#I'm using this as set up/filler in the meantime

[capucapo]

Into the Storm

Storms berrate the helicopter as it draws near, towering waterspouts reaching into the dark clouds like pillars of the Parthenon. Rain swirls around them, flashes of lightning threten to blind the pilots, all while something darker than the clouds snakes throughout the sky.

The chopper shakes with turbulence, but the Other Yugi pays it little mind as he sits with his rival. In a rare moment of cooperation, they compare their decks, discuss their strategies, try to form a battle plan to save the world.

Finally, a geat tower appears through the wall of dark clouds and rain, a spire of white stone rising from the black, tumultuous sea. Mokuba, hanging on to the back of Isono's co-pilot seat, gasps as it comes in to view. He calls out for Seto to look, finally daring to interrupt the Duelists' conversation.

Somehow, the pilots manage to brave the winds and land atop that massive structure, before an intricate and ornate temple.

Without hesitation, Seto Kaiba and the Other Yugi exit the helicopter and approach that temple, both determined to bring this Armageddon to an end. Though Tristan and Téa both hesitate at the entrance, Mokuba marches in right behind his brother.

The temple feels ancient and brand new all at once, with all its long, stone hallways and intricately carved snake motifs, and not a speck of dust. It almost feels unreal, like a sophisticated movie set, or something in a theme park. But the oppressive feeling that permeates the air in this place is very real, making Mokuba's hair stand on end and his chest feel tight.

Seto tells him to stay close, and Mokuba wishes he could laugh. As if he could stay any closer. No, he doesn't plan to fall more than a step behind.

The group enters a massive chamber, dimly lit by standing torches but otherwise empty. The walls, floor, and ceiling of this room are carved in thousands upon thousands of perfect rectangles, each filled with the image of a different human being.

Téa gasps as she realizes what these tiles depict.

Mokuba feels his stomach sink.

The walls of this chamber stretch up, up, up into shadow, to a peaked ceiling too dark to see. And every inch of those walls is tiled in trapped, human souls.

So this is what made the air feel so heavy with dread.

Out of the rows and rows and rows of poor, unfortunate souls, somehow the Other Yugi finds that one in particular almost immediately. His eyes widen as he calls out for his Partner and races ahead impulsively, and the rest really have no choice but to follow.

Until an echoing voice stops them in their tracks as they reach the center of the expansive hall.

"You've kept me waiting, Nameless Pharaoh, Seto."

Who is this guy to use his first name, anyway?

"Still, my god feels blessed that those with strong souls have finally arrived. And you brought your friends for dessert, too. Good. My god is very hungry."

The torches flare, flooding the room with bright light. Finally, Dartz shows himself, appearing from the dim shadows as if by magic. Or some cheap parlor trick, as Seto would say.

Mokuba steps closer to his brother.

Yugi starts to argue with Dartz, to launch some speech about the value of these lives and souls, but Seto cuts him off. "You know there's no point to arguing with him, Yugi. You know what we came here for." Straight to the point, as always. Unwavering and confident as he readies his DuelDisk.

Mokuba feels a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon," Téa urges him away from his spot at Seto's side. He glances back up at his brother, with his own determined glare fixed on his enemy. Reluctantly, Mokuba follows the cheerleaders to the sidelines.

He had told Crowley he preferred his role as support. But when there's no computer to hack, no plane to save, nothing to sabotage or investigate or DO except watch and cheer, he feels helpless. Maybe if he played Duel Monsters more, he could fight too. Maybe if he wasn't so afraid of being the hero, he could have taken that Claw of Hermos when Joey fell. Maybe he could be helpful. Useful.

The Duel begins, and Seto goes first. By the end of his turn, he already has one Blue Eyes White Dragon on the field, and Mokuba feels his spirits lift a little. Yugi's first turn ends with Black Luster Soldier at the ready, and the teenager cheers.

And then Dartz begins his turn. Unfortunately, he had a fortunate opening hand as well.

He activates the Seal of Orichalcos.

A gust of wind snuffs the torches, leaving the chamber illuminated only by the teal light of the Seal of Orichalcos. The air, already thick with the anguish of countless trapped souls, feels suffocating. The temperature drops.

Across the playing field, the expression on Dartz's face changes, his lips curling back in a snarling grin. His mismatched eyes narrowed, fixating on the Duelist's with what could only be described as bloodlust.

Mokuba feels that hope fade as quickly as his brother had summoned his first dragon.

[ell-arts]

There's a ton of strange things going on with this show, including using parodies (namely the Terminator for "Stand By Your Pac-Man" and The Wizard of Oz for "The Wizard of Odd".

All it does is aid to the already large filler that no one (or close to it) particularly needed. Not to mention the crass jokes that started showing up as early as episode 2.

Episode. Two.

So here's my question: What made you stay in the Fandom after the shows untimely cancelation? Was it for the memes and shitposts that people made off It? Or was it for the idea that, in a way, it had more potential to it?

Personally it's both the former and latter, but I've always wanted to know what made someone stay in this weird phase of Pac-Man history

That's a loaded question XD

First, I must acknowledge that my answer is only one perspective out of many. Other fans may have varying reasons for why they stayed in the fandom.

So, as for me?

I'm a simple person. I'm easily entertained :)

It's the little things that I am drawn to. Not the crass/toilet humour, of course, but I like the little design details and how the main trio looks out for each other, and some of the funny shenanigans that the ghosts end up in. I can block out/ignore the poorly done bits and genuinely enjoy the rest of it that was fun to watch.

I really don't mind the amount of parodies, I think each of them at least had something that was still relevant to the story - Stand By Your Pac-Man set the stage for Apex's reveal (in that the Pacinator revealed it was someone else who completely wiped out the yellows, however brief the reveal may be), and while Wizard of Odd was more filler than anything else, I still found enjoyment in it and we got a bit of lore on other parallel dimensions being a thing in the universe. The one parody episode I can think of that was 100% filler and probs unnecessary was Rip van Packle.

I'll admit, PMATGA is not the best show nor can I pretend that it's as great as other stories I'm interested in, like The Chronicles of Narnia or HTTYD. Whenever new people ask me what shows I'm interested in, I make a big effort not to mention PMATGA lmao. It's a guilty pleasure, simple as that.

To be honest, it was neither the memes nor the wasted potential that I stayed for (trust me, 15-year-old me was actually quite miffed about people dissing my favourite show at the time XD).

I stayed because I had sort of build up my own sets of fanons and theories of the show that I could latch onto, and build up upon for years to come, because the characters of this show are surprisingly good to use as a foundation for bigger and more epic stories, sort of like that one meme where the world you created in your head about the show is better than the show itself lol. I guess that did stem out of the show's wasted potential.

And, well, hyperfixation is a thing, innit? That definitely played a small role in why I stayed.

Over the years my interest in the show did wean a little, and up until the beginning of the year, I had been entirely inactive in the fandom. Perhaps I did lose interest in the show then. But I didn't lose interest in the fan stories I've come up with in the meantime. I guess that's the biggest reason why I stayed - I started something with my fanfics, and I've spent a lot of time building up their plots, so much so that to just leave it all now would feel wrong. Especially since I still get enjoyment out of them.

It ends up being a domino effect in and of itself tbh, because as I write more for the fanfics that I refuse to abandon, the more stories and fan content I come up with, and so the drive continues for as long as it's capable of doing so.

[aesthetic-bastard]

Media Interaction 2022

Part 8: August

Land of the Lustrous - This is probably the most gorgeous-looking anime I have ever seen as well as the most incredible use of CGI in an anime. I loved every moment of Land of the Lustrous and it's a shame the first season goes by so quick in just 12 episodes I wish I could get more.

I will probably continue with Land of the Lustrous by reading the manga at some point in the meantime but its adaptation is just too stunning to anticipate its second season. Anthropomorphism is probably one of my favorite themes in anything but I appreciate it when it's done faithfully to whatever non-human entity the concept is based on. I like that each gem in Land of the Lustrious has its own unique personality and quirks based on its real-life gemstone. I also like the incorporation of the Mohs scale of mineral hardness and how it's essentially used to determine each gem's efficiency in battle. It makes me so elated when this attention to detail is put into designs based on objects or animals and is never just [human version of object]. Besides the excellent world-building and character development, I'm very fond of each gem being basically genderless and sharing very homosexual relationships with each other. The relationship Phosphophyllite developed with Cinnabar is very special to me and I never expected to be so emotionally torn up even by the first episode of watching their interactions with each other. In fact, I have never watched anything that tore me up by the end of just the first episode, excellent anime.

Ergo Proxy - I don't think any other anime will ever be able to top using a Radiohead song as part of its official soundtrack. Besides a stunning ending theme featuring fucking Paranoid Android by Radiohead I think Ergo Proxy also has one of my top favorite Opening Themes in anime. I'm learning that I seem to greatly enjoy media that are both post-apocalyptic as well as sci-fi and Ergo Proxy does everything with these themes that I love. I find the setting of this anime very pleasing to me in how I envision a future where most of humanity is wiped out and society is forced to live an artificial livelihood inside of bubble domes. There are a lot of things this anime has that are very satisfactory to me which are its art style, color pallet, soundtrack, and ambiance. I strongly admire the female lead in Ergo Proxy and feel that Re-l Mayer is written like a real woman with genuine struggles and emotions. I can say the same for Vincent Law and that he is a male lead that isn't overly masculine and has emotions that he isn't afraid to express. Ergo Proxy is one of the few psychological anime that I appreciate because I feel that my brain is just big enough to understand the larger picture. I'm not all that fond of psychological themes in media but Ergo Proxy gives you just enough to work with by the end of each episode for you to further unravel the mystery and I anticipated each episode after the next at least for the first 12 episodes. After the first half of Ergo Proxy, I did feel it tends to drag along and have some very unusual filler episodes. I'm not sure if I could even call them filler because no matter how "off" they felt from the main story they still had a purpose in explaining what was happening. I would like to add that Ergo Proxy is also another one of the top animes I've watched that has an excellent English dub.

SMT IV: prayers (manga) - This is a 2-volume mini-series set in an alternative setting following the character Jonathan. SMT IV Prayers is ok at best but it being just ok is what dissatisfies me. Of the two characters Jonathan and Walter, Jonathan is my favorite and it's disappointing to see his story fall so flat in comparison to the other mini-series following Walter. The art style isn't the worst but it's not the greatest either the only good-looking character is Jonathan but besides that all the other character designs make me wanna take a nap. I don't have very much to say about Jonathan's mini-series and I think the newly added character introduced in his story is just a very two-dimensional edge lord that wants revenge on demons.

SMT IV: demonic gene (manga) - This is the other mini-series following Walter in an alternative setting. I liked this mini-series a lot better than the story following Jonathan even though Jonathan is my favorite. I think the art style is very good and I liked seeing all the characters in SMT IV be adapted in the author's style. The story is a little more interesting and I like the new character introduced in Walters's alternative setting vs the character introduced in Jonathan's alternative setting.

Dead Dead Demon's Dededededestruction - This was my first time reading anything by Asano Inio and I have been made very well aware his works are pure depression and misery despite having absolutely gorgeous imagery and lovely character designs. I was always drawn to this manga over his other work, Goodnight Punpun which I have seen is wildly popular but I was just in love with all the character designs I had seen when first introduced to Dead Dead Demon. This manga was very political and I didn't expect that but that's what made me enjoy it. I think Dead Dead Demon has a very brutal and realistic depiction of how the world would actually react if aliens came to Earth. When aliens invaded Tokyo it was nothing like a Hollywood blockbuster movie. It was an intense heated political climate. You have one side of the political spectrum that believes aliens are "invading our country" and we should kill them vs the other side of the political spectrum that believes that we should make contact with Aliens and coexist with them. There is a pretty big underlying theme of xenophobia depicted in Dead Dead Demon but it is very unfortunate that this theme is literally thrown away after chapter 80 in fact anything after chapter 80 is thrown away. I was very disappointed by the ending, to say the least. I loved the bond that Kadode and Ontan had with each other and I think things really kick into high gear when you learn the meaning of Ontans existence in Kadodes relationship. I think they should have been girlfriends that being said I would have rather it ended with everyone dying in the explosion and Ontan and Kadode spending their final moments with each other after they kissed. I was truly prepared for a miserable ending after being made aware of the author's previous works and I would have accepted that kind of ending over the one we get. I really don't care if the ending fixes everything and makes it a happy ending it literally feels like Dead Dead Demon got axed at the last moment. While reading this I heard there is an anime adaptation coming out at some point and I am rather excited but I do fear this will be an anime that will have terrible reception if it hits western audiences for many reasons despite that, I give Dead Dead Demon a solid 10.

[ryotaiku]

My retro setup

If you're a retro person younger than me, you probably emulate old games on your laptop, or even your phone. But I'm a freak, so I set up space in my room to play old games on original-ish hardware. This is by no means the easiest method or even that much more authentic than just emulating, but the vibes are nice. Lemme give you a tour.

The first thing you may notice is I don't use a CRT. I do have a Sony Trinitron, and I even tried to get it set up, but I'm in a basement and getting it down here requires renting an industrial dolly designed for stairs. So I compromised and snatched a 2006 Olevia flatscreen from my dad. Flatscreens are honestly more nostalgic to me than CRTs anyway, and they're much more practical to use. They're lighter, more compact, and they have an ungodly number of inputs. The speakers aren't great though, so I also put in a soundbar.

I really wanted to use the Sharp Aquos you see cropped out on the right, but it sadly won't turn on. I plug it in occasionally in the hopes that it someday just starts working again, but alas. I really like that TV too.

The consoles! These are all plugged into an S-video adapter unless stated otherwise. From top-left to bottom-right.

I'm honestly not sure why I hooked up the Sega Dreamcast. Probably because I had space for it. I could hard-mod it, which is surprisingly easy to do, but most everything worth playing on the system has a better version on another platform. So it's there as a filler. If I ever get a Sega Saturn I'll probably replace it with that.

I was gonna put in a Sega Genesis, but the Olevia weirdly doesn't have the channels required to read any coaxial systems. So I went even more compact and bought a Retron 3. I had a Retron 2 HD that could play NES/SNES games, but the composite would only output in black & white. So I just bought a new one with no HD compatibility that also supported Genesis carts. All three slots utilize flashcarts to maintain the health of both the console and my individual games. This is the only console plugged in through composite.

The GameCube was the first console I modded when I got the idea for this setup. I do unfortunately have to use my copy of Twilight Princess to run the mod, but that may change as m.2 loaders for the system get developed. I also have a GBA flashcart I could plug into the Game Boy Player beneath it, but that's currently in my actual GBA.

The Xbox is an eldritch nightmare and I highly advise against any form of modding. I bricked it on accident trying to help a streamer unlock the region on his, and the process of unbricking it was such a goddamn nightmare that I refuse to do any further mod fuckery. Anyone who said this is the best modded console ever is a liar. Most games worth playing on this system are backwards compatible on Xbox One/Series X, so it's mainly here for insurance whenever Microsoft decides to shut those consoles down.

The N64 doesn't have much special going on. It's got a flashcart and I have some Hyperkin controllers for four-player shenanigans, though last time I used the system it would reset on its own. I think one of the controllers has a reset button in its stick or something, which is a really irresponsible place to put a reset button. Ah well.

Hey why do you have a PS3 plugged in? That's hardly retro.

Well technically the PS3 fits the vibe in a 2000s-era retro space, and I'm sure some of you can feel your skin wrinkle as I say that. But the real reason it's there is to play PS1 games. Theoretically a PS3 can be softmodded to play PS1 ROMs off a USB drive, but I could never get that to work. Lemme know if you got it working and how. In the meantime I can at least play PS1 discs. This is the only console plugged in through HDMI.

It can't play PS2 games though, which is why I have a PS2 set up as well. This is my preferred console for most retro games, on account of being the only one with a drive bay. Its one annoyance is third-party network adapters (required to plug in the drive) don't actually have network ports, and I can't load ROMs through USB or similar. So if I want to add new games, I gotta remove the drive manually and plug it into my desktop. It also can't play PS1 games, since the console is hard-coded to shut out both USB and the drive bay when loading its PS1 emulation. But it works great for PS2 games, and that's all it needs to do.

I should reiterate again that you don't need to do this to have a true authentic experience playing retro games. As time goes on, emulation & 4K OLED TVs will be more accessible means of achieving authenticity. I'm just a madman who had the space & resources to do it.

[cordeliaxcortana]

Chain Of Thorns Theories pt4.

🚨 Chain of Iron Spoilers 🚨

I've got your boyfriend on my mind

I think he knows you stayed with me last night

I held his world in my hands

I threw it out to see where it would land

You came to me for entropy

And I gave you all I had

He makes a better man than me

So I know he won't feel bad

okay this song is about Anna & Ariadne

the only thing I can't figure out is who "the boyfriend" is because Charles already ended the engagement..

It's fine 'cause I am just a girl

"It doesn't count"

He knows a woman needs a man

To make her shout

I hope your boyfriend doesn't mind (I know he doesn't mind)

You tell me that you love me every time (You love me all the time)

I held his girl in my hands (I know he doesn't mind)

She likes it 'cause they're softer than a man's (I like to moisturise)

Or maybe "boyfriend" isn't someone specific but men/people in general? who would not take them or their relationship seriously cause they're both girls :/

Heaven knows we're meant to be

But it's turned into a mess

No one takes us seriously

Just because I wear a dress

After that ending between them in COI and how they parted ways it's hard to say how but maybe they'll find a way to be together?

I really hope they do.

In the meantime it'd be really nice to see them both as something more than a romantic/ship filler.

Each step I left behind

Each road you know is mine

Walking on a line ten stories high

Say you'll still be by my side

If I could take your hand, oh

If you could understand

That I can barely breathe the air is thin

I fear the fall and where we'll land

Now this is a tricky song... because this could literally be any character..

We fight every night for something¹

When the sun sets we're both the same

Half in the shadows

Half burned in flames

We can't look back for nothing

Take what you need, say your goodbyes²

I gave you everything

And it's a beautiful crime

We've always been associating shadows with James and flames/gold/fire with Cordelia

1. well looks like after Cordelia comes back from paris their little household isn't going to be a happy environment

2. Maybe they end up fighting/arguing and either of them moves out of the house???

Leaving the things we lost, oh

Leaving the ones we've crossed

I have to make an end so we begin

To save my soul at any cost

Or they separate for some other cause.

At first I thought maybe this was from James' pov but I think it could be Cordelia... things we lost (many), one's we crossed (belial & LILITH), to save my soul at any cost...

What if she goes on another road trip/adventure (?) to find a way to get herself out of the whole paladin deal and save herself from lilith

This darkness is the light

This darkness is the light

👀

what if finding a way to break the paladin bond is to go face to face with lilith..?

-> lots of arianna angst✨ as expected of cassie 🤷‍♀️

🗣️ 🎙️and the baton of recklessness will be passed from Thomas to Cordelia (stressful times for Alastair if you ask me) (evidence: with how she went away to paris and the end of the second song...yeah I'm sure cordelia is going to be in her reckless era ✨)

I'll be cheering for my queen from the sidelines don't you worry..

Go Cordelia!!!

[wild-aloof-rebel]

leslie-- what do you think of the first two episodes of season 6? tbh im trying to not be really disappointed... but i am. I just feel like they are not up to the same standard of schitts creek that I've come to know and love. I also feel like I'm in the minority regarding ep 2 and how supposedly "funny" it was. I thought it was one of the worst episodes they've ever put out. It felt forced and v "try-hard". IDK :// what are your thoughts/what have you thought of s6 so far?? xx

first of all, you’re certainly entitled to feel however you feel about the season, and i doubt there’s anything i can say that’s really going to change that tbh. and you’re def not alone in that opinion either, as i have seen other people both in my inbox and elsewhere who seem to feel similarly to you, if that’s any kind of comfort.

i do think it’s pretty clear from my posts that i did enjoy the ep, and while yes there’s a whole lot of secondhand embarrassment that goes hand in hand with watching it, i did also think it was ultimately both very funny and very sweet. but you’re certainly not required to agree with me on that, and not every episode can be a favorite anyway. there are going to be eps that all of us like or dislike more than others, and that’s totally fine.

as for the season overall, yes, i’m enjoying it so far, though of course it’s hard to judge a whole season on two eps. but i like the glimpses that we can see so far of where the show is going as a whole. i’ve definitely seen some complaints elsewhere that the episodes feel like filler, which i wholeheartedly disagree with. i think it’s pretty clear that they’re setting up the threads of the plots that will continue throughout the rest of the season, which is how this show has always operated. not every episode is filled to the brim with Major Plot Points, but there are important things that happen in every episode to push the story forward or build our understanding of the characters in a way that leads to the eventual climax of the season. think about last year’s second episode for instance. in “love letters,” we’ve got moira just back from bosnia and hung up on john’s love letters to “another woman,” alexis and ted talking about mementos of past relationships, and david and stevie being held up at the store. plot-wise, none of those are anything that really has a major effect on anything else further down the road (except maybe the robbery, which causes them to install security cameras at the store, which leads to the ending of “roadkill” with ted and alexis, but that’s a pretty minor plot point all things considered). but it does give us better understanding of where the characters are in the season. particularly, we get glimpses of ted and alexis trying to work through their past and build a stronger future together, which is all part of how alexis eventually agrees to go to the galapagos, and we see how moira’s experience with the crows film has reinvigorated her desire to rebuild her career, which of course is part of what leads to her devastation in the final scene of “life is a cabaret.” and i feel like these first two episodes of s6 are doing much the same, though obviously we now have the benefit of context for s5 because we know how it ends, and we don’t have that here. but so far we’ve clearly got johnny’s desire to continue expanding the motel business, stevie’s desire to step away, david and patrick’s excitement about their wedding, moira’s once-again renewed desire to jump start her career, and alexis’s struggle to balance her relationships with both ted and her family with her fledgling pr career. all of that certainly feels like it’s important to where the season as a whole is going, so while the individual stories being told in each episode may not ultimately be connected to anything down the road, what it’s telling us about the characters certainly is. and that’s how pretty much every episode of the show has always operated. we get these little glimpses throughout all the episodes, and there are a few bigger reveals spread along the way, and so far i feel like this season is doing exactly that. it feels the same to me as it always has in that sense.

i don’t know what your particular situation is with this, anon, but in general, i know that there are a lot of people for whom this is their first time watching the show slowly instead of all in one go, and i do think that that changes the experience a bit. personally, i love watching them week by week, with everyone yelling about the same episode at the same time, rewatching and finding new things to focus on, speculating about where things will lead, etc., but it is still a different experience to bingeing it, and i just wonder how much that plays into the enjoyment for some people. for one, it gives you more time to have to think about episodes you didn’t like as much–when you binge the show, you breeze right past them and largely forget about them by the time you’re three more episodes down the road, but this way you’re forced to sit with it for a week, which i think can potentially increase the feelings of dissatisfaction. but also, if you’re a binge and rewatch kind of person, you get to the end, and then when you rewatch the earlier eps you have a different perspective on them because you can now see where they’re going. it’s a lot harder to see where eps are leading before you have the ending for context, and so even though i obv think the threads are there, i can see how the open-endedness of it might feel dissatisfying to some people in the meantime too.

i’ll end with this thought: if you ask most people their top five episodes of the show, how many of those are going to be episodes from the start of a season? yes, you might get one or two on some of those lists–”pregnancy test” in particular is one of the early-in-the-season eps that i think gets a lot of love–but by and large i think most people’s lists are going to be populated with episodes from the middles and ends of seasons because you have to build up to the kinds of pay-offs we get in episodes like “grad night” or “meet the parents” or “open mic” that make them so enjoyable. so the fact that you don’t absolutely love these two episodes so far isn’t necessarily all that surprising or unusual. there’s still twelve more chances for this season to change your mind, and i hope that you find that it does.