#fandom ramble

[getvalentined]

Thinking a lot recently about the constant comparison of Oblivion to Skyrim, particularly claims that Oblivion is superior in every way strictly by virtue of quest length and the greater grandiosity of the organizations in Oblivion, and I think there's been a fundamental misunderstanding of what's actually going on with Tamriel during the time period of Skyrim. Even though it's like...one of the core concepts of the main storyline.

Putting most of this under a cut for length, but I just...I think people misunderstand what's going on here. This is not a "One Game Good Other Game Bad" post, it's an analysis of a major, key difference in story basis between the two that I think gets lost in the (frankly asinine) argument about which is superior.

See, everything in Skyrim sucks. Every organization you can align yourself with is falling apart. Literally every single one.

That's the point.

To summarize:

The Companions (equivalent to the Fighters' Guild) are about a dozen strong, literally cursed, and their most beloved leader gets murdered very early in the storyline.

The College of Winterhold (equivalent to the Mages' Guild, not to the Arcane University) has seemingly only been saved from collapsing into the sea because a master of Restoration fused himself with the structure itself when the Sea of Ghosts tried to tear it down a little under a century ago and his presence is constantly physically "healing" the foundation.

The Thieves' Guild has lost the favor of every possible patron deity, having been outright cursed by Nocturnal after one of her Nightingales murdered another and stole the gift she offers her champion, while the boon that the organization's founder claimed from her in ages past (the cowl) is missing.

The Dark Brotherhood has been all but completely dismantled, the Night Mother's tomb in Bravil having been raided and struggling to persist without a Listener for over a decade; the bodies of the Night Mother's children have been lost and she's essentially being smuggled from region to region in an attempt to find a safe place to continue operations.

The Empire itself has been kneecapped, forced into a traumatic treaty by a fascist regime determined to strike the beliefs and culture of anyone not Altmer off the face of the planet; the Thalmor have gone so far as to torture and radicalize the figurehead leader of the Nords in order to use their own nationalism and superiority against the Empire, sparking a civil war that will further weaken the Empire and allow the Aldmerri Dominion to destroy it wholecloth.

This extends out into the rest of the world, too! We have confirmed existence of Hist-deaf Argonians. The Dunmer are floundering to recover after the quadruple-whammy that is the fall of the Triumverate, the destruction of Vivec City when Baar Dau finally made impact, the Red Year, and the Argonian uprising. The Bosmer are literally endangered due to habitat loss following a super-isolationist cultural shift due to wars with the Khajiit and Altmer. The Void Nights were devastating to Khajiit culture and population in ways that have yet to be fully explained.

The world is falling apart. Everything is dying.

And then Alduin shows up.

We all kind of talk about Alduin carrying on as World-Eater through the course of the Skyrim storyline like it's him being a piece of shit, since he'd started it ages ago and was just displaced in time to land on the Last Dragonborn's head in the Fourth Era, but I don't think that's the case.

Based on the state of things, I think Alduin arrived right on time. I think it's the end of the world. The only reason he "should" be stopped is because the Last Dragonborn has the capacity to stop the world from ending in a more down-to-earth sense than just defeating Alduin: they can't save everyone, but they can "fix" every single organization that's holding "the world" together.

They can align with the Imperials and keep the civil war from further crippling them, keeping the Empire from being too weak to push back against the Aldmerri Dominion.

They can save the College of Winterhold, the only group in the right place at the right time to stop the Eye of Magnus from opening, and in doing so make sure that the Psijics are able to put it somewhere nobody else can find it.

They can lead the Companions, cure the curse for those members who don't want to run with Hircine after death, which bolsters their spirits enough to keep doing what they can even when everyone else is trying to kill each other. A single neutral martial force in the middle of a civil war.

They can regain Nocturnal's trust for the Thieves' Guild, restore the Nightingales, and in doing so they can return the luck that was stolen from them as punishment for Mercer Frey's transgression. They can even reclaim the Crown of Barenziah and award the guild with a paragon to increase their newly-regained luck.

They can hear the Night Mother, becoming Listener for the Dark Brotherhood to restore the balancing force of Sithis in the world, purify the most broken Sanctuary the Brotherhood has ever had, and finish a story set into motion way back in the Third Era—Emperor Titus Mede II is murdered under the order of a Motierre, a descendant of a mark the Brotherhood specifically kept from dying during the Oblivion Crisis.

The Last Dragonborn can't do anything outside Skyrim—there's nothing they can do for the Argonians or the Bosmer or the Khajiit, and they can only do very little for the Dunmer via work in Solstheim—but they can work with every single guild or guild-adjacent group, strengthening the Empire to stand against the biggest threat to Tamrielic culture since the First Era, and in doing so they can make it so the world isn't ready for Alduin to eat it.

The Hero of Kvatch exists when Tamriel, and presumably Nirn as a whole is in the prime of its life, that's what makes the Oblivion Crisis such a big deal. This is a world that isn't ready to give up, it still has the strength to fight, it just needs someone standing at the head to direct it. The Last Dragonborn comes into the story when everything is falling apart and nothing really feels worthwhile, when it's hard to see why the world is worth saving. They have the chance to prove that there's still some life left here, that the world isn't too far gone to save—Alduin arrived right on time, it's the Last Dragonborn's job to change that.

I can see how coming from Oblivion to Skyrim would feel disappointing and hollow, but I'm pretty sure that's literally the point of the story.

Oblivion tells you the world is worth saving because it's got so much left to live for, even with the odds stacked so high against it. Skyrim asks you whether a world that's dying is still a world worth saving, and it's up to you to prove that it is.

[keibinding]

Guys, I hate to be that person, but Genesis and Angeal being older than Sephiroth is not a theory: it's the literal narrative of Crisis Core.

Genesis is an academic with a perfect use of language for dramatic purposes, and he told the story of the Jenova Project in perfect order: first Project G, then Project S, using the failures of the former to ensure a good success of the latter.

The progress is clear: Failure (Genesis) < still not there (Angeal) < success (Sephiroth)

Sephiroth being the youngest is not speculation, but intentional storytelling. They could always retcon this, but there was no doubt in the original script, at least the fact that Project G came first.

There could still make Genesis the middle child because their order of birth has not being stated, but there's no doubt about Sephiroth being the youngest, since Genesis stated it in Nibelheim.

Yeah, it would be awkward having a character called "The Origin" not being the first born, but in meta he would still be the origin of the crisis, so it could work. I don't like this option -logically the biggest "error" should be on the first try- but that's the only non-canon thing they could change without retconning.

I could go on telling you that basically Genesis also told us that Sephiroth is genetically sterile. Which makes perfect sense: Hojo could have just made another S by reproduction if it was possible.

I have a bunch of theories about the genetics of AGS, but they could sum up in "Genesis and Angeal are chimeras, Sephiroth is an hybrid" (and most hybrids, expecially males, are indeed sterile due to extra chromosomes).

[estel-eruantien]

Y’all, when I got into Marble Hornets, the show had JUST ended. I was right on time for the peak of the fandom, but I didn’t get to experience the hype of waiting for the uploads and theorizing.

I am having so much fun with the Rosswood uploads. I’m just happy to see something new! Yeehaw

[everyluciferaoex]

Hi! My question is related to one of your previous posts. Where did you get all that Lucifer themed merch? I'm not very practical with blue exorcist gadget-related websites. You have a nice collection btw. (I'm a Lucifer's fan too!).

Hey! Sorry for the late reply to this, I've been swamped at work 😮‍💨 Thank you so much! It's so nice to hear from other Lucifer fans! I do a lot of research with my collection.

So I keep things as updated as possible but here's some resources I have/use below.

Please note that if you are a US resident, Japan has suspended Japan Post to the USA over the tariffs situation, so check to make sure there are other shipping options when buying from Japan!

Buyee.jp - Has browser extension on chrome/Firefox so you can add to buyee cart. Works as a proxy service, can also search on Japan's mercari on the site.

AmiAmi - Another good site, has the new blue exorcist Weiss Schwartz deck and boosters coming out.

GoodsRepublic - More expensive, but also good.

eBay - Is eBay so you kind of get what you can get. Marked up prices.

Mercari - Also marked up prices, best to look in the Japan one

Blogs/other places that have information about merch:

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/AoNoExorcist/s/d3pnZF3koY

New merch lines are announced as well on here. You can use buyee to proxy from Japan.

Kato’s Twitter where she reposts everything: https://x.com/katohhhhhh?t=Q5n2y02OBfDf8LqjOTp1XA&s=09

Current merch lines out now

Can badges, print to order: https://jumpcs.shueisha.co.jp/shop/g/g4530430519781/

Weiss Schwartz cards: https://www.amiami.com/eng/detail/?scode=CARD-00030440

https://www.amiami.com/eng/detail/?scode=CARD-00030442

Weiss Schwartz cards also here:

https://bushiroad-store.com/collections/ws-blau/products/2000250777095

https://bushiroad-store.com/collections/ws-blau/products/2000250800137

PREORDER SALES START AUGUST 29TH (for Weiss Schwartz Blau)

New Kanada Shrine collab: https://culcolle.online/collections/aonoexorcist?s=09

Other past collabs on buyee/other sites: Princess Cafe collab (hard to find), detailed on Tumblr blog here (https://www.tumblr.com/everyluciferaoex/787281852301033472/more-new-merch-coming-out-with-our-favorite-bacon?source=share)

Eeo merch line, pretty sure orders are closed by now: https://www.tumblr.com/everyluciferaoex/787281631818006528/new-lucifer-merch-coming-out-and-i-guess-other?source=share

Aoex15 merch: Here is the site to look at it all, may be able to find things on Mercari/Buyee for it- https://aoex-ten.com/

Goods: https://aoex-ten.com/goods#

Example of one of the offerings from the aoex15 exhibition: https://www.tumblr.com/everyluciferaoex/788276555240603648/blue-exorcist-aurora-playing-cards?source=share

Jump merch: https://jumpcs.shueisha.co.jp/shop/r/r20012/

I may have missed some stuff, but Buyee can be used to buy Japanese only merch. They proxy, meaning they buy it for you, keep it in a warehouse, and bundle it all for you to send to you. I have used a lot of Buyee, Mercari, and eBay in the past. I'll detail with screenshots my "orders" below as much as possible without doxxing myself to be transparent about costs. It is extremely expensive as an overseas fan sometimes.

Here is me completely outing myself on how much some of the stuff I have has cost, minus using a personal proxy (very lovely friend who was very kind) to grab some exhibition goods for me from Japan.

My collection keeps growing, so I am adding more shelves. I'll keep updates here of when I get things! I also have the PSP game that cost $45 total, but Tumblr only allows 10 pics per post :(

Bottom line, once again: It is very expensive to be a consumer. I believe in supporting as much as possible using money I have, but I recognize not everyone has that ability. Thus, my suggestion is also trying to find bootleg merchandise or use standee creation services as well. I don't have much experience with those, but I know a few people that do if you have any questions about those!

I work on the Wiki when I can, work on this when I can, write as well (though I have yet to publish anywhere) and I have an Illuminati OC, and I'm working on drawing again (hopefully fanart for the fandom as well).

There are so many ways to interact with the aoex fanbase that don't include money or even collecting. Do what you can, talk to people, enjoy the fandom, so on and so forth.

I'm a firm believer that everyone has a place within every fandom, even if you aren't an artist, writer, whatever.

Final parting words:

Comparison is the theft of joy.

Thank you so much for the ask! Hopefully all of these resources help, and hopefully even if collecting seems daunting, that my words sort of ease any anxiety. If there are any questions, feel free to message me or send another ask!

[poppy-primarina]

Being in a fandom full of antishippers is hell. Also minors. When I was in the fandom Amino at 11-12 everyone was my age or older (up to like 20+). Now I'm an adult and everyone is 14 besides me and a couple other people (interacted with, until they started being assholes) so now it's just me and bff ❤️ we're the two good people in this hell of a fandom ❤️

[soleminisanction]

Here's one of my continuity pet peeves. I don't blame anybody for this because continuity is huge, the writers themselves seem to forget this all the time, and WFA especially spreads a ton of misinformation, but it is something that'll make me instantly back out of any fanfic or headcanon that uses it as a basis.

If you create some tradition Bruce celebrates with his kids/Robins at certain points in their development -- especially if you're trying to comment on the Tim's 16th Birthday thing -- and you include Stephanie as a recipient in any way, you are 100% barking up the wrong tree.

Steph became Robin when she was 18. Maybe the last few months of 17 at the very youngest. We know this because she's two years older than Tim, and Tim's 16th was kind of a big deal. Steph's two months of probation (minus the three weeks she explicitly didn't work after the Scarab incident) was the longest she ever worked with Bruce in any capacity, and she didn't even know he was Bruce Wayne at the time. Prior to then her primary contacts were Tim and Cass, with some secondary training via Babs, Helena and the Birds of Prey that Bruce arranged but he only ever contacted her sporadically. After War Games and the Robin kerfuffle that followed she almost exclusively worked with Babs, Dick and Damian.

It's weird because I mostly see this happening in stories that're intended to twist the knife on how differently Tim-as-Robin got treated compared to the others but it just... rubs me the wrong way.

[de-captcha]

i feel like the amir lovers could possibly agree to this, as well as the aoi fans: both of them would be really weirded out yet interested in taxidermy. ofc eleanor too but for a bit other reasons. idk all i can think of is amir wanting to learn about how it all worls whilst Aoi is the one to focus on how soft and how closeup one can get with animal taxidermy. there's interest but there's a " ok but its... dead." aspect. idk i feel like a fanfic writer or another artist can have some fun with this