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#and call me bold for saying this
wylanslcve · 9 months
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Okay don't mind me I'm in the middle of a Crooked Kingdom reread and feel overwhelmingly inclined to rant about Jesper Fahey because this fandom just doesn't give him the treatment he deserves. I'm specifically going to incoherently ramble about the scene in Crooked Kingdom where he, Colm and Wylan are being shot at because I feel like that scene is representative of Jesper's arc - but, before we dive into that, let me contextualise a few things first. Jesper does things for the thrill of it: he thrives off chaos and spontaneity, hence why he "always felt better when people were shooting at him". It's because the sound of gunfire "called the scattered, irascible, permanently seeking part of his mind into focus like nothing else" - and it also provides a distraction from his pain and trauma, because whenever he'd think about it, "everything in him recoiled. Trying not to die was the best possible distraction". Whenever anything to do with his past or his debt is brought up, "his hands returned to his revolvers" because he found himself "longing for the cool, familiar feel of their pearl handles beneath his thumbs". It steadies him as much as it possibly can when he's not in a dangerous situation, momentarily calling his mind into focus, an attempt at distracting himself from his afflictions.
Based off similar instances, the scene in Crooked Kingdom where he, Wylan and Colm are being shot at should have brought him that same satisfaction that any other shooting would. He "should be buzzing from the excitement of the fight. The thrill was still there, fizzing through his blood, but beside it was a cold, unfamiliar sensation that felt like it was draining the joy from him." What makes this situation so different to the others is that he can't ignore his problems and trauma now: it's staring him right in the face. Colm is right there. The thrill of the fight doesn't feel the same because "all he could think was, Da could have been hurt. He could have died." And we know that Jesper's debt would cost Colm the jurda farm Jesper grew up on, forcing him to acknowledge the reality of his problems: with Colm being right there, Jesper just can't ignore his afflictions because all he could think about is how his father would "suffer for his antics". If you ask me, this is so representative of his character arc as a whole.
This is further emphasised by how he's reflecting on the first time he spun Makker's Wheel right before this ambush, its intention being merely "harmless fun", but it ended up evolving into an addiction that "split [his life] like a log into two distinct and uneven pieces: the time before he’d stepped up to that wheel and every day since". The rush of a high-stakes situation is the equivalent of the "harmless fun" - it's a thrill that Jesper enjoys feeling, but in reality it's doing much more harm because it's preventing him from acknowledging and facing his pain. And he's indeed in so much pain: there's so much anguish inside of him, but he'd do anything to distract himself from it because the reality is just too painful.
This is where the tables come in: later in Crooked Kingdom, when the crew are being ambushed by the Khergud, Jesper "could feel the pull of East Stave" because he didn't have anything else to occupy his mind with. Then, the minute he thinks about facing his father, "the need to be at the tables was overwhelming" because he desperately needs to distract himself from the reality of his circumstances: "since Kaz hadn't obliged him with something to shoot at, Jesper needed a pair of dice and long odds to clear his mind". He can't use the ambush as a distraction, so the tables it is. As Inej tells him, "they feel like medicine. They soothe you, put you right for a time. But they’re poison, Jesper. Every time you play, you take another sip." This isn't the first time poison has been used to represent something that is preventing the Crows from healing - we also see it with Matthias, when he tells Brum in Six of Crows, "the life you live, the hate you feel - it's poison. I can drink it no longer". Just like how the exploitation of Matthias' grief and pain as a means of fueling hatred prevented him from healing because it kept exacerbating the anguish within him (he had to stop drinking the poison to do so), Jesper's addiction - and, by extension, the thrill of a high-stakes situation - prevents him from acknowledging the wound inside him and working towards healing it. It gets to the extent where “he had always thought of himself as lucky… what if he’d been bluffing this whole time?” - he’s gotten so used to suppressing his pain that he, in a way, loses sense of who he is. His façade has distorted his perception of himself. It's not until Colm arrives in the Barrel that Jesper is forced to acknowledge just how deep that wound is and how much it's festering - just like how he couldn't even feel the thrill of a fight properly because of the possibility of his father getting hurt.
That scene is one of many cracks that start to form as Jesper continues to bottle up all of this pain and trauma, until he finally breaks when Wylan proposes that he's such a good shot because being a Fabrikator allows him to direct the metal of the bullets. Jesper protests, asking Wylan why he can't "just let things be easy" - why can't he just let him keep ignoring his problems, when it's so much easier than facing them? But Wylan stands his ground, explaining that "they’re not easy... You keep pretending everything is okay. You move on to the next fight or the next party. What are you afraid is going to happen if you stop?" This is why Matthias calls Jesper “angry and frightened” - he’s afraid of stopping, because he knows stopping means that he’s forced to face the reality that he’s deeply wounded. This is when he finally breaks under the burden of his own pain, under the reality that he can't keep ignoring it anymore - hence why he chooses to put his share of the reward in Colm's name because, as he explains to Kaz, "I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of money just yet". For the first time, he's acknowledging his problems and working towards fixing them, no matter how much time it takes (because trauma and addiction don't just disappear overnight).
n e ways this ended up being significantly longer than anticipated but this is what happens when I start analysing these books: it snowballs out of control and suddenly I can’t shut up.
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skibasyndrome · 7 months
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I'm completely obsessed with and emo over the way Wilhelm carries himself now that he knows Simon loves him, too.
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(just a sidenote, but the duality of love and devotion towards Simon on one side and revolt and confident deviance towards everyone watching him, including us on the other.... these frames make me unwell...)
Like, that's absolutely the stance and face (and smile) of someone who's done with putting his own and his boyfriend's (!!!) needs behind those of the people who never cared about what he actually wanted.
Knowing him and Simon are on the same page now, finally, really is all he needs to face off against the consequences of living authentically and openly. He knows that together, they'll be fine.
I'd like to think his resistance is starting here already, facing off Jan-Olof with this stare and not pulling away as fast as Simon - who after all just offered to be Wilhelm's secret - is.
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It's so beautiful to see how much this has done for him in the S3 snippet. I feel like it's the first time he's moving like he's not a stranger on his own home anymore, like he's now commanding the place, like he's finally calling the shots. Sure, there are and there will be adversities (“I just wish it wasn't because of this”), but Wilhelm won't let them get in the way of him and Simon loving and supporting each other.
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“They won't start without us” He knows it's true and really isn't giving a fuck anymore who might get mad at them, he knows that they won't be able to play this down, make him deny everything again, they can't take back his confession in front of every single phone in all of Hillerska, and he won't let them try to, either. He's ready to fight, that revolution they started back in season 1 is now really picking up, and they're in it together.
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And god, it looks like it's healing him so much, he's so confident now, Simon by his side really gave him the strength he needed.
Like, the journey from the way he's desperately holding on to him at the confession, seemingly drinking it all in, those words he probably hasn't even dared dreaming of hearing from Simon and do taken aback by his emotions to the way he exudes confidence, strength, and conviction even in the face of adversity... the development is so beautiful.
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The combination of love and confidence is one hell of a drug, and Wilhelm gets both from and through Simon... I'm convinced they are going to be one hell of a power couple this next season.
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greetings-humans · 8 months
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rereading one of my fav mid-length codywan fics and skdjfskdfjsal;dfks my children my babies i love them they deserve the absolute best and if anyone ever tries to fuck over their happy ending i will throw hands and im a black belt so fuck you
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forbidden-interlude · 11 months
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Idc if my husband and I are on the rockiest of rocks , I am telling him about the boob grab
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thesockghost · 3 months
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Astral body lore that I have gathered from vague things that Castor and Pollux have said. First created on 2/15/2024
1. If Castor or Pollux dies, then the other dies as well.
From what Pollux said in the episode ‘Castor CONFRONTS Stitchwraith?! in VRCHAT’, and I quote: “cuz if you die then I die, and I don’t want to die.”. This brings in the question of whether or not if one of them just gets hurt, does that mean that the pain/injury gets translated to the other twin as well? Or does it just transfer over when the other twin dies?
2. If an astral body dies, then they do not truly die, they just respawn.
From what (Castor? Gemini? Idk) said in the episode ‘Lunar is FLUSTERED around Gemini in VRChat’. Some of the astral body’s have died. But that brings in the question of why Pollux is so scared of dying if they just respawn? I asked this question in the comments and someone pointed out that they might lose their memories if they die (thx for that btw if your reading this :), but there’s also the possibility that it’s just extremely painful for them to regenerate.
3. If Castor and Pollux are separated from each other for a long period of time, they will die.
From both the episodes ‘Earth Learns LUNAR'S DARK SECRET?!? IN VRCHAT’ [the episode of which the Gemini twins first appeared] and ‘Lunar Needs Castors HELP in VRCHAT’. This is very self explanatory, the only question or note I have on this part is how long does it take for them to start dying? Like a day or 2 I’m guessing? Idk man I just work here.
4. The astral body’s like things to be on schedule/Pisces and sagittarius are more kind than the other astral’s (?)
In the episode ‘Castor and Pollux's PLAN for LUNAR?! in VRCHAT’ Castor and Pollux said this: “everyone’s getting angry! I mean- they like things to be punctual! They like things on their own timetable.” “Those two are very awful about it.” (Note: in this scene the twins are complaining about how the other astrals are rushing them on find out if lunar’s a threat or not, and their complaining about Leo and taurus in particular.) *sigh* “Pisces and Sagittarius are likely doing their own thing.”. I looked up what the personalities of Pisces and Sagittarius, and they generally seem like they’d probably be more nice (if google is correct), and I might be jumping to conclusions on this one, but I think that they might be friends, due to the way that castor mentioned them together, and google says that they have a very high friendship potential.
5. The really fucking weird system of how Gemini works.
In the episode ‘Earth Learns LUNAR'S DARK SECRET?!? IN VRCHAT’, apparently the original plan that Castor and Pollux had for wandering around earth, was to turn into Gemini so they would look slightly less strange because their Gemini form looks more human. And during that part of their conversation, Pollux says: “when we have to do work, you can take over!”, and in the episode ‘Lunar DATES Gemini in VRCHAT’ castor decides to take a nap while Pollux and lunar hang out. But in a previous episode (I forget which lol) Castor said that they don’t sleep??? Does that mean that Castor just doesn’t like to usually sleep??? Whatever, that part at least makes more sense than what I’m about to say next, since it seems like at least they kinda have what sun and moon had when they shared the same body. But in the latest episode ‘Earth and Monty's SURPRISE DOUBLE DATE with Lunar and Gemini!’ They say something along the lines of “when we’re Gemini, we are one. Whatever one likes, the other one likes as well.”. SO UHHH, I kinda remember Castor mentioned at one point when they were talking about their Gemini form “when we’re like that I want to do my job less…” so like- how does the personality bleed system work???? Because whenever they’re Gemini, it seems like Pollux is just the exact same as she usually is. SO IS IT ONLY CASTOR WHO GETS A PERSONALTY???? I mean I guess we wouldn’t really know the difference since we never really get any info on his likes and dislikes in the show, BUT POLLUX IS JUST NORMAL!!! HOW DOES THIS WORK????
Side notes: it’s also been demonstrated that in the episode ‘Lunar is FLUSTERED around Gemini in VRChat’, they share a headspace, and actively have conversations in their head when they’re Gemini. Also it’s kinda confusing because sometimes it seems like they slip into one person for a second, but then go back to being two different people. So is Gemini (the person) real??? Or am I just verbally hallucinating???? Also I’m not going to go into this in detail, but…..wtf is Gemini’s gender??? Because castor takes on a more masculine form and uses he/they and Pollux takes on a feminine form and uses she/they, So what’s up with Gemini??? I mean they obviously use they/them because they’re literally 2 fucking people, but flag wise, what is their gender??? Nonbinary? Trans? Gender-fluid? Bigender??? WHAT IS IT SHEEPOLE????
Update: 2/18/2024
6. Taurus, Leo, and Libra, destroy planets.
Once again this section pretty much explains itself. Mentioned in the current latest episode of S.A.M.S ‘ECLIPSE is CONFRONTED in VRCHAT’, my assumption of why this is, is because the astrals (from what we know) are all about protecting the laws of the universe, and because all things must eventually come to an end. So my theory is that some of the astrals must destroy planets to keep the balance of life and death, and kill old planets to make way for new ones (sorry that this section is poorly worded, I just don’t know how else to explain it lol.)
7. The antimatter is sentient (?)
Once again mentioned in the episode ‘ECLIPSE is CONFRONTED in VRCHAT’, castor mentioned how there are “anti constellations” (which the way castor said it makes sounds like the beginning of the plot of a really shitty marvel movie, but that’s besides the point), aka the antimatter and also not are not his kin. And also mentioned how the wither storms are like demented children of the antimatter. And I quote “did you think when you made negative star power, there’s no such thing as a negative constellation? One that draws on that power? One that wants to bring the end?” “I thought that was the damn storm?!?” “It is. The storm is…sort of like its child. It chooses to foster.” Which the way castor explained it didn’t make them sound like an unstoppable force, more like an unstoppable person (if that makes sense).
Update: 04-23-2024
As of writing this, the lovely Gemini twins have made a brief appearance in the current latest episode ‘Gemini SENDS A MESSAGE in VRChat’ and have brought a small bit of new lore with them :)
8. The astrals have their own unique culture and manners
Mentioned in the current latest episode as of writing this: ‘Gemini SENDS A MESSAGE in VRChat’, Gemini mentions that the stars have their own etiquette, but never really gave any context beyond that since they thought if they told lunar, then it would break his mind, WHICH IS COMPLETELY UNFAIR. BESTIE I DO NOT CARE IF IT MAKES ME INSANE, IN CASE YOU COULDNT TELL FROM ME WRITING THIS ENTIRE ESSY, THE ADDED INFORMATION WILL ONLY MAKE MY HYPERFIXATION STRONGER. *cough cough* so anyways yeah this section is basically just a place holder till we get more info on their culture.
Honorable mentions that I think are too small of facts/too obvious to get their own sections:
Since the astral body’s are made out of light (mentioned multiple times throughout the show, but I think the first mention is in ‘EARTH and POLLUX Become BEST FRIENDS?! In VRCHAT’) they can move through walls and most physical structures and surfaces.
(Updated 03-11-2024. got a bit distracted so this update is 2 weeks late from when the episode with this info was first released.) The astrals can for some reason not be seen by colorblind creatures??? Mentioned in the episode ’Lunar Is FRIEND ZONED! in VRChat’, because there was a deer standing near lunar and Gemini said “it must be comfortable in your presence” and when lunar asked why they didn’t care about Gemini, with which they responded with “no we are more or less invisible to them. See?” Then they started to run around the deer. And when asked why by lunar they replied with “most animals on your planet are colorblind. We are light. If light can’t reflect the way it’s meant to, then we kinda just come off as invisible.” WHICH MAKES NO F*CKING SENSE AT ALL!!! Cuz like yes. they wouldn’t be able to see them in their full glory, but if an animal were to look at them they’d at least see a glowing figure towering above them!!! So yea, it was probably just a bit to explain why a deer would be standing so close to them, but it still makes no sense.
Castor and Pollux take on the left brain and right brain atriabuts of a human being. Castor taking the left, while Pollux takes the right.
The astral body’s can naturally produce star power without creating any anti matter. (Mentioned in the episode ‘Moon is THREATENED by GEMINI?! in VRCHAT’ I think.)
The astral body’s are actively fighting the anti matter (somehow).
Castor has the power of telekinesis, and Pollux has the ability to control lightning (telekinesis demonstrated in the episode ‘What is CASTOR HIDING from LUNAR?! in VRCHAT’ and Polluxs lighting/storm (?) powers mentioned in the episode ‘Lunar Needs Castors HELP in VRCHAT’ I think.)
I’m a bit unsure about this part, but there might be an actual space court where lunar’s trial is currently taking place. once again mentioned in the episode ‘Gemini SENDS A MESSAGE in VRChat’……… what-
And lastly, and probably the most obvious of all, the astral body’s do not need to eat or sleep, since the astral body’s are made of light.
UPDATE: 05-06-2024 They have apparently downgraded the astrals powers, and have made it so only castor can do the whole seeing everything all at once thing.
Yeah idk why they decided to do this, maybe it’s because it would be a bit too over powered and godlike for them, but they already mentioned that the astrals only have one power (‘What is CASTOR HIDING from LUNAR?! in VRCHAT’), and even when Castor and Pollux are gemini they have a different power, SO DOES THAT MEAN THAT IT JUST KINDA COMES WITH THE WHOLE TELEKINESIS THING NOW??? OR IS THE PART WERE THEY CANT HAVE MULTIPLE POWERS JUST NOT CANNON NOW???? AND IF IT STILL IS THEN, BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE CASTOR AND POLLUX HAVE BEEN GEMINI THIS WHOLE TIME DURING THE TRIAL, THEN HOW WOULD CASTOR BE ABLE TO SEE LUNAR GETTING KIDNAPPED IF THEY HAVE DIFFERENT POWERS AS GEMINI??????
I know it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal that they red-conned a part of their lore, but just remember I’m the mad-man who’s been keeping track of their lore since day one, so I’m legally allowed to have a stroke any time they change something :) just like the astrals have a stroke whenever lunar uses his powers
Will update if any new information pops up! Please tell me if I missed anything!
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soupy-sez · 1 year
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Rumble Fish (1983)
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So you know this party banter between Aveline and Carver?
Aveline: I don't like some of the people you've been associating with, Carver. Carver: Talk to my brother/sister. He/She's the one in charge.
If you're on the rivalry path with Aveline, she says:
Aveline: Who says I don't mean him/her too? This city's full of people who are dead set on ending badly. I don't want to see you end up the same way.
I just- Aveline, you- you're so- hhhhnnnngggggg
I always rival Aveline when I play a mage, and if you think Edgar Aristide Hawke, who practically raised Carver and Bethany after Malcolm died and Leandra became a distant mother in her grief, wouldn't stop dead in his tracks at Aveline heavily implying he's a bad influence on his brother and Carver shouldn't hang around him so much since apparently Ed's someone set on ending badly...? Absolutely not.
This is another case of me wishing Hawke had the option to jump in during party banter with different options, because Ed would've chewed Aveline out for that.
Oh, and then there's:
Carver: Would asking you to stop spying on me help in the least? Aveline: No.
Aveline...................stop it.
#da2#dragon age 2#carver hawke#aveline vallen#da2 hawke#edgar hawke#listen all of aveline and carver's party banter and their relationship and the fact that they're pretty much foils DRIVES ME CRAZY#in a good way but then i get party banter like this and i stop everything i'm doing just to scream#like ed and aveline are on fairly good terms in act 1 i mean the rivalry is there but it's not too bad it's more like they just butt heads#but after leandra's death the friendship just rots and deteriorates like by the end of act 3 ed is genuinely surprised aveline#didn't turn on him and side with the templars but i guess even aveline knows what's actually right#or maybe she just doesn't want to face ed in a fight sksksks hell ed AND carver in a fight so it's easier to side with him and the mages#but anyway aveline saying that when ed's in earshot is bold but also the fact that carver doesn't actually acknowledge it#like he doesn't agree or disagree he just changes the subject to be like 'can you stop spying on me PLEASE'#like he already has no privacy while living with gamlen and now he has no privacy when he's by himself because apparently aveline's spying#also i always max out carver's friendship so he and ed are on good terms they're the brothers hawke and carver loves him#even if he doesn't outright say it you know that's what he's really saying in the last straw#when he says that he's proud to call hawke brother/sister and that's gone unsaid for too long like............ screaming sobbing throwing u#like the carver and hawke dynamic on his friendship path is sooo good that i hear aveline say that and i'm immediately ready to throw hands#btw if you're on aveline's friendship path she says 'maybe but i know you get around' instead which...........gets around where aveline???#aveline my list of beef with you grows with every playthrough i hate you but also i love you but also i want to throw you in the ocean#until you get your head out of your ass like this is a case of her being a FASCINATING character but as a person? while i'm playing ed? ugh#my lady warrior hawke adored aveline but ed is ready to fight her 24/7 sksksk
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sysig · 2 years
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They’re too cute, I can’t stop (Patreon)
#Doodles#SCII#Jocasta#Questionably SFW#I mean it's technically nudity but it's possibly the most censored and chaste nudity considering the intent lol#Flirting time! Reverse fluster! Heck yeah#Jocasta being bold in flirting is so cute ah - it's also cute to see her fumble when she's literally so pretty gosh heck but like#I think it's the success of the flirt hitting its mark that just delights me haha#It's not as evident here since there's just the one but I was drawing all kisses all the time for a bit there and they got swept up in it#I remember immediately after I was like ''Wait. How tall are they in comparison to each other'' lol#Let's just say Jocasta is intentionally leaning on her let's go with that I totally didn't accidentally make her shorter pfft#That was actually really fun to draw hehe ♪ Full body kiss! Big hug! Very cute#And leaves Sarah completely unable to function haha#Hey the nudity-but-actually-it's-fine! Lol#Actually now that I think of it I made the same joke with Pop and Soda.... Let's call it a reference and leave it at that lol#Ah frick /and/ Soda's a mermaid! It's really the same joke! Dang lol#And finally capping off with some alternate eye colours to represent hypnosis#Blue is usually pretty good for ''Not in one's right mind'' colour I think - although that might just be the TGWDLM talking lol#And I mean Syreen are mostly blue! Could totally be a Syreen-affected colour!#Although when I think about it green is more common for Under Another's Influence isn't it? :0 Or is that just the Evil X talking?? Lol#Syreen do also have green glowing eyes specifically so there's that - it would make sense#I'll have to do some comparisons#Usually I'm not really much into hypnosis or mind control or the like but on top of enjoying these two I was watching some MEPs and well#There was a femslash set to Hypnotic and the rest is history lol#The entire time I was just like ''Wow these are great ideas! I should do something with them! Hang on'' lol
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Reread The Brave and the Bold (2007) #32 again and god. It’s so fucking good. Like yeah yeah the bitch with the ‘aquaman is an eldritch horror’ blog title loves the aquaman is an eldritch horror comic what else is new but PLEASE it’s SO good!!!
TBatB #32 is a stand alone team-up between Aquaman and Etrigan the Demon, and it’s a lovecraftian horror story. Straight up. The narrator is a fisherman who was nearly drowned at sea, and proceeded to accompany Aquaman and Etrigan as they stop an eldritch horror from invading this dimension. And if that hasn’t sold you on this comic idk what to tell you please read it it’s very good.
The comic is an absolute banger that I consider to be easily one of the best Aquaman comics of all time, and I think one of the main reasons it works so well is that the real eldritch horror isn’t the monster Aquaman and Etrigan are trying to stop. “Superheroes stop Cthulu” isn’t necessarily a bad story premise, but it’s really easy to lose that eldritch horror aspect with it, since if Cthulu can be beat, it’s not really Cthulu, now is it? The horror in lovecraftian horror stories comes not from the fact that the monster is big and powerful; it comes from the fact that it is unknowable, operating on a level that is fundamentally incomprehensible, and when you are forced to comprehend it, you have no way to cope with it. And that’s really hard to do if Etrigan can just. Set it on fire.
No, the eldritch horror isn’t the big squid monster rising up from the depths. It’s Aquaman.
Sure, the monsters from another dimension are also eldritch horrors, and the narration describes them as such, using all the eldritch horror clichés; beings that do not belong in this world, twisted, distorted, etc. And don’t get me wrong, it works, the visuals of the Big Monster specifically are stunning. But that’s not really the scary part of the comic. Sure, a being from another dimension raising an army of the drowned, bringing another army of humans crossed with monsters, is scary. But you know what’s terrifying?
The thing that can beat it.
Ultimately, it is Etrigan who deals the killing blow, but he’s not the one the narration focuses on. It’s Aquaman.
The point of view of the story is a fisherman, who had already known to respect the sea, but who hadn’t truly understood what it meant to command it. And although he is terrified of the eldritch being from another dimension, horrified at his friend being resurrected to fight for it - he is just as, if not more, terrified of Aquaman.
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[Image: text box with the text: “But when the master of the seas tells you a thing, you believe it. Because you don’t want him to have to tell you twice.” Twice is emphasized. End description.]
This is at the beginning of the story, before he even witnesses anything, and the fear grows as the story progresses and he gains knowledge. He witnesses Aquaman control one of the eldritch monsters, willfully start a fight with the entire army.
And that’s, arguably, the turning point of the whole comic, where the realization hits. As Aquaman summons all the ocean creatures from a mile wide, we get this internal monologue:
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[Images: first image is a series of text boxes that, together, read: “Like I said, he could control every creature that lives in the sea. But I don’t think either of you get what that really means. Do you know, do you understand, do you have any idea how much life there is in just one single square mile of ocean? I don’t think you do. Because I didn’t either. And if you multiply that by lots of miles in every direction...”
Here the next image appears, a full-page spread showing Aquaman with his arms spread wide, wearing a confident grin, and every square millimeter behind him packed with ocean creatures, fish, whales, dolphin, all swimming towards him. The narration ends: “I’d never seen anything like it in my whole life... and God as my witness, I hope to never see it again.” End description.]
As the battle escalates and the narrator gets confronted with more horrors, ultimately culminating and Not Cthulu coming through the portal we get this scene:
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[Images: two comic panels. The first shows our narrator fisherman looking at Aquaman in horror. The narration states: “And I could hear its [the eldritch horror’s] thoughts, could hear it talking to Aquaman.” The monster’s speech to Aquaman is shown, as he listens to it: “...You may have all you wish... Join us, and we may conquer all... I offer you every land, every nation, the whole of the world above.” For the second panel, there is a close-up of Aquaman’s disdainful expression, as he says: “The sea covers seventy percent of the Earth’s surface... the land, only thirty percent. Why would I ever wish to settle for less? It’s all yours, Demon.” End description.]
Which clearly establishes which of the two horrors we should truly be afraid of. Not Cthulu is left bargaining, begging for Aquaman to join it, but it cannot offer Aquaman anything. His power is already too great.
As the comic closes, there is one final scene with Aquaman, which is, in my opinion, the scariest scene in the comic:
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[Image: three panels. The first shows Aquaman talking to Etrigan, his back turned to the viewer, saying: “If the rest of the world had any idea how close they come every year to destruction... if they knew that we were the only thing standing between them and the night gods, they’d -- what’re you looking at?” Etrigan is looking past Aquaman to the viewer. Aquaman turns, looks, and says: “Ah, yes. It seems I’ve forgotten someone.” There is a close-up of his face, with an intense expression, as he thinks, telepathically: “None of this happened. Do you understand? This was all just a very bad dream.” The narration says: “And then everything went black.” End description.]
When the narrator wakes up, he is surrounded by people who believe he’s crazy, and he’s left desperate, desperate to prove it happened, desperate to prove it didn’t, desperate enough to dig up his friend’s corpse. And Aquaman was the one that caused that, not our dearest Discount Cthulu. Yes, that was the catalyst; yes, that was horrifying. But Aquaman was the one who made the narrator doubt, who dropped him off on a beach, in an effort to make him believe all that he saw was a dream. That’s where the desperation comes from: in the not knowing, in the uncertainty.
In the end, the beast can almost be understood. It can at least be defeated; there will be two people who can drive it back, stop it from taking over everything.
But the story is very conscious that this will diminish the horror, so it replaces that with another one, one who can’t be beat, who has enough power that Cthulu’s whisperings of power are a downgrade, who looks at a traumatized man and sees a lose end in need of cutting, and it’s our favourite talks-to-fish man. And that’s a truly fantastic narrative choice.
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rubberbandballqueen · 10 months
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we finally got got the camp and playground rules posters i asked my boss to get printed, and someone redid all my beautiful and thoughtfully-made typography... :'c
#why is it in all caps now!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHERE did my BOLDED TEXT go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *WHO CHANGED THE FONT????????????????*#this unironically made me so so so so so sad at work today#this wasn't just done william-nilliam!!!!!! like idc that the background changed that's whatevs to me#but my TYPOGRAPHY............................................................................#i am going to kill whoever made it all-caps and then [redacted for excessive violence] whoever changed the font#the worm speaks#also this week at work we have a group of kids who speak mostly cn bc they're from tw or mainland (mostly tw hehe)#n the tw kids were here last week actually but anyway i guess we got a new mainland kid this week#she asked me on monday if i was from mexico n i was like 'unfortunately i regret to inform you that i am asian.'#anyway as my soul had been languishing at my violated typography she came up to me n was like 'teacher is tw the same as china?'#or like 'is taiwan a part of china' sort of thing. similar enough you get the gist. n i was like. confused for a sec bc like.#that felt like a rather political question to be asking! anyway i was like 'what? no.' n i was surprised when she was SHOCKED#she was like 'WHAT? [repeats question more insistently]' n i was like 'no. it is not.'#n i guess she had been having an argument w/the tw kids bc they came up excited like they'd won an argument#n they were like 'teacher is from taiwan ofc they [know? will say? forgot specific wording] tw is tw & cn is cn'#n it reminded me of similar arguments i had w/one of my peers i had in middle school o(--(#ALSO. i saw the kids playing this one clapping game called 'pikachu' that apparently only exists in our direct area#n i was like 'omg. the children still play pikachu'#i say 'apparently only exists in our direct area' bc i have asked friends who went to school in the NEIGHBORING DISTRICT who had NO IDEA#what the HELL i was talking about. i found EXACTLY ONE RECORD of its EXISTENCE online!!!
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sweetfirebird · 1 year
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The post about ND creators and advice to get things done... lol twice this year I forgot myself and tried to model how I work on more successful people than me, and both times I made things worse and only now am I like, oh right right, those are people with functioning brains. Riiiiiight.
So, introspect, the fact that my year was such a creative disaster makes more sense to me now, and hopefully I will stop feeling like I've let myself down. (I mean, I have, just not in the way that I thought I was. Just through being a dumbass. I mean, this threw me off so much, I haven't even been reading like I normally do. Terrible. It's no wonder.)
I mean that and also Raymond gave me an ulcer.
Yes, I am still blaming Ray.
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My man has not been marinating in his sins under three layers of leather for this 😔😔😔
But I mean. Okay. Incredibly funny choice of materials for a very serious assassin though right... if the sound designers were BRAVE ENOUGH they would've added So Much Creaking when he moves...
Also, congrats on Masato! If it were down to Jo, Arakawa, and Masato, who wins drip-wise?
he did not bake in that leather shirt and crocodile suit to lose to ODA 😭 but on the real though PLEASE Y7 but every jo scene has the underlying sound of leather and gator skin squeaking ☠️☠️☠️
a fashion competition between the arakawas though.... how evil i love all of their outfits so much and i can easily make a case for all of them..... i think i do have to say 2019 jo does take it for me: i really do love all the textures on his outfit and the spots of purple from his patterned tie and the small sliver of white from his vest are SO good....
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ok so my bestie is calling me mumbai aise hi cause we were planning for months like jaise hi my exams are over we'll do it and like since it's so close to christmas i was kinda hoping we would celebrate it together but uh i talked to her on the phone and she said u go on 24th cause i have plans with (boyfriend) on christmas
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britneyshakespeare · 2 years
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I really thought Paulina and Leontes were going to get married at the end of The Winter's Tale
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celestiel · 2 years
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☾      ↺    ﹙   @loetise​   ﹚      ﹒   ❛   you’re not my parent!  ❜    ;      / so random for finn happy father's day king ig ummm have a younger sibling figure    
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❛  allie.  ❜   finn sighs her name with the disposition of a parent tired of trying to get their kid to eat their peas. no amount of bartering, reasoning or bribing would get them to budge. but allie was older, hell, allie was an adult. if anything this was supposed to be easier. lifting his head up, brown ringlets flopping into his eyes, finn holds up a pair of allie’s sandals.  ❛  you gotta wear shoes outside.  it’s nonnegotiable.  ❜
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softshuji · 2 years
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You're insane, we've kidnapped you and tied you up, threatened to kill you and you're flirting!? This is definitely a first.
-Rindou
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ if I'm going to die, I'm not going to do it crying and sniffling. Time for that is well over. Admit it, that would be worse. I'd rather be fun.
Besides I could get so much worse. 'm holding back from embarrassing you in front of your friends and boss. Like for example, You ever thought about being a father? We could make you a daddy since it's father's day today. *Wink*
...I don't do this with anyone else. Only you. I want to make you happy.
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