#*plans

[iheartmoons]

is ao3 down ☹️ life = ruined

[bookwyrminspiration]

(Spoilers for all of Kotlc//Also hi it’s Ophelia again sorry//Also also please don’t feel pressured to answer this ask anytime soon or anything, I’m not worried about an immediate response for this ask or anything like that) This is probably my poor memory of the books talking, but I can’t help but feel like the Neverseen became more laid back as the series went on. They went from kidnapping, faking the death of and literally torturing two twelve year olds to…giving a kid extra powers so they can use it later? And this isn’t a criticism of Shannon at all, I could be wrong and even if I am right maybe this is what she was going for. But even now in the series, a lot of the disturbing stuff about the Neverseen that’s revealed is things they did in the past like the (potential) murder of Eleanor Wright and her father. And once again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I‘ll admit I’m not a huge fan of the change, but that’s just because of a personal preference towards scarier villains. Shannon writing the Neverseen to tone back their methods could be displaying that they’ve become more organized and are putting deeper thought into the consequences of their actions, choosing what’ll be more effective in the long run as opposed to the easiest method in the moment. And if I am right about that, that’s pretty cool! What are your thoughts on this?

Ophelia! Welcome back! It's very nice to hear from you, and you're absolutely right that there has been a tone shift when it comes to the Neverseen. They haven't been doing the big scary things as much anymore, but I think there's a reason for this!

The thing is, the Neverseen is not a cohesive organization the way the Black Swan is. When we think of the Black Swan doing something, it's always an organization wide thing, decided by the Collective, agreed upon to be the best course of action. There is nearly nothing that doesn't get thought through by multiple people, and as such their actions are more consistent and can be predicted. They're, on a fundamental level, the same as they have been since book one, we're just learning more about them

But the Neverseen? As far as we know the Neverseen follows one main person in charge, and that person can--and has--change. In the beginning, it was more Fintan, and that's when all the more dramatic scary things happened. That's when Sophie and Dex were kidnapped and tortured, that's when the gnomish plague was unleashed, when Councillor Kenric was killed, when Lumenaria was brought down, etc. Lady Gisela wasn't just another minion and she definitely played a big role in the Neverseen, but I don't think she was the top at that time. She had her own secret plans and was using the Neverseen to bring them to fruition. There's one key thing that someone says, I just can't remember exactly who at the moment. I think it was Gethen, and he says "Or rather, your mother convinced us we should." In regards to seeing value in Keefe and his legacy, which leads me to believe that because she had to convince them, she wasn't in complete control at the time, but had power it the organization. Like Sophie, who has influence over the Black Swan but doesn't get to just make anything she wants happen

These bigger, more obvious moves in the beginning were done under Fintan, someone who has been shown to have a flare for the dramatic. They fit him. Even later on, the attacks really come down to Fintan--like the attack at the beginning of Flashback that had Sophie and Fitz in the healing center for so long. The one big instance where Lady Gisela did something dramatic was breaching Atlantis's forcefield, but that isn't her usual style.

Now that Fintan has been captured and is being held prisoner, there's a shift of power and Lady Gisela takes control completely this time, the head of the Neverseen as far as we can see. And that's where they start to shift and their moves become less overt, harder to predict, because Gisela doesn't have a flare for the dramatic, she likes to be successful. She'll play dirty, be sneaky, mess with people's heads, work from the shadows, etc. She has a different goal than Fintan, so she goes about it a different way. And because she's in charge now, that gets reflected throughout the entire Neverseen, making it seem like the whole order has changed it's approach when it can really be traced down to the change in leadership. There's even a moment (I think at the end of Nightfall, but could be wrong) where Keefe says "We don't even know whose in charge right now" (paraphrased, and also not 100% sure it was Keefe).

The Neverseen are a collection of rebels fighting a bunch of different battles in different ways, so as leadership shifts they present themselves very differently.

Also, I think it's convenient for Shannon in terms of writing. There's only so many big dramatic fights the kotlcrew can fight (and loose) before it becomes really really boring and repetitive, so by changing their approach from time to time she can keep readers guessing. If every single encounter was Sophie fighting--and loosing, so the story wouldn't end too fast--that would get very old very quickly.

I suppose it also comes down to what you personally find scary. If that's big dramatic villains hurting people physically, Fintan would be more appealing and seem like a worse person to deal with. If you find mind games and manipulation and secrecy and never knowing what's going on but knowing you're missing something to be scarier, then Lady Gisela would be more appealing and more dangerous.

Your observation of them being more thorough and planning for the long term instead of the moment seems like a perfect way to explain the difference between Lady Gisela and Fintan. Gisela is playing the game long term, planning for a future she can wait for, so all the pieces can settle into place. She's in no hurry, and so she can--and has--put a lot of thought into everything. Fintan is more result focused and so when he was in charge big things happened a lot more frequently and a lot quicker. The longer the game lasts the longer it'll take for him to get what he wants, so he wants it over so he's not planning for the long term the same way. He makes impulse decisions without thinking of how it will affect the long term--like revealing he was still alive and forcing Alvar to reveal his Neverseen association.

also, it's perfectly fine if you don't like the change!! it is a big change, so everyone will see it differently. For example, I don't mind the change because it gives me more information about the organization and the people that I can use to understand them better.

to summarize: the Neverseen is led by different people throughout the series, so the changes we see in their approach to the game/war/fight is due to those people, not necessarily the organization as a whole. We've witnessed a huge shift in power, so naturally things are going to change

[mydumplingbae]

hoping that a few months from now we can go “aha remember when we al thought the dsmp was ending haha what a fun time”

[bodyprintmachine]

Very vague 2019 cosplans, bound to be subject to change. (I've already started buying things for Dolores though, so she's definitely happening!)

Dolores Abernathy, as seen in Pariah

the woman from Death Stranding played by Léa Seydoux, mainly cause I like her design and think it's funny to cosplay before the game is even out

an updated and upgraded version of my Furiosa, in which I wanna re-make her arm and armor

Catra, either in her uniform or the tuxedo (kind of hoping I can make Jess join me as Adora)

Kris Deltarune, or maybe Undyne if I can manage the armor, or maybe both

[neversith]

modern anakin things i’ve come up with:

he was born to a single mom who is still alive 

his father is unknown && he left when ani was a boy

he is a danish immigrant who came to the us w/ shmi when he was 9. they live in las vegas. 

he speaks english fine but he prefers to speak danish

in high school, he excelled in science and shop class. he also got decent grades in art and math. english and history???? not so much. 

in high school, he also played soccer

he grew up poor, but, that didn’t bother him

he had a part time job as a mechanic in high school until he graduated 

he decided to become a detective even though his first idea of a degree leaned towards auto mechanics or engineering. 

he ends up becoming a homicide detective.

he is married to padme && they live together. 

the twins are already born. their ages are tba. 

he is childhood friends w/ ahsoka && rex.

more info here

[clarawatson]

Mom and Hotch making a list of their enemies. Mom and Hotch making a list of safe places for the kids. Mom and Hotch with a list of safe people for the kids if someone ever comes after them. Mom and Hotch looking super paranoid until something happens and the team are all surprised when the kids are efficiently whisked away to safety.

[ariellestudies1]

really hoping my advisor approves of my plan to get my language credit at another university since it’s literally free and the university is only a 10 minute drive from my campus 😭🙏🏼