#i should probably also watch the remake at some point. just to know it.

[imabiscuitinthousandworlds]

my dad recently made the mistake of quoting roy's last words to me and had to endure my ten minute obsession-fuelled dissection of the ending and that scene in particular and all the symbolism. and i have come to the conclusion that i need to rewatch bladerunner NOW. ASAP. or i might actually start biting furniture

[genericpuff]

saw a post criticizing lore rekindled a while back, and one of the points made was "it's unfair to rachel that someone else can profit off and make money off her work"

do you profit off lore rekindled??? i don't remember if you ever said that you were monetizing lore rekindled, so i'm unsure where this piece of information came from

I literally do NOT profit off Rekindled in any way shape or form, it's a Tumblr comic that's free to read, zero subscriptions, paywalls, or ads.

I did just recently open a Patreon and apply my Twitch channel to become affiliate, but 1. my Patreon doesn't have any paid members yet , 2. my Patreon won't be offering rewards that limit the reading experience of Rekindled (it's gonna be like random doodles n junk), and 3. I haven't even streamed since I applied for Affiliate and people are watching the streams for art and lo-fi, not for any sort of exclusive reading experiences that wouldn't also be accessible on Tumblr (you just get to watch me slowly work on Rekindled while playing FF XIV LMAOO) All of these restrictions I have in place is to prevent exactly what folks assume or accuse me - profiting off Rachel's IP. At the end of the day I just wanna create an AU fanfic project, even if it's created out of disappointment for what could have been.

I *do* spend a few hundred a month though for my assistant. So I'm working on Rekindled completely at a loss, out of my own pocket. So in that regard, even if I were to monetize any part of Rekindled... it wouldn't be for my own profitable gain, I'd maybe be able to cover some of my assistant fees 🤣 (but that's just hypothetical food for thought, because as I said above, I don't want to monetize Rekindled because of the potentially legal and ethical issues in doing so. Making money is also just not why I'm making Rekindled because it's something I wanna just do for fun! Money complicates things, turns shit into a job :'0) And let's be real, in that hypothetical scenario, I don't think any money I could generate on my free to read Tumblr project would come anywhere close to threatening Rachel's bottom line 🤣

And this isn't to throw anyone under the bus but when people get suspicious of Rekindled profiting off LO, I can't help but think of the actual fans of LO selling handmade LO merch on Etsy and LO-style adoptables and other arts and crafts dedicated to their favorite comic. And I'm not gonna judge them for that, more power to 'em if people wanna buy their cool stuff (and some of it is really REALLY cool, like I wanna buy their stuff too LOL), I just think it's ironic that people separate the two because... I'm not a diehard fan? Or because Rekindled has gotten popular here. Beats me. All that "popularity" is still just a niche remake of a niche comic in a niche medium. It's not Spiderman Lotus levels of big 🤣 but I know it probably feels that big to people who are engaged with this fandom and spend a lot of time in it.

There's an opposite side of being a yes man that perpetuates similar behavior on the other side - when you come up with reasons to rag on someone just for the sake of it because you can't rationalize them NOT being the all 100% pulp of evil LMAO (and I see people do this even to Rachel and it's not fair imo, like people who use the Lolita thing as a way to accuse Rachel of being a legitimate pedophile? Like no, I don't think we should be normalizing serious accusations like that. I think she's just misinformed in a lot of ways at worst and suffering from dark romantasy porn brainrot at best LOL).

Like, as an example, I've also seen people claim stuff like I'm in the fan spaces telling people not to read LO and to read LR instead? Which like... why would I do that, LR isn't for the fans anyways and I don't gain anything by being a dick in their space 🤣 If my own readers are doing that, that's out of my hands (but respectfully don't do this please!!! there's a reason I don't use the standard LO hashtags and only stick to the anti ones!!!!) but again (and this is a big assumption so take with grains of salt) I think people just like to claim these things because they feel it's just naturally the right thing to do when someone who has opinions they don't like actually puts them into action. Because now they can't say shit like "well if you think you're so much smarter than Rachel why don't YOU write the story!" and "you don't know what it's like to manage a comic!" so they grapple onto whatever other argument they can even if it's misconstrued or entirely pulled out of thin air and not backed up with any legitimate evidence.

Their perspectives make sense to them. My perspective makes sense to me. I don't blame people for being suspicious when they see someone like me pour this much time and effort and money into a project like Rekindled, they assume it HAS to do with something they can rationalize from their own point of view, like wanting to "steal" Rachel's work or profit off it or take it for myself out of "jealousy".

Sorry to disappoint y'all with a boring answer, but I'm just someone who was once a huge fan of LO and couldn't let it go. I'm just someone who's way too hyperfixated, with a lot of passion for making comics and experience to match. I'd still be making it even if I didn't have an assistant. I'd still be making it even if I was stuck working with nothing but paper and pencil. Because I love making it and I love what it means to me, and I love that it makes other people feel the same way I do about it.

And that's really all I have to say on that.

[barnowl265]

To all Acolyte fans. I'm not saying this to be mean, I'm saying this to hopefully bring some closure. The vast majority of people who watched The Acolyte did not like it. The numbers, reviews, and ratings are all out there to check if you want. Not enough people watched the show to greenlight a second season, and of the few who did, the vast majority didn't like it. This show LOST money, it doesn't matter how much you appreciated it. If the show isn't going to make money, to risk another season would be bad for the property as it's likely to not do well a second time.

I've seen plenty of comments from people who are showing support for getting the show a second season. While I admire the fact that you appreciated the show and want to see it keep going, you're probably not gonna get a second season. I've been a fan of the KOTOR games for years, and fans have been begging for a movie or show that retells its story. Yet, Lucasfilm has given us nothing but a possible remake, which we still haven't seen a proper trailer for yet. If Disney isn't going to deliver a certified moneymaker like a KOTOR movie trilogy for fans who've begged years for it, then they certainly won't deliver a second a second season of a show they already canceled.

I've also seen where you point the blame, other fans. First off, The Acolyte's cancelation isn't something to be happy about. A loss is a loss. It's a loss for the company, the actors, the production team, and every Star Wars fan out there. Hours of hard work gone to waste. No one wants a show to fail, but making a show is like baking cookies. You leave 'em in the oven too long, they get burned. The Acolyte had been delayed several times before release, and we know what happens to shows and movies that face production delays. It usually means the show has lots of problems and will be lacking in quality. The show failed because of various poor decisions being made behind the scenes that hindered its development as well as hiring a director who didn't do any research, tried to retcon at least two extremely important elements of the franchise, and doesn't consider herself a fan. If you wanna blame anyone for this failure, blame Disney's incompetence for letting this go on under there watch, blame the higher-ups at Lucasfilm for fumbling the bag on choosing a director, but the last thing we should be doing is blaming each other. It's not my fault The Acolyte failed, it's not the YouTubers fault, and it's definitely not the actors' fault.

Which also brings me to my next thing. To all the fans who hated The Acolyte. Yeah, I don't like what it did any more than you do, but be more mature about this. This show had people working hard at this for the past few years, give them some grace. The actors, set and costume designers, vfx artists, camera, and sound workers, where just doing their job. They don't deserve to be insulted for that. The show getting canned is heartbreaking enough for them as is. All that hard work and effort, wasted. C'mon guys, we're better than that.

Star Wars is a universe of infinite possibilities. Some of those possibilities have stood out while others fell away, and The Acolyte will unfortunately be a victim of the latter. I'm not looking for a fight, enemies, or an argument. I'm just hoping to bring Star Wars' horribly fractured community together a little bit. It probably won't amount to anything, but I wanted to share my opinion, and hopefully, someone got something out of it. Please, be respectful in the comments.

God bless you all, and may the force be with you.

[i-literally-cant-with-this]

Panty Dropper

@callm3senpaii was so kind tagging me in this and I know I should have been asleep but I couldn't stop thinking about stuff to write. Will I be tired today? I probably already am. Will it be worth dragging my ass around? Most definitely.

Things they do that have me throwing my panties on the floor and my ankles in the air:

TOJI :

~ The bulge in his pants and the scar on his lips.

~ When he stands, sits, when he's hard. Especially if he wants to hug me or pull me down onto his lap. And if he looks at me and licks the scar, I'm immediately flooding my pants. I don't know what it is about scars, whether they're on chests, arms, faces, backs (omfg backssss). They're just so fucking sexy to me. I want to lick them all.

~ He'll press that mass right into me. Knowing damn well what he's doing. Same with the scar, he knows wtf is up. If he wants my attention but doesn't want to have to say that he wants it, he'll just stare at me and lick the corner of his mouth until I'm dropping down on his face.

~ It gets worse the longer we're out of the house. Having to show self-restraint and not drop to my knees and rip his low-hanging pants from his godlike hips is not #1 on my to-do list.

~ HE IS, though.

REINER :

~ Jesus Christ. The way he would hold me all the time. How he can flip-flop between being gentle one minute to shoving my back up against any hard surface that was easily accessible, rolling and grinding his hips into me.

~ How needy he can be sometimes is so hot. Like, he can't fucking live another second without burying his face in my cunt or stuffing me full of his cock. Or tongue. Let's be real, the man loves to eat.

~ He's also emotional AND emotionally stupid. He tries to express himself and sometimes he just gets so pissed off that he doesn't have the words that he'll shut down. And I wouldn't be able to sit by and watch him beat himself up about some shit that happened 10 years ago. I'd have to climb up on his lap and start rubbing my ass all over him to get his focus to shift.

~ Watching him hold a baby would make every single good egg I had left drop down, ready to create life with him. He's so fucking big and seeing him hold something so small and fragile would make me insane with lust. (As if I'm not always DTF this guy). I'd whisper in his ear to give the baby back to her (yes, it would be a baby girl, all pinked out) parents because I need him upstairs shooting his hot load into me and telling me how much he wants to fuck a baby into me and watch my body change while nurturing life (WHERE THE FUCK DID THAT COME FROM. LITERALLY WHAT. TF.)

~ His sweet gestures would kill me so softly. He would bring me a wild flower that he saw somewhere while he was out. Or he'd bring me a little succulent clipping that he snagged while he was at Home Depot getting stuff to make the rack to hold our sex swing that was going to be delivered in 2 days. 1 if the mail runs a little faster than anticipated.

~ I don't know how else to articulate this other than to tell you that we'd dance like they do in Dirty Dancing (the OG movie. Not the remake shit). You know how Baby and Johnny danced with each other when they'd basically straddle each others thighs and just grind while his hands were on her ass and she was clinging to him to keep herself from falling over backwards, even though there was no way in hell that he'd ever let go of her. And how he'd turn me around and have my back to his chest while we're just like, making our hips go in circles while we're in the living room listening to songs like "Cry To Me." Fucking shoot me now, please. I can't stand another minute without this guy.

Sanemi :

~ This motherfucker. His lack of personal space with me would be irritating at first. Like, he would always come to bed with me at the same time. Sleep smooshed up next to me, even during summer months when it's too hot to lay like that unless you have 3 box fans pointing at you (and I DO) just to take the edge off of the humidity swarming around you. But eventually, when he'd stay up to do something, video games or working out, whatever, and I go to bed alone, I definitely would just lay there and miss him. So I'd call for him and he'd come peek his head in the room and ask me what I need.

~ I'd admit that I need him because I'm so goddamn used to feeling his body next to me that I don't know what to do with myself when I'm not all tangled up in him. I just toss and turn not feeling grounded in my own bed.

~ So he'll turn off all the lights because he's a responsible electricity user and do his bedtime routine then finally come in and lay with me.

~ But he's not really tired. And he will turn over to face me and starts rubbing my thigh with his left hand, sloooowwwlllyy going higher until he's got his fingers dancing over the waistband of my --- wait, I won't be wearing panties. Scratch that. He'd play with the hem of my t-shirt and inch his way between my thighs until my knees are opening up for him.

~ "You still not tired?" is all he'd have to say to me in his deep, husky nighttime voice and I'd pull him over on top of me because I can't resist his voice, even in the daytime. But there's just something about his voice at night that does me in. It's heavy with the days weight and he wants to let go of everything. And I would help him with all that shiz.

LEVI

~ There are several things that he would do that'd lead to my clothes spontaneously disappearing.

~ If I walked in on him cleaning ANYTHING my pants would combust on the spot. There is something about a man who takes tidiness seriously. And no one takes it more seriously that Levi.

~I would try to get him to wear nothing but an apron to clean stuff up in, but he'd just call me a dumbass and continue his dusting.

~ When he is getting annoyed with me and his voice gets all disciplinary and starts yelling at me a little bit to "Knock my shit off", it's only going to egg me on more.

~ I would love to push his buttons until he was beating my ass over the kitchen table, counter, dishwasher, shower, closet, cat food dish. Idfc.

~ Also when he would drive us somewhere, he'd have his hand on my thigh and subconsciously rub and squeeze it whenever he'd get pissed off at the other idiots on the road.

~ It would be the way that he'd kiss me goodbye in the morning and then he would pull away only to lean in for a deeper kiss as his hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me into him.

~ The way the heat from his cock would warm me wherever it pressed into me as he was trying to leave for work that day. "I'm working from home today, yes. Yes, thank you. I'll be in tomorrow," he looks at me, "Possibly."

[a-random-whovian7]

A non-serious attempt at comedy/list about what your favourite incarnation of the Master says about you:

Roger Delgado: They just like more dialogue and richer themes in your storyline, preferring character interaction and chemistry rather than spectacle. They also make sure their outfits are neat, stylish and elegant. Always colour co-ordinated. Usually quite calm and collected until you say Terror of the Autons is just a remake of Spearhead From Space.

Peter Pratt: Basically a Fourth Doctor fan who refuses to admit there are flaws with The Deadly Assassin or a fan of horror films. More than likely grew up in the seventies. Definitely looks into their KFC bucket and sees lots of little Masters staring back at them.

Geoffrey Beevers: Basically the same as the Pratt fan, although this one refuses to admit there are flaws in the Fourth Doctor's era as a whole. If you tell them Tom Baker stayed on for too long, prepare to have your intestines made into a scarf. Usually forgets about 90% of the plot of Logopolis. Almost certainly a child of the 70s, hence why they see this Master in the mirror each morning.

Anthony Ainley: Likes to just have fun, no matter how corny or wierd the stories are. Will happily just sit and watch the Master basically trolling the Doctor with minor inconveniences, waiting for the inevitable moment when that character hovering in the background with a not-quite-as-clearly-defined backstory pulls off a mask and wig to reveal a goatee. Is somehow able to enjoy Time Flight. Do not ask them their opinion on the TV Movie.

Eric Roberts: A legend amongst humans. Saw the campy, over-the-top dressing gown/robe, the bad cgi snakes, the wierd terminator references and thought "yes, this is clearly the best one." Constantly annoys purist classic series fans simply by existing and does not care. Knows the TV Movie is mid and does not care. Knows that the Eye of Harmony was originally on Gallifrey and does not care. Has definitely said "I always... dress for the occasion" and does not care that no-one gets the reference.

Derek Jacobi: Sold their soul to Big Finish for the War Master range. Religiously watches Utopia to see that reveal again, and wishes Chantho had been fully fried before shooting the Master. Now all they can do is offer sacrifices to Nicholas Briggs and sit in a darkened room, staring at the Big Finish website.

John Simm: Probably has fan art saved to their phone, and has almost certainly read Ten/Master fanfiction at some point. Will defend Last of the Time Lords and The End of Time Part 1 with their dying breath (and for good reason, those episodes slap and those two slightly dodgy scenes don't ruin them, Moffat did worse retcons, fight me). Cried when their Master showed up in The Doctor Falls and usually has good relations with Missy fans because of it. Thinks Sacha Dhawan is a lazy rip-off. Can usually be found comforting the Jacobi fan after their War Master box set has been delayed.

Michelle Gomez: Basically the same as the Simm fan, only this one defends the Moffat era and their fanfiction search history is a bit more varied. Thinks Death in Heaven was a good episode, and that The Doctor Falls should have been the last Master episode. Hates Chibnall for bulldozing all their character development and rendering this incarnation's redemption slightly pointless. Usually slightly more forward-thinking than some other fans and great with their friends. Has formed an unlikely alliance with Delgado fans... somehow.

Sacha Dhawan: Took one look at the most quirked up Master and decided that was the one. Thinks John Simm was OK, but lacked the "evil four-year-old on a sugar rush" energy of this one. Usually bitter rivals with Missy fans, as everyone started re-evaluating the Moffat era instead of watching S12, and will go strangely quiet whenever the Timeless Child is mentioned, praying that someone will say that it should have been the Master and thus giving them a "get out of jail" card. Was absolutely overjoyed when people enjoyed Power of the Doctor. Convinced that the Chibnall Era will receive a massive reappraisal in the future, despite the fact that the odds of that happening are about the same as the Terry Nation estate accepting that the Daleks are overused.

Alex Maqueen: Sold everything to Big Finish. Doesn't even watch the show. Can't watch the show. Who needs the show when you've just spent all your month's wages on that box set? It's not like you need to eat or anything. The most likely individual to end up in a padded cell when someone doesn't know what Dark Eyes was.

Gina McKee: Missy fans, but with small social circles and a heavy dose of Weezer.

Mark Gatiss, James Dreyfus, Milo Parker: Wait, these guys played the Master?

If you really want more of this shit (why), there's a list about favourite Doctors and Companions

[theshenami]

On which GS date is canon in FF7 Rebirth: honestly, it's doesn't matter

I've seen a lot of debate lately around the Rebirth Ultimania not clearly stating whether any of the GS dates are canon, just a vague statement about how they're all sort of removed from the main story. Rather than focus on the shipping aspect of it, I wanted to share my thoughts in terms of which date best fits the story that Rebirth is trying to tell.

My understanding of the story is that the overarching plot concerns the pursuit of Sephiroth, and within that structure each of the main cast gets some character development, some of which leads to the resolution of their inner plots at the same points in the story as they were resolved in the OG. Aerith, Barrett, Nanaki and Cait Sith get their character arcs resolved by the end of the Disc 1 story, just like in the OG. Aerith's arc might continue on to some degree in part 3, but again, I'm just focusing on the plot of Rebirth. Yuffie gets a modified character arc, focus on joining AVALANCHE in the fight against Shinra rather than being all about the materia (don't get me wrong, it's still important to her, just no longer her core motivation), but since we can't go to Wutai yet like we could in the OG her character arc cannot resolve yet.

For the remaining cast, their arcs don't resolve until Disc 2 or later. Cloud's character arc peaks in the Lifestream, but his inner struggle doesn't reach a complete resolution until the end of Advent Children (it remains to be seen whether the devs change this in part 3). Tifa's character arc was also intimately intertwined with Cloud's, but I would argue that her arc also continues post-game, like when she's dealing with her guilt over the destruction of Sector 7 during On the Way to a Smile. Cid's don't resolve until Disc 2 in the OG, when he finds out the truth about Shera, and that hasn't changed here since we have not yet gotten our goddamn tea. Finally, Vincent's character arc doesn't fully resolve until the end of DoC.

So what does this mean for which GS date best fits the story arc of Rebirth? Well, I would argue that Nanaki's probably best fits the central premise of the whole Remake project, whether or not we can change fate (e.g. save Aerith, see Zack again, etc). That is literally the $64000 question in this game, and Red is the only one who brings it up on his date, so that would be my vote. I know Aerith's date best fits the narrative of the OG, since it both alludes to Cloud's dissociative identity disorder as well as sets the player up to be devastated when she meets her end at the Forgotten Capital, but the story being told within the plot Rebirth is all about whether she can be saved. My honorable mentions would be either Yuffie's or "the others", since they are just so damn funny to watch. I didn't seriously consider Tifa's date, despite how much I personally enjoyed watching it, because this resolution really should come later in the story in part 3.

[sabakos]

I do think english classes have some merit as a waste basket taxon (grammar, essay writing, media literacy, etc) that serve some actual function underneath the “high lit” bs, but it is funny how seriously people defend it. Shakespeare was mandatory in my curriculum, which I loved because I like Shakespeare. But objectively it was silly. Like a big game. You might as well make Spielberg or Tarantino mandatory. Honestly most of pre-uni school looking back felt like a game. Even most math classes consisted of “spend this class solving a sheet of differentials”. like the sunday paper puzzles. Undergrad is still bs mostly, but more boring bureaucratic bs, at least in my opinion. Seems like grad programs are where real education happens, but i could be wrong.

Yeah, I think we just as easily could have been watching classic movies and writing essays about them rather than reading books. Which I guess we also did do occasionally (watched the 1995 remake of Richard III set in the 20th century in English class, would highly recommend!) but it wasn't the focal point of the curriculum. And yeah that tracks my experience on math and science too; i didn't really learn anything beyond arithmetic and basic algebra/trig that was worth knowing until college outside of maybe a few times in AP classes. probably if i hadn't learned any of it at all in college I wouldn't have been much worse off though?

But it's probably necessary that I was doing something to train my brain how to learn things during the first 13 years of school. I kinda think education through high school is kinda like this xkcd on a broader scale:

I would believe that none of the base facts that you learn in school are retained very well, and it's concerning when people talk like it's a load-bearing element of society that people remember how their government works or what happened in history, because I think the vast majority of people don't remember any of that well enough for it to matter. We need to figure out another way to solve that problem.

And so the focus should be on teaching you those "wastebasket" skills through some method or other, in a sense that goal of the curriculum is functioning as designed I guess in the same way that texting helps you become a better writer and playing with baseballs would make you a better baseball player even if you're not playing baseball.

But being exposed to books that are enjoyable and worth reading and going through the motions of analyzing them would ideally make you read more books and also apply those same skills to visual art and movies. If you come away from that experience absolutely loathing the very idea of analyzing a piece of media then it's hard to argue that it was worth it even if it does teach you other base skills. I guess it's a bit like A Mathematician's Apology but for litcrit; if we're making you hate the thing itself in the process of giving you those other skills, we ought to figure out how to do it better.

[my-heart-beat-for-anime]

A story request for jack salter, where the reader is a pilot in the rival team and between her and jack is not only rivalry but a continuous teasing because they are secretly in love with each other.

Thank you in advance for the story🫶🏻

Thank you so much for your request. I Hope you like it. Also english is not my first language so I am sorry for mistakes.

I stood next to Jack on the track and watched the young gamers run laps to get stronger. I felt sorry for them, they had been running for a long time, Jack kept shouting at them to add more. I finally talked Jack into giving them a break when one of the boys threw up on the lawn. When it was just the two of you on the track, Jack sighed.,, Ahh why did I just take this job" I just giggled and rested my head on his shoulder.,, You took this job because you have a chance to help someone improve their life and also prove that money doesn't make you a good racer." he smiled at you and gently kissed your head.,,You're right as always." I just laughed and nodded. Suddenly a wave of nostalgia hit me.,,This all brings back memories."

Flashback

My race is about to start in a little while, I was just trying to calm down when they called me from outside that it was time. I got out of the trailers when I saw the other competitors here. "Hey, woman, you're going in the wrong direction, the kitchen is over there." This was exactly the behavior I expected, not everyone received you well, and some even felt determined that a woman should ride with them on the same track. I just brushed my hand over their behavior and went on my way starting box.

I was getting last minute instructions from my trainer. Finally, it was time to start the race. Together with many competitors, I went to the track for a warm-up lap. I was zig-zagging and trying to warm up the tires as best I could and then the green light came on and the race started. Everything was going well, I was slowly getting to the front of the race, overtaking all those who were mocking me, I had just worked my way up to third place and I only had two laps left until the end of the race. We were just in a section where there were a lot of turns, so I got the opportunity to remake the racer in advance. I tried to overtake the first competitor, but it was not possible. Every time I tried to make a maneuver, he blocked me, and in the end I finished in second place.

*Jack pov*

I finished in first place, but the competitor behind me was pretty hot on my heels, if we had more laps, she would probably have overtaken in the end. When they officially announced the winner and the second and third place, they asked the competitors to come to the podium and that's when I saw her. She took off her helmet and let her hair down, she was beautiful and, judging by the fact that she finished in second place, talented too. After they gave us medals and gave a speech, we went back to our caravans.When I saw her again she smiled at me and waved.,, Hey what's your name?" She called .,, uhhh .. Jack Salter and how about you." she smiled softly and said,,Y/N L/N it's good to know the name of the man I'll be trying to defeat." she said holding out her hand.,,Only in your dreams." I said shaking her hand.

And so began our rivalry period where we tried to outdo each other but in the end we developed feelings for each other.

A big 24-hour race (I forgot its name) was waiting for us. Jack and I wished each other good luck and the race began. Everything was going well when suddenly the racer in front of Jack lost control of the car and crashed into the barriers. The guardrails fell a short distance from Jack's car, causing it to catch fire.I just managed to stop my car before I hit something too. The road was unpleasant, so there was no point in trying to continue the race. As soon as I stopped I tried to get out of my car. When I managed to do it, I ran to Jack's car.,,Jack, are you okay, Jack, please answer." I shouted when I ran to the car. There was coughing from inside, so I tried to open the car door. Finally, I managed and I helped Jack out of the car, I also quickly helped him take off his burning gloves.,,Are you alright, are you hurt somewhere?" I asked him with fear in my voice, "No, I feel fine, you don't need to cry." I didn't realize that I was crying until that moment. I wiped my face with my hand and I said in a trembling voice, "I was so worried about you, for a while I thought I lost you." I sniffed. "That wouldn't happen, I'll always come back to you." he said looking into my eyes."I love you Y/N." he said and gently caressed my cheek. Even though I was still crying I smiled, "I love you too." Jack slowly leaned in and kissed me. After Jack was taken to the hospital, I returned to the cafe where my trainer was waiting. "Not a word," I said. But the coach just nodded his head and said I should watch the news. There was a video of me kissing Jack on almost every channel. My whole face turned red and I turned off the TV. End of Flashback Since then I started dating Jack and it was the best stage of my life. We are now working together on the Gran Turismo project and I couldn't be happier. Teaching what I love with the man I love is a dream come true.

If you have request please I will be more than happy to write it.

[yoonia]

Hey Dia, I meant to add this to my last ask but have you ever had (or do you have) any desire to write a seven deadly sins AU at some point? And if you do, do you know who you would cast as who? And if it’s cool sharing with you, I have 2 different fic outlines; one I made back in 2020 and another one more recently (which is a remake more or less).

From what I’ve read in the past, a lot of times the members (as the embodiments of the 7 sins) are portrayed as being pure evil and stuff, which isn’t bad by any means. If I ever write my own fic though, I would probably do something slightly different. Like yeah, I’d likely write the members as the embodiments of the 7 sins (like other fics) and maybe they would appear evil at first, but I would also probably humanize them and then get redeemed. Another idea I’ve had in mind is writing them as separate stories with different OCs, but they would all be in 1 book and in the same universe.

As for who I would cast as each of the sins, I’m still figuring it out. Like, I’d probably cast someone with a sin that would either be the polar opposite of their personality irl, or just simply choose one that I think the members give vibes of. For example, I’ve thought about associating Yoongi with the sin of sloth because he’s known to be a hard-working person, which would make a nice contrast. But in more recent memory, now I think he gives off a lot more wrath vibes. I mean, look at his solo albums. He’s savage spitfire straight up, lol. But hey, that’s just my opinion 😉

I was inspired from a video I saw on a YouTube channel called “school of life”. If you’re curious, you should totally look up their seven deadly sins video. Even if you don’t have plans to write a fic on this au, I’d still give it a watch. It really goes deep in depth with how the 7 sins align from a psychological perspective.

Anyway, take care again!💜

(Actually, come to think of it, it’s good that I sent this ask separately because I tend to underestimate how much I tend to write when sending messages, haha…😅)

Don't worry about sending long messages haha I always love it when you come and share with me your ideas and stories since they're so creative. You know, I always love the idea of portraying the members as the seven deadly sins. I know I've read some of the good ones written in the past under this same trope.

I also love your idea about writing them as the embodiment of the seven sins but not at all evil. I think it'll be more interesting to write something more human out of this trope, since a lot what I've seen always lean towards a darker theme. Which is understandable since they are meant to be sins.

As a matter of fact, I did plan a series based on the seven deadly sins. It was published for a while (with only one story out) before I decided not to continue it. The series was called Ghostown which is now saved in my archive, and it was meant to be progressively darker as the chapters continue. I didn't specify which sins the members were in the masterlist since I was planning to do a little game with the readers and have them guess who was which, but things didn't go as planned because I've discontinued it since. Here's the overall role placements though if you're interested (under cut because spoilers lol)

Gosh, you got me opening an old draft again haha. I also only realised now that I named Jungkook's part as Dreamers...long before his song came out...and I mean looonnng ago lol

Anyway, I fully support you for writing this idea if you ever get the chance to. I also always love the concept of writing different stories in one universe. It just gives us a different kind of experience when you create an entire universe that way with interlinked stories made in it.

ps. Yoongi as wrath??? I'm seeing it. I think the character he portrayed in Hageum MV totally showed this side of him.

[tallowandport]

https://www.tumblr.com/tallowandport/742177476402446337/the-mlp-infection-au-brainrot-has-gotten-to-me?source=share

Your au seems so intresting so far but gotta ask and sorry if this is spoilers for the story...just excited to see more and so curious:

Why would Celestia release such a devastating plague? Did the pony population get too big and she needed to kill some off in order to prevent overpopulation? If that guess is right, I'm curious if this will turn into a situation where Celestia is like "yes...yes the plan is working perfectly....ok maybe a little too perfectly...oh dear me, ok maybe I made this plague a little TOO strong because at this rate, ponies are going to go extinct...what have I done!?!?!"

Or was it originally intended to kill off an enemy of equestria buuuut it accidently reached ponies instead of the enemies and Celestia doesn't want to admit it was her because she knows it news that she caused a devastating virus and had planned to basically do virus warfare, the ponies would be VERY upset?

Or...those are just some guesses on my end on why Celestia would make such a horrifying virus and decide to release it. (Hopefully she was smart enough to make a cure so in the middle of the pandemic, she could pretend to be a savior and cure the ponies...if not or if the virus had evolved into a new strain that the cure doesn't work on due to the amount of hosts it had gone through, equestia is screwed.)

Also...two questions I wonder if Celestia thought about if she infected the ponies on purpose and not some accident happening when trying to attack an enemy...who is she suppose to rule if she had noone to rule over? How does she rule an empty kingdom? Bet she didn't think that tiny tibit through.

Still sorry for so many questions and stuff, just so invested in the story and curious about it and can't wait to see what happens!

Lol, no worries! I do actually have a rough draft of an evil monologue Celestia goes on about why she does this.

It is still a rough draft though, so I might change some details later, but here it is for now! I think this should answer all your questions.

Here's a transcript for accessibility:

[transcript]

This whole thing is Celestias evil monologue:

"Do you know how many times I've remade the world, Twilight? Of course not. Because this world is the only one you've ever known."

"I've done this so many times. At first, it was merely out of necessity. The first few worlds were destroyed by sheer accident and freak chance. Diseases, natural disasters, that sort of thing. And then it was War."

"I must've snapped at some point, maybe I lost hope? It's been so long that I've forgotten."

"The wars and conflicts got to me. I began destroying and remaking the world in order to get a fresh start, clear my head, make it perfect 'next time'"

"This world has probably been my best one yet. I even thought it could be the last one I'd ever need to make."

"But... Lunas rebellion a thousand years ago was the first worrying sign."

"I almost destroyed everything then and there, but then I thought... 'well, what world wouldn't benefic from a little interesting history?' so I held off."

Then, you came along, and it felt like my wish for conflict resulution could finally be solved... for the first few disasters."

"but then, conflicts just Kept Popping Up."

"You would solve one, and then an entirely new, unrelated, issue would present itself!"

"As if you were not a cure, but a magnet!"

"I can't let this go on. I am sick and tired of something always coming along to ruin my world."

"But I am also sick and tired of destroying the world like I usually do."

"So I decided on something different this time around... I thought releasing somethingslow and agonising onto the populace, something that'd make them destroy the world on their own, would be entertaining to watch... And you know what?"

"It has been the most fun I've had in AEONS."

[End of transcript]

Tldr: Celestias actually some sort of perfectionist God that's been destroying and recreating the world whenever something doesn't go exactly as she planned, and this time she decided to have fun with the destruction.

Ah, and as for why Luna, Discord, Cadence, and all them aren't mentioned is (for now, this is still a rough draft, this could change in the future) the fact they aren't actually gods, Celestia created them, too. And gave them the pretence that they had power.

Part 1, part 2

[callsignsundance]

callsignsundance/742184190142021633/hi-soo-i-just-watched-the-trailer-of-the-new?source=share

I have so many issues, but here are my main:

Fieryo Tigelaar, Chieftain of the Arjikis, has dark, "ochre" color skin and had "blue markings" (done with paint) on his skin as stated in the book. This film would have been a perfect opportunity to cast a p.o.c. actor - he's clearly not white, and yet, like in the musical, he got whitewashed.

The age of the main four characters - Finding actors and actresses between 19-25 for the two witches and two guys should not have been hard, and yet, here we are seeing 35+ year-olds portraying them. 😒

YEAH

I have the same issue with the casting for fiyero, like especially if it's meant to be more book canon. Fiyero is in the book a poc, from a tribal backgroud. THEY HAD THEIR SHOT AND THEY DID NOT TAKE IT. honestly yeah the musical has pumped out a steady stream of white guys playing fiyero and its sad to see the film has not fixed this

ALSO THE AGES HOLY HELL. yeah i basically have nothing else to add about what you've said i agree.

im trying to ignore the movie at this point. i probably won't watch it in theatres i know some people are really optimistic and excited, and i am a bit too, but i cant say i am confident in its quality. half of us musical theatre fans have trauma from bad remakes, so yeahhhh

[flower-boi16]

Lily Orchard’s Takes on Hunter are garbage and here’s why [The Owl House]

I decided to remake this post because there were some things I wanted to add in or change about the original post (and because no one saw the original post lol). So...let’s just get this over with. 

I'm just gonna cut to the chase; The Owl House is a fantastic show and I think LO's takes on one of the characters in the series are poorly thought out or just not true and here's why. For those who (somehow) don't know; Lily Orchard is a youtuber who makes video essays on cartoons, she's also probably the most controversial youtube critic I've seen. I'm not gonna cover much of the drama that Lily's been involved in, but I felt like that was worth mentioning. The Owl House is a show that Lily covers quite a bit on her channel, but she has a very certain dislike of one particular character in it; Hunter. I decided to make this post for two reasons; 1) I don't see many people debunking Lily's arguments about Hunter outside of some asks on LO gossip blogs on Tumblr and 2) I really like Hunter. He's probably my second favorite of the main characters right below Luz for me, and I wanted to make this post after finishing the show because...

Lily's arguments about Hunter aren't very good. They are filled with Lily constantly making poorly thought out and false arguments about Hunter that could be easily disproven if you actually watch the show. So I'm gonna cover some of Lily's points about Hunter and why they are false. This post is going to cover some of Lily's major arguments criticizing Hunter and why I disagree with them. Let's begin.

"Hunter Is a Passive Character"

I'll just take this piece of text from a really good article I've found about passive characters right here:

"These characters have goals — from as small as a glass of water to as big as saving the world — and their determination to achieve those goals creates the stakes of the story.  Passive characters are, naturally, the opposite. They wait for things to happen instead of making them happen. They’re reactive, not proactive.  Whereas active characters impact the story, passive characters sit back and experience the story." -WHY YOU SHOULD AVOID WRITING PASSIVE CHARACTERS (& HOW TO MAKE THEM ACTIVE)

As the text says, a passive character is a character that doesn't contribute to the story in any meaningful way and simply sits back, and watches the story as it goes, often waiting for things to happen instead of making them happen. It's important to define what a passive character is to illustrate my point; that being, Hunter is not a passive character, which is what Lily accuses him of being. To take some quotes from Lily's video on Hunter:

"Hunter's character has been passive from his first appearance, even when he had the trash boy Vanitas vibe going for him. He shows up, does nothing, refuses to elaborate and leaves."

"Typically passive characters aren't a good thing to give this kind of screen time to because the majority of that time will be spent watching them hem and haw and drag their feet. This was the problem with Hollow Mind. It doesn't go through much information that's new to the viewer, and indeed that new information is kept to the background paintings. And that's because 90% of the episode is spent watching Hunter cope and seeth which grinds the story to a halt"

"Most of the time when he's actually in an episode, the story grinds to a halt while Hunter sits there and does fucking nothing and you may as well skip to act 3 because its going to go the same way the last few of them went" -Glass of Water Character Potential Doesn't Excuse Lazy Writing

Lily says that in most of the episodes centering around Hunter, he just sits there and does nothing until the episode's third act. However, this simply isn't true. Let's look at four out of the five episodes focusing on Hunter and why the things he does in those episodes don't make him passive.

S2 EP 6: Hunting Palisman: I don't have much to say about Hunter in this one. This episode basically introduces us to Hunter proper where we get to see him grow a slight friendship with Luz and him deciding to let her take the palisman instead of betraying her. Don't have much to say here.

S2 EP9: Eclipse Lake - This is an example of Hunter pushing the plot forward and him not being a passive character. Here, he disguises himself as a coven scout to go to the expedition led by Kikimora searching for Titan blood in eclipse lake so he could prove himself to be useful to Belos after he says that Hunter is "replaceable".  Later in the episode, he gets the Titan blood key and gives it to Belos. This is an example of Hunter being an active character; he pushes the plot forward and contributes to it, which is important because passive characters don't do that; rather, they wait for the plot to happen and react to it rather than actually making the plot happen.

S2 EP 13: Any Sport in a Storm - Now this is where Lily's points about Hunter being "passive" really begin to show their cracks. In this episode, Hunter goes to find recruits for the emperor's coven after being "ordered" by Darius to do, so he could, like in the last episode, prove his worth to the emperor's coven. Here, he joins Willow's flyer derby team and after playing a game he basically kidnaps them and makes them join the emperor's coven against their will. After realizing what he did was fucked he goes to protect them by saying their too weak for the emperor's coven, giving them a chance to escape. Hunter, like in the last episode, is not only an active character by pushing the plot forward, but he also goes through development here as he learns to make connections with people outside of the emperor's coven and is even willing to take a lethal blow from Darius to and sacrifice his status to protect his friends. Hunter, like in his last episode, is not a passive character.

S2 EP16 Hollow Mind - Hey, did you know that Lily thinks Hollow Mind is the worst episode of the show and thinks it's a 1/10? I could cover how bad Lily's takes on this episode are but someone already did make a video on that so I won't touch on her other takes about the episode here, but it's clear from the last quote that Lily misses the point of the episode. In this episode, Hunter gets trapped with Luz inside of Belos's mind and they end up seeing Belos's memories, which challenge Hunter's entire worldview. The episode shows how much Hunter was manipulated by Belos, as he believes that Belos has done nothing wrong and that he is making Hunter do the right thing. As the episode goes on however, and he and Luz begin seeing Belos's memories, Hunter ends up being in denial that Belos is actually evil, making excuses for what he did in those memories, with this line after Hunter and Luz see what the sigils actually do standing out to me;

Luz: You can't deny it now. Belos is trying to hurt people!

Hunter: He was just... perfecting sigil magic! Besides, maybe, he's remembering things wrong. Who knows how mindscapes work?

Luz: I thought you did!

Hunter: Well, maybe I'm an idiot!

Hunter was raised to think that emperor Belos was doing a good thing, and that he loves him. All of that comes crashing down when It's revealed that Belos has killed previous Golden Guards, and the episode ends with breaking from Belos's control and realizing that he was being used and manipulated all along with his whole world turning upside down. This episode has Hunter learn the truth about Belos and shows how much Belos warped his worldview into believing he was doing the right thing. That's the point of Hollow Mind; It's about Hunter realizing that Belos has lied to him this whole time and breaking free from his abusive "uncle". The fact that Lily just labels this episode as another one where he "waffles around about whether to do the right thing again" is just missing the point. Again, he's been lied to his whole life, it's gonna take a lot for him to see the truth.

S2 EP18 Labyrinth Runners - I don't have much to say about this one, but Hunter does still grow as a character here. In the episode, Adrian (The head of the illusionist coven) tries to get the students of Hexside to get sigils for the day of unity, and Gus ends up creating a giant illusion that covers the entire school making many students (and teachers) get lost in the illusion. Before that, It's revealed that after the events of Hollow Mind, Hunter has gone under hiding from Belos and went to Hexside to crash in. Like the previous episodes, this episode has Hunter grow as a character, with him overcoming his trust issues with Gus, but he also saves Gus from Adrian. This is another episode where Hunter grows as a character and actively pushes the plot forward.

So, as we've seen through all of these episodes, Hunter is not a passive character, unlike what Ms Orchard over here would like to tell you. He doesn't spend most of his episodes focusing on him sitting around doing nothing; In all of the episodes he's in he is either actively pushing the plot forward or growing and developing as a character. Lemme take another piece of text from that article I previously mentioned;

These characters have goals — from as small as a glass of water to as big as saving the world — and their determination to achieve those goals creates the stakes of the story. - WHY YOU SHOULD AVOID WRITING PASSIVE CHARACTERS (& HOW TO MAKE THEM ACTIVE)

Hunter starts out as a character that has a goal; that being proving himself worthy to the emperor's coven, and we see him try to work for that goal in S2 EP9 and S2 EP13. So, Hunter is not a passive character, he's a character who either pushes the story forward or is actively growing and developing, unlike what Lily would like to tell you.

And here’s another thing; notice how Lily never sites any examples to her point where she says this:

"Most of the time when he's actually in an episode, the story grinds to a halt while Hunter sits there and does fucking nothing and you may as well skip to act 3 because its going to go the same way the last few of them went" -Glass of Water Character Potential Doesn't Excuse Lazy Writing

“The same as the last few of them went”, Lily, please explain how each of Hunter’s episodes go if you’re going to make this claim. Hunter’s episodes don’t have the same structure copied and pasted throughout, if you actually watch them you would know this. I know Lily watched these episodes, so where is she getting this from?

"Hunter is Stapled onto Other Characters"

This is another common complaint Lily has with Hunter, that being he is "stapled" onto other characters in his episodes and that he often overshadows them. I'm just gonna cut to the chase; wtf does this even mean? Lily doesn't specify what she means by Hunter being "stapled" onto other characters nor why it's a bad thing, if anything all she is describing here is Hunter interacting with other characters in his episodes. However, there is another side to this argument that Lily has, that being that she thinks that Hunter overshadows other characters, mainly Willow and Gus, and that they get pushed to the side for the sake of his arc, and that Hunter takes up too much screen time.

The issue with this point is that Hunter really doesn't overshadow other characters as much as Lily says he does. For Gus in particular in Labyrinth Runners he isn’t pushed to the side in favor of Hunter like how Lily says he is; the episode shows both of them working through their trust issues. Hunter isn’t being “stapled” onto Gus here just so he could overshadow him, both characters support each other’s arcs and help them grow. It really feels like Lily hates Hunter for just...being in an episode, regardless of the reason. As for Willow, I don’t think Hunter overshadowed her much either. That being said, I always found Willow to be an underdeveloped character to begin with so maybe that’s why, but like Gus she also does support Hunter’s arc and helps him grow. 

She even sometimes says that Hunter is just shoved into an episode for no reason other than Dana apparently liking him a lot which...also no, Hunter is not shoved into an episode for no reason, in his episodes he is interacting with other characters and growing because of them.

So yes, Hunter is stapled onto other characters....why is that a bad thing tho? He’s just interacting with other characters in the show, what’s wrong with that? Why is a character interacting with other characters bad? Like, in her TOH season 2 round up video, one of the cons for the episode Hollow Mind is “Golden Guard is stapled onto Luz to inflate his importance”...so she’ll just list Hunter being there or interacting with the characters as something wrong with an episode...ya. If that’s not another really bad point I don’t know what is.

"Hunter is a superfluous character"

This section is going to be shorter than the other two mainly because this was partially responded to in the first section, but it was a big enough criticism for Hunter that Lily has so it's worth giving its own section to. So anyways, Lily often says that Hunter is an unnecessary character and that you could remove him from the story and nothing would change. This, like Lily's other points about Hunter, isn't true. Aside from how, like I mentioned earlier, Hunter has a connection to Belos, the main antagonist of the series, he makes major contributions to the plot outside of that. He's the one to give the titan blood key to Belos, he saves Gus from the illusionist, he discusses what is going to happen on the day of unity with the other students at Hexside, and he's the one to get possessed by Belos. So no, Hunter is not an unnecessary character, he's a character that makes contributions to the plot , and major ones at that.

Conclusion

So, that was my mini-essay on why I disagree with Lily's points on Hunter. I had never made a post as big as this one before, but hey, at least I get satisfaction out of defending one of my favorite characters in a show that I like from someone who clearly misunderstands it. So ya...bye

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Spoilers for the Taskmaster season 16 finale below the cut.

Oh my God, Sam. Oh my God. You had to do that to me, didn’t you? You had to bring in a lackluster final prize and not do anything good enough with a doughnut (and that should have been a very Campbell-oriented task), just to make it interesting until the last moment. Come on, Sam. You had such a massive lead a few weeks ago, and I appreciate you wanting to do us the favour of creating some suspense in an exciting finale, but this was taking it a bit far.

I mean, I don’t think Sam Campbell is the only person responsible for creating the suspense. He under-delivered on the doughnut task, but Julian under-delivered (or rather, delivered exactly what we’d expect from Julian Cleary in a task that requires physical effort to do properly) on the exercise task, and I think his five points may have partly come from Greg knowing that would make the final task decide the winner. But still. It worked out in the end.

I have to admit that in this episode, as the scores got tighter, I got so caught up in the competitive side that I was barely able to enjoy the actual comedy. Except for the final filmed task, since that one was a team task where I knew the points wouldn’t matter as Sam and Julian would come out of it equally, and I’m glad that was the one that I got to sit back and enjoy. I love it when a Taskmaster season ends on a really big finale task. All of them try to end on a good one, I think, but most don’t deliver as big as this one did. I think the last time we had a final filmed task as great as this one was season 11, when they ended on the “Activate Jamali” task. That did feel similar to this, in that it was a big remit with lots going on, and they first showed the team of two fucking up a few times because it’s a really difficult assignment but they worked together and managed it, and then we realize that if the fairly competent team of two couldn’t handle this then the disjointed team of three will be a disaster, and then we get to watch the disjointed team of three be a disaster. Great stuff.

Every part of both teams’ attempts at that task was incredibly funny, I couldn’t ask for more from an end to the season. The way the Sues worked together brilliantly contrasted with the way JLS didn’t. Lucy trying to sing and play music for Alex. Julian finding a fire. Susan giving him her outfit. Alex was on absolutely top form, that might be the hardest Alex Horne himself has ever made me laugh on Taskmaster (I add “on Taskmaster” because he’s probably beaten it on No More Jockeys, but Alex has gotten some pretty big laughs out of me on Taskmaster before with his deadpan stuff, and his performance as Qrs beat all of them, I think). Susan dying laughing at the marbles and forks. Sam accusing him of committing a crime. Team Sues genuinely trying their very hardest and being foiled at every turn. The genuine sense of farce and sitcom tropes played perfectly. We don’t need a John Cleese-backed Fawlty Towers remake. We need one starring these people.

But I did spend the rest of this episode concerned that this was also echoing the season 11 finale in that some Australian had established a very strong lead throughout most of the season, started to lose it in the last few episodes, and very nearly squandered it altogether in the finale. Now that I think about it, are Sarah Kendall and Sam Campbell the only Australians to ever play Taskmaster UK? If so, that’s an amazing record they have, with a 100% victory rate. But they also have a 100% rate of making it fucking interesting at the end when it did not have to be. (I think Canadians have a 100% victory rate too, with Katherine Ryan and Mae Martin as the only ones to play so far, we need a season with both Alice Fraser and Phil Nichol for a Canada vs. Australia tiebreaker – though that might be a bad example as Canada would definitely come out losing that one.)

In that way, it actually reminded me of season 10. That was the first season I watched as it aired – in early 2020, I watched all nine seasons that had aired already, and then when season 10 started in fall 2020, I watched it one episode at a time. Partway through the season I decided I very much wanted Daisy May Cooper to win, partly because I liked her, and partly because I found Richard Herring mildly annoying and thought it would be funny to see him lose to her.

I’m still not sure why I found him so annoying. I recently listened to the Acaster/Gamble episode of RHLSTP, and James Acaster kept making fun of Richard Herring for trying to do every task properly instead of trying to be funny, which reminded me that Richard Herring should have been exactly the sort of contestant I like, as I love the ones who do that. The ones who are really competitive and care a lot about winning so they try hard to do everything right. I remember seeing season 10 and thinking it seemed a bit contrived in Richard Herring, like he was trying to seem like someone who was really competitive rather than genuinely caring the way someone like Ed Gamble or Rose Matafeo did. But at this point, I know enough other stuff about Richard Herring to think it probably was real, and I might like him more if I re-watched season 10.

Anyway, the point is that the ending of season 10, like the ending of season 16, very dramatically came down to the final studio task. In season 10, I’d been keeping track of the overall scores in my head throughout the finale, as I knew how they started and would know what it did to them after each task. So I knew Daisy May Cooper was up by only one point going into the live task, and then she built her bridge better than anyone else’s and I thought she had it, she definitely had it because Richard wouldn’t be able to beat that – and then her bridge fell down and that was it.

I was watching that episode with my dad on his TV, and without at all planning to do so, I may have shouted the word “fuck!” fairly loudly when that happened. I obviously didn’t plan to do so, because I don’t normally shout the word “fuck” in the presence of my father. Not that I can never swear around him at all – we have what I think is a normal relationship with swearing to have with your parents when you’re an adult, which is that you don’t have to pretend you never swear. But I do tone it down around my parents out of basic respect. Except when I am so emotionally invested in a TV moment that I get so genuinely upset when it goes wrong that I forget where I am and just yell at the TV.

Honestly – sorry to get slightly more cheesy than this silly comedy show deserves here – that was kind of a big thing for me, at the time. Just knowing I still had the capacity to have that feeling, of being that invested in something that does not matter, enough so I forget where I am and yell something. I’ve said many times that Taskmaster was my way of coping with the lockdowns, but that was a reminder of just how literally I mean that. It wasn’t just an entertaining thing to watch while I had nothing else to do. It was a decent proxy for sport when no sport was available. I think, after spending over 15 years deeply invested in an actual sport, I had gotten genuinely addicted to the neurological chemicals that get activated when you care about the outcome of a competition but don’t yet know that outcome, and Taskmaster was the methadone that I used when COVID took away actual sport and I couldn’t just go cold turkey on said chemicals.

Again, I realize it sounds very weird to call the competition between Daisy May Cooper and Richard Herring on Taskmaster season 10 a significant emotional event for me, but it kind of a little bit was. I remember writing a post that night on this blog (this blog, at the time, was only a few months old), describing my reaction and saying I was rather relieved to know the part of me that could get that invested in competition was still there, because I hadn’t used it in so long and I’d almost forgotten how it felt, aside from a general sense that my life was emptier without it.

To be clear, I am not saying Taskmaster actually fixed the emptiness that occurred in me when lockdown took away sports – obviously, Taskmaster does not provide the same fulfillment as actually participating in actual sports. A huge part of what makes sporting moments special is the fact that I participated, whether my participation was as a coach or as an athlete. Whether it was doing my own training or training someone else, it still meant hours and hours across months and years and years of preparation. Every moment of sporting glory is special because of the many non-glorious moments that we did because we were dreaming of creating that moment. We worked hard for it, and that’s why we get to enjoy it. Or, if we lose, it feels awful but at least it feels like something, the sort of something that just didn’t happen anymore in a COVID world. COVID didn’t just make me miss winning, it made me miss fighting, even miss losing, because, and I’m really sorry for not being able to think of a less cliché way to say this, that was still a moment of feeling alive.

Obviously, watching the comedy panel show Taskmaster did not provide any of that, so I don’t mean it could literally replace sports. However, it did activate just a little bit of the adrenaline that comes from competition, the part that’s associated with caring who wins something and having a bit of jeopardy where you don’t know if it’ll happen. And then being very happy or very angry about the outcome, but knowing that either way, it doesn’t genuinely affect your ability to live.

That last part is key as well. This is something Andy Zaltzman describes better than anyone I’ve ever heard – he has a bunch of material about how sport is the best thing in the world because it’s a safe way for us to have all the excitement that humans naturally crave. We get to take risks, get scared and upset and excited, feel alive, feel like our life has a real purpose and that purpose is being fulfilled – but it’s just something we made up. People recognized that human beings like that kind of excitement, and set up these things called sports that have preset parametres that we all agree to buy into, we all agree to care and to imbue them with meaning simply because we all agree that they mean something, but at the end, no matter what happens, no one fucking dies (usually). And that’s a big thing that I missed in 2020.

I’ve seen people say it’s an American thing to care who wins in a panel show, and I think that’s because American game shows have a big cash prize so the winner actually matters, so people think American fans who care who wins British shows believe there’s also some cash prize there. But I know there isn’t one, I know it doesn’t actually matter in the actual real world who wins. And that’s the point. If there were really a cash prize, then I’d have to pick my preferred winner based on who needs it most. Which in this case is none of them because they’re all varying levels celebrities, some much more famous than others but all successful enough to at least be financially stable, so I’d think about how this money shouldn’t really go to them and would be better spent on causes that matter. And then it all gets less fun. I don’t want to cheer for an already rich and successful person to win money. I want to cheer for someone to win in a sport-style situation where the outcome doesn’t have any genuine real-world importance, but it matters within these parametres because we’ve all agreed to believe it matters. That’s the part that I like.

Anyway. What the fuck was I talking about, again? Oh yes, Sam Campbell throwing a ball on to some other balls more successful than some other people. But God, it was exciting, wasn’t it? I may have complained about him making it unnecessarily interesting, but on the other hand, it’s so much fun when things are interesting. This time I watched the episode by myself, on a big projector screen belonging to the rich couple for whom I’m housesitting, and that’s for the best, because there was no one around to hear how much I yelled at the screen during that least bit. Both when Julian’s ball fell off the thing and It thought that might decide it but maybe there would be another round somehow, and then when Sam’s stayed on and that was it. Victory! It might be the hardest I’ve yelled at a Taskmaster screen since the end of season 10, and this time it went my way!

It's 2023 now, and I'm no longer so desperate for a bit of adrenaline or excitement in life that I need to turn to Taskmaster for it. Sports are back, I've been back at mine, in a reduced capacity due to a whole bunch of factors and I'm having a bit of an existential crisis about it but that's a different issue. The point is, though, that I do still enjoy that aspect of this stupid fucking television show. In addition to how funny it is when Alex Horne makes sly Fawlty Towers references and then requests a bedtime story with a straight face. Or when Julian Cleary explains that Lucy Beaumont is playing a horn because she's French. It's all good. Everything about the show is good. This was a great season.

[male--byleth]

valkyrie should sing more ali project songs. miwaku geki and sei shounen yuugi aren't enough for me anymore I NEED MORE !!

I'm so excited for the upcoming yuukyou seishunka cover w/akatsuki BUT ITS JUST MAKES ME THINK OF MORE SONGS THAT I WANT COVERS OF TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Such as the openings for the anime Rozen Maiden the group did, that anime is LITERALLY perfect, all about dolls and them wanting to reach perfection.

The first seasons song and its second seasons song would fit perfectly. The special's song style doesn't fit as well as the previous ones but this songs lyrics are my favorite out of all of them so I figure I'd still mention it. There is also the remake's opening and although that songs bangs, the lyrics are NOT Valkyrie-like and that is all I shall say.

Also should point out of this picture of the main singer holding a doll of one of the characters in the anime... Sure looks familiar huh....

There is also the other ending for Code Geass (the anime that used yuukyou seishunka) made by Ali project, found here. I apologize for the lack of English lyrics, a translation can be found here.

The lyrics aren't exactly spot on with Valkyrie since the imagery uh, shows more of a nurturing role than something that rules b/c they are powerful. But some of the lyrics such as:

"The world of man is ogreish; what might justice be?"

-

"The mudra of revelation; what might truth be?"

And my favorite,

"O, you chosen princes

Battle: that is your celebratory throne"

When I see this lyric, I connect it to the "princes" being Shu and Mika attempting to take back their throne from fine in Yumenosaki (the battle being their performances).

Even the more motherly lines I mentioned, though not the... exact wording I think Valkyrie would take, but the idea of Valkyrie being an all knowing entity, its beauty impossible to match.

"Ah, I am the beautiful omniscience

The loving mother who birthed you"

-

"Ah, I am the beautifully elegant virtue

The mother's love that nourishes you"

The next song I want to mention is the opening for the anime Kamichama Karin. I've never watched it but from a quick synopsis read, it's about a middle schooler who finds out she can transform into a goddess. Ali project has a pattern with their older songs lyrics if you haven't noticed, they all revolve around all mighty power or have some gothic themes.

The song focuses with the singer being a "goddess" and the listener being a "devil". The goddess talks of all the evil in the world and that it is impossible for the listener to ever reach heaven.

"The wings of a butterfly

Or even the saliva of the angels

Won't take you

to an unseen paradise"

(me when butterfly imagery)

"My body splits apart

And I’ll reunite with a fragment in heaven

We’re demigods"

I LOVEEEE this line. When related to Valkyrie, interpreting this lyric as the goddess being the group itself, as if it is an entity (as it has been referred to in canon before). Valkyrie splits into two parts and they meet again in heaven as demigods.

I will admit though. Part of the reason I want this song covered is because I would love to hear Shu and Mika sing the lyrics Darling and Honey. I would like that very much :) it's time for Shu to say darling, isn't it?

Now for the last song I'll talk about, A Declaration of War Against Fallen Heaven.

Based of the title, you probably see where I'm going with this. There is so much in this song that you can point out my god.

"Our true selves, unknown to anyone,

are the ones capable of changing this dwindled world."

I'm not sure if analysing is even worth it.

"Resist! Even if we writhe in pain from repeated defeats,

onto the scars covering our bodies, let's engrave our dreams.

In order prevent our present memories from being buried,

we must head towards tomorrow."

Just READ it.

"Holding on to our elegant frailty,

can it be that we're merely botched dolls

from God's work of artistic creation?"

Ali Project really liked dolls huh?

"Fight! Our confluent cries will be our oath.

The strength we have brought together

is even more sacred than love."

This has Raisanka vibes. Actually no every Ali Project song has Raisanka vibes I'm not gonna lie.

For honorable mentions: Kotodama reminds me of Ex-Valkyrie tons. The bands most popular song, Kyomu Desen, and the anime is used for does relate to dolls which is always a plus.

Here is a playlist of all the songs I mentioned plus some other other songs that I didn't mention but still love!

I'm SOOOOOOOO happy for the upcoming cover song, I truly do love both the game and this group dearly and seeing them come together again after years is a wish come true!!!! Thank you for reading if you did ^^ I appreciate you

[lena-cant]

I kinda get sad whenever they make a remake of a game that is similar enough in enough aspects that people begin to view it as a replacement for the original game.

Let's take the example of Resident Evil 4, since its remake came out at the beginning of this year and it's fresh in my mind. The Resident Evil 4 remake (let's call it RE4R for brevity) is a pretty great game and in a lot of ways it's a noticable improvement from the original. It rewrites the plot in such a way to shuffle around the order of events, and I'd argue that the result does flow better. The game feels really good to control (I never really had a problem with the original's tank controls but RE4R is still a noticable improvement) and the enemies that you fight are generally more responsive. The game is better (though still not perfect) in the way that it treats women, and avoids (some) of the overt male gazey-ness of the original. A lot of the characters have been redesigned and they generally better suit my taste. They removed (most) of the god awful quicktime events and managed to make interesting sections of gameplay to replace them. All of these improvements make it, in my opinion, a better game than the original and I would probably recommend RE4R over the original if I was asked a question like "if I could only play one of them, which should I play?"

But the thing is, I still love the original RE4 and it is different in enough ways to make it a distinct game from the original. Ignoring the changes that I referred to as improvements previously, the remake also made a lot of changes that I think of as lateral moves. The tone is darker and it leans less into campy vibes than the original. The level design is different and can often feel more sprawling than the original. The voice actor for the merchant just isn't nailing the vibes. You can upgrade the knife but it has durability. It's a whole bunch of little things, really, that make RE4 a different game from its remake that's worth going back to and playing, even when the remake is out and (I would argue) better.

And even the little, shitty annoying things about RE4 are still things I like about it. The quicktime events are bad, sure, but their existence as an early implementation of the concept is charming to me, I see them and roll my eyes. "Oh, those quicktime events, god bless 'em." Sometimes I fuck up with my movement because the controls are less than ideal and I die for it, but that feels to me like a bit of texture in the wall, that subsequently was sanded off. Like, yeah it was giving people splinters, but it just doesn't feel the same with it gone.

I'm not really sure what the point of this post was, I guess it's just "if you liked the RE4 Remake you should play the original too." And more broadly "if you liked a remake of anything you should play/watch/read/etc. the original." If nothing else it'll be an instructive experience in how far that medium has come. I don't know. Maybe I'm just getting old (I was 4 when RE4 came out but shut up) but it just seems really sad to me when a remake like that replaced the original. Especially when it seems like the creators behind them (like with the case of RE4) seem to be wanting to actively revise the history around the game.

When RE4R came out, they just called it "Resident Evil 4," and they retroactively retitled the original to be "Resident Evil 4 (2005)." It feels to me like Capcom wants us to forget the original came out at all. Which would be a shame, because the original is such a fun and interesting and unique game that I'd hate to lose it in the stream of time.

[succstosucculent]

Okay, I binged half of Netflix Avatar The Last Airbender last night, so here are my thoughts so far:

One: if you’re gonna compare it to the original the whole time, you’re gonna have a bad time. If you go into this with the idea that it is an adaptation, a retelling, a kind-of-it’s-own thing like the movie remakes they do every twenty years or so, then it is bearable. Note how I only said “bearable”. The following criticisms are (instinctively) made because I’m subconsciously comparing it to the original, but I feel like I’ve gotten the main points down to “this would be a problem even if it were a stand-alone show.”

Two: niceties are over, time to get into the crit part. Even if you treat it like its own thing, you’d still find faults in it. The pacing feels way off, other fans seem to say the same thing, though this is probably the consequence of today’s super short, eight-episode seasons. It just feels rushed, like, would I have rather they cut some story arcs for time instead of cramming 3 to 4 disjointed ones into the same episode so that nothing goes to waste? I don’t know.

Three: as a consequence of the whole thing feeling rushed and haphazardly condensed, we don’t really have time to appreciate these characters. Like, I know I should like Katara because she was one of my faves from the original, and I know I should like her because of her kind heart and the way she herself grows as a bender along with Aang, but idk, I haven’t been able to connect with this version of Katara yet, and thus I can’t say whether I liked her or not yet. This could be said of nearly every main character we’ve got to meet so far.

(TBF, I did say I watched half of the series last night; maybe the other half will change my opinion on her, and the rest of the cast?)

Four: along with the art of pacing a story, we have lost the art of subtlety. Not everything had to be explained to us, even if we had never seen the original Avatar. We didn’t need to be hit over the head with the revelations we could’ve figured out for ourselves, if we just had the time to process them all. There have been crit blogs that have written about this much more eloquently than I could, so I’m just gonna leave it there.

Final assessment is it’s okay, but just okay. Netflix Avatar is plagued by most issues of contemporary shows, like short seasons, haphazard pacing, lack of developed characters, and the complete loss of subtlety. That being said, it is a feast for the eyes, and if you watch it alone at night like I did, be sure to hit that pause button and take in the views ❤️ Let’s just say though, that I would not be surprised if there wasn’t a Book Two/Season Two.

Oh and also, Jet still hot 🥵