#and also for people who have gotten to that moment in the remake

[umbrylcrow]

Luis showed up, served copious amounts of cunt, and died. Legend.

[brooooswriting]

Hello, I love your writing so much!

Can I request this prompt with Brie, pretty please?

"Don't go on that date."

"Why?"

"You know why."

"Say it."

Where Brie and R are friends but R is in love with her. Maybe a little angst with a happy ending?

No pressure if you don't feel like it. Thank you 💜

I love this request

“Please, Brie, I promise she's so sweet and nice. Plus, she's hot. You'll like her,” Lizzie tried to convince her as she sat across from her. She and Scarlett had gotten her a blind date. You sat in the kitchen with Tessa, playing some card game that was long abandoned as you listened to their conversation. Your heart broke when you heard Brie say that she'll go.

But this was your own fault. You had gotten friend-zoned a long time ago, as Brie never took your flirting for real. You had flirted too much with too many people in front of her. However, she was the only one who never noticed how different your flirting was when it was with her.

You were so much more truthful, and you always complimented her. It wasn't hard to realize that you were in love with her. They all knew; Scar, Lizzie, Tessa, Robert, and even Chris. At this point, you were sure she knew, too, but she didn't feel the same, so she acted like she didn't know.

Lizzie felt terrible for you, but it was no use. No matter how much she pushed you, you never made a move, and she also didn't wanna see Brie so lonely. So, once she met this girl she immediately thought of her blonde friend.

“Y/n, Tessa. Get over here so we can finally watch a movie,” Scarlett called out once she had decided which movie to watch. With a sigh, you both stood up and made your way to the couch. Unsurprisingly, you had the seat next to Brie, the worst thing that could have happened to you at that moment. She smiled up at you, making your heart beat faster.

“Hey, lovely,” you said with a smile as you sat down. It wasn't unusual for you to call her pet names like that. Another thing that was different from your normal flirting was that you never once called somebody lovely or darling. But it didn't matter now. If Lizzie’s Girl was really that perfect for the blonde, it was over for you.

You had been so in your thoughts that you missed the whole movie. It was impossible to recall even one scene. During the film, the actress decided to cuddle into you, making it even harder to concentrate as you imagined a life where this was normal. “So, how'd you like the film?” she asked once the post-credits rolled, but you only stared at her. “Y/n?” she called out again, making you flinch a bit before focusing on what she said.

“Sorry, what did you say?” you asked once you had collected your thoughts.

“What's wrong?” brie suddenly asked, using her hand to cup your face. At this moment, you realize that you couldn't do this. It was too much, and so you did the only thing you knew how to do. You left.

“I'm sorry, I gotta go. Thanks for hosting Scarlett. Bye, guys.” You rushed the words out as you stood up. Disappearing before anyone could stop you.

Nobody had heard from you in two days, and you hadn't planned on talking to anyone for the next couple of weeks. Today was Bries' blind date, which meant that for the next week or so, everybody was going to talk about it. That was something that you could go without. The only texts you read were the ones from your home screen. Several pictures of the blonde trying on different outfits for tonight. Gosh, how you hated this. There were texts from the other three, hyping her up and telling her which one looked the best.

‘I’d rather stay home in a hoodie and sweatpants, ’ the newest text from Brie read, and again, you looked at the picture. Your heart skipped a beat when you saw that she was wearing your hoodie, the one from high school with your name on the back.

Ten minutes later, you stood in front of Brie’s house. As is trying to remake a disgustingly cheesy movie, it had started pouring halfway to the blonde's house. You looked so out of place, you were wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, and your hair was in a messy bun. For a moment you considered walking back to your apartment, leaving Brie to get with someone else. But now you were here and you had to at least try.

So, like any sane person would, you hammered on the door until she opened it. The second the door was open, you interrupted her. “Don't go on that date,” you got out between rattling teeth, the coldness, and the rain getting to you.

She looked at you for a second. “Why?” her face was stoic, not showing any emotion, making this a living hell for you.

“You know why” you answered, looking at her still wearing your hoodie.

“Say it” Her voice was desperate and her eyes pled you to say something. Anything that she could hold on to.

You mumbled an unsure ‘Brie,’ making her shake her head and take a step back to close the door. “Because I love you, and I have for years. Because I have been flirting with you since forever, and you flirted back, and if you didn't just flirt to play, then that means that you like me too.”

It was silent for a moment as Brie leaned against the door. “You flirt with everyone y/n. That's just your personality.”

“No, it's different with you. Don't you get that? I'm not flirting with you; I'm complimenting you. I'm giving you my heart,” you argued back. Then again, silence followed as both of you were unsure what to say. “One kiss,” you suddenly blurted out. Making yours and Brie’s eyes go wide.

“What?”

“One kiss. If you want me to leave after that, then I will. But please, you have to give me this chance. I know that I came at a shitty time, but I couldn't watch you go out with somebody else. Not again. Not after everybody treated you like so much less than you actually are. If this is-” Before you could finish your monologue, Brie surged forward and pressed her lips to yours. Her hands clasped the back of your neck while yours landed on her waist to pull her closer.

Your heart soared when she suddenly pulled away, her movement hectic, making you flinch. “B-Brie?” you called out quietly and unsure as she looked around frantic.

“My phone, I- I gotta call Lizzie. She has to cancel the date.” She said, walking inside to get her phone, leaving you in front of the door. You were unsure if she wanted you to come inside or not, so you just stood in front of the door. Cuddling Six thirty when he walked by for a moment. “Are you coming?” she called out for you, making you hurry inside and close the door.

“I know, Lizzie, I'm sorry, but,” she looked at you for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. “Y/n is here, and” she was interrupted by Elizabeth rather quickly then.

“I'll tell her. Bye. Have fun. But not too much fun,” and then she already hung up. She discarded her phone on the counter going back to you.

“Sooo, now what?” the blonde asked when she sat next to you on the couch. Out of habit, she scooched closer to you while you wrapped your arm around her.

“How about Star Wars and some hot dogs?” you received a kiss as an answer before she laid her head on your shoulder.

Sometimes, it was worth taking the risk.

[dutchdread]

Hi Dutch. Since you have answered many questions about Cloti, what is your thought about Zerith in Rebirth? I saw many people disappointed or having no hope for them but others said the devs are creating angst. Do you agree?

Hi, thanks for the question. Yeah, I understand being disappointed with the Zerith content in Rebirth. The developers spent a lot of time hyping up Zacks importance, not just with Remake but also with developer interviews and such. To have such a build-up and then have him relegated to just a few playable intermissions, to not get a Zack Aerith reunion, and depending on who you listen to to have him being brushed aside in favor of Cloud in regards to Aeriths affections, can understandably feel disheartening.

But really this is just a lack of understanding concerning story structure, to put it simply, Rebirth is EXTREMELY Zerith.

When reading Harry Potter I always knew that Snape was most likely going to end up a good guy, despite the seeming back and forths. And do you know which moment to me proved that he was a good guy? When he killed Dumbledore at the end of book 6. I knew then without a doubt that he was a good guy, because there was still one book to go, and it was obvious that that book would have the final ultimate reversal.

Rebirth didn't have a lot of Zerith pay-off, but if anything that's a good thing. If it did I would be worried about what would happen in part 3 to flip that pay-off on its head. Instead Zerith has gotten a lot of build-up that is now screaming to receive pay-off in part 3.

We have shots of Zack desperately trying to come back to Aerith. We have Aerith admitting she still has feelings for Zack. We have Aerith desperately trying to recreate her time with Zack. We have Tifa and Aerith talking about Zack. We have Aerith sensing Zacks touch in the cave of the GI. We have Aerith singing songs about meeting again. We have Aerith admitting to seeing Zack again in Cloud. We have Aerith instantly going to Zacks parents. We have Cloud talking about how Zack is head over heels for Aerith. We have Zack in Nibelheim talking to Cloud about their respective girlfriends

And the question you need to ask for all these things is "why?" Why would they include all these scenes if it's not getting a pay-off? Why show scenes of Aerith trying and failing to recreate her days with Zack interspersed with scenes of Zack trying to get back to her if that ultimately isn't of importance? Why show Zack positively contrasted with a negatively presented Cloud if the message you're trying to convey is that Zack has been replaced? Why show Zack to be an amazing guy if you want to end his arc with people being ok with him being rejected? Why make a themesong with the desire for meeting again at its core and have Zacks entire story in the game being about trying to reunite with Aerith if the point of that reunion is heartbreak?

The answer is that a writer wouldn't do those things, they make no sense. If you want your love story to feel positive then you need to disassemble the alternatives first. You need to show how the other pairings don't work, minimize their importance, or in some other way make it clear to the audience that the "main couple" coming together is the desirable outcome.

If you want to show that Aerith is getting over Zack you don't spend your limited screentime showing Aerith pining over Zack, you instead show how she's no longer occupying his mind as much. If you want to show Aerith getting over Zack you don't have her talking about still loving him, you instead have her talking about how she DID once, but that that was a long time ago. You don't end her arc with a date that remind the viewer of the existence of Zack, but one that is fully between Cloud and Aerith. If you want to show the compatibility of Cloud and Aerith then you don't make it so that everything goes wrong, you make it so that the dream date goes "DREAMY"!. And if you want to sell the idea that Aerith is over Zack and has come to the conclusion that she truly romantically loves Cloud then you DON'T place that confession right after said horrible date, with Zack scenes left right and center, a Cloud thats talking about you being "nakama", and Aerith dialogue that at best says she's not sure about what she feels, and at worst is a straight up friendzoning. If you want to replace a very positively portrayed romance then you will need the end all be all of chemistry and certainty in the new one, and talks about "well, I like you, but there is liking and then there's liking" is NOT a recipe for that.

In short, if you want to sell the idea that Cloud has truly replaced Zack in Aeriths heart and more importantly IN THE NARRATIVE, then you don't put emphasis on the existence of Aeriths feelings for Zack, and you don't put emphasis on Zacks feelings for Aerith. Those things all serve to maximize the connection between Aerith and Zack when what you need to do if you want to sell Clerith is minimize it. The reason being that this romance is in narrative conflict with the supposed Aerith Cloud romance, and the stronger the Aerith Zack connection is presented, the more extravagant the bond between Cloud and Aerith needs to be written for the story to make sense.

And that won't happen when you have Cloud deriding Aerith for the way she tries turning everything into a date the one moment, and then a scene showing Zack taking care of Aerith while in a coma the next. It doesn't happen when you show a scene of Cloud bonding with Tifa in one scene and almost kissing her, and then show Zack bonding with Aeriths mother in the next. It doesn't happen when you show Aerith failing to recreate her date with Zack and asking Cloud to find her in "her place", and then show Zack waiting for Aerith in "her place" the next.

All these things signal the same thing "Zack good for Aerith, Cloud bad".

You can extrapolate this idea beyond Rebirth of course. If Zack and Aerith isn't getting a pay-off what is the point of re-releasing Crisis Core before Rebirth? If the point is to show that Zack is no longer in the picture what is the point of showing off an entire game all about how important he and Aerith are to each other and about how desperate he is to get back to her? What is the point of showing that the bow Aerith is always wearing was gift from him. What is the point of her always wearing the clothes that she said she'd wear in anticipation of seeing him again. What is the point in bringing up the fact that she wrote Zack 89 letters and has been waiting for him for 5 years if Zack is replaceable in 2 weeks? What is the point of writing that Aeriths one wish is to spend more time with Zack if her literally spending time with a Zack stand-in isn't relevant? What is the point of writing it that Aerith didn't just see Zack in Cloud because they're similar...but because he's LITERALLY putting on a fake persona based on Zack, if Zacks presence in Clouds persona is irrelevant to Aeriths feelings regarding him?

If you want us to believe that Aerith likes Cloud for Cloud then these are all very questionable writing choices, especially when you also keep harping on about her wanting to get to know the real Cloud, which implies that she doesn't know him YET. It's not that you can't still have it so that Aerith does actually prefer Cloud despite all this, but if that's the case then you've failed as a writer because this would be VERY incoherent storytelling. If the writers want you to believe that Aerith has moved on from Zack, then they shouldn't and wouldn't have spend so much time showing Aerith not having moved on from Zack. Ultimately the question is one of focus, a story about Aerith falling in love with Cloud, and a story about moving on from Zack might look superficially similar, and entail the same basic events. But the difference is the focus. Is that focus on Cloud and what he means to Aerith? Or is the focus on Zack? In rebirth there is a heavy focus, not on the developing bond between Cloud and Aerith, those are limited almost exclusively to Tifa, but there is a heavy focus on Aeriths feelings in regards to Zack. There is no storytelling purpose to Aerith telling Cloud she still loves Zack 3/4ths of the way through her story if the focus of the story isn't Aeriths feelings for Zack, but her feelings for Cloud. If the writers wanted you to think Zack doesn't matter they wouldn't spend so much time hammering in the idea that Zack matters. These moments are all in service to Aerith and Zack, not Aerith and Cloud.

Even things like Zack discovering that Aerith has started developing feelings for Cloud only makes sense to include if the pay-off for that is them reuniting and him showing Aerith what love really is. So if we saw in Rebirth wasn't a "lack of Zerith", then what DID we see? Well, to reiterate what I said earlier:

If you want your love story to feel positive then you need to disassemble the alternatives first.

This is what we saw in Rebirth, Cloud and Aerith being disassembled, so that part 3 can get us to the pay-off. We see Cloud and Aerith bonding, yes, but it's ALWAYS contrasted with Tifa and Zack. If we have a scene where Aerith tries to engage Cloud in talks concerning food he will be shown to engage with the same discouraging passivity of the average woman on tinder, then that scene will invariably be followed by a similar scene with Tifa where he is enthusiastically trying to keep the conversation flowing. If we see a scene where Aerith is trying to get a certain energy from Cloud and failing, it won't be long till we see a scene of Zack having that same desired energy naturally.

In short, Rebirth was filled with scenes that "serve a purpose in the overall narrative". But the only way those scenes WOULD serve a purpose in the overall narrative, is if the overall narrative is: "Aerith is trying to get over Zack and is trying to move on through Cloud. But by doing so she discovers that it's just not the same. While Cloud helps Aerith move on and accept the past, he can never replace Zack". If the overall narrative is: "Aerith used to be pining over Zack, but now she has truly replaced Zack in her heart with Cloud and Zack is a relic of the past" then none of these scenes would make sense to include. You can also look at it like this, why didn't Rebirth have a Zerith Reunion scene? Because apparently that's too important of a scene to quickly tack on to the end of part 2. Nomura has already hinted at something very important to include in part 3 that wasn't in part 2, something that he thinks will make people very happy if done right. And I am pretty freaking confident that what he's talking about is the long-awaited Aerith - Zack reunion. And that is why this game is extremely favorable to Zerith, so be excited for part 3.

[vyl3tpwny]

You inspired me to get back into Bangarang era Skrillex without shame in my heart and to embrace the (harmless) cringe in my soul. As well as seek out other lesser known artists who keep up that sound. So, thanks!

real talk i have been making music for almost two decades now. when i first heard skrillex's music i instantly knew it was amazing. but i couldn't really express why. as i've gotten older, spent lots and lots of time making music and learning about music and researching, a lot of things i used to adore don't impress me like when i first heard them. but even all this time later, skrillex's music — past and present — is incredible and untouchable. i think a lot of casual listeners do not realize just how flawless, complex, and perfectly executed his sound design and ideas are across the board. the best thing you can do when listening to skrillex's music is just pick out ONE single sound and ask yourself "how did he create this sound? how do you go about creating this sound from scratch". the casual listener rarely considers a question like this, but when you ask this about nearly anything skrillex makes, even if you can fathom an answer it's still the most mindblowing thing in the world.

but sound design is not everything either. i got sucked into the soundcloud community around 2016 or so. to any of my soundcloud classmates, peers, and alumni, hey how are you doing <3 but the soundcloud scene of 2016-2019 was a VERY specific beast. a lot of the music that emerged during the scene's height was this idea that sound design is always more important than anything else. so you would have tons and tons and tons of songs that came out that had crazy sound design ... but not much else. this goes back to skrillex's music. skrillex's sound design isn't just complex, but it's also executed with amazing songwriting. it isn't just a tech fest, he's making amazing songs, perfectly accessible, with incredible sound design as the foundation rather than the only thing the music has to offer. for a while i think i had been so swept up by the soundcloud scene that i rlly ignored songwriting in favour of sound design, like i had to choose.

that is to say, skrillex's music has been and will always be a pinnacle of what "festival EDM" should be evaluated as in standard. i've already done my share of criticizing skrillex for how he butchered "dubstep", and i'm not going to ever pretend that such criticism does not exist. but regardless, EDM is an extremely saturated genre which has caused lots of people to hate or misunderstand it. i think if people focused more on making strong songs and not tunnelvisioning on one aspect of the music, EDM would be more compelling to more people, beyond just 'sounding good' or 'being a banger'.

scary monsters and nice sprites, the song, is a really good song. it has a pretty standard arrangement and flow, but moment to moment it's always interesting and full. the production is so ridiculously clean and dynamic but does not skimp out on making shit sound beefy and deep as well. but what a lot of people don't realize is that the sound design on that song is so incredible, that in a lot of music spaces, it's considered a holy grail to whoever fully reverse engineers the growls in scary monsters. for over 10 years now, there have been dedicated skype groups, discord servers, youtube streams, and forum threads on people literally dedicating portions of their music making lives to trying to understand JUST the scary monsters growls alone. what makes it so elusive is that it's likely done with the FM8 synth and trying to reverse engineer more than 2-3 operators on an FM synth is literally a death sentence. skrillex himself probably couldn't remake it from scratch, only create something similar doing the moves he would do in FM8. but the scary monsters growls are literally a holy grail and people are STILL working in small community pockets to figure out how it was done, 14 years after the album came out.

[markantonys]

I came across a Twitter thread that said the set up for the docks when it comes to the Warder bond between Lan and Moiraine was handled much better in the books cause in the show they feel like the mechanics of the Warder bond was too vague/not explained well in the show that they weren't able to connect with Moiraine and Lan's emotional conflict in s2 because of it. And I am a bit confused cause honestly I don't think the books explain how the Warder bond works at all from what I remember. Just making a lot of wild claims about how everything about the books are better and how the show is fumbling when they haven't even read half the series yet (show first to book reader). Just this trend to shit talk every choice the show makes when you don't even know the full complete story is wild to me

haters: the show hasn't done enough to explain how the bond works

all the screentime across 2 seasons the show has dedicated to showing how the bond works which the haters kept complaining was a waste of time better spent on rand having swordfights:

like literally what do they want lmao some people will never be satisfied!

but the mention of the "mechanics" of the bond is interesting to me because i think we may be hitting upon 2 different types of viewers here: the minority of lore enthusiasts who need to understand every single detail about how things work or else they will be upset and lose immersion, and the majority of audiences who are content with a general understanding of how things work and don't get hung up on details, or will at most go "hmmm i'm not sure if this makes sense, but it's a cool story beat so i'm happy to shrug and move on".

the former category were going "but what weaves is moiraine doing now? did they actually unbond and now she's remaking it from scratch? i thought the bond was only masked? this is such a plothole, it doesn't make sense, i can't concentrate on anything else about the scene" during the 2x08 moiraine & lan beach scene, and the latter category were thinking "what a beautiful and emotionally satisfying moment of seeing them come back together!" and that's it. and probably similar for the rest of the season. if somebody felt unable to connect with the emotional aspects of that storyline, i would bet it's because they felt too unclear about the mechanics of the state of the bond and couldn't let go of that confusion enough to sink into the emotional aspects. (which is really more of a personal thing; my show-only mom was definitely keyed into the emotional aspects of this storyline and didn't get bothered about some mechanics being left vague. in fact, i think she would've just gotten confused if they'd tried to explain the mechanics in more detail djkfjg bless her.)

undeniably, the show does not explain magic mechanics in as much depth as the books do. but that is because it's banking on the very fair assumption that the majority of audiences don't need to have this level of detail in order to enjoy and understand the story (and may get more confused than they need to be if they ARE given this level of detail). i'll admit that s2 was a bit muddled on What Exactly Is Going On with moiraine and lan's bond, and i found myself a bit confused by the mechanics at times, but that never impeded my appreciation or understanding of the emotional aspects of the storyline because i'm someone who is happy to shrug and move on if the mechanics of how something is functioning in a fantasy story aren't making total sense to me.

also, moiraine & lan at the docks won't happen until the end of s3 and it's very very possible we might learn even more about bond mechanics earlier in s3 via elayne and birgitte (who will be good candidates for explaining some New Bond Basics that it wouldn't make sense for moiraine and lan to talk about since they've had theirs for 20 years), so like..........maybe they should just Watch And Find Out.

it's also very interesting that this is coming from someone in the show-to-book pipeline because i honestly would not be surprised if a lot of their base knowledge for how warder bonds works was absorbed..........from the show. and they just don't realize it. granted, if they started with new spring it might be different because i'm assuming new spring goes into a lot of depth about how warder bonds work (though i don't know for sure, i haven't read it). but if they only read EOTW-TFOH, they sure as shit are not gonna have gotten much info about bonds *from the books* because we barely spend any time with characters who are part of a bond during those books. we get, what, maybe a couple chapters total of moiraine or lan pov and then start diving into it a tiny bit more in TFOH with elayne and birgitte, but it's really not that much from what i can remember - and i can't remember very well, because i went into the books already having a very solid understanding of the concept of the bond thanks to all the work s1 put into showing it. i do not remember learning anything significant about the bond in the first 5 books that i didn't already know from s1.

it's also so strange to me in general to see people start with the show, then go to the books, and then start hating on the show because as a show-to-book pipeline person myself, all going to the books did was make me go "wow thank fuck for the show, it will fix X, it will fix Y, it's already fixed Z" basically constantly. it made me 10000x more grateful for and appreciative of the show and the way it's choosing to tell the story!

[burst-of-iridescent]

atla live action thoughts: episode 6

SPOILERS AHEAD

tw: opinions

things i liked:

love the moment where roku tells aang friends can be a liability and you can see in his face that he's thinking of sozin

koh lore is interesting. funnily enough i've also written koh being the son of the mother of faces in a fic before so i see netflix has been hitting up ao3

(for legal reasons, that was a joke)

i like zhao forcing zuko to turn aang over more than him capturing aang with the yuyan archers himself like in the original. this 100% feels like something animated zhao would do and it really drives home how much of a disadvantage zuko's at. this is the dynamic i wanted to see between the two of them

lmao @ zhao wanting to get every detail of his capture of the avatar in writing, and aang blowing air at him to send him falling over himself. they pulled that right from the original and it's great

BLUE SPIRIT TIME BABY

this fight (well the parts of it that i can see) is SO GOOD. pretty sure it's almost a shot for shot remake of the original and zuko and aang are working together seamlessly

oh i fucking LOVE that zuko and aang are trapped together and get to talk. zuko smiling despite himself... aang trying so earnestly to get through to him... the way zuko actually seems to be listening to him before he hears the word compassion... chef's kiss this was an INSPIRED change

"do you think we could've been friends too?"

the transitions from younger, happier zuko to older, traumatized zuko are fucking painful. the one where he looks into the mirror to see his unscarred, smiling self for just a moment before it flashes to his present reality... next time just shoot me netflix

"he will recover" "but he will never heal"

young zuko lying in bed sobbing as he's banished by his own father what if i killed myself

HIS CREW BEING THE 41st DIVISION HE LOST EVERYTHING TO PROTECT whichever writer suggested that needs a raise posthaste

"our prince" who is cutting all of these fucking onions

things i disliked/am conflicted about:

this is where the show suffers as an adaptation, because if the animation didn't exist, the agni kai would've been fine. zuko trying to dodge, having the chance to hurt ozai yet actively choosing not to out of love, being beaten up, pinned down and brutally burned as he whimpers in fear - all of that works on its own. it conveys zuko's compassion and ozai's brutality just fine, but not to the level that the cartoon does. the scene is brutal in both versions but animated zuko not even trying to fight, sobbing and begging on his knees, and being maimed anyway just hits harder than the netflix version

not sure if i saw it right but it seemed as though there were tears in ozai and azula's eyes??? i can maybe see it for this version of azula but in no world would ozai be crying over burning zuko. it feels like they're trying to make this version of ozai more complex but he was FINE as a classic villain

that being said, i do like ozai holding zuko's hand to his heart as he burns him. the symbolism of zuko trying to reach for his father's love while ozai permanently brands his cruelty on his son... ate

i don't even like roku in the animation all that much but his presence has been weirdly reduced in the show, even though he's the avatar aang is closest to. aang having to take on the burden of redeeming roku's failure is a significant part of their dynamic and i want more of that

hollywood i'm begging you to shoot night scenes that people can see because parts of the blue spirit and aang fight sequence were so dark i looked like the squinting lady meme

i really wish we'd still gotten the moment in the storm where zuko saved the helmsman. i know they kinda replaced it with the crew realizing they were only alive because of zuko's sacrifice, but they could've done both to show how much zuko still cares, even if he can't show it

how are we 3/4th of the way into the season and aang is STILL ONLY BENDING AIR

overall rating: 9/10. definitely the best of the series so far and i love how they expanded on zuko's backstory and his relationship to aang

[beloved-cat-gremlin]

Spoilers for the FF7 franchice and Dirge of Cerberus under the cut. This warning is mostly for my friend who's currently playing the original game.

Before I go on with my ramblings I wanna make clear that the only games/media in the FF7 franchise I've gotten through are the original FF7, Crisis Core/Crisis Core Reunion, Advent Children (complete), Dirge of Cerberus and bits and pieces of both Remake and Rebirth.

If some of my information seems faulty in my rant please don't be afraid to give me more details.

I'm planing on going through Before Crisis, Ever Crisis and three books which I know are important to some world and character building. If anyone knows more games or media I should go through to fully understand the FF7 lore and story, hit me with it.

With that out of the way.

Let's talk about Lucrecia Crescent shall we?

I've seen people completely hate on Lucrecia, blaming her for all the things that went wrong in the story.

I've seen people defend her as if she was an innocent angel who didn't do anything wrong.

And I've seen people claim she is an important character because she is a "bad person", saying that she went through all of her choices and actions with full confidence and full knowledge of the causes and consequences of her actions. And that it makes her a "good" character with story telling.

And I have to very respectfully disagree with all of those statements.

Do I think Lucrecia is at fault and to blame for everything? No.

Do I think Lucrecia did nothing wrong and she was only a victim in the story? No.

Do I think she was a genuinely bad person and did all of the things she did with full understanding of the situation? No.

I think that Lucrecia is a very deeply flawed character, who went through several hardships, made bad choices with the idea of achieving something good, only to realize the mistakes of her actions the moment everything crumbled around her.

First big topic on the whole thing.

"Did Lucrecia do the experiments on purpose?"

Short answer: yes. Long answer: She is a scientist who works for Shinra. Her main job is to conduct experiments and discover new things in her field. She clearly loved her job and loved doing things for it to further their research. Of course she would be open for certain experiments, even if it would put someone or even herself in danger. She deeply cared for her career and wanted to make a major breakthrough.

However that doesn't mean she did them out of ill intend. I'm pretty sure she went into these experiments believing that she was doing something good for her research and the company. I highly doubt she thought that things would turn out this bad.

And I think another reason for her continuation of these experiments must have been Grimoire's death. This was the first moment that got the snowball rolling.

Grimoire's death was devastating for her. She deeply cared for him and his death must have made her feel broken. She blamed herself for his death. But in reality it was no ones fault. It was a stupid accident leading to horrible consequences.

Which also leads into point two.

"Vincent's feelings for Lucrecia were unrequited."

This line alone is bullshit to me. "Unrequited" my ass. Lucrecia very clearly had feelings for Vincent. But there was two reasons to why she decided to choose Hojo over Vincent. The first being the aforementioned death of Grimoire, aka Vincent's father. Lucrecia blamed herself for his death and she was filled with such guilt that she thought she didn't deserve to be with Vincent.

The second factor being, that she genuinely saw something in Hojo that attracted her to him. I don't think that the sole reason she chose Hojo over Vincent is her lingering guilt, but rather that Hojo did possess qualities that Lucrecia liked about him. They are both scientists. They both work in the same field. They both share interests and ideas. I think that Lucrecia did truly value someone who would be able to share her interests. And Hojo was just that.

(Not to mention that Hojo probably hid some of his true intentions and personality from Lucrecia in order to gain her trust for cooperation on the Jenova project. If Lucrecia would have seen what Hojo was truly like before finding Vincent shot, she would have chosen Vincent any day over Hojo.)

In short I believe the reason Lucrecia did end up with Hojo is just an unfortunate mix of guilt and yet still lingering admiration. She chose him out of her own free will, but also in combination that it might be a punishment for the things she had done to Vincent. Even if it wasn't her fault.

Which leads me to point three in all of this.

"Lucrecia chose to do the experiments fully knowing what would happen."

I do believe that she fully agreed to doing the Jenova experiment. This goes back to my first point that I made: that Lucrecia truly valued her work and the field she put her research in. So I believe that Lucrecia went through the experiment with Jenova cells thinking that she would achieve something that would benefit the company as a whole.

But do I believe that she also knew that her child would be taken from her and given to the company to be further experimented on and turned into a weapon for Shinra to use whenever they please? Fuck no!

If her cries to see Sephiroth just once aren't enough proof that she clearly wanted to be there for her child while the experiment would continue, then idk what else you need.

Lucrecia couldn't have known that they would take her child. That they would refuse to let her hold, let alone see her child. She could have never known that this would happen. She was aware that her child would be beneficial to the company, but she probably assumed that she could still care for her child.

Also let's take in consideration: We know what Jenova is. We know what her true intentions are and what she is able to do to people.

Let's see what the characters in the story think Jenova is at this very moment: They believe that Jenova was one of the Ancients. A race that once lived on the planet in peace and harmony with the lifestream. At this point in time none of the scientists knew what Jenova truly was.

Lucrecia probably assumed that once her child was born that it would still be a normal kid only with the abilities that the Ancients used to have in the past.

And yes. Lucrecia did get those flashes of the future later on. Partly seeing of what would become of Sephiroth and Jenova. But can we really assume that she knew that the man she saw in her visions was her own son? I doubt that. And again she only got these flashes of the future after she already agreed to the experiment. Prior to that she didn't know.

To summarize this part: Lucrecia did go through the experiment on her own will, but with different expectations to what would actually happen with her child and the unfortunate misunderstanding of what Jenova truly was. And even with the visions she still couldn't have fully understood what the consequences were.

And the final part to all of this which I've seen some people complain about.

"Lucrecia doing bad decisions on the account of having mental breakdowns is bad writing."

Lucrecia went through a lot of shit.

First she loses her work partner -who she deeply cared for- to an unfortunate accident that happens through dumb desicions and actions. Causing her to blame herself for his death.

Already she is grieving over the loss of someone important. Then said work partner's son is appointed to work with her, causing the guilt to grow stronger as she feels like she ruined Vincent's life. Not just that but Vincent alone reminds her of Grimoire. Causing her to never be able to truly let go of the mistakes of the past.

Then she finds herself conflicted with her feelings as she does feel something for both Vincent and Hojo. But her dedication to her job and the still lingering guilt cause her to choose Hojo over Vincent.

She then gets pregnant and agrees to go through an experiment that could be beneficial for the company while still being able to create a family of her own.

After that she gains strange visions of the future, causing Vincent to get suspicious about the whole thing and confronting Lucrecia about it. Lucrecia at this point was dealing with her pregnancy, the loss of her work partner, her still lingering feelings toward Vincent and the pressure of the experiment. Of course she would lash out at Vincent.

She then finds out that her husband had shot and killed her assigned bodyguard, who tried to intervene in the experiment for her own good after he witnessed how Lucrecia was only hurting herself with all this mental anguish.

Not only does she have to deal with the loss of someone she had feelings for, but she basically had to relieve Grimoire's death all over again. Only this time she also found out that her husband was crazy and decided to experiment on her bodyguard.

At this point I think I would also become more than desperate to try and bring back someone who I cared for. Even if it meant infusing them with something that I'm not sure will keep them alive or not.

Lucrecia's choice to put Chaos inside Vincent to try and save him makes sense in my eyes. Not just that but Hojo kept putting things in her head. Manipulating her thoughts on what he wants her to believe she was doing. Lucrecia was a broken person at the end.

And to top it all off at the very end she isn't even allowed to see her son. She had lost everything in the end. Her work partner, her feelings for Vincent, the husband she assumed would care for her, Vincent himself, her own will and actions and now even her own son. No wonder she wanted to end her own life.

Lucrecia isn't to blame for everything. She also isn't some innocent victim in all of this. And she especially isn't a bad person who went through all of these things knowing the following results and trying to play victim.

Lucrecia is someone who deeply values her work and the company she is placed under. She is someone who made mistakes at the wrong place at the wrong time and is grieving the loss of someone important.

She is someone who was conflicted with her feelings toward two people she had feelings for, choosing someone with the thought of having done the right thing.

She is someone who went through hardships and desicions that she assumed would lead to good outcomes, only to have once again been thrown under the bus by being tricked by someone she assumed loved her and through misunderstandings.

She is someone who was broken mentally through the wrong choices she made and in her panic only made things worse because she wasn't able to think clearly.

Lucrecia Crescent is a deeply flawed character who wanted to do things for the better only to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And being guided by unfortunate events that lead her to doing even more unfortunate choices.

[dawnanddorisqna]

Hey, thanks for putting up an ask blog! Don't know if tumblr is the best place to put it for social media engagement, but then again Neil Gaiman seems to be enjoying himself so who am I to judge?

I have a whole bunch of questions, and I'm not sure if it'd be annoying to flood your inbox with them, so feel free to pick and choose any of these to reply.

Questions for Dawn: who would you consider to be the animated 'it' girl right now?

What do you think about the recent trend of 'fleshwashing' that Disney has been pushing when it comes to remakes? Is this part of a bias against toons when it comes to casting?

In your opinion, who do you think is the best 'old-school' toon who still actively performs? Questions for Doris: Has toontown managed to avoid the plague of gentrification that hit a lot of other older neighborhoods in LA?

Is there a union for animated actors? If there is, how effective is it in your opinion? Have things gotten better or worse for animated actors over the years?

Did you ever get to know your animator? If not, would you have wanted to know them?

We should probably get a reddit at some point. Everyone on tumblr has been amazing though. We do have an instagram, @dawn_doodle and @dorisdoodle_toon.

There's also a fanmade discord! One we need to check on more after we're done...preparing some new things.

Who do I think is the current it girl of animation? It changes so fast, but my vote right now is POMNI! Who doesn't feel like Pomni like daily? Also, indie!

Check back in a month when my answer may change again!

What do we think of all these live action remakes? I still don't mind them too much, but Avatar on netflix might be unnecessary. I'm starting to wear thin. Doris gave a rambling answer on this before and I don't think her opinion has changed.

Best old School toon still in business? I think we actually have an agreement on this one and that's this 2D Girl boss!

Was Toon town able to avoid any gentrification? Here's Doris with a history lesson:

As some people know, ToonTown was left to the toons, and that was great. We could vote for changes in the town and run it ourselves, but that didn't mean we were separate from California and certain laws. So it was devastating when it was decided that the land we lived on wasn't fully ours and the decision to build a freeway system was still being considered. This was in the 50s and I had already moved out of ToonTown, but I heard about the protests and letters written to Earl Warren.

None of it helped, and in 1956, Eisenhower signed the highway act and a freeway was constructed. So the town wasn't as saved as the movie "Who Frames Roger Rabbit" lets you believe.

Since the toons owned ToonTown, they couldn't just completely destroy it. We were just told to move. So the town is split up into districts. There's one near Disneyland, another a few streets from Universal. Always near studios. They like keeping an eye on their assets. So at least we got to keep the town in some way.

Is there a union for toons? There have been attempts. But in the end were considered intellectual property of the studios. fully owned and by contract from the moment the first line is sketched. A lot of older toons have a little more freedom from those contracts. By older, I'm talking Bugs Bunny and the Peanuts kids. That's starting to get harder though as studios are stating to hold a tighter grip on animation. It's less a creative thought process and more business. Doris says it's colder in a behind closed doors way. I say that cold is starting to leak into the outside. So yeah, no union, especially for newly drawn stars, and well...things aren't exactly getting better.

Did we get to know our creators?

Doris did!

We all do I guess while being drawn. but it's not as personal now. I was kinda made through a committee. So there are artists who really care and I would've wanted to get to know them, but there are also execs, studio owners, managers, all hovering around to check on their investment. And once approved, you are under studio control. It's nice if the artists can stick around at the studio, but most times they're laid off once the creation is done and they need to go work at another place. This goes into that whole colder thing. From what Doris has shown me, it was a little more fun before. Animators and toons would just hang out I guess.

They would even have fun with their voice actors.

Today, studios want big celebrities to give us our voices. So they usually come in to lay down the track and then leave with the paycheck. Not all though, I heard Jack Black like to see the characters he's given a voice too. It just doesn't happen often.

Sorry it took a while to get to your question! We're trying to get a few things going right now so our timing is way off.

Also, a list of questions is always good, keep em coming!

[soundcrusher]

2, 4, 14, 35 for YOU GUESSED IT! Reeve!!

Honestly, I was expecting something else from you. But I would never turn down my babygirl.

2: A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

Hmmm… what hill shall I chose to die on?

Well, this is going to sound boring, but I’m definitely standing with the “Reeve’s an Inspire” side of the hill. From what I have read and seen, it’s a really cool concept and a shame that it’s not utilized in the games. I mean, how cool is the power to breath live into inanimate objects?

And the way I see it, an inanimate object isn’t just limited to machines and robots, like Cait Sith. The definition of “inanimate” can encapsule so many things, the only thing stopping Reeve from inspiring something like a mug, is himself.

Honestly, I don’t think this man knows just what exactly he can do. Be it from a lack of knowing, or a fear of experimentation.  

(I also like to think that there’s a connection between people with the inspire ability and the planet. It’s probably not like the connection the Cetras have, but it is kind of weird that someone would exist, who has a similar ability as to the lifestream. I mean, the lifestream is said to be able to bring new life, something that this middle-aged guy in a suit can do too, just not in that extent.)

4: Favourite line

This is a hard one, because I have little experience with Reeve outside Remake and Rebirth, and I haven’t gotten far in Dirge of Cerberus. But one quote that stuck out to me, even more than the one where Reeve talks about the Sector Seven plate crash, is this one from Dirge of Cerberus.

Reeve: “Let me ask you. Does the wind sound like a thousand wailing souls? Listen. Can you hear them? The cries?”

It’s hard to explain, at least for me, but the way Reeve says this, with a voice that might sound level-headed, but at the same time conveys so much fear. It struck me and made me wonder at the same time. How many hear the voices?

It is said that the people of Edge hear the voices, but it still makes me wonder.  Is there a difference between Reeve and other people.

Either way, it’s a cool line and I fucking love it for the vibes it brings.

14: Most heroic moment

Fucking damn it. As I already said, I only know Reeve from Rebirth, Remake and what little I have seen from Dirge of Cerberus, but if I had to pick the “most heroic moment” from the limited knowledge I have, I would have to go with the one, where Cait Sith sees the aftermath of the plate drop.

Yes, it’s not directly Reeve, but, it’s still him.

From what I know, Reeve sees the things he creates as his children, or, at least, they are similar viewed. Which means, sending Cait to Sector Seven was a deliberate act on Reeve’s part. Perhaps, he wanted to warn people, try to save as many people as he could, and or prevent the drop all together. He builds those things after all, and or knows the passwords to the support pillars.

As Cait, he could have done something, if the time wasn’t up. And so, I like to believe that that’s his most heroic moment. Even if he failed, and he did fail, what’s more heroic than trying to right a wrong, despite of what could happen to you.

I am also sure that, if Shinra would have caught Reeve meddling with their plans, our man could have had a fate worse than death. And he most like knew that, but still decided to send Cait out to act as a proxy.

And, by all means, that’s more heroic than blowing up reactors and killing thousands of innocent people. (There, I said it.)

35: Their idea of a perfect day

Honestly, I doubt that Reeve ever gets a perfect day.

This man attracts chaos and whatnot on a daily basis, while also having to deal with a plethora of people vying for his attention. There’s hardly any time for a “perfect” day.

And while I could say that, a perfect day for him would be one, where work’s just right and he doesn’t get bothered by anyone (be it during Shinra time or when he leads the WRO), I still like to think that a perfect day doesn’t involve work at all.

A perfect day for Reeve, as I see it, would involve him being at home. Tinkering with his next little invention, or just doing a silly thing. Like sowing Cait Sith some new clothes (that’s a headcanon of mine), or doing other tasks that keep his hands occupied, while he’s relaxing. Maybe he’s even reading a new book, but falling asleep halfway through, and getting some of that needed sleep back.

His perfect day could also involve deepening the friendships he made, by either visiting Tifa’s bar, or hanging out with Cid. I mean, you can’t just introduce two engineers and not stick them together in a room to tinker together and create new inventions. Like, I bet they tried to make a jet-bag once, only for Vincent to stop them.

But yeah. A perfect day is just a day where Reeve gets to do things he wants to do, while not worrying about work.

[toothedmammal]

Just got done watching Pluto (2023) and I got thoughts about them

For context, Pluto is an retelling of the Astro Boy arc "The Greatest Robot in the World" redone as a murder mystery/political intrigue type story, I feel like it did a really cool job trying imagine the sort of social and emotional things that would happen if humans really did share a world with sentient robots. Like it's very clear from the get go that robots in this world are capable of feeling emotions, even if the many of the humans they live with don't know or acknowledge that fact. I really like the way that Asmov's first law of robotics was implemented and interrogated, I really like how there were so many characters with unmoving faces yet still their emotions were conveyed by the dialogue and framing of the scene, theres a lot I like about Pluto and id highly recommend checking it out if you're into animation or sci-fi or robot stories!

...that being said, im not sure how familiar you need to be with the OG Astro Boy lore and worldbuilding for this story to make sense despite Astro/Atom not being super central to this version, there are places where things just aren't explained because of assumed familiarity with the source material, Uran's abilities and Atom's like...whole deal being big ones imo.

Overall I really liked Pluto (2023), there were parts that really fucking moved me, the fuckin arc with North No.2 made me close to tears ngl. I would recommend watching it, but I also have a few thoughts on the ending, which I've written below to try and sort them out. Spoilers below:

"Hate doesn't make anything [good]" is a good moral and all but are we just going to ignore the fact that all this bullshit started cause of the in universe version of the Iraq war? Cause the stand in for the US just fuckin invaded a sovereign nation under the guise of weapons of mass destruction and humanitarian/robotitarian rights violations and then just indiscriminately laid waste to everyone living there?

Maybe I shouldn't have expected a full on anti-imperialst/anti-colonial screed from what is at the end of the day an officially endorsed Astro Boy remake but the buildup really felt like it was going somewhere more profound and critical of the status quo than just "hate and revenge is bad"

Idk, I feel like the President of Thracia should have gotten more comupance than just a light strangling and a brief moment of existential dread, like that wouldn't fix anything realistically and would totally go against the moral of the story but at the same time like...if you want the cycle of hate and revenge to stop you do have to actually take measures to ensure that the people who set the war in motion can't just do that again later. At least show the president of Thracia being brought in front of the international court or something and imply that systemic change might happen. Which yeah would be unrealistic but idk if the end note is supposed to be one of hope for a better future where there is no more hatred, then showing some concrete steps to prevent the biggest superpower from just starting another war cause they feel like it would make that feel a bit more achievable.

I am overthinking an officially endorsed Astro Boy fanfiction, it made me mad. Maybe I just want to see at least a fictional version of my stupid bloodthirsty dogshit country face consequences for its genocidal actions.

I also still have no fucking idea what that teddy bear/Bitcoin mining rig was or how it effected any of the events in the plot. It was framed like a mastermind at the last minute but then no explanation was given, maybe it's a reference I'm missing to the OG Astro Boy story, or it was explained more in the Manga. Idk. I'll read the manga and see I guess.

[marvelsage]

Namor

Namor x Pacific Islander Reader

Reader is a mutant/bender

Reader is written as Pacific Islander but it’s mainly POC friendly (I don know if I’m saying this right:)

You and Nakia had just arrived in the cave that held Shuri and Riri Williams. Nakia had asked you to join to help ‘balance’ out the playing field. You had the ability to bend the elements earth and water. Anyways, Nakia had injured one of the people who were also trying to defend themselves.

“I can help!”

“Shuri, we need to go!” Kneeling beside Shuri, you need water over the wound, applying pressure.

“Give me your beads!”Using one hand to gently hold the girls face so she’s maintaining eye contact.

“Paakat in Yaan in wáantikech” You spoke to her in her native tongue and by the way her eyes widened just the slightest it surprised.

“Look at me. I’m going to help you.”

“Shuri, you need to go.”

“What but Y/n I-”

“I got this, go. Go!” She reluctantly rushes to Nakia who shoots you a look.

“I’ll be right behind you.” Turning away from them and back to the girl, you focused on the wound. A small glow illuminated form your hands before disappearing. Her eyes shine in wonder and awe as you caress her face, letting the water coax her to relax.

“Shh, ma‘alo‘ob Yaan a yaantal ma‘alob”

“Shh, it’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”

“Nííb óolal”

“Thank you”

You nod before standing, turning to leave you meet a toned chest. Meeting his eyes a warmth cloaked your being as your breathe hitched.

“Ts‘áik, Táan wáaja herido?” A slightly raspy voice calls to the girl you just helped over your shoulder.

“Interesting, are you hurt?”

‘shiiit’ You thought as she responds that you had healed her . Focusing back on you he analyzes you entirely and when he meet your eyes again it almost felt internally as well.

“T’aan a t‘aan in t‘aano‘ ”

“You speak my language.”

“Wa” You reply calmly as if you weren’t in a strained situation right now. For a moment you both just stood there and tried to figure out why this was.

“Yes”

“K’uk’ulkan Ts’o’ok u púuts’ul” The reminder that you had been apart of the escape popped the bubble you were in. You felt the water in the air shift before ducking to avoid his spear.

“K’uk’ulkan, they have gotten away!”

Bending a water whip to send him back, stomping the ground to send two semi boulders to the other two with him. You rush to the pool and dive in, another force following behind. With your mutation your could swim fast but he was still right behind you when you looked. You blasted a current his way using the momentum to reach the surface faster.

“Y/n!” Clambering out quickly, rushing to the quinjet that had just turned back, only to be tackled.

“Not so face.” Rolling over to face him was a struggle, but once you did you grabbed his head and slammed yours against his. He only groaned at the itch but that was all you needed and successfully switched places with you straddling him.

“Ka wu‘uyik, ma‘ in wu‘uyi”

“Sorry not sorry”

“Y/n!” Punching the grouch beside his head to boost you up while also yanking your hand back to place a hold over his hands. Giving you just enough time to get on the quinjet and fly away. Breathing heavily you look out the window just in time to see him fly up but didn’t come after us.

Sorry if the language is wrong this is the one that showed up. Pls let me know if it’s wrong! I’m not really feeling this one , might just make another one shot from it. It feels too similar to others and I might make a remake later.

[runefactorynonsense]

what changes would you like to see in a rf1 remake?

rf2?

Hello, hello!♡

I want to preface a question like this with how I view video game mechanics and criticism; I don't like talking about things I dislike. I don't like comparing things that aren't as good. I dislike being negative. So as I answer, I answer with musing thoughts and hope! These are positive remarks about things that could be so helpful!

This is a hard question because of just how old those games are. RF3 got off easy as it already had a significant number of "quality of life" changes that had carried into 4.... Though 2 does have the advantage of already having the request system and the start of interactions between villagers. As much as I love it, 1 is lacking and archaic. It still has a world, plot, tone and art syle charm that I adore, but. I have to be honest. Both games will basically need to be entirely redone, but I think if they do 2, they HAVE to do 1- 1 will have so many tie-ins to 4 that people will be curious. Or, so I hope.

Aside from things like the modern stacking, inventory organizing, etc;

2 -- More villagers referencing/interacting with one another, more emphasis on the rival relationships, more consequences from the earthquakes, and I hope they would leave the temple as difficult as it was.

Don't shorten it's time or change the rarity of items to get in there. Don't remove the 2 gen system. I would also love to see a scene where Kyle confronts Fiersome and maybe a battle the player is scripted to lose before the generation switch! Why do we only get to talk to Venti and Aquaticus? (I don't mind not knowing who Kyle is, despite being told he got his memories back, as I have loudly said my personal headcanons, but. That'd be a cool tidbit and I love lore!)

1 -- A request system, my gosh. I could see it playing into the LP of characters like Melody, Tabatha and Felicity, along with being something else to do in a day. As always, addition of villager interactions, who actually knows who?? We never see anyone together. More of a hint that Kardia is supposed to be this important trade crossroads? Some lore hints at this, while the game makes Kardia feel like a lost, isolated little place, a paradigm I struggle to get out of my head at times.

They should NOT shorten the game, keep its number of dungeons, keep Misty Bloom unable to be gotten to until the 1st winter. (Maybe after that, magic or a bridge could get there during a non-winter season. But. Keep that early limit.) More use of characters like Sharron and Ivan?? Please? Explain (at least to the viewer) who they are, what they know. And, for the love of every dragon, don't lighten the tone; that would mess up the story. I said very recently to people that 1 has a gravity to it that gets lost in later games-- the way it uses the Empire/Norad struggle, and makes the amnesia not just a convenient plot device but a defining moment for those involved... Don't take that away. Especially when the game can now hint to things to come in 4! (And yes, I want to talk to Terrable after we calm him down, too. Ivan can talk to him, why not Raguna?)

And. Postgame. Actual family interactions. Why have 2 candidates that the story must be finished to wed, with no other reward? And if they wish to be so clever, cement that Frontier is supposed to happen after this game with some cute hint or something.

And lasty- I still beg and plead for a world map.

[possessionisamyth]

Let's talk about Jill! I love her. You love her. She has ProblemsTM, and no one talks about her enough.

Jill is the most skilled S.T.A.R.S member, and the most adept at dealing with bioweapons post RE3. Sure, Chris got his ass beat by Wesker and killed Alexia in Code Veronica(a kill Claire should've gotten), but they still don't compare to all the various fucked up forms of Nemesis who Jill had to kill again, and again, and again mostly by herself.

From that point on it's Chris and Jill working together if you want to count the manga segments, but let's touch on her character beats. Like her insomnia. Or her untreated PTSD. Or her depression. Actually, I'm going to tackle the most fun thing about Jill when it comes to handling her various brain problems and that's how she deals with them.

She gets really mad.

Why is this fun? Why is this different? Why is this valuable? Well, the simple answer is a lot of women characters aren't allowed to show ugly, visceral anger when they're given mental illnesses. If they do, it's to the villainize them. The same way goes for men not being allowed to cry more than a single tear down the cheek when they're depicted as sad. If they do more than this, they're considered weak and feminine which is also a way to villainize anything deemed feminine, but we are staying on topic.

Jill gets pissed off when she's challenged, and it's great and refreshing because tools in the narrative justify her anger. She slaps Carlos in the face when he implies they should kill themselves instead of getting eaten by zombies or blown up by the bomb because how dare he suggest giving up after all the effort they put into surviving? It's on sight whenever she so much as sees Nicholai in the novelization. She's snippy, and annoyed, and cussing in RE3 Remake and none of it is framed as cutesy. She's fucking tired, and she's mad about all this shit blowing up in her face all the fucking time! That's why people were calling her mean in the remake, and it's like! Good! I'm glad she's angry and "mean" in one of the worst times of her life!

It's a little sad to see some of that frustration drop in Revelations I, but god Wesker capitalized on her blinding rage when he put her under mind control. Still an extremely stupid arc to give her. Will never forgive them for it. But my girl was so fucking mad, and you know what they didn't do when Chris saved her? She wasn't crying or sobbing or weeping. The anger was still there, but as much as the mind was willing, the body was too weak to employ it. She pushed Chris away to yell at him to save the world. If she was just a modicum stronger it might've been a harder shove or a slap, but that's all she could do.

And we get a mere snippet of this anger in Death Island when she's in the shooting range talking to Chris. The truth is she's not handling being back on the field well at all, but she built her entire life up to S.T.A.R.S and past that proving that she's not weak to other people. It's too hard of a habit to break because it's a defense mechanism. To Jill, being viewed as weak even for a moment will lead to being taken advantage of, and she never wants to be taken advantage of. She needs to have control over her life and herself, doubly so after surviving Wesker. So she's going to keep that control even if it means accidentally biting the hands that reach out to her to help. This kind of depiction is usually only given to men, and Jill gets it. She gets it! And she's not evil for it! And it's so so so soo good when it's employed well! (Unfortunately this is also why in newer iterations they keep trying to tone this down by making her appear sexier, because she's too intimidating otherwise. Yes, it's just as bullshit as it sounds!)

Unlike Claire, Rebecca, and even Ada who can't show more than two emotions, Jill can shoot and kill and stab and tear and destroy with all the anger she wants, and she can still get a nice date if she wanted before the rest of the RE cast! This anger is allowed to be hers without it being framed as masculine with that "one of the boys/i have three brothers" nonsense and without vilifying her womanhood for daring to express her anger as ugly as anger can be! And that's why she's great, and I love her, and someone for the love of god please get her into some decent hands for whatever she's in next.

[hypnofantasma]

"Where's the Ulterior Spectacle remake?"

I know i've gotten this a ton of times, and seeing how it's been a couple years since i said it'd exist, i decided i'd give all of my reasons why it's taking So Damn Long. hopefully, this'll reduce the amount of... hate? judgement?? i keep getting regarding this song.

1) The only reason I SHOULD be giving: the simple fact that I am working on an immense universe

I'm not working on JUST Stars Below, and even THEN, a remake has the lowest priority of all when it comes to new Stars Below songs, character development, design solidification, etc. I'd rather solidify the world and story FIRST before making a remake that might swiftly become outdated once again if I rush it. This is also why songs IN GENERAL have been slow; I'm refining the story. It's a HUGE WIP.

I'm not a company, I'm One Single Person with OCs on the internet. If I don't work on one singular aspect, I'm sorry? I guess? That leads into...

2) I'm so immensely stressed at the moment that I'm having physical health issues and can't reliably/consistently work on things

Like I still CAN draw, but completed PVs are so high-effort (and risk), low-reward for me right now that I have to make smaller things. That's why I'm focusing on Artfight for now. On top of that, I'm gonna try to get another term of college this year so I can accomplish something tangible in my life and get a degree. (College is ALSO why stuff's been slow)

If you want to know WHAT my health issues are, all you need to know is that I've got visible ribs yet my weight is constantly depleting.

3) People keep reuploading my stuff

People keep taking things from my Discord server and reuploading them on sites like Youtube. If I don't upload something, I do not want it uploaded, plain and simple. No, I am not free game just because I'm on the internet. I'm just an independent artist and not a company, and this is breaking several boundaries of mine.

If you claim it's "out of fan love" or "giving me free promotion", it doesn't change the fact it makes me (and even my community) exceedingly uncomfortable. The big one being reuploaded was Tundra Lens, and while I did make it public again, it was solely to appease the reuploaders. Please don't reupload my stuff.

It's killing my motivation and drive for the Ulterior Spectacle remake.

4) Multiple abusers in my life

I won't dive into this one but just know that, behind the scenes, I have been treated like a goddamn ragdoll. I have been treated like an object by both strangers and people extremely close to me, and I'm drained, man.

These events have been adding to my current status of being physically ill and chronically fatigued.

5) I am currently being stalked by a group who hates me and intentionally mocks me

A certain group of individuals (who will remain unnamed) are currently stalking me, gathering my creations, and making a complete mockery of a project that intends to break all of the universal rules I have crafted. I don't mind if you don't know everything about my universe; it's a lot, after all, and I'm more than happy to educate.

However, this group intends on making a complete mockery of not only my universe but also my art. It is out of malice and not parody. Due to this, I'm almost too scared to post anything, really. I don't want this to stop me, but damn it does it sting. I'll ride this out with god-rivaling perseverance if I have to.

Now....

While all of this is there, I'll also say the remake IS NOT cancelled. I'll be dead before it's cancelled. But I just wanted to give some perspective a little bit, and maybe- if you're someone mad about the lack of the remake so far- you'll understand why a little more.

Just please respect my boundaries for things, don't drum up drama with me, and leave me in peace. That's all I ask. One day this song'll be completed, and it'll be a day where I'm no longer treated as some soulless machine.

Thank you.

[simlicious]

I am not posting much atm, here is why

heya, I'm pretty quiet on the posting front at the moment. This has several reasons. Since this might come across as a bit whiny, feel free to skip this personal ramble.

The good stuff first: I made a pact with my best friend and now we take a long walk together every week to increase our fitness levels. It encourages me to leave the house and get some fresh air and be in nature and it feels very good! We actually did a lot more together in the last months than just the walk, so I am quite busy and also often exhausted from the activity. I have also gotten back into Anno 1800 now that the game has reached its final state, and I am fixing some old mods that are not available anymore but I cannot live without, and I am also working on some of my own mods. The reason why I am taking a break from making patterns has mainly to do with the negative feelings I developed in the last months. I have been putting off writing this post for weeks, but my feelings have not gone away and I want to address this particular issue. Tbh, I often get aggravated when viewing my dash these days. I'm not the most emotionally stable person and my self-worth comes also from external sources, like feedback for my patterns, which is not ideal, but it is what it is right now. Lately, I feel that as a creator of recolorable patterns, I am being pushed deep into a corner. I've always considered myself a niche creator, catering to patterns kinda does that! But I feel like I am becoming obsolete, now that a lot of creators only make Sims 4 conversions and are usually not fully recolorable. I also fear that more and more creators will forget/will never learn how to make clothes and objects recolorable if all they do is add non-recolorable Sims 4 presets. I consider the Create-A-Style tool to be the most important feature of TS3 (together with open worlds). It is such a unique feature, and it breaks my heart to see that not being valued as such. I feel like we should celebrate that, and I try to with my patterns, but it's just so hard to keep it up when most creators do not seem to particularly care anymore. I wish more creators would make the good old Frankenmeshes 😥 I would love to see more ts3 and ts4 frankenmesh mashups. Creators would need to learn how to turn Sims 4 textures into greyscale ones and step up their uv-mapping game a bit, and then it could be a thing... There could even be an open library of recolorable sims 4 textures and remapped meshes that all creators could contribute to. That way, creators could use them and would not need to remake every texture from scratch by themselves. Over time, that would greatly decrease the effort that would need to be put in to make new creations this way... I know that most of you follow me because you really value my patterns and use them in your games, and I know that people who play mainly with vanilla content won't have that problem at all, as 99% the EA stuff can be recolored. But it's just that I see those non-recolorable conversions everywhere on my dash, and it is so disheartening. I guess as a creator, I want to feel welcome in the TS3 creator community, and lately, I do not feel particularly seen or valued as a member of that group. Maybe my Tumblr bubble has shoved me somewhat outside of the group that I would feel more valued in? Maybe I need to adjust my dash. But I do not want to unfollow everyone who posts these conversions. They are nice in their own right, it's just that I can't handle them very well right now. How do you deal with stuff that you do not want to see? do you unfollow people, do you block tags? I've been mostly avoiding my dash, but that does not seem like a good solution. If you post gameplay pics with my patterns or are a creator that makes their stuff CAS-Tool compatible, feel free to tell me below so I can follow you. Just seeing more people use my patterns would probably lift my spirits!

[swords-of-a-soilder]

I don't think there's any way they'll add Forever back.

It would cause a nightmare for the community, especially in chat. So many people are already uncomfortable rewatching moments with him, they'll just leave qsmp if he came back and the community that's left will feel unsafe for victims of pedophilia/ grooming.

It's impossible to prove he's changed or innocent too to most of English speaking community, because it has happened before and it has backfired. Any inconsistencies would make his claims unreliable.

The qsmp team and Quackity have invested enough resources not to remake something that might have slight references to him that genuinely could just be about anything in viewers eyes. That's not shameful, it efficient and does no harm.

I'll be honest and say that I'm not sure if I really want forever to come back but I don't care if people leave; I left, other people left.

The minute this whole thing came a lot of people just left because they either couldn't look at the fandom the same with the affection or were big fans of forever.

I personally left not just because of the empty feeling that I get watching the SMP but also because of the actions of this fandom, when the situation caught wind.

So many people ran with stuff they saw on twitter and made while accusations that they had no proof for and pretended that they were more righteous and better than everyone else.

when we were talking about the possibility of an actual victim so many people made it about themselves.

like I don't want this I would much prefer people leave. I'm not sure if I really want forever, it feels like we're at this point where we can't go back.

People will leave and quite frankly if those people are gonna leave then good riddance, It's fandom has gotten so mainstream that at this point it's just a constant battle on twitter to decide who is the more problematic CC, and which fandom is the most problematic.

But if the reason why he shouldn't be brought back is because people will leave the fandom then I don't care like let people leave. the fandom has gotten so unpairably toxic some of the twitter is even leaking on the Tumblr at this point.

Good Fucking Riddance