#Latest version of this lore and all

[felassan]

Snippets 🐺💜

John Epler quote: "There’s a difference between playersexual and pansexual. All companions are canonically pansexual." [source]

The opening cinematic Varric narrates at the start of the game plays before CC. "Following character creation, Varric's narration continues, revealing that he's put together a group to stop Solas, having recruited our character and a handful of others so far." [source]

Despite the action-heavy focus, positioning is absolutely key, and using careful timing to hit multiple foes at once can be the difference between victory and defeat [source]

"In-between fights, Varric and the other characters, including your fully-voiced protagonist, discuss events that are unfolding and different things that have led up to this moment. Epler notes for the preview that with how much time has passed since prior games, the team wanted to carefully throw in some reminders without it feeling like ham-fisted exposition." [source]

"The Dread Wolf's ambitions have already been laid bare, but I strongly suspect there's more going on, and Epler cryptically hints that not everything will be as it first seems" [source]

 Mages can move instead of standing in one place, allowing them to get up close and personal with enemies - a major game-changer for magic users [source]

Faction choice affects in-game moments between other factions and locations, as well as characters [source]

"When they were creating this area, they kept that in mind and looked at other locations to figure out how they could make it more grand. They developed the entire area based on a comment someone said in a past game, and if that isn’t dedication to lore, I don’t know what is" [source] (re: Minrathous)

In this demo the press saw femme Rook! [source]

The standard three square hotkeys look like an updated version of past ones [source]

"It sounded like there is also a system that allows hints during battle, like when something is a certain range, etc., that they said could be turned off" [source]

"In cutscenes, rain dripping down a building, blood on someone’s hands, or stepping into a puddle looks outstanding". "Things like clothes and hair are dynamic and move with you" [source]

"what at its core is a beautifully told story of revenge, regret, and the complexities of good and evil" [source]

During the interrogation scene in the bar with the shady bartender, Varric pins her to her own station with a crossbow bolt in order to interrogate her. Rook and Varric then go scrounge the city for clues [source]

Re: using body sliders in CC - "It looked incredibly easy to maneuver around and create a body that is either close to that player's real personage or their ideal fantasy self" [source]

Companions "will not only be influenced by your decisions in terms of how they treat you outside of combat, but closeness to party members will also change how they fight, with those closest to Rook more useful and lethal in battle" [source]

"Our presenter said that each specialization was pretty much as deep as a job" [source]

The game will not be available in India. [source]

The game has a Quality mode and a Performance mode on PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. it runs the latest version of Frostbite, targeting frame rates of 60fps in Peformance and 30 in Quality [source]

They will have more to share on both graphics modes for consoles in the coming months. [source]

David Gaider quote on the portrayal of Anders' orientation in DAII:

DA2 writer David Gaider told Kotaku in February this was meant to distinguish Anders’ relationship with male or female versions of Hawke, but recognizes this comes off like the mage’s identity was a switch to be flipped in hindsight. “Unfortunately, we just didn’t have enough time to get enough feedback and iterate on those situations,” he said. “We would hit a particular interaction, we would make a judgment call either as a group or the writer on their own, and that was it. There was no time for anything more than one gut-check, which is probably not the way to go.”

edit: forgot to add src for last one sorry. its here

[bonus-links]

Directors commentary on this latest update?? 😁

hehe on it

if you follow me on main, you might have seen me complaining about a scene I had to rewrite a thousand times, to the point I made a whole separate google doc for all the versions of it. that was this update! it might not seem like much even happens during their convo lol but originally they had a conversation about a different topic on top of it. i spent forever trying to make the segue sound natural and trying to decide what fiddly lore bits I wanted to commit to, before finally giving up and pushing that topic to later in the story lol. I hope I don't regret not setting up what I was gonna set up later lol but I think ultimately this was a good choice

that being said there is still some important info in his update before Wake warps them :-))) we'll come back to that

I accidentally sketched this entire page around Wake using the Wind Waker with his right had, and got halfway through drawing all the poses before I realized. i was just gonna take the L and leave it but it bothered me too much so I redrew everything JHFKJ

Got some asks about what Linebeck is reading: it's a trashy romance novel lol

in the last update where Slate is crouched down talking to the koroks, they're asking him to tell Link hi and that they miss him HAHA i was actually supposed to put that as text and then. forgot and just put empty text bubbles. good job on the set up and payoff, me

the sound of Loft's mouth audibly clicking shut HAHAHAHA. Slate is like we're not doing this again. we get it, I don't know shit or fuck abt hero stuff. can u let it go.

Wolf actually does know what the triforce is- even though twilight princess doesn't ever call it that explicitly, at the very least he's put two and two together.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAN GRAN!!

[jevilowo]

MY OPINIONS ON VARIOUS TF2 SHIPS

For funsies

SCIENCE PARTY:

fun ship, but they're GodComplex4GodComplex and I fear that would only end in disaster

TOASTED SANDVICH:

if there is one heavypyro fan on this stupid baka planet it is me. shout out to menacing quiet individuals who like violence but have a soft side fr.

BLOODY SUIT:

literally The Original toxic yaoi rivals to lovers red blue combo ship. speeding bullet and napoleon complex fans WISH they had our shared update and corresponding voice lines

BATTING HELMET: (scout n solly)

i just think it's really funny trust me on this one guys. have you seen them in the fourth comic it's a constant "yes, and" bit between the two of them. soldier's love language is choking people out.

HIT AND A MISS: (scout n pauling)

like most ms pauling ships, i'm only into it if scout's a cool lesbian. which he is not most of the time.

RED OKTOBERFEST:

AAAAAAAAAAAAA literally the ship of all time save me heavymedic save me. if they don't smooch in the next comic i will become jay pinkerton's personal sleep paralysis demon.

SPEEDING BULLET:

my feelings on it are Complicated. twas my first love (otp) in this fandom, but the overabundance of twinky uwu scout and daddy dom snoipah has built up some resentment on my part. call me back when people stop making up imaginary life problems for sniper to comfort scout over.

NAPOLEON COMPLEX: (Spy n Engie)

literally just rarjack if they were boys and not horses to me and i'm not even an mlp fan. it's alright, just doesn't really stick out to me.

SPYMA:

LITERALLY THE POWERCOUPLE EVER TRULY A LOVE STORY FOR THE AGES or at least the version that exists in my head is. i have so much made up spyma lore it's crazyyy. bonus points if they're polying up they cule with sniper it's quickly becoming my favourite genre of fanart (i have seen at maximum three)

SUPPORT SANDWICH: (spy n sniper n medic)

in my opinion, it is healthy for everyone to have at least one ship they just like bc they think it's hot. for me, that is support sandwich. not much else to say on that the fics are all banging go look them up.

SNIDOS: (sniper n GLaDOS)

hell yeah.

ADMINPAULING:

i used to like it a lot, but timelining implies ms pauling's been working for helen since her mid teens at the latest so i no longer like it. 4chan leaks my beloathed pleaseee don't make them kiss i think it would kill me in a bad way

URINE SAMPLE: (medic n sniper)

there's a lot of werewolf and vampire stuff for these two on ao3 which is pretty fun. and i'm way more likely to find sniper angst under the medicsniper tag than sb and bs which is always a plus.

FRENCH TOAST: (spyro)

have you seen that one animation where pyro gives birth to spy's child and gordon freeman is there at one point. yeahhhh. the ship's pretty cute tho spy would be sooo soft for pyro they'd light his cigarettes for him.

BOOTS AND BOMBS:

THE FORBIDDEN RED/BLU ROMANCE GOES CRAZY I ADORE IT. same team bnb is pretty banging too. bonus points if they're polying up they cule with zhanna.

SPYPAULING:

HEAR ME OUT ON THIS ONE. imagine. spy x pauling. yuri. that will be all.

SWORDVAN:

SWORDVAN MY LOVE!!! idk what it is about demo and sniper together but HELL YEAH TOP 5 SHIPS FR FR. shout out to the guy still writing monsterous intent, they're like single handedly carrying the swordvandom.

TEXAS TOAST:

I used to think "this is cute" but then my friend got really really into it and that hyped me up into "THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST SHIPS OF ALL TIME" territory. bonus points if they're yuri! shout out to Technicolor California, my current favourite fanfic of all time (it overtook running blind in the interal rankings). oh yeah insert mandatory "no hate to engie and pyro father son dynamic preferers" message here lol.

Ok that's enough I will cover more at some point maybe.

[room-surprise]

Modern Military Uniform of the United Empire (Dungeon Meshi modern AU)

AO3 Version here!

AEGIS

In my fic, “Show Me How to Get Off the Ground,” Mithrun was once a member of an elite military unit, the Advanced Expedition Group for Intelligence and Security, or AEGIS.

Most civilians refer to them as “the Canaries” instead, a pejorative nickname that has become so well-known that most people don’t realize that it isn’t the unit’s real name, or that it’s an insult. Even AEGIS members sometimes use it.

The nickname is a reference to the yellow bird on the AEGIS logo, which looks like a canary, the bird that coal miners famously use to detect gas leaks. The canary warns the miners of the presence of dangerous gasses by dying, implying that AEGIS members frequently die while doing their duty, and that the government treats them like they are disposable.

The bird featured in the AEGIS logo is actually a skylark, which is one of the many birds that are associated with the elven goddess of warfare and wisdom, Atana. Skylarks are the first birds to sing in the morning, and so they are believed to bring news quickly. Every morning, Atana’s skylark returns to her, and sings the latest news from the war front. The aegis was also a device carried by Atana, usually depicted as a shield or armor made of goat skin, and sometimes decorated with the head of a defeated enemy or monster.

(In the real world, the aegis was either a shield or armor made of goat skin, used by Athena or Zeus. It often had a gorgon's head on it.)

AEGIS operatives are commissioned officers from other branches of the United Empire’s military who have been scouted by AEGIS for their special skills. They are put through extremely advanced magical, military and espionage training, and are considered some of the most elite soldiers in the world. Because all AEGIS agents are selected from commissioned officers, the vast majority of them come from elven nobility.

AEGIS specializes in undercover spy work done behind enemy lines. Because of this, they don’t have a field uniform since they spend most of their time in disguise, dressed like ordinary people. They only wear their formal dress uniform while they are at their home base, doing training, administrative work, or preparing for their next undercover mission.

MISC LORE

ATANA (𐀀𐀲𐀙)

Atana is one of the most popular gods in the United Empire. She’s strongly associated with the capital city and the royal family. She’s usually depicted as a beautiful elven woman with obsidian skin, white hair, red eyes, multiple arms, and wearing nothing but an aegis. Each arm bears a different weapon or tool, and her face is always serene, even when she is smiting her enemies. She’s usually shown surrounded by many different types of bird, and in ancient art, she sometimes has a bird’s head.

She is the goddess of wisdom and warfare, and most people consider her the “primary” god of the elven pantheon, and other gods are usually treated as subordinate to her. Atana embodies elven virtues such as intelligence, cunning, charisma, skill with magic, and stoicism. 

(Atana is a fusion of the real-world goddesses Athena and Durga.)

THE GREAT WAR (1932-2000)

Sometimes called “the great war between the long and short-lived races,” this war began with the Far Eastern Alliance attacking the United Empire’s colonies in the Eastern Archipelago to reclaim what they saw as territory that belonged to them. After 68 years, the Great War ended in a stalemate, with both sides committing atrocities, and both conceding and gaining territory.

The Great War had a huge impact on the relationship between the long and short-lived races, and technology and magic developed during the war has shaped the modern world into what it is in the story.

[venomous-qwille]

Ghost in the Machine

This is the master post for Ghost in the Machine links, character refs and FAQs.

I will try my best to keep this post as up to date as possible.

What is Ghost in The Machine?

GITM is a DCA AU and a fic set in the retrofuture (2055ish) long after Fazco has shut down. An eccentric collector has been acquiring versions of the Daycare Attendant animatronic from closed locations around the world. The story involves a reader character who has been brought into repair the original post-Ruin DCA from the games, and hijinks ensue. There are also ghosts.

Where can I read the fic?

GITM is currently being posted on Ao3, and is updated every three weeks on Saturdays. The fic is being beta'd by the tremendously talented @bubbiethesaur. You can read GITM here!

There is also a podfic, which you can find here:

Updates to the podfic will be sporadic, so please be patient <3

Where can I see the art?

On this blog I use the #gitm au and #ghost in the machine au tags for GITM related content. If you are looking for art of a specific character, they also have their own tags: #misuta moon #nova #soleil #clip.exe #sunspot mk1 #fool eclipse #ruin eclipse #sombra #sunflower #mr sandman

FAQ~

Why haven't you answered my GITM ask?

One of three reasons: 1) your ask was too spoilery* 2) I'm waiting to answer it with art 3) ADHD

*spoilery includes but is not limited to: any questions about dual-AI or XYZ character's sun/moon variant; questions about character backstories and lore; questions about characters that have not featured in the fic yet (e.g Nova, Sanii, Harvest, Sunflower, Sandman etc); asks speculating about potential future scenarios (don't get me wrong, I love these asks, but I can't answer them!)

Where are all the Moons?

Read and find out. Seriously. There are at least 5 Moons who are core to the plot but I'm not going to talk about them, no matter how nicely you ask!

Does XYZ character have a Sun/Moon counterpart?

Some of them do, some of them don't. The dual-AI stuff is majorly plot related. If I'm not talking about someone's Sun/Moon counterpart, rest assured you will find out eventually. I won't be spoiling any of it on tumblr though :)

Can I create fanart of GITM?

Yes yes yes please do and please tag me when you post it so I can see it/reblog! If you are unsure if something is ok, please ask.

Can I create fanfic of GITM?

Super flattered about this. I have a longform answer to this question which you can read here. But tl;dr yes you can, please tag/credit me, do not spoil/try to write the lore, and please do not write GITM au (e.g mafia, mer, medieval). I have my own plans for this stuff and I would prefer to release the designs/stories in my own time. If you are unsure if something is ok, please ask.

Can I create NSFW GITM content?

Until recently I had blanket perms that allowed NSFW GITM content. I'm updating this to let you guys know I'm no longer comfortable with people making this content. Back when the community was small, I felt differently, but as time has passed a lot has changed and I've found myself becoming increasingly anxious about it. If this boundary changes again in the future, I will update this FAQ.

Do you have character refs I can use?

There is a collection of art 'refs' for each character on the Misutamojis discord. Latest link here.

There are no proper call-out sheets/refs currently, but I have a huge body of art for the characters on this blog which should give you more than enough info for most of them. I will get around to creating proper refs eventually, in which case I will link them here.

Where can I find the playlist?

I update the spotify playlist fairly regularly, if you have any music recs you can send them over in an ask! You can listen to the playlist here!

I've heard there are secret GITM drabbles, where can I find them?

I used to post frequent drabbles from future chapters in the DCA Palooza discord, I have recently deleted the majority of them as people were going back and binging them which hadn't been the intended reading experience. Anywho, this question probably refers more to the spicy drabbles (which people have very kindly made a lot of delicious art for). These are still around! You just need to access the spicy channel and do some digging.

Is there a GITM discord?

Nope! There is a server for GITM emotes and a busy thread in the DCA Palooza, but currently I don't have any plans to make a GITM-centric discord community. If that does happen in the future it's likely I will simply convert the emotes server (Misutamojis).

It finally happened, I converted Misutamojis. You can join the GITM discord here.

Can I smooch the robots?

Yes.

All of them?

All of them.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey have you seen the latest Mufasa trailer? It shows us Scar or Taka as he is called in the film in a positive light. He saves Mufasa, who is an orphan, and accepts him as his true brother even though the other lions in the pride reject Mufasa. I wonder if this is the history that is taught in Twisted Wonderland because the King of Beasts is also seen as a noble figure.

[Referencing this trailer!]

Yes, I took a look at it! I believe D23 happened like… yesterday? That’s the annual convention where Disney drops a ton of news about upcoming projects, and the new Mufasa trailer was one of the announcements made.

I was really skeptical about Mufasa when I first heard about it, and that snowballed into dread when I saw the previous trailer. The wording of that one basically yells us that Mufasa is an orphan with no real claim to the throne, which only serves to justify Scar’s outrage when he was overlooked for the position of king. Not only that, but it nullifies Simba’s claim to the throne since the implication is that blood apparently doesn’t guarantee that you’re next in line. The new trailer makes this issue all the more apparent, because now it seems to be completely redeeming Scar…? I think they’re trying to explain his downfall and his turn to “evil”, but from the looks of it, it instead feels like unintentionally give grounds for Scar’s hurt and rage in The Lion King. It’s definitely… a choice… and I’m not sure how much I like them adding that to the animated TLK lore.

Thar being said, I do think this poses considerations for Twisted Wonderland. I had very similar thoughts as you did, Anon! It has already been suggested that the version of history being told in their universe is “twisted” or altered from the versions Yuu/we, the audience, are familiar with. So… what we see in the new Mufasa trailer (up to a certain point) could very well be the “real” version of what is taught in Trein’s Magic History class. It fits SO well with the canon narrative we already have on hand. The King of Beasts is described as a hard worker and someone who accepted animals of all kinds, including hyenas that had once been excluded from the Pridelands. What better way to exemplify that virtue than a story of the King of Beasts himself accepting a no-name orphan cub as his own brother when all the other lions claimed the cub would never be accepted as part of the royal family???

I wonder how the story of Mufasa (if incorporated into TWST in the future) is interpreted by the characters too?? For example, Leona doesn’t think too highly about the concept of the great kings of the past in the sky, nor does he like “Hakuna Matata” (deeming it self-serving rather than as something positive). These are both things introduced in the original TLK. However, I’d imagine that Leona would actually admire the King of Beasts for his act of selflessness. (“He didn’t just talk the talk, he walked the talk too. They weren’t just pretty words, the King of Beasts lived by his ideals. The world he envisioned is one where beasts of all kinds could come together in harmony. Heh, what a guy.”) BUT AT THE SAME TIME Leona might be cynical about himself living to the legacy of the King of Beasts. He still bears resentment toward Falena and he refuses to cooperate with his older brother (despite Falena, their dad, and Kifaji all asking him) to govern Sunset Savanna. The King of Beasts wasn’t nearly so narrow-minded—he accepted a peasant and orphan as his equal. Leona in this hypothetical is, of course, tunnel visioning on his shortcomings and not paying attention to what he has accomplished: many younger students who look up to him, a dorm of students (many of which are beastmen of different varieties) that unite under his rule, and his own acceptance of “lowly” beastmen like Ruggie. I would love to see how he grapples and deals with these kinds of stories and how he reflects on his own life through them.

Anyway, the new Mufasa trailer sure sucks for Scar’s character but this has so much interesting potential for TWST 😭

[thisisnotthenerd]

ok it's time for some level updates from the latest episode:

fig faeth:

initial level: lore bard 8, hexblade warlock 2

current level: lore bard 9, hexblade warlock 2

gorgug thistlespring:

initial level: berserker barbarian 7, alchemist artificer 3

current level: berserker barbarian 6, alchemist artificer 5

adaine abernant:

initial level: divination wizard 10

current level: divination wizard 11

fabian seacaster:

initial level: battlemaster fighter 6, swords bard 4

current level: battlemaster fighter 6, swords bard 5

kristen applebees:

initial level: twilight cleric 11

current level: twilight cleric 11

riz gukgak:

initial level: arcane trickster rogue 11

current level: arcane trickster rogue 11

not too many big changes, except for gorgug, who's shifted focus to artificer classes, with an alchemy subclass. on the barbarian side, he loses feral instinct, which grants advantage on initiative, but doesn't lose his rages or any of his current subclass features. on the artificer side he gets 2nd level spells, alchemist's supplies proficiency, and buffs in the form of experimental elixirs.

most of these choices are indicative of what the party has been doing in their classes and the fact that they just had a big battle at the mall. we've seen some discussion of fig not wanting to be a bard, of kristen having to do the leg work of being a cleric, so there may be other major changes.

by my calculations, they got enough XP in the mall fight to be just at the cusp of leveling up. literally 5 XP away for each of them, so i'd say they probably get enough from regular class activities to push them over the edge.

other mechanics-wise; this season doesn't seem like it's going to be quite like freshman year in terms of how the bad kids leveled up; they have more to do in school, as well as specific social responsibilities that prevent them from just going around town and popping off. battles are likely to be much more complicated, instead of pure hit point sinks. not that they were in the first place, but they're dealing with a lot more. they also have a lot more downtime, much like in the unsleeping city chapter ii, but they are making a bunch more rolls for what they're doing with that downtime in order to simulate the stress of the scenario.

so, i think it's going to be a major progression season, but they're only going from level 10 to ~level 13-14. they may do something like tucii and go from 10-12. we've already seen the night yorb battle and synod battle; we have yet to see the thistlespring tree (folk festival), the ship (probably fabian's house, as referenced by the cloud engine thing), or the graveyard (cravencroft, just outside of mordred manor).

i have a feeling that the stress tokens are going to be like an elevated version of what brennan did with the red tokens from neverafter; the more stress they take on from letting things slip, the harder it is for them to be emotionally stable and contain the rage of existence in junior year. maybe something that can be used to inflict disadvantage on wisdom checks for the rage stars?

anyway, that's all for this update!

[free-chozo-hrt]

Let's talk about the retconned lore from Metroid Prime

Way back in 2002, Metroid Prime was released for Gamecube in the United States. Play through the game, and you'll eventually reach the final boss, who is also named metroid prime! But just who is metroid prime? Well, the original release of the game had quite a lot of things to say about the final boss! There were space pirate logs that detail how the creature came to appear in its final state. You get to read about the formidable beast, and how the pirates tried and failed to keep it contained. Eventually, you get to have a showdown with this terrifying creature you've heard so much about.

A couple months later, the game released in Europe, and several of the pirate log entries were completely revised, scrubbing away most mentions of metroid prime. The creature was no longer built up as a villain, but only mentioned in passing and left largely mysterious until the final encounter. These changes would persist for subsequent versions of the game, and the original NTSC logs would not be acknowledged again.

What happened? Why did they change so much in the PAL version? Well, let's start by taking a closer look at the log entries we're not supposed to see. The following log entries are courtesy of the independent Metroid Wiki, and you can read all the old and new logs there.

The retconned logs

The following logs are all from the NTSC version of the game, and none of them appear in subsequent versions.

Pirate Data: "Metroid Prime" Test subject Z-d, hereafter referred to as Metroid Prime, was recently discovered in a cavern by mining crews. It quickly dispatched the miners, but was eventually contained by security units and drones. Once contained, we were able to begin studies upon Metroid Prime. The results have been astonishing. It is genetically similar to a Metroid, albeit on a high evolved level. It displays a limitless capacity for Phazon infusion and shows no Phazon-based degeneration whatsoever. It continues to grow in size, and while it has manifested some psychotic behavior, the cold field we use to pacify remain effective. Authorization for advanced studies on Metroid Prime have been approved.

This entry describes how the pirates chanced upon metroid prime and managed to capture it. It likely looked very different at this point in time, since they were able to subdue it and still had a lot of growing to do. They decide to keep it as a research subject.

Pirate Data: "Prime Breach" Subject Metroid Prime's breach has been contained. Reports indicate that it sensed a large batch of raw Phazon in the lab from within its stasis tank and broke through the glass, using previously unsuspected strength. Besides consuming all of the Phazon, Metroid Prime assimilated several weapons and defense systems from fallen security units. It has suffered no ill effect from said assimilation: indeed, it began to use its newly acquired weapons against us. Once we pacified it, we were unable to remove the assimilated gear without threat to Metroid Prime — the gear is now an integral part of its body. Command is intrigued by this newfound ability, and has ordered further study to commence at once.

This entry describes an incident where metroid prime escaped containment and got a hold of some space pirate weapons. The technology was permanently melded to its body and instantly made it much more threatening. Nonetheless, they were able to contain the creature for further study.

Pirate Data: "Prime Mutations" Metroid Prime continues to feed and grow ever larger in the impact crater caves. Its hunger knows no bounds, and it has begun to manifest unusual mutations since its breach. These include armor plating on its epidermis and mechanical outgrowths that generate defense screens. These screens render it invulnerable to most weapon systems, but a flaw in the mutation leads to increased vulnerability to certain weapons. It compensates for this by shifting the screens quickly. This latest development concerns Security units greatly: they feel it's a matter of time before Metroid Prime corrects this defect and renders itself invulnerable to all weaponry. Containment would be nigh impossible if this were to occur.

The pirates continue to monitor metroid prime, and take note that it is only growing more powerful. It now has armor plating and defensive screens that block most types of damage, and the pirates grow anxious that it might soon become completely impervious.

Pirate Data: "Chozo Artifacts" We are particularly interested in a number of curious Chozo Artifacts we have been able to recover from a number of religious sites on Tallon IV. These relics resonate with power, and yet we are unable to harness them in any way. Science Team is attempting to fuse them together with Phazon, believing that a link might exist between them. We know that these Artifacts are linked to the Chozo Temple that block full access to the Impact Crater. We have yet to crack this enigma, however. Command grows impatient regarding this matter: results must be produced soon.

I am including this log for the sake of completeness, even though it has nothing to do with metroid prime. It was replaced with a similarly-worded log, the only difference being that the new log implies that the space pirates have no knowledge of the artifacts' locations.

What do they imply?

There's one important thing I want to point out about these logs. The story about metroid prime assimilating space pirate armor and weaponry does a lot to explain the boss's appearance and abilities. I believe it was a very intentional choice that the player encounters beam troopers earlier in the game, who are only vulnerable to one of several specific weapons, and then this mechanic is iterated upon during the battle with metroid prime. Metroid prime's design even calls back to the armor of the beam troopers.

All this to say: according to the NTSC version, the boss we encounter at the end of the game is some kind of phazon-mutated metroid that's been souped up with space pirate technology. The logs end without any conclusion to this story, so we're left to assume that metroid prime has become too powerful to be contained, so it decided to make its home in the impact crater, where it could feast on an endless supply of phazon.

I also want to note something the logs don't tell us: where the creature originated from. The space pirates simply found it in a cave during a mining operation, so its origin is left unclear.

And that brings us to the next topic...

Why were they changed?

Anyone familiar with the lore of Metroid Prime will have noticed a huge plot hole in this story. In all versions of the game, the lore entries explain how the Chozo erected an impenetrable containment field around the impact crater to slow the rate of corruption, and the space pirates have spent considerable effort trying to break through it. This leaves no explanation for how metroid prime, the creature, could have entered the impact crater after spending time in the pirates' custody. Unless it has some unexplained method of effortlessly passing through the barrier, the story told through the pirate logbooks doesn't make much sense.

In order to fix this plot hole, all of the above pirate data entries were replaced in the PAL version with completely new ones, most of which make no mention of metroid prime. The following is the only PAL log entry which makes reference to metroid prime:

Pirate Data: "Impact Crater" Investigations into a possible ingress point for the Impact Crater continue to meet with failure. The shield of strange energy that protects it is impermeable, and all attempts to tunnel past it have proved fruitless. Our continued futility in this matter is made all the more significant in light of recent life form readings we've discovered emanating from deep within the crater. Analysis of the readings indicates that a massive creature is gestating in there, absorbing enormous amounts or Phazon from the Phazon core at the heart of the impact crater. This discovery makes accessing the crater doubly important - not only will it open the door to the vast deposits of Phazon within, but it will also lead us to this creature, whatever it may be.

The new lore emphasizes that the space pirates cannot breach the impact crater, but they can sense the presence of a powerful being inside. In this version of the game, this is our only hint towards the existence of metroid prime. It makes more sense that the final boss lurking inside the impact crater has been trapped in there the whole time, festering in its own juices, growing more powerful until our fateful encounter.

You could also read these changes as being more in line with the lore developed in the rest of the Prime trilogy. Metroid prime is implied to be the guardian of Tallon IV's leviathan core, or perhaps a mutated version of the core itself. Either way, it cannot leave the leviathan seed that it is bound to.

What was lost?

The new lore introduced in the PAL version gives no explanation for why metroid prime so strongly resembles a space pirate trooper, since according to the current canon, it would have no contact with pirate technology. We can only interpret its similarities as a coincidence. This is unfortunately a very cool design choice that will forever be a leftover of a patched over plot hole.

While I'm extremely interested in the retconned log entries as a historical curiosity, I think the writers ultimately made the right call changing the lore to be more consistent with the rest of the game and the trilogy as a whole. I know it couldn't have been an easy choice.

And hey, if you learned something new from this analysis, I'll consider it a job well done!

[thatsnotmygunflash]

So I've been rewatching Legends of Tomorrow and can't stop think about the Tumblr accounts most of them would have.

Mona- She has at least 15 accounts if not more, each dedicated to a different fandom. She was the first to discover the reblog limit.

Mick - He has two accounts. The real Rebecca Silver and a secret fan page. The secret fan page is everyone's favorite fanfic author. ( I imagine he has Gideon help him upload his typed pages onto ao3)

Nate - The local lore enthusiast, if you have a question about history his ask box is always open, but he will go into long detailed rants with pictures and videos included every single time.

Charlie - it's just a compilation of rare celebrity sightings and old pictures being 'discovered' but it's just her shapeshifting into celebrities while on missions

Zari - she's on the celebrity side of Tumblr but she posts funny pictures of every mission and she and Mick collaborate on writing how the mission played out for their fans ( I imagine there is a fan-animated version of DC Legends of Tomorrow using their Tumblr post as script but its exactly the same as ours show just animated)

Ray- Do I really even have to say it? he IS the science side of Tumblr.

Gary- The creator of some of the most bizarre posts you'll ever see on the hellsite. He is loved and feared by all.

Len - The aesthetic could not be more on point. He is the elusive creator who disappeared one day without a word, never to return. If you wanted an on point character analyzation, you went to him. If you wanted the latest update on the superhero citing in your city, he was your man. If you wanted advice about something slightly illegal, he was your man.

[transingthoseformers]

Okay, cause see, now I have QUESTIONS.

Does Cybertron have schools, or high schools? Do they have societal norms? Do they have popular kids, bigoted people? Does homophobia even exist there? Do they think there's Cybertron versions of traditional people that would probably call Mirage or Bumblebee their own version of slurs for having human partners??

And while we're on this topic, does anyone ever question if Cybertron has their own versions of mental health disorders we have on Earth? How do they treat them?? Do they even treat them????? Or is it just non-existent because they're robots? But they have the compacity to feel love and shit like that, but there's no such thing as Depression, Anxiety or BPD over there?

Like what are the societal norms over there? What are the class types over there? Because we all know Mirage was definitely some rich kid but what about Bumblebee?? And Optimus? And my girl Arcee?? Like what were their lives before all of this??

LIKE THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED.

You also have to account for the war and how badly that's fucked everything up

Because

From everything I've seen in various continuities:

There are academies and stuff

Bigoted people do seem to exist on Cybertron, though often in unfamiliar ways

Homophobia does not seem to exist in say IDW, (iicr), can't say much for other continuities but I personally like to think homophobia would be rare to nonexistent on Cybertron

(though, in IDW it seems to be rare to marry and considering idw Sentinel there might be a Thing against other bots having life partners in general. Or sentinel might just be the dick in the room and it's rare rare to hate on others having romantic relationships on Cybertron)

I don't think they'd have existing slurs for organic x mech relationships as it's just That Plain Old Unfamiliar, but I can see mecha getting nasty about it. Especially given how common anti organic sentiments are in various continuities

Cybertronians 200% have mental health conditions, we see it in a decent amount of continuities (whether it's meant to be a ✨character quirk✨ or they actually want to talk about mental health or if it's The Latest Haha Joke; Please Laugh™️ /s)

How they treat them seems to vary across continuity because I think they just... Don't in some continuities, and that never goes down well. At least in IDW we can tell there's a focus in psychology and these guys have at least one competent therapist. But in IDW there are Many Horrors and it's very willing to show us them.

We know in Aligned there was a caste system before the war, which went not well. We see in IDW there's Functionism which dictates social class by altmode. In tfa there's Whatever The Fuck Is Going On with civilian frames v Warframes. The role of Prime is usually a big deal (though it's superseded by Magnus in tfa) (the matrix of leadership is often involved, but not always). Though everything usually goes to shit once the war starts

We don't know enough about Knightverse to fully place Optimus's origins (iicr), but he just seems a lot younger and less big of a deal than some other iterations of him so I have a few ideas what he Wasn't

I can definitely consult tfwiki for more specifics on Knightverse lore

[felassan]

Game Informer:

"Dragon Age Cover Story And Shadow of the Erdtree Review | GI Show by Alex Van Aken on Jun 27, 2024 at 01:57 PM In this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, the crew discusses our recent trip to Bioware for our Dragon Age: The Veilguard cover story, our Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree review, PS5-bound multiplayer shooter, Concord, a new battle royale from former League of Legends developers, atmospheric horror title Still Wakes the Deep, Dustborn, Luigi's Mansion 2 HD and even more! It's a packed show, y'all.  Watch the Video Version: [embedded link to Game Informer video titled 'Dragon Age Cover Story And Shadow of the Erdtree Review | GI Show']"

(On YouTube, the description box for this video looked like this:)

[Article continues] "Follow us on social media: Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken), Kyle Hilliard (@KyleMHilliard), Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), Wesley LeBlanc (@LeBlancWes) The Game Informer Show is a weekly gaming podcast covering the latest video game news, industry topics, exclusive reveals, and reviews. Join us every Thursday to chat about your favorite games – past and present – with Game Informer staff, developers, and special guests from around the industry. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Matt Storm, the freelance audio editor for The Game Informer Show, edited this episode. Matt is an experienced podcast host and producer who's been speaking into a microphone for over a decade. You should listen to Matt's shows like the "Fun" And Games Podcast and Reignite, a BioWare-focused podcast."

"The Game Informer Show – Podcast Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:42 - Cover Story: Dragon Age: The Veilguard 00:21:48 - Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Review 00:42:20 - Concord Preview 00:59:04 - Supervive Preview 01:11:59 - The Plucky Squire 01:24:37 - Magic: The Gathering – Assassin's Creed 01:35:01 - Still Wakes the Deep 01:45:52 - Dustborn Preview 01:55:06 - Luigi's Mansion 2 HD Review 01:58:26 - Housekeeping"

"The GI Show podcast is a weekly recap of exciting releases, exclusive details on upcoming games, and in-depth interviews with developers. Watch or listen to a new episode every Thursday!"

[source]

----

Felassan's notes section of this post -

In this episode of the Game Informer show, Game Informer talk some more about their trip to BioWare's studio for the DA:TV cover story, when BioWare showed them hours of DA:TV content while playing it live.

Some notes from this and from what they said:

Wesley LeBlanc wasn't a huge DA fan and he went in with no expectations. The job to go to BW for this just landed on his plate due to other peoples' schedules. After seeing the game, it's probably his most anticipated game for the rest of the year and the one he's most looking forwards to

The game really wowed him and stuck with him, he said he is thrilled about it and is engrossed in the fantasy it's bringing

The visuals and world finally feel like what BioWare has maybe always wanted to make

This is the game where the team said, yeah, we feel fully in command of the Frostbite engine, and it shows

The world is more like Fable-type whimsy than prior DA games. It has a high fantasy feel

BW want new people to play the game. They're very aware that it's been 10 years since the last game and the game does a good job of catching people up

Rook as the PC really has no idea what's going on with Solas and all the other lore-specific stuff that's happening in the game, so they kind of act as the stand-in for newer players or people who have not caught up on the lore

But it's not just a game for newcomers, there is still a lot to chew on in the game for hardcore DA fans. BioWare were saying that they know their community, what it wants and what it's looking for out of these characters

Wesley enjoyed the music, visual design, and voice acting

Nothing that they saw about the game stood out as worrisome to him

Wesley has quite a lot of further stories to add to Game Informer's DA:TV hub

Wesley: "On the topic of the [Dragon Age] fanbase, I just wanna give a shoutout to that community, because, wow, I did not, I knew people would be stoked about this cover, but people are really stoked about this cover. And it’s really funny, the day that we announced it, I got like hundreds of new followers. Anytime, if I tweet about Erdtree or Destiny 2, I get like my normal amount of likes, like, a dozen maybe, y’know, whatever. If I tweet about Dragon Age, it’s like. Today I tweeted, ‘my next feature is coming at 3pm’ and it’s at 1000 likes, it’s so funny, like, this community is like rabid for information, which makes sense if you haven’t gotten a game in 10 years. But yeah, so like, shoutout to y’all, I’m loving you guys reading the articles and telling me what you wanna hear about. So if you have any questions or anything, get at me on Twitter for sure, and I will see what I can cook up with some writing for you. But yeah, shoutout to the BioWare community, y’all crazy.”

[source]

[kuradex]

I wanna know about your art style. How you draw like that??

i tried putting down considerations as well as a (very) general step by step of what i do; if there's anything more specific you want me to explain lmk i guess?

first off, general (self imposed) constraints / purpose of project -- this informs what i draw & how i draw it

i.e. "kuradex" is pretty different from my normal art (my 5 latest rough illustrations):

or my monster hunter charms:

or my pokemon tcg contest illustrations that im not allowed to show until june (😉):

although i've said its for merch purposes, ive started drawing these because i wanted to practice conveying "liveliness" and noticing key features / nuances of a given design, but i didn't want to spend a large amount of time on each one.

so what i came up with is

i want to draw things on-model in terms of proportions ( + take note of weight / tapering of shapes / etc )

no backgrounds & minimal "props"

experiment with / practice line/texture/color/flow/rhythm/etc

spend <1 hr on each pokemon on average (this is a bit more difficult for me to track, but for example, the cyndaquil line took me less than 42min to color, combined, and means at some point in time instead of focusing on cleaning up the art as much as i can, i stop after cleaning up most of it)

that said, the pose & the rhythm/flow of lines are key in conveying liveliness, and if i have a concept in mind i usually end up going with it, but i may go thru a few if i dont.

i consider pokemon origin / lore or a key point in its design, and if i'm particularly stuck, i try looking up pokemon card illustrations for inspiration. (i noticed the research i do is essentially a truncated version of how Atsushi Furusawa does research before doing an illustration.

(& even despite all this i do get stuck sometimes and don't exactly understand a pokemon and just opt for "as cute or cool as i can make it i guess?", but i think it's part of the process...?) (theoretically things that are A Shape should be really easy to draw but with what i want to practice in perspective i find them difficult...)

this is from my latest paid req but these are my first sketches of chesnaught -- i was thinking of how one of its inspirations is a warrior / tanker from RPGs, so i drew a pose where it's shielding its face.

i do another pass and take note of details.

in general i draw overlapping shapes and erase (it's a bit visible on one of the spikes)

because i opt for quickness i start coloring at this point -- i just use a colored "color burn" sketch layer for the "lineart" & colorpick official art & lay down messy flats & set the color layer to 60%

60% multiply layer for shadows. i tend to use both hard and soft brushes

for bigger projects i would use 2-3 shadow layers to create more "layered" shadows

here i use overlay layer (60%). this is just throwing colors at it and seeing what works and doesn't work. i personally prefer to throw red under the eye and a yellow or blue near the top of the head. this is mostly done with a soft brush

before this point, everything is under the rough lines, but now i start drawing/painting over it

i just color pick the colors that have been laid down from the previous steps and clean up / render textures (making the green on its arms look fuzzy) / fixing anything that i forgot or looks too off (i.e. the spike on its shoulder and the way the tail curves)

I could potentially keep cleaning this up, but this is where i usually stop 🫡

[darkdrin6]

The thirst to write some crap prevailed over laziness, hooray! Or it was spring that breathed a thirst for life into us, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that some time ago we came across a very controversial post from @evilbihan. The post.

We agreed with other posts by this author regarding MK1, but here we still want to object on a number of points. It is inconvenient to write all your notes in the comments, but there is something to say, which is exactly why we are writing this.

!Attention!: This is not an attack on the author, not a belittling of his dignity, not some kind of hatred and dislike. We want to note the controversial points in his statement and that's it. And if we've sorted it out, then let's go.

For convenience, we will split the post into the same blocks. We do not disagree with the whole post, but we will note these blocks too.

One more important warning: here we will only talk about the MK9-11. MK1 sucks cock like the latest harbor whore.

"Kuai Liang has always stood on the shoulders of others" and "Tundra as a character does not exist."

(Screenshot, so as not to be unfounded)

Considering that we are talking about the version of Kuai Liang from MK9-11 from here on, we will only touch on this version. But let's mention that the statement "Kuai stands on the shoulders of others" became legitimate only with the release of MK1, when he was given the role of Scorpion. More precisely, not even a role, but just a name that no longer stands for anything.

In other versions, adopting the name Sub-Zero made sense. And it was a plot event that was important to the character. It's like saying that Hanzo has never been able to protect his family and that makes him a bad character. No, this is the event that shapes the character. This is an important plot point for the personality and for the further path of life, a defining event, if you want to call it that.

In addition, it is confusing to mention that the character is supposedly less active because someone else saved him. In MK, characters often save each other. Yes, in the context of the post it makes sense, but in the context of the story itself, this is a completely logical development. No one broke out of the Cyber Initiative's control on their own, so it makes sense that Kuai was saved by someone. The very fact of the rescue says little about the character. Only that he was dear enough to someone to convince others to help. Besides, let's remember that he was immediately sent to spy, so it wasn't just kindness that played a role here.

"Tundra has never been relevant in Mortal Kombat until he took the mantle of Sub-Zero."

Well… yeah? Because that was the point of it. We had never seen Kuai before he became Sub-Zero, assuming the title after his late brother. This is literally his plot function, the point of entry into the plot. An event that also defined him as a character. This is analogous to the death of the Hanzo family for Hanzo himself (an important plot event) and his enslavement to Kuan Chi.

This statement is equivalent to saying that Hanzo, as a character, did not exist before being reborn into a ghost, and Johnny did not exist as a character before entering the tournament. It's just that the original source didn't bother to tell at least something more about Kuai (they just apparently didn't come up with this). As players, we simply don't have the "before" materials, because the creators didn't create them. In the plane of the foreseeable plot, the Tundra did not exist, but here we are trying to evaluate the characters as living people, and living people do not appear out of thin air. In the plane of lore, Kuai had years of life before becoming a Sub-Zero, but we just don't know anything about them, so this is a very controversial statement. Because it is based on some undescribed events about which we have little idea.

"The best proof of that is the fact that Raiden never even considered him for his team of Earthrealm's champions."

Raiden did not consider anyone from Lin Kuei as champions at all (he took Tomas to the team in MK9 because he was in the right place at the right time). And the reason for this is not that Kuai is an empty character, but that Lin Kuei are murderers, secretive and cruel, who indirectly collaborated with Quan Chi (their Grandmaster for sure, he took a contract from a sorcerer in Mythology). At the same time, Raiden does not express distrust of Kuai. So to say that Raiden ignored him because Kuai is not capable enough or not diligent enough is wrong. Because Raiden definitely didn't do it. In addition, it is with the adoption of the title of Sub-Zero that Kuai essentially comes to Raiden's attention.

Here, with all due respect, the stretching of the owl on the globe begins. From here on out.

Speaking of earning the mantle, a little clarification. "Scorpion" is just Hanzo Hasashi's call sign, which means nothing without Hanzo himself. This is not some kind of mantle/title in lore MK and never has been. You may have other information, but we've never heard of it. At the same time, as "Sub-Zero" it is not just a title, but a ancestral title that is obviously passed down in one family. Bi Han inherited it after his father's death, when he was very young. It is logical that after Bi Han, his offspring or his brother would have received the title. Because to be a Sub-Zero, you have to be a cryomancer, and cryomancers are now represented by one bloodline (not counting Frost). This is supported by the fact that cryomancers are descended from people from Edenia (which was confirmed not only in MK11). Their abilities are innate (genetic) in nature and cannot be transferred to someone else. Perhaps earlier, when there were more cryomancers, the title really had to be earned, but there are no more cryomancers (the reasons for their disappearance are probably degeneration, natural extinction of abilities, as well as violent deaths, since cryomancers belonged to Lin Kuei and moreover, they founded Lin Kuei).

In addition, this title gives nothing but a target on his back (metaphorically, of course), because even as a venerable warrior bearing such a title, Bi Han directly said that he could be killed for violating orders or failing. Outside the clan, the title of Sub-Zero is more of a minus than a plus. And within the clan, it is also a rather difficult burden. So Kuai didn't win anything by getting this title. Moreover, he got it legally, so the word "stole" does not fit here at all.

It is also worth adding here that Kuai really wanted to avenge his brother, since Bi Han's death turned out to be a heavy loss for him. From Kuai MK9's biography, we know that they are the only ones who were stolen at an early age (all other members of the clan, based on their biographies, were recruited in various ways at a more mature age), so it is logical to assume that surrounded by adults, Bi Han and Kuai were very strongly connected with each other. If you think we're wrong, then let's just remember Kuai's behavior in MK9. Smoke warns him that adopting the name Sub-Zero will attract unwanted attention, but Kuai says it's a way to honor Bi Han's memory (he doesn't even consider it a common title, which should have belonged to him anyway). He is definitely not without empathy, but in an attempt to catch up with his brother's killer, he leaves Sonya with a wounded Jax in her arms. He openly demands that Shao Kahn arrange a fight with Scorpion for him, although he must understand perfectly well that Shao Kahn is a powerful ruler, and the colosseum is located in the very heart of his empire. And it is very dangerous to make demands on the emperor of the Outside World in such conditions. And he doesn't care about that. His goal is revenge for his brother. If Kuai's motivation is false, then to whom and what does he want to prove? Who does he want to fool with this? Why would he pretend? Logically, he is blinded by grief, too young and reckless, and it seems to him that killing Scorpion will at least calm his grief and pain a little. It can be said that he really loved Bi Han (as much as it was possible in the conditions of their growing up, of course), because people take revenge for those they love.

Kuai Liang's biography in MK9. What is in the original, what is in our localization says the same thing - abducted, unlike other members of the clan. (we don't want to waste time installing MK9 right now to take one screenshot, so a photo from the screen may well be suitable).

Summarizing this block and responding to the last paragraph, which talks about people who considered Kuai MK9-11 to be kind and forgiving, we can only say that the fans really greatly distort Kuai's character, excessively whitewashing and softening his character. But Kuai is really not that kind of person - his personality has both positive and negative traits. He was not forgiving. The only time he showed strange mercy was when he let Frost, who knew the location of Lin Kuei Temple, leave. The scriptwriters could fix this by saying that Frost escaped on her own, and was not expelled.

But on the other hand, the statement that MK1 made Kuai a completely different character is also true. And then we will try to explain why.

Next @evilbihan provides an analysis of the dialogues of Kuai and other characters in MKX and MK11. And before we start talking about this, the most important clarification is that not all dialogues are canon. Usually people understand this, but we'll explain why just in case. Not all of them occur in canonical events (almost all of them occur in non-canonical events, to be honest). It can be assumed that the characters met off-screen before or after the events of the game. But, for example, in the MKX, the Revenant variations open up unique dialogues for a number of characters. Jax the Revenant has a unique intro with Takeda and Cassie, although he was healed before Cage was born (and probably Takeda too). Not to mention guest characters, characters who died in or before the plot, or mirror matches. That is, the characters could not meet, these dialogues could not happen, which means that there is a precedent for non-canonical dialogue. This in turn means that the canonicity of all dialogues is not absolute and it is completely wrong to believe them. The dialogues, which are strange and simply contradict the logic of the plot and just logic, can not be considered canonical completely. Nevertheless, this scheme mainly works for MKX and MK11, but MK1 claims to be more canonical intro. However, we will not yet claim that everything intro in MK1 is canon, because there are precedents for non-canonical events (the multiplicity of the canon is a separate topic, and we hate MK1 for its laziness and mediocrity).

About Scarlett: Kuai calls her a "perversion" because Scarlett is an artificial creation of Shao Kahn. Even if a different version of Scarlett is presented to us in MK11, for Kuai Liang she is still the same person that Shao created from blood. In MK9, she is a golem, in the MKX comic, she tells Mileena the phrase "I am the same "daughter" of Shao Kahn as you, half-breed", confirming her artificial birth. This is also confirmed by her ability to absorb blood through her skin (D'vorah says that she is aware of her abilities, so this cannot be attributed to learning blood magic from Reiko). In MK11, she says that Shao found her an orphan, but was it really? Or does she remember what Shao wanted her to remember? No one but her confirms this version. Scarlett in MK11 is obsessed with blood and longs to marry her "father", as she says in a dialogue with Sindel. She even has an equipment called "Shao Kahn's Seed". So Kuai is right in his judgment: She's a perversion.

About Jacqui's improvements: Kuai has undergone a violent transformation into a cyborg. This in itself is a cruel blow to the psyche (just read how people in reality react to trauma or a traumatic change in their body or appearance), not to mention that his mind and free will were suppressed. Kuai bluntly says that because of the CyberInitiative, he does not trust technology. He is a technophobe for quite logical reasons. At the same time, he does not call Jackie weak and does not belittle his talent, he only pays attention to the fact that she uses improvements, but there are no negative connotations in his statement.

Kuai does evaluate opponents, but from a purely practical point of view. He does not give a value judgment as a rule, but simply notes a fact or interprets a fact.

First, D'vorah is literally threatening Kuai. She is the first to say that this is their first and last meeting, making it clear that she is going to kill Kuai. What should he say to that? Be happy? This phrase has nothing to do with Kuai's words in MK1 about lower species, there is literally nothing in common here. Secondly, it is partly xenophobia. And you may be unhappy with this fact, but in the MK setting, xenophobia is justified, because there people are forced to deal with creatures that are mentally and biologically different from human beings and literally pose a danger. MK has never been smart enough to suggest a method of resolving differences between the races of humans and, for example, Tarkatans, let alone everyone else. Thirdly, the two above phrases are in no way similar to Bi Han's words about tarkatans. What kind of "elitist" worldview are you talking about if Bi Han literally expresses an adequate point of view regarding Tarkatans? They are dangerous. They are sick, they turn into bloodthirsty creatures who cannot control themselves. They're still eating other living things. There is no effective medicine yet, only something that relieves the symptoms. And it is available only to Mileena, who in the plot just showed that tarkata affects not only physically, but also mentally. Yes, these are living beings, and Bi Han's point of view is radical, but tarkata is like a mixture of schizophrenia and anthrax (or plague, if you like). It's not "elitist" thinking, it's damn common sense. And this cannot be tied in any way to Kuai MK1's words about "lower species" or to a response to a direct threat.

Tarkata is one of the cancerous tumors of this plot (ironically), and there are many problems and understatements associated with it. But we will talk about this in more detail in some other post. And now let's be brief.

NRS tried to show an allusion to AIDS, but in the end they created a really difficult topic that would not be discussed properly in the plot. It's easier to pretend that Tarkatans are just sick people who can integrate into society. But they can't. Bi Han expresses a radical point of view, but it is not without meaning. Yes, it would be more merciful to provide them with comfortable isolation and allow them to depart from the other world humanely (they die from tarkata, as we know from the plot). The creation of some kind of closed hospices would be an option, but Edenia does not have it. It turns out to be interesting. Bi Han, with his rather sane approach, is considered a cruel bastard because of this phrase, but the merciful Sindel, who simply exiled sick subjects to the wilderness, where they had to die of disease and starvation, who took care of creating a cure only when her daughter became infected, is kind in this plot.

No, it literally proves nothing, because it's not even some kind of specific formulation in a specific situation. And they literally talk about different things. Here, friend, you keep stretching the owl around the globe.

The use of the same words in different situations (and approximately the same ones too) does not mean similarity of views. Because, you know, dictionaries tend to be limited.

(By the way, here Kuai literally shows that he is not very good at the history of his native world, because in the history of the Earthrealm there were at least Mongols - a nomadic people who built a fairly large state. That's a strange remark. MK11 dialogues seem like a neural network was writing, to be honest.)

As we said above, no one but Scarlett herself confirms this version. For Kuai, she is still considered a golem, as in MK9 and the MKX comic. Besides, Scarlett is his enemy. They are literally on opposite sides of the barricades. Scarlett faithfully serves the one who longs to enslave the Earthrealm, and who has already made attempts before, which led to the fall of Lin Kuei, to the cybernization of Kuai, to the invasion of the Earthrealm and many victims. Scarlett is an enemy of the Earthrealm, and Kuai does not care about her marital status. Why should he care at all? Moreover, why should he be polite or sympathetic to a crazy lady who is asking to join his clan, even though he didn't even invite her? It is not quite correct to compare it with MK1 and Tomas. But Bi Han does not reproach him for being an orphan, he only says that Tomas is not Lin Kuei by blood. That's all. He's actually right, Tomas is adopted.

Just what is the logic of this claim anyway? Scarlett and Kuai interact only within the framework of an open confrontation, they have no other points of contact. Scarlett is one hundred percent the enemy for the Earthrealm and for Kuai. And Kuai protects his world, he's like a soldier on duty. He shouldn't be interested in the life of some random blood witch and sympathize with her. It's like blaming all the characters for not wanting to understand Shao Kahn or anyone else. And don't pretend that Scarlett is better. She literally tortured Jade in the plot and did it with pleasure, she is not some unfortunate hero worthy of sympathy.

Correction: Frost joined the clan when Shirai Ryu was considered to have been re-exterminated by the hands of Havik (who possessed Fox). Frost joined the clan when the clan was just trying to start existing again. Frankly speaking, it is completely unclear where she got so much respect for the traditions of the clan, which she did not know before, and for Bi Han, whom she had never met. We are not going to say for sure, but it is much more likely that Frost was influenced by someone from the old Lin Kuei staff (because they could have survived and escaped from the CyberInitiative). Because Kuai has definitely been making the decision to reconcile with Shirai Ryu for a while. And yes, Frost hasn't really established herself as a decent character. Throughout its history, it has desired power and strength that it could not handle. Besides, if we turn to dialogues here, then in one of them Kuai asks if he was a bad mentor, to which Frost says that he was a hindrance. That is, she had plans to take Kuai's place during her studies, BEFORE alliance with Shirai Ryu (because after her escapade, she was expelled). The only complaint against Kuai Liang here is that he did not kill Frost. He let go of a man who is clearly unkind and who knows about the secret location of the Lin Kuei Temple. This could be solved with one correction from the screenwriters - the phrase that Frost ran away on her own.

Maybe (just maybe!) our localization is a little different, but Fujin is not saying that Kuai wants to kill his brother. He's asking about it.

Oh, yes. He also asks a question in the original.

The lie here is to claim that Kuai did not want his brother to be reborn. Bi Han is reborn like the rest of the revenants and probably cannot be healed without Quan Chi's presence (by the way, later in the post you refer to the need for Quan Chi's presence and the fact that his death essentially put an end to the return of enslaved champions). Kuai was lucky that Raiden's magic worked at a specific moment in a specific way. How lucky both Hanzo and Jax are. It was further stated that Quan Chi must be alive to save the Revenants. And Bi Han is a revenant.

Besides, Kuai has no reason to hold on to the title of Sub-Zero, because it gives nothing but danger. He is not useful, he is not honorable (five generations of Sub-Zero before him were murderers and made enemies). He does this because there is no one to transfer the title to. He wears it like as bloody chevrons, as a sign of his service to the Earthrealm.

We will not argue about the rest of the dialogues that relate to Bi Han (with Cetrion or others), or with Bi Han himself. The game acts very strangely and seems to be trying with all its might to put Kuai and Bi Han against each other as enemies. We have already written about this here and do not want to repeat it.

Since the block with rhetoric and analysis of dialogues is over, we will summarize. Kuai Liang in MKX and MK11 is a man who has been through a lot. He was kidnapped in early childhood, deprived of his family and normal growing up (we still remember about his biography MK9, which says that ONLY he and Bi Han were stolen, the rest joined voluntarily in adulthood), his brother was killed, his clan was turned into soulless iron, he himself was turned into soulless iron, he was murdered Sindel (by the way, who was resurrected by order of Shao Kahn and sent by him to massacre the champions; that is, Shao is indirectly responsible for Kuai's death, which means that his henchwoman Scarlett has even less chance of gaining any sympathy from Kuai Liang, even if she were an orphan three times). Kuai was enslaved first by the CyberInitiative, then by Quan Chi. Against his will, he participated in the invasion of the Earthrealm, and the memory of the horrors that he had committed consumed him with guilt. In the comic (which is still canon in many ways), Kuai literally talks about wanting to die. After that, he entered the service of Raiden and began to look for a Kamidogu for him, which is why he was cursed and again fell under someone else's control. Which again led to casualties. What did he say to Bo Rai Cho? "I have to do hara-kiri." The topic that Kuai is broken by these events and wants to die has been raised twice. He decided to revive the clan with the light hand of Raiden (it was Raiden who sent applicants to join Lin Kuei). In the new clan, Kuai finally finds solace, but in the end his own student, whom either out of mercy or stupidity he did not kill, breaks into the temple and kidnaps his people. Kuai has gone through a lot of traumatic events, just turning into a revenant is worth it. It took Jax years and years to suppress his PTSD, and he didn't fully recover. Kuai wants to protect his home, his homeworld. He makes claims to Ryden for not coping with his role as a defender. This is not very fair in the big picture, but Kuai saw with his own eyes the two invasions and the arrival of Shinnok. Will you say that Kuai does not want to defend the Earthrealm? Well, for some reason, it was he who led his clan to defend the Sky Temple and faced the legions of Kotal. It was Lin Kuei who took the hit and gave Cassie and her team time. Not the glorious Shirai Ryu, who just got into a fight with the special forces, messed up with their grandmaster and just disappeared without participating in the defense of the Earthly Kingdom.

There is no point in comparing Kuai MK9-11 and Kuai MK1, because the life of the second one is literally sugar. He did not survive a fraction of what Kuai Liang experienced in the previous chronology. Comparing them is like comparing a veteran and a loud cadet. Kuai in MK11 has every right to be grumpy, demanding of others and himself, suspicious of enemies and even allies. The events of his life encourage such thinking. From the height of his experience - both life and combat - he can be somewhat arrogant and proud of his skill. Because Kuai MK9-11 has a moral right to do so. Kuai-Scorpion does not have this right, he is just a loud brat who jerks off at his father and traditions (if we were Bi Han, we would evict him from the temple and issue a restraining order) Like a fucking fanatic. He doesn't have the same qualities, experience. Nothing. Even biology failed, depriving him of cryomancy. In fact, the personality of Kuai in MK1 is formed in a completely different way than that of Kuai in MK9-11. Because both the events of life (the social factor) and the biological basis are different. This is literally not the Kuai Liang we knew. This is another person who happens to have the same name.

Also completely overlooked is the fact that Kuai, in his dialogues, not only criticizes everyone and everything, but shows respect to other characters (with whom he is not in confrontation). So he suggests that Jade join Lin Kuei (probably because they have lost a significant part of their personnel and need new personnel). He recognizes Sonya's fighting spirit. He literally thanks Raiden for saving his life (although he remembers that Raiden has a dark and light state). He pays tribute to Liu Kang when he speaks about Kuai's own discipline.

Most of his statements are neutral or caustic (depending on the dialogue), Kuai shows hostility to those characters who are in confrontation with his side (the Outworlders or the Black Dragon), but nothing more.

And since we've dealt with this, we'll move on.

Kuai Liang's motives for revenge and forgiveness are actually as clear as possible when you remember that more than 20 years have passed. Why do you overlook this fact? 25 years have passed between the events of MK9 and MKX (the main plot) (Jax mentions this). Shinnok's invasion ended 25 years ago. And the reconciliation of the two clans took place five years before the events of MKX (this is stated in the plot). Kuai initially rushed to take revenge because he was blinded by grief, his pain was fresh. But then the events of MK9 happened, and now he is a former revenant, crushed by life, with the realization that he did terrible things. With a years, the thirst for revenge subsides, but the moral obligation suffocates. After all, your dear man died, how can you just let go of his death? Here we will allow ourselves to say that the motives of revenge are close to us because of personal experience. That's why we know what we're talking about. To come to terms with loss is, among other things, to let go of the thirst for revenge, to get rid of a destructive moral obligation. Kuai has had at least 20 years to think about it. Scorpion's death will not bring his brother back to him, will not soothe his pain. He believed that Bi Han was lost forever. He must continue to live, which means that he needed to put an end to a long-standing and senseless feud, especially considering that the real culprit is Quan Chi. It is he who must be punished.

To claim that Kuai was indirectly involved in the deaths of other Revenants is a clear misconception. Because, first of all, Kuai needed to give himself the moral right to end the senseless clan feud. Secondly, to protect your clan from a new conflict with Shirai Ryu. And third, damn it, this conversation (in which Hanzo found out the truth) took place five years before Quan Chi was captured. Five years! It's a long time. The fact that Hanzo has not thought with his own head in these five years is only Hanzo's problem. Should Kuai have foreseen this years in advance? He has enough headaches of his own, and at that moment he didn't know Hanzo well enough to anticipate his actions. Hanzo Hasashi is the only one to blame for what happened. It was he who decided to attack the special forces, not listen to anyone and cut off the sorcerer's head. No one pushed him to do this except himself, although literally everyone around told him to wait. Hanzo has shown himself to be a stubborn ass who doesn't know how to listen.

The scene of the conversation and the conclusion of peace between Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu (chapter 9 "Scorpion").

Quan Chi has not been seen since the invasion was stopped. Sonya and Jax talk about it here (Chapter 8 "Jackson Briggs")

The same thing is in the Sony chapter (chapter 5 "Sonya Blade")

The claims that Kuai reorganized the clan just to elevate himself are simply taken out of thin air. Because although Kuai Liang is deservedly proud of his skills, there is not a single objective sign that would indicate that your statements about him are true. Where did this statement about him being narcissistic come from? Selfish? Kuai literally has no other life, he has put all his remaining years to protect the Earthrealm and hunt the scum within it (as he tells Kano). What is the selfishness here? What does he get besides constant pressure?

Perhaps there is reason to believe that Kuai wanted to put an end to Lin Kuei's dark legacy, but then again-who wouldn't? He talks a lot about honor, because he saw with his own eyes how dishonor and betrayal (the actions of the last Grand Master of the clan) led to the downfall of not only Lin Kuei, but also to larger tragic consequences. This is not selfishness, not a desire to "giving themselves a pet on the back." This is common sense and awareness of mistakes and their consequences.

Where did you get this from? The intros above do not suggest this in any way. Friend, it seems that you believed in what you came up with about the character. Kuai Liang strives for iron discipline, because he is well aware of how much damage has been done to him by the events of his life. And if he lets himself get weak, he'll just break down. And if he breaks down, who will stand at the head of Lin Kuei? Who will join the ranks of the defenders of the Earthrealm? As a responsible soldier, Kuai cannot hang a weapon on the wall because he is tired. And we have already cited above what confirms our thought (his sad experience, his desire to avoid repetition, the moral test that Kuai went through, etc.).

In addition, Kuai's envy of his brother (which is in no way confirmed by the game itself and other media) can only be said that many people would envy Bi Han, since he was really talented. It is said about him that he mastered in his youth what other cryomancers before him mastered only in old age. But again, this does not indicate Kuai's envy of his brother. There is not a single confirmation of this statement.

The whole subsequent text to the end of the block seems completely insane. To claim that Kuai was the only one who constantly survived, not because the writers wanted it, but because… for some other reason. The only reason is the desire of the screenwriters. Or perhaps an outright misunderstanding of what to do with the characters of Hanzo and Kuai (and many others). Where should they be placed? They look more like a reference in MK11 and MKX than full-fledged characters. Okay, Hanzo has more plot weight because he's the creator's favorite. But everything else is just a weak plot, not the character's fault or intention. There is literally no place to analyze him as a living person, because Kuai appears only functionally in the plot. Well, maybe the studio hates him because so much shit has fallen on this particular character. He was enslaved three times, his family and friends are almost completely dead. It is wrong to say that he did nothing to bring Smoke back, because, as we remember, Quan Chi is needed to revive the revenant, there is no proven scheme, Quan Chi himself has been hiding for twenty-five years, and collectively the chances of revival are negligible. Personal aspirations are on one side of the scale, on the other is a job that will provide the homeworld with another faction of defenders. Kuai, who has gone through the horrors of two invasions, obviously will not choose personal aspirations. In addition, Smoke does not appear in the final chapters of MKX (only in flashbacks from the time of Shinnok's invasion), and it is unknown where he is. With Quan Chi's death, he can be considered completely lost (the rest of the Revenants are considered lost for the same reason, and there is no problem with that). And the fact that Bi Han survived in Soulnado was not known at all before the events of MK11. He was believed to be dead. Who should Kuai be trying to bring back? Ghostly shadows of long-gone loved ones? Prefer the dead to the living?

We can agree that Kuai's behavior in the intro and his ending are collectively confusing because they somehow contradict each other. But here you can find a dubious, but time-bound explanation. Considering that in all intros the Kronika is mentioned as still alive and active, it can be concluded that these fights and dialogues, respectively, take place in parallel with the plot of MK11. Which lasts… How much? A couple of days? In this light, it can be assumed that all of Kuai's strange reactions in the dialogues are either a defensive reaction, or simply the result of AI work (seriously, sometimes one part of these dialogues is not connected to another).

Oh, right, rhetoric again.

These dialogues are not connected in any way at all. There are only two identical words here that don't apply in the same context. This is not a common lexicon in this case and not the same specific reaction to the situation. These are literally different dialogues. And here you are really engaged in unfair interpretation.

We have already written about this above and we will not repeat it.

A fair comparison, however, the different circumstances that lead to this phrase. Bi Han in MK1 encourages Kitana to be more independent. Kuai in MK11 wants to get a valuable fighter into the ranks of his clan to protect his world. They use similar words, but in different situations and for different purposes.

Here we can agree on the similarity by about half (due to the difference in circumstances, and therefore the messages themselves).

We repeat that Kuai Liang in MK9-11 literally caught two invasions and the return of Shinnok. The latter happened because Raiden's Shinnok amulet, which he was supposed to protect, was stolen. That is, Raiden actually failed at his job. Yes, in the end, all three events ended well, but Kuai, as a man who laid down his life to protect his world and serve its interests, has reason to be angry at Raiden for his mistakes.

In MK1, Bi Han denies Liu Kang's authority for reasons that are still unclear. Bi Han wants more, but what does this have to do with Liu Kang? We, as players, know what Liu's mistakes are, but Bi Han doesn't know that. At the same time, we do not know why Bi Han is so fiercely against Liu's authority (he literally tells Kenshi, "give him time and you will understand," hinting that his dislike has some deeper reasons, but we do not know about them yet). It is also incorrect to compare these dialogues. We think there is no need to explain the reasons. Their context is strikingly different.

How is Kuai Liang considered the "good brother" when they both use the same vocabulary and share the same views?

The fact that they use similar words, but in different contexts, can only mean that they speak the same language, and not that their views are somehow close to each other.

Making such a statement is like saying that if a conditional user uses the words "cosmopolitan", "economy", "corridor" and "carte blanche" in his speech, then this makes his views close to one notorious Austrian artist who used the same words in his speech in 1939.

This is absurd and meaningless.

Yes, people say that because Bi Han literally demonstrates the character traits and biographies of Frost and Sector. He's not the best version of Kuai, he's not even a pale version of himself. He is a lazily written man who, in modern works, must be evil simply because. Bi Han in the old chronology was really interesting for his tragedy. He never wanted to be a part of the clan, he had no choice in this matter, in the original MK1 (literally in the very first game) in his ending, he leaves the clan because he doesn't need it all. His life was taken away cruelly and unfairly, he was just a man in thrall to circumstances, he was not shy about being sharp-tongued. After all, Bi Han from the past chronology, with his tragedy both during his lifetime and after his death, is many times more interesting than the piece of evil cardboard that Bi Han was turned into in MK1.

We will not stop at the fact that the decision to make Kuai a Scorpion is disgusting. We will not argue with this, because it is pointless to argue with the truth. Is he the best Sub-Zero? At least he was interesting, one of the few who really developed and changed as a character. As a result, his entire progression, motivation, and personality foundations were rewritten. Kuai Liang, whom we respected, although in some places we condemned, simply ceased to be. We hope that the NRS will choke on their money and never touch this story again.

And now to the comments that were posted. They are too small, so we want to answer in more detail here.

We literally took apart your entire post from beginning to end, not touching only what concerned Kuai MK1, because we want he burns in hell. And we still say that you are trying to substitute concepts. Their vocabulary is in no way similar (for the reasons we mentioned above). And as we have already noted, Kuai Liang MK9-11 grew up in different conditions than Bi Han MK1.

Lin Kuei himself is obviously different in different versions. If in MK1 we understand that this is closer to the traditional clan, which is connected by blood (both parents were in the clan, there is an opportunity to form a family, Bi Han refers to Lin Kuei's blood), then the early versions of Lin Kuei are more like the cult of assassins, who are united by the desire for influence - political, material and td. What kind of parenting with the idea of superiority are you talking about in the framework of MK9-11, if we have already found out that Kuai and Bi Han were abducted as children, and all the other members of the clan joined him. The biography of the Sector in MK9 literally says that there was no doubt that the Sector, being the son of a Grandmaster, would join the clan. Cyrex joined the clan as an adult, and previously he was from among the Tswana and trained among the warriors of his people. Tomas is from Prague and was also recruited at a fairly conscious age, because he attracted attention with his abilities. His exact age has not been named, but it is said that he does not remember his childhood, which means that he was hardly a child at the time of recruitment. Based on this, Bi Han and Kuai Liang are the only children who were raised in the clan. This means that there was no general idealogical system for education (we don't know much about Lin Kuei at all, but the Grandmaster decided to make everyone cyborgs for absolute submission, so we can assume that there were precedents for disobedience). The clan system in MK1, although it requires following orders, does not threaten death. But in MK9-11 (for which Mythology is still canonical), the mistake is inexcusable. Bi Han bluntly says that his failure or disobedience would mean his death at the hands of his own clan. Lin Kuei's in old chronology is a violent militarized cult, not a family. Yes, it is possible that one bloodline is present there, but it is needed only because of the special abilities (cryomancy) that give the clan an advantage.

See the difference? This already denies the possibility for Kuai MK9-11 and Bi Han MK1 to grow in the same conditions. Hell, even Bi Han MK9-11 and Bi Han MK1 are different people because of their different upbringing and different life experiences. We think that it makes no sense to explain that a personality is formed on the basis of a biological basis (psychophysiological features) and social impact, life experience. With a difference in life experience, different personalities are formed. It is for this reason that we consider the ending of the Scorpion invasion to be simply insulting and sad. The very concept of multiple timelines essentially contradicts the concept of personality. But this is such a truism that it makes no sense to explain it. In MK1, people have the same names and partially similar biography elements. And this already means, in fact, that Mileena, Kitana, Raiden, Lao, Bi Han and all the others are not the same ones we saw in previous games. These are literally other people.

[werywrenniethoughts]

Let's Talk About Sun and Moon

I've been itching to share all my thoughts & theories on the Daycare Attendant ever since I first played SB. With MattPat's latest video reacting to Fuhnaff's recent Ruin theory, I could no longer contain my silence. It's obvious Steel Wool is pointing us back to Sister Location, or more specifically Circus Baby's Pizzaria. I think we'll find that the daycare attendant has been here all along. Below are a few key things I want to open discussions with the DCA fandom. Buckle up friends, and grab a snack or 3, because this is a long one. Let me know your likes, let me know your dislikes. (FYI general disclaimer that I bummed all these pictures from Google and that spoilers ARE contained below)

Personally, my theory is the DCA is an old funtime/toy animatronic from Cirus Baby's Pizzaria that was repurposed for one reason or another and brought to the PizzaPlex. Let's go over some of the reasons why:

Does the Daycare attendant fit with the Glamrock animatronics?

No. Not even a little. The Glamrocks are synonymous with neon signs, rock n roll, and 80s-early 90s vibes. Sun and Moon are based off of the naturally occurring satellites we see in the sky on the daily. Most FNAF theorist tends to unanimously state they simply "don't know what to do with the daycare attendant." It's understandable. They don't really flow with the rest of the SB cast animatronics.

You know who I think they do mesh with though? Circus Baby, Funtime Freddy, and Bellora. While one could argue they are not an exact fit, they certainly fit the circus designs far better than the Glamrocks. Sun with his striped pants, bells, ribbons, and poofy collar certainly give him more of a clown-like look (dare I even suggest, they look like a jester, Mimic fans?)

I've also always felt that Moon's speech patterns model Funtime Freddy's more than the Glamrocks or even Suns. They sound like preselected lines he's been programmed to say, rather than cohesive sentences most of the time with limited vocabulary usage, not unlike the lines delivered by the withered, Funtime, and Toy animatronics in Ultimate Custom Night. Phrases that sound innocent, but with the given inflection, they're obvious threats. Kellen Goff, the overly amazing voice actor for both the DCA, and Funtime Freddy stated once in an interview that the audition description for FF was "a voice that children would love, but adults would hate/fear." He nails that with Freddy, but, I think his performance with Moon warrants that description somewhat as well.

Another circus link I want to point out is this little devil right here:

Ballon Boy. He too blends in with the circus theme. It's also worth mentioning the arcade machine hidden within the DCA's room is Balloon World. Where in-game versions of Sun and Moon watch over any poor soul attempting to complete this flappy bird ripoff. Has anyone ever noticed that the arcade cabinet, and the game's home screen you start on, display a carnival tent?

Further, Kids Cove is linked to the daycare- the floor map shows us the shore of Kids Cove flows into the daycare, which flows to a flowery hilltop where the DCA's castle room sits. A pirate version of Foxy is the featured animatronic of Kid's Cove. In fact, every character cut-out you need to flash with the FazCam to access the DCA's room is a member of the original four: Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, and Foxy.

The DCA lore from Bobbiedots states the DCA was "an old stage animatronic" NOT specifically from the FazBear theater. Of course, no one can deny the FazBear theater is absolutely pointing us toward them being meant to be performing there. The artwork of the daycare has the FazTheater in the "sky" per the scenery, there's a sun framing the entrance banner, and Moon's patterns decorate the door. Additionally, both the comedy and tragedy masks line the banner.

Could it be they are older animatronics meant to be retrofitted and added to the lineup but were instead reprogrammed as the Daycare Attendant last minute or, were they performing an old throwback routine from their original pizzeria for a time before they were reprogrammeed? Or was it always the FazBear Theater from the get-go? I feel all these scenarios are somewhat plausible.

Sun/Moon make more rudimentary machine sounds than the other animatronics in SB. It's hard to describe the glamrocks and the endos just sound smoother, like well-oiled machines. While Sun's movements are fluid and the sounds he produces are rhythmic, he sounds more like a clock or wind-up toy than anything else. Moon flat-out squeaks- a LOT. Like he hasn't been oiled in years. (Admittedly, this could just be a subtle attempt by Steel Wool to help you deal with Moon during the generator section. It's dark as crap, and you CAN hear Moon coming far sooner than you see him.) You can listen to isolated sounds of Sun's mechanisms on the FNAF Wiki and you can hear Moon on any SB playthrough. I think their cable might also be considered rudimentary compared to the glamrocks as well, but, this is also a personal opinion that doesn't really have any evidence to back it up.

I could probably add a few more minor things, but I think I've given us all quite enough to chew on for now. I know I've failed to mention Eclipse this entire time. Without any additional lore, it's hard for me to decide whether he's the original version of Sun and Moon, or a brand new addition. Obviously, a lot of my theories here are either supported or thrown out the window based on which one is true. I'm okay with letting that lie for now until we (hopefully) get a more concrete answer from Scott or Steel Wool.

It seems like we'll be getting a Sun-based story in Tales #8 so I'm eagerly awaiting to see if that completely disproves my ideas, or gives them any merit. I certainly don't think I have them 100% figured out, but, I think the limited amount of lore regarding the origins of the DCA means Steel Wool's hiding something. I'm eager to hear everyone's thoughts! Thanks for coming to my Sun/Moon TED talk.

[garden-of-mancers]

Hihihi! I wasn't sure who to come to for this info, and I couldn't find anything related to this, so if you don't have an answer/insufficient research or something like that, then feel free to ignore this! /gen/neu

What's the difference between a tulpamancy and imagimancy? Ty if you answer this ask! <333

No problem! Full disclosure: I have done more research into the Buddhist origins of tulpamancy, but I'm not Buddhist or a tulpamancer, so if I get any academic or cultural information wrong, I apologize.

So, tulpamancy has an origin in Buddhist spirituality, and the modern western "tulpamancy" you see on tumblr is a misappropriated version of it.

In Tibetan Buddhism, tulpamancy is the act of creating a thoughtform (tulpa) with the goal for it to become an autonomous person through developing independent thought, emotions, etc. These thoughtforms are also called "emanations" or "emanation bodies" depending on the Buddhist you're talking to. Most tulpas also break away from their creators once they reach autonomy, therefore completing a cycle or the exercise. I know it's originally supposed to be an exercise to teach the Buddhist student *something* about nirvana and being a living human, but I can't remember or figure out what the specific goal is, so I apologize if any part of this explanation is 'off.' I'm not Buddhist, so I encourage you to take my answer as a starting-off point to do your own research into the topic.

Here's a reddit post by a Tibetan Buddhist on tulpamancy, and here's another reddit thread with multiple insights on the purpose of tulpas.

Appropriated tulpamancy like you see on tumblr, where the tulpamancer is making more than one thoughtform, isn't working towards the goal of autonomy, or is utilizing manifestation techniques to create headmates or "friends" is not tulpamancy. It's thoughtformism--it's a completely different practice that is just using terminology from a different (religious and culturally charged) practice. It should not be practiced under the guise of tulpamancy. It's not cultural appropriation because you're white, (anyone can convert to Buddhism); it's cultural appropriation because you're using terms and ideas in a way completely divorced from the original (cultural, religious) context.

(This cultural shift didn't start on tumblr, by the way. Occultists and westerners were recontextualizing and appropriating tulpas long before people on tumblr did it.)

After a lot of POC and Buddhists criticized the tulpa community, a few secular thoughtformist communities have come up. Daemonism is one example, where the "lore" and framework around your thoughtform is based on the novel His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. (Although, what I've seen in the community is that daemians can play pretty fast and loose with the rules and no one really minds it.) But a lot of thoughtformists I've seen on tumblr just seem to make a certain flavor of dude (like a servitor, egregore, godhead--all things I'm not yet familiar enough with to explain) without tulpamancy OR daemonism as a label (which is a good thing!).

Imagimancy is the latest thoughtformist community to come up, and in my perspective, it feels like a "configurable" experience in thoughtformism. There's no more religious or cultural context, there's no more lore from already-existing books or movies, there aren't even any occulty or mystical labels if you don't want there to be. It's just... imaginary friends, but taken seriously and refined into a practice or activity that "older kids" and adults can do in a fulfilling way. To me, imagimancy IS the closest thing to what appropriated "tulpamancers" wanted tulpamancy to be. There are no rules or restrictions. One of the co-coiners of the imagimancy term describes imagimancy as "not trying to reinvent or relabel things; just filling the gaps between [thoughtformist] communities," and I think that's the best explanation out there tbh.

This isn't a "tulpas dni" post or anything like that; I'm interested in everyone's experiences of thoughtformism, even if someone's vocabulary isn't the most culturally sensitive. But I am very much in the ballpark of "what you're doing isn't tulpamancy. Call it something else" as a person tbh.

[daystarvoyage]

The Dana Terrace Vs Vivienne Medrano, The Great Debate of Two Female Creators

Hello Starry Knights, This is the lovely Kyoko Cane, The Brown Sugah Queen, & cosplayer who performs and visits numerous cons throughout, while making blogs/vlogs on animated media & entertainment.

as you know or are new to this page, I am an artist who also dedicated my fashion in drag, on all my platforms along my artwork & discussions (be it anime or Western) that can affect real-life even fandoms, with a variety of videos.

the title of the post is about The two proclaimed talked about animators, Dana Terrace & Vivienne Medrano, I'll be critiquing how these two women of animation tackle the industry. This will have strong opinions from recent interview videos I've watched.

(I'll be calling Vivienne VIVI FOR SHORT & letting you know, if I were to watch ones in the future affecting my post come on the comments to ask freely, AND YES ALL PROJECTS AND TOPICS ARE NOT WITHOUT THEIR CRITIQUES, FLAWS IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT, CHECK OUT THE DAYSTAR VOYAGE, DON'T HATE, APPRECIATE! )

OK LETS GET STARTED In this 3-part segment

1. The Different Artstyles That Made Us Love These Shows.

Vivis work (Helluva Boss & Hazbin Hotel)

Now We all know as fans & lovers of animation when we hear a series that's greenlit after viewing on a television screen, in a magazine, or sponsored in commercials, right? As for these two,

The first time I heard of VIVI's work was on a YouTube ad commercial in line & premiered for the pilot, I was fully captivated by its groundbreaking story, from hazbin hotel to the comedy in helluva boss, along with its ghoulish Beetlejuice-inspired art style.

(which I'm a sucker for the niche, indie projects & gothic horror.)

observing her sketchbook on YouTube, I was drawn in by the captivated humanoid shapes she sketches, along with her fluid & flowing style.

the worldbuilding version of heaven & hell drew me in, after watching hazbin hotel. The pilot had a lot to offer from its dreary horrific turns/obstacles from its character debut, story & distorted beauty that there was a lot to tune Into along my first episode of Helluva Boss,

Now we are gonna get down to lore storytelling and character growth.

(and im fully aware of how the fandom treats the rest of the main & supporting cast not letting them flesh out including the females, btw)

Vivi has so much to offer, after watching the latest episode of Helluva Boss and finishing Hazbin Hotel, I see she has the potential to make a good show on drama & sell it, however with her controversy coming through I feel she needs to learn on how to perceive herself online, so makes it hard for me not to hate her series, be it art and her work.

(its truly good when it wants to be as for the writing ima get to that later. with the stolitz & lumity discourse on part 2)

The owl House by Dana terrace

Now you all know by now, I am a full-on Owl House fan regardless of its show ending early, and my many critics on Dana Terrace drew me in with her macabre art and full-on passionate skeletal pieces after looking at her socials and sketchbook online, as a debut showrunner who made her great stance on lgbt representation she has cemented herself as an acclaimed cartoon creator.

However, she does have her flaws ever since rewatching the series, and a lot to learn about the business, after rewatching The Show and yes I have notes written to prove them,

To add I felt if alex Hirsch wasn't on the project, everyone wouldn't watch that show since yall want it to be the next GRAVITY FALLS,

I love the fandoms that discuss the errors of these creators cause it give more insight on how to portray yourselves on in the real world, cause lemme tell you, it was all watered down I'm get to that in a minute

one problem i have with particularly since she's a good artist & creator is her depending on certain tropes to carry out her cast, cause some may be harmful & the writing be generic.

She needs work on being a better showrunner cause those skills need Cleaning up including writing certain characters on who gets the spotlight.

NEXT SEGMENT

2. The Good, Great, Bad & Ugly in Fandom Discourse,

Vivis Work (Wow Yall can be Wow)

Vivienne Has made her mark in the YouTube market ever since making her pilot debut on Kesha video & hazbin hotel pilot,

I'm so glad for her contributions towards the indie market making her way to showing great representation in the general audience for an adult show, yes an adult show and that's not without its controversy,

with her grand debate, I feel everyone took this woman's artwork turning it into something ugly, which is so uncool.

and I for one will not stand for the hate trains of now popular shows flip-flopping and then float back to it cause your series is acclaimed now, let's be real she deserves her crowns and laurels Just keeping it real, regardless cause its a fire show

The fandom has shown their love of the show cause it knocked down so many doors in many ways, but let's be real the audience is now geared toward children cause we all know, this generation can be doing some crazy things, cause they all need to tone down the language,

which I feel viv needs to work on the jokes I get, it's an adult show which is concerning and it's a Gen Z world where people have access to computers 247, which contributes to all the nasty discourse and crass behavior not to mention,

viv needs to calm down her fans when it comes down to her work and the way stoliz is perceived.l can be questionable, not to mention how the females are written which I do know the key word for this below.

cause i rarely do find the females are compelling, but yet to fleshed out like the rest of the male characters so misogynist comes into mind in this show and how it sells

there some moments it only aims to the infamous ship Stolitz (and doesn't let other characters breathe (this is a problem with the owl house which ill get to right now cause the pacing is wow smh)

(next to the owl house which I'll get to cause OMG)

THE OWL HOUSE FANDOM (GRRRR) lemme calm down

If you haven't seen my posts, including the bashing and discourse there's also a list I swear lemme quote

in the words of Biggie Small - if you don't know now ya know.

The owl house fandom i was on ride or die for the lumity however we all know how that ship got it start and built up cause they expected it to be this thing to say F you to Disney which is good cause disney had it coming howver, after the show ended

Yall have become the most foulest ugliest & disrespectful fandom ever since the Steven Universe, Voltron and miraculous incidents,

its sad to see how these two franchises fell into the worse cases, the two creators may come across not caring of there fandom acts cause there's a saying

The captain always goes down with his ship MEANING

A captain should not have to sacrifice their life simply because the vessel they are in control of is in distress

There’s two fandoms such as Steven universe & voltron fell from grace into toxicity down below that are prime examples

The Owl House fandom has got to be some of the most entitled, uppity if not (racist) fans!

yall clearly have not listened to other fans or can't take criticism, yes the show did make very feminist undertones and the male characters didn't shine at all in their titular episodes or moments, which doesn't help at all.

Since Dana drew inspiration from Powerpuff Girls

(which comes on and the writers being all female, is gonna have damaging effects)

Cause stifled the male characters in a way where there not as prominent or impactful,

So this word MISANDRY comes to mind

The fandom has gone down to the point of no return, I mean,

one fan from a webcam interview WANTED DANA's ADDRESS EWWW!

its not that the Disney drama was too blame for the project, (to an extent) which I'm proud for the fandom for banding together on animation, but need to take off the lgbt glasses cause boy the show's writing was pushed in favor of that.

CONGRATS You did at the cause of Harassment and bad behavior in fandoms,

NEXT TOPIC

3. Make The Business Makes Sense & epilogue

THE OWL HOUSE

Dana Terrace has the makings of doing good shows however when it comes down to an audience to kid she has some major damage control on how the fandom will come across,

i mean have we not learned from the Lilith and Camilla toxic issues, you can tell the show likes to demonize the adults which is unacceptable, and can damage storytelling and characters.

the truth i feel there needs to be proper staff on how to write POC, and ethnic and cultural representation In the show, Amphibia, Molly mcgee, Haileys on it and other break-out shows did it better,

hell yo had Amphibia doing those dishes in Frogworld, can you imagine the boiling isles taking on Hispanic cuisine.

Which i felt could've hit a mark on luz home life and culture if written & fleshed out,

Like the staff didn't know how to write those topics, they've coulda gone so far with it but unfortunately fail flat not to mention the fashion. UGH

sigh.

ViVI WORKS ( i try not to make this quick but e can discuss more on comments be NICE)

Vivienne Medrano has good fashion and business sense

its important to have that cause having a Cloud Nine franchise coming from nothing can do wonders for how you are perceived as an artist,

The discourse has come due to her take on the controversy on platforms talking on her many harsh topics

(in my opinions she too needs to work on controlling scenarios & damage control that can affect her

So tried but yeah

vivi is a dominant artist who takes her business seriously so I am glad to have her flourish in Spindlehorse,

butt just i wish i cant help but fall outta love with her work, knowing of the problems in today's animation comes certain things you can say even snowflakes can break under if heard by there favorite creators.

lets be honest these two can learn from each other. and vivi does sure know angles and promoting

very glad to get this written so I put some thought into this

i wish nothing for the best for these awesome artists and creators thank you all for coming so far and have a wonderful voyage thanks.