#THIS IS SOME FINE ASS META RIGHT HERE

[atomicsheepscientist]

Dp x Dc fic idea that wouldn't let me sleep:

"No, you don't understand! I need my powers. I'll die without them!" Danny pleaded with the officer in front of him.

"Sure, kid, and I need a burger. You'll be just fine without your flight or superstrength or whatever. Look, I see kids like you all the time nowadays. You think just because you have a few powers, you can become some kind of hero. You run away from home, cause trouble in the name of 'justice' or whatever. Then reality hits. You start stealing. What's a few stolen bucks or candy bars in the name of the greater good, right? It's a downward spiral from there. Seems you were pretty far down the spiral. Beating up government agents? Kid, there is no way in hell I'm letting you out of here without the meta power suppressant collar. You're lucky Mr. Wayne was so generous and decided to foster you until we find your parents. I would've sent your troublesome ass back to juvie."

I was thinking this was a bad timeline where the Fenton parents died and Danny ran away. The power suppressing collar does work on him somehow, and cuts him off from his ghost half, which stops the ectoplasm that was keeping him alive since the accident.

I pictured Bruce as the foster parent that decided to help the troubled teen, but it could be anyone. Imagine if Lex Luthor decided he wanted to "help" (read: manipulate the young meta into doing his bidding) Danny instead. Extra angst.

[tamelee]

pls bottom naruto is disgusting stop drawing this ooc cringe

Eh? And it hadn't even been a full day.

Anyway, do you know what this means?:

It means… that I don’t give a damn about your whiny gibberish about this top/bottom bullshit, because it sounds incredibly silly. (And wrong because I draw both?)

It’s fine to have a preference, good for you (I have one too!), but if all you care about between a character-dynamic is the single notion which establishes a rule within a fandom that demands only this particular dick in only that particular booty and nothing else, while dividing yourselves between "us and them" while seeing the people who like the same exact characters as your "enemy" and treating them as such— well, 

I have nothing to say to you, I couldn’t care less what you think about me and I don’t know you. 

But for the sake of other creators who are often a target also, some which I know quit because of this… there is a little something I'd like to say about these servers:

You don’t think I (we) know what is said in there and by who? 👀 That your rules of "what is said on here stays here" with a bunch of people online that you don't know, is actually respected? Why do you think I never join any. And bet your ass that I'm not the only one. This constant fighting between NS/SN is such an embarrassment for this fandom, seriously. I hope you realize that.

Because, instead of encouraging a (new) creator to share something about the characters you claim to love (for fucking free) you go off chastise them for not “doing it right”/“your way”, pretending it's some unspoken commission no one knew of or was paid for. Instead of being happy there’s still so much creative contribution for characters from a story that ended years ago, you go complain under fanfics and dishearten writers, often grinning away with your little server-“friends” and make fun of work someone poured their heart in. Or, you huff, puff and breathe fire as you make plans to cancel them out of pure bitterness, to the point (especially new) creators are too scared and dispirited to ever share anything again. It's easy to do anonymously, aye? And if you think that doesn’t affect their lives and sends them right back into a crestfallen pit of dark hell because it prevents them to do/share the single thing in life that gave them a bit of joy, then...

Congratulations; you’re a heartless bastard.

And you, as a fan, did yourself dirty too.

Do you know how many people don’t want to share anything at all for this fandom because you people leave comments, tags, asks, tweets constantly complaining about an incorrect portrayal of the (in your opinion) only acceptable dynamic, like a bunch a brats? Do you? Because I’ve talked to quite a few of these discouraged creators, they have to hope for the best and pray they’re spared from your scrutiny. I receive it from both sides every now and then.

Again, congratulations: you’re the reason there’s less chance of you getting what you want in the first place. 

Do you... really not realize?

The more you squabble with "your enemy" (lol) the more it affects the "us" you care about while the rest of us just bask in the glory that is SNS/NSN and couldn't care less about what you think/have to say. So, keep everyone else out of it and go mope elsewhere.

But, between you and me? There are better ways to share what you think is right. Make something yourself, because what's stopping you?

You’re perfectly capable, it doesn’t have to be art or a fic, maybe there’s just something in the story that you really enjoyed— write about it. Make a meta. Post the panel, show the moment that determined your undying love for this single dynamic and why— whatever.  Because, wouldn't it be nice having someone encourage you to create something you like? 😬 Especially because you and your server feel so strongly about it? And then you don't have to depend on others either?

Wouldn't it be nice?

Well?

Hm!?

Try it, ffs.

[cyanide-latte]

So after Book 6 left me completely and utterly devastated and a crying wreck in my bedroom, I've finally started Book 7 of Twisted Wonderland and I figured I'd just do a basic drop of my thoughts so far. I'm keeping them under a "read more" cut and I'll also tag this post as having spoilers (even though it's not really the more recent spoilers) just to be safe and considerate.

Beyond that though, my thoughts aren't going to have a filter so please take this with a grain of salt. (I'll mention at the end where I've stopped for now in the plot, so please don't spoil past that point for me if you reply to or reblog this post. I really really don't want spoilers.)

Got it? Good. Here we go.

- Exasperation and loathing, thy form is Michael Mouse, I viciously beseech thee to get out of my house

- we need more of the freshmen just interacting with one another in general

- Rook wanting to take an internship in archeology make so much sense for him. "I'm not a patient person but this will challenge that" BRO, SAME.

- Idia just interning at Google basically

- Lilia like "btw I need to drop out of school, gonna throw a party later before I leave, kthnxbai"

- all of the characters doing impersonations in this book is a DELIGHT

- "I declare the mopefest official over!" Spoken like a man who bottles his stronger emotions up out of fear of having to face them, Ace

- Fucking love the meta commentary

- Idia "I'm not going to some farewell party for a junior I barely know because I need to actually mourn losing contact with an internet friend who ghosted me and I'm despairing the possibility I could ever possibly make a friend again" Shroud is too fucking real, he's relatable honestly

Malleus: here's my lil sob story abt the time I threw a tantrum so bad I almost froze an entire castle of people to death. Lilia made it all better but gave me a stern talking-to I've never forgotten.

Me: why do I feel like you learned nothing.

Also Malleus not long after: because I took your words to heart Lilia I've been looking for a solution to this problem, and Silver and the Ramshackle prefect with their random venting to me gave me the perfect idea, so I'm going to trap THE ENTIRE ISLAND in stasis sleep so NOBODY CAN EVER LEAVE ME AGAIN a good hoard knows to stay put for the dragon who owns it haha you'll all be fine, dw about it, I've got everything under control

Me: so you learned nothing.

- Malleus has no rights, he needs to be sent to the Time-Out Corner

- I also love that that Malmal fight loads up with an infinity symbol because it's like oh lol yeah, infinite-turn battle but then you see Malleus's fucking 300K HP bar and I was instantly like "hmmmm I think you're lying" and then his regen heals for like 60K damage each turn and he casts fire damage immunity on himself and I was like "mmhmm I knew you were lying to me"

- I demanded Mickey get the fuck out of my house so of course naturally the game decides to be cheeky and put me the fuck in his instead

- no but why the fuck is he here. I'm so fucking annoyed

- WE DON'T NEED MICKEY.

- I get it, I get why he's here but he really doesn't need to be. Disney you CAN in fact make a fucking video game without shoehorning the damn mouse into it. The Hidden Mickeys in various backgrounds were fine, we didn't need more than that.

- for the record, I've been pissed off about this since it started happening books ago, but I remain aggravated by Mickey just being shoved into this.

- I love that Silver shows up to bail MC and Grim's collective ass out of danger and then meanwhile you've got Ortho like "I've seen dial-up faster than this shit, what the FUCK bro, I expected better of you, logging this in my database as an Epic Fail."

- but also ORTHO MY CHILD. BE FREE. YOU GOT THIS.

- The Shroud parents are EXACTLY how I imagined. They're everything I wanted from their characters and more. They even SOUND like I hoped they would. Beautiful. 10/10. My intuition about their entire family remains, as ever, on-point.

- I do love everything I've gotten with Silver to this point. I was very baseline neutral on his character until now, but the more I'm seeing of him, the more I appreciate what I am getting.

- Sebek is autistic. I will die on this hill. Even if he represents autistic traits the internet DOESN'T like to woobify for the most part, that boy is autistic. He's autistic as fuck. This book is so far just further proving it.

- I mentioned earlier that Malleus has no rights but I'm saying it again because it's fucking rude as shit he's got epic choral BGM in Sebek's dream. Also creeping on people's dreams and threatening to forcibly make them sleep forever when they defy you because you feel entitled to ownership of your victims? Wow. Hey by the way Malleus, you got a phone call, we got a guy from Ohio on the other line, says his name's Freddy, you're one set of full-body burn scars away from him sueing your scaly ass. Yeah, just thought you'd wanna know.

- Listen I really want to appreciate and like the Malleus I hear everyone among my friends and mutuals say they see him as but no. No. Is he well-written? Well, I'm still early into this, so I'm withholding judgment on that point though I AM hopeful that I'll eventually appreciate how he's written. But do I like him? No. I didn't give a single flying fuck about him to begin with and I still don't. Throw onto it he's being a bitch right now, and that's not helping. If you genuinely like Malleus as a person, that's your prerogative, that's whatever. I'm not entirely sure what you see in him to like as a person but again, your prerogative. If you like him as a character because of how he's written for the role he is in, in the overall story, power to you, I REALLY hope I'll eventually agree with you. But as of right now, just so you're aware if you've read this far, I still don't give a single flying fuck about Malleus and I'm slowly starting to teeter into the direction of actually disliking him as a person.

- Silver: QUICK, TAKE MY HAND!!! Sebek: ew.

- Currently I've stopped on the chapter where Silver has dream-hopped from Sebek's dream with Sebek, Yuu and Grim in tow, into the dream of a mysterious bat-masked figure with a familiar voice who couldn't POSSIBLY be Lilia, not at ALL. So please don't talk to me about anything past that yet. I'll reblog this post with an update when I get further.

[halfusek]

man. batdr archives. what

i hate them

sorry im gonna go full on hater mode here because oh my god? oh my god

i’ve got a sneaking suspicion that this came out now as damage control for the AI thing because 1. it wasn’t included in the game all along like BATIM’s archives were and 2. this tweet

like was it thrown together in such a rush that they forgot a whole ass character?

or it is a joke and was a planned action half a year after the game came out but eh who knows

either way this is not what i’m here to rant about (cuz im sure this is gonna turn to a rant)

it’s about bad writing, bad exposition and bad game design. buckle up!

i see what they mean with the smile being a challenge to create, you can see in countless animations for fansongs how different artists tackled that and for one i think they did that very well

however. why the clothes exactly? is it just a meta reason with no reasoning in-universe whatsoever?

and look i’m not a fan of the ink demon having a voice (though i respect the craft behind it, the voice actor is very talented, it’s just a personal preference) BUT if you made the ink demon talk you should by logical extension either make toon bendy talk as well or explain why the hell he’s talking? i can see it being distracting but there are characters that have squeaky annoying voices in games and they’re fine (and it’s not like toon bendy is around the player for a super long time)

i dunno what logic this whole thing operates on anymore but if joey commissioned the ink machine then it should be his and arch gate got all his shit after he passed away so idk what retrieve is supposed to mean here

but it could just be badly written sentences and the archive is full of those (once again making me think that the thing was done in a rush)

that’s fair i guess

yall did make him look like a generic demon tho

i mean... it could be worse? if the goal was to make him look out of place then it was achieved but idk if it’s actually a good thing

i do like the bit about Wilson influencing how things look under him being in control of the cycle (though they have a very silly definition about what the cycle is but more about that later)

dude. the beast bendy design was already bad in BATIM and they made it even worse in BATDR like what TToTT

its just an angry mountain of muscles, the batim design at least had that leg injury thing going on which made moving with front arms make more sense, this dude right here is just a big inky gorilla (and not in a good way)

playing as the final form in on itself isnt a bad idea, does sound quite fun, personally tho i did not enjoy the very ending on the game

i dunno it just felt weird and all the other characters randomly appearing and the lost ones attacking being so awkward and ink demon acting as if they could kill you... nah man i wasn’t feeling it

okay so lets get this straight

cycle = a series of events that repeat

breaking the cycle would mean doing something different and stopping the cycle from continuing (so what... wilson was doing actually)

saying that making it restart again is what breaking it means is just??? no?

“satisfying face reveal” welp. each to their own XD

i see their purpose theme and thats neat and all but man do i hate how henry in this game is just. there and how some stranger is the person helping him get out of his horrible fate like its sooooooo unsatisfying

yeah she got more personality ill give her that

but she’s not a beacon of hope. she’s a beacon of tearing away the satisfaction of defeating a villain that we as the player worked hard towards

and uh... isn’t getting thrown into a horrible dimension full of monsters that audrey isn’t familiar with and is supposed to be freaked out about a bad moment to introduce a familiar face? like from a writing perspective, because it happens nearly instantly as chapter one starts

shouldn’t audrey be unmotivated then and struggling to figure out the world on her own? the player should also be haunted at this world, like it’s a horror game bestie ! don’t make me comfortable

well glad to hear the confirmation on that batds is happening in pararel to batdr

but his involvement in the main story is honestly such a nothing burger

is he there just so you can put batdr on the “can you pet the dog” site?

oh ok so what you’re basically putting down here is that he’s a boring perfect extremely rich guy, wasn’t even a bad father, completely stripping wilson’s arc of depth, cool, was afraid there would be something of substance powering the backbone of the plot of this game

and saying that both joey and wilson are worse people because theyre cringefail at business XDDDDDDDDDDD

ok here is something that im glad they addressed because ive been wondering about it - how audrey forgot that joey was her dad and how did she end up working at arch gate then

i suppose it implies that there’s something we might still learn/theorize about it, like for example if it was the machine drawing her in or gent wanting to get the machine back and manipulating things into place from behind the scenes

i really wonder how you can enter in and out the ink realm unnaturally but good to mention why he looks like that if he’s supposed to be nathan’s son

you cant just say that a character was important to the story, its not gonna happen from words

how is she important exactly? she just talks and uh.. helps audrey make the drink that makes you fall asleep? man that section of the game was Weird

i do want to like her, she seems nice and there could be interesting things to her backstory but as for the plot she really didn’t do much, sorry, betty

if you wanna say that pushing the plot forward by giving audrey that drink and then alice appearing outta nowhere and kidnapping here is a good big contribution then idk what to tell you... its such a bad way to make the plot progress, it was so confusing because characters were behaving as in forced to do Things to Progress the Plot (especially Audrey drinking that thing at all like seriously girl?? and Alice appearing comically at the last sip like wooooooow are you for real)

ah. so they were attempting a redemption arc

[saying this he didn’t threw aside the large rock. he was right to be holding the large rock]

this sucks man! what did joey help correct exactly? created more ink people to suffer eternally? wow, dude, thanks

also lmao what learned from his mistakes, did you HEAR his dialogue at the end of batim?? (an audrey can be heard right after that scene as well so isnt his whole change of heart supposed to be happening around here + allison has already been added to the squad)

it’s just... it’s just such bullshit man

you can make us like joey as a character but don’t you fucking dare make us like him as a person

bad. just bad

(aaaaaand this is the part that made me realize i wish the archives just. weren’t added! wow! i’m even surprised with myself with how much I Don’t Like them)

WHAT flaws??? hello??? please give it a big thinking and tell me what flaws does Audrey have im shaking and crying

also is her “deep dark past” supposed to just be like bEINg JoEY DRewS DAUghtER OOOoooOOo? lmao. wow so dark wow so deep

i dont know why this story needed a fresh pair of eyes because the story is that audrey is joeys daughter and that wilson is nathan archs son and that bendy is bendy. wow so deep so dark and complicated!!!!!!!11!!111

also whats the point of fresh eyes if you welcome us with familiar faces?

also sorry to break this to you but its not hard to stand out from the kinda cast that is presented to us in this game. sorry i cant decide if i care more about audrey or random employee number 24 with a random problem that i have 0 reason or time to get attached to. i seriously cant decide

suuuure we were so muddled xD oh you got us so good you sneaky little cheeky little quirky little

cant fucking believe we almost had a proper nathan arch jr and a secret one eyed villain that there was so much hype about and theories that they obviously tried to deliever here

its speculative but. knowing that they take inspiration from fan theories - they admitted to it and ex employees said so, i think we would have to be in some serious denial to think that @lucky-dreamfisher​‘s one-eyed bendy theory wasn’t meant to be represented here with wilson’s character

ALSO THIS NARRATIVE. THIS NARRATIVE HAS ZERO- NO, NEGATIVE AMOUNT OF COMPLEXITY

GOD

this story makes so much LESS sense based on what you said! aaaaaaaa we were so close to greatness

what is so wrong with not resetting the cycle then?

not that im a fan of how wilson was approaching things, he very clearly wanted to make himself the ruler of this realm and have power over everyone but sounds like that sure beats living under ink demons reign?

but also idk if this is entirely true like in batim chapter 5 we can see that lost ones were capable of making that lost harbour and sammy is later mentioned to have mastered a special ability too so??

i wish we learned more about the pit because it sounds quite interesting and we were working hard towards getting there and finally didnt get to see it at all (a shame! very unrewarding to the player)

im not gonna comment on reverting here cuz its a serious mental thing im not knowledgable about

i haaaate this

you... this is not how exposition is done!

show don’t tell?? how about SHOW don’t TELL??

what in the goddamn. you can’t just pull that outta your ass and say yep. this is how it is. bro. dude.

im referring here to the ink machine bit, the previous sentences can actually be seen in the story

but the design does not reflect what is written here

and they are doing so much of that in these archives, this telling of the story in a place that is not meant for telling of the story, you do that IN the STORY. rarghrgrh

surprise i found another nice thing: confirmation on that alice was the one who mutilated the butcher gang, cuz i dont think that was ever confirmed before but at least you can find implications of that in the game so its fine to outright confirm that here, good job about that

i dont know what theyre on about carley, she doesnt really look like that to me and ive looked at her model in the archives, in the files and at peoples renders of her and i just dont see it

but i guess it might mean it was like a suit that someone got stuck in- FNAF?!>!!>!?

no way. no fucking way

we got robbed what ToT

he was removed in favour of WHAT???? AMOK????

dude there ill be real. there’s barely anything that is worth keeping there instead of having him play a bigger role

and im not even that big on sammys character! hes one of my least liked characters personally even! but at least there is something more to him and just man after 5 years you could have given him more than just a dumb wilhelm scream joke, that almost feels like a spat in the face lmao

thanks for again confirming something though with that flow thing, as we noticed sammy uses gaps in the wall in batim chapter 2 to travel around the place

why not have him teach audrey the flow ability? imagine how could that would have been

im just baffled this exist but sammy apparently had to be cut out

lol

lmao

moving on

my brother in christ why are you making it a mystery if she will appear, she literally appeared in every game so far with quite major roles

also... what layers? sure in batim with her story (susie’s story) there sure been some layers, susie’s story in batim is probably aside from joey’s story the deepest character arc they got

but alice in batdr? she’s there to play a stupid game she set herself up to lose, get mad at that (eh?) shoot you and die

what layers, really

gender

but also idk i found the fight annoying and random, you could throw it out and not much of value would be lost, put sammy back in

YOU MADE HIM NOTHING

YOU TOOK A PERFECTLY FINE ENEMY AND GAVE IT ANXIETY THATS WHAT YOU DID /j /ref

idk if id describe the ink demon as putting the player on edge because he doesnt actually roam the place

you see a grey overlay on your screen and you need to hide or you die... which gets tiring fast and annoying

you totally could still have lurker (even if just restricted to some areas) as a free roaming monster

and the unlikely ally thing is just so bland like yeah he’s there, we know nothing about him aside from that he eats hearts, incredibly charming fella 

not thrilled by his design either but that issue i already had with the first trailer but i guess they just sticked with that

bendy devs not use mental illnesses as derogatory terms challenge

i like the crab boy design, he’s sillay

bro forgot a texture tho

so yeah not. happy with the archives

sorry if im like overly negative but ive honestly tried to give this sequel (because despite what they were saying it IS undoubtedly a sequel) my best assumptions and it turns out its nearly all the worst assumptions

its annoying, im annoyed

they should hire a writer to help them get this mess together, maybe get adrienne in on it, i dunno, because clearly if they need to be specific and not leaving things open like in batim, then they arent managing very well

they even fucking killed harold

[nanomooselet]

Episode Three: Bright Light, Shine through the Darkness

Okay, let's try this whole meta thing.

Bright Light, Shine through the Darkness was the episode where I realised I was in some deep trouble. I was aware of Trigun, but never really got around to looking into it until this ep was airing, and the two episodes before were, how can I say, everything I'd been lead to expect? Meryl is so angry and kind and Rosa so cool, and of course to look upon Vash is to adore him, precious darling boy. But I was still waiting for the hook, the reason to continue. Episode three, then: the one where the series finally begins. It's done saluting the work of the past and pivots to the story it's here to tell.

And I had no inkling it would be a story of such deliberate, implacable terror. It opens by telling you a storm is coming, but given that in minutes people are dying by land mines and remote drones, you'd think the storm was already here. Blood splashes! Meryl nearly gets her dumb ass flattened! E.G.'s motives aren't the kind receptive to Vash's forgiveness and whoo boy, for a moment you almost believe Vash will withdraw it. But Meryl turns it around (waaah she's so brave, she and Vash and Roberto made such a good team) and it seems the next challenge will be talking the elder Nebraska out of revenge, because anyone will pick up a gun when their loved ones are killed.

Then the piano rings out, right as Nebraska demands to know whose side Vash is on. It's a haunting, wistful tune and the score fell silent for quite a while first, which makes the notes even more out-of-place. The colour has been drained, everything is shrouded with smoke, and the cinematography has shrunk to mid shots and close-ups. Vash stands there in paralysed in fear for over ten seconds. You forget, in what follows, that we were given fair warning.

Nai was present in the opening scene, and Knives stated his intentions clearly enough at the end of the first episode. We saw this fuse being lit and the detonation still comes as a surprise. Not to mention Knives's influence is felt absolutely everywhere once you know to look for it – the bounty and the threats it inevitably attracts, the military police (and boy do I have thoughts on them, but it's only the final episode that'll come back), even the environment, the insects and birds. Tonis's little cage of buddies that Vash promised he would keep safe! Nothing hasn't felt Knives's fingertips - playing, pushing, manipulating.

Vash has to accept at the end of the episode that there was no longer any way he could avoid facing his brother, not if he wanted the people around him to be safe. While I don't think Knives was out to get Vash on this particular trip, I think he's just fine with Vash believing that's why he was there. Let him think it really is his presence, his “bad luck” that led to this destruction.

It's at least consolation to know Gofsef and his father are still alive at the end, though they're not in the best shape. I missed it the first time. But my God, poor Rosa. Poor Tonis. We never get that manga bit where Vash explains that if he took a life, Rem would never forgive him, but we don't really need to after that.

And when it took time out of Vash's self recriminating angst to show us Meryl also feels responsible, I sat up. She'd been so directly driving the plot so far, but I hardly dared hope for more. It was oddly reassuring.

All in all, fantastic episode, and I haven't even talked about the strongest portions. I hope everyone who worked on it is proud of themselves. I couldn't have asked for better. I'll close on what might have been my favourite moment (and by that I mean for me the most emotionally devastating): Vash crying as he flees the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, pulling blood-spattered Rosa after him.

[burr-ell]

the latest chapter of emperor and the goddess was fucking W I L D - edel got not just a wife, but a whole ass DAUGHTER and then she still... cheats on byleth with ingrid. also yippee yahoo the narration refers to ingrid as a woman STILL. the entire fic really just reminds me that popularity /=/ good writing

Here's the thing. If the issue with this fic was just that the prose is mediocre or the characterizations are bad—and they are—nobody would talk about it the way that they do. There's a similar fic that's been brought up as a sort of counterpoint to EatG that I have not made too much public comment on, and it's not because I don't have opinions on it; it's because I'm not terribly interested in it and those opinions are mixed-to-negative, but it's almost entirely due to writing style and characterization. (There ARE a couple of iffy cultural elements in there worth critiquing; I chalk them up to inexperience and naivete, but it's not invalid to point them out if you're going to.)

There are a couple of things that set EatG apart. It's not just that it's an incredibly popular fic whose author is perfectly happy to let people claim it's either the true canon or better, and it doesn't help that he's basically been Christopher Columbus-ing fanfiction by acting like he's writing some brilliant meta piece that's totally not the same as those icky girly fanfics. It's that the fic is choked with absolutely rancid implications and themes about biracial people, nonwhite people in general, women, gay men, mentally ill people, trans people, religion, imperialism, and genocide. When people whose heads aren't shoved up Edelgard's ass comment on this, every criticism is dismissed by either pretending the person said something they very clearly didn't say or pulling "I'm not misogynistic, I have a lesbian beta reader!".

Like, there are mediocre-to-bad fanfics in every fandom, right? There's certainly plenty of them in the 3H fandom, for any ship (I've turbosmashed the back button on plenty of Claude/leth fics). Edel/eth is one of the most popular ships in the fandom; you go through those archives, you're gonna find some clunkers. That in itself is not the problem. The problem is the hype around it, fed into by the author, and the truly obscene bullshit that gets repeatedly handwaved (as we know, a story about queer women is at its most above reproach when written by a cis man) and whatabout'ed (a biracial character hating herself for her "nonhuman" side and being told she's right is totally fine because sometimes people who dislike Edelgard aren't very nice).

Any time a fanfic author acts like this, run.

[lewis-winters]

would love to hear more about the skinny/speirs confrontation 👀 (I'm sure other would too so feel free to answer publicly)

Ok I did not actually anticipate ppl being interested HAHAHAH but since ya'll asked nicely (@ep6bastogne and @hellofanidea mWAH to you too), here it is under the cut.

Ok so like. Understandably, people are more focused on Web and Lieb when it comes to the mountain top scene and that's perfectly fine. They're the ones I first thought about too. But then the more I watched that scene, the more I nyoomed in on two details: 1) It is implied that Speirs personally gave the order for Liebgott to go up there and deal with the officer, and 2) Skinny is the one who ends up pulling the trigger.

Which brings me to like. This fic I started planning in my head but couldn't quite write down because I am. Lazy. Anyway, it follows several plot points:

1) This is piggyback riding off my meta that Ron had ulterior motives to sending Liebgott up the mountain, which I have outlined in this post. TL;DR Ron used Lieb's anger (and to some extent, Web's too-- in my head, he heard about the incident with the baker in ep9, and he wanted to exploit that, not anticipating that Web's own self-preservation (of both his own person and morals) would get in the way) to do his dirty work, knowing that he wouldn't be questioned because of his position and because of said anger blindsiding all logic Lieb might have.

2) Skinny somehow knows this. He's more intuitive that people give him credit for. If Ron handpicked Lieb and Web because he knew, at least to some extent, that their anger would push them to do what he wants, then what the hell was Skinny doing there?

3) That question will haunt Skinny for awhile. Because why did Ron know, somehow, that Skinny would pull the trigger when either Lieb or Web could not? What anger and violence did Ron see in Skinny that made him think: "ah, yes, him; that's my killer of killers"? And most importantly, why did Skinny prove him right?

This is very much informed by how irl Skinny's PTSD was very much centered on the people he killed as a soldier (as opposed to people he lost). He's constantly cited in his writings and his letters that he felt unforgivable. So it isn't a massive leap for me to go yeah!! that boy killed an unarmed man (albeit a nazi, but I don't think even that could help him justify this) and then was later present when Web says "war's over, anyone would run" which no doubt would add to his already guilty conscience.

Add all of that together, and you have a recipe for a very traumatized lost boy wondering if maybe he's carrying a monster inside of him, and if maybe Ron could see it.

4) the answer, in the end, is that Ron couldn't see it. This was the dialogue I wrote first, and it has had me by the balls ever since:

"So why me? What did you see in me that was so twisted and cruel that you decided I should be up there, huh? Tell me!"

"... Nothing. I just needed a third man."

5) anyway. Ronald does, finally, admit to having used Lieb and Web to get what he wants. But Skinny doesn't care, because all he hears is that he's collateral damage. And that's not quite as comforting as Ron thinks it is.

soooooo. yeah.

**another plot point I have listed but couldn't really put anywhere in this weird ass list: there's also some cognitive dissonance sprinkled in there-- Skinny could justify Lieb and Web's reactions. He'd say Lieb has the right to do it. He'd also say Web's attempt at perserving himself as wise. it's important to note that Skinny went into this with the mindset that he was already unforgivable from the beginning. this just exacerbated it, but also gave him somebody who could probably answer his questions (i.e. am I really unforgivable? am I rreally a monster? am I a murderer? etc etc).

[meadowmines]

Some headcanon-leaning Majima meta/rambling/bullshit

I threatened to write this up over on a Discord and I'm now like a week ahead on Day Job Shit and I have time and it's fresh in my head so brace for hc/meta dump about Majima and Catching Feelings.

There is a whole sequence of Majima's Shoulder Devil Nishitani-voiced internal monologue I ended up cutting from The Bit, and while I did manage to keep that general thread in there, I wish I could have worked in this whole scene because it really spelled out a whole lot of Majima's bullshit. Specifically, how Majima believes he can't trust his own heart because he only ever loves people who are bad for him or who he's bad for.

It's not like he just pulled this out of his ass, either. Everyone he's shown as getting even the least little bit emotionally close to either has something awful happen to them, or does something awful to him. Saejima? Makoto?

And... Sagawa. Oof.

This is definitely my headcanon but tell me Majima, fresh out of a year in the hole, wouldn't just latch right onto the first person to show him even a little bit of kindness. Tell me Sagawa wasn't the exact kind of Bastard who would take advantage of that. There is a line Shoulder Devil Nishitani drops in that deleted scene, something to the effect of:

"He knew exactly what he was doin' to ya. Easier to put a collar on a dog that loves ya, right?"

And sure, he showed his true colors eventually and sure, Majima figured him out (or hell, he's enough of a Bastard that he might have even just come right out and said "sure I've been playing your heart like a cheap kazoo but you liked it so who's really at fault here? :)" ugh god I still wish we could have thrown him off a fucking pier but I digress). But the damage was already done.

As for the actual Nishitani: I think he was a little of both! He was also a Bastard, but the kind of Bastard that's exactly what it says on the tin and doesn't pretend to be anything but, and Majima was definitely skeeved out by getting hit on by this horny weirdo but also... kind of relieved, maybe? That this one was at least honest about his bullshit right up front? It sure would have been a refreshing change of pace after three years of Sagawa's mind game bullshit.

...and then of course he watched said weird horny bastard take like five bullets in center mass for him which, I would imagine, did little to dispel the "they're bad for me /I'm bad for them" dichotomy he'd built up. So that's always in the back of his head, that he can't trust his gut or his heart or his feelings, because every time he does someone gets hurt.

Then along comes Kiryu, who is both the first Secret Third Thing he's ever encountered, and somehow also both of the other two things at the same time and Majima does not know how to handle this. He's trying to push Kiryu away and drag him in closer at the same time. It's messy and ugly and he hates it but he has 0 idea how to be an adult human person in a healthy relationship of ANY kind with another adult human person and, let's be real here, neither does Kiryu.

Kiryu has NO idea what he does to Majima when he takes that bullet at the end of The Bit.

He thinks he had one chance to keep Majima from getting his head blown off and taking that bullet in his shoulder was the best thing he could do in that situation. And he wasn't wrong! He had to spend a night or two in the hospital about it, but he was fine! Majima was fine and went on to beat the shit out of the bad guys so Kuroshi and Kei-chan could deliver them to the Third Chairman in a gift bag with a shiny purple bow on top! Solid net positive outcome, right?

Does Majima see it that way? HE ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY DOES NOT! All he sees is one more person he's fallen in love with getting himself hurt, almost getting himself killed, and he knows he can never let it happen again but "never letting it happen again" means "cutting Kiryu out of his life" and at this point he might as well cut out his own literal heart.

And hoo boy does that shit ever compel me. I love reading and looking at other folks' soft fic and art, don't get me wrong, I love seeing these two happy, but I also love putting two dudes in the Feelings Smashing Machine and cranking that shit up to 11 and these two have a lot of delicious Feelings to smash, especially Majima.

[thenixkat]

granted that they keep portraying superheroes as gods when they're literally just people that can do more shit fits in with the mindset they're showing

Batman and his forces have joined up with teh old guard supervillains to fight against super people tyranny b/c Superman's crew have begun building prison camps in the irradiated Kansas

in multiple worlds Batman is way too willing to join forces with Lex Luthor than literally any other choice. I think that says something about Bruce and his feelings towards metas

but that's just me. Apparently, the notion that Bruce Wayne is probably some sort of bigot is an unpopular opinion

so the superheroes can strip Kansas of the irradiation but instead of replanting so people can have food, Superman and his crew build a prison. Doesnt that speak volumes about superheroes

dont forget that Wonder Woman is pushing the charge to imprison the unbelievers, we can't make Superman look too bad

the prison is immediately filled beyond capacity

and teh superhero who grew up breaking out of prisons on Apokalypse, Mr. Miricle is the warden its not just a prison its a reeducation camp to teach fuckers to obey Superman's idea of right and wrong

and the illegally imprisoned metas that kidnapping them and holding them against their will isnt exactly moral either

yeah Eclipso and Ra's Al Ghul are like the Joker, big fucking recurring issues that have not been properly handled by the criminal justice system that tend to lead lots of fucking death. There's nothing wrong with permanently handling fuckers like that. But these writers dont have room for nuance

also there's fuckers kidnapped from other countries who dont speak or understand English in this prison camp/reeducation center and all of Superman's teachings are in English

ya know its a great look for your entirely white lead superheroes to have a prison camp full of visible minorities and people whole ass kidnapped from other countries no implications there just a coincidence

also Deadman is here, I spotted him a few times in the crowd of untamed beasts, he's just kinda vibing and decides to have a chat with the pastor that's been our narrator/main viewpoint character

also another reminder that robots dont count as people to even heroes with no kill rules like Superman. Even if that robot is demonstratively sapient its fine to crush their bodies and scatter their main processors across the globe permanently

Captain Marvel has been brainwashed/mind controlled by Luthor

just Batman and Luthor get along waaaaaaaaay too well when it comes to hating on metas and nonhumans

of course the Martian Manhunter is on Batman's side for reasons

and for some reason he's aged as much as the humans around him and thus his abilities have deteriorated Superman just forcing the metas of other countries to either obey him, go to the gulag for reeducation, or stop being superheroes

the Flash spotted the narrator an old ass man through the fabric of reality, snatched his ass and Powergirl is threatening to punch him if he doesnt give up info on who he is and why he happened to be close to them while outside of reality

yeah the prisoners are revoltings you kidnapped their asses from multiple countries and threw heroes and villains in there alike

shit was bound to happen for one reason or another and once again we have Wonder Woman pushing for violence, 'undermining' SUperman's authority b/c we cant make superman look that bad

just Wonder Woman being Superman's warhawk not-wife in this trying to steer him and use his authority to get the results she wants is just so uck in so many ways

[muntiller2]

I wish they'd just apologize, you know?

Okay, I'm going to be honest here. The way the story is heading is shit and I haven't seen anyone praise it in ages.

It's funny right? It all comes down to the exact same spot in the story where everything goes to absolute shit: EE part 3.

I'm not gonna say EE entirely because acts 1 and 2 were rlly good imo, the murder mystery was fun and engaging and there was no narrative of people being flawless and perfect, it was just a bunch of isolated assholes trapped with a killer inside a house and trying to figure out who it is. I really liked that part!

Everyone knows how the story went from there so I'm not gonna describe it. We all know what went wrong by now, we all know who ruined everything and we all know how it ends.

Ever since then not only has the story suffered severely, but so has the gameplay. As said by a friend on discord: the scummy gacha stuff was forgivable because the "meta" wasn't necessary to enjoy the game, we had the story to hold that up and old valks could very well hold up in newer weather. Today? That shit doesn't fly anymore.

You guys remember when a Herrscher patch was something to be excited for? I do. You guys remember when we didn't have Herrscher after Herrscher after Herrscher being released back to back? I do.

This all means that today not only is the gacha even more demanding in a game that is already really fucking unforgiving, but the meta has also shifted in a way that's not sustainable for people who have older characters. Sure, they're giving one of the new Herrschers for free, but that doesn't change the fact we have a boss and weather that needs 3 different elements on the same team to work, fucking up every single comp I've seen so far that isn't HoO, HoFi and HoTr.

Mihoyo is not only burning through the community's goodwill in regards to the story (and they're burning it fast, I haven't seen anyone excited for new chapters as of late), but they're also burning through the goodwill of these same players when it comes to meta.

If the story is no longer keeping people entertained, they'll move to meta and if meta isn't viable, they'll stop playing.

Hell, I haven't played the newest chapter yet, not a single stage and I don't want to, the story completely burned me out. Do you know what I think when I remember a double Herrscher patch is coming next patch too? I just sigh because I'm tired.

You know what I wish mihoyo did? Apologize.

If they were fucking honest about the fact they fucked up and burned all of the goodwill their community had with them, a lot of people would be less salty about it. If they stopped pretending everything is fine and that everyone is loving where the game is going, people would be less willing to hunt them down with pitchforks.

I just wish they would admit that their story has gone to shit and that they ruined the characters they meticulously built for years, instead of trying to mend things with bandaids and a shiny new coat of paint over the cracks.

But of course, that's not going to happen because it won't. No other reason aside from the fact that it just won't.

I just really fucking wish they would make an actual announcement apologizing, reboot the story back to pre EE and try again with some actual soul into it. I don't think the community would be even mad to have a soft reboot given the vast majority has been doing their own rewrites and completely disregarding canon. With the amount of fucking amazing ideas I've seen coming from all of us, they could even take some of them and make an actual good story.

But once again, that won't happen because they have their heads so far up their asses that they can taste their own hair. It won't happen because they're sure that if they hammer into our heads that this is the new canon enough times, we'll all eventually accept it and shut up.

[autumnbrambleagain]

ultimately i think our real complaint with pathfinder wrath of the righteous is that its "difficulty" isn't so much "the enemies have very clever positioning and tatical advantages--how will you manipulate the situation to overcome it?"

it's not like the incredible oil refinery battle in Divinity Original Sin 2, where it gets WEIRD and you're fighting the environment and a new faction shows up and starts overrunning everything with weird resistances and forces you to outthink it, out-position it,

every single battle in Wrath of the Righteous is already decided long, long before the battle starts.

did you look your build up on metabuilds.quick? did you pick the Correct Feats and spells? did you reload the second combat started and then pre-buffed 30 different spells before combat began?

that's what defines the difficulty. is your build meta enough? did you read enough spreadsheets before this battle started?

i LIKED blackwater, I'll be honest. the super-high ACs meant i had to use spells i'd never used before, didn't NEED to use before, to deprive enemies of their AC bonuses! it felt like i was figuring out a puzzle, it was great, it was an outlier

im' on normal difficulty, which coddles and protects and forgives you. i'm on normal difficulty, and combat is either "i curbstop everything without trying, or i die instantly because i didn't get the gimmick right"

but on higher difficulties, there's no room to play with your build. in divinity you could be a teleporting assassin who dips into an elemental magic for extra fun, or a wizard just go full magic and you'll never be at a loss for things to DO. i put some levels of metamorphosis on my assassin just for the wings and tentacle slap, no problem. want a wizard who casts gun turret and then hits you with sword? that's fine.

in this shitty DnD inherited system you can't go "red mage". you can't casually dip. you can't do something Interesting. a sorcerer who spends a feat or two to use a cool sword? no. spell penetration. spell focus. you can't hit anything in melee after level 3 anyway so don't try. turn into a dragon? too bad, you still don't have the BAB to hit anything. you're a weak-ass nothing of a dragon.

the challenge isn't "here are all these pieces you can use--how will you use them to overcome the challenges before you?"

the challenge is "here are all these pieces. if you put them together in the right way you win. if you try to do anything fun with them you lose."

and for what? for what verisimilitude? ADnD had classes as CLASSES. you were a WIZARD. you had NO TIME to learn how to fight. your spells all had a dozen things to keep track of. you were a FIGHTER. at level 9 you literally get a Castle and a small ARMY as a class feature. as you leveled up you gained titles of nobility as a matter of course. you had to worry about taxes and harvests. of course multiclassing was hard back then--each CLASS was a career path. a druid leveling up had to do druid politics just to be ALLOWED to reach the next level. the fluff and crunch was INEXTRICABLE

but 3.x and 3.P threw that all out for the most part. just look at people talking about builds--they ALL talk about level 20 builds, and they're all ridiculous 3 rogue/1 monk/6 cleric/ 10 asshole builds that mix and match class features at will. i've seen it recommend that everyone take an entire level of monk just for the bonuses--ignore that it makes like, no sense everyone suddenly becomes an ACTUAL MONK. you don't just pick up the skills you pick up a level in the CLASS.

it so desperately wants to be a classless system where each level-up you pick what you get, but it can't escape its inheritance. it makes sense, to a degree--if you divide your time poorly in your study, you'll become not great at anything. a mediocre sword-fighter and a mediocre-wizard! but. but we're beyond ADnD aren't we?

why isn't it more gameified? I guess pathfinder 2 is more like that? i haven't played it, and i'm dealing with pathfinder 1 for WotR. taking a level of monk doesn't require you to add being a monk to your story--you don't need to find a cloister and dedicate time to it, you just pick the class to get the bonuses it gives you. why have it tied to classes at all at that point?

just like how multiclassing poorly leaves you unable to do anything well, picking both "classes are a career/lifestyle" and "classes are just a set of bonuses you get for this level" leaves the entire system poorly functional. you really can't do both.

why can't my sorcerer fight in melee when turned into a dragon? i don't have the BAB for it. how do i get the BAB for it? can i spend a few skill points per level to learn how to fight? no, i need to take a fighter class. retroactively all my experience is only into fighting. you can't multitask, you can't learn things outside your class--a sorcerer can't FIGHT with a SWORD! that's silly!

but a sorcerer can take a break for a level and become a knight, and a monk, and an alchemist, and a rogue. you can't be a sorcerer who sacrificed a bit of time mastering their magic to be competitive in a melee--that would make no sense! but you can be a sorcerer who stopped being a sorcerer and joined a convent for a short while and then became a squire for a knight for a week and now they can use a sword, sure. that's the option that makes sense.

just let adventurers be good at shit. let me block out two schools of magic in exchange for being able to fight in melee. let that just be a default fucking thing. you wanna make "classes" just a selection of bonuses you can freely pick from each level up, just let it be a la carte already. untie it from the canon. if everyone can take a level of sorcerer let magic just be something you can pick when you level up.

auroral oceans is a very different beast from a generic fantasy setting and the tabletop system im making for it is far from finished or perfect, but one of the base assumptions it makes is, if you're a player character, you're some kind of adventuring asshole enough that you can both: use a sword, and fire a gun, with enough competency that you can kill a person with it.

like yeah, someone who spends all their points on sword techniques is going to have more dice and way more options in a fight--a wizard with a sword just rolls their dice, a dedicated swordfighter has options to reroll a missed die or turn a point of damage into a disarm or a forced movement--but the wizard with a sword is still a dude with a sword and they can still fuck you up.

altho i guess it helps there's no generic "wizard" in the setting i guess the closest to wizard is worshipper of nirix who gets powers by virtue of emulating its example or like, a hwual channeler which is just a thing you can do it's fine

im off topic

my point is wow DnD fucking sucks and i wish it died from the meme pool already

[reaperkaneki]

ok here are my Thoughts on gin noto

under cut bc it got long lol

first off, he is very strong representation. as in, i think this might be the platonic ideal of a transmasc character. which has its good points and bad.

sweet-p’s arc was rooted in some obviously transphobic jokes/points/etc but at its core, her arc felt well-intentioned and overall she was definitely portrayed as one of the most sympathetic of the musicians (who are antagonists but certainly not outright villains, which the musician route makes abundantly clear). she also is not, like, described as trans per se, mostly as a crossdresser who loves cute things and wishes she were a cute girl (so like, she’s trans) and honestly her arc is about self-image and body dysmorphia in general (weight and age and outside perception are all major factors). and that’s what sets her apart from gin, gin is very much about Gender Dysphoria And Conforming To Societal Gender Roles first and foremost.

unlike sweet-p’s writing, gin’s doesn’t have any overt flaws to point to, which is why i had to mull it over for a while to figure out what was missing, and i think it’s because it is very much aimed at a cis audience. the narrative itself is perfectly fine, it’s the meta-narrative that bothers me.

when gin confesses that irl, he was assigned female at birth and presents as female in his day-to-day life, and asks the player, does this change anything, there is a right answer and a wrong answer. the wrong answer is to tell him that you don’t care what gender he is, it doesn’t change anything at all; gin perceives this as a half-assed, dismissive response said without thinking and becomes upset and it locks you out of the rest of his character episodes. the correct answer is to tell him that you don’t know, you’re not sure. maybe it does change things between the two of you. gin feels that this is a understandable position to take, like, of course it might be a big deal, it certainly feels like a big deal to him!

and yes, to someone who hasn’t encountered a trans person before, that’s probably a reasonable response. to me, specifically, a fellow transmasc person, i think i sorta laughed at this part because, like, the only thing that would change if a coworker or friend or whatever told me that they were actually stealth trans this whole time (and that’s being generous bc gin is Not Slick lmfao the foreshadowing for him being trans is super obvious to anyone who knows) i’d be like cool! love that for you. etc etc. bc transgenderism is Normal to me.

but the game assumes You Are A Cis Person Who Isn’t Sure How To React To Trans People. the game doesn’t let you be trans. there’s not a nonbinary option, despite having a cyborg for an antagonist and, more egregiously, a canonically nonbinary character in your party. (i’d say pronouns, but that’s not quite the same in japanese.) not that i was expecting that to be possible, but it is a clear separation of gameplay and story that hinders roleplay (in an rpg where your character’s backstory is almost completely undefined)!

this is not to say that gin is poorly written. like i said, he’s like the platonic ideal of representation. he’s easy to clock specifically because his experiences ring true; he’s always, always, always overcompensating and posturing “as a man”, he’s trying to conform to his own personal image of “what men do”, “how guy friendships work”, “what guys are interested in”. when asked why he gets along with women so well, he lies and says it’s because he has an, uh, older sister! so he’s spent a lot of time around women! he dresses trendy, but not too fashionably (because that’s feminine, he’s function over form allegedly), and the cut of his clothes is soooo. well. the silhouette is masculinizing, or at least androgynous, let’s say. he even wishes he were taller.

i’m pretty sure i’ve done most of those things. this is writing that either speaks from experience or understands the prompt and has done the goddamn research.

it is, however, very, VERY cool that he actually turns out to Not Be A Man, at least in the sense he’s always wanted to be. REALLY good nonbinary arc that i wish wasn’t constrained to, like, the last two character episodes. it’s the one interesting ‘twist’, and i love that it explains a lot of things about him! when he talks about working as a woman irl and busting his ass in heels, he sounds proud, even as he admits that presenting female always made him uncomfortable. and lo and behold, his catharsis effect sports a pair of gold heels! if he was just a hypermasculine trans man, that would be super uncomfortable, as if it were some sort of transphobic indicator of his ‘true self’ being feminine. but no, it’s because he’s hiding that aspect of himself. he repressed his masculine tendencies to conform to social norms, and then inadvertently did the same to his feminine side, but both are important. he likes the heels.

i also like that he’s bi and acknowledges that his relationships never worked out bc he hadn’t figured out his shit yet. it do be like that sometimes.

unfortunately, i think he’s also kind of boring? like, besides her wanting to be a cute girl, sweet-p had other stuff going on, she had that boke/tsukkomi routine with stork, she had a genuine love for yume-kawaii (whereas while gin has many interests, a not-insignificant part of those interests is male posturing), she was even a musician! i understand that gin’s blandness is On Purpose because he dislikes rocking the boat (but he hates posers, which was a genuinely interesting reaction from him that didn’t feature as strongly in his arc as i wanted. even kiriko comments on it), but doesn’t change the fact that he ain’t weird enough! can’t even be an only sane man bc he goes along with everyone’s bs lol

anyway gin is cool and well-written as a trans character but missing a bit otherwise. i’d still definitely love to hang out and get beef bowls and boba with him :)

[traumxrei-archive]

【 book 6 pt. 2 thoughts ! 】

yeah so guess who's starting to play book 6 pt. 2 late *insert sparkles emoji* anyways. if you do wanna see my thoughts, here you go ^^

[ spoilers for 6-45 till 6-49 under the cut ! ]

~~~

[ about : vil the gaymer ]

HELP— the way idia's like "wait but you're so sparkly and a model....do you actually like games ??" and vil's like "and i took that personally—" imagining vil and his costars playing smash on a switch while waiting for their turn to shoot a scene

(no on a real note, how much shit like that did vil have to go thru,,,,like people deciding his likes and dislikes for him based on what they see he's like instead of just asking him T^T)

[ about : azul knows about twitch ?? ]

not azul pulling up with "hmm, yes, i've seen people making money by playing games and streaming it—" can you guys IMAGINE twitch streamer azul. would not know how to play the game. would get roasted by his chat. would then end the stream, practice how to play the game flawlessly for hours on end bc his pride was hurt, and consequently start streaming after to "show off his skills".

[ about : leona and chess.com ]

i find it so fucking funny that leona's only interested in chess games (probably bc he didn't have any friends to teach him abt other games) bc i can't believe its canon that he probably plays on chess.com or sumn whenever he's bored (also idia thanking them for proving himself correct bc the other three were interested in gaming,,,,,clown energy)

[ about : video games hurt academic performance ]

...as someone who had to write a whole ass debate on WHY video games hurt academic performance, riddle, i can definitively say that it only hurts your grades if you choose to disregard doing school work in favor of playing the games (aka, if you split your time up well between schoolwork and hobbies like gaming, you'd actually be more than fine ^^)

and idia is correct, there are studies that show that video games can help increase reaction time among other things (and he's right x2 when he says it's not the game's fault but the person's but also you gotta keep in mind that some games are designed to be addictive so that people will play it for hours on end)

[ about : pride wars ]

yk, i was thinking abt this before, but all the people in this room are pretty prideful about each of their respective areas (e.g. azul and his business, riddle and his grades, etc.) so i WAS wondering when they were going to get into a fight,,,,,

but i did NOT think it would happen between riddle and idia jskfjksdfj the way idia keeps provoking him is so funny to me bc riddle's probably never had someone (other than ace) openly oppose him like that. especially someone older jskfdjskf

meanwhile vil's like "yea riddle dug that hole and put himself in it" and azul's like "yea,,,,he's smart but he just got trolled"

[ about : WE GET TO PLAY VIDEO GAMES ??? ]

OH MY GOD THERE'S VIDEO GAMES ???? THIS HAS TO BE MY FAVORITEST BOOK EVER IN TERMS OF MECHANISM WWWAHHHH the way i'm. so excited. to like. play the video game omgmgggmgmg—

also this is so fucking meta, we get to play a video game inside of another video game,,,,,,

[ about : riddle the gaymer ]

ok lowkey wholesome the way they're all watching riddle game, even if he's terrible at it. like they're all invested in the story and in his progress, and trying to help him out, and teasing him, as friends should ^^

idia trying to give him tips is so funny bc he's saying "go up" and "YOU NEED TO GO DOWN OR YOU'LL DIE" and riddle's panicking jskfdjskf and riddle :'))) my boy, wdym which one is the down button

AND AZUL KEEPS FANNING THE FLAMES W/ HIS COMMENTS TOO the way riddle got offended over being called bad at games bc "i'm not bad i'm simply inexperienced !!" and relegating himself to PRACTICING. the riddle rosehearts practicing GAMING.

[ about : azul's turn ]

FUCK HELP PLEASE VIL I LOVE YOU WHY ARE YOU SO FUNNY JFKDJSKF

also omg i didn't think we'd be getting floyd lore HERE but it makes sense that floyd has game consoles.... azul talking as if he played floyd's games VOLUNTARILY sir just say you were dragged into it and go !!

[ about : leona gaming time ??? ]

ortho's so good at leading people to play games,,,,the way he butters people up is insanneee and telling a story to go with it ??? to make it more interesting ??? and the fact that he's so cute and cheerful, leona can BARELY put up a resistance jskfjsdf

and ofc it's a reaction time game,,,no doubt leona's gonna have an absolute ball playing it bc it's akin to a cat hitting a piece of string repeatedly sjfksdjfk and the way he's playing without strategy bc "it's his fault if he gets hit smh"

leona goes "tch...why am i doing this again ?" as if the clicking controller noises don't get more frantic as he continues to play LIKE SIR i can legit hear you exerting effort, stop acting high and mighty

[ about : ORTHO SHROUHDSFJF ]

leona: so ? what did you mean that this game was for me ?

ortho:

GUYS I'M FUCKING DYING THE WAY HE'S SO CASUALLY LIKE "YEA YK. CATS STARTED BATTING AT IT AND PEOPLE FOUND IT CUTE." and not the researcher doing the same to lions ??? help ???? "according to STYX's records, you're a beastman with lion genes, so i predicted you'd enjoy the game" ORTHO YOU'RE SO FUNNSYSYFUDHF

the way leona can't even refute it bc he WAS into the game and he got a high score anyway :'))) (and not vil calling him adorable,,,,)

[ about : leona and ortho ]

ok but the way leona let ortho down was so soft. he's like "yea like they said i'm such a cat, so i'm sleepy,,," bc he doesn't wanna hurt ortho's feelings snnnnniifff,,,, he knows that ortho's purely happy that he was able to pick out a game that engaged leona, so leona didn't wanna crush his spirits by refusing to play another round

[ about : star rogue, a hero's dawn ]

the way idia was SO EXCITED when star rouge was recommended to vil,,,, he really said pop off !! out loud and started to narrate the story of the game hIMSELF (i love the way he got So Serious for the narration sjfkdsjf that's me when i'm talking about the story line of games i love)

not jamil, vil, and leona (who was, ahem, "asleep" btw)just basking in silence after idia's done with his spiel,,,,,,,guys,,,please,,,you're gonna kill the guy,,,,,

the way the shroud bros both said the tagline sobs i love them sm sm,,,, reminds me about how important of a game star rogue is to them bc iirc they mentioned it before in the starsending event ? and idia's wish was that the star rogue sequel was completeddd

[ about : star rogue sequel ]

have i ever talked about how much i love vil schoenheit <333 the way he stands up against stereotypes that people have against him as a model and actor, the way he's down to trying out idia's favorite video game, the way he listens closely to what idia is saying and tells him not to just dream, but to chase that dream...

on that note, i love how everyone's listening to idia's story. like i didn't expect leona to suddenly chime in, but he did.

also idia is right. a game that's made begrudgingly bc someone's paying you vs because you're passionate and you want others to enjoy it IS different.

(but also what vil says does make sense. sometimes creators can't see the point in making a sequel to something even if they said they wanted to, but having that one fan cheering them on would make a difference)

[ about : RIDDLE.... ]

NOT RIDDLE TAKING THE WHOLE TIME THAT LEONA TESTED THE HYDRA GAME AND VIL TESTED STAR ROGUE TO CLEAR THE FIRST LEVEL ON EASY ??????

wow i love azurid, they're so funny for no reason, the way riddle's so happy about clearing the level and then as soon as azul opens his mouth he's back to frowning (and mama vil scolding them for not taking breaks jskfjdskf)

[ about : azul.... ]

sir i can't. i can't defend you anymore if you say something like this...

[ about : gaming time ]

also these are my scores for the games just bc i wanna document them:

for star rogue, i had to restart 3 times,,,,,the first time i got killed by the boss, the second time, i didn't get killed by the boss but i ran out of time, and third time's the charm >:D

[ about : vil finding out about rookepeyuu ]

vil being like "damn, why would they do something so reckless ?? were they...trying to rescue me ?" and then ortho pulls out skincare and he's like "?? hah ??" and idia's like "omg someone who FINALLY had a normal reaction !!!"

me when vil said the above: *flushed emoji* NO I'M JOKING— but also who doesn't want a kith from vil. we love vil and his tough love, the way he's immensely thankful but also knows how risky it was for them to do this, so he'll scold them <33

[ about : forgotten memories ]

ok but. river lethe beaming all the subjects + sage island residents,,,,mnemosyne being the goddess of memory in greek mythology,,,,

it's kinda...bittersweet. while the beginning was pretty unsavory— i mean. who wants to get violently kidnapped by soldiers ? —the end of their visit was so sweet ? like them all playing video games together, it's so sad that those memories will be erased too. and the way idia just accepts it like it's natural. he's like yea it was bound to happen, which is so saddd uughhhh he's probably used to all this, probably why he brands himself a shut in bc if anyone were to know him as "idia shroud" there will come a point where they'll completely forget about him once he goes to work for styx,,,,,

[ about : mysterious voice ]

*GRABS ONE OF MY SHOES AS A WEAPON* WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU ????

ortho honey, do NOT follow the mysterious, disembodied voice that is coming from tartarus. DO NOTT !! oh god no not the foggg,,,,what the hell is that black fog around him, how did this guy's blot even leak out of the facility, how many people does this guy have under his control, and how hasn't anyone noticed uurhghghghghh

oh my god wait is this guy. one of the ancient phantoms ? the titans ? the ones who the shrouds used to lead the failed rebellion against the jupiter family ?? bc if so, maybe this was what happened last time,,,,maybe the shrouds were loyal but the phantom titans promised that they could grant a shroud's wish if they gave in, and then they fell under the titan's control,,,,

[ about : NII-CHAN ??? ]

HELP ME DID THE VOICE JUST CALL IDIA "NII-CHAN" IS THAT THE ORIGINAL ORTHO ? DID THE ORIGINAL ORTHO ALSO GET DRAGGED INTO THERE WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER AND TRIED TO MAKE A PACT WITH THE TITANS ? IS THAT WHY HE WAS SO SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE VOICE ??

WAIT WAIT WAIT YOU CAN'T JUST CUT OUT LIKE THAT ARGHHHH THE CLIFF HANGERRR *SHAKES FIST*

and with that i gotta stop here :')))) bc i gotta sleep ougughghghhgh i'm so very curious about what'll happen next but sleep awaits ^^ ig i'll play more book 6 when i wake up :'))))))))))

[kamenwriter]

"Space Babies" and "The Devil's Chord" reactions.

Spoilers I'm sure behind the cut.

Space Babies

"It was a genocide" wait I thought the time war got trapped in a painting and then...oh wait the Master killed them all during the Chinbal run, didn't he? God we could just ignore that whole mess but noooooo

The butterfly gag...sigh.

"we made it...we went to the stars" like, I get the whole "hopes and aspirations thing" but when we've got billionaires trying to sell us colonizing mars when it would be a hundred times cheaper and easier to save the planet we're living on, I'd rather a solar punk future not a colonization future. Am I being exceptionally cynical? Maybe. These are just "reactions" not a proper critique.

I can only imagine how difficult filming with all the babies was.

Making the Doctor adopted and all about "embracing what makes you unique" is good Timeless Child damage control but I dunno the idea of him being a renegade of a detached society appeals to me more than him being THE ULTRA SPECIAL TIME BABY.

The AI might actually be an AI?

AND there's something mysterious about Ruby because of course there is.

Star Trek ass looking uniforms on the crew.

"The planet down below refused to stop the babies from being born, but refused to take care of them afterwards" hey now this is getting close to some proper Doctor Who.

"It's like a children's story" this is is a good set up for the mystery here's hoping they stick the landing. Now watch it being some alien that feeds of psychic energy and manifested as the babies fears or something.

The incredibly literal baby raising machine made a bogeyman out of boogers to give the babies a monster to fear. Okay. Acceptable.

I totally understand the Doctor empathizing with the bogeyman but why the babies?

The constant babiesSPACEbabies bit got old so fast.

And a fart joke.

And don't forget, Ruby Sunday is super special and not just some random person we can't have random people do incredible things in Doctor Who nope nope nope

The Devil's Chord

The visual representation of The Maestro sucking out music and eating it is some fucking comic book shit and I am here for it.

The Maestro starts playing the intro oh god don't let this character be meta don't let this character know they're in a story don't fucking lay on that crutch.

"What about my clothes?" Both of those retro ass fits would work fine in the 60s. I'll concede to the hairstyle change though.

...trying to visually communicate the Maestro's influence on reality is definitely a trick. Again this feels exceptionally comic booky (That's a compliment).

Oh that's right Susan was potentially killed during whatever bullshit killed the Time Lords during the Chinbal run.

I do enjoy a camp villain.

The Doctor using the Sonic to actually do something sonic. What a refreshing change of pace

Ugh don't wink at the camera.

"I was born in 2004" well I'll just turn to dust, then.

Power scaling doesn't just affect shonen series the Doctor has to go up against literal gods now...

Callback to the Sound of the Drums yeah okay.

"There's a hidden song deep inside her soul" SPARE ME FROM THIS TROPE OF COMPANIONS BEING SUPER SPECIAL.

"What is this song?" "Christmas" actually it's the Carol of the Bells which was originally a Ukrainian song called Shchedryk do your research.

MuSIC BaTTle hahahaha

DONT WINK AT THE DAMN CAMERA

I want to make this clear I have no problem with a big musical number at the end but making it a meta joke I wanna bash my head in with a hammer. I'M SO FUCKING SICK OF META WRITING.

So in summation Space Babies was kind of what I expect from nuWho nothing amazing I would have loved The Devil's Chord if it weren't for the "oh Ruby is some secret incredible thing" and all the metaphorical and literal winks at the camera.

[thesinglesjukebox]

KANE BROWN - "I CAN FEEL IT"

A sample that’s no stranger to you and me…

[5.18]

Taylor Alatorre: "Even though the song does draw a fair bit from Phil Collins's 1981 song, the tempo is much faster."[1] [1]

Ian Mathers: As is often the case with modern pop country, "I Can Feel It" evokes a rural area; here, it's the Uncanny Valley. [2]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: So dumb! I respect it more for not being coy about using its big sample – Kane Brown and Dann Huff (who actually played on hits from Phil Collins' contemporaries, wtf) hit that big drum fill button over and over again, especially during the second half of "I Can Feel It." Worst part is that it works every time – this is a meta-level arena jam, a crass play that goes beyond the normal nostalgia-worship of so much of the contemporary pop landscape (secularly, across nearly all subgenres in 2024) by virtue of sheer shamelessness. [6]

Isabel Cole: Nothing we haven't heard before, more literally than usual, and obviously it's dumb, but sometimes you don't want smart, you know? It hits all its marks cleanly, and I like the weirdly roiling, tempestuous drama the track brings to a lightweight song about a drunken hookup (possibly why the hilariously incongruous video contains neither whiskey nor dancing — just a mechanic with a past and a dream). [7]

Katherine St. Asaph: The annoying hackwork here isn't the Phil Collins sample. It's that songwriting affectation, rampant in modern country, of awkwardly wording things that are phrases -- in this case "this is turning into a we-should-probably-get-up-out-of-here." (Why does this exist? Is there a thinkpiece?) The Phil Collins sample is, in fact, what makes this not suck. [7]

Mark Sinker: Time for every single song ever released to get its talking-point kinda-cover version. Time for “Weird” Al to become a worm-man god-emperor and rule over the charts for 3,500 years. A Million Golden Hits on the Golden Path.  [5]

Alfred Soto: Kane Brown shows the apparently infinite ways in which "In the Air Tonight" adapts itself to whatever sized foot you stick into it: instead of a cheatin' anthem, "I Can Feel It" focuses on the nervousness of would-be lovers courtin' on the dance floor. Almost everything works except for the guitar solo, an example of premature ejaculation. [7]

TA Inskeep: Theoretically this fusion of banjo, big-ass drums, and an interpolation of Phil Collins' most iconic song should be a lot of fun -- and Brown's winking voice would seem to be the right fit for it. But it all feels awfully forced, especially when Brown actually sings that he "can feel it coming in the air tonight" in the bridge. It's too obvious by half, not remotely country save for that banjo (which would be fine except that it's being billed as, y'know, country), and even though it's a clever idea, never fully gels.  [4]

John S. Quinn-Puerta: I'm tired of interpolations that aren't interested in engaging with their source. It's just so blandly tactical to put on the trappings of a hit to ensure the boring ditty that you've done ten ways to Sunday gets airplay.  [3]

Hannah Jocelyn: Everyone misses the kicks between the toms when they do “In the Air Tonight”! That's what makes it distinctive! "One Mississippi" was legitimately incredible (would have been a [10] from me) and a massive step up, this is trying to be some kind of epic tough country song but that clashes with the uninspired, lovelorn lyrics. By the way, Kane, you’re no mister Kingston. [5]

Nortey Dowuona: Gabe Foust, songwriter/producer for "Trailer Park Barbie" and "Bake It," lets Aaron Sterling handle the drums, and man, does he handle them. His take on Phil Collins's iconic fill kicks the song in the ass and brings it swimming up to Kane's deep baritone, buoying it as the second verse begins, keeping the song steady as Rob McNelley's seething solo dives below the chorus and surfaces on the bridge. The song relies less on the kick of "here's the Phil Collins drum fill, please clap" and more on "here's Kane Brown using one of the best baritones in popular music; leave with him and go steal that money." And Brown is in fine form; his quick trot then strolling delivery of the first verse snatches you up and leads so smoothly into the chorus that you are swept away, your hair flying in the wind, your eyes full of the moon before you can blink. The bass, played by Mark Hill (yes, that Mark Hill !!!?) comfortably purrs below, interlocking with the kick. It pushes Brown into picking up the pace at first, then smoothing out and sliding during the chorus. He delivers spurts of melisma briefly but remains in control of his voice despite the rising waves of the mix. It drifts away into the sky, but you're on a string, lazily drifting behind it. [10]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[disniq]

Heya, I was wondering if I could get a quick comic book rec. I've read RHaTO Vol. 1 up to issue... 27 I think it was? (Basically the first 4 volumes) ans RHaTO Vol. 2 up to issue 18 (end of Vol. 3)

Are volumes 6 & 7 of RHaTO vol.1, Red Hood & Arsenal, volume 4 of RHaTO vol.2, and Red Hood: Outlaw, worth a read?

Hi Anon! I apologise in advance because I was very verbose in answering this yes or no question lmao.

Disclaimer first, because RHATOs is always gonna be written by Scott Lobdell, so it's always gonna be at least vaguely misogynistic and full of heavy handed abuse apologia because Lobdell is a misogynistic abuser. That said, if you can stomach that, there's usually *some* merit to most of them.

(and, just to be clear, I am certainly not recommending you *pay* for any of them 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️)

So, RHATO vol. 1.

Volume 5 is actually one of the better ones imo, it finishes up the story from volume 4, and then has a few self-contained stories focusing on Roy and Kori individually (so depending on your opinions of nu52 characterisation ymmv). Bonus points for this adorable panel;

Volume 6 and 7 are a really weird mishmash of main plot about Kori doing space-drugs (which is unsurprisingly lacking in any nuance, making it especially frustrating when the book also features a recovering addict and a guy who grew up surrounded by drug users), their nu52 origin stories (which are retconned again in Rebirth anyway), then there's the bizarre little Christmas issue (which I don't hate), and the weird flash forward issue (which I *do*) that is also retconned out with the Red Hood/Arsenal run so. These two are entirely skippable for me.

Red Hood/Arsenal

There are only two volumes of this, and if you managed rhato vol. 1 then this is fine. It's a lot lighter in tone, even if I'm not a big fan of the Joker's Daughter plot in volume 2. Personally, I think this run is worth it just for the jayroy dynamic - genuinely don't know what Lobdell was going for but he accidentally wrote a gay sitcom. I mean seriously, look at this break up scene;

RHATO Vol 2.

I canNOT believe I'm saying this, but you should probably read through this one. #25 (MY BELOATHED) is actually the conclusion to the Bruce and Jason trust arc of early rhato rebirth, and as much as I hate the direction they went with it, it does fit with the general state of Jason and Bruce's relationship in rebirth. It also seems to be the jumping off point they've used for more recent interactions (Cheer and TFZ).

Red Hood: Outlaw

Volume 1: Requiem for an Archer. So, this is the start of Lobdell's shameless projection onto Willis Todd, and naturally they skip right over any consequences of Bruce beating the shit out of his kid AGAIN, but I actually quite like this one. It's nice to see Jason work competently alone, and I think it does a good job of letting Jason's grief breathe, after the chaos of everything in the previous volume. Also, this is where he meets Dog and she's a good girl.

Volume 2: Prince of Gotham. I like this one too, actually. Jason gets to wear his fancy little suit and be clever and calculating, he gets to actually use his criminal links for once, and it's the biggest fuck you to Bruce since utrh imo. I hate the random ass non-plot point of Jason suddenly having a public civillian ID again, but that nonsense is worth it for this scene alone;

Volume 3: Generation Outlaw. This one... I like in theory lol. Jason gets to be a teacher, I think putting himself between Lex Luther and a bunch of impressionable young metas is something he would do, and one of the kids is a non-binary entity (it's a little ham-fisted, but I never say no to more enby characters!) HOWEVER. The writing takes a turn again here, and where Jason was clever in the last one he's now a bit of a bumbling idiot being outsmarted by a bunch of kids. The Artemis and Bizarro plotline is weird and a but pointless, but they are back by the end of this volume, and it contains the one jaytemis kiss that I like (because they both hate it lmao. wlw mlm solidarity).

Volume 4: Unspoken Truths. This is just out and out bad. The writing goes from bad to worse, Isabel is dragged back for absolutely no reason other than Lobdell wanting his blorbo JT to be surrounded by women he's slept with at all times, the art is terrible. There's a single Joker War crossover issue which is meaningless without context, and also drags Joker's Daughter back up AGAIN, and it ends with the Outlaws breaking up again because Jason isn't allowed to keep any friends ever.

ANYWAY. All of that was a complete non-answer because it really does depend on what you like and don't, but I hope my rambling at least helps a little!