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siancore · 2 months

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The dream sequence from 1.01 was astounding on so many levels. The sweet cuteness that we’ve all craved. Charming Rick. Beautiful Michonne. I loved it all. I especially enjoyed the part where Michonne said, “I believe in you.” It was a nice way to weave this thread that has been at the core of their first meeting right up to them being warrior lovers: Believing in someone and needing to be believed in.

All Michonne ever did was show Rick that she believed in him. Even before they had met. She had heard Andrea talk about the group at the Prison and the crazy asshole who was leading them; who was protecting them. Michonne understood crazy. She also understood that you did whatever it took to protect the ones that you love. She understood why Rick did not trust her from their first meeting and she respected that. She believed in him, in the notion of someone like him when she showed up at that fence.

When Rick took Michonne on the run to his hometown with Carl, she showed him that she believed in him again. It wasn’t just about ‘common interests’. When he asked, “Do you have a problem with that approach?” And Michonne replied, “No, Rick. I don’t have a problem.”

He was kind of shocked because for the longest time, his people’s faith and belief in him had been shaken and fractured. They questioned every single decision he had made to help keep them alive. They found problems with his ‘approach’ at every turn. But Michonne, she understood Rick. She understood what it took to do the things that he had done to protect the ones he loved. She believed in him.

When they were separated out on the road after the Prison had fallen, Michonne reverted to old ways of protecting herself. Walking with the dead; not being around others because that’s when you truly get hurt. The hurt of losing those you care about is pain far greater than anything anyone, alive or dead, could inflict on you. But Rick and Carl had brought her back from that once before. She believed and trusted that they could do it again. That is when she found them. That is when she truly chose them.

When they reached Alexandria, and Rick was spiralling out of control, Michonne telling him that she was still with him was her, once again, believing in him. Her letting him keep his gun was her believing in him. Believing that he would do the right thing to ensure their protection and survival. Took him a little while, but he found his way.

And that’s the crux of their relationship: Michonne’s belief in Rick to do what is needed to get shit done, and Rick needing her to believe in him so that he can find his way. I cannot wait to see what other aspects of their friendship and love are weaved through the narrative of them finding one another, again, and getting home to their family. I believe in them.

#richonne #towl spoilers #richonne show spoilers #twd towl spoilers #twd spoilers #rick grimes #michonne grimes

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nogenderbee · 2 months

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♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ ℙ𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕤 ₊˚ˑ༄

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ anon request: Could I request Lyney, Freminet, Kazuha, and Heizou with a reader who makes plushies?

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Of course! AAAA ALL OF THEM ARE MY FAV BOYS LET'S GO!! Anyway~ I had a bit of fun with it so hope you like it!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ fluff

✧ Kazuha finds what you're doing pretty adorable

✧ he loved how you can make something so fun with just few materials and threads

✧ and if you ever happen to lack idea for new plushie... he'll be happy to tell you few stories, real or not

✧ if you actually make a plushie based on his stories, he'll melt on spot and you'd be able to see genuine smile on his face

✧ he's always on ship so if you're not part of th Crux, he'll sleep burried in your plushies when he's away (you heard stories from Beidou about that~)

✧ and if you give him one of your plushies? Oh he's not leaving your side today! In fact, he's ready to pamper your face in kisses so get ready for that once you get somewhere private!

✧ surprisingly, he recognizes all materials just by touching them! He says it's just a lucky guess but how can someone lucky guess something 30 times in a row?!!

"Those are high quality materials... You didn't had to spend so much on me... Let me treat you to a dinner for that at least."

✧ same goes for style of sewing, he'll somehow notice details like that and if he notices difficult style, you can be sure he'll compliment you for that

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

@bleachtheidiot - come get your poetic samurai~

✧ Heizou somehow notices any time you have or lack any idea

✧ if you have one, he'll make it a fun game for himself to get to know what is it without asking you about it directly

✧ but if you lack it, he'll randomly drop small story or two untill it catches your attention, tho if you look closely, there's small smirk on his face

✧ similiar to boy alone, he also guesses materials quite quickly tho it's more of an experience rather than lucky guess

✧ it's actually useful to be able to tell difference between materials, so he most likely knows at least the basics

✧ but one thing he loves doing is teasing you when you desperately try to hide you're planning a toy for him but you still want to make sure he'll like it

"Hei! What do you think of this? Soft enough?"

"Hm... I would guess so, yes. But why are you asking me that instead of person who'll receive it?"

"I d- They just deserve it!"

"Mhm~ Whatever you say, dear."

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@bleachtheidiot - come get your flirty detective~

✧ Lyney can't help but smile every time you present him with new idea, prototype or plushie

✧ he thinks this job suits you and is often amazed when you start rambling about different types of materials and the difference between each of them

✧ whenever you present a plushie and asks for opinion, he'll take his time to show he takes you seriously and check plushie from every side, squeeze it, hug it... and then he tells you what he thinks in details!

✧ but he likes to be playful sometimes, he'll take the plushie, inspect it and then pull disappearing and reapearing trick off leaving him chuckling and hopefully you too

"For me?! Oh mon cherie... I absolutely love it! It's the perfect color... and it's so soft too~ Mwah! Hehe, why won't I repeat it on creator now~?"

✧ prepare yourself mentally to see this plushie on his performances and for Lynette to tell you the cutest gossips about him and his new plushie

✧ and if you give him a plushie that you designed specifically for him? Well... you know how clingy he usually is? Multiply it by 10

✧ he'll spoil you with not singular rainbow rose but biggest bouquet of them he could find, takes you to a fancy restaurant and of course, hold your hand and hugs you all day long

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@bleachtheidiot - come get your charming magician~

✧ Freminet is actually happy both of you have something in common, I mean... you both like to create?

✧ the only difference in what you do is that he creates out of metal and you create our of softer materials

✧ if you have a penguin plushie that you often carry with you, there's no wonder even Pers was interested! Who knows? Maybe little robot feel in love like the creator~?

"I love it, it's cute~ Heh, and Pers loves it too I guess... You really did a great job with that plushie."

✧ he knows how it is to struggle from lack of ideas or to need someone to check your sketch, so he'll be more than happy to do that if you ask him

✧ when it comes to materials... he's not the worst but he will get similar ones mistaken usually

✧ first time you made a plushie for him, he felt like he didn't deserve it and needed to repay you as soon as possible

✧ but with time, he learned to just accept it and repay you when the ocassion happens. Maybe he'll just pay for dinner? Or you'll see some robot in the movie and he makes it for you?

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@bleachtheidiot - come get your shy diver~

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sexhaver · 2 months

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i love the dedication myself and other turbo-MTG-brain-damaged Johnnies have for theorycrafting bespoke game states involving Panglacial Wurm and nonreversible mana effects (usually Selvala, Explorer Returned or Chromatic Sphere) that would be unresolvable under the Comprehensive Rules, thus proving their fallibility, like theologicians asking the old "could God create a rock so heavy even He could not lift it" chestnut.

the crux of the issue here is that Selvala and other mana sources that move + reveal the top card of your library like Chromatic Sphere and Millikin are "nonreversible" because they reveal information from a hidden zone (your library). normally if an illegal game state arose for some reason, you can just reverse 99% of the possible actions in the game, but these guys are the exception (note the last sentence):

now this would be enough of a headache on its own, but then you add in Panglacial Wurm, notably the literal only card in the game that you can cast in the middle of searching your library. this, in turn, lets you activate mana abilities. including ones that interact with the top card of your library. the top card you can already see (but nobody else can), because you're in the middle of shuffling your library. and in the very likely event that some illegal game state arises (say you need 4 extra mana to cast the Wurm and Selvala only reveals 3 nonland cards), you explicitly CANNOT reverse these mana abilities.

you see the problem(s).

and it's a genuinely interesting line of questioning because as it turns out the main answers we (rules alchemists) get from judges boil down to "come on now, if this actually happened in a real game, the judge would know you created this situation on purpose while knowing how close it is to cheating and hand you a warning/game loss", which is more of an engineering answer than a mathematician answer imo. and then you start pressing the details further and end up in bizarre territory where you could be handed a warning/loss for "intentionally creating an illegal gamestate" when you try to cast Panglacial Wurm without enough mana because of Selvala, Explorer Returned RNG or even misplays like accidentally tapping Millikin for mana before Mul Daya Channelers, as described here. also a special shoutout to this thread:

they are doing things on MTGSalvation that Richard Garfield doesn't know about

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soapskneebrace · 1 year

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I love how you write and view COD in general, so let’s hear some Ghost hcs

Slightly NSFW.

He’s got more tattoos—his legs have a lot, and he’s got a back piece he’s working on. They’re all black and white, he doesn’t like color tattoos.

On that note though, he learned how to stick and poke as a teenager, and now as an adult he’s actually very good at it. He touches up his own tattoos, and if you’re one of his people he’ll give you any kind of ink you like, as long as you don’t ask for anything other than black ink lol

On the topic of body mods, his dick is pierced. He’s got a Jacob’s ladder. He got it a little before he was recruited into the 141—it was kind of an exercise in seeing if the pain would make him feel anything. It didn’t. (He discovered its popularity in the bedroom later.)

He owns like ten of the same black shirt and jeans. This man is NOT fashion-forward. But you will never catch him in cargo shorts. Even he isn’t that uncool. It turns out he dresses well—if always casually—just by virtue of not making his clothing choices complicated.

So, it’s almost certain he made his skull plate mask, right? Which means he’s got some familiarity with needle and thread. I think Ghost, more than once, has popped a seam in his pants or his shirt, because he’s a BIG boy. And he was raised in poverty, so no fucking way is he going to just buy new ones. So he mends his own clothes. His stitches are rarely pretty, but they’re always solid.

He’s actually a big fix-it guy overall. It’s a byproduct of growing up poor—you don’t waste money on something new if the old thing just needs a part replaced. If something stops working, he takes it apart, figures out what’s wrong, and puts it back together. He’s very efficient about it too—those projects take a day at most. He hates a mess.

As a result, if you’ve been fucking him on the regular (because remember, Ghost doesn’t date), he starts making note of little projects he could get into at your place. Cracks in the wall he could spackle. A door that scrapes at the jamb when you close it that he could rebalance. A coffee maker that takes forever to brew that he could clean out. If you let him do any of these projects, you’re never getting rid of him. (And with the Jacob’s ladder why would you honestly want to?)

I think the psychological functions of these projects are an exercise in trying to fix something to make up for what he can no longer fix. He failed a lot of people—primarily his family. Maybe if he can make your car stop making weird noises when it turns, he’s redeemed a tiny cut of the massive debt he owes to the dead. He does not think like this, I can’t stress enough. It is not a conscious process. But it doesn’t change the tiny relief he feels at making a broken thing work again.

If you ever point out that making broken things work again is kind of exactly the function of the Ghost persona, he’ll disappear for several months.

But he’ll come back. You’ll have to yank an apology out of his teeth, but you can get one out of him if you’re honest enough about how fucking horrible you felt when he left without a word. He felt horrible when he was gone, too. You just scared him, with how you cut to the very crux of who and why he is. That kind of vulnerability is a horror Ghost doesn’t know how to face.

But he stays with you for a long while, longer than he ever has, after he comes back.

#ghost x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #ghost x you #simon ghost riley x you #answered

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when-pigsfly · 5 months

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WITCHING HOUR [EXCERPT]— 18+

MINORS DNI! NUH UH!

fem!reader x arthur morgan

summary: most people in the area had issues with coyotes. yours wore a cowboy hat, but you let him in anyways.

a/n: putting off several papers to write out a dream i had about Arthur’s hat was NOT what i had on my bingo card. but who am i to deny the late night hornies? no hornies in this excerpt, though. but soon, very soon…

(i’m 5k in and nowhere near close to the end, plz pray that i get this done before it consumes me)

Arthur Morgan was a sly kind of handsome; the kind that mothers knowingly ushered their daughters away from, and the kind that the fathers of said daughters would brandish their guns against. But the crux of the matter was this: the mothers almost always had heated glances to spare, and even the fathers were envious of a man cunning enough to run circles around the authorities for as long as he had.

Which is exactly why, when he shows up on your front porch one late winter night, you take up the hefty mantle of digging your loaded barrel right into his sternum.

He raises his hands in mock surrender and cracks a rakish smile, bright as the moon peeking out from behind the top of his hat. There’s a rich blue winter coat that hangs open; a little odd, but people have made do with less. His black bandana is scrunched up around his neck instead of around his face this time—and you note with a squint that he looks a bit less like an outlaw, and a little more like a fumbling idiot.

Still, Morgan cut quite the figure when he wasn’t sneaking chicken eggs from your coop. You try and hold fast to the promise you’d made to yourself only a short while ago, catch him, catch him, catch him. But if the agitated shifting of the muzzle against his chest is any indication, you’d been doomed from the start.

The moonlight isn’t doing your resolve any favors either: it drapes itself over the smooth arc of his shoulders, caresses a strong jaw shrouded in long-forgotten stubble, kisses burning blue eyes that look as close to bashful as you’d ever seen them. There’s something else in there, too. Lurking deep beneath the blue and wading through the slight dilation of his pupils. It urges him closer—or is it you?—like the distance between the two of you isn’t sustained by the twitchy arms of a woman holding a rifle.

But there’s an abrupt breeze that fiddles with the cotton threads of your chemise, and you’re suddenly struck with the realization that no, your hunting rifle isn’t loaded, and you’re a tad overexposed. In your haste to get to the door of your cabin, you’d forgone the shawl and left your boots still haphazardly strewn in the doorway. But it’d do you no good to show your hand this early. So like the hiss of a rattlesnake, you keep your voice low, and you keep it lethal.

“You’ve got ten seconds to convince me not to unload this lead right into your chest, Morgan.”

#witching hour #ao3 #archive of our own #arthur morgan #arthur morgan x reader #arthur morgan x female reader #arthur morgan x you #rdr2 fanfic #rdr2

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writingfarintothedark · 1 year

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I’ve seen a lot of takes about why Simon choosing to be a secret isn’t regressive for him as a character, but I haven’t seen as many people discuss this crucial aspect of it- that it was on Simon’s own terms this time.

one aspect of Simon accepting being a secret is him understanding the pressure Wille is under, sure- one of the threads of this season was the two of them understanding each other’s lives and perspectives better. But, the other more critical aspect imo is that this time SIMON is the one who has the agency to make the decision to remain a secret.

One of the things Simon said during the breakup in season 1 was that everything always had to be on Willle’s terms- and that’s not ok because it creates an imbalance. This time when Simon chooses to be a secret, however, it’s on Simon’s own terms. Wille gives him the space to make that decision, Wille doesn’t make that decision FOR him the way it went down in season 1.

And that’s why I think it’s not regressive, because the crux of the issue they were dealing with in season 1 is addressed- Simon isn’t giving up any of his agency, because SIMON made the choice for himself this time. (and then of course Wille said nah we’re gonna cause some chaos but the point stands)

#young royals #wilmon #simon eriksson #wilhelm

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lunarkyn · 6 months

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[ PRINCESS COMPLEX : 00 ]

The life of a pureblood is normal by no means. The requirements, the expectations.. from the moment you are born, your life is chosen for you. You may only seek company of the many books that lined the Hogwarts library walls. That is, until your family begins to speak of a marriage to join the houses.

genre. arranged marriage, pureblood relations

pairing. draco malfoy x reader

rating. (n)sfw

current c/w. swearing, degradation (not in that way, you freakies), pureblood-ism. fem reader.

harry potter masterlist |

[ 00 ] “i never realized how much i needed you until you were the one person who wasn’t there.”

In your dreams, you were a pauper. You were free to do as you pleased, free to love, free from the world of magic. In your fantasies, you danced among the children of muggle villages, playing hopscotch and other frivolous games.

Yet, in your reality, you were a noblewoman. The House of Gaunt held no room for fantasies, and the closest thing you could love was the walls that surrounded you. There was no time to dream, no time to love. Time was the most valuable currency, and you were penniless.

Your bedchambers were unlike many in the stone-walled castle of Gaunt manor. Tapestries of constellations and the maps of Earth littered the walls, nearly covering every inch of cream wallpaper. On the west wall was a large palladian window, the central panes made of stained glass. The image portrayed was of an orange and pink lotus, leaves branching out into the sides. In its shadow was thousands of scattered rainbows, dancing along the wooden floor.

You lay in your bed, eyes focused on the ceiling above you. By your request, it was painted a cerulean blue, and was adorned with golden threads that hung from the crux. When the sun hit it just right, it glittered brighter than the stars. This was your safe haven, your paradise.

A knock sounded from the mahogany doors, echoing throughout your chamber.

``It is Artura, my Lady,`` your head handmaiden called through the door. You could picture her, standing with her rosy porcelain-coloured palm and ear pressed against the door, auburn hair lit ablaze with the sun pouring from the hallway windows. ``May I come in?``

``You may,`` you call, sitting upright and clasping your hands in your lap. The dark lace of your jade nightgown fell short on your collarbone, exposing the beginnings of your chest. The door began to open, exposing not just Artura, but Caelia, the newest maidservant.

Caelia was a short, stout looking young girl with a dark umber complexion and a cloudy puff of hair that always had some sort of flower from the garden embellishing it. Today, it was a wine-coloured peony.

Artura was quick to direct Caelia to your side, her feet padding quickly across the hard floor to the entrance of your extensive wardrobe, opening the doors with a yank of her hand. Caelia offered you a glass of water as she washed your face with a warm washcloth, her gentle hands ceasing when the sleep had been cleaned from your eyes.

``What are my plans for the day, Artura?`` You call, waving your dismissal to Caelia. She bowed, stepping to the far wall and standing to attention. Seemingly pleased with her selection of dress choices, Artura stepped out from the wardrobe, beckoning for Caelia to gather some accessories from the mahogany vanity.

``You are expected to attend a History of Magic class at nine, an Arithmancy class at ten, an Ancient Runes study at eleven, and there is a gathering of the Houses at noon. Duke Gaunt imagines that the gathering will take a few hours, minimum.`` Artura answers faithfully, her hands clasped at her waist. ``It is currently half past eight, so you will have enough time to enjoy the breakfast prepared by the chefs, if you would like.``

You swing your feet over the edge of the bed, shivering as the warmth of your blankets left your legs. Caelia brings over a pair of charcoal-coloured ballet flats, kneeling down and slipping each foot into its respective shoe.

``Have breakfast sent to my study, I will eat during my history lesson,`` You instruct her, rising to your feet. Caelia scuttled back to Artura’s side, head dipped low. Artura however was firm in her position, eyes meeting yours. ``The black dress will do, Artura.``

Artura fetches the dress, holding it up in the light. The dress was truly simple, a floor-length gown with a fitted sleeve and a trumpet base.``It will look beautiful on you, my Lady. Caelia, the emerald drop earrings and the single pearl necklace will do.``

Caelia returns to the vanity, plucking up a pair of well-endowed emerald earrings and silver chained necklace, cradling the jewelry as if it was a baby as she stepped to your side.

The two turned their backs to you, allowing for your privacy as you shucked off the nightgown and slipped into the evening gown. Even in the early mornings, you had to be dressed with the best. A lady of our status must always shine the brightest in the room, your mother would always tell you.

``You may turn back, ladies,`` you tell them, raising your chin slightly. Artura smiled warmly, fetching a pair of white silk gloves for you to wear. With extended hands, you allow for her to slide the gloves onto your hands, the hem reaching just above your elbow. As Caelia clipped in the lock of your necklace, she retreated back to the entrance of the room, hand placed on the lever.

Walking to the door, you passed the floor-length mirror that stood proudly facing the exit. Stopping, you looked into it. A stranger stared back.

``We will be late, my Lady,`` Artura reminds you, joining Caelia at the exit. You shiver at the cool breeze, nodding to yourself. You have no time to be yourself. ``Are you cold? Shall I fetch a winter coat?``

``That would be nice,`` You nod once more, stepping to the doors. Caelia opens them with a swift tug, the guards on either side turning to bow to you. Walking down the halls, you gaze out the large windows that cover the walls, daydreaming that you were out in the garden. You imagined the smell of the pine forest, the sweet scent of the honeysuckle that hung above the gazebo.A smile graced your lips, though only for a moment.

It was only a dream.

As you stepped into your first lesson, you nodded to the tutor, gloved hands clasped in your lap as you took a seat at the study desk. A plate of still-steaming rolls, scrambled eggs and bacon was sat next to your books, your textbook notably opened to a selection of passages on witch hunts.

This was going to be a long, long day.

#harry potter fanfic #draco malfoy x reader

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fruitdaze · 8 months

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still can't get over how wkx faked his death VERY CONVINCINGLY and didn't tell zzs anything about it. like he really just expected that zzs would be like "what a shame. oh well" and shed a tear and then move on with his life and not do anything stupid in the meantime?? they're both so absurdly self-sacrificial and weirdly enough i think that lends itself to selfishness, in the sense that they get so wrapped up in their own plans that they don't stop to consider how those choices are going to play out for the people around them. they think they can predict and orchestrate everything but you can't orchestrate humans and their emotions!! and that's the crux of the entire show actually!!! there's also a thread in here about wkx's sense of self-worth even after spending all of that time with zzs, precisely because he thought zzs would be fine without him, but that's, like. a whole other thing

#wkx's sense of self worth making its grand finale in the actual finale with the whole. waves hand iykyk #shl #word of honor #wenzhou #rtxt

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decepti-thots · 1 year

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Wayyy back in 2021, a good two years ago now, I wrote a post on a bad brain day that was less actual meta and more just me rambling that was me trying to unpick a specific thing I have a problem with in Dying of the Light as a kind of springboard into my bigger thematic issue with the arc. And I've always wanted to go back and redo it but never gotten around to it. But now I have! That's what this post is! You see what I am doing here.

Right, so. Hear me out here. The crux of it is that I think the turning point of DotL works a lot better in a scenario where Rodimus saves Megatron against his will. (This is a lie, the first thousand words of this are actually just about Rodimus and Megatron's narrative roles, but I swear I will get to the DotL bit.)

Let's back up a bit. One of the things that gets pointed out about the back half of MTMTE a lot is that Rodimus' arc quickly loses a lot of focus, and that this is jarring in a comic that had previously used him for a lot of its forward momentum narratively speaking. Rodimus didn't just get a lot of focus in early MTMTE in the sense of character spotlight, but also in how the same things that drove his "personal" arc drove the wider conflicts in the comic and pushed its overall story forward. That is to say: when Rodimus fucks something up for himself, or fixes something for himself, it has broader impact on the surrounding narrative. Rodimus' low point when the mess with Overlord comes out is also the comic's low point when a bunch of people have died and things reach a nadir. And when Rodimus resolves to change things after Remain in Light, it feels like a similar moment for the entire cast and story as a whole, this sense of "OK, now we're back on an upswing post-finale".

Megatron's introduction to the story massively reduces the degree of symbiosis like that between Rodimus and the story as a whole. Rodimus stops feeling like an ostensible protagonist among the ensemble even when he still gets pretty decent page time. I think the reason why is that a lot of the connections that were previously being drawn between his arc and the overall story progression shift to instead draw those links between Megatron and the direction of the story. Which causes a few issues, but in my opinion the biggest one is: Rodimus' entire character is designed to be a character who works like that. His arc is about understanding that his fuck ups have wide ranging consequences and how to be a leader that does not hide serial killers in the basement that ruin everyone's day. (He's very relatable, isn't he.) If you meaningfully reduce the degree to which his arc drives the broader conflicts of the plot, you can't really... do much with him. Because now, a ton of the page time when things go tits up in a big way gets handed over to Megatron for reasons of pursuing his arc, which also requires he face Big Consequences head on. And page time is scarce! But without Rodimus being the character whose investment in those big stakes is the focus, you don't have those opportunities to drive his character arc forward anymore, and frankly he was way too central for that to ever be anything but awkwardly noticeable as a dangling thread.

And I was scratching my head about why all this was such an issue when this is a comic that can pride itself on narrative efficiency above all else. Listen, MTMTE is really good at having almost everything pull double duty. The first issue is a masterclass in this on its own; every scene is using character dynamics to introduce multiple characters and often multiple relationships at once, foreshadowing is used to drop character notes, interpersonal dynamics are used to lay groundwork for bigger stories that will be told down the line. So the obvious answer to this issue is surely just that you need to incorporate the new character you're finding room for in your story into one of those dynamics.

Which I do think winds up being the issue. The comic never really manages to find a 'hook' for that Megatron-Rodimus dynamic that allows them to both occupy the same narrative space, as it were, where more than one or the other character they and their dynamic are driving the story together. So we wind up with this effect of Rodimus fading into the background of it. The problem seems to me to be that their arcs don't wind up with enough overlap for them to both occupy these story beats together without one of them- overwhelmingly Rodimus- seeming superfluous. The thing is, the arc set out for Megatron can't really be about his interpersonal issues with Rodimus. The scope is too big. You're never going to be able to turn them bickering due to a personality clash into fodder to drive the actual themes of it. Not in a way that feels actually relevant to what's at stake there.

Which means that to make them foils that can function as a tighter and more cohesive narrative unit, so that both of them can take equal billing in the "this is us moving the overarching plot forward" moments, I think the conflict between them needs to be operating on a thematic level. Because in MTMTE, it's... not? Seriously. It feels like it is, because it resembles what that setup looks like in other stories where characters are these ideological foils. But in what way is Rodimus, in MTMTE, a foil to the themes and aims of Megatron's arc? He's, errr. Not someone who has been an evil warlord? He's an Autobot who has... always been an Autobot? His arc just isn't obviously complementary because it's not an arc about redemption, or even really morality at all. (Note that characters don't really talk about Rodimus' fuck up with Overlord as a moral failing, but as a personal one. The moral framework doesn't tend to come into it with Rodimus, because that's not what the story is really interested in exploring with him.)

Which makes sense, because Rodimus' arc wasn't conceived to be a counterpart of Megatron's. And Megatron's wasn't designed around Rodimus. They are two lead characters whose arcs need them to be in very different stories for things to go in a direction that will bring out the beats of their respective arcs. And Megatron's got catchup to do in series two, so Megatron wins out.

But I don't think it actually has to be like that, because there is a way I think you can take the arcs as they're shown to us and intertwine them much more, which is where I can finally circle back around to the question of Dying of the Light.

At that point in the comic, I think you can say that the one really obvious parallel between the two that can be drawn is that (on admittedly different scales) they have both struggled to work out what accountability is supposed to look like. You have Rodimus who has been through the Overlord debacle and then Remain in Light, and you have Megatron who in DotL has the whole thing where he is confronted with just how many people he's killed. Rodimus in RiL especially has a whole thing where he dismisses the idea of dying heroically to make up for his mistakes getting people killed because it's cheap, and this is a defining character moment for him. It frames everything he does going forward and answers the question of "is Rodimus capable of taking actual responsibility", which sets us up for the vote and all that stuff. Rodimus is asked to risk dying to fix things and correctly identifies this as an easy way out and says "no, I'll do one better than that", and the remaining arc we get for him before Megatron's introduction is him dealing with fallout.

Dying of the Light has the scene for Megatron with the spark flowers, and while that scene does not tend to land for me overall, I can acknowledge that it has a really specific purpose: it's the point that Megatron's later attempt to just die with Tarn is calling back to. It explains his change in behaviour. What we've seen of Megatron up to that point suggests him as someone who is trying to make amends in the sense of balancing the scales- yes, he's done bad things, but now he's doing good things, and eventually this will even things out. The flower scene is there because it provides a visual metaphor for the sheer scope of what Megatron did, and importantly it provides that perspective to Megatron. It makes the point that doing this is clearly not possible given what, exactly, Megatron is making amends for. You can't just community service your way out of that graveyard, essentially.

So this allows us to look at Megatron trying to die alongside Tarn in DotL through the lens of him basically being like "there's no way for me to actually fix this, so all I can do is die for it". And this is where we run into the change that I think would allow this to be a point where Rodimus and Megatron's arcs could be tied together by a larger overarching theme: Rodimus thinks that's bullshit. Specifically, he thinks it's cheating. We know he does, because it's what he rejected in Remain in Light.

Rather than frame Rodimus as reaching for Megatron because of his personal investment in him as someone he's now come to care about, and Megatron accepting as a gesture towards accepting that friendship, I'd offer an alternative. Megatron does not accept and Rodimus hauls his ass out of there unwillingly. Not (just) because of their developing relationship, but because Rodimus is articulating an ideological disagreement with Megatron's conclusion; he thinks that Megatron accepting he has to die because there's no point trying to do anything about it is a cheat. Cowards' way out and all that.

This reintroduces Rodimus into the parts of the comic that are now mostly being progressed through Megatron's arc because now all of that is Rodimus' fault. He's the one who decided to save Megatron when he didn't have to, and any further consequences aren't just the consequences of Megatron trying to deal with what he's done and how it continues to impact everyone; they're also the result of Rodimus' decision to save him when he didn't have to. It also means that there's now a clear thematic concept being explored in the space between these two characters and how they differ. What does accountability look like? What does punishment look like? What investment do these characters have in those concepts? These are now disagreements that can not only fuel the panel-to-panel petty conflicts between these two characters, but their actual arcs. You can draw much stronger parallels between them than just 'this one's hotheaded and rash, and this one's not, and they are Bickering', which can drive individual character interactions but not the actual wider ideas the comic wants to engage with.

It opens up a lot of narrative space for these two characters to align their personal arcs in a way that engages what is at this point driving the overall plot forward, and it therefore allows them to both occupy that walking-inciting-incident position as opposed to just being like. Well I Guess Megatron Is The Protagonist Now. Their relationship becomes a central argument about what the comic is about that they can embody and express together, and conflict over whether the right choice was made can push them through the upcoming story beats.

Overall, MTMTE has an issue where it wants Megatron and Rodimus to be foils but can't actually find a place where they are outside the surface level. But they are both characters whose arcs are about being gigantic fuck ups and living with it, so the material like... exists! The text is there if you massage it right! And that's why I think they should have been even more dysfunctional. Megatron would be sooo mad Rodimus ruined his big death scene, and if nothing else, can we all please agree that would have been really funny.

#there. you're not allowed to say i don't ever write megatron meta now.#i wrote you one (1).#idw #meta #megatron #rodimus

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tgrailwar · 1 year

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Tumblr Holy Grail War, Another End: Night 1 (ALL SERVANTS)

Team Foreigner got Van Gogh's composure to 0! Something is happening!

Laughter.

Echoing laugher. Triumphant laughter. The laughter of a Servant who had lost everything. The laughter of a Servant who had gained everything.

Van Gogh. A patchwork Servant from beyond the void. Laughed.

VAN GOGH: "Ah... my deception ends here. Look upon 'Van Gogh'... the false Servant named Van Gogh... isn't it horrible? Isn't it beautiful? Ahaha... AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

A pulse emanating from the Servant shattered the bounds of the digital landscape that had been called 'reality'. This was the power of the Foreigner-class. The true power of the Foreigner-class, when deprived of the chains of 'logic' that bound it.

Six other Servants were hit by the pulse, the world around them collapsing, throwing them into hell. Havoc overwhelming. Chaos overflowing. A wave of utter madness, grabbing the minds of the enemy Servants and rending them asunder.

First, the Assassin.

Assassin: "...Where the hell am I... what the hell is that?!"

The Assassin drew his sword, uncharacteristic fear filling his mind and body. A shadow formed, vaguely in the shape of a Servant, unsettlingly enough. It lunged forward, as he stepped back, trying to defend himself as more shadows appeared.

Shadows from his peripheral, shadows that he couldn't see but hear, shadows that he couldn't hear but see.

Shadows that weren't real.

Shadows that were far too real.

Then, the Rider.

Rider: "Back off! Get away from me!"

He yelled, trying to add as much authority as he could as the false illusions patched together by real madness inched closer.

Archer: "...You're not real! You're an illusion, like Caster's Noble Phantasm!"

He yelled, as he tried to lie to himself, fingers rending at the stark white of his clothing, causing it to dye red. His own fingertips rent asunder as the skin on them began to wear down and redden as he scratched and screamed at nothing.

Saber: "Come at me! I'll cut you to pieces!"

She yelled, her sword swiping forward. It drew blood, before she screamed, clutching at her own shoulder as it bled profusely as it was struck in an identical spot.

Lancer: "Heh. You think you're cute, huh? We'll see how cute you think you are when this spear goes right through you!"

...An alliance, formerly airtight, splintered in seconds by the maddened wave of the unleashed Foreigner. Their identities began to crumble, as they engaged in bloody warfare.

Only two Servants stood in the wave unaffected. Perhaps both of them had already reached the crux of their madness to begin with, or perhaps they had already witnessed hell, and so this void was nothing but a reprieve.

Tortured Youth: "...So this is what you can do, Foreigner? I hope you're not plannin' on killin' me like the others?"

Patchwork Servant: "Ehehehe! Play with me, Avenger! Spin with me! Dance with me! Sing with me! Paint with me! Create with me! Don't mind the pain! Thrash and scream! Let's kill each other, and use our blood to repaint the world!"

Tortured Youth: "...Thought so. And here I wasted that mana boosting you up. Well, that's just my luck. Whatever, this little game sounds like fun either way. Let's play, Foreigner!"

EVENT: [ VOID SPACE ARMAGEDDON ]

Reality itself began to unravel, already thin threads snapping apart under the pressure of the Foreigner-class Servant!

Team Foreigner got Van Gogh's composure to 0! Team Foreigner used 'Wave of Madness'! With Van Gogh's composure at 0, she temporarily gains access to all of her skills until the battle ends!

Alliances are temporarily severed within Void Space! It's utter chaos! This is a battle for survival!

If Van Gogh wins first place, she'll inflict 2 wounds on every Servant!

If Van Gogh doesn't get first, then any Servant that scores under Van Gogh will sustain 1 wound!

Any non-Foreigner-class Servant that ends up in last place will sustain 3 wounds and be destroyed instantly!

Any non-Foreigner-class Servant that ends up above Van Gogh will be safe!

If Van Gogh gets last place, she'll sustain 3 wounds, but will lash out and inflict 1 wound on every Servant! if she gets anything other than 1st, she'll simply sustain 1 wound!

Skills such as 'Battle Continuation' or 'Independent Action' are nullified! Servants who perish in Void Space are gone!

Van Gogh's 'Wave of Madness' gives every other Servant a -10% demerit! …Angra Mainyu's been spared from the demerit?!

Angra Mainyu gave Van Gogh a +5% boost!

Musashi and Arjuna have been cursed by 'Soul of the Water Channels'! They have a -3% demerit for this round! This will stack with the current application of 'Soul of the Water Channels', meaning Musashi and Arjuna have -6%, and the others have -3%!

Final Score Augmentations:

Van Gogh: +41% Angra Mainyu: -40% Miyamoto Musashi: -29% Mandricardo: -36% Okada Izou: -36% Cu Chulainn: -21% Arjuna: -39%

Active Servant Skills and Current Statuses:

Van Gogh (Foreigner):

Het Gele Huis (A+) - When winning first place in a Free-for-All, inflict 2 wounds on the bottom Servant, rather than just one. If engaged in a one-on-one, inflict 2 wounds instead of one upon victory. Additionally, reduce Servant bonuses by 10%, and if the gap between scores is greater than 35% when winning, recover from a 'wound'.

Soul of the Water Channels (EX) - When fighting in a free-for-all, gain a +10% boost, and inflict a persistent 3% demerit on enemy Servants for this round and the next. When fighting one-on-one, gain a +5% boost, and inflict a -2% demerit to them for this round and the next.

Void Space Fine Arts (B+) - If receiving a demerit from enemies larger than 10%, convert it into a +10% boost. Gain a +5% boost, and add another +3% if going against a Servant who has been cursed by the demerit from 'Soul of the Water Channels'. Gain the ability to sustain one more wound than normal.

Existence Outside the Domain (A) - Gain an immunity from demerits, and also reduce enemy Servant boosts by 5%.

Insanity (C) - Gain a +5% boost.

Item Construction (B-) - Lower the victory gap for the 'recovery effect' of "Het Gule Huis" from 35% to 25%.

Divinity (B+) - Lower enemy boosts by -5%, and increase own buffs by 3%.

Curse of Sunflower (A) - When on her final wound, gain a +7% boost.

Van Gogh has [2/7] wounds!

Angra Mainyu (Avenger)

Zarich: Right Fang Grinder (C) - Reduce enemy Servant boosts by -3%.

Tawrich: Left Fang Grinder (C) - Gain a +3% attack boost.

Annihilation Wish (A) - When fully healed, gain a -20% demerit to his final score. With one wound, the demerit is reduced to -10%. With two wounds, the demerit is changed to a +20% boost.

Grail Curse, All The World's Evils (EX) - When part of a battle that results in a Servant dying, absorb a part of their essence. Take a random one of their combat skills for Avenger's own use and recover one Command Spell. Those are the only effects. ...Probably.

Angra Mainyu is uninjured!

Miyamoto Musashi (Saber)

Heavenly Demonic Thundering Eye (EX) - When fighting in a free-for-all, gain +10% to your final score, and reduce their scores by -5%. If fighting a Servant one-on-one, if the gap between scores is above 20%, inflict 2 wounds.

Battle Continuation (EX) - If she loses a confrontation while on her final wound, if there's only a 10% difference between the scores of her and her opponent (non-allied Servant), she can slip out unscathed.

Musashi is on her last wound! 'Battle Continuation EX' is nullified within Void Space!

Mandricardo (Rider)

Brigliadoro's Neigh (A) - Increases the Rider-class trait to +5% rather than +3% in free-for-all brawls.

Armor of the Nine Worthies (A) - When attacked, reduces the amount of the Servant's final combat poll result by 10%.

Mandricardo has [1/3] wounds!

Okada Izou (Assassin)

Man-Slayer (A) - When fighting a Servant that possesses a wound, gain a +3% boost. When fighting a Servant that possesses 2 wounds, gain +5% instead.

Izou has [1/3] wounds!

Cu Chulainn (Lancer)

Rune Magecraft (B) - When fighting in a free-for-all, gain a +5% to combat score results. Additionally, any skills that reduce scores against Lancer will have their effectiveness reduced by 1%.

Battle Continuation (A) - Is able to take 4 'wounds' instead of the normal 3. On his last ‘wound’, gain a permanent +5% boost to final combat poll results.

Protection from Arrows (B) - When going against an Archer, Caster or Assassin-class Servant, gain a +5% to final combat poll results, and reduce their results by 5% as well.

Cu Chulainn has [2/4] wounds!

Arjuna (Archer)

Hero of the Endowed (A) - If fighting an enemy Servant, and the difference between scores is within 3%, take the win.

Mana Burst (Flame) (A) - Gain a +8% boost to combat poll results when attacked during 'playing defensively', rather than +3%. When not ‘playing defensively’, gains a 5% boost to final combat poll results instead.

Independent Action (A) - After receiving his third 'wound', he has one more round to attempt to attack before fading away. (Cannot be healed during this period via Command Spell).

Arjuna is on his final wound! Independent Action is nullified by Void Space!

#tgw: another end #team foreigner #team avenger #team saber #team rider #team lancer #team archer #team assassin #thgw story

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aheathen-conceivably · 10 days

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Ok so I read the post on your thoughts on Gio and the American Dream and I hate to say it … as an immigrant, I understand him.

I also come from a culture where women tend to their male partner's needs and I don't believe he wants to turn Jo into a subservient wife. He fell in love with a lively, free, and wild Jo and loves that aspect of her.

At the end of the day she loves him too so why would she leave? I understand she doesn't like to be dependent of him but where else would she go? There are no parties or glamour, which was her whole thing, anymore. At least the farm offers stability in the economic crisis.

Point is, I understand Gio as an immigrant, but don't understand Jo as a woman.

BABES! We’ve got another one…

(As in me being touched and having no other means to say how much I love y’all takes other than to give them a standing ovation in GIF form).

But you know…there’s a whole lot to break down here, friend, especially about Jo. I think you know what that means! Under the cut we go….

First and foremost, I very much appreciate you saying you understand that aspect of Gio. I did in part write him as a commentary on the immigrant experience in America (filtered through his own personality/character of course), and so to know that is relatable means a lot to me. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to tell y’all his journey is far from over, and you can already see the cracks in his outlook beginning to form. Whenever Jo is depressed he says this quite vividly:

Because you are very, very correct. This isn’t about molding Jo into some subservient housewife, or even eroding those exact qualities that he loves in her. This is about Gio attempting to square what he’s been taught/believes will bring his life happiness and meaning with his own experience and emotions. It’s about the myth of the American dream and the perfect housewife and the very real struggle of those things existing as actual, lived realities.

Because at the root of it, Gio is amalgamating an understanding of his own family unit and what he knows he doesn’t want in this country. He has seen another methods of “making it” in America, and so he thinks if only he can make the “right” choices, he can avoid that, and become the respected and happy man that he wants to be.

Now onto Jo, boy oh boy, Jo….

I think one of the core misunderstandings here is that Jo wants stability. This is kind of the crux built into her desire for control and her never-ending failure to achieve it. She wants to control her surroundings, to make sure nothing and no one can hurt her, but she also wants to feel in a way that is hard to find in a stable, heavily domesticated life. On the flip side, despite whatever imaginary dream Gio has, he’s the same way. They both want a life filled with excitement and new experiences, new people and rushes of emotions. This is one of the ways they differ heavily from Antoine and Zelda.

Now on one level, this is simply the way Josephine is. She’s high energy, fun loving, and insatiable. But on a deeper level, this is tied into her experiences not only as a woman, but as a daughter. She has a brief moment of clarity in that last post where she realizes:

Now I have chosen not to go too in-depth on Josephine’s trauma, but you can see her lay out the course of events here and also her deep hesitation to any of it here. Josephine is still only a teenager in that second post. Her mother not only told her things like that (“this is the weight that prejudice and expectation have placed upon us”) but also “what do you want to be then? Some glorified maid to a man?” (Which, frankly, I can write another Ted Talk about the juxtaposition here, but I think ya'll can pull some threads).

So when you see Josephine’s struggle with control, this is heavily rooted in bodily autonomy. Now all things considered, Josephine has managed to make great strides toward reclaiming this and reasserting not only her sexuality, but also her sense of self in her body. Gio knows this. We see him recognize and respect it quite clearly in that last post. He’s been part of that process for her, and that only adds another element of love, trust, and safety between them.

But on a fundamental level, neither Gio nor Josephine has made the connection between that trauma, her own personality, and why she hates her life now so much:

Here’s the issue right now: Josephine doesn’t feel like she’s living her own life. We have seen how she would like to live in the 20s not just in the parties and glamour, but when she was managing bands. She wants to be fulfilled professionally, through helping people/places she believes in and bettering her own life by bettering theirs. That’s how she gets her joy, and that’s what she would chose to do if given the chance.

And right now, she does not feel like she gets to chose. You’re correct in that part of that is coming from the current economic situation. Again, she sees that herself here. She knows what demons are waiting outside her window, and how easily poverty can make them rearise. That only makes it worse. It doesn’t make the smell of bread (domestic security) any better or more comforting. It makes it bitter, because she didn’t chose it. She was backed into a corner by circumstance (and, as she can sense, by the choices men made for her without telling her), and now she feels like she can’t say no. That’s her ultimate trigger.

Now whether or not that loss of control is simply perceived, or should be offset by how “lucky” she is to be in a stable position in such precarious economic times, we might all have different options on. Even more, I’m sure each of us would answer differently for ourselves in that situation. I know I would. But for Josephine? Not only is this a life she will never find joy in, because even without her trauma, she is an ambitious, restless, and outgoing person with different goals for herself; but that added memory and pain makes her reaction to it all the more volatile.

Perhaps most importantly, Jo feels as though her life is being controlled again, whether by Gio, the reality of the world outside her window, or by her own guilt/love that makes her feel beholden to the people around her (just like it did to her mother). Because you’re right, she does love him. She wouldn’t leave because she doesn’t. If she leaves now, it would leave because she panicked, because she feels like she’s lost all the autonomy she worked so hard to regain and she’ll never feel the fulfillment she felt when she was successfully independent ever again. That’s the element I hope we can understand, even if it’s not what we would do.

#okay THAT might be my longest Ted Talk yet 🤣#which if you’re actually reading you really deserve a tshirt let’s be real #and I’m so very sorry they’re so long #I try and infuse them into all the posts but like to condense it and write it all out clearly can be so helpful sometimes #for me too let’s be real #and like I want them to have a real solid base before we move into ~the great unknown~#anywho there’s a number of threads I could have touched on here that I didn’t for ~time~#but if you’d like to go through the #Josephine Duplanchier extra #tag there’s some good stuff there too 😉#Giorgio Mistretta extra #also #*ahem*#does it REALLY offer stability in the economic crisis?#y’all remembering what I’m remembering? 😬#ain’t a true American dream without a healthy serving of debt aint it

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