#this is possibly maybe based on true events that occurred | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mumms-the-word · 1 month

Text

Shadow Curse Events Pt. 1

Ketheric, Selûne, Shar, and Aylin

I’ve played through the game a few times at this point and I always find myself struggling to understand the timeline or at least order of events that occurred with the Shadow Curse. I know some things conflict because there was one version of the story in Early Access (the version where Halsin accidentally killed Isobel) and it was heavily altered for the final version of the game, and some things just got *gestures vaguely* waved away, but I keep wanting to make sense of it anyway.

So that’s what this post (edit: I mean series) is going to do. After the cut, obviously. Long deep dive post ahead! Picture of a tired Ketheric for attention and because same bro c':

TLDR: These events happen either in the 1370s or the 1390s. Ketheric loses Melodia (his wife) and Isobel (his daughter) and turns to Shar. He captures Aylin, then builds a Big Dark Justiciar Army, training them and forcing them to kill Aylin over and over. Meanwhile, a Selûnite resistance is brewing in the town, and it's kind of making everything worse. One Selûnite rebel even goes so far as to make a deal with a devil. And all of that is BEFORE the Harpers and druids arrive as an army.

We don’t have dates, unfortunately, aside from knowing that the shadow curse itself was unleashed about a century ago, so “timeline” would be a loose term to use if/when I use it. But I have two theories about when it happened.

One theory is that because the Spellplague was happening between 1385-1395 DR (during which there was neither a true Weave nor a Shadow Weave, which is what the shadow curse is made of), the shadow curse likely started around 1396-1399, just shy of a full 100 years before the game’s events in 1492. But that’s just me conjecturing based on the idea that if the Shadow Weave is gone…how does the shadow curse stick around?

The other theory is that the shadow curse was unleashed sometime between 1371 and 1374. This is because a) Dark Justiciars were still being sent by Ketheric Thorm to destroy Moonhaven (the Blighted Village) in 1371 (Ketheric writes a letter about attacking Moonhave and a journal dated 1371 boasts that Ilyn Toth, the basement apothecary-necromancer dude, got killed by Dark Justiciars) and b) because Khelben Arunsun himself, the literal Blackstaff (super powerful and very old wizard), wrote a letter negotiating surrender on behalf of the Harpers.

We cannot be party to the suffering of the people of Reithwin, and indeed, of the great loss of life that this war will visit upon the Sword Coast - and, perhaps, beyond it. So it is written, and so let it be done, Khelben Arunsun, on behalf of the High Harper Council and its allies.

Wiki says Khelben broke his alliance with the Harpers in 1370 due to some disagreements, but it’s possible his splinter faction was at the battlefield with the other Harpers. I doubt he was there personally, but who knows. I wouldn’t go any earlier than 1371, though, because Baldur’s Gate II happens in 1369, and Jaheira would have been too busy dealing with those events to deal with Ketheric too. But it can’t be later than 1374, because Khelben Arunsun dies in 1374.

(I have questions about how the shadow curse survived the Spellplague and the loss of the Shadow Weave, but the answer to that could simply be All Magic Was Weird and Unstable at the time…plus Thaniel was already in the Shadowfell by this time, so the land couldn't heal.)

So it’s either 1371-1374 (because of the Khelben timeline, and I guess the Spellplague didn’t affect it) or it’s 1396-1399 (because of the Spellplague, but the writers just forgot Khelben was dead by that point, or maybe his ghost wrote the surrender notice idk). Both are good enough for Halsin and Jaheira to talk about things happening “a century ago,” but you can see why I’m avoiding dates.

But let’s push it back a few more decades. Back when Ketheric was a Selûnite and Isobel a very small child.

As we’re probably all well aware, during this time, Ketheric worships Selûne along with his wife, Melodia. At some point, he even commissions the local Mason’s Guild to build Moonrise as a testament to Selûne herself, according to Morfred the mason (who you can talk to in House of Hope, it’s pretty cool). Ketheric and Melodia have Isobel, but then Melodia dies while Isobel is still pretty young. Ketheric remains a Selûnite, mostly for Isobel’s sake, until she dies too.

Ketheric: I’ll tell you a story, True Soul. About a man who sold himself piece by piece. He had…everything. A wonderful wife. A brilliant daughter. They lived not far from here. His wife died too young. Grief tore through their home like a thief, snatching away the scent of her hair, the rustle of her skirts. But the man did not break. He could not break. His daughter needed him whole, after all. She grew up—grew strong. Challenged him. Filled his heart with such joy it supplanted all sorrow. When she was killed, the man…he tried to remain whole, but it wasn’t possible. Do you understand? Player: So the man fell to pieces. Ketheric: The pain was unbearable. All-consuming. He decided he’d do anything for reprieve. First, he sold himself to the goddess of loss. But the pain did not subside, no matter his obscene feats of devotion. Then a new god came—a god who promised the man something wonderful: his daughter. Her life returned. Imagine it. He would have to give everything: his body and soul entire. He did not hesitate. Not for a moment.

We know this story. Ketheric turns to Shar and everything goes Very, Very Badly. But the exact details/order of Ketheric's Sharran days are a little hazy. So here's what I've been able to piece together to sate my own curiosity.

While Ketheric is still a faithful (but waning) Selûnite, Dame Aylin visits as an emissary of Selûne. Moonrise/Reithwin is a Selûnite refuge and the Thorms are allegedly devout favorites of the moon goddess, so it's a big deal. While she's there, she and Isobel fall in love. Ketheric disapproves, in part because Aylin is immortal and Isobel is not (Isobel and Aylin both say this in dialogue).

Plus, and this is a personal opinion, I think Ketheric might have seen Aylin's interest in Isobel as another thing Selûne was trying to take from him. It isn't enough that Selûne let Melodia die, now her daughter is trying to woo his daughter and take her too.

But then Isobel dies. Somehow. The launch version of the game isn’t clear how. Aylin mourns but Ketheric spirals. He turns to Shar, hoping she will force him to forget about Isobel, but he doesn't. Nevertheless, he becomes a zealous Sharran.

[A journal spanning years, beginning with the birth of a child and ending with what appears to be a series of dateless tragedies.] How can she be gone? Where did she go? The Moonmaiden cannot be so unfeeling - so cruel. Not toward her most devoted servant. Not after Melodia. It makes no sense. It makes no sense. I won't survive it. That much I know. Forgetting is the only possibility. The embrace of oblivion. The reprieve of nothingness. It would not be possible for a man to survive knowing what he knows. Knowing what can be lost. Shar understands that. Hers is the only mercy I can comprehend. My mind is full of holes - yet not enough. The emptiness. The time. The nothingness. And still I remember. Still I remember it all. There is no mercy in this beating heart. There is no mercy in life at all.

He builds the Gauntlet of Shar (or maybe renovates and Shar-ifies it, maybe it was already there) beneath the Thorm mausoleum, connecting it to the much more ancient Grymforge area. Grymforge becomes a kind of base or stronghold for the Justiciar army while the Gauntlet is designed to test their mettle and prepare them for the task that will make them official Dark Justiciars—killing Aylin, though it's not clear when Ketheric and Balthazar lure her into the Shadowfell.

I'll get back to that later.

We know that Grymforge was used as a Dark Justiciar stronghold and possible training ground because of all the Sharran stuff we find there. It's like super obvious. The feasthall room, the dormitories, the weapons that lay everywhere. There's basically a whole Sharran city in the Underdark beneath and near Reithwin, some of which we can see from various points in Grymforge. In fact, if you go through the poisoned room where Nere is, you can see the Gauntlet down below.

(It's a little hard to see here 'cause I play on console but there's a glimpse of the giant Shar statue that takes up a ton of space in the Gauntlet. Somehow, the two places used to connect.)

Ketheric's new Sharran teachings are ruthless and vicious. He encourages his Dark Justiciars to kill a Selûnite once a tenday or more as part of their training and service to the Lady of Loss.

The Law of Nightfall: From the moon falls the foulest of lights. iIt peeks through cracks and fissures, illuminating the most remote recesses of the Underdark. Light bestows hope, a pernicious notion which must be extinguished. At the darkest hour, pray to your Lady and feast in Her honour. The second day after, slay a disciple of Selûne. If none may be found, a Lathanderian or Mystran are an acceptable offering. Do this once a tenday, and the Lady of Loss shall know you.

Reithwin and the surrounding village soon become a hunting ground. Most people convert. Those who don't get hung in the square as examples (according to a shadow memory). All faithful Selûnites are forced to practice their devotion to the Moonmaiden in secret, led by Morfred the mason and his brother Halfred the innkeeper of Last Light Inn. Halfred hides Selûnite relics beneath Last Light (you can still find them) while Morfred plots a true resistance.

[Hidden amidst columns detailing the income and expenditure of a tavern is an aside, written in tiny, urgent handwriting.] I have concealed the sacred relics of our revered goddess in the darkest corner of this place. Morfred, my loyal brother, seeks to forge a network of allies to stand against the oppressive reign of Ketheric Thorm. Sadly, fear has gripped the hearts of many, turning them away from our cause. I cannot truly blame them, for trepidation fills my soul as well - but I must put aside my own fears and reunite with Morfred in the bowels of the Mason's Guild. Together, we shall preserve what we can of the Moonmaiden's light, and hope that the banners of the faithful soon rise against that treacherous dog, Thorm.

But as time goes on, Morfred grows increasingly distressed with the events happening in Reithwin and the ease with which people are eager to switch faiths.

- How quickly things change. The Thorms are Selûnite through and through - or so I believed. Perhaps Ketheric only converted for Melodia, and with her death - and then his daughter's - his faith died too. But to turn to Shar? It beggars belief. - Ketheric's Justiciars are growing greater in number, and more determined to rout out any traces of Selûne in Reithwin. Why do they think this town was built? One cannot rip out the foundations of a building and expect it to remain standing. - Brother and I remain the last two bastions of Our Lady of Silver in the town. A few - the trusting few - come to worship in secret by moonlit nights. Others - converts, all. Whether they truly believe, I cannot say. Impossible, isn't it?

(Don't worry, the second page is further down lol spoilers!)

Life is not going well in Reithwin, even if you're not a Selûnite. Ketheric is determined to destroy all traces of Selûne and treason of any kind. His Dark Justiciars begin tormenting citizens to reveal pockets of Selûnite resistance. He also suffers no treasonous word against him, even if the citizens in question aren't Selûnite. We see a glimpse of this and of the Justiciars' cruel influence during the questline with He Who Was and Madeline, who ratted out her friends' innocent(?) complaints about Ketheric to some Justiciars, resulting in their brutal deaths.

Eventually Morfred realizes that the Dark Justiciars are too powerful to resist and turns to Raphael, offering his soul in exchange for something to destroy the Dark Justiciar army.

- Sick of standing idle while Justiciars gain power in our humble town. What will become of us if we allow it? I met a man who was no man. Touched by a devil. Or maybe worse. But he offered me something I couldn't refuse - help. - The time is now. Ketheric's Justiciars, their stronghold in the temple below - they will be wiped out. All of them. I didn't ask how. I just want them gone. Let the Harpers have at Ketheric now. They'll make short work of him.

You can ask Morfred about this in the House of Hope, actually, where he confirms the details. I mean, he's in Raphael's house, so it's pretty obvious the he did, in fact, make a deal with him.

Infernal Mason: When tragedy came, my master fell into darkness and despair. He marshalled a great army to ruin the world and bring all into shadow. I could not let it happen. I sought out the devil Raphael and signed an infernal pact with him. He promised to destroy my master’s army, and I promised him my soul in return. The devil was true to his word. Fiends slaughtered my master’s forces, but he endured somehow, and blighted the land.

The Fiend in question here is Yurgir, who ends up crashing through Grymforge and the Gauntlet to kill all Dark Justiciars in his path. (He misses one, because Raphael is a sneaky bastard who let one get away by turning him into a swarm of rats, but I digress.) We know Yurgir caused the destruction in Grymforge, too, because of the Merregon masks and hellbeasts we find around the area, and the fact that if you pass all the checks with the Duergar mason examining the stone, he helps you piece together this narrative:

Stonemason Kith: An ancient city, hewn from the stone by the disciples of Shar, later abandoned. Untold centuries later, a new tribe revives it. Fresh walls, fresh sculptures...until a great hellbeast charges through, toppling the walls and crushing the people! Heh - that explains the infernal plate I found. Perhaps you might have use of it.

Further proof that Grymforge and the Gauntlet were once connected...somehow.

Anyway, by the time Yurgir is called in, Morfred's already been found out. Thisobald overhears him drunkenly complaining about Ketheric in the Waning Moon and informs Ketheric of his treachery. Ketheric orders a raid on the mason's guild, leaving Halfred the lone source of Selûnite resistance. It's unknown what becomes of Halfred, but considering the fact that the inn was still taking guests (like Art Cullagh) and housing the Harpers right before the shadow curse descended (there's a shadow memory of a Harper toasting his comrades in Last Light right before the battle with Ketheric long ago), it's likely he's a victim of the curse and not Justiciar brutality.

I’m not sure which is worse, honestly.

It's unclear when Morfred dies, though he admits to witnessing the first part of the shadow curse (i.e., "...but he endured somehow, and blighted the land"). But Morfred's deal coincides in some ways with the arrival of the Harpers and druids. I think he probably makes the deal with Raphael before the Harpers officially march against Ketheric and then gets caught after he hears rumors of the Harpers.

Raphael makes good on his deal around the same the Harpers arrive, perhaps a little afterward. This means Yurgir's slaughter of Justiciars in the Underdark must happen concurrently with the battle happening topside between Ketheric's army and the Harpers/druids, meaning Ketheric is losing his army on two fronts at the same time. Victory seems assured for the Harpers and druids, but of course we know now that Ketheric had a way of cheating death already in place.

He had already imprisoned the Nightsong in a Shadowfell soul cage.

Again, we’re not sure exactly when this happens, but it’s after Isobel dies and before the shadow curse, which unleashes with Ketheric’s supposed death in the battle against the Harpers and druids. However, Aylin herself says that Ketheric and Balthazar lured her into the Shadowfell under the pretense of saving an innocent.

Dame Aylin: He and his loathsome advisor Balthazar lured me into the Shadowfell, claimed they'd found someone in need of my aid. There they trapped me in their infernal cage. I was killed, murdered, made dead, over and over and over by Justiciars of every make and kind. I was reborn, for it is my nature. And Ketheric fed upon my immortality all the while.

This makes me think that Aylin wasn’t aware of Ketheric’s conversion yet, so it must have been very soon after, because otherwise, why would she trust a known Sharran telling her to enter the Shadowfell, the realm that is entirely under Shar’s control? I also suspect Ketheric built (or renovated) the Gauntlet around Aylin after her capture, perhaps at the behest of Shar due to their collaboration in making up new Justiciar teachings, or perhaps out of a sick, vengeful desire to see Aylin tormented for daring to love his daughter.

If this is true, then there’s a very real chance that Ketheric was unkillable before he truly started to torment Reithwin town, and well before the Harpers stepped in to take him down.

Anyway we at least know that Ketheric trapped Aylin in the Shadowfell before the big battle against the Harpers because a) both Isobel and Aylin talk about her being there for a century and b) because Ketheric is already using her invulnerability to survive assassination attempts on his life prior to or during the actual battle against him and his army:

23 Elient The Harpers came too close - they poisoned Father Ketheric himself, yet he professes no ill effects. Malus insists it a fluke. Doctor he may be, but he is no less a fool for it: Father has achieved that of which I can only dream: immortality. I have long suspected. I can guess Father's purpose, but I cannot fathom the means.

This brings us to the eve of the battle itself. But this post is already hella long, so keep an eye out for part 2, all about the Harper and druid battle against Ketheric!

115 notes · View notes

sirenjose · 26 days

Text

Predictions for The Voyage of Oceanus

(I made guesses last year for the Zinaida event and managed to correctly guess Andrew was the culprit/killer before it was revealed, so I wanted to try to do that again this year before we got too much info or any answers)

Main Predictions

Frederick is the antagonist (as in he will be the cause of the events that occur during this event or at least a contributor to some degree)

The jellyfish toxins will be the cause of everyone going crazy/behaving abnormally and whatever hallucinations they see (ex: my guess is it is the reason behind Alice's behavior and what she said she saw to Inference)

Charles will be involved in whatever incident Inference has to solve but won't be the actual true culprit (this is a guess based on Charles' backstory, as his actions indirectly lead to the (accidental) death of his friend. As it was indirect, that's why I guess in this event Charles will either be falsely suspected to be the culprit or may play a minor role in what happens but he won't do anything super bad, at least on purpose)

Violeta may seem dead but may not actually be truly dead (based on how she likely survives in canon after Joker leaves her to die in the snow, and how I wonder if she'll be involved in the "guest performance" referenced in Mike's 3rd letter)

Side Notes/Predictions

That agreement Branley had many of the personnel aboard the ship on his voyage sign is suspicious, the same one that Mr. Worthington didn't have to sign as he wasn't part of the "core personnel". Secretive agreements usually imply something up. "Trying to hide their research discoveries" feels like whatever they found out could be important, and the crew 25 years later will likely discover whatever it was considering Inference makes a comment about doing so during the event. Not sure yet about this, just wanted to call out it's suspicious and stood out to me.

Speaking of suspicious, there's also that letter from whoever provided Inference with his disguise. No idea who this is. I did try to think about who it could be, but many of my guesses didn't feel quite right (I wondered about Wu Chang, but we know nothing about him or why he'd help. There's Paranormal Detective, but he wouldn't do something like this. There's Fiona, who does do disguises, but I'm not quite sure. There's White, but like Paranormal Detective, as Inference knows him, I doubt he'd do something in this fashion. My big random guess is DM, even if just because he'd get a laugh out of making Inference dress in the type of outfit Inference detests. That and DM seems to be the reason Inference gets involved in a lot of the cases we see during these anniversary events. So yea, he's so far my first guess, but who knows.)

Frederick was the "benefactor" to spend a "huge amount of money" building this copycat ship and getting all the exact details, down to the roles people play, as similar as possible. So with how long he spent to prepare this, it contributes to the idea that Frederick could be behind whatever incident occurs during this event aboard the ship.

I don't quite know why, but for some reason Keigan mentioning the "blue jellyfish pendant" stood out a lot to me. (Honestly I at first didn't really read everything, but I paused after seeing that mentioned). Not quite sure why, but reading it made me wonder if whatever this was would be important, or if it appearing or disappearing would be important for this event. I actually reread everything after that, which was when I realized it belonged to this "Professor Schelling". It was only then that I made the connection "Hey, Frederick's S-tier has blue jellyfish themes all over his outfit". Maybe if Frederick was tied to this Schelling person, that could explain why he'd put so much effort into recreating this ship and voyage. Then from there, I noticed it mentions Schelling's "acedemic achievements" weren't "directly inherited", with his children being "too young" to learn anything of "scientific value". Not "directly inherited" makes me think of Frederick in canon who didn't inherit his family's musical talent. And I had to reread the children bit twice to realize it's not saying he didn't have children. He did, they were just too young. So his children were the ones that didn't "inherit" that stuff from the previous line. Ergo, Frederick might be the kid of this Professor Schelling. So even if he wasn't very knowledgeable about science initially, considering the science books in his room, it seems he might've tried to fix that, potentially similar to Frederick trying to be a famous musician despite not having the same musical skills as his family. If Frederick is recreating what happened 25 years ago, and his father was involved, maybe he's trying to prove he is just as good as his father? I'm also thinking of parallels to Frederick in canon and why he's going after the Blue Hope gem...

Similar to how I wonder if Orpheus drugs the participants by including it in their meals, I wonder if the jellyfish toxins will poison people by being included in people's meals. Frederick did mention it can affect people if ingested. That would potentially mean Demi might be working with Frederick, since she prepares people's foods. Considering how Demi seems to be working with the manor owner and her roles in other events, this wouldn't surprise me too much. Her name is "Siren" after all, so this sort of role, especially if she's giving people toxins that could cause hallucinations like a siren's song might, seems fitting for her codename.

The mention of electromagnetic fields reminds me of some of the research/theories I wrote regarding Jose, as I remember discussing how electromagnetic fields, like what is mentioned in Wu Chang's letters regarding events during Jose's game, can affect compasses, which can lead to people getting lost, which I remember due to my research regarding Jose's Bobolink skin (bobolinks are birds that can navigate via electromagnetic fields, and will fly in the wrong direction due to mesing with those fields). I remember the event mentioned Inference's clock being frozen at 6:30. I wonder if this'll be important somehow. (I also just find all the potential connections to stuff I did for Jose funny and had to call it out. Works out I already did all this research so I know about some of this already ^_^')

23 notes · View notes

justlarkin · 8 months

Text

Continuation: The reason why Monomasa wanted to talk to MC was because he was hoping that they'd be able to convince Drovain to absorb the rest of him because Drovain will die if he doesn't. MC isn't really down with this request because their job is to observe heroes' dreams and Drovain's dream is for Monomasa to be able to come out and finally live his life without being controlled by others. Asking Drovain to give up on his dream would go against their job and, quite frankly, Drovain seems to care more about Monomasa's wellbeing than his own, so he wouldn't be down with it regardless. Monomasa and Drovain are both eventually going to be screwed if this doesn't happen though, unless MC pulls some shenanigans, so MC has some stuff to think about.

Danzo was actually listening to their conversation, so in the morning when he sees MC internally stressing about the situation, he decides to distract them from it by being obnoxious, which is nice of him imho.

Galvo finally ends up remembering that he's actually heard about an observer named MC from Exio. About them being a Unique, bringing back Mt. Fuji, that their power and skill are a mess, but they're on their way to becoming something... which shouldn't be possible since that all occurred in the present world and MC should be the only MC present. Exio would also tell Galvo that he couldn't meet MC when he asked about it. Exio was telling others about how based and OP MC is, ain't that sweet? Or ominous? Why not both? It's interesting how much he divulged to Galvo since he's usually so secretive, even around Seiichiro and his gang. MC wasn't even something he would have to mention at any point since Galvo didn't know about them, it was unprompted. Maybe Exio feels comfortable mentioning the things going on in the present world to him because he figured that it was a separate world and nothing would come from it if he knew. I'm choosing to believe he just uses Galvo to vent and traumadump on because he doesn't want to pay for therapy.

So anyways, the gang comes to the conclusion that Galvo's Exio and their Exio are most likely the same guy and bro has been using his power to world hop or that Galvo's Exio and their Exio have been communicating. According to Monomasa, this seems to line up with Exio making random schedule changes as if he knew the future, which would be possible if he already experienced these events in other worlds or if he's getting a heads up from someone.

The current objective is to flip Exio's bricks and get back to their own world, and by extension Danzo can back to his master. MC starts getting the feeling that Seiichiro's order for Danzo to protect MC might be getting in Danzo's way, which seems to be true since he seems to be hindered in battle while protecting them. MC can finally understand what Monomasa meant by Drovain being incomplete and weaker while he's around.

MC ends up talking about feeling bad for getting in Danzo's way, which Danzo "nuh uhs", and this leads to a conversation about the relationship and trust between heroes and operators, trust being a two-way street for them. Galvo asks MC who is that ideal hero that they can put their trust in and the game makes you choose between Akashi, Mokdai, and Sui. As you can see, it's red, so this option is important and the game WILL REMEMBER it for later. I would've picked Sui, but went with Akashi since I know that from a narrative point, Akashi is the one who desires MC's trust and faith the most.

Galvo requests that MC put the same trust they'd put in that chosen hero in all of them for now and work together. Monomasa seems to take his words into consideration, so maybe they'll work things out between Drovain and Monomasa at some point with a collaboration of some sort. Galvo then suggests that MC just order Danzo around, so they won't feel like a hindrance to him and, you know, teamwork, which both of them go along with.

They get to the place Exio and Galvo crashed, so that MC can try to open up a path to their world, but they discover that the area is too unstable to do so. Danzo shows them that the facility stats Grigory showed them earlier are waaay over what they should be and ominously says something that can be summarized as "we're probs boned" before the screen statics out.

#shut up lark #lah spoilers

36 notes · View notes

ultraericthered · 29 days

Text

Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 (really Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey Take 2, For Real This Time!), AKA Where The Bloody Honey Was THIS Last Year???

I’ve not seen this yet but I, as sincere and dedicated a fan of Winnie The Pooh as you’ll ever find, made it no secret how much I loathed last year’s so-called Pooh horror flick (which I did not even actually watch and never will), thinking it an abomination purely because it didn’t have the stones or the vision to actually go all in with what it promised and instead gave us random ass generic slashers in bad rubber Pooh and Pig masks killing screaming girls and tormenting a useless “Christopher Robin” and his fiancé, with a Pooh-related backstory tacked on at the beginning and then never followed through on with what the movie actually delivered on screen. Had the film embraced the absurd camp horror in the very concept of the Hundred Acre Wood gang as feral predators, I’d have respected it. I’m far from alone in thinking this too: the film won the Worst Picture Razzie award for 2023 for a reason. It was garbage in its purest form.

So then this “sequel”, which I was not anticipating and was feeling I’d rather ignore, comes out and actually gives us exactly that! Like, what the Hell? This movie isn’t just doing what its predecessor ought to have been all about doing from the get-go, it even does what the 2022 Grinch-themed holiday slasher The Mean One failed at as well! It improves on what came before through two things: being competently made in all areas (like, it actually has a significant budget this time around), and actually taking some real twisted joy and fun in its reimagining of Milne lore and what can be done with that. Suddenly, Christopher Robin is a major player in the story and a psychologically distraught man played by a different, better actor. Pooh and Piglet now actually resemble mutant animal people instead of human killers in masks and they’re properly motivated in their killing. Tigger appears as a very Freddy Krueger-esque murderous maniac who puts his “bouncy” style of killing to great use. And good lord, Owl is a badass, terrifying menace who really makes the horror of the story work while still not losing his own morbid humor. And that throwaway backstory from before? Thrown away! In its place is a much stronger one that serves as perhaps the darkest possible medium answer to the age old “so are they real sentient critters or stuffed animals that Christopher only imagines are real?” question. And how it manages to get away with all this is perhaps the one area of pure genius that the film has got. Tellingly, the screenplay was written by an actual script writer this time rather than the hack director, and both this writer and the producer came up with the remedy for the disaster that was the first film: its events did not truly occur in this universe. In-universe, what was turned out last year was a cheap, low budget, schlocky horror film based on the real Christopher Robin’s account of a massacre he’d survived out in the woods, with that film lazily misrepresenting what had actually happened and what he’d actually experienced when it did. By having the first Blood and Honey exist as exactly the godawful film that it is within this new cinematic universe, Blood and Honey 2 is giving us permission to pass on watching it and disregard it entirely, as it’s just a bastardization of the true story that actually matters to films starting with this one. You could not ask for a better saving throw than that!

Its core area of weakness, however, is the story itself and how it’s managed in terms of the film’s pace and tone. Maybe this would’ve played better if this had been what we got in early 2023, but since it instead has come after last year’s Five Nights At Freddy’s film adaptation, the similarities become impossible not to notice, complete with our main protagonist being haunted by childhood trauma and playing this dead straight even while off on the side there are absurd looking animals slaughtering people in ridiculous ways and being very tongue-in-cheek about it. It’s like the writer envisioned a plot to a serious horror/thriller film but applied it to this gleefully dumb, schlocky B movie horror campfest based on a beloved child-friendly property, and these things just don’t go together very well.

All things considered, this is a mediocre indie horror film based on famed A.A Milne stories and characters that revels in its own mediocrity and the gross, senseless, nonsensical novelty of its premise…and in being so, is a HUGE glow up from the first attempt at it, which was a complete nothing of a film offering nothing of value to any human being who could ever have the misfortune of watching it. This one at the very least delivers on what it promises to be and does so with far more confidence, competence, sincere passion and amusement than its predecessor. If we end up getting more Pooh horror films like this, I’d not mind giving them a look, though I doubt there’s anything they could do that’d really wow me or anyth…….

This is the start of a cinematic “Poohniverse” that will go full Avengers in crossing the films over? Okaaaay, that’s interes……

Heffalumps and Woozles confirmed for B&H3?!??!

#Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 #opinion #criticism #review #horror #surprisingly improved sequel #discontinuity

3 notes · View notes

weavefcrged · 7 months

Text

In her 'canon', ie my write up for her as a fandomless oc, Reese's abilities included psychometry with pre/postcognition, cryokinesis, seeing the dead / talking with & touching the dead, true sight, dreamwalking & regenerative healing / immortality. I will go through her character sheet and write up a list of what spells & abilities she has in game but the base abilities are ones that she still has even if there isn't a specific spell or in game ability for them as these are all powers that are shown to be in game even if not by player characters. She had most of them from childhood after her first death (in her very, very very first incarnation many years ago when I first started writing her, she died after falling through the ice when she was about seven or eight and an ancient entity resuscitated her and left a tangent of its powers behind that awakened latent abilities - this is likely what is going to be the case in this verse as well - probably left unspecified as there is a plethora of ancient gods, powers, sentient disembodied entities from other verses etc. that exist in the background of this universe.) Additional abilities were unlocked through her sorcerer's training & then of course, brain worm abilities just further amplified what she can do.

While she is generally 'good' aligned, she's also very malleable and influenced by the people around her. Between her late adolescent years and the events of the game, she was pretty closely structured, probably paired off with someone that was her guardian (possibly lover / life partner) kind've like the Warder's in WoT with their magic users, to keep her from straying too far from the light side of her abilities, to make sure she didn't come under undue influence or get snatched up by a cult that wanted to make use of her abilities. I'm running with the general idea that whomever that was died (or she presumes died) in the Illithid crash. In verses where she's the Tav, story plot progresses as canon. In verses where she's a supporting cast member or that we go with an entirely different course of events for plot purposes than what we see 'on screen' in the game, she will have wandered away from the crash (maybe even was flung somewhere else entirely not even in the primary starting location) and ended up wandering around for a while on her own until she runs into your Tav or (in the game npc) or OC or whatever and then the story can progress from there for whatever aspects of the plot we would like to explore.

I am absolutely fine with darker themes of corruption & toxic relationships if that's a plot line you're interested in - there's a few things I won't write but are part of her history (csa & n*nc*n are things that occurred at one point or another in her past, but will not be seen on screen other than mentions of plot points if the relationship with Reese & your character reach that point, or it's seen in a mental connection etc.).

This is a very rough, just getting things out there bio post; I'll work on more specific things this weekend. Let me know if you have any questions at all & if you want to know what choices she's made etc. feel free to drop by my inbox! I am at the beginning stages of act 3 in the game so most of my stuff will take place somewhere in Act 1 & 2 - I'm up for stuff in Act 3 if you want, but I have no idea what happens & have managed to avoid most spoilers so far, so you'd have to be willing to fill me in!

#BIO.#BIOGRAPHY.#BIO. ( wip. )

6 notes · View notes

loregoddess · 1 year

Text

Final (maybe?) batch of assorted Octopath Traveler II theories and observations before TotK drops (I promise I am not procrastinating something else ~ <3). Divided into sections based on topic, but there's no meaningful organization, it's more just a list of some of my other theories and thoughts.

As usual, major spoilers for everything including the endgame. I'm still not trying to argue for or against any particular theory, I'm just herding the stray thoughts in my head. So as usual, all theories are based on my own reading of the text, nothing's canon or word of god, it's all wild speculation and good fun.

Following sections include:

-Addendum to my "Temenos is related to the Alpates blodline" theory

-Theory about Roi and the bloodline of light

-Speculations on why Throne isn't the vessel for Vide

-Possible typo in one of Ori's Journal entries which might be causing a misunderstanding of what occurred during this one event

-----

Addendum to My Theories About Temenos (specifically that he's related to the bloodline of Alpates)

-I totally forgot to note that his name, "Temenos", is the Greek word for the sacred land around a temple (yes this is like giving a character the name Churchyard or something, like this is just the name for a type of land, but it's Greek so I guess it sounds fancy?) ahem, anyhow, odd name choice aside, if Temenos was related to Alpates, but not the main bloodline, then he is, in a sense, the "land" that surrounds the sacred temple (the relic mirror) in that he is blood-related but not the direct bloodline of Alpates.

-An argument against this theory: Both Hikari and Elena are canonically known descendants of bloodlines of light which may be related to the bloodline of Alpates, and both exhibit unusual light-based powers because of this. Hikari's "Shadow's Hold" becomes "Light's Radiance" when he is finally able to conquer his shadow self, and Elena is shown to have some sort of unusual power (discussed in detail later on). Alpates herself doesn't show any unusual powers like this, although she is able to "see" the Flames in both Throne and Temenos, suggesting she either has some sort of very strong spiritual power, or that her ties to Aelfirc allow her a connection to the Flame itself outside of what the average person is able to sense. The counter-counterargument to this would be that, after completion of Temenos's personal story, he learns the EX skill "Heavenly Shine" which is essentially an explosion of light, and the most powerful light-based attack in the game, which could be his version of Hikari's Radiance or Elena's mysterious magical powers.

-----

I didn't discuss it in my other post, but Roi could also potentially be related to the bloodline of light, if only because it's heavily implied that he and the Dark Entity are the same being. It could be that Roi was used by Harvey as an early attempt to find the One True Magic, but that Roi's blood wasn't "pure" enough, leaving the Dark Entity. It's also possible Roi has no connection to the bloodline of light, but that this lack of connection is what made him transform into the Dark Entity as a Harvey's failed attempt at creating the One True Magic. It could be that, by the failure of Roi, Harvey was able to come up with the methods to turn Rita into the Grieving Golem, a more "perfect" attempt at creating the One True Magic, since her blood is of the Lumina family line and either more pure or powerful than Roi's. There's also a handful of minor similarities between the Grieving Golem and the Dark Entity, and notably both repeat phrases they used when they were alive (the Golem's use of "my darling" when encountering Osvald, and the Dark Entity's repetition of the last words Roi spoke to Temenos).

It's interesting to note that, as far as Osvald and Temenos are aware at the start of their respective stories, Rita and Roi are both dead. For Osvald this is apparent, since his entire story arc begins as a vengeance quest and how Rita "died' is clearly shown. But this isn't as obvious for Temenos, as he only mentions that Roi was "killed" in his Crackridge Travel Banter with Agnea, which is...odd since Roi's body shouldn't have been recovered if it was used to create the Dark Entity, and yet Temenos is very much aware of the fact that Roi is no longer alive. How this came about is never explained, so it's possibly an oversight by the writers, but it is something interesting to note.

-----

I've been puzzling over why Throne is not the vessel for Vide in any way, despite the entire point of the Blacksnakes being Claude's attempt to foist the role off to his "best" offspring.

-One explanation could be that, since Throne was "chosen" by Aeber, the Flame she carries within her soul negates her blood ties to Vide.

-It's also possible there was Something going on with Marietta, her mother. Possibly Marietta had blood ties to one of the branches of Alpate's bloodline of light--although if this were the case, Throne should have been in a situation similar to Hikari, and she's clearly not.

-Actually, the fact that Throne does not struggle with the Shadow in any way, especially looking at how Hikari struggles with the Shadow due to his blood ties to D'arqest, suggests her blood connections to Vide are actually quite weak at best. It could be that Claude being biologically engineered (for lack of a better term) to be Vide's vessel was not hereditary.

-Throne is also shown to actively dislike violence and hates bloodshed. She's also the only Blacksnake stated to have not been raised by Mother, and Father was notably raising her specifically to kill him rather than to take over the Blacksnakes. So in a sense she was never raised as a "true" Blacksnake. That she was able to kill both Mother and Father, and then make her way to Lostseed and kill Claude could be more testament to Throne's personal strength and the fact that she was intent on ending the Blacksnakes for her freedom, to get away from the violence and bloodshed, rather than to wrest control of the Snakes by besting the founder. This would make her unsuitable as a vessel for Vide because she does not commit violent acts as a means of attaining power and spreading chaos, but rather to break free from a cruel structure of power and end the chaos caused by it.

-It's also possible that there is no actual need for a "right" vessel, but that Claude was meant to be a "perfect" vessel because he is functionally immortal, and would have been significantly harder to kill if Vide had used him to return. However, Ori's Journals suggest that it doesn't really matter who the vessel is, and considering that Oboro is able to sacrifice himself and become the vessel, this seems to ring true. Notably, Oboro as Vide's vessel is weak enough that Vide is sealed away by eight mortals chosen by the gods, rather than needing to be sealed by the gods themselves. I thought for a bit that Vide's revival might be connected to how Vados's murders were supposed to be a reversal of the order of prayers to summon a curse, but I haven't actually found any evidence to support this, since no dancer dies after Lucien is murdered, and a merchant would have had to die last (with Ori being strongly suggested to be the "merchant" of the Moonshade order) but it's more likely that Arcanette, the "cleric", is canonically the last death before Oboro's self-sacrifice (and he's the "warrior"). So it seems more like Vide's revival has nothing to do with sacrifices and the order of prayers, and that the vessel can be any person who has given up on the dawn.

(Although I will note that the actual facts about the gods are extremely fuzzy, especially taking what little we know about them from Orsterra into account, so it's hard to tell how accurate the legend of Vide being sealed as recounted by Temenos is when compared to however events may have actually happened. These same gods were somehow also responsible for sealing Galdera away in Orsterra without much consequence, but were nearly killed in Solistia while sealing Vide. The Kal also notably seem to have a cult around the Flame itself and no associated gods, so that brings into question whether Aelfric and the Flame are connected or not, and if they are then exactly how. Unfortunately there's nothing in-game to really explain or expand the mythology of the pantheon which Aelfric leads, and even trying to take the shaky lore from CotC into account does little to elucidate exactly how this pantheon works).

-----

Speaking of Ori's Journal's, there's been one entry in particular that keeps confusing me, and that being the entry in which Ori states that Harvey escaped alive...somehow. This is the quote I'm referring to specifically:

I found a nice, cozy place to conceal myself, and sure enough Osvald showed up. Just as predicted, the two fought it out, and I was able to retrieve the Book of Demons in the wake of their battle. There was one surprise, however: Harvey escaped alive.

What was that bright flash of magic? A glimpse of a force that may dwarf even that of the Book of Demons? That girl...Does she have some special power within her?

So, according to this Ori was camped out and saw the entire battle so she could snag the book, but then she says Harvey escaped which is...puzzling, since he very much appeared to be vaporized by his own magic. She also mentions a "bright flash of magic" which seems to be Elena's magic as per her blood connection to the Lumina family. I went and rewatched a playthrough of the post-battle cutscene, and I think I've found the "flash of light" Ori mentions. Here's a series of the best screenshots I could manage:

Harvey prepares his final spell and it begins to expand. Osvald is facing him, and Elena is passed out at the bottom center of the screen.

The magic continues to expand and gather in strength. We can no longer see Osvald but Elena is still visible.

As the magic reaches its peak power, we see several small lights appear in a circle around Elena at the bottom. These lights do not seem to match the magic that Harvey is casting since that is in a circle expanding from him, and it is Elena at the center of this circle of lights. After this the screen is awash completely in white before clearing to reveal...

Osvald holding Elena, both safe, with Harvey nowhere to be seen. (Screenshot lightened a bit by me bc it was really dark and hard to make out).

So I think the writers...actually just made a mistake, and that it was supposed to be Osvald who mysteriously survived due to Elena's mysterious magic. It would make more sense in context of what actually occurs during this cutscene if Ori's Journal had read:

What was that bright flash of magic? A glimpse of a force that may dwarf even that of the Book of Demons? That girl...Does she have some special power within her?

If written this way, the discussion of Elena's mysterious power follows a note about Osvald surviving a direct blast from the Book of Demons, which would make the question of whether Elena's power is greater than the Book of Demons make more sense, as it would suggest that it had been Elena's power that was directly responsible for Osvald's survival. We also know that the Moonshade Order was watching several the the Eight Travelers carefully, and wanted a few of them out of the picture, and so it would have been convenient if both Harvey and Osvald had died in this moment, but it makes the most sense for Elena's power to save Osvald since, even if her memory is currently suppressed, she still loves him as her father subconsciously, and love is one of the key theme's of Osvald's story arc.

I dunno if any of this has merit, but I am inclined to think the writers just got the names switched while writing the journal entries, if only because this would be the only way to have the journal match the events we're shown in-game.

-----

There was one other thing about a recurring narrative theme in every characters' story that I wanted to note, but it started to get long enough that I'll probably make a separate post about it in the future at some point. Just...maybe sometime waaay in the future if I get distracted.

In any case, this about wraps up my shorter thoughts that I wanted to document. Again, I'm not trying to prove anything right or wrong, I'm just musing for the sake of musing.

Again, if you read all this, thanks!

#octopath traveler #octopath ii #octopath ii spoilers #I was absolutely procrastinating working on some art which I very much want to finish but don't want to work on #anyhow there's only minor editing on this so if there's typos I'm sorry #at least I managed to use some screenshots this time to aid my observations #oracle of lore

12 notes · View notes

loop-loremaster · 1 year

Note

HI RESIDENT newbie to fortnite lore can u infodump me the s2c2 and any midas lore im obsessed and need to learn EVERYTHING i can about him immediately. also the big lore post u made was SO SO SO helpful !!!

AYE AYE CAPTAIN!

I'm glad it was helpful! I'm always glad to help out. As always, if you have any other questions? Shoot me an ask :D

Before the days of SHADOW (and Chapter 2), Midas set his sights on building an empire of espionage, intrigue, and conquest. For this he recruited three people with great potential: The Burning Wolf, Chaos Origins (soon to be Chaos Agent) and Sierra to make them his first three Shadow operatives, together they form The First Shadows. Midas' original three operatives are respectively nicknamed Midas' first enforcer, Midas' first redeemed, and Midas' first pardoned.

In a picture in Doctor Slone's office in Corny Complex, a picture of Slone revealing her genius talents to the IO can be shown. In particular, a silhouette strongly resembling Midas (by the clothes and hair) can be seen, hinting he was maybe previously part of the Imagined Order before his arrival in the Loop. That can also explain Midas' mastermind capabilities and how he knows so much about the Island.

Midas also has a unique history prior to even building an empire of espionage, intrigue, and conquest (how he lost his eye, how he got the golden touch, what his true backstory is), but much of it remains to be unrevealed for now.

Chapter 2 Season 1: Midas selects Eye Land for his new base, likely being aware of the Zero Point stationed underneath there.

Before he takes over Eye Land and transforms into the Agency, he touched several items and furniture in the houses, turning them into gold and leaving behind a GHOST folder on the golden toilet.

His golden hand also appears in several trailers for Chapter 2: Season 2. This season is most possibly the time period that takes place when Midas recruits members for SHADOW before GHOST came about.

Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 2 Storyline:

Following the reconstruction of the island due to The End event of Chapter 1, The first group of E.G.O. members entered The Loop through a Plane that was sent by the Imagined Order. Their mission was to search the reconstructed map and set up a base. They investigated the Loopers while the IO worked secretly to reconstruct the Bridge.

However, a mysterious group named A.L.T.E.R. whose members strangely resemble those of E.G.O. is already present on the island.

(This only applies to some members, since during the season other A.L.T.E.R members appear but do not have alter-egos at E.G.O - get it?).

Throughout Chapter 2: Season 1, a battle occurred between the two factions. Near the very end of the season, Chaos Agent was seen observing the battle in the shadows, soon to be known as the current leader of A.L.T.E.R./SHADOW.

E.G.O. & A.L.T.E.R. are now known as GHOST & SHADOW respectively.

At the very start of Chapter 2: Season 2, Midas activated several sleeper agents within The Loop. These include Lynx, Bushranger, Brutus, (Agent) Peely, and Journey.

Midas forms a group of neutral agents, with unique locations that belong to them. Skye is stationed at The Shark, Brutus and The Grotto, TNTina at The Rig, and Meowscles at The Yacht - alongside an Agency to fight against SHADOW. Him and the other agents being responsible for a location each, while also being a boss there. As time passes, all the agents choose a faction (SHADOW/GHOST), and their locations change with them. After Meowscles betrays GHOST and joins SHADOW, Contract Giller infiltrates The Yacht, and allows Deadpool to take over as a GHOST agent. Members of the X-Force would then arrive at Apollo.

Throughout the season, he slowly worked on a Device alongside his daughter Jules to destroy The Storm which was spotted in his room, directly underneath the Agency and possibly right above the Zero Point. In his room, a journal containing a drawing of Oro's scepter was there, possibly meaning that his golden touch has something to do with Oro and his scepter.

A suit similar to that of Tempest's was also spotted in the room. The suit was later used by Midas to harness the power of the Storm. Countdowns for the activation of his Device also appeared in the Agency and in his own room.

The Device was hidden underneath the main building of The Agency itself, while the pylons were underneath five newly-built hatches under the water surrounding The Agency.

Midas wanted to destroy The Storm, which would subsequently break The Loop and escape it.

Midas' project was going directly against the Imagined Order, who wanted to preserve The Loop and keep it running.

Near the very end of the season, Midas began charging the orb machine. The Device went through three stages. Initially, a bright yellow 'core' appeared within the orb, consisting of pure energy. Next, tendril-like structures were emitted from the core, slamming into the outer glass of the orb. At the final stage, the core grew bigger and brighter, and the tendrils grew larger and stronger.

At this point, some of the tendrils managed to breach the outer casing, although they were channeled and rerouted back into the orb.

While this happened, No Sweat Insurance built themselves a new office in Lazy Lake and insured Pleasant Park, Sweaty Sands, Frenzy Farm, and Holly Hedges against a flood scenario, with dozens of No Sweat Insurance signs being placed on those POIs.

The Device

On June 13th, the countdown for Midas' plan appeared above The Agency.

When the countdown for The Device event reached zero, the storm had already closed in around The Agency during the later stages of a particular loop.

Five pylons emerged from the five hatches surrounding the Agency. Once the five pylons completely rose out of the hatches, an energised bubble appeared around The Agency, which violently contracted and exploded, completely decimating The Agency.

As the dust settled, The orb machine emerged from the ruins of The Agency. It rose high up on an elevated platform and stopped once it reached a high height. This was followed by a large shockwave, causing all the loopers to levitate into the air. The Device activated, and the orb machine hooked up to the five pylons using energy beams.

Then, the pylons collectively hit The Storm barrier and started to push it back. This seemingly contradicted the structure of a normal loop, in which the storm closes in until the entire island is consumed.

In this case, the storm was being pushed back, which partially damaged The Loop, transporting a particular looper to The Bridge, located outside The Loop.

Inside The Bridge, the looper was spawned in Agent Jones' office, containing a desk, computer, and three filed labeled 'TOP SECRET', containing the images of Midas, Lynx, and Jules. The Looper did not spend a long time in Jones' office though, and soon, the loop seemingly repaired itself and returned The Looper back to the island.

Back at The Agency, the device seemed to have malfunctioned, as the energy supplied by the orb to the pylons diminished with every second. Eventually, the orb machine completely switched off, but not before seemingly breaking the storm barrier.

Without the barrier and nothing to stop it, The Storm began to rapidly close in on The Agency, threatening to kill everyone there.

However, right before The Agency was swallowed, the orb machine rebooted, quickly hooking up to the pylons and slamming the storm once again.

This action restarted the storm barrier, and the machine began to push back at The Storm once again. However, this time, The Storm resisted and closed in on The Agency. In the ensuing battle between Device and Storm, The Device emerged victorious, and The Storm was quickly pushed back before it completely vanished.

As the pylons began retracting back into their hatches, The Loop started to collapse. A single bolt of energy slammed into the orb machine from the sky, disabling and rendering it unusable.

The orb machine then proceeded to retract back down underneath the destroyed Agency, as the loop collapsed and returned that particular looper to Jones' office.

There, Agent Jones could be heard talking in the hallway outside about the problem facing The Imagined Order. Jones could be heard saying;

''(to phone) Uh no. E-everything is NOT stable over here. We are act- (to Janice) Uh, Janice! Janice! Uh, dial the Resonance Actuator to 7.2. Now, please. Yes! Right now." Janice replies "I'm on it!" Through the closed curtains, Janice could be seen rushing down the hallway towards the presumed 'Resonance Actuator', one of the devices that is likely used to control The Storm.

Jonesy starts talking to his phone again after hearing something from the other end.

"(to phone) Wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold on, hold on... "It's not just a storm?" What does that mean? Must be connected to the loop, but there's no way that we could have predicted that it would react THIS way. At this-".

Jones has just found out that The Storm is not simply a storm, as The Loop depends upon it to function. He appears to have been stunned that The Loop completely collapsed in the storm's absence and that they had not predicted that kind of event. However, the above conversation is not finished as the looper is transported back to the island.

Upon return, it is revealed that The Storm reacted to Midas trying to destroy it, creating a giant tsunami, held by the barrier of the Storm.

"(to phone) And that worked? How long do you think it'll hold?"

That brief conversation suggests that The Imagined Order managed to contain the wall of water for some time. Jones asks how long the storm barrier will hold before it fails and unleashes the wall of water onto the island.

After getting an unknown answer, Jones states that everything is starting to stabilize, and enters his office.

He is stunned to see The Looper, and asks whether they can hear him or not, as it seems like a Looper has never managed to break out of The Loop and enter The Bridge without traveling through The Zero Point.

Before The Looper could reply, they are transported back to the island in the battle bus, as the loop reset is now complete. With the battle bus flying towards the center of the island with the now destroyed The Agency

After the Device live event, Midas shows his true affiliation with SHADOW (it is later revealed that he is the founder as well as the true leader of SHADOW), he likely handed over The Agency to Jules to turn into SHADOW's new HQ as anything related to GHOST/EGO is removed from the location.

SHADOW seized the opportunity and takes over The Agency ruins, removing all E.G.O flags and placing their own. SHADOW henchmen now patrol the area instead of the usual GHOST henchmen.

Device TLDR: When his device was activated on June 15, 2020, his voice and several other henchmen's voices could be heard. Midas successfully rose the Device up from his underground base. The Device's plan, unfortunately, failed, turning the Storm into a giant Wall of Water instead of destroying the loop as he planned. While trying to repel the storm, the loop destabilized several times. However, during the event, files of him, Jules, and Lynx were spotted in Agent Jones' office, meaning that they had been investigating him for a while.

You can see a replay of The Device event below, I personally prefer it since it's more cinematic. But there are plenty of other videos of the event!

youtube

Midas's Stolen Chair

In Chapter 2: Season 2, in the meeting room of The Agency, Midas had a chair that stood out. It was made of gold, which made it desirable to some.

Eventually, a thief, or a group of thieves, (possibly siding with SHADOW) broke into The Agency and stole the golden chair. It appeared that there was a full plan set up to steal the chair.

Interestingly enough, no other chairs appeared golden in the agency after the only golden chair was stolen. Over the course of weeks, once it was stolen from the meeting room, it was taken to a boat the thieves had likely rowed to the island with.

The thieves then rowed west where a truck would be waiting, housing stolen rope from The Yacht. Once the chair made it to the truck, it reappeared later in Salty Springs and was hidden inside the blue building, with the rope being placed near the top of the staircase, and Midas' chair replacing an old desk chair with it.

The thieves also appeared to have removed a GHOST recruitment poster off the wall in the process and threw it into the trash. Unexpectedly, the golden chair must have been so heavy, as it crashed through the ground and onto the bottom floor, creating a large mess. In the end, the blue house was repaired, but the golden chair was put away into a storage boat that would soon float around the island.

However, the gold chair was eventually found again in Chapter 2: Season 3. It could have been found inside No Sweat Storage, but was later in the custody of SHADOW after the storage boat went away from the island.

Soon, it became a key part of the return of Midas in Chapter 2: Season 4, as a ritual occurred on the top floor of The Authority.

A shrine was made to honor Midas, and appeared to have been used in a resurrection or summoning of sorts. This shrine had originally meant to honor Brutus by having his helmet as well as images of him set up, but was now also honoring Midas using his chair.

The shrine exploded and in the aftermath, a dark form of Midas appeared, called Shadow Midas.

After Fortnitemares 2020: Midas' Revenge, Midas' golden chair suddenly went missing. Again. At first, it was unknown who or what may have taken it until it was later found out that the valuable golden chair was secretly taken by The Imagined Order beneath the island.

Their intentions with the chair are unknown. Occasionally, the chair could have been seen in an IO Elevator during Chapter 2: Season 5, which rose from under the ground and had a chance of housing Midas' Chair. The Golden Chair reappeared in Cuddle Cruisers, alongside the plans used for the Doomsday Device built by Midas.

After C2 S2/3/4, Midas never made an exact "super duper" lore-important appearance, even in Fortnitemares 2020 and his various snapshots (Midsummer, icebound, Golden Gear, Rex, Shadow - not in order) Apart from mentions from Marigold, Jules a short appearance in The Batman comic, a trailer, and golden objects that were presumed to be teasers of his return.

Also, I forgot to mention this in my original lore dump post for you but in The First Shadows trailer; Yes, this is Midas's voice. You may now swoon.

Placed during C2S8, Midas' original three operatives reappear after being hidden for a long time. Midas narrates the first animated comic series for the Fortnite Crew, this being for The Burning Wolf. The Burning Wolf Trailer also reveals that Midas is in fact the one who formed SHADOW. Midas is shown once again as SHADOW in the Chaos Origins trailer, this time with SHADOW Henchmen by his side at Hydro 16. However, it is difficult to know when the events of this trailer take place.

youtube

In C2S2, In Midas' cutscene and room, several golden heads of characters from the Island could be seen, and a few statues of characters could be seen and Midas was seen having defeated the Black Knight and placing his golden helmet on his wall. Interestingly enough, Chaos Agent's mask was on the wall, which leaves many questions as to the fate of SHADOW.

In the Chapter 2: Season 3 trailer, Midas was eaten by a Loot Shark. Many assumed that this was "the end of Midas" and the death of him, but that is not the case as Donald Mustard confirmed he was "in the loop" when that occurred, therefore not permanently killing him.

In C2S5, Marigold arrived on the Island. Just like Midas, she is cursed with the Golden Touch. In her quests, she mentions that someone is "spending Midas' gold" and her pickaxe description mentions that her daggers are a treasured gift from Midas, hinting they have a positive relationship with each other. This is further evidenced by how The Yacht was named "Marigold", linking the connection between the two even further.

In Chapter 3; Many traces of Midas's whearabouts could be found on the island. The golden items in Cuddle Cruisers restaurant, The golden pillows at The Joneses (😏) and the secret hideout inside the walls of Covert Cavern with the golden llama. Golden Look Board's description suggests that he is watching from the shadows. In each teaser trailer for Chapter 3: Season 4, a golden object could be seen in the background - many assumed this would be the return of Midas, to be the one to stop the Chrome once and for all! But that never happened.

#ur my first ask [puts a golden star on your forehead]#fortnite #fortnite lore #chapter 2 season 2 #c2s2 #ask #long post #fortnite theory #fortnite midas #midas

42 notes · View notes

angria · 2 months

Text

Yesterday’s session was really good overall. After the lipstick topic and him reading my diary cards, we switched to discussing A and the dysregulation coming up around whatever shift has occurred.

I explained the events of Saturday when we went on a walk in a park with another couple who are friends of hers. Turning her head when I tried to kiss her hello, barely including me in the conversation on the walk, feeling embarrassed when the couple asked what we were doing for the rest of the day and A said she was taking a nap, not even inviting me in after the walk nor kissing me goodbye, deflecting me when I said I was free Thursday to meet (she is going on a week trip next Monday). T was pretty pissed about the whole thing, especially when she disregarded my input or even consideration of what I wanted to do after the walk. Sure, take a nap, but at least invite me in for a bit or even simply ask if I need the bathroom before I leave. This is all on top of her withdrawing over text in the prior couple days. I did not ask her about the shift yet because I wanted to talk it over with T first.

T made an interesting point that maybe she is pulling away (for whatever reason, whether subconsciously or not) so that I’m the one that breaks up with her. It’s possible I guess. Whatever the case, the ball is in her court. I asked about meeting on Thursday and she said she would text later. Since we started dating, we have been meeting twice a week, making an effort to meet even when we are busy. On top of me thinking she would want to see me at least once before a week long trip. At least that is what I would try to do and I don’t think it is an unusual thought based on previous patterns. Both T and I agreed the ball is in her court and I’m not bringing up Thursday again. I put the question out there and then she basically dismissed it.

If Thursday comes and goes (and even Saturday, another day we usually meet), I think I’m done. Her texting still is sparse, which is not the norm comparatively. She isn’t making an effort. I plan to say something about the shift to see what her response is and won’t break things off without a conversation. I don’t think I will try to have the conversation before her trip because I don’t want her to feel bad during it, which is probably too considerate of me. When I explained my plan, T said I need to do what is right for me and what I need, not only think about her. Which is true, but I also don’t want to feel guilty about potentially spoiling her trip. Plus, T is on vacation starting Friday for a week. So that’s partly why I want to wait too.

At the end, T leaned forward and said he was worried about how I would come to session based on our check-in the prior night. How I felt I was never meant to be in a relationship, that I always spiral out when any little sign of abandonment or rejection comes up, that it would take my entire life to improve and I’m not sticking around to find out, that I’m inherently wrong. Out of place, never actually belonging. And never will. Yet, earlier in the day, once I made the decision to likely break things off with A, I felt more settled. In addition to the shift in mindset regarding the lipstick. T said my affect was a lot better than he anticipated and was so happy about my change in attitude spurred by wearing lipstick. And also that I am not doing everything I can to make A stay; I am thinking about myself and what I need in a relationship. And this isn’t working for me, actually listening to what my needs are versus only thinking about how to make A stay. So feeling a little better about the whole situation, I think?

#therapy #emotional dysregulation #disordered attachment #abandonment #rejection #dating #interpersonal relationships #angriadm

5 notes · View notes

nobodysdaydreams · 2 years

Text

A New TMBS Theory for Thinkers, Writers, and Whoever: A few things occurred to me about the changes made in the Disney+ series involving Curtain’s background, the addition of Dr. Garrison’s character, Milligan being a chemist, and SQ’s bio dad. 1. I don’t remember what Curtain’s doctorate is, but Garrison is an Engineer, Milligan is a Chemist, and SQ’s bio dad was a neuroscientist, which means they all have doctorates, and based on their apparent ages likely would have attended grad school around the same time.

2. Curtain being personally close enough with his scientists to adopt their kid or have forced-friendship private dinners with them (even in a manipulative way) is new for the show. I don’t remember him ever doing this in the books, and even in the show the only adult he does things like that with is Garrison. He forces Garrison into a one-sided friendship, shuts down her concerns and ideas, but still calls her friend, has dinner with her, and offers to “share the stage with her (proportionally)”

3. Dr. Garrison strangely seems to have or at least had some level of concern for people. She scolds Curtain for interrupting a memory sweeping debriefing because it’s “not safe for the patient” (obviously Curtain belittles and shuts her down, but she’s the only one we see try to influence Curtain’s decisions). She also mentions that the tech they are using could really help people if put to the right use, only for Curtain to cut her off and insist “it is helping”. She does give him her blueprints at the end, but it’s still a bit unclear what her morals are and what she wants. She apparently struggled with alcohol at some point (refuses to drink the champagne and says she’s however many years sober) and probably had mental health issues. This could be entirely due to having to work with Curtain, or it could be due to yet to be revealed incidents.

4. It’s implied that the Whisper has the potential to do good things too, and it’s unlikely Milligan and SQ’s dad would be willingly and knowingly involved in evil.

So, is it possible that at one point Curtain, Milligan, SQ’s bio dad, and Garrison were like… friends who started the whisper as a good thing? Or a way to help people? And then somewhere along the way Curtain reverted back into control freak mode or something tragic happened (maybe connected to the death of SQ’s bio dad) that ruined things? And now Garrison is the only one Curtain has left which explains the familiarity yet awkwardness in their “friendship” and how Garrison is the only one who ever tries to stand up to/question Curtain even a little? Because right now that seems to make sense, and if it is true I need to see flashbacks of them as grad students, because I want to see Milligan and Curtain on the rowing team together and I wanna know what happened to Kate’s mom and SQ’s parents, and whoever was in the blurry photo of young curtain and his pals that Rhonda and #2 found at the library because who knows? Maybe some of Reynie, Sticky, and Constance’s parents were part of this and got brain swept too when Curtain decided to go off on a power trip. SQ’s bio dad’s death could not be the immediate catalyst for this event, since all the other kids were born after SQ was at least 3-4 years old. But we know that Milligan’s brain sweeping and separation from Kate also happened a significant time after SQ’s birth, so it’s possible another event occurred later. EDIT: I mention this in a reblog but if this theory is true then it makes Curtain’s cruelty towards Milligan in their ep. 8 confrontation make so much sense because not only did Milligan, his former friend, betray him when he discovered the truth, but he allied himself with Nicholas, his brother, his ultimate betrayer and ooo, that had to hurt.

And if you’re still here after that rant and somehow want more, there’s also the possibility that Dr. Garrison actually already caught Kate twice and let her go on purpose. The first time is when Kate and Constance sneak in and drop a button on the floor. Garrison walks Curtain away from them. The second is when Kate sneaks in on the bottom of a cart and Garrison walks in after Kate touches the ground, looks down, and immediately tells the other scientist to leave. Obviously this could just be a “oooo… building suspense, Kate almost got caught” thing. But if Milligan worked with Dr. Garrison, she would know who Kate is and might not be too eager to brain sweep her.

@mvshortcut Thanks for telling me how to tag. @acollectionofcuriousreblogs here is the season 2 writing theory you asked for

24 notes · View notes

nazurearchive · 1 year

Text

[BLOG] To Make Peace With Past, Present, and Future.

Before we start this blog, this is just my very subjective and personal reflection and analysis of Scaramouche’s story. It is essentially me writing a long-winded journal post to talk about how I found his character and lore very enjoyable to witness. There will be a lot of spoilers ahead! This blog will contain major spoilers from the Sumeru Archon Quest and also the Interlude Quest, so please proceed with caution. Minor trigger warnings also apply for mentions of suicide and suicidal tendencies.

(More under the cut!)

Scaramouche is one of the most long-awaited characters in Genshin. I remember meeting him for the first time when I was playing the Unreconciled Stars event during 1.1 and fangirling over the fact that he was voiced by Kakihara Tetsuya, one of my favorite Japanese voice actors, and wanting to pull for him when he became available. Well, I wasn’t expecting that it would take 2 years for him to fully become available to play in Genshin, and not in the element most thought he was going to have.

Sure, he may be some grumpy gremlin that is about to do the Fandango any moment now, but I was very impressed at how Hoyoverse was able to handle his character so well. Scaramouche was someone who went through so much and did a lot of evil to cope with his trauma from the betrayals he had experienced throughout his 500 years of living. His genocide against the Raiden Gokaden Bladesmiths was not sugarcoated and was not forgotten. He was never forgiven for the death and bloodshed he had caused, and yet he was given a second chance to be held accountable for these crimes.

Until the grand reveal of the true sequence of events that occurred during Scaramouche's life as a puppet created by the Electro Archon, to the Kabukimono, and later to The Balladeer, what we know about him is scattered across artifacts, weapons, domain flavor text, and accounts from other characters like Yae and Ei. We got a hazy picture of his life from those, as all we have are vague descriptions of what could have happened back then.

Then, during Act III of the Sumeru Archon Quest, we’d finally get his "past," which is purely based on his lens. One of the things I enjoy about Genshin’s storytelling is how we are presented with different perspectives and accounts when it comes to certain things. It really gets me thinking and theorizing about what could be true and what could be false, but even so, a person’s personal experiences and feelings can differ from the actual truth in the end. When Nahida presented him with the memory that she was able to obtain from talking to Dottore, you could hear how devastated and angry he is at himself, as his genocide for a "betrayal" was all for nothing.

I know that there might be some who are not satisfied with the memory wipe that he attempted to do during the Interlude Quest; however, I feel like there might be some meaning towards it, especially if you try imagining how fucked up his mental and emotional state was after he witnessed his only purpose, which was the Electro Gnosis, being taken away from him.

Scaramouche's problems stem from his need to find meaning in his existence after being abandoned by his creator, which is also why he willingly became Dottore's test subject because he could feel he had a purpose and it was worthwhile to exist.

Even his character teaser showed him to be suicidal, as he tried to sit in the fire, just waiting for his end, wishing that he had never existed at all. Scaramouche was and is an emotional wreck. Despite the fact that he claims to be free of all human emotions because he has no need for them, he still feels them.I always thought that his attempt to erase himself from the world was an act of suicide. He had no more worth in the world, no more use, and so he thought, maybe if I hadn’t existed, the people of Tatarasuna would live a much happier life? Before he made his decision, he asked the traveler, "Is it possible to change the past?"

Knowing that during the time when he was known as the kabukimono, he had found himself a family that would care for him and had genuinely loved him as if he were one of them, I wonder about the possibility of his story being different if Dottore had never interfered with the bladesmiths of Tatarasuna. Perhaps his mental state would be so much better compared to what it is right now. But I digress; what has happened has happened, and that is the message that the quest wanted to show.

His existence in the world may have been forgotten, but his actions were never forgotten. All of the records that had records of him were changed, erasing all mentions of him. It was like the Electro Archon’s prototype puppets, the Kabukimono and the Balladeer, were never in this world to begin with. But one could never undo the act of committing bloodshed and suffering. Even the persona of the Irminsul, Rukkhadevata, couldn’t erase her existence entirely, as it was impossible to do so. In place of his erased existence, a wandering puppet, aimlessly wandering around, finds a purpose in life.

Wanderer: Please. I want to see them for myself. I want to experience my own transgressions. Nahida: Even though it will cause your present self great mental anguish? Wanderer: I'm just a puppet, with no heart and no name. There is nothing in this world for me to cling to, to fill the void within me... except maybe these sins that can never be undone.

The scene that hit me the most when going through the true series of events that happened in his days as the Kabukimono was the conversation between the Wanderer and Nahida at the near end of the book about his previous incarnation’s actions, which did not sugar coat all of his transgressions.

Wanderer: You're a god... Do you think I'm evil? Nahida: If you accept that he is you, just as you are you, then yes — you are evil. Wanderer: In your eyes, are there any differences between humans and puppets? Nahida: Do you think there are any differences between your present self and your previous and future incarnations? If not, then what are the differences between humans and puppets? Nahida: Whoever has tasted the joys and sorrows of life in the human realm is human. Whoever has loved and lost, cried with grief, howled with rage at the tragedy of death that eclipses the miracle of life... they are human, too.

Yes, he is evil. Yes, he has done many things that are deemed evil. Sure, he would have rejected the return of his memories; no one wants to be seen as evil, right? But no. He didn’t. He accepted these memories, the sins that he had committed, and the emotions that he had previously tried to disregard, all to fill the void in his heart. In the end, he was able to make peace with his identities as the prototype puppet, the Kabukimono, Kunikuzushi, and the Balladeer, and these identities will move forward with his new identity, the Wanderer.

Even if the rest of Teyvat does not know of his existence, he requested that if the Traveler encounters descendants of the Raiden Gokaden (Kazuha, Ayato, Ayaka, and many more), they all have the right to know the true story of what really happened and that he is ready to face whatever consequence they decide to do.

It may be a well-deserved closure for the Kabukimono, Kunikuzushi, and the Balladeer; however, this is only the beginning for the Wanderer. A fresh new start is what he needed for his character to properly heal from the scars that he had received from Dottore, and he is also given a chance to honor the people that took him in even after being abandoned. Just like what Nahida had said, eventually his past will just become a small fragment of his life, depending on what kind of path he chooses to take next.

Now, time for the lore-related rambling.

With all of these memory-altering shenanigans and our knowledge of the Irminsul, it is interesting that the true events of Scaramouche’s memory are preserved through an allegory, a simple fairy tale that was able to withstand the attempted erasure that he did.

However, this isn’t the first of its kind, as there might be even more previous attempts to erase something from the Irminsul, but the events are preserved through simple tales. Flowers for Princess Fischl and The Boar Princess are two examples.

And with that, the history of Teyvat will be much harder to verify. To think that one small change in the Irminsul can alter human perception, given how easily they can be tampered with.No one would even remember that something had changed; it is what they are told, and it is what they probably saw. What has happened has happened, no matter how much you try to change human perception and how history is written.

I am looking forward to what may happen in the future.

That is all for this blog! I plan to write more reflections and ramblings about my thoughts on specific parts of Genshin’s story. So far, I plan to post something compiling all of the information we know about Fontaine so far before the release and also write a blog post talking more about Alhaitham’s... normalness. If you guys have any questions regarding lore-related things, my ask box is open! I would be very happy if we could have a proper discussion here too.

If you reached this part, thank you for taking time out of your day to read some silly person on the internet talking about video game lore and reflecting on life alongside it. :)

#genshin lore #genshin theory #genshin impact #scaramouche #genshin impact lore #genshin impact theory #wanderer #kunikuzushi

11 notes · View notes

rjmhereunderprotest · 1 year

Text

Deep Dive Thoughts about the Daily Bugle Lego Set

I got this Lego Set for Christmas, highlight of the day honestly cause I've wanted one of my own for awhile if only to play out my many Spider-Man story fantasies. It's an impressive looking set to be sure, and I love it for how it has gone all out in many respects. But something really cool is how many minifigs are included in it! Every possibly Spider-Man character is here. Well there are a few exceptions, probably based on them not being able to fit so well with the others. Like, the Lizard has to be a tad bigger than these guys. Same with the Rhino, but almost everyone else is here. It's an impressive cast to be sure.

Look at that, they even have various non-affiliated Marvel heroes because they have connections to Spider-Man. Punisher debuted in an issue of Spider-Man for example. Miles is here sporting his getup from the Spiderverse movie as well, which is kickass cause I love hoodies. Miles should just wear a hoodie all the time as Spider-Man, makes him standout even more. Maybe they're worried he'll look too much like Ghost-Spider, who also wears a hood... I just like hoods.

But there is a major missing member of the Spidey Support cast though. Someone VERY important, Mary Jane Watson!

The woman most associated with Peter Parker/Spider-Man as his primary love interest. So much so they actually got married... and then that all got erased because Marvel couldn't figure out how to make their marriage compelling or interesting. But despite that, even though people claim them being married would be boring all over again, Marvel continues to tease and hint and fakeout the possibility of them getting back together again. They've been doing so for well over a decade at this point. Most recently after heavily hinting at the possibility of their romance returning throughout the Nick Spencer run, Peter has done something terrible enough for MJ to not only leave him but start up a new relationship with someone else who has kids who call her mom!

People are not happy about being yanked around like that, but this is not the point I want to stress here. My point is mainly, Lego decided that for this huge Spider-Man based set, featuring tons of characters, they were going to just cut MJ out altogether. She's just gone! Nowhere to be seen! But another love interest is still there, in fact she's doubly there!

Gwen Stacey is here, Peter's first love and perhaps true love given how he will never be over her. To be fair, its hard to get over someone who died on your watch. More specifically died because your web-line, for the one and only time in existence, decided to obey the laws of thermodynamics concerning centrifugal force. But she's not dead here!

In fact, in the bio for her minifigure, the instruction booklet clearly states she is Peter's "College Crush". Spidey fans might be aware that Gwen dies during Peter's college years. This was something Greg Weisman had to clearly state for fans in recently years concerning the ultimate fate of Gwen on the Spectacular Spider-Man Animated series. Basically, Gwen was never going to die on that show which would've naturally ended when Peter graduated from high school, not after or before. So Gwen was never dying on that show.

But wait, you say, that just means that this is during Peter's time at college! So maybe Gwen is about to take the plunge! Slow your roll buddy! First of all, there is no REAL death in Lego. Haven't the various video games taught you anything? Everyone just runs off screen or plops down with cartoon stars over their heads forever. They're fine!

Second, that's not possible either, because various events that SHOULD have taken place as a result of Gwen's death have already or ARE occurring at this point of time in the story of the set! Case in point...

As you can see in this picture one of the many stickers for the set, the Clone Saga is happening! The infamous 90s sequel to the original Clone Saga of the 70s in fact, since Scarlet Spider is around! For whatever reason, Professor Miles Warren has not become the Jackal, or the very least he has not yet been discovered and is hiding his evil alter ego. Even from Ben Riley, who he created! Assuming this is a three way live interview J Jonah Jameson is running (And that seems to be the case), then for whatever reason no one has figured out what Warren is doing!

For those uninitiated, the Clone Saga was initially kicked off because Prof. Miles Warren had a creepy obsession with one of his students, Gwen Stacey. When she died, he tried to clone her so he could be with her. You know, cause he's a creep. That went badly with the original Gwen Clone getting lost and a Spider-Man clone falling into a smokestack. Years later that Peter clone becomes Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider, and kicks off a whole other Clone Saga. One Marvel has overstay its welcome because Marvel in the 90s is run by the marketing department and not the actual storytellers.

Now considering that Gwen is still alive, active, in college and being pined for by Peter as they attend classes together, it stands to reason that not only did this version of Spidey manage to save Gwen from a fatal snap off a bridge but that despite her survival, Miles Warren still futzed around with cloning tech and we have probably skipped the original Clone Saga and gone straight to the 90s one.

That should be it, right? Well no! We still have another very big question to ask... Ghost-Spider, aka Spider-Gwen!

She's included in the set too and before you suggest she's a clone or from another dimension as is usually suggested, no, she's not. The backstory blurb for her figure says she is, in fact, Gwen's alter ego! She's not from another world, she's not a clone, she IS Gwen. It makes sense, Peter Parker and Spider-Man have their own individual mini figures, but they're clearly meant to be the same person who's figure you swap out when necessary for the story. So the same has to hold true for Gwen Stacey! This is a universe where Gwen Stacey also got Spider powers! Maybe, in fact, as a result of Miles Warren's experiments with cloning or perhaps in a similar lab accident that would lead to Miles Morales getting Spider-powers as he's here as well!

But here's something that's also very random, and I only discovered this while I was writing all this down, Gwen's minifig outfit is a reused torso model.

This is common practice and given how much they spent on creating this set it stands to reason they had to reuse some figure designs to cut down on costs. This particular figure's outfit is from the Haunted House Attraction set. So I can only assume that the attraction exists within the world of Lego Spider-Man, or at the very least, it has the same clothing line.

If the former is the case then that opens up a whole other can of worms because of Haunted House ride is based off another line of now defunct and out of print Lego sets, Lego Adventurers!

The principal villain of that series was Baron Von Barron and his house is the basis for the storyline of the Haunted Attraction ride. Although its hard to say whether the ride itself is BASED on the story of the Adventurers series or is actually built around Barron's old house. So either the stories centered around the Adventurers sets are REAL and occurred within the Lego Marvel universe or they are themselves a popular old adventure serial within that universe.

So, putting it all together. Lego Spider-Man exists in a world where Mary Jane either does not exist is not a mainstay in Peter's life. Gwen Stacey is still alive and may or may not be in a relationship with Peter while also being Ghost-Spider at the same time. Indicating she got powers at some point in this world. The Clone Saga itself is currently happening, through entirely different circumstances and means but is occurring regardless. And the old Lego Adventurers series is in one way or another Canon to the Lego Marvel series, as either actual events or in-universe media.

This is all incredibly out of left field and strange and a major rabbit hole of over thinking. So I'm just going to end this by saying, I'm just glad Black Cat is included in this set, cause I'm gonna have her and Spider-Man making out on the top of the building when I'm finally done building it! Peter X Felicia forever!

#lego #legominifigures #spider man #marvel #gwen stacy #spider gwen #ghost spider #mary jane watson #Black Cat #felicia hardy #peter parker #daily bugle #clone saga #ben reilly #spiderman x black cat

14 notes · View notes

alyjojo · 1 year

Text

March 👵🏻 2023 Monthly - Leo

Whole of your energy: 2 Pentacles

You had a finance type of reading last month, it’s more of the same in March it seems. You’re coming to the realization you can’t keep up with the pace you’ve set for yourself, juggling a million different tasks at one time, and it’s just not going anywhere. No breaks. You’ve probably been doing whatever this is for a long time. No promotions, no raises, you’ve done the work with none of the rewards. You’re wondering if you should just give up, but that’s something that terrifies you (probably because there is no replacement yet), and you just play it over and over in your mind. While you’re nonstop busy.

What’s going on in March:

5 Pentacles:

You feel abandoned by family more than anything else, but financially is just as much of a concern. They may have cut ties with you financially, for some, or just can’t help in that way. It’s possible you have debts on hold that you just can’t deal with right now. No money, get in line. What else can you do?

6 Cups:

You’re very nostalgic for a time when you had help, this Pentacle pair may be parents or grandparents that would help you anytime you needed it. The Empress shows up as a possible mother figure, or maybe you have kids. At one time there was beautiful growth towards something that really made you passionate, happy, you felt inspired & like you had a purpose. You were rewarded for your efforts, and felt like everything you touched turned to gold. These sorts of memories are so important when it comes to manifesting what you want, though I know it’s being done in a sad or regretful sort of way right now.

King of Pentacles:

If you’ve lost someone, this may be them, due to illness or a series of bad events, The Wheel of Fortune is/was spinning against them. Which may be a karmic thing outside of your control. This could be a job you’ve lost due to the same thing, or your person has, they had to downsize or something, or it could be that same job or person that you remember so fondly. A time when you felt secure 🙏

Queen of Pentacles:

Could be a grandmother, mother, a practical person of some kind with advice, they’ve been very clear and transparent as to how events have occurred in regards to moving forward with you, King of Wands. This stable Pentacle couple may have gone through their own financial disasters, regarding medical bills, lost jobs, any number of difficult things, and they can’t help you. Some may simply refuse based on the past. You may have all worked together as a team in the past, and circumstances have forced that to end. There once was growth and joy in this direction, and now there’s just busy busy busy, for no rewards, you feel like you’re digging a hole someone else is immediately filling back up. What’s the point?

9 Pentacles:

You could be separate from these people now, or expected to be. You felt like a happy family with them, they could actually be family. If you’ve lost someone literally, I’m very sorry. If this Queen of Pentacles has lost their partner, they could be leaning on you for financial or emotional support, and there’s not much you can do for them either. There is a lot of love, happiness, and regret & sadness in this row, which may mean any number of things. These may all be things from the past that need healing & release. Hakuna Moscato leans towards the silly over the heavy, hopefully that’s true, these cards do that. No worries right, what can you even do? Nothing 💯 Go easy on yourself. Reminiscing about when it was good, IS good, it helps you get specific about what you want. That won’t show up in the same way, but it will in some way. Reggie being here shows you’re being protected from “what you want” for a reason.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn, Pisces, Scorpio & Gemini

Oracles: ✨

“Hakuna Moscato” 🦁

20 Healing Energy 🤕

Drawing this card guides you to work with energy on a healing level. Take a class, go and receive a Reiki healing, or just sit in meditation and concentrate on mindfulness. With the healing energy of Divine love, you do not have to “know” how to do anything. Just sit quietly, set your intention and let Spirit’s love fill you up. When you are living in a vibration of healing, you not only affect yourself, but those around you. Others then can connect with your energy and their vibrations can rise as a result. There is no force to this. This is basically how energy works. Your vibrational change will effect change in the ones you are close to. Alternately this card signifies healing is taking place within a relationship.

We enter into March as:

Canary Yellow 🐤

“If you talk and do not do, you are like the Canary in his cage; beautiful but useless.”

It is suggested that you move beyond what you believe to be right and accept what is. You may not be doing your true calling. Are you living in a fantasy that you would rather pretend with? This is your opportunity to do it, or let it go. Others will soon see what you are either hiding or denying. Time to wake up or you may find yourself quite embarrassed when your true motive is revealed. Like Canary - he would rather impress than do! Be careful of working too much and neglecting the reality of your life. Do not be the person who feels that he or she will never receive what they are entitled to, and it is easier to pretend that everything is fine. Canary indicates that things are in place for miracles to happen, but they may not if you dissipate your energy. Things are built up in our minds and we are imprisoned by the story we tell about what we are doing. Do not take yourself or the project you speak of so seriously any longer. Stop and consider if you intend on doing what you say, or if you are only talking.

This is a card of realizing we own nothing. We are given inspiration from above, if we dissipate our gifts than we are not fulfilling our promise to Spirit. If you resist your voice, why have one? What in your heart do you know you could do “if you wanted to”?

What is to be learned in March:

Reggie Rust 🚫

“This path is obstructed. Re-route.”

Reggie Rust shows up because you need to reconsider your present situation. He prevented danger to the boys, and in doing so made their uncle wealthy. So remember that he is there to help you. Reggie only blocks the path, not the goal. You are at an impasse. If Reggie Rust has appeared, do not wait any longer for your situation to change. Whatever you force will reach a dead end. Things will not turn out the way you think they should. Attempting to push forward will prove futile. The wall is solid, and your will may be the only thing preventing you from surrendering. Reggie protects us from our “will”, which is not always the best for us. This is an impasse. However, there is no need to despair. Reggie serves an important purpose for us. He reminds us that our path is guided, and while we may wish to forge the road ahead on a particular route, it may be laden with poisonous flowers. Reggie serves to protect us. Be grateful he is here, for you are being protected.

Orange/Rust may be a lucky color 🧡

#leo tarot reading #monthly reading #march 2023 #Leo #tarot #astro observations #astro notes #astroblr #tarotblr

2 notes · View notes

millassundries · 1 year

Text

Milla's Log 001

She sat down in front of her desk and pulled out her little book, a diary of sorts. Not the kind you keep secrets in or daily events, but alchemical notes. It was kind of her most sacred treasure, it held all of her accomplishments. It was also the last place Carol or Neera would go snooping since none of them could make heads or tails of it. Well Neera might understand some of it on a base level, but Alchemy? That was her gift or curse some might say. No one on all of Avalice knew what she knew and that gift was all do to Brevon. She wondered if Carol would find the irony that her Sister was alive because of Brevon in a way---probably best not to bring it up.

Opening the Book up, she skimmed past her formulas to near the back, hidden away in a neat little section written in the language of her home world, and written in reverse. She was probably the only person who would be able to read it without needing to write it all down properly, and probably the only one outside of Serpentine who could read this writing. Maybe Aaa could translate it? He did work with alot of that tech in some capacity.

She set her recorder down and pressed record picking the mic up to speak, this was mostly in case anything bad happened. So Carol and Neera would know the truth. They'd have a record of everything and with it maybe a way to save her? Or maybe it was just for peace of mind.

" Journal Entry, One the date is--- Month is Chǒuyuè (Month of the Ox), day 28 Year 3 AKS(After the Kingdom stone). If you are hearing this then either, i am in a state where i can not speak or help you. Or, the worst has occurred. I suppose i should apologize for being so silent on the matter. However i ... I do not believe there is anything anyone can do. "

She sighed holding the mic closer

" During the Encounter on the Bakunawa, Specifically during our battle with Serpentine. Syntax attempted to Link with me i believe Serpentine called it a resonance link. At the time we all believed i was able to overcome the effects and fight back. Which is true i was able to stave off the effect. Back then i thought i felt off, but there were bigger concerns so, i kept it to myself. "

She tapped her pen on the table

" I was aware that i was getting Ill after Lilac left but, again what could anyone really do? I know more about whats happening then any of you so if anyone was going to fix it---well it had to be me. Plus Carol had her Sonar to love, neera her new position, and Lilac? She was off discovering herself. So yes i kept this secret--- but now i'll tell you the whole story... everything about myself and... and ..."

She could feel the tears rolling down her face but she didn't want that on the tape. She had to keep going didn't she? this was harder then she thought.

" Why i'm going to keep getting sicker, and possible effects this illness will have on me. "

She sniffed obviously trying to hold her emotions back.

" ... It must have always been there i guess, Syntax only activated it... a Mutagenic Compound... probably similar to what Brevon tried to infect me with back then. Only its purpose was less to make me a formidable enemy and more... to control you, program you, keep you in line. That was what Serpentine had hoped... i did not win that day on the Bakunawa... i only delayed the inevitable. I do not know how long my anti-mutagen will keep me going, but i just want you to all know..."

She was in tears now, full on holding her hands to her face.

" These last 3 years have been everything to me... and i love you all so much! I'm so sorry... i wish, and hoped i could remain.... but sooner or later... i may well become an enemy... i do not know what will happen to the me that exists once the mutagen finishes it's work... i only know. "

She looked at herself in the mirror and despite how brave she wanted to be, she was so scared. She wanted Lilac, Carol, Neera anyone to hold her, and tell her it would be ok. But, she couldn't this time... she was all on her own.

" I will keep fighting till i can't... end Log... "

#Drabble #Milla's Personal Log #Infection 15%#Secret Diary #Milla's Secret

2 notes · View notes

shi-gut · 1 year

Text

Introduction post

hiya to anyone that has stumbled across this page amid the mass exodus from twitter! the names yoshii (a.k.a: shi-gut)! im actually not really new to this place so i don’t need a “welcome” sort of thing. kinda surprised this username wasn’t taken after i deleted my old account lol. this is the same handle ive used before so nothing different than before. for anyone that has ever seen my old blog or was around during that time pre-2018 (or if you’re completely new), back in 2021 i decided to up and delete my account here. reason being is because ever since the whole mess with tumblr being bought in 2018, most of everyone had jumped ship and fled to twitter. things weren’t the same as they once were and i could clearly feel it as the activity i was getting on here after 2018 was almost non-existent. after awhile i decided to also jump ship myself but actually deleted the account after putting it off for 3 years. i thought of keeping it up for the sake of archiving, but like deviantart, that old blog reminds me of nothing but my cringe era during its reign and i’d rather dissociate from that era as much as possible. same for deviantart. funny that now twitter is going through the exact same hell tumblr went through. same situation: gets bought out, new owner fucks over millions of users with drastic changes, and those said changes cause mass exodus to occur as users seek new horizons to expand upon but are stuck with the challenge of trying to recreate what they had before on the old platform (unless you’re a big name or popular enough that it won’t matter). it’s assumed rn that twitter could potentially die off as they are hemorrhaging employees by the gallons and with what little will remain, the site might not function very well if there’s few people to manage it. idk how true it is and im not one to get wrapped up in this sort of thing. ever. the only reason i have to give a damn is because i put art out there and compared to any other social platform ive been on in the past 10 years, nothing compares to twitter. im not a commission/request artist so im not really worried about that, but it’s moreso to just get my name and stuff out there anyways. (especially if/when i do decide to take on commissions). so that sorta thing is kinda important for me, and also for other artists/content creators etc. we are more likely to get hit by this hurricane harder compared to the rest.

because of the uncertainty, im restarting my tumblr account from scratch again. im also restarting my deviantart account as well shortly. i still plan to remain active on twitter despite this whole mess. simply because it’s very important to still throw my work out there even if im throwing it into a barren wasteland with a population of zero. rn im just trying to cover as much base as i can in the event that twitter does end up becoming the new tumblr. i have no idea how or what i plan to do for this blog. maybe start by reuploading some old stuff from my other old social accounts just to get everything up to speed and then focus on the new stuff? prolly might do that. idk if plan to be super active because i just restarted this account. but we shall see in the upcoming days!

my carrd website with more socials! (gotta update it soon)

✨ yoshii / shi-gut

#yoshii says stuff #twitter #elon musk

2 notes · View notes

gabelish · 2 months

Text

Common Logical Fallacies w/ Examples

I ripped these straight from Purdue Owl as well as Grammarly but you can also look at Wikipedia which has many many more. Cause honestly I think we all, myself included, need a refresher on these and we should maybe just stop arguing with people who use fallacious logic and just point out the logical fallacy and tell them to come back when they have a real argument.

It is important to note that the premise or statement can be true but it’s still a fallacious argument if the reasoning used to come to that conclusion is a logical fallacy. “The world isn’t flat because I saw it was round in a dream.” Obviously the world isn’t flat but the reasoning used to support that statement is fallacious, so it is a fallacious argument.

Anecdotal Evidence: The argument draws a conclusion from cases specifically chosen to support the conclusion.

Example: Abortion is morally wrong. In one case a woman had an abortion merely so her pregnancy would not interfere with a trip to Europe that she and her husband were planning.

(Anecdotal evidence is from Palomar.edu since I consider it super important and neither list included it.)

Slippery Slope: This is a conclusion based on the premise that if A happens, then eventually through a series of small steps, through B, C,..., X, Y, Z will happen, too, basically equating A and Z. So, if we don't want Z to occur, A must not be allowed to occur either.

Example: If we ban Hummers because they are bad for the environment eventually the government will ban all cars, so we should not ban Hummers.

In this example, the author is equating banning Hummers with banning all cars, which is not the same thing.

Hasty Generalization: This is a conclusion based on insufficient or biased evidence. In other words, you are rushing to a conclusion before you have all the relevant facts.

Example: Even though it's only the first day, I can tell this is going to be a boring course.

In this example, the author is basing his evaluation of the entire course on only the first day, which is notoriously boring and full of housekeeping tasks for most courses. To make a fair and reasonable evaluation the author must attend not one but several classes, and possibly even examine the textbook, talk to the professor, or talk to others who have previously finished the course in order to have sufficient evidence to base a conclusion on.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc: This is a conclusion that assumes that if 'A' occurred after 'B' then 'B' must have caused 'A.'

Example: I drank bottled water and now I am sick, so the water must have made me sick.

In this example, the author assumes that if one event chronologically follows another the first event must have caused the second. But the illness could have been caused by the burrito the night before, a flu bug that had been working on the body for days, or a chemical spill across campus. There is no reason, without more evidence, to assume the water caused the person to be sick.

Genetic Fallacy: This conclusion is based on an argument that the origins of a person, idea, institute, or theory determine its character, nature, or worth.

Example: The Volkswagen Beetle is an evil car because it was originally designed by Hitler's army.

In this example the author is equating the character of a car with the character of the people who built the car. However, the two are not inherently related.

Begging the Claim: The conclusion that the writer should prove is validated within the claim.

Example: Filthy and polluting coal should be banned.

Arguing that coal pollutes the earth and thus should be banned would be logical. But the very conclusion that should be proved, that coal causes enough pollution to warrant banning its use, is already assumed in the claim by referring to it as "filthy and polluting."

Circular Argument: This restates the argument rather than actually proving it.

Example: George Bush is a good communicator because he speaks effectively.

In this example, the conclusion that Bush is a "good communicator" and the evidence used to prove it "he speaks effectively" are basically the same idea. Specific evidence such as using everyday language, breaking down complex problems, or illustrating his points with humorous stories would be needed to prove either half of the sentence.

Either/or (false dilemma): This is a conclusion that oversimplifies the argument by reducing it to only two sides or choices.

Example: We can either stop using cars or destroy the earth.

In this example, the two choices are presented as the only options, yet the author ignores a range of choices in between such as developing cleaner technology, car-sharing systems for necessities and emergencies, or better community planning to discourage daily driving.

Ad hominem: This is an attack on the character of a person rather than his or her opinions or arguments.

Example: Green Peace's strategies aren't effective because they are all dirty, lazy hippies.

In this example, the author doesn't even name particular strategies Green Peace has suggested, much less evaluate those strategies on their merits. Instead, the author attacks the characters of the individuals in the group.

Ad populum/Bandwagon Appeal: This is an appeal that presents what most people, or a group of people think, in order to persuade one to think the same way. Getting on the bandwagon is one such instance of an ad populum appeal.

Example: If you were a true American you would support the rights of people to choose whatever vehicle they want.

In this example, the author equates being a "true American," a concept that people want to be associated with, particularly in a time of war, with allowing people to buy any vehicle they want even though there is no inherent connection between the two.

Red Herring: This is a diversionary tactic that avoids the key issues, often by avoiding opposing arguments rather than addressing them.

Example: The level of mercury in seafood may be unsafe, but what will fishers do to support their families?

In this example, the author switches the discussion away from the safety of the food and talks instead about an economic issue, the livelihood of those catching fish. While one issue may affect the other it does not mean we should ignore possible safety issues because of possible economic consequences to a few individuals.

Straw Man: This move oversimplifies an opponent's viewpoint and then attacks that hollow argument.

Example: People who don't support the proposed state minimum wage increase hate the poor.

In this example, the author attributes the worst possible motive to an opponent's position. In reality, however, the opposition probably has more complex and sympathetic arguments to support their point. By not addressing those arguments, the author is not treating the opposition with respect or refuting their position.

Moral Equivalence: This fallacy compares minor misdeeds with major atrocities, suggesting that both are equally immoral.

Example: That parking attendant who gave me a ticket is as bad as Hitler.

In this example, the author is comparing the relatively harmless actions of a person doing their job with the horrific actions of Hitler. This comparison is unfair and inaccurate.

More I ripped from Grammarly.

Appeal to ignorance: An appeal to ignorance is a claim that something must be true because it hasn’t been proven false. It can also be a claim that something must be false because it hasn’t been proven true. This is also known as the burden of proof fallacy.

Example: There must be fairies living in our attic because nobody’s ever proven that there aren’t fairies living in our attic.

Sunk cost fallacy: With the sunk cost fallacy, the arguer justifies their decision to continue a specific course of action by the amount of time or money they’ve already spent on it.

Example: I’m not enjoying this book, but I bought it, so I have to finish reading it.

Appeal to pity: An appeal to pity attempts to sway a reader’s or listener’s opinion by provoking them emotionally.

Example: I know I should have been on time for the interview, but I woke up late and felt really bad about it, then the stress of being late made it hard to concentrate on driving here.

Causal fallacy: A causal fallacy is one that implies a relationship between two things where one can’t actually be proven.

Example: When ice cream sales are up, so are shark attacks. Therefore, buying ice cream increases your risk of being bitten by a shark.

Appeal to hypocrisy: An appeal to hypocrisy, also known as a tu quoque fallacy, is a rebuttal that responds to one claim with reactive criticism rather than with a response to the claim itself.

Example: “You don’t have enough experience to be the new leader.” “Neither do you!”

(This last one is from Scribbr.)

Non-Sequitur: A step missing from a line of reasoning and the conclusion does not follow from the premise.

Example: Giving up nuclear weapons weakened the United States’ military. Giving up nuclear weapons also weakened China. For this reason, it is wrong to try to outlaw firearms in the United States today.

#logical fallacies #critical thinking #digital literacy

0 notes