#Please share with the uninformed

[r4pira]

Hello! I hope this ask finds you well! Found your art by chance today and couldn’t resist ordering a print!! Wanted to say how wonderful your creations are - I’ve never seen anything like it (in the best way possible). The way your style is so vibrant whilst simultaneously surreal and almost melancholic is 🤌

If you don’t mind me asking (and are open to sharing ofc), how has your style evolved?

- lore

hey! thank you so much for kind words :D!!!

that's an interesting question - i'm not sure what part of the "evolution" you'd like to hear about more, but here we go 👇

i guess the short answer is "artistically evolving by striving to perfectly recreate the visions i have in my mind" but of course that'd be too much an obvious thing to say..

so, if we're talking more about the technical aspects.. at the "beginning", so like a year ago or so, when i realized i couldn't actually draw at all, i had (like anyone🫡)to learn some basics - anatomy, color theory etc. (keeping it very simple of course), but after that to get any satisfactory results what i really needed was to understand what was the precise thing that i wanted to express in my art. that could be done by 1. analyzing the art pieces i enjoyed 2. experimenting with brushes and filters 3. drawing a lot.. so i did👍 and while doing all that, i had to constantly remind myself to draw only the stuff i liked and felt passionate about and to do that only in a way that wasn't feeling too forced - that is to say in a completely amateurish style - and really, it's not like i had to be crazy academical about it. that thought, while being trivial, really helped me not to lose the sight of my Main Goal - to see the anime guys i liked looking and feeling exactly like i wanted them to :D and a couple of other things😉👍

the famous "drop the lineart" advice worked really good for me, and i feel like the real progress began only after indeed dropping it and focusing more on the painting process & i found it helpful just going with the flow when it came to choosing colors during painting and not shying away from throwing million filter masks on top of the final drawing - really, the filter masks are really fun (gradient masks, color balance tool, various layer modes, stuff like that), and the crazy colors really help to achieve the dreamlike look i'm aiming for..

so i guess my algorithm for "evolving" is extremely simple - 1. draw the suff you really feel strongly about while freely experimenting with the style 2. analyze the results 3. repeat with new knowledge

the more you draw the more attentive you get to the surrounding world (or at least how it looks like), and that gets you more and more things to artistically explore.. and so the process goes on🐣

thanks for the question! :D

[jojo-schmo]

How did you come up with roleswap Elfilis' design? It's really cool!

Hi! Thank you so much! :D I'd love to share my thought process! Gather round the armchair by the fireplace, friends! It's story time!

I've said before that the Forgotten Land Roleswap started off as a doodle that swapped Dedede and Bandana Dee's roles as Player 2 and the Brainwashed Beast. But when I realized how fun that one little change was, how about EVEN MORE changes? That's how my one-time doodle turned into the full AU story. I swapped Meta Knight and Kirby, Clawroline and Leongar, and Sillydillo and Gorimondo- and because the story is so Waddle-Dee centric, I promoted Dedede to "Player 1" since the stakes would be higher for him as their King.

So now I had a story that had a lot of opposite traits to canon and I wanted to explore that further! When it came to the matter of Elfilin, I thought he would probably behave too similarly towards Dedede and Meta as he did to Kirby and Bandee. He'd be friendly and trusting, communicative, optimistic, knowledgeable, and cooperative. So how about providing them a travel companion who is defensive, has trouble communicating, a little wild, uninformed about themselves and the world around them, and has a bit of a temper?

But working with all these opposite traits didn't feel in-character for Elfilin anymore. So my natural next step was to swap Elfilin with Elfilis and make a new version of the Forgotten Land's lost little pup!

Enough yapping about the context behind my decisions, tho. How'd I come up with Roleswap Elfilis' design?

I see you out there, Fecto Forgo fans. Maybe somebody out there's thought, "Roleswap Elfilis does not look like them! Why not? That's what the other 50% of the Ultimate Life Form looks like! I demand justice for the angry glowing rat fetus!"

Maybe nobody has ever thought this. But I wonder sometimes lol

Your feelings are valid, friends. Please lemme explain my reasonings.

This fella, to me, is the abandoned wet specimen left to float in a jar for who-knows-how-long after a forcible physical and mental separation via spatial teleportation shenanigans. And I think part of their appearance is due to their role as the trapped and forgotten half.

The role of the half that got away fully formed his own body and inherited some traits from the complete being-

For Elfilin in canon, he got ears that are proportionally huge compared to the rest of his body, blue eyes that sparkle with the light of a thousand destroyed planets, a tiny bit of pink fur for his adorable blushies, and a really long fluffy tail. Maybe becoming a being free of chaos gave him those sweet eyes like Kirby and the Waddle Dees have.

My reasoning is that whichever half ends up escaping the Lab and fully forming their own body, they would carry the major physical traits the other wouldn't inherit.

Anyway, that left Elfilis with the horns, colorful and expressive eyes, whiskers, beige chest fluff, opposable thumbs, and pink tummy fur.

Elfilin gets the long tail in the bodily divorce so Elfilis has a short stubby little cotton tail like a bunny. Like if he ended up with just the very tip of the Ultimate Life Form's tail.

Behold this diagram above I came up with two years ago! Disclaimer: the canon Elfilin is the one in the chart. And I draw him a little differently these days lol. I ain't showing anyone how he ended up in the Roleswap yet tho!!!! >:0

But Roleswap Elfilis is more than just "baby version of the Ultimate Life Form..."

All the differences in the Forgotten Land Roleswap from canon stem from one event in the timeline. One change that I added to the events that were already supposed to take place. It's why the Ultimate Life Form split differently. Why the Beasts have different roles and aesthetics. Even why the portal took Bandana Dee and Kirby before Meta Knight and King Dedede.

How did that saying go again? The flap of wings somewhere can influence a bunch of huge changes somewhere else down the line...? What was the name of that theory again....? Hmm. Not important, I guess.

Anyway, the end!! You sly dog, you got me monologuing!!1! /lighthearted

[copperbadge]

Out of curiosity - you mentioned stuff about Uptown before, but for someone interested in moving to Chicago but also sort of openly queer and not white, are there areas or neighbourhoods that might be better or worse? I've asked friends and they've mentioned Andersonville but that's about all we know of.

I suspect I'm probably not the ideal person to answer this question -- I'm adjacent to the queer community in Chicago but not embedded in it, and it can be pretty variable by age as well, in terms of where people choose to live. Andersonville has traditionally been the lesbian neighborhood, as I understand it, and Halsted/Boys Town is the widely acknowledged gayborhood, but I'm pretty sure there are other queer enclaves that I'm not aware of, and I know I have friends who've had issues with various *ism in the historically gay neighborhoods, which are located on the historically very white north side of the city.

I'm also white, and I've only ever lived on the north side or in the south loop, so I really am very uninformed about geographical racism in Chicago. What I've seen personally hasn't generally been, like, location-based (ie, I've encountered racists as have my friends of color, but it hasn't been because of the neighborhood we were in). I really don't think I can advise you on this, much as I would like to be able to help.

All that said, I'm sure I have queer readers and readers of color and folks like you who are both, so readers, please feel free to advise; remember to do so in comments or reblogs, as I don't repost asks sent in response to other asks. That said, if you don't feel comfortable using your own username when discussing these things but have important information to share, I will accept anonymous asks about this post and I'll reblog in a week or two with any Anon responses I get.

[notimetoparty]

ohh. i'm very interested in understanding what started this! tell me everything i wanna know the backstory leading up to this please!

When it comes to the backstory there is a general idea of how this all started

But for the uninformed, the lore of Regretevator points to Pest and whatever species he is being the result of a plague that spread in Pest and Poob's shared home dimension. The government of this world is trying to exterminate the plague by any means, which almost definitely extends to hunting down "plagued children" such as the grubs. Pest has been on the run from certain death most of his life!

However due to accidental circumstances involving Pest snapping at Poob and biting him (see faq), Pest has ended up with some hybrid children he now needs to take care of. Of course, their lives are in certain danger the moment they are discovered. Shenanigans shall ensue shortly.

As for where the concept for this au itself came from, it mostly just originated from us thinking about how cute little baby pest grubs would be. And also because we REALLY love angst. We're evil. - Zinc

[valyrfia]

https://www.tumblr.com/valyrfia/760349653190524928/great-news-is-that-i-located-my-tarot-cards-and?source=share

sorry please decode this for me, the uninformed

Here's a good website if you want to read up on card meanings. But essentially I interpreted the Chariot as the McLaren rocketship on one side, the Magician as Max Verstappen generational talent on the other side and the Wheel of Fortune in the middle still showing it all up in the air.

As for Nine of Swords (Lando's WDC chances pull),

and the Tower Reversed (Max's WDC chances pull),

Make of all this what you will.

[concerningwolves]

Book piracy survey

Have you ever pirated a book? I want to hear from you! Never pirated a book in your life? I want to hear from you, too!

Book piracy is a real hot potato of a topic right now, what with the IA Open Library appeal, and there are A Lot of opinions flying around on all sides, some of which are informed, some are uninformed, and some raise very interesting and oft-overlooked points. A lot of the conversation I see happening comes from a very USA/UK-centric perspective too, and I'd like to get a wider range of input, as well as trying to better understand the culture (and cultural influences on) book piracy.

Here's the survey:

Provisional deadline to complete the survey is 5th of April 2023 (depends on responses; I might extend)

The survey takes about 5–15 minutes to complete, depending on how many questions you choose to answer and whether or not you go into greater detail. Only the first section has required questions; the rest is all optional.

As for what I'm going to do with the survey results, I'm either going to present the data in a blog post, or write a full article-style post on the topic (again, depends on the volume of responses, and also my own time and energy).

Thank you in advance to everyone who contributes, be that by filling in the survey or by reblogging this post / otherwise sharing the survey. If you have any questions, or if something is unclear, please let me know.

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Do you have any advice for talking to people who aren't well-informed about what is going on in Gaza? One of my really close friends for over 10 years now has really conservative parents and she just :// she just kind of believes a lot of the conservative stuff they say and she hears others around her say. After the attacks of Oct. 7th, I think I remember her saying that the Bible says we should always stand with Israel which is just so :((

I want to inform her but I'm unsure of how to, and if it would even work. I'm scared of her response because I really love her and we've been so close for so long but I don't feel comfortable with her being so uninformed and I'm scared of her response. Do you have any advice and even pray for me to be given wisdom on how to handle this with care and love? Thank you ^^

Hey there! Thank you for your courage in even wanting to start a hard conversation with a friend about this vital topic. I'm going to offer some ideas, but ultimately you know this friend better than I could, so if something I say doesn't seem like it'll work with your situation, adapt or discard it.

I also invite others to add on ideas or encouragement. If you know of resources that are helpful for talking about Palestine with folks who are steeped in pro-Israel propaganda, please share!

___

Before delving into this topic with her, start by asking yourself what you're hoping she'll unlearn and relearn. What's a reasonable goal to move her towards?

Chances are, she's not going to move from unquestioning support of Israel to "Decolonize Palestine" in a day!

Moving her towards a simple agreement that at least some of the things Israel does cannot be supported is a good first step, and even that may take time and patience.

Prepare yourself to be happy about even the smallest baby steps in opening her perspective. "Ceasefire now!" may be the bare minimum in what is ultimately needed for true justice for Palestine, but it is an important step. If you can make progress towards her agreeing with a simple ceasefire, that's worth celebrating.

You'll also want to think in advance about where you're hoping her changed perspective will take her. Do you see her on the front lines of protests and marches? Or will you be satisfied if she makes some changes in where she spends her money (boycotting Starbucks, McDonalds, etc.), doesn't shut down pro-Palestine comments, etc.?

Again, being realistic and celebrating even small changes is helpful to keep from frustrating yourself or her!

So...how do you start a conversation that leads to that?

Wait for a time when you both are fairly relaxed, and have enough time that conversation won't be rushed.

Prepare yourself to hear some resistance and possibly even some really crappy things regurgitated when you first broach the subject. Do your best to remain calm, and not to jump straight into correcting every little thing she says — I know how hard that can be, but if you have hope that she'll be open to changing perspective, you want to establish yourself as a space where she feels safe enough to unpack the bullshit without being shut down at every turn.

For instance, in the scenario where she said "the Bible says we should always stand with Israel," responding immediately with "no it doesn't!!" would shut down conversation.

Instead, you might start with open-ended questions the two of you can explore together: "I wonder what the Bible means when it talks about Israel. Would the biblical authors recognize today's Israel as being the Israel they were talking about? / Is the Israel of today the same as the Israel of the Bible?" "What does it mean to you to 'stand with Israel'?" "Does that have to require sending them extreme military weapons?"

As you ask questions together, focus on finding common ground with her:

Does your friend agree that innocent people should be kept as safe as possible in military conflicts?

Does she agree that people of different faiths and cultures should be able to coexist?

I appreciate this post's advice on utilizing instead of challenging someone's deeply held values to guide them out from their rightwing radicalized views.

If your friend seems unwilling to talk about this...

It's okay to table the conversation if things start to get heated or she's shutting down. Let he know this topic is deeply meaningful to you and that's why you want to talk about it with her, as a friend who means a lot to you as well.

If there have been times in the past where she's realized what her family says about a topic has been anywhere from somewhat misinformed to utter bullshit, you might be able to remind her of that past time.

Do your best to make it clear that you are not judging her for what she currently believes — we can't help what we're raised in! You're just hopeful that, like in those past situations with other topics, the two of you can talk things out.

Did realizing that she didn't have all the information on a topic help in the past? Maybe remind her of that too, and invite her to team up together in finding the missing information on this topic as well — which leads me to...

Come with resources.

For exploring those open-ending questions I brought up before, it'll help for you to be pretty well informed in advance both about current events and recent history, and about how Christian theology's been used to advance Israel's agenda.

...Or, if you think your friend would prefer to learn along the way with you, it'll be good for you to at least know of resources the two of you can look at together!

You don't have to have all the answers; you can tell her, "I don't know enough either yet. I'd love to learn together with you." Framing it as something mutual, rather than you lecturing her or assigning her homework or judging her current ignorance, might cultivate that space for mutual growth that will benefit you both!

So here are some resources I recommend:

For questions about theology, including disconnecting biblical Israel from modern Israel, I highly recommend Decolonizing Palestine: The Land, the People, the Bible (2023) by Christian Palestinian theologian Mitri Raheb. If you don't have time for a whole book, I summarized the thing in an article that takes about 30 minutes to read. .

Another, less academic / more storytelling-formatted book that pulls in perspectives from Jews and Muslims, Palestinians and non-Palestinians, queer folk and more, that I find super valuable in summing up a lot of the fraught history and unpacking propaganda around Israel that so many of us have been taught to take as given, is A Land with a People: Palestinians and Jews Confront Zionism. .

Then there's keeping up with news using media outlets that don't sugarcoat Israel's violence. My personal favorite to listen to daily is Democracy Now!, which you can read/watch online or listen to as a podcast. A whole hour of news every day may be more than your friend can keep up with, however, so... .

...a briefer news option is @ So.informed on Instagram. Their posts sum up the big sweeping picture of what's going on, and help put it in context with accessible language. If your friend has Instagram, this could be a great source for her to start getting another perspective on what's going on. .

Similarly, @ letstalkpalestine is another Instagram account that explores history and current events in a succinct, accessible way.

One last thought: be ready to offer comfort.

It's hard to realize you've been misinformed about something important — especially when it's people close to you who've taught you what you thought was right. It takes a ton of courage and humility to realize where you need to change.

Your friend might become emotional about all this; that might look like grief, or rage, or even dissociating, feeling numb. Be ready to offer comfort, to remind her that what she thought was not her fault — that we're all steeped in things we have to work to unlearn, and you're proud of her for being open to learning.

And again I'll mention that if things start getting intense, it's okay to take a break! You don't want either of you burning out halfway through. You can take this process one small step per day, or even per week.

This struggle for liberation and justice is a long one — it's been decades unfolding, and it'll take a long while more. It's urgent, yes, but at the same time, rushing your friend won't aid the effort. Patience is much more likely to bear fruit that lasts.

___

I hope this helps somewhat! I'll be holding you and your friend in my prayers.

May the Spirit of Justice guide your words and actions; may She guard you from frustration; may she open your friend to hearing you out and entering into conversation with you. <3

[light-lanterne]

whatever you do, please do not imagine fourteen-year-old will byers being left alone in his house in lenora for a day or perhaps just a few hours. maybe his mom and el are out buying stuff while jonathan hangs out with argyle, maybe he's a little sick and was forced to stay home on his own.

whatever it is, he's alone for a bit, he's done all his homework, there's nothing on tv to distract himself with, and he's not in the mood for painting at the moment.

so, bored as he is, he decides to look around in the many tomes of the encyclopaedia britannica that now clutter their house and, taking advantage of his solitude, he decides to read up on a term that scares him as much as it intrigues him because he wants to know what other people think of, well, him. he wants to know if it's just hawkins who are so hateful and prejudiced against people like him, or if it really is the whole world who see him like a mistake.

so, whatever you do, please don't imagine will looking up homosexuality, reading line after line of clever-sounding text that describes his inclinations as nothing but sexual and impure, a phase he should get over with soon lest he becomes target of social persecution, and which explains all the many theories of why he's like that and the measures that should've been taken to "fix him".

whatever you do, please don't imagine will reading the next excerpt and realising that his time for being "fixed" has passed, that his father's complaints were not exclusive to him, that most people share that opinion, and that the fact that so many people could see it must mean that he really fits all the mentioned stereotypes and therefore must also fit everything else the book was saying about "homosexuals" like him.

(hi. i got curious and consulted my 1994 version of the encyclopaedia britannica to see what will would've read on certain subjects (it's the same edition as the 1986 one). i can post the whole section on homosexuality if someone wants it, but it's incredibly uninformed and prejudiced and honestly quite icky (borderline triggering) to read so i wouldn't advise anyone checks it >.< and that's not even including the part on conversion therapy x.x)

[wanderinginksplot]

PSA: Mammograms are not as bad as you think

I had a few concerning symptoms a while ago and ended up getting a mammogram to check them out. My mother had emphasized over and over throughout my childhood how badly mammograms sucked, so I was nervous. Like, trembling in the waiting area nervous.

Since then, I've spoken with friends who are my age (early 30s), and they all said they were also terrified of getting a mammogram when the time came. My experience may not be universal, but I thought I would share how mine went in case it encourages someone else to get important care or helps them feel less nervous.

This is a mammogram machine:

The mammogram tech lowers the bottom table-ish surface (plate) to chest height, then helps you place one breast on the surface. The top plate lowers until it compresses your breast. It stays there for a moment while the tech takes images of the breast. You may be asked to hold your breath at certain moments so they can get a clear image.

(I want to say here that the compression is firm, but for me, it did not hurt, or pinch, or sting, or any of the unpleasant adjectives I've heard older people use. A lot of that probably depends on how sensitive your breasts are, but the mammogram tech reminded me to tell her if something was too uncomfortable.)

The top plate lifts, then they tilt the plates into a diagonal angle. The top plate lowers again, this time compressing your breast at an angle. More pictures.

The same thing happens with your other breast. That was literally it.

Like I said, this was one mammogram experience and it was the only one I've ever had. I'd be interested to hear how they go for other people, but frankly, I'd go through a lot worse not to die of breast cancer like so many others in my family have. This wasn't a fun or entirely pleasant experience, but not the horrible, painful, aching mess I had been led to believe it would be.

Finally, if you're someone who has had mammograms (especially if you are speaking around younger people, including your kids), please be mindful of how you talk about the experience. I cannot emphasize enough how pants-shittingly terrified my friends and I all were because we had heard the horror stories from our parents. You don't want to be the reason someone puts off important preventative care.

Anyway, feel free to share this if you found it helpful! I just want to help people not go into a mammogram as blindly uninformed as I was.

[spacevixenmusic]

Unfairly Maligned Games, Vol. 3

Games I loved that got low scores, review bombed, or have some other weird negative stigma attached to them that I think is unfairly earned.

NOTE: I don't believe in giving games a number score or a letter grade. Maybe I'm just bad at criticism or very easy to please, whatever.

Indivisible [2019]

Mostly only known as the "from the makers of Skullgirls" game, Indivisible is another prime example of a game that was crowdfunded as one thing but turned into another, and gets a bad rap for its association with the ever-present controversiality of Skullgirls' creators. That said, I still think - as always - that it's crucial to view a game for what it is, not what it isn't. And what it IS is an extremely engaging mish-mash of genres and endearing characters, oozing with style and appeal, that fills a very particular void left behind by some of the most classic RPGs of a bygone era.

At its core, Indivisible is a 2D Metroidvania/RPG hybrid with an unusual battle system that plays similarly to an old PSX game series called Valkyrie Profile. During combat, each character's gauge will fill up, allowing them to take action(s). Your four party members are each assigned to one of the four face buttons on a controller (e.g. A, B, X, Y), and pressing that button will - in real-time - execute an attack on the enemy. Using it in combination the D-Pad allows for several different types of attack. All party members' attacks can overlap simultaneously, allowing you to string together combos to really rack up the damage, or juggle enemies to prevent counterattacks and break their defenses. The Metroidvania and platforming portion comprises the rest of the game, with a heavy focus on using those same action skills to scale massive environments, solve platforming puzzles, and dodge spikes. Typical Metroidvania stuff.

Story-wise, in our modern world of RPGs that is dominated almost exclusively by Japanese and Scandinavian narratives, Indivisible is breath of fresh air that focuses heavily on South and East Asian mythology and themes. Heavy inspiration is taken from the cultures of India, Tibet, Mongolia, and the South Pacific. This is reflected not only in the characters and their various ethnicities, but in the game's approach to spirituality, reincarnation, second chances, and being a teenager hellbent on destroying god. Our main protagonist Ajna is a teenager studying martial arts who isn't quite as in touch with her spirituality as her mentor would like her to be. When war strikes the land and burns her home to the ground, she gets pissed and sets out on a quest for retribution, discovering in the process that she actually does possess certain godlike powers of destruction, and also that she can absorb certain people into her head, which is just a cute way of lampshading having a Party System.

I've seen Reviewers and big Opinion-Havers on the internet criticize the game's writing for having a bull-headed protagonist who boldly rushes into confrontation, unleashing her wanton destruction without first considering the catastrophic consequences for civilians. It's almost like they've forgotten what being a teenager and making poor choices is like. But I say fuck 'em. I say we need MORE stories about uninformed teenagers with immense godlike powers and no sense of nuance making rash decisions and fucking up royally. That alone is crucial to understanding the rest of the game's themes about atonement, reincarnation, and understanding why you believe what you believe in. That's what Indivisible is all about. In many ways, I feel like Ajna shares a common story arc with Korra from the Avatar series, and it's very cool to see how she learns to deal with the damage she's caused and what insight that gives her when facing down the Big Bad.

Of course, what is a good story without characters to flesh it out? The characters in this game are absolutely charming and multifaceted, coming from a wide array of different cultures and personalities, many of which are vastly underrepresented in not only RPGs but video games in general. Personal favorites include, but are not limited to, big booba water mom Thorani (based on a buddhist deity of the same name), Leilani the Hawaiian sharknado (spins around in a cyclone attack using a leiomano, a Hawaiian shark-tooth sword), lesbian pirate mom Baozhai (based on the famous Chinese pirate Ching Shih), and of course, local nihilistic swamp witch Razmi (a loose mishmash of Korean and Persian Zoroastrian shamans). The full cast of characters is enormous (well over 20 playable ones alone), and each one comes with a unique moveset and playstyle that not only keeps gameplay interesting, but matches their personality and the role they play in the story.

But if there's one thing I truly want to focus on when I gush about this game, it's this. Indivisible has one thing over most other games of its genre, something that modern RPGs in particular suffer heavily from a severe lack of, and that's its strong commitment to multiculturalism. Indivisible made a clear decision to not only feature characters from around the globe, but to blend their cultures together in interesting and exciting ways that don't diminish or water them down. Every character is allowed to shine in their own way without diluting what makes them stand out in the first place, which is why you can have a game that features a gunblade-wielding cowboy, a Namibian songstress, an armless Chinese dancer, a Kamen Rider knock-off, and a Mongolian archer who people keep mistaking for Pearl from Steven Universe. This sort of melting-pot cultural stew used to be common in classic anime and 90s RPGs, but kind of fell out of fashion with the rise of gacha waifu games and Elder Scrolls derivatives. Now more than ever, I feel like Indivisible is exactly the sort of injection the gaming world needs to rekindle those flames of pure imagination that the old classic era brought us.

All that said, one of the biggest reasons Indivisible will always have a dark mark next to its name is of course due to the fact that its lead designer (the studio head) was involved in a sexual harassment case that resulted in everyone on the team either quitting or being laid off, and the rights to the work and characters getting lost in the shuffle. Additionally, the game was still finished and released as intended, but did not feature any of the guest star characters that were promised during crowdfunding, most of whom were indie darlings of the time (Shovel Knight, Hyper Light Drifter, and Super Time Force to name a few). Naturally, this has left a sour taste in many folks' mouths, so it is somewhat understandable why the game would have a negative stigma attached. There are also a few bizarre and possibly off-putting cameos hidden among the NPCs (a few outdated meme references and Zone-tan, of all people), but these are entirely skippable and serve only as background extras.

Sour grapes aside though, I wholeheartedly recommend Indivisible for anyone looking for a fresh take on action RPGs. The neat hybridization of Metroidvania and real-time RPG with fighting game mechanics gives it a very unique identity, and if the compelling spirituality of the story doesn't grab you, the charm of the characters absolutely will. It certainly took me for a ride. My only word of caution is to follow the game's own suggestion and get good at Blocking in combat as early as you can!

[i-guess-im-into-this-now]

Brave Bang Bravern

Friends.

I've finished watching Bravern and I have some thoughts and questions.

First of all, I love parody. In fact, I love commentary and analysis of stories in many forms, but parody is fun. Mecha anime is very far outside my wheelhouse so I'm coming into this show purely as someone who enjoys unhinged stories.

Also, I love gay shit.

If it's gay + 🍌🍌🍌 now we are where I like to be. I was told Bravern is both.

And it is.

I should preface any of my analysis of queer content with the fact that I am not well educated in queer or gender studies and am in fact just some person on the internet with uninformed opinions. I often struggle to understand and explain how I think and feel about media. So please feel free to share other analysis with me, I love to learn.

Okay.

There may be spoilers ahead.

Bravern is gay. The show, the robot, Smith and Isami. It's gay. I watched it on Crunchyroll and to my bafflement, some people in the comments disagree. An argument can be made that the homosexuality in the show is overt at times, but even if you take the stance that it's subtext or metaphor, it's still prevalent.

Some of that has to do with the fact that Bravern is a parody of Mecha anime. Pilots riding inside a combat robot becomes a metaphor for sex. And in Bravern that comparison is pushed about as far as it can go without becoming tiresome. I'm on the fence about whether this joke about the homoeroticism of it is made with fun wink to the gay community or whether it is at their expense. I'd love some other opinions on this.

Also going to take a moment to insert that I'm also not Japanese so I don't have a perspective that is informed about how culture may play into this topic.

Overall Bravern is really fun. It pokes fun at ideas like the power of friendship and the roll of bravery in anime.

The robot is called Bravern and is an amalgamation of a robot of lust and the spirit of a fallen solider, Smith. Smith has an interesting relationship with Isami. Smith is inspired by Isami's bravery and envious that he is able to "ride" Bravern. They are also friends who have complicated feelings towards one another. Smith's lifelong dream was to become a hero and he tries repeatedly to merge with one of the sentient robots so he can be like Isami and Bravern, but fails. Eventually he dies, bravely I might add, and is able to fuse with a dead robot to become Bravern and travel back in time. Back in the past as Bravern he was able to have Isami ride in him and feels a sense of deep fulfillment. The plot is convoluted which is probably also parody, but plot is also not the point.

Bravery comes up constantly in this show. It's the name of the robot. It's Smith's motivation. It's Isami's character arc. It's a mystical power that can empower Bravern/Isami (by the end I'm not sure what the difference is between the two) to evolve into his most powerful form and defeat his opponent. The roll of Bravery in this show is deliberately over-the-top.

Another theme that is poked fun of it the power of friendship. The bromance between Smith and Isami is made homoerotic, and the friendships of everyone else are used as way to empower Isami/Bravern, sometimes psychologicaly, other times quite literally as a magical power source.

There are plenty of laugh out loud moments and a lot of action, which make it fun to watch even if you just want to enjoy it casually without trying to analyze it. The deadpan looks of the people who witness Braven and Isami's absurdity are hilarious. Also, some of the one liners are just 💋🤌

I'm sure I'm missing some key themes because I haven't even mentioned Lulu or Superbia. But that's my two cents for this show. I would love to hear someone else's take on it.

[sawyerconfort]

hello!! I was wondering if u could do a Madison Montgomery x fem!reader with prompts 45 and 47? Basically Madison is jealous that reader has been spending a lot of time with Zoe and it really hurts Madison because she’s never been in a secure relationship before.

MADISON!!!!!

Well, let's do it then!

By the way, this is a good example of a request to say that it's okay if the dialogue you requested for has already been released here. I don't mind writing repeated plots, I find it even more fun to show the divergences from one character to another.

So feel free to ask.

You can check out my list of prompts here!

Enjoy!

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45. "who's jealous?" 47. you're so jealous." | madison montgomery x reader

Madison was about to collapse. You were much more aware of the words and beauty of the new girl, Zoe Benson, than you were of her. Basically, Madison knew she had a crush on you the first time she was at the Academy, but it's not like she could handle that information properly.

It wasn't like her, being in love with someone for real, cultivating feelings and projecting her ideals for the future. She was always a bad girl, a preppy, lonely girl who didn't need anyone. Then you just showed up, both feet in the door, and ended it all.

And now, all you had eyes for was Zoe Benson.

She hadn't expected to have to bring this up so soon with anyone, not even Cordelia, who was the headmistress and had too kind a heart to understand her girls. But when you walked into the room you shared with a grin from ear to ear, Madison let out a huff of air.

"What is it?" you asked, frowning. "What bug bit you this time?"

"It's nothing," she assured, in a deep voice. "And you, what are you doing here at this hour? I thought you were still holed up in the room with Zoe."

You looked at her and cocked your head to the side in confusion.

"Does that bother you?"

"No. Why should I care? It's your life, isn't it? Why should I care about something you do when I have nothing to do with it? What nonsense!"

You had to contain your crooked smile.

"Zoe's with Kyle," you explained. "They're going to be together all night now and I don't feel like hearing moaning across the room."

Madison nodded, lifting her small mirror to apply red lipstick to her lips, clearly ignoring you. You were still smiling, looking at her in disbelief, when it dawned on you and things became clear.

"Damn, you're so jealous…", you told her, laughing. "Damn it, Madison, I can't believe it! Are you jealous of me?"

"Who's jealous?", she asked, in the most uninformed tone possible, showing off her good acting. Or almost good. "Are you crazy, (Y\N)?"

You shrugged. "I'm pretty sure not. You're jealous of me because I'm spending more time with Zoe than you and apparently there's something about it that makes you cross, isn't it?"

Madison turned to you, lipstick halfway across her mouth, paler than if she'd powdered her face.

"You're totally out of your mind," she rolled her eyes.

"No gaslighting, please…", you laughed and sat down behind her, leaning your back against her back so as not to disturb her. "You can admit that you're jealous of me, okay? It doesn't make you any less strong, in fact, it makes you even cuter, if that's possible. And what's more, you know we're best friends and that, if there's anything else going on between us, I would never leave you for someone else, Madison. I've told you that many times, haven't I?"

She looked shocked.

"That's it. You're scared to admit that you love me and that you felt jealous because there was never someone who took it easy, or there was someone who let you be free to be and do whatever you want. That's it."

Madison was still looking at you, now from the corner, from the distance you were, when you simply turned and gave her a peck on the lips, catching her by surprise.

"That's enough being a queen bee with me, okay? It doesn't work anymore," you whispered as you walked away. "And you know what? You're so much prettier than Zoe Benson. Does that make you happier?"

Madison saw you get out of bed and saw you leave the room, but she was so caught up in her thoughts that she just didn't even notice you were away and said, out loud:

"You mean you have feelings for me too?"

You chuckled down the hall and used your powers to conjure a pen and paper. You wrote: "Why? Do you have feelings for me?" and threw it to the door, simply. "Cute!" she heard you yell, even louder, as you walked out of the hallway, and she rolled her eyes.

This was sure to be a topic for weeks to come...

[limbuscompanysituations]

its missing samjo hour, competitive colleagues reader and samjo but in good fun. eating at a chill bbq restaurant and sharing their accomplishments together (or more like boasting and bragging), pretty please!

Under the cut for length!

"I managed to make the output of our production increase by 0,3% this week~ what about you, Samjo?" They proudly announce.

Samjo pretends he's not impressed, casually shoving another lollipop into his mouth while they wait for the food to be served.

"Only 0,3%? That's marginally any improvement. Besides, I helped our boss develop a serum that is more efficient for less the cost. I'd say your 'achievement' is actually a subproduct of mine." Samjo scoffs.

They glare at him for a brief moment, but then smile brightly once again.

"Of course, it takes a big brain to find where to cut costs. But it takes a bigger brain to find where the surplus of resources would be better used." They tap their temple twice.

Samjo rolls his eyes.

"All that talk and all you did was increase productivity by less than one percent."

"Now listen here, mister-"

A waiter cuts their chatter by serving their table. It's all on company's dime, so they can splurge a little. Their department once again managed to meet their goals and go beyond. All their coworkers are there, and their loud chatter fills the restaurant with chaotic noise.

These two, however, are much happier with singling each other out. They are completely focused on the argument at hand. They might as well be alone in the middle of the crowd.

"I'm not saying you're an asshole," Samjo's colleague says between munching their food, "Because HR said that's a heavy word to use with a colleague. I'm just saying you've got a serious case of a stick up your ass."

"And I'm saying you're talking a lot for somebody who did so little." Samjo replied in the same calm voice tone, "Maybe your head is so far up your ass that-"

"Now-now, children..." Dongrang interrupts them with his joyful laughter, "Please, behave."

They glare at him, then at each other. With a huff, they go back to quietly chewing their food and sipping their drinks. For an uninformed outsider, they might look like enemies, but for them that's all done in good fun. Besides, they will probably pick the argument back up again once their boss isn't looking.

[thdramas2]

Not victim blaming or anything but people on TH need to understand: being a victim does not give you the rights to harass/be a dick or threaten other people. It also does not give you the rights to talk over or dismiss other people esp other victims because they do not share the exact same view. Yes you are a victim but getting angry at the wrong people and attacking them over different coping methods or opinions makes you look bad. Harassing and making a uninformative and clearly snarky forum PSA is also not the way too go for differing opinions or stuff you hate. (No need to call anyone a bitch or other names). If you do not like it BUT it is also not against site rules. Then block and ignore. No need for a PSA. Also please have actual proof for certain accussations like is this person really a nazi NOT just "this person's character looks vaguely Nazi like, it has an armband and the unform is kinda weird looking. So must be a nazi because look 1 OC with a uniform that i presume is nazi" (becaualse arm bands are not Nazi exclusive).

yea

plus adding onto the bottom thing, club leaders in japanese high schools (at least from my knowledge) wear arm bands to signify they are the leader of that club

[themuppetarchives]

A note, since some of you seem to be taking it personally that I am being selective in which asks I respond to:

I have very few boundaries and, even if I should find something personally distasteful, will still share or post it if I feel it presents a relevant viewpoint or possibility for discussion.

That being said, there are some things that I consider off limits, and for my own ethical and moral reasons will not be engaging with. Examples of these include (but are not necessarily limited to):

1. Making a joke out of someone's genuine trauma, regardless of how "silly" or unserious you may think it is. I have known people who are triggered into complete meltdown by the smell of bug spray, or a certain children's cartoon character. We cannot pick and choose the things that hurt us and the associations our minds make when we experience trauma. You don't have to "understand" why something upsets someone, but it feels like common decency to respect their experiences.

2. Wild speculation as to someone's health, including attempting to diagnose them based on very limited information. I feel this is irresponsible, especially if it comes across as trying to influence a vulnerable person into aligning themselves with a diagnosis or disorder that may ultimately cause them more harm. Someone's health, mental and physical, should be a discussion between that individual and their healthcare provider, not a topic of debate for uninformed strangers online largely basing their conclusions off of unfounded pop science and blatant misinformation. That is not the purpose of this blog nor will it ever be.

3. Invalidating, mocking, or otherwise being disrespectful about someone's relationship with their gender identity and sexuality. I'm not sure at what point this became an ok thing to do within the queer community but I will be having none of it here. It isn't hard to respect people telling you who they are and how they wish to be treated. This should, frankly, go without saying. You don't get to ignore someone's identity because you feel they aren't performing up to your standards.

I hope that clears some things up. I am not obligated by anything or in anyway to entertain things that cross boundaries. Please, and I say this with all the sincerity in my heart, get a new hobby and leave me alone.