just as he did to stop Armageddon in S1/book, though he would have done it then without pretending like he didn’t care (and acting the opposite). He would have been unsuccessful, continuously, increasingly and frustratingly so – enough to start hanging out with the wrong people. Just so he had a space to vent, you know? Next thing he knew, he’s labelled traitor by association and he’s fighting a rebellion he didn’t really believe. Or may be that’s what he remembers.

I think he played a much larger role, unintentionally, kind of, but a role significant enough that it was important no one remembered it. I know it feels like Crowley making such a major play is against what we know of his sauntering – but I sometimes I read those statements as defensive or more a nod to him acknowledging that he did ‘fall’ in that he made some wrong and less than OK moves. But he made them with good intentions in heart, he was trying to protect the universe but it led to his association with the other side... that was unintentional – he didn’t mean to fall. This is based entirely within the context of that first scene in S2 (and the fact that this man has clearly spent hours, months, millennia contemplating morality and humanity and critiquing heavens views – more so than Aziraphale has). Pre-fall Crowley is light years apart from post-fall Crowley when it comes to taking action, to fighting the system. That man talks and acts like someone who tried really fucking tried to change the system and it failed so miserably that he’s now irrevocably jaded. There’s no fixing heaven and hell – sorry Aziraphale, I tried and it just led to eternal punishment for all those that I fought side by side with and no there are two teams trying to do the thing I was trying to stop - let’s just run away to Alpha Centuari together.

Lucifer became synonymous with Satan from a mistranslation, a small little thing drop that snowballed to most believing in something that never actually happened. That 'Satan' was a fallen angel by the name of Lucifer and it he that started and led the rebellion.

What if Lucifer (Crowley) didn’t mean to but simply sparked the rebellion, with his questions and his suggestions; what if Satan (whatever that turns out to be in Good Omens, be it an actual being or simply an amalgamation or some personification of 'sin') saw an opportunity and used Crowley? You can’t quite control how things pan out can you?

Lucifer, light bringer, just wanted to keep the light on for eternity - have it last forever (but oh, Crowley nothing lasts forever - haha I'm not traumatized), he got enough people questioning things that Satan used that as cannon fodder to stage a coup. Something that started from a genuine place, got twisted and corrupted – remember Hunger Games (and I guess the real-world?? god fuck)? Shit went off track fast and there’s all out war. Heaven won and those that rebelled were cast out.

But here’s the catch. You can’t quite stamp out an idea, not once it’s been planted (fire is catching said Katniss, eliminate their beacon said Snow, also - re: inception). How long will it take before someone turns around and goes, hey that war was crazy wasn’t it? Anyway you guys remember what Lucifer was saying before things got confusing?

Nope, you can’t have heaven’s remaining angels or even hell thinking there are ‘institutional problems’. How do you unplant an idea? Easy, how do you control weeds my dudes - pull them out by the roots!

...

Lucifer who?

#good omens #good omens spoilers #good omens season 2 #Crowley #Aziraphale #neil gaiman

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pokerninja2 · 1 year

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It's time for T.T.! Diddy Kong Racing is one of the weirder games in this series, and I thought it would be funny to give it a character. And thus, T.T. was invited to Super Mario Spikers! You have to wonder what he's been up to all this time though. Did he retire from the track and become a bareknuckle boxer? Did he put his knowledge of racing to good use by raising crawfish for underground illegal crawfish racing? I NEED TO KNOW!!!

Before I get into him, I suppose I should go over how much of a "Mario universe" character he actually counts as. While Diddy Kong Racing is undoubtedly a DK game, the rights to the characters are split up. While Nintendo owns Diddy Kong and Krunch, since he's a Kremling, Rare owns the rest of the characters, and they've made merch based on them under the title of "Rare Racers", since they don't have the rights to Diddy's name obviously. So they're kind of like Banjo and Conker where they've gone off and spawned their own series, even if there's no game attached to it.

The way I see it though, their one game appearance was a DK game, and I don't think Rare's interested in using them again outside of merch, so I'm willing to extend the umbrella and allow them in the roster. Your mileage may vary, but that's my stance on their viability. (This doesn't include Conker and Banjo though since they actually have their own games unlike the other racers, although there is a non-0% chance I might add Banjo anyway for funsies. Not for awhile though)

And now, on to T.T. himself! In terms of design there's really not much you can do to change a living stopwatch to make him more "fit" for a violent sport. The most I did was add couple bands around his body, and emblems on his gloves. I attempted adding clock numbers to his face, but that just made the design feel a bit too cluttered, so I scrapped it. So I'm not necessarily super proud of the design but I really wasn't sure what else I could do.

At the very least, I'm pretty happy with how I actually drew him. I tried combining his designs from the N64 and DS versions, keeping some details Diddy Kong Racing DS added while keeping the original's cutesy charm.

Lastly for aesthetics, I based his team icon on the amulet you get from Time Trials in Diddy Kong Racing, specifically the N64 version of it. Albeit, the way I drew it looks a bit more stylized.

Last thing I wanna cover is his attacks, because the theme of him stopping time actually does have an origin, albeit a very weird one. Stopping time was never a thing he could do in Diddy Kong Racing as far as I'm aware, but he could do it in this weird Club Nintendo comic "Sag niemals Holerö!", where it was some weird secret power he unlocked. He also meets Mario here, who was vacationing in Switzerland. These comics were weird so I'm not super interested in taking a lot from them, but I thought it would work here.

And I think that's all I have about T.T. The Diddy Kong Racers are weird, but they're a fun kind of weird, and I think it would be fun to do more of em in the future.

#diddy kong racing #t.t.#nintendo 64 #n64 #rare #rareware #donkey kong #dk #Super Mario Spikers

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scazrelet · 1 year

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Art Theory: The Torso is a Clawfoot Bathtub

This is a bit of an experiment. This is a mirror of my most popular Ko-Fi post, now in full form here on Tumblr (though it does look better there with all the images properly sized and the text centered and etc etc). If it gets enough eyeballs I’ll mirror the other ones too. Now, without further ado...

Due to the popular demand of like... a couple people, I will be going over how THE HUMAN TORSO IS LIKE A CLAWFOOT BATHTUB. But first, a story. When I was still just a wee babby artist I would wander into the local library and pick up art books and be confronted with all of the in-depth anatomy images and feel a bit, well... overwhelmed.

And it's not as if I'm a dumb person or anything. It just never really made any real sense, not in a way that was meaningful to me. I struggled to retain it, unlike with other subjects, which of course confused me even more.

In hindsight I see now that it was like trying to memorize the parts of a car engine, how they all looked visually, where they were placed spatially (in 3D nonetheless), without knowing how a car operates or how all the parts work together in motion.

Which is a bit ridiculous. In any case, since I didn't have much interest in drawing western style comic superheros with musculature that looks like it's been vacuum sealed by their skin I spent a good amount of time just ignoring it and sneaking by, using a lot of shorthand and doing practices drawing from life. And, to be fair, I did learn a lot like that.

(Thanks for your contribution to the arts, Rob Liefield. I don't like feet either.)

Which brings us back to torsos. So when you look at a torso you can visually see there are features, like pecs and belly buttons, but their relationship to the internal structure is not immediately apparent.

(Me drawing in high school, probably.) So what ends up happening there is you just end up sort of... putting stuff where you best guess it kind of belongs. And sure, sometimes it's a really educated guess, and can be hella convincing. I tend to notice this most with collarbones. I can tell when an artists has learned largely through shorthand and idioms when their collarbones are just sort of floating around doing their own thing, basically acting as decoration on the chest without suggesting any greater purpose.

So what changed? And what does this have to do with bathtubs?

Well, I had a few paradigm shifts. To put it more simply, I realized I am a very conceptual and relational thinker. Anatomy never stuck with me because it never "clicked." So my success came from starting with big concepts and adding increasing levels of complication as I became ready for them. Pieces falling into place bit by bit.

Like a car, for instance, is a vehicle that runs on a series of explosions. Which is kind of badass. These explosions, in turn, are caused by pistons which rotate in time, which is kept going by... weird shaped gears and belts and pulleys... sparks... compression... well that's about it for my knowledge of engines.

*I have since been informed that it is the spark plugs that make the explosions and the explosions that power the movement of the pistons. I think it was clear by my diagram of a car that I am not well versed in automobiles.

So what is the bathtub about? This is literally all I came here for.

Ok, ok... So the bathtub is a conceptual metaphor that helps an artist understand the structure of the torso. Cool. So, to break that down... It's easy to think of the body in terms of a column. A series of objects supported by the object below. That makes sense, right? At heart we are, essentially, the Michelin man.

(★ ☆ ☆) Except not at all. Unlike palm trees, pyramids, and economic class systems we are not, in fact, a series of parts dependent on the parts beneath them. And we knows this. I know this, you know this, we've all seen spooky skeletons before, but for some reason artists consistently fail to internalize it. The issue being that we are still just mammals, just mammals that walk around funny. And Mammals are basically flesh tents. But... less horrifying than that phrase suggests.

(Like this but skin.) Essentially your standard cat or dog is holding up its spine with its four legs and then its body is hanging from that support structure created by the spine. The body is not being held up from below by the legs. And that's a fairly crucial distinction as it turns out. The muscles of the legs connect to the spine(ish), and the ribcage hangs down from the spine, making a nice tidy sack to hold all the insides where they are supposed to be.

And humans? Well we're all evolved from previously four legged critters.

(We're really just some jumped up fancy rats.) Which means we follow a very similar diagram - but with alterations to account for a bipedal stance.

WHICH BRINGS US TO BATHTUBS.

So, take this weird upright mammal and break it down into very basic blocks.

(I can draw better but I refuse.) Got some hips, a spine, a ribcage, just like a cat but vertical. So, again, all the focus is on supporting the spine, specifically. Which is why our arm muscles still largely connect to our back (except, like, your pecs which are literally contracting and yanking your arm bones forward which is metal AF).

So, like an umbrella designed in hell, we are actually bags of meat hanging from our spines. And that "decorative" collarbone? Literally holding up a ton of meat draped over it so we can continue to move our arms.

Which 🎉🎉🎉 BRINGS US TO THE BATHTUB🎉 🎉🎉

( F***in told you. ) It's not a perfect metaphor since usually the curtain rod is held up by other supports besides just the shower head (it's literally called a head this is such a great metaphor) but give me a little slack. The ribcage is like the curtain, held up by the spine of the showerhead, and the hip bones are the bowl of the bathtub, within which are lovingly nestled... all the intestines. And stuff. This metaphor helps an artist conceptualize the human structure, so they can start applying further degrees of knowledge, like muscles and motion and afsGkljSAKjhgfajhs hands.

But I specifically said a clawfoot bathtub you say pedantically? Well...

I didn't stutter. It is a CLAWFOOT BATHTUB. Specifically.

And not just for some reason like "oh because it has feet." (OK like maybe a little but not only, alright?) So let's talk about hips.

Now muscles work by contracting, something I passingly mentioned before (didn't think that would be on the test, did ya?) so to create motion the better generally contracts a muscle that has ends tied to two bones.

(Hips. You might already see where I'm going here.) That's why we don't resemble ball jointed dolls. Due to *insert complicated mechanical reason based on leverage, pulleys, walking, flexibility, and so on* we, again, aren't just objects stacked on top of each other like dishes.

(I only chose this image because it sounds like a band name.) So, as it turns out, rather than balls and sticks and vague underwear shapes, there is another pretty stellar way to consider the leg hip connection area.

Excuse my atrocious rendition of it here, but I assume you get the jist. Two turkey drumsticks tagged onto Lego Bionicle pegs jammed into a pair of hipster undies, with some amorphous fleshy bits spackled in there.

( I am very serious right now. ) So, I'm sure you've figured it out by now, but this shape very much resembles...

And that, my dear friends is why the human torso is a clawfoot tub. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Enjoyed this post? Find more tutorials and drop me a tip on my Ko-Fi Want art help with something else? Critiques and reviews? Just to chat and share? Join my discord. Hate this? Day ruined? ME TOO B

#art tutorial #how to draw #art breakdown #art theory #art education #artists on tumblr #art how to #art resource #my art #anatomy #anatomy for artists

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justthatwackyfandomgrl · 2 years

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This is going to be my very first post! A theory for The Dragon Prince on why Aaravos is evil. My first theory in fact! It may be a long stretch, but it's interesting! I've had this theory for at least two years

I have to split this into two parts, so there's going to be a second post

The big question: why is Aaravos evil?

Note; I didn't proofread this or anything... Also this kinda moves quickly

One major thing that The Dragon Prince fans have been trying to figure out is as to why Aaravos is evil. There are a lot of incredible theories out there on this topic, and they are all very intriguing. But in my theory we will be digging a little bit deeper beyond the surface. I also added some quotes from Aaron Ehasz, little things mentioned from numerous interviews.

"I think he's complicated. I mean it's, I think that there's a part of him that is kind, that is generous, that is giving. And I think that there's a part of him that is arrogant and desiring to be, you know, worshipped and revered..."

-Aaron

He never lies, I don't know if he's ever lied about anything, if you understand where he's coming from. He's not lying about anything. But you don't necessarily know where he's coming from. He never lies, he always tells the truth. You've heard us talk about Aaravos before. Is it Lucifer or Prometheus, who has a relationship with humanity and the gifts and sharing that he has historically have been, you know, you can interpret it differently."

PART 1: the kindness that went too far

The creators have often pointed out the fact that Aaravos likes humans, like really likes humans. They always mention his fondness for them and how Aaravos is an advocate for humanity. His liking of humanity goes too far when he bestows powerful gifts upon humans, rather than helping out his own kind; elves. Has Aaravos gone too far? Has his adoration for humans ruined his good name? And most importantly- does it have something to do with his imprisonment within a magical mirror?

"He takes a special interest in humans, so he would be very pleased that humans appreciate him "

-Aaron

"He thinks sometimes about the way humans count their years: one day every year marks a precious point in their short lifespans. They celebrate. They feast. He thinks that if he cared for the idea, he'd like to remember the taste of a smooth red fruit a human had plucked from a tree for him, once. It had been so crisp, and so sweet."

-Aaravos birthday post on The Dragon Prince website

It all started three hundred years ago. Strangely enough, right before Aaravos turns evil.

We get our first clue to the beginning of an unlikely friendship between human and elf in this one short poem put on Twitter on The Dragon Prince Official for Aaravos' birthday:

"I have eaten the red fruit that was offered by a human, and which you were probably saving for the one day a year you celebrate another meaningless milestone in your short life span. Forgive me. It was so crisp, and so sweet."

Just from this small poem, we can figure out multiple things about Aaravos:

-He does not know what an apple is despite being extremely knowledgeable

-He is not kind when expressing how he feels about humans celebrating

-He thinks humans have short life spans since he is a startouch elf and experience's things on a different time scale

"I feel like there are parallels to the biblical story of the serpent tempting Eve to eat the apple, and it's effect on humanity... And the comparisons are sort of fascinating."

-Aaron

It's clear that Aaravos receiving and eating the apple somewhat resembles a moment in the bible. And since it is so familiar, I would expect some other similarities as well.

But another big question is: who was the human that gave Aaravos the apple? We can figure that out by looking at some clues from the show itself and the timeline of Xadia. We will be mainly looking at two events that are side by side. These two major events consist of:

-He fallen star

-The orphan queen

First I think it's important to know who the Orphan queen is. She was first introduced at san Diego Comic Con 2019, and anyone who did not go to this panel or discover her through the internet, has no clue as to who she is. The Orphan queen is the Ancestor of Harrow and Ezran, and was the very first ruler of Katolis. She for some reason took a dangerous trip to Xadia and ended up saving the world. But from what? And was she alone on this journey?

It was once mentioned that The Orphan queen was the first person to receive The Key if Aaravos. Just from this we know she has some connection to Aaravos in one way or another. And this is where we return back to the mystery of who gave Aaravos the apple... In the first episode of The Dragon Prince, there is a scene where Claudia nearly walks into a tree, and when she notices, she asks if it is new. Callum replies saying it has been there for only three hundred years. This ties together well with The Orphan queen being alive around that exact time, and Aaravos talking about how a human plucked an apple off the tree just for him once.

He clearly enjoyed the apple just from how he describes it as "so crisp, and so sweet." So did The Orphan queen give him the apple? Or was it a different human? And could that have been the exact tree the apple was plucked from?

The journey:

We know that The Orphan queen went on a dangerous journey to Xadia. And what would any dangerous journey be without a companion along for the ride? It may sound crazy, but I believe Aaravos possibly helped The Orphan queen out, since he is so fond of humans. Wouldn't that be helpful for crossing the border into Xadia... Who better to help out than the one elf that knows Xadia in and out? The Orphan queen would have a better chance of finding her way through Xadia with a helpful companion. And hey, maybe they bonded a little bit and became friends? Why wouldn't they talk again after Aaravos received the apple? This event being brought up multiple times is a clear sign that this is an important moment.

The key of Aaravos

"we know! Actually, that was one of the first things we knew at the very beginning. We'll get to it."

Aaravos hand carved a cube with each primal source on each of the six sides. He made it a key to unlock something of great importance to Xadia, and he clearly knows what it is. But this cube of great importance somehow got into the hands of The Orphan queen herself. How did she end up with his key? The creators said they figured out what the key unlocks early on in production. It certainly has something to do with magic. What is interesting is that the idea for where the key of Aaravos comes from stems from The Orphan queens story. She was clearly in mind when thinking about where the key came from.

And what's funny is that it is supposed to be an item of great importance, but The Orphan queens descendants began to forget what it unlocked over time, as stated by Aaron in an interview with Cartoon Universe. Also, notice Harrow as he talks about Aaravos calmly and does not seem the least bit afraid of the archmage when bringing up his name. Whoever Aaravos is to Harrow, it doesn't sound like an enemy. Maybe his ancestors had a good connection with Aaravos?

Hmmm... I wonder...

I'll make a post for part 2

#the dragon prince #aaravos #The key of Aaravos #The dragon prince theory #The Orphan queen

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marunalu · 2 years

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I dont know, I feel like if Hori wanted to humanize All for One by having him pull off a Darth Vader death thing he would've hinted at it by now. Star wars hinted at Anakin being a good man since the beginning of the trilogy, who we later learn was corrupted by the dark side, we have had no hints of there being a good man underneath All for Ones villain persona. The only hints of humanity we get is his love for his brother, but even that's twisted and cruel considering what he ends up doing to Yoichi. I feel like there's been no set up, and if it does happen it would kind of be coming out of no where. I know he hasn't been ruthless to Izuku like he has with the other OFA holders, but still. I could be wrong. The manga could go any way though, so it's best to be prepared for anything.

The thing is we DO know that afo wasnt always like that! He and yoichi were once very close to each other and did spend their time together, liked the same things like reading comic books together. Just like afo, yoichi once LOVED his brother (and I would go as far, that a tiny part of him still does). That simple knowledge humanizes afo to a big extent already. He was once a person worth to be loved. He was once a good or lets say better person. He wasnt like that from the beginning, he TURNED into that monster because of certain circumstances at the dawn of quirks, when every day could be the last one for you if you had a power.

Back then when the first star wars trilogy was released, people only knew 2 things of anakin before he turned into vader. That he was once a good man, a jedi and got corupted by the dark side. There was no other information! No other explaination. People had to be fine with the little info we got. Only the prequel thrilogy finally explained what exactly happened.

With afo its similar. The only things we know about him before he turned into a villain is, that he was once not a bad person and was loved by his brother he also dearly loved back (in a unhealthy way, but to him it was still love). That already humanizes him just like the only 2 good things we knew about anakin humanized vader. The only difference is, that we still dont have a full backstory that explains what exactly happened! Then there is the big posebility of him being izukus father.

People back then didnt care for vader, but they cared for luke and because luke cared about his father and wanted him to come back to the light side, the audience wanted the same thing to happen. Not because of vader (people loved him as a villain), but because of luke! So if afo is izukus father and izuku wants his father to become a good man again, I think most of the readers will want the same. Not for afo, but for izuku, because we want izuku to be happy. If afo deserves a redemtion or not is a different story!

All for one shows clear signs that he cares about izukus wellbeing, not only because he treats him softer then all the other ofa users before him. Afo had zero problems with killing en, a boy of izukus age, when en STILL had ofa and hasnt given the quirk away yet. He doesnt trigger danger sense around izuku. He gave him multible warnings about him choosing a thorny path, rants to him about how society sucks to explain himself, he doesnt mock him unlike the other ofa users before him, when he pushed izuku away with AIR CANON, his most powerful attack, in the first war arc, izuku had not a single scratch from that and instead it was afos hand that startet bleeding and shaking. That didnt happen when he used air canon at all might in kamino. He was holding the true destruction power of the quirk back! Because he doesnt want to hurt izuku. He wants him on HIS side! So there are already enough hints and way more then just the few I just mentioned.

#bnha #bnha dad for one #dad for one theory #all for one is hisashi midoriya #izuku midoriya

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digitalsatyr23 · 1 year

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Movie I saw in a dream

I had a very weird and vivid dream about a movie I'm pretty sure doesn't exist.

So I don't remember the exact plot, but it's like this 80s/90s movie where a group of unlikely friends ends up getting together on this globe-trotting adventure to try and find this legendary piece of jewelry one of them has been trying to track down. One of those "People thought it existed and searched for it for ages but had no luck... They didn't have computers."

The cast was as follows:

A dark frizzy-haired girl that looked like Elaine from Seinfeld who wore a open trench coat + shirt + skirt kind of outfit. She was one of the MAIN main characters. I think her apartment manager was named Mr. Han because she bumped into him again at the end of the movie. This lady was always scrounging for cash and doing odd jobs so she was habitually late on rent, much to Mr. Han's irritation. (Also Mr. Hans always carried around his dog, which I think was a shih tzu that was equally as grumpy-looking as he was.)

A Hispanic theater actress who was friends with the frizzy-haired girl. The kind of actress that would "pass" for someone of Arabic descent if productions wanted to be cheap and only hire someone who vaguely looked the part, like say in a live-action Aladdin show. She was one of those "smarter than she looks" type characters because her beauty was off the charts but it was in an environment where that meant nothing else about her was taken seriously, which brings me to...

The actress's fiancé. The guy who had been trying to track down this jewel thing (no idea where it came from, probably Atlantis or something). He had been like a financial sponsor of the actress lady or like a manager until they had hooked up later. One of those seemingly nice guys until you learn later he's actually a controlling creep dude. Looked suspiciously like Tommy Wiseau. He becomes the antagonist later.

A chunky mustached guy who sorta looked like how Bob Hoskins looked in the old Mario movie. A chubby, scruffy, comic relief character with a heart of gold. He ends up crushing on the actress lady throughout the movie and is one of the few guys that really "gets" her if you know what I mean. They form a bond which further drives a wedge between the actress and her fiancé.

A pale eccentric dude played by Johnny Depp (big shocker). He was a lot like his character from the movie Benny & Joon in that he was a quiet, obviously oddball type, but he was also psychic and had weird esoteric knowledge of certain things.

I think there was more but I can't for the life of me remember. The movie starts out with the main character being down on her luck and needing a break when she learns from her friend (the actress) that her and her fiancé are going on a trip that's like an archaeological dig. I don't remember if the MC was invited to join or if she somehow tried to follow the group and snuck aboard their plane, but we later meet the fiancé who is leading and paying for this trip. The mustachio'd guy we learn later is a mechanic who is coming along with his friend, the pilot, in case something goes wrong. The pale eccentric dude is brought along as well by the fiancé guy because he's key to getting into "the ruins". I don't remember much about what happens next, but it's a lot of Indiana Jones meets The Mummy meets Romancing the Stone and everyone (except for the fiancé guy, who ends up getting separated from the group at one point) form strong bonds due in part to the MC's inherent charisma and ability to keep everyone motivated in desperate times. She has one of those "Come on, gang!" kind of moments.

Skipping ahead, we learn later that the jewel wasn't just a regular piece of jewelry that was gonna be sold to a museum. It's something that can give people GOD-LIKE POWERS and to even get to it required passing through like a fuckin' portal to another dimension. Said dimension had these crazy striped patterns, shadowy silhouettes walking about infinitely between the stripes, and had an infinite void feel to it. Fiancé guy had finally claimed the jewel and power for his own and since he is what he is, he lasered the rival group into dust, but then he set his sights on the main cast because of that friendship and mustachoi'd guy forming that bond with the actress lady bit. While the fiancé tried to act like he was a big deal, the truth was he was just a petty control freak that didn't actually love the actress lady and neither did she, but the guy couldn't accept this so he used his powers to fling all the other characters to various dimensions and then eventually return himself and the actress to a fancy new beach-side house where he said he could give her anything she wants from now on, but the only rule is she can never leave. That kind of fuckery. However, the actress lady manages to trick her fiancé into using his own powers against him, effectively destroying him and undoing the harm he did, so everyone was able to get back together on the beach at the end. The jewel had lost its power but could still be sold for ludicrous amounts of money, so everyone could now do whatever they wanted with their lives.

At the end of the movie, the mustachoi'd guy and actress lady hook up and both perform on stage together, often taking on bumbling but well-meaning husband and patient loving wife-type roles. The eccentric dude ends up starting his own bakery or something (he had an obsession with bread), and the MC is able to finally pay back Mr. Han. I think there was also an after-credits sequence of the gang meeting back up together after like a year or something and foreshadowing of a sequel.

#blogging #fake movie #dream #90s movie

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sonofcoulson · 2 years

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Tales of Asgard

Series 2, Episode 5

Balder the Brave part II

Again, this is mostly taken from The Warriors Teen comic. The main difference being that they are not teens here but young adults. And also they wear proper armour instead of tunics. The storyline was a good fit for where I wanted to take the characters and only needed a few little tweaks.

We join our trio sunbathing and bantering before making their way through the temperate rainforest to the dunes at the edge of Asgard where the mines of Jennia plunge below the surface of the desert.

Unlike the blatant excuse to build some sexual tension in the comics, Sif and the boys go to bathe separately. Loki uses illusion to mimic the boys and Sif and manages to separate them. Thor rushes back to Sif who is dressed and drying her hair. He realises it was a trick and they race to Balder who is being strangled by enchanted vines. They manage to free him in time.

Sif says Loki is here. Balder croakily concurs. Thor is wavering now. He calls Loki. Loki, of course, silently presses himself into the foliage. Balder croaks they should get out into the open.

They go back to get their gear from where they were sunbathing and are worried. If it was Loki, he seemed to be trying to kill Balder. It could be any one of them next. If it's not Loki they possess a very similar skillset. Thor asks why anyone would be trying to kill them? Let alone their brother. Sif says he's no brother of mine.

They warily set up camp in silence. Thor wants to take first watch but Sif insists. The boys have a heart to heart about the current state of their family. Sif tells them to get some sleep.

The mirror user observes the tense trio and notes that Odin's other son is glowering in the treeline. An unwitting ally as she says in the comics.

The next day there are a few quips but the group is not as bantery as before. No sexist comments from Thor like the comic though.

Also, Sif does not suddenly go all girly at the thought of jewels as in the comic.

Then gang are suddenly swallowed by quicksand one by one. Loki approaches and appears to shed a tear as he proclaims it done, though not by his hand. Then he too sinks.

The trio come to in a chamber surrounded by strange childlike creatures with glowing red eyes. Thor, already riled up tries to bat them away and they start to swarm him. They start to creep onto Sif as well. Balder recognises them as the Jennia, keepers of the jewels. The feed on emotion. He advises the others to be calm and rid themselves of emotion. They do and the Jennia retreat, leaving a jewel.

When Sif states that anyone with hatred in their heart would be in for a worser fate, we expect to see Loki engulfed by Jennia. Instead we cut to Loki having been rescued/captured by the magic mirror user who is revealed to be...Karnilla...

Karnilla is the Norn Queen and believes that Odin owes a large unpaid debt to the Fates of Norn as he gained knowledge of the runes without permission.

"Such powerful magic for less than half a soul? We would have charged a much steeper price if we had known."

The Fates (Skuld, Verandi and Urd) warn Loki that Odin will pay a terrible price. Karnilla says "exactly ". Loki tries to pretend he doesn't care. Verandi tells him that he longs for Odin to love him the way he loves his other sons. She tells them to be quiet, how Loki has no love for family. How she has seen him trying to murder both his brothers and their companion.

Urd says he made a pact with hatred.

Karnilla asks her elderly assistant Haag to still their wagging tongues.

K: How hard can it be to destabilise a royal family?

That first ungrateful wench...you give a girl a little power and...

Ah sorry, you can't speak about her at the moment can you?

Then if your foolish wife hadn't actually fallen in love with you this could all have been done by now.

L: Sigyn? You sent her?

K: Where do you think she learned all those things that your mother wouldn't teach you? She thought I was putting you on the throne. I just wanted the chaos.

But she had to get herself thrown in jail defending you. Now I shall just have to take care of things myself.

Cut to the trio in the forests of Lilitha. Thor is nostalgic for swimming and climbing there in his childhood. Balder has noticed the trees seem to be dying.

The comics go in for some love triangle nonsense here. Not us.

Then Loki apparates in, tears in his eyes, genuinely conflicted.

Thor asks him how he has appeared here and why? Has Odin sent him? Is Asgard in trouble?

Loki names Karnilla and tells of her plot to kill Odin and take Asgard with the Utgard giants and the creatures of Niflheim. How she captured him while he followed them and tried to turn him against Asgard. He refused, she admired his previously unobserved backbone and weirdly kissed him. This allowed him to steal a little of her power, which meant he could apparate.

Sif is enraged! She knew Loki had been conspiring against them! How he nearly killed Balder. The spiders...that was you too wasn't it?

Loki lies and says it was all Karnilla.

Sif wants to run him through with her blade. Balder muses that it could be a plot to make them fail the quest.

Thor puts it to him, Loki says no even after everything he still loves father and that he needs them all. They (Thor and Balder that is) choose to believe him.

Loki conjures them horses from the fallen leaves (they are stunned by his magic prowess, this makes Sif a little more suspicious) and they ride to Asgard. Thor stays to finish the quest as Odin may want Svadren for the fight. Loki leaves a horse for him.

He fights a conjured stone golem which he assumes was conjured by Karnilla. He fights with particular fierceness as he has no time to waste. When he finally reaches the lake he sees it is dry. Magically drained. He scoops some into a bottle as a reminder to never fail again then rides like the wind to Asgard.

He finds it under assault by the forces of Niflheim (giants, orcs, ogres and goblins) and storms his way through. This rallies the troops.

Thor finds Sif and Balder and tells them the quest has failed.

Odin battles his way to them and tells them there will be no talk of failure. Defend Asgard!

Thor, Sif and the Warriors Three defend one side of the gate, Balder and Heimdall the other. Odin holds fast in the middle. Einherjar are positioned strategically. Loki is murdering Niflheimers too.

They hold fast. The Utgard Giants et al, see defeat is coming and decide to retreat.

Just as the celebrations begin Karnilla apparates in and shoots Thor straight through the heart with an arrow. Then she apperates into the throne room. Balder warns a shocked Odin that she may go for his vault. Odin grabs Mjölnir, calls for Sleipnir and races upstairs. Epic battle between Odin, Frigga and Karnilla. Odin and Frigga eventually win.

Coming back down they see they have not been able to save Thor.

Odin ritualistically pours the sand from the bed of the Lake of Lilitha on to Thor's wound. He gives a regretful and moving speech while Frigga, Sif and Balder mourn. The Warriors Three cling to eachother for comfort. Heimdall and the Einherjar remove their helmets. Heads bowed.

Then as the tears of Frigga, Sif and Balder mingle with the sand it turns to water and heals the wound. Thor lives! They bottle the rest of the magical liquid.

Just as everyone is celebrating, a dishevelled Karnilla appears holding Loki at knifepoint. If she can't have the kingdom, she will have a sacrifice for the knowledge of the runes. One of your sons must forfeit their lives.

They all show concern for Loki. Even Odin. Karnilla scoffs that their lives would be much easier without him. All the trouble he caused. She blames Loki for all the things he blamed her for. Even the stone golem. That he followed them and sabotaged them because his heart was full of jealousy and hate.

Sif says she knew it. Thor cries out , "You lie, witch!". Balder reasons that this may all be true. But despite all that, knowing the consequences of being found out, Loki chose to do the right thing and saved all of Asgard.

Dialogue from the comic:

K:How can you defend him? His hands are as dirty as mine.

My hands...that will spill blood once more today.

B: If you must take a life this day...take mine.

I forfeit it in exchange for Loki's.

And if the denizens of Asgard hate Loki, as you say, won't my death better satisfy your need for revenge?

K (releasing Loki and pointing knife at Balder): You fool! What kind of man would sacrifice his life for that of his enemy?

B: A man who knows no enemy.

A man who believes in the value of all life.

A man who believes there is good in every soul.

Even in yours, Karnilla.

K (releasing him too): This is not over, Balder.

She apparates away. Odin confirms she is gone.

He vows to have the sword forged.

Sif and the Warriors Three are sent with the four elements to Nidavellir. In a month he there will be a ceremony to bestow the sword upon the winner. That he has much to deliberate upon. Now he would speak to his other son. But Loki is gone.

One month later, at the ceremony, Svadren is given to Balder for his mercy and compassion. Celebrations!

Some time after that Balder and Nanna, Thor, Sif and the Warriors Three return to Lilitha with the last few drops remaining in the vial and empty them onto the lake bed. Slowly, the water returns. The friends swim, splash and horse about. Happy ending!

Post credits - Loki just sitting there in the family home hatred bubbling away under the surface. One of his boys runs through shouting for his father. Sigyn's mum comes and ushers him away as Loki glowers.

#mcu #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #iac #it's all connected #tales of asgard #thor #loki #sif #balder #the warriors three #karnilla #odin #frigga #sleipnir

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glowyjellyfish · 2 years

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Some Stranger Things thoughts after finishing s4:

1. I’m not going to say I liked this change or not, because I haven’t digested it enough to know how I feel about it, but I will eat my hat if Vecna being behind everything was what they had in mind from the beginning. From s3, sure, why not. S2, maybe. S1? Nopeity nope. It is… interesting, how the whole vibe pivots and becomes something different with this knowledge.

2. I feel there is approximately zero chance that Max will not wake up sometime in season 5. I think it would make lots of sense if she’s been consumed by Vecna and her mind is sort of trapped within him and will need to be pulled out, but that’s just my first wild guess.

3. By a similar token, I feel it would be rad if the same is true of everyone Vecna has killed, only most of them don’t have a living body they have the chance of going back to.

4. …meaning I would love it if they somehow manage to wrangle a Billy and Max resolution scene in a warped Vecna mindscape or something. Meaning real Billy, after everything he’s been through, and Max getting to say what she needs to say to him and him… I don’t want it to be OOC, but it wouldn’t be a resolution if he didn’t encourage her to live. I don’t know, something!

5. While we’re at it, maybe Barb can have been consumed by Vecna, too? Does Nancy need more closure?

6. Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. I suspected he was going to die as soon as he showed signs of being Precious, I hoped he would last longer and join the party anyway, and I am disappointed he didn’t get to and want to see more of him. But also I understand not wanting to add more characters at this point, I understand they did a respectable if imperfect job of giving him a complete arc, and they gave him some truly epic and memorable shit to do. Still, I would love it if he came back one way or another. Bare minimum, I would appreciate some visible mourning and continuing acknowledgement in s5, and if done with care it could be awesome to have him somehow surviving and being trapped in the upside down (...Dustin thought he died and couldn’t move him with his leg, of course), or being used by Vecna not unlike Billy or the Kas theory maybe.

(I also developed an interest in shipping him with Steve, so I’m bummed that’s going nowhere without AU fanfic. I practically got to the point of shipping all the older teens in some kind of complex polycule.)

7. …I am irritated that of the new characters participating in the weird stuff and allying themselves with the party, Eddie had to be killed off but Argyle, simple comic relief that isn’t my jam, got to stay through to the end. Sure they needed his van and the comic relief but what is that shit.

8. I do have some thoughts percolating about how the Vecna retcon aligns the Upside Down in parallel with Silent Hill a little more. The Otherworld existed before, but was broken into and shaped by a psychically powerful individual (who happened to be a young woman who was abused as a child to bring about her powers, mind you). And it’s a place where your inner demons take physical shape and come out to confront you, and you either face them or die. For Stranger Things, I would guess that this idea could be disassembled a bit, giving pieces to different characters. Eleven is psychically powerful and was abused as a child, and she broke the gate open. Will has been bullied and outcast all his life, and could have shaped the dark town—at least, that’s a theory I like. Vecna’s a powerful malevolence with an interest in bringing people’s emotional pain to the surface to siphon power from them, and has some elements that are similar to Alessa—interest in collecting insects, leaking their own signs of trauma or emotional significance into other people’s minds or paths, severe burns causing a spooky appearance. I am going to have to think about this more, but it’s very interesting to me.

I... might have to watch it again to get my thoughts straight, but it was also so emotionally wrenching that I’m not totally sure I want to? ugh, I’m not sure I like all the Plots but the characters, my god. feelings and development and so much pain. I binged from episode 2 to the end yesterday, because I kept finding myself unable to stop because MY CHILDREN WERE IN PERIL. It was A LOT.

...also I have accumulated a few Simpsons Gifs To Describe the Season, which is a thing I always like the idea of and never follow through on.

#stranger things #stranger things spoilers

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mooncaps · 2 years

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So, I watched Multiverse of Madness and...

...well, it definitely had some interesting ideas. The plot feels a tad basic when you really boil it down and some of the big stuff ends up kind of underwhelming, at least to me.

Wanda feels like the elephant in the room. Her heel turn felt contrived. I know it’s supposed to be that she’s fallen prey to the Darkhold, but - unless Feige’s ready to canonize Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - that doesn’t feel like it had enough set up. (And even if AoS is canon, that’s still a long walk for a short drink of water to see how the Darkhold corrupts people.) It really feels like they just rushed Wanda into villain status because they wanted her to be the villain. She’s not without valid points, and the Darkhold warping those valid points into villainous intentions can work as a premise, but the execution here felt very sloppy to me. Wanda as a villain would’ve been kind of disappointing and kind of boring to me no matter what, but it still could’ve been handled better if they were committed to that concept.

And then to seemingly kill her off as the resolution of the conflict really falls flat. It’s the same problem I had with Ikaris in Eternals. Rather than doing the work of trying to make amends or heal the hurt you’ve caused, you just throw yourself into the sun to get out of it. And I don’t know if I want to take those acts from the Watsonian perspective, and blame the characters for poor decision making, or the Doylist, and blame the writers for not doing the more interesting and emotionally messier storylines. From the Watsonian, at least Wanda was trying to do something important at the end, unlike Ikaris.

The Illuminati were pretty interesting. Although having such a star-studded cast of guests not just die horribly, but really go down like chumps definitely falls on the underwhelming side for me. With their apparent confidence and knowledge of the multiverse I at least expected them to put up a better fight.

For positives: I’ll be interested to see what’s in store for America Chavez. I’ve read a couple of comics that she appeared in, so I know there’s a lot of potential there. She was probably the most interesting part of the movie for me. I’m looking forward to seeing her and maybe getting to know some of the Illuminati members in universes where they don’t just get wasted in three seconds to demonstrate someone else’s power.

#MCU #Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.#America Chavez #my first thoughts on this

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mar64ds · 2 years

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If you completely removed Sans's impact on society and just focused on how he is in the game, with no prior knowledge of him, he's seriously such an interesting character. Despite everything, he still is! And he's still one of my favorite characters!

The first time you meet this guy, he seems like a mysterious powerful character... then he makes a fart prank. Suddenly this guy is a funny skeleton guy, and you needed a couple of laughs after that Toriel fight, so this is great, this guy and his brother are great

You continue on, Sans is not only funny but he genuinely cares about his brother! It's so nice to see siblings in media that genuinely love each other!

Then you go to Grillby's with him, it's all going as usual until he mentions a talking flower, then things get a bit serious, but oh well, not for too long, see you later Sans!

You see him again with his telescope prank, you see him again taking a nap in his job, you see him again selling hot dogs, you see him again if you hang out with Papyrus just for one single joke and then he's gone again. This guy is everywhere, but everytime you see him again he makes you laugh, he's comic sans for a reason

Maybe you don't notice or maybe you do, but while Sans truly is everywhere, he's not showing any indication of a character arc, unlike everyone else. He feels more like a secondary character, not really a main character, which he's supossed to be

Then you have dinner with him, everything is a bit more calm and quiet than usual, he tells you a sweet story about a friend he made, he's not really trying to make you laugh right now. Then suddenly we get the line:

"You'be the dead where you stand"

And... oh. Oh. I guess Sans has a lot more to his character that we didn't know about, oh my god.

But he says goodbye in a very sweet way, he's still great, he's still our friend, but what the hell was that

We don't see Sans for a while, the story is starting to get more tense and serious, we're not laughing so much anymore

And suddenly we see him again, in the judgement hall. Okay. I guess this guy truly was as mysterious (maybe even powerful?) as the game made us believe when we first see him. This scene is so well executed, and it really feels like Sans's character was leading up to a scene like this, and it's surprising but satisfying to see. Still, you wonder, is that all Sans offers in this story? It still feels incomplete

The rest of the neutral and pacifist route happens, and Sans continues to be a fun and great friend. When he's a lost soul however, he says some weird things, but maybe you don't give it much thought

Well, the game ends, and Sans was such a fun and cool character, wasn't he? What a great game-

Then you find about the No Mercy route

Also he has a lab

Who is this Gaster guy

I've heard there is this other game called Deltarune

#long post #unironic post about sansundertale because he deserves to be appreciated for his canon writing #deltaruneundertale

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