#it's just too mary sue for my taste

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA if I tried to get my friend's character killed?

🎾🐕 for recognition.

I (19M) and my friends (all 18-early 20s, 5 players incl. me but not the DM) play Dungeons and Dragons from time to time, usually once a month.

We just introduced a new player to the campaign, who we'll call Evan (21M). Evan's character seemed a little Mary Sue-y to me when she was displayed to the rest of us, but I don't usually have beef with characters based off of that and just chalked it up to having different tastes which isn't bad at all.

My character has been working very closely with the BBEG and has basically joined their side in their conquest to y'know. Do the thing that makes them the Big Bad Evil Guy. I was super excited to see what the BBEG was up to.

Well, this was our 8th session, and we were about to wrap up Arc 1. My character had finally reunited with the rest of the party at the BBEG's lair, and Evan's character was introduced as being a traveling assassin/Sorcerer that happened to recieve a tip that the rest of the normal party was here.

By the end of the session, Evan's character had spent a third of the game time monologing at the BBEG before slicing his head off. My character is currently half blind and mute thanks to Evan's character [she tried to kill my character and I didn't roll the best on my roll to move out of the way of her blade so now she's missing an eye, and Sara's character cut out her tongue as punishment for working for the BBEG while my character was knocked out], and was kidnapped by Evan's character.

I was and still am PISSED. I'm trying not to be, but it's been driving me insane. Evan keeps on bragging about how he killed the BBEG and keeps on revelling in the scene, and I'm the only one upset by it. He was the BBEG, and you KILLED HIM YOUR FIRST SESSION?! It just seems like a silly thing to be upset about, but it's been really upsetting me and me alone (everyone else saw the BBEG just as that, a maniacal mustache twirler). Everyone is making jokes and laughing, but it was really upsetting me.

My character is very fond of revenge. Anything she has to deal with, she tries to get even with anyone no matter the cost. One of our characters died back in Session 4, and my character ended up being the only one that learnt about his character's backstory: he's a prince, and his family would do anything to give proper punishment to his killer, and his character told mine what to do to make this happen before he died. I am the only one in-game with this information.

We're now on Session 16, almost done with Arc 2, and the current plan is [the DM mentioned we'd have to wait until Arc 3 to act on the prince's last words] to rat out Evan's character as being the killer [she isn't the killer, my character would be framing her, but the BBEG was the true killer and my character is loyal to him] and hope that she's persecuted. Most likely, this would end up with Evan's character dead, but I'm not sure due to how much he's been Mary Sue-ing all over the place [not a bad thing, but his character does virtually have no flaws that have presented themselves opposed to the rest of our party each with a glaring flaw that the DM made us all add in when we first started playing, and her stats are leagues beyond the rest of ours due to what her Sorcerer powers granted her].

I haven't told this to anyone, but I have asked the DM questions about how to execute this plan. I feel like it's going to be a real dick thing, but I think it's well within the realms of what my character would do and I honestly want to knock her down a peg. I don't know if the DM will let me do this anyways, and as I said I don't think Evan's character will even die because she's just got too good of stats so unless Evan rolls Nat 1s she's probably fine.

WIBTA for acting on this?

What are these acronyms?

[goodolddumbbanana]

Tw: hate Puppet.

Okay, I will say something that makes Puppet and Eclipse show fans hate me.

The Puppet and Eclipse show has become really bland since Stichwarth arc over.

And I hate how they handle the Eclipse redemption arc now.

Let's talk about Puppet first. I used to love her, but now, all the feelings I have for her are annoying. She just has to touch everything, and force her way on anyone. She is like a Mary Sue, with her backstory and the way people have to do anything she wants, which it really ironically because she is some kinda God.

She said Eclipse is not the same person as he was before (Eclipse v1), but still when Solar died, she yelled and demanded him to find some way to fix or revive Solar.

She crashed in Eclipse's house, and pressed him into pressure to make him help her fix the thing with KC and Evil Puppet.

She stops him from doing what he wanted (getting the heck out of this dimension's craps) and scams him to sign some contracts, making him forcefully stay with her just because Monty and Foxy didn't want to do the show anymore.

I would like Eclipse's redemption arc more, but with the way Puppet literally forced her into making Eclipse redemption, really leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Because it is not by choice, because you have to be forced to redemption. Because you get everything that makes you, hold you dear, what builds you who you are shred off from you all due because people don't like what you are, so they turn and make you into something more easily to work with. You are not learning anything, you are just changing and you just keep this feeling of hopelessness through all this process, because you have never had a choice on the first place. They never like you. They only like the idea of you and what potentially who you can become...

And with Sun... Yeah, I know what you will say. Just another Sun fan who hates the world. So annoying~~~

But truthfully, Sun has been a butt joke of the show since day 1. He has been belittled, talked down, insulted, tortured or worse, ignored. He likes a trashcan that people keep throwing at because it is funny (which it is not)

PUPPET is All Seeing, but she keeps asking Sun to make a choice about... 'Oh well, let's kill your brother Sun, or you can choose not to, but it will make you a horrible person because that man will destroy everything on his road and everyone will get hurt, all because you don't want to do anything about him.'

She created an illusion of choice for Sun and has Foxy and Monty like lab dogs to do her bidding. What is the point of making Sun choose, when it ended up just for Puppet to do whatever hell she liked?

(Sun pointed that out too on the show, and ironically, people hated Sun for that because it makes him a coward.)

And then, she literally abandoned her son (Freddy) without saying goodbye to raise another son (FC) the one who seemingly she cares more than the one she abandoned.

And even in the newest dimension, I am not talking about Foxy, he just feels like blending with the background now.

Now they have to poke on the biggest hive, Sun and Moon.

I understand what Eclipse comes from, because well, he is always a piece of crap with Sun, but Puppet and Francis and literally anyone else? With the way Sunrise does not want to help and cooperate with Moondrop?

Even with the people outside the universe?

They all think Sun is a problem, or this Sunrise is a problem. Because guess what?

Sure Eclipse can be a misunderstood piss boy. Sure whatever horrible original Moon did can be taken as it is because of his Killcode, and Moon is just a baby who didn't do anything wrong.

But Sun... Sun... Sun needs to do everything right, or else he will be a selfish, cowardly, annoying, idiot...

Because you are just freshly born and you have this thing which is always making you in pain and you have no control or way to stop it. Because all the staff are assholes and these are freshly new friends (Puppet, Eclipse and Francis) keeps asking about the thing that causes you pain since day one and forces you and criticizes you about why you don't cooperate with it, why you don't be nicer with it like it is really easy for them to say. Because you can't control anything even your body, and now they want you to do it, for something that supposedly making your life a torture everyday, leading you even afraid of darkness or wanting to walk outside?

Fat chance. They don't understand, and you don't need them too. Because guess what, it is you the one who deals with consequences of that thing, not them.

I admit this Sunrise is selfish, because like I said before, it is not everyone this easily to forgive like our Sun.

But the way people belittled him (Puppet, Francis,...), forced him to change into Moon model, and express the disappointment when Sunrise doesn't like Moondrop?

Really reminds me of Eclipse v1.

They can sympathise with Eclipse, Eclipse can even sympathise and help Moondrop, but come to Sunrise? No...

Sunrise to Eclipse is just a dense parasite, Sunrise to Puppet and Francis are just a selfish brat.

And it is so sad, because I know where Eclipse comes from, he is just bitter and shit even though he is the one who is wrong but Puppet and Francis? I expect better from them.

And outside the show, this really makes people think it is what Sun, our Sun is like from day 1.

Which it didn't. Sun never knows about Moon's appearance, when Moon comes out, Moon is so angry that he literally tortured and made Sun's life into a living hell for a year. And Sun always wants a brother, Sun asks for a share and guess what Moon says: haha no.

It took Moon a long time to learn that Sun does not deserve to be tortured into his thick head. And When eclipse makes friends with Earth, I'm kinda uncomfortable but agree because this is not Eclipse v1.

But then he hopped into the new dimension and immediately inflected his trauma on Sun like Eclipse v1 used too? And with Puppet helps like she is Lunar v2? Haha, I hate that show now so much.

And this time, Eclipse is not even that hot. And Sun, has no one to rely on, which leaves the situation with a really bad taste.

Hope they do not make this Sunrise and antagonist, or puss over, else I would be very mad.

[unreadpoppy]

bg3, infographics, mysogyny and you

Preface: this is a long ass post that I wrote some many weeks ago, and that because of some stuff I've seen, I'm compelled to finally post it. It's very like a spurn of the moment thing, not extremely well thoght out but I still think it's relevant.

.

Recently, a few people have posted some, in my opinion, really insightful infographics showing the difference in content to how many works (in AO3) there are to the female characters vs the male characters of BG3 and I've been thinking about how it relates to fandom in general, but also...everything.

As a quick rundown, what happens is: almost all of the female characters have a lot less content when compared to their male counterparts (at least writing wise). And I think this is a great moment to stop and think on why is that.

There's a lot of point to begin with but I want to begin with something larger and that is the society most of us are raised in. Obviously, I can't speak for everyone, but I think it's fair to say that most people grew up in places that had its fair share of sexism and give it or take, that does shape how we view the world.

I'll speak from my own experience. Even thought I had a mostly liberal upbriging, I went to a very conservative school and when I was growing up, I saw a lot of videos on youtube that anaylized media in what i can only describe as "god forbid women do anything". Video after video, I saw people commenting on how x female character was a mary sue, how she made no sense and ruined the plot, so many video essays on the """strong female character trope"""" that would end up just enforcing gender roles again. And I'll be honest, this DID affect how viewed female characters.

The best example I can give of this is with bg3 itself. There was one day that I stopped and realized that Minthara was the first time I ever obsessed over a fem character as much as any male character. And the second thought I had after this was 'oh my god why???'

Why did I always cater more to the male characters than I did to the female ones, when most of the times, I liked a lot as well?

I'd like to point out that I've seen the topic of "Most fic authors are cis straight women" being brought up a lot and frankly, I'm not the biggest fan of it. First, because I think it's overall a very...heteronormative way of seeing stuff and it's assuming a lot of stuff that puts a sour taste on my mouth (as a queer woman myself, I really don't like that implication but that's on me). Second, because saying that 'obviously women are going to write more about men' feels very...weird. Third, I just think that this argument fails to really question the why of it all and gives too simple an answer to something is anything but.

One can make the argument that these female characters are written differently than the men, and yes that is true and it's even historical (I wrote a whole project on the invisibility of women in theater through the ages and a lot of it has to do with how women were written, but that's a story for another time).

But I don't think that's true for all cases. It's easy to blame an imaginary writer's room than question that you might have internal biases.

Because at least it's what happened to me. I grew up hearing how female characters were inferior to the male characters and it affected how I viewed them. It's something I had to stop and reevalute and it led me to appreciate characters I once loathed.

And it sucks to realize that. It sucks to realize that even as a woman myself, I was not immune to commiting sexism, that I hadn't fully outgrown the shit I saw as a kid. Does that make me a bad person? No. You're not to blame for being raised in a way that leads you to have certain prejudices.

But it doesn't mean you can't do anything about it.

And no, the solution is not to suddenly go write a bunch of femslash. Because no one is saying that you should feel ashamed for writing more for men, or forcing you to like female characters. But, I ask you to do something much simpler.

Think on the why. Why, even when we love female characters, we don't show them as much love as we do to the male ones. Why we might feel more compelled to write for the men than for the women. Because sometimes it's questioning ourselves that we can find something about us we didn't know and change how we engage with media.

And you can brush this off as just fandom stuff, but I think it does, in some ways, also reflect a bit on how we act as whole as a society. Hell, writing this whole thing made me think of how the way I was raised still interferes with my own sexuality (which is a very personal topic for me to get on here but it was worth mentioning). What I'm trying to say is that sometimes something small is an easier way for us to understand the bigger, systemic issues around us.

I know that it sounds like there's nothing to be done cause fandoms have always been like this. But, personally, this sort of conformity to the norm causes more harm then good. Things won't change unless you decide to do something about it. And the good thing about fandom is that it's small enough that doing literally anything can create some impact than, I don't know, trying to solve big, real life societal issues.

This is getting long so I'm gonna try to wrap this up quickly. No one is shaming you if you write or obsesses more or even care more about male characters than you do female ones. I just ask you to think about it and be honest with yourself. Because then maybe, just maybe, next time you engage with another media, you might end up enjoying a female character much more and obsessing over them just as much.

[pocketmolly]

I love how present Damian is in all of the crisis/events in dc! Like this man is not just Batman's sidekick and it shows I mean of course he won't have the same plot importance as dc trinity or whatever but this guy is shockingly relevant in almost every event (at least in the new52)

1. Dark Knights Metal

The teen titans go to the challengers mountain in Gotham and Damian somehow fucks off from his team (cannon fodder tbh) and ends up inside. There, he meets Green Arrow, Harley, Killer Croc and Nightwing and they fight their way into the (almost?) center. Damian kills dark robin and only through this do the good guys gain the knowledge that enemies can be killed by Nth metal which leads to their eventual victory. (Gotham Resistance)

2. Shadow War

This event kind of centers around Ra's Al Ghul, Talia Al Ghul and Slade after the Robin (2021) so it makes sense why Damian is a major character in it, basically Batman and Robin just kinda hop around trying to stop Talia and Slade from murdering each other. Anyway Damian has a humongous part in the conclusion where he manages to defeat the bad guy himself and Mary Sues his mother into not killing the guy who murdered Ra's. Also this event is kinda goofy where it ends in sunshine and rainbows (Slade is still alive and sets up Dark Crisis) (Ra's comes back as a ghost).

3. Dark Crisis

Dark Crisis gives Damian his little one shot where they portray him as both 12 years old and 34 years old. Anywho, Damian quickly says 'fuck you' to both Jon and Nightwing and goes on his own adventure where his team frees Justice Incarnate (which is the JL of the multiverse) and somehow unlock Dr Light's powers which she uses to stabilise the multiverse??? And don't let the team accomplishments fool you because Damian hacks into a cosmic tuning fork in an ape dimension to find the source of the Darkness??? (Please read Dark Crisis: The Dark Army, it is so good!!)

4. Lazarus Planet

Even the name of this event screams Damian... This event also starts off in Robin (2021) and is the biggest crossover Damian is at the center of. He starts off as a main antagonist where it's mostly a batfam event. Then, at the climax of the event, Damian is converted back to the hero's side when it becomes an international event. He's basically the main strategist and leader in fighting the god, King Fire Bull. There are a bunch of one-shots where heroes are struggling with new or a lack of powers which is why I say it's Damian's first big crossover event, additionally the entire batfam kind of revolves around him, being literally at his beck and call. The ending is also super sweet where Damian rallies the people of Gotham to revive Batman but he also kind of decided to kill Batman in the first place so that's not so sweet. I think this event, though not extremely well written, gives us a taste of what Damian would be like leading the JL (idk if it was plot convenience but everyone just agreed to following orders from a 15 year old) alongside Nightwing and Jon.

5. Night Terrors

In this Damian is revealed to have control over his dreams (which is crazy btw) and he goes to some monk to learn how to resist sleep? Anyway, while the other heroes are snoozing, Damian gets to team up with Deadman, Sandman and his father's unconscious body. It's the classic superhero story where he swoops in to rescue the two and they get the nightmare stone or something. Truthfully, I'm not too sure why they chose Damian specifically to play this role because I'm pretty sure any other hero would have been an okay substitute but I will never complain about Damian content.

This is just off the top of my head and I'm aware Beast World did happen but that event definitely needs its own post because I just absolutely adore it. Anyway, writers have been pushing for Damian to become a major character in DC and I really really hope he gets to be beside Nightwing and Jon when they inevitably (DC will never let them) take over.

[aisling-writes]

Why the real villain of Chhota Bheem was King Indravarma: A meta-analysis of who he really was.

Alternative Title: An episode where I go nuts and have zero backing behind my essay.

(A note to the readers: This essay does not take into account the existence of the Mighty Little Bheem show. The matter at discussion is purely based on the Chhota Bheem show only.)

Most Indian Children born in the late 2000s can easily recognize the musical ensemble of the theme song of Pogo’s crowned jewel: Chhota Bheem. Eyes were glued to the television and clock ticks were memorised for when the show would start because Chhota Bheem to them was not just an animated show; it was an expression, a memory, a piece of childhood, if you will.

And yet, while watching the show through an “adult” lens, Chhota Bheem leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

Why?

The answer, I personally believe, is of two aspects. One would be the obvious irritation in how King Indravarma ruled the land, and the other is about how Chhota Bheem was a Mary-Sue and how the show perhaps needed to be styled around Kalia, his imperfections and his character arc. (But that’s for another time.)

Let’s focus on the topic at hand: King Indravarma. He was, bluntly put, a stupid King.

Imagine a King as such in the real world. A King who had no strong Military, who constantly relied on a 10-year-old for any trivial matter whether it was an external threat to the kingdom instead of sending out an army, did not invest in new technology for the betterment of his people and used it for personal gain. The list can go on and on.

The argument presented here is that King Indravarma as a villain is not a bad evil person but rather how his aloofness was the one reason his kingdom suffered. Being a “villain” does not always necessitate violence and crude language; all it requires is to bring harm to others. And King Indravarma, indirectly, does that.

----------------

“Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer ----------------

On the other hand, we can theorize that King Indravarma was merely “acting” to be stupid and always had ulterior motives behind his every move. This argument is also proven along the way when I dissect his character in this essay.

In fact, this essay reaches a conclusion that King Indravarma was a strategist who was…. stupid. A perfect balance. (But not for Dholakpur.)

--

   I.Outsmarting a kid; getting outsmarted by the world.

When scouring through the deep dark pages of the internet, one question plagued me: How did Chhota Bheem get his powers?

Yes, it’s common knowledge that eating a Laddoo gives him super-human strength but how does he get such a power in the first place? Alas, that’s not an answer that the cartoon canon can answer but it is integral to the next question that follows: How did King Indravarma realize Chhota Bheem had such powers? Maybe he never found out because had he, he definitely would’ve chosen to make all his citizens the perfect citizens. (A strategist, remember?)

It’s natural for any parent to desire the safe protection of their child from the dangers of the world. As seen in Spider-Man, Aunt May chooses to protect the identity of Peter as his alter-ego and would go to any extent for his safe keeping. But why didn’t Bheem’s mother do the same? Why didn’t she hide the powers of Bheem?

Or maybe, she did.

She did try to hide it but somehow it reached the ears of King Indravarma. And King Indravarma strategicallydecided to use it to his advantage.

And I say strategic because, by all rights, Bheem deserved official employment. He worked as a protector of the kingdom more than the soldiers ever did.  He could’ve been a member of the royal guards, or a leader of it too. But instead, the king always played along with the HA-HA Bheem- is- just- a- loyal- citizen- who -helps- sometimes card and gave him no remuneration.

This could’ve had two motives: An economic perspective where he didn’t have to pay Bheem for his services and/or a jealous King perspective where he wanted to avoid a 1789 France Bastille-Storming situation. Empowering Bheem and giving him more administrative power on top of the physical power he already had would make him a dangerous weapon. He was already charismatic and loved by the villagers; it would only be a matter of time until they felt that Bheem would be a better leader than the King himself.

The king further added on to this plan by employing some of the most useless soldiers in his army ever therefore making it seem that the King did try to save his kingdom, but it was to no avail. And at some point, he stopped using the soldiers (probably dismissed them, thus saving even more money for his personal gain) and purely relied on Bheem, a kid who he didn’t even have to pay! (And Bheem, being a “kid” did not have the sense of asking for remuneration as well.)[1]

Smart, isn’t he? (King Indravarma, I mean.)

But also, stupid.

By following this method, he made sure that the one key asset that Dholakpur had was revealed to the entire world. He placed the country in danger from threats all the time! (And I truly mean one asset because by its looks Dholakpur had nothing else to offer. The crops often struggled due to pests, the landscape was unappealing to the eyes, it had no tourist’s income etc.) It’s truly surprising how Dholakpur was not already overtaken by some other colonizer or king because all they had to worry about was defeating one kid. Just one kid. (Yes, he’s strong and what not, but Bheem’s got to have some limit?)

-

      II. Economic drain for… what exactly?

----------------

“Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power.” Brutus in Julius Caesar (2.1.19-20) ----------------

In one episode of Chhota Bheem, King Indravarma had no qualms or shame in announcing that the kingdom had no new bicycles for a bicycle race when the neighbouring kingdom had brand new, shiny bicycles and therefore, Bheem and his friends had to manage with the old bicycles. Either the kingdom was not financially stable to accommodate the purchase of such bicycles, or the king lied that the kingdom had no money.

Let’s explore both the views, shall we?

The kingdom being too “broke” to purchase bicycles implies how financially unsecure it is! Perhaps the kingdom was knee-deep in debts or just refused to spend whatever reserves it had on importing foreign goods. Maybe the kingdom had an import substitution policy (similar to what the post-British India followed) but was not able to implement it seeing how the kingdom had an agrarian economy.

Which brings us to the question: How is an economy expected to grow without any investment in additional technology?

The only source of revenue that was noticed were from the fairs conducted, the crops reaped and Tun-Tun Mossi’s Laddoo sale. And as anyone with two eyes can note: It is not enough. The policies followed by King Indravarma were dangerous to Dholakpur in the short-run and long-run. Inflation was just a door’s knock away for the citizens of Dholakpur! People would’ve been forced to lead even more horrendous lives and forced to spend a bucketful of cash but a pocketful of things! (Again, how the kingdom survived is such a mystery.)

On the other hand, maybe the King just wanted to hold all the gold reserves to himself and did not wish to splurge on any investment in technology for the kingdom. Which again proves how he is a stupid strategist because if he wanted more money, the country needs development. More jobs, more employment brings about higher level of income, GDP and better lifestyle. How are the people supposed to pay taxes to the King if he doesn’t provide them enough opportunity to make money for paying the taxes? It would’ve been more understandable if he invested in their advancement first and then participated in red-tapism and what not.

(Idiot.)

The King, in my opinion, is begging for a Marie Antoinette situation by running around in gold chains and necklaces while his people slog and suffer.

-

     III.   Diplomacy at its finest. Not.

----------------

To say nothing, especially when speaking, is half the art of diplomacy. -Will Durant

----------------

The third, and final facet of why King Indravarma was the real villain is perhaps the shortest and the simplest. [2]

There’s no doubt why Dholakpur was often plagued with terrorists and external threats and challenges from other kingdoms than the neighbouring countries: King Indravarma’s tongue.

Instead of rallying allies and forming alliances with other countries, the king often chose to goad other rulers into competitions of which-kingdom-is-better game which is humorous to think because Dholakpur had no additional advantage except …Bheem. The entire fragile ego of Indravarma’s was built on nothing but a nine-year old boy!

The demise of the King’s pride would be swift and sweet the day Bheem decides to move out of the godforsaken kingdom.

Conclusion

“It is unwise to let a man who isn't king sit on a throne for too long.” ― Costanza Casati, Clytemnestra

Thus, I bring this essay to its end. A hyper-fixation of my childhood has now become a piece of media that will forever make me think of this 1600+ word essay that brings no added meaning to this world.

To you, Bheem, I wish that you escape from the clutches of Indravarma’s stupid reign. Perhaps if the King was just evil I could’ve respected him more. Alas, stupidity is a turn-off.

To you, Dholakpur, I wish that you understand that it’s better to have no king than have Indravarma as a king. Rise and revolt, fellow comrades. History would look kindly upon you.

And to you, King Indravarma, thank you for spoiling my favourite cartoon.

Aisling Elle 16.04.2024

[1] A further note to be added is that the king was a frequent enabler of Child Manipulation because he always made it seem that Bheem voluntarily decided to choose to fight for the kingdom and was not requested by the King. [2] This argument is in reference to the cycle competition that the King engages in with Pehelwanpur.

Part 1 of Random Essays

[glasspyramid2211]

*you can practically taste the bullshit that is this entire stupid cheat filled scenario* ...

Hey! its me the mod!! i had to *erhm* pause them! it seems like all of us are breaking the rules of existance! so not cool! I can tolerate a bit of bullshittery but this is like watching a roblox roleplay! Unenjoyable and kind of boring.

Look, I get it, I used to be a mary sue player too, but, i came to realize that it gets on people's nerves when they try to confrtont you and you somehow avoid it!!

SHUT UP NERD

*erhm* anyways, If you would be so kind as to revert these folk to the states they were before you maimed them, otherwise, I might just retcon this! Yeah! that's right! Retconning OOHH! The Worst Role-Play Sin ever!!!

So yeah! just sayin! (i'm so tired rn)

Also If My characters do cheat (besides this instant)call them out so that I can "repremand" them. I thought I raised some good ocs, not cheats!!

[marianadecarlos]

came back . opinions about period dramas ? would want to watch something lately !! but my french taste its too big to watch period dramas who arent french , you may know better than me about non - french stuff ?

Thank you for your Question

I love period dramas especially if they are historically accurate and entertaining. I like how historical dramas references real life events. Example: The Crown, The Gilded age, The Ministry of time, Downton abbey, and Maria Theresia.

The historical dramas that I would not prefer are the ones that bastardize the historical timeline, costume, and characters. Example: The Tudors, Blood, Sex, and Royalty, The White Princess, and the Spanish princess. (The siesta part made me cringe) They made Margaret Beaufort and Elizabeth of york evil. The White Princess. Her affair with Richard 🤢. I hated when historical drama put modern music into a period drama and movie. ( It can work if it is instrumental and it does not take you away from the period to much example: Bridgerton) but If said music is so modern that it takes you away from the historical setting it just feels wrong Example: Gladiator 2 (A movie that did not need a sequel)

I hate it in period dramas if they decide to insert a 21st century feminist character. In a time period where women are barely educated about their rights. Don't get me wrong there are historical women who are ahead of their time and made great contributions example: Harriet Tubman, Risa Parks, Joan of Arc, Anne Frank, Catherine the Great of Russia, Maria Theresa of Austria, Mariana of Austria, and Marie Curie. There are characters I see in historical dramas that carries beliefs such as refusing to marry, A Mary sue, and I do not need any man trope. These tropes often make these characters annoying and unrealistic.

There is a Spanish Movie about Carlos III reign mainly focusing on esqhilache time as prime minister. Isabel was in the movie. she was amazing! My favorite scene is her discussion with esqhilache. Carlos III in the movie is so cute. I love him.

@chateau-de-gamin @catherinemybeloved @rmelster

[primusdemoniccreatrix]

Dreams of Milk and Honey (The Mandalorian X Earthling Reader)

I was inspired by a need to mother Grogu. I love him, my green son. Yes, I made things up, Marie Kondo style. Sue me. gif by @jedialways

Love, One At A Time

"Okay, there we go" You set up your phone just across from you, propped up precariously from across you on the counter, the device perched upon a strange contraption of wires and some questionable scrap metal that looked like it should be on the outside of the great antique ship the Razor Crest instead of inside but who was going to notice?

Well, someone, but not you. Out of sight, out of mind.

You open up the app, letting the timer start.

"Grogu, we're taping! Come on! Let's start!"

A small wrinkled green child with ears twice the size of its head and a nose as small and cute as a flower bell smiled widely at you, excited for what you had planned today.

"Good morning, and Welcome to the 'Craver Crest' where we make and bake what you're craving!" you spoke into the camera, smiling at your reflection as you speak. You turned and waved Grogu over, speaking once more to a disembodied audience as you kept your eyes on the little baby padding his way over to you, arms outstretched and ready for the world. You cradled him into your arms and had him face the camera with you to 'say hi to your fans!'

"Today and every day, all day, we welcome our sous-chef and taste-tester, Grogu! So today, we'll let Grogu decide what we get to make!" You presented two unused wires, one blue and one red, as choice makers. "So, Grogu, we can make either those cookies you like or we can make a snack sandwich today! Which would you like to pick? Blue for cookies, red for sandwich!" you chirped for him. Under your breath, you hummed the Jeopardy theme song as you smiled at Grogu, his big brown eyes full of innocence and sunlight that had seen too much pain already, living every day to the fullest, eagerly choosing the blue wire like you guessed he would. He did have a sweet tooth after Nevarro, after all.

"Well, looks like we're making cookies!" You grab a bowl and bring it to the camera, filling it with the egg whites and the cream you'd gotten at the behest of a few villagers you'd met several days ago. The places you'd travelled to had often yielded both unimaginable (to you) adventures and was often rewarded with homely little goods or money, but they were often a combination that greatly helped you pick out what you wanted. The last planet you'd been on, a pretty planet named Naboo, had offered you some goods that were easy to keep in the foodstore inside the Crest. The eggs belonged to some animals whose name you couldn't remember, but all that mattered was that the ingredients given to you by some thankful shop-owners you'd inadvertently helped by getting rid of the bounty had thanked you with some confectionary recipes for on-the-go dessert as a thank you, and also gave you at least 3 weeks of ingredients' worth for it! Mando sighed as he accepted, and you were determined to use them; it'd clear the shelves for the 'more important foodstuffs' he'd claim, like the practical grump he was.

"So, we've got our bowl with the rested egg whites, and the yokes I already cooked for breakfast, isn't that right, Grogu?" you asked, turning to the small green child who cooed in agreement, the camera catching your interactions as you spoke on about the ingredients of green sugar, blue cream, some paste that was almost almond-like, etc. You'd no idea that some sugars and milks in the galaxy could come in their own colours like that, but it just goes to show how far humankind could go if they weren't currently warring over dreams of delusional imperialism.

You turned to Grogu often, letting him join in the cooking after introducing the ingredients.

"Here, Grogu, could you pour the sugar in for me?" You'd lift him up and use a free hand to help him pour the contents of the bowl and then kiss his cheek as he laughed. "What a lovely assistant you are!"

"Would you pass me the spatula, dear?" He cooed as he lifted a small spoon, before you told him it was the one beyond, and as he grabbed it, you called him a 'sweet and clever sous-chef!' and bopped his teeny tiny nose before helping him stir the ingredients to finish off the quick recipe. Soon enough, it was time to put the fast-made sandwich batter for the macarons onto baking sheets and warm them, and you and Grogu laughed as you piped little circles of the batter onto a hoverpan, known to be the perfect non-stick pan even in heavy baking! You gave Grogu the important job of holding a small heart-shaped thick wire that worked as a cookie-cutter, and the wire was clean and usable, you'd made sure. Grogu was up to the task, concentrating very hard, his little eyes narrowing to inspect your work and ears perking up at every little heart-shape you both made. He took his job seriously and it warmed your heart every time.

By the time the pan was covered in two dozen hearts, the first two hearts were ready to be baked. In a matter of a few more minutes filled with your storytelling of Mando's most recent hunt, every last one of the hearts were ready, the quick-acting flour doing its job well. "Well, these look ready, so, with my sous-chef's word, we shall bake them! What do you say, chef? Shall we show our audience how to cook?"

Grogu's tiny fists waved in the air as he let out a squeal of agreement, and with a kiss to his head, you placed it into the Crest's oven, no preheat needed.

The wait was only 30 minutes, and you filled that time playing with Grogu, keeping him occupied as he passed you some sugar and milk, spilling a teeny bit as he lifted it to you, and you took it graciously and joked about the milk being excited enough to leap, just to hear Grogu giggle.

Grogu helped you mix, and in the corner of your eye, you could see your phone still recording, you and your lively little green boy stirring some fluffy butter-cream mix together for his cookies. You didn't know if he could read these recipe cards, but he was clearly vivacious, eager for the world, seeing it with the eyes of a child, even though he's known so much pain. This video wasn't just to make a joke and some fun: it was a small part selfish, but a bigger part for Grogu: he was already 50, and considering how young he was, it was clear he was going to outlive you. You didn't know if you'd be able to see him beyond a toddler's age, didn't know if you'd be able to hear him speak English/Basic, didn't know if sometime in the future, he might even forget you, or worse: not have the means or time to do something that makes him happy in a galaxy, a whole fucking galaxy's worth of enemies. You wanted to leave something for him, a memory of something fun, and maybe, just maybe, you'd find some way of living too, even as a little ghost who brought Grogu some joy in his young life. You'd give anything to be with him, but even you were mortal: you hoped you could give him a childhood to look back on before the future comes, whenever it may be.

The timer dinged in the midst of your little game of patty-cake you were teaching your three-fingered companion, and he jumped up, ears perking at the sudden noise. His eyes lit up, and you giggled at his antics. "Looks like our cookies are ready!"

His scream of joy was worth your teeth nearly gritting. His little feet pitter-pattered towards the oven that took you only a few steps to reach, but you walked slowly so as to give him time. "Come along, sous-chef, let's see what we made!" You had to move Grogu from the oven's front as he stubbornly squirmed until you told him hot air might hit him, and when he moved, you grabbed a protective handler and took the hoverpan out, placing it on the counter. You could feel Grogu tug on your clothes, trying to get up, so you picked him up and let him see the cookies.

"Well, it looks like we're finished! We just need to put them on the cooling rack! Would you help me, oh great sous-chef?" you exaggerated with a flourished bow, and a coo answered you in the affirmative. You took Grogu in your hands, took a flat-headed spatula that should be legally classified as a giant screwdriver, and with both your hand and Grogu's on the handle, lifted the first cookie up off the pan, the airy concoction coming up effortlessly, and you flipped it onto a cooling rack, making Grogu kick his little feet in excitement at this new activity. You two continued to flip the cookies, making sure you were explaining to Grogu to 'flick the wrist' and 'be gentle, or they might break before we can use them, okay hon?" and soon enough all the shells were cooling. You checked the recipe card from the shop-owner once more, seeing that the cookie shells just needed "a moment to rise and then it would be ready for the filling"; you turned to Grogu, telling him: "we can wait, right? We're almost done?" He tilted his head at you, and you nodded back, setting him down on the counter. "Well, we heard him, we're almost done and then its time for filling the cookies and eating! Did you want to say hi to the camera, sous-chef? Any words?" You pointed him the camera out to him, and he waved at his reflection, babbling at the phone, before the last clump of green sugar left from cooking caught his interest.

The timer blinking on your phone, and with Grogu occupied within supervision, you decided to add a personal touch to the video.

"So, Grogu and I made some cookies today, and we found out that flipping the cakes is a lot of fun! And that we have to be careful near heat sources, right?" You sighed at the camera, eyes distant, looking at Grogu in the camera who was facing the cookies, watching them with interest. "I hope that this recipe is something that you can enjoy any time, and I hope life gives you many sweet treats as sweet as you are. You're the world to me, baby, I love you so much; I hope you know that, sweetling". You smiled softly at the camera, before your expression turned to one of confusion as a turquoise macaron shell hovered in the air, Grogu's eyes narrowed and hand raised.

"Grogu no! They need to cool-" You got out of your seat and caught the cookie as it was making its way, hissing at the heat remaining on it before putting it back on the rack. You turned back to Grogu, his teeny hand now down as he looked up at you with those puppy eyes that screamed innocence with the gleam of mischief only you, Mando, and other parents could recognize in him. Snickering, you pick him up, cradling him to you, as you spoke with as honeyed a stern voice as you could make: "Grogu, those need to cool before we put the icing in or they'll get mushy and not tasty!"

The last thing the camera saw was a human placing buttercream onto little green shells, and a green baby putting another one atop, making a sandwich, both filled with smiles on their faces, love in their hearts as the human fed the tiny one the first of the cookies, the child enjoying them quite dearly.

Mando heard a beep registering on his vambrace, the alert not important but originating from his ship: your 'phone' he'd connected to his systems had taken a video. He remembered how he'd tracked your moves when you came aboard, and though it wasn't necessary, it was still a precaution that could help, he believed. The notification was a video file, titled Craver Crest1_ Cookies.

Well, it was alliterated?

He opened up the file. His helmet's visor picked up the command, and as he walked down the tunnels back towards the Crest since he'd delivered the bounty, the backdrop of the dark empty tunnel was perfect for the hologram as it appeared from his vambrace's built-in holoprojector.

He watched, nearly stumbling a few times as the passengers on the Crest made the same cookies he'd seen Grogu eat on Nevarro. It was so lovely to see Grogu smile and laugh, and learn about different things while having fun. The sight of him kicking his feet in excitement was something the Mandalorian would carry with him, an image in the back of his head, of just how cute Grogu would get sometimes. He watched as the video ended with the passengers, Grogu and his babysitter, smile and eat, waving goodbye to the camera with cookies in their hands. The video turned off, and the Mandalorian stepped out into the light of the lavender sunset on Tiragon, and made his way back to the ship. He wondered if there would be any cookies left for him? He'd know once he got back to the Cravor Crest, where they made the cookies he was now craving.

[johaerys-writes]

WIP Wednesday

It's that time of the week! Now that I'm back from vacations I've been working on the next chapter of you're a walking disaster and yet-, which is very close to being finished (but augh, the heartbreak):

“So this is how it’s going to be now? You’ll just sit there by yourself and not talk to anybody?”

Patroclus glances up at Achilles, his humble lunch of bread and cheese forgotten in his hands. The sun blinds him and hurts his eyes. Achilles is glaring at him, arms folded before his chest. His eyes are hard and his jaw is set, a muscle playing at his temple. 

“Not anybody,” Patroclus says. “Just you.” 

“Well, too fucking bad, you’re talking to me right now. So just give up the act, okay? It isn’t funny anymore.”

Patroclus' anger flares hot. The fucking mouth on him. “Get out of my face, Achilles.” 

Achilles tsks, planting his feet even more firmly on the ground. “What did I even say to you, huh? What did I say? I just said—”

Patroclus doesn’t wait to hear the rest of it. He shoves his lunch back in his bag and gets up. Recess will be over soon anyway, he doesn’t have time for this pointless conversation. 

Achilles catches his arm. 

“Why are you being like this?” he asks, his voice hard, but Patroclus thinks he can detect a sharp and desperate edge there. “I told you I didn’t mean it like that. If you’d stayed for just one minute…” 

The words peter out into nothingness. When Patroclus doesn’t turn around to look at him, he lets out a shaky sigh. “Pat, come on,” he whispers. “Please.” 

This is the moment, Patroclus thinks. The moment to take the hair tie off his wrist and toss it at his feet, to trample it in the dust for good measure, to pay him back with the same coin. It would be so good if he could do that. It would only be fair. It would make him feel so much better about… all of this.  

The moment the thought crosses his mind, he knows it for the lie it is. He can’t do it. Can’t find it in his heart to cross that line. Maybe he’s just a coward deep down, soft and weak like his father always told him, but he doesn’t want to hurt Achilles, not even in retaliation. Whatever twisted fantasy he had of doing that tastes bitter now that he’s near him. Hurting him would only hurt Patroclus more. And deep down he knows that even though Achilles didn’t keep his promise, Patroclus is still so desperate to hold onto his own. So desperate for this, for him, that it shames him. 

“I have to go,” he mutters, before he can lose his nerve. He slips free of Achilles’ grasp and hurries back to the classroom, with minutes until the end of recess to spare. 

Tagging forth to @baejax-the-great @juliafied @vimlos @pinkfadespirit @elveny @mogwaei @figsandphiltatos @mary-aries @pikapeppa @midnightprelude @annalyia @gloriesunsung @darlingpoppet @darlingsart @elemmacil @peggy-sue-reads-a-book @crunchyncrumbly @sketchass @cosmicvoidance and anyone else who would like to share a snippet of their work, art or fic! (No pressure as always of course, this is just me saying hi 😁)

[emocl0wnpp]

Part 3 of introducing my creepypasta ocs: Wicked Vicky

(SMALL NOTE IF YOU HATE "CRINGE MARY SUE OCS" SHUT UP)

(Also some old art again cuz i used to draw Vicky a LOT)

(Again i forgot Vicky's actual name sooo)

♤Basic info♤

Name: Wicked Vicky

Age: would be 34 now if that says something-

Birthday: 1990/08/26

Nationality: german

Gender: yesn't (biologically female)

Pronouns: any,Vicky doesn't care at all (i use they/them for simplicity)

Sexuality: pansexual

Height: 160cm/5'2

Personality: literally Discord from MLP, chaotic,hyper,literally batshit insane, manipulative, two faced,aggressive,hella smart but acts dumb and naive to trick people, again Vicky is literally Discord from MLP-

Stuff i can't categorize(so basically backstory elements)

Religious trauma.

Both parents were german

Hyper Christian mom and alcoholic dad = whatever Vicky is(nothing against religious people btw don't take it the wrong way😭)

Got locked into a basement from 6 years old until 12

Accidentally summonned a demon(a whole ass goddes)

Made a deal with said demonic goddess and got posessed (that's why their eyes are like that...and why they have black goop coming from their mouth)

Ran away from home at 12 and haven't looked back since

Somehow Jason(the toymaker) stumbled upon little Vicky,and him being him,thinking they wouldn't last around him for long,took them home

Worst mistake Vicky still didn't try to leave-

Jason is like their father figure and Vicky loves and adores him<3

Somehow they and Candy(Pop) ended up together (YES ANOTHER OC X CANON THINGY FIGHT ME)

(Now) best friends with Claws,Alma and Jade(i haven't introduced her yet,she'll be next)

Claws is actually terrified of Vicky (lol)

Alma thinks Vicky cool as hell tho

Jade is like their mother figure

Back to the being posessed thing,Vicky is still working for that demon

Fun facts!!

Like I mentioned, Discord from MLP

With that said,Vicky has the ability to control time,they can stop the time for up to a minute...which is more than enough for Vicky to cause havoc,though they rarely use their powers anymore

Able to bend and stretch in cartoony ways

Their hat has a little dimension in it with lots of clocks and mirrors(they're used to watch over different universes)

Their hammer is H E A V Y,like over 5 tons

Vicky is sort of a demigod,so they have huge strenght

And they're also buff(but still chubby cuz <333)

Would fistfight god

Did fistfight a god before

Poor Vicky never really learned how to read or write,but they're still able do both..just a bit slowly

Absolutely devoted to any person they love,would and will kill anyone for their friends and family

Has the thickest german accent imagineable

Had to be stitched together because of accidents

No sense of danger at all,not like they can die anyway

Even if Claws is terrified of them,they still look up to her a lot,Vicky sees her as a cool aunt

Now Alma is the cool older sibling they can drag into crazy shit

ICP fan (me too Vicky me too)

Used to be my self insert in 2019😭💀

Somehow managed to have triplets with Candy (he was proud of himself for that)

Not the best parent but still managed to give their kids an amazing childhood<3

Closing it with something less wholesome,Vicky ate mice before (said it tasted like cow meat((never tasted cow meat before)) )

The dimension in their hat

(Old aahh drawing💀)

And a playlist

And this template thing

[theclaravoyant]

AN ~ In the not too distant future, Ed and Stede have a conversation about 'the mistake.' Yes Mary Read is puking, so sue me.

For @fictober-event’s Fictober 2023 prompt: “If you don't stop now-"

Masterpost of my Fictober OFMD fics

Fandom: Our Flag Means Death Characters/Relationships: Stede Bonnet, Ed Teach. Ed x Stede MAJOR SPOILERS FOR EP 7. Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Sexual Trauma CW: this fic deals in detail with sexual trauma based on (canonical) mutually consensual but unhealthy or later regretted encounters.

Beautiful

It’s Ed who has Stede up against the wall tonight. His hands dig into that loose, light, wonderful shirt and lift, so they can really appreciate the feel of his belly as he writhes with pleasure and passion and need. Stede moans breathlessly into his mouth as Ed kisses across his lips and his cheek and down his neck, and the last time he’d tried this it got a good response so he gives a little lick and a touch of the teeth against Stede’s collar bone. He’s expecting the smouldering embers of desire to roar up at it, for Stede’s hands to dig into his hair like they so love to do, but Stede’s response is lacklustre. Hm. Maybe he’s not doing it right, or maybe Stede’s just not feeling that one tonight.

“Ed?”

“Mmnyeah?” He’s thinking, maybe I’ll try the ear this time.

“Stop.”

“Oh. Okay.”

The steam fizzles, only the ghost of it lingering in the air. His lips leave the skin of Stede’s neck, and immediately he feels parched. He drops reluctant hands from Stede’s waist. He’s not used to pulling back like this, but he can’t imagine continuing when he sees Stede’s face: tense, almost panicked, and the more Ed looks the worse it gets.

“What’s going on?” he asks. Concern floods through him. He’s starting to recognise that face now. It’s a face that happens right before one or both of them gets tempted to self-sabotage and blow everything up. “Let’s… talk it through.”

Stede cringes at the sound of his own advice. Shame flushes his cheeks and the back of his neck and he wants to run away and bury himself in the blankets. He avoids Ed’s big, beautiful, prying eyes with everything he has. At least he knows he’s spiraling this time, but knowing is different from stopping himself as he sinks into a quagmire of guilt. Knowing is different to being able to put words to it. But if they’re going to get anywhere, and so help him they’re going to get somewhere with all this, he has to try.

“I … just thought,” he manages, and thinks of how cold the air had felt as he was marched through the forest in his nightclothes. Of the smell of gunpowder. Of the sour taste it had left in his mouth when Ed had told him he was running away to fish. “If you don’t stop now… you might… do something you regret.”

“What are you talking about, regret? Pretty sure I’m the one about to rip those pretty little buttons off your pants.” Ed laughs just a little. He means it cajolingly, suavely, flatteringly, but he hears it land wrong and grimaces. He’s still getting the hang of this sincerity business. Stede shoves him away and he lets himself be shoved, circling around to follow him and pleading silently, don’t blow this up don’t blow this up.

“I’m serious, Ed!” Stede cries. “Don’t make another mistake just because of me.”

“I’m serious too, Stede!” Ed cries back, although maybe doing it in the same tone isn’t the best choice of the moment. “What the fuck do you mean ‘a mistake’?”

Too late it hits him. He was standing on the balcony. He was telling Stede that their timing was off, that he hadn’t been ready, but that’s not what he’d actually said. Not all of it, anyway. He’d said I think last night was a mistake. 

“Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh,’” Stede retorts, but it lacks its usual edge. He looks so helplessly forlorn Ed desperately wants to kiss him but that’s so obviously the wrong decision that he watches helplessly instead, until Stede can psych himself up to say more. To voice the pain that’s been weighing on him at long last.

“It was meant to be beautiful, Edward,” Stede says, his voice cracking, eyes filling with tears as it all comes flooding out. “I really needed you, and it felt so good to me, I felt so strong and wonderful and free and it was so- it was so different than what it’s been like before. It felt like how everyone promises it’s meant to feel. And then I find out you never wanted to be there and I violated you too and I. I never wanted to hurt you, Ed, I never wanted to hurt you–”

Sobs shake his frame, threatening to overwhelm him. And it breaks Ed’s heart, it breaks his heart, and for a minute words fail him in the face of it. He presses their foreheads together instead, desperately, and finally Stede takes a deep breath. His hammering heart slows. 

“Stede,” Ed says, and he says it like a promise. “I don’t regret you, okay? Not for one second. I wanted to be there, and you didn’t hurt me. You didn’t violate anything.”

“Okay.” It’s easier said than done, to really listen, but he’s trying. Part of him is here with Ed, foreheads together, breathing the same air. But part of him is still in that forest at gunpoint. Part of him is stuck washing up in the bathroom after laying with Mary, knowing they both feel lonely and awful and cold. A defiler of beautiful things.

“It was beautiful,” Ed insists, “and I swear you didn’t make me feel anything but needed and wanted and loved.”

Needed and wanted and loved. Such small words, to fill such a cavern inside of him. He can still remember Stede’s hands, Stede’s lips on him. Hungry. Reverent. Beautiful.

“You weren’t ready.”

“Maybe not. But even I didn’t know I wasn’t, mate. There’s nothing we can do about that. Sometimes timing just sucks.”

“How do you know you’re ready tonight, then?”

“I guess I don’t. But I think I am, and that’s the best I can do. At least until Buttons’ little magic book shows me how to see the future. Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah.” Stede nods. “But if it’s all the same to you, I don’t think I am.”

“Okay." Ed keeps his gaze for a long, grounding moment. He lifts his head, to kiss the spot where he’s been resting, and he cups Stede’s face in his hands. “What about this? Is this okay?”

“Mhmm.”

Ed wipes the tears from Stede’s cheeks with his thumbs. He nudges Stede’s chin toward his own.

“And this?”

“Yeah.”

A soft, gentle kiss.

“Okay. Tea and a game of superchess then? Haven’t thrashed you at that in a while.”

There’s a sparkle in Ed’s eye and in spite of himself, Stede smiles.

“Perfect.”

[alexissara]

Top 10 TTRPGs I want to play but haven't yet.

It's time to talk about TTRPGs, in particular, one's I think look cool but haven't got a chance to play yet. I am only going to include games that are out right now because they exist and I could potentially play them like, tonight otherwise. Games being on this list aren't really a sign of quality or not, I'll explain what is drawing me to them but I have no fucking clue if their good or not, haven't played them in in several cases haven't read them.

Tension

This game is more intense then my standard taste but it also seems incredible. I think the cat and mouse action, the queer longing for someone dangerous and the intense fallout of things no matter what way things go just sounds, ahhh so much fun. Plus I really love TTRPGs I can do 2 player, it's a lot easier to arrange a 1 on 1 session with someone then getting 4 people to all agree to be in a room together for multiple hours.

Lesbian Werewolves On A Beach

I mean, you put Lesbian in your title and I want to play it. I love beaches, werewolves and lesbians, it's that simple. I don't have a whole lot more to say, it sounds like my kinda thing, that's it, I wanna play it.

This World Summons Too Many Heroes

Really I just wanna see how other people are doing Isekai TTRPGs. TBH, I have no idea if this one is good, no idea, I skimmed the book but I am really here for the gimmick. I want to read it, study it and then hopefully play it. I really like Isekai type stories and have done Isekai type settings before and will probably do them after for TTRPGs so it's good to see the work others are doing.

Fate

This is one I've tried to play several times but never got through a session 0. Fate has such a roleplay focused form of play that always captivated me since I first heard of it. The way you get strengths and weaknesses and the way your traits work, it's just, a really exciting system that is so flexible and so well positioned. This system is a staple in the TTRPG space now and unlike a lot of other staples it's one I actually want to play.

Power Couple

Looks like a cute way to tell fantasy romance stories, I wanna try it. My favorite trope in the world is the power of love conquering all. This us against the world game is just exciting, totally focused on an existing relationship an the way they handle the obstacles ahead of them. I am thrilled at the idea of playing this.

Only One Bed

This collection of mini games are just really cute and I think it be fun to take a set of characters through an AU for each game. Each games concept is fairly simple but pretty cute. I think this could be a really fun game for a nice shipping session where I take a pair of OCs that date in some roleplay and get to explore their love from a bunch of lenses.

De:throne

I am all about killing gods, that's basically what I do in any TTRPG. However, a focus on this mechanically just seems like perfect for my taste. I really want to see how this game handles it and if this can be a staple in my play! I really look forward to telling a story focused on god slaying.

SUEper Powered

This game feels like it just gets me. I want to play a game where we are all really overpowered and it's just like a really cute and fun and emotional and sweet power fantasy. This whole hearted powerful embrace of playing a group of Mary Sue's is just really sweet, so often people try to make a game balanced but there is something great about characters who just kinda fucking rock. From Sailor Moon to grand magicans to Goku, sometimes you just kinda wanna be someone who is the best and I think a group of people who rock is suck a fun fantasy for me.

The Exceptionals

I am so curious about this games mechanics, after reading it I was really excited about giving it a try but i haven't found the right group or time yet. While I fell out of love with super heroes I can't deny a part of my hear still wants to tell stories about heroes. Masks: A New Generation just isn't for me anymore but this though I think is a tool to tell super hero stories I give a shit about.

The game itself is super well written and is one of those games where I read it and saw the mechanics and since then have been itching to go into character building.

Cozy Town

While these games aren't in any particular any game designed by Rae Nedjadi is gonna be on the top of my list. Basically any Rae game I haven't played is also in this spot, Cozy Town is just sitting on top because I bought it and it is very cute. While normally I play games based around killing gods and complicated political situations and stuff like that, it be nice to have a game to play that is just like, "Hey, let's live a little utopian life for a minute". I think this really scratches an itch I didn't even know I had until I read it.

-----

If you liked this list and want me to talk about anything else let me know, tell me what your wish list of games you want to play are.

[lunalit-river]

[Random Babbling] To match L's "slightly evil", so does OCs

Often times when reading self-inserts I could feel somehow the L was a bit too perfect. The perfect introvert lover. In self-inserts fics, it's good, I think, which matches people's tastes.

When writing my own OC and reading other people's OC, the thing that I really wanted to see is the author acknowledging L's flaws. Not the ones that "they're flaws, but they're cute"- no, I mean, real flaws, the flaws that would make you "Hmm. That's...not okay. That is not a person that I would love personally."

I often think that if L is a person in real life, he is definitely not the guy that girls would find attractive or anyone would want to come close to. judging from the first impression, there is no incentive for a normal person to get close to him. Unless you are an extrovert and you could befriend anyone in your classroom, including that weird guy who never wears shoes and chews on his thumb like a baby, sits in the corner of the classroom, and always litters candy wraps. ALL THE TIME.

Acknowledge that L is weird and quirky. Acknowledge that an OC to love such a person is no normal person. Aside from Mary Sue, write an OC with some sort of flaw that matches L's flaws, and then it comes together that they should be together because it's reasonable for a person not that normal to be with L. Give the OC a slightly evil trait. It does not have to be huge, but enough for you to feel, "Okay now that's not really okay, but it...it makes sense"

View L realistically. It's like knowing him in person and a friend of mine when I write him. One of my friends in real life is compassionate, gentle, and caring, but I also admit that she nags, she is depressed, she overanalyze things, and maybe a bit too into politics. It doesn't stop me from liking her and being her friend. I know her flaws realistically, and she may not do a good job in some positions unless a drastic change in life shapes her personality.

As for L, he is a great detective, perhaps a nice lover, but you have to admit that he would choose work before his lover but still maintain to protect him/her. He definitely is not a husband that would cook for you or help you with housework, unless you teach him hand in hand. More often times, he knows how, but he is just not interested. He won't budge. And that drives people crazy. As a father? No, BIG no, the child would hardly see him around and only know that daddy is busy all the time, and therefore he would be closer to mom, and L wouldn't really care if his child is close with him or not.

Acknowledge these.

Or maybe it's me making L more neglectful and more realistically ugly and giving him a reasonable plot to change, learn, develop, slowly become human, and grow.

[greypetrel]

Some spoilers from a person trained in literary criticism, after opening youtube and cringing hard at the title of a video and it had me screeching in annoyance at people who thinks consuming a lot of fiction automatically makes you a Literary Critic, and that will mix personal taste with objective truth.

A long, rantful tirade under the cut that I may or may not delete later.

ALL art is derivative. Or at least, Literature surely is. The great breakthroughs are so because they refused some conventions. Meaning that they had those conventions in mind and actively chose not to follow them. They're still derivative. Using "Fanfiction" as a slur is perfectly pointless and not that slur you think it could be, and "originality" is not something we should praise so much and looks so much to... Not if we don't want to be disappointed. Nothing is truely original in art, not in the "Never done before" way (one could argue that early cinema was original? Oh sure, as a mean of expression! But take a moment and consider "People travelling to the moon" as a theme in literature. I can trace it back at the II century AD, and I wouldn't be surprised if the theme came up before that in other cultures I am not so knowledgeable of. Méliès' Voyage dans la Lune is original in execution because cinema was new... As for the story? Still derivative!

The concept of "Mary Sue" as a slur should die. Really. Stop. That type of character may not speak to you and that's very valid, it's your right in not liking it! still doesn't make it objectively bad or evil, or something to despise. Two people will read the same book in two different ways. That's the beauty of literature: it's not high school math which has a right and a wrong answer. Literature and Humanities work in shades of grey. If some people need to have a main character that's clumsy, that's beautiful but very unsure of herself, that's important to the story, so they can identify themselves in her and maybe gain some more trust in themselves, what's wrong? There's nothing wrong in liking, in needing a Mary Sue, and there's equally nothing wrong in disliking her. It's just a matter of taste and of the right moment you read her. I read Twilight in three days because by that time I WAS clumsy and unsure of myself, I WAS just in high school after years of middle school being bullied. I could relate to Bella, and it felt nice, at 14, to see that even if you can't stand on your feet for more than 10 minutes, you can still live adventures and be loved. I stopped reading the saga because the "Edward dumped me and I stopped living" didn't resonate with me at all, and I didn't go further in my reading. Years of Liceo Classico and Academies got me hating Twilight because EEEEEW BELLA IS A MARY SUE EEEEEEW. That's bullshit.

Personal taste =/= Judgement over how good or bad is a book. I am sorry to relate this to you, but no, reading a lot of fiction doesn't make you a literary critic. Because good literary criticism takes the context into account to judge a book. You can't separate a book from its context, particularly when you're talking about classics, but also talking about modern books. Because no author lives in a bubble and doesn't act influenced by the society they live in. There are objective parameters to judge a book! But beside the fact that most authors played around it, and that those parameters are also HIGHLY depending on the context we're in (just as an example: Shakespeare was HIGLY unpopular in XVIII century Enlightment criticism. Voltaire hated the guts out of him and didn't consider him a good playwriter... Because Shakespeare didn't follow the Ancient Greek/Roman theatre criteria that the Enlightment preferred. That's just it. So you see, criteria vary too with the historical context. A book celebrated today may not be celebrated tomorrow.). But: you can like and dislike Classics. It's ok. It's normal. You have a personal taste, and the fact that a book has some objective value that makes it a classic and makes the book worth studying is totally separated from your personal taste and should always be kept separate. I majored in English Literature: I know that Dickens is a hugely important author, I know why he is and why he's in literature history books, why we study him and with reason. It doesn't change that I find Dickens' books terribly boring, they don't speak to me, they're out of my taste and preferences. Hard Times was probably the only book in my uni I couldn't bring myself to finish and read the summary on Wikipedia of. I tried, it isn't for me. I still think they should be studied in school, because they're very important for their period, and hugely useful to understand Victorian mentality and context.

That's it, welcome to my TED talk, I'm sorry for the tirade but I opened Youtube and there was a video titled "Is Rings of Power Galadriel a Mary Sue??" which had me fuming from my ears.

What if she is? Who cares? Just say you didn't like the show, that you imagined Galadriel in a different way and that's it. Don't deminish people who on the other hand liked her.

I promise, you can write your opinion of a book/show/media as just your personal opinion and impression. I swear it's fine, anyone who studied Literature would know that criticism is just that and doesn't mean much, that you can like a movie that's technically bad and dislike a movie that's technically great and that's perfectly fine and valid.

You don't need to make it an universal experience and an objective truth to be entitled to your opinion. Good taste is overestimated anyway. Embrace the trash. You're not a better person if you only like critically acclaimed stories, believe me, it took me years to realise it.

But still, if you want to write some proper criticism... Context is essential. Otherwise you read Jane Austen and you think she wrote romances. Which she didn't. She was a social satyrist and a terribly brilliant one. We just read her out of her context, we have lost the parameters to grasp the criticism because we live in a different society. The romance is all that's left. You can read Pride and Prejudice just as a love story... But if you want to write a critic essay over it, you can't treat it as such. You can say "I liked the romance plot the best!" and still say it's a brilliant satyre. But you have to know it's satyre.

[usergreenpixel]

MALMAISON MEDIA SALON SOIRÉE 14: AT ABOUKIR AND ACRE (1898)

1. The Introduction

Hello, Dear Neighbors, and welcome back to Malmaison Media Salon. So, as I’ve said before, today we’re going to talk about a book by G. A. Henty, one of my archenemies!

Why archenemy?

That’s just how I label authors whose shit I reviewed before. Henty’s “wonderful” book about Frev left a bad taste in my mouth for a long time, so I was understandably mistrustful of any other piece of his.

However, after finding out he has one more Frev book AND several Napoleonic ones and this one (About the Egyptian Campaign, between the two eras), I had to make another review in spite of my lower than six feet expectations. So I went on Project Gutenberg to download the ebook for free. That’s where you can get it by the way.

But hey, maybe this book is better than the one I reviewed before. It’s always a possibility, right? The short answer is no. The long answer is not at all.

For an even longer answer, let us finally proceed with the review, which I dedicate to @koda-friedrich , @blackwidowmarshal123 and @aminoscribbles .

2. The Summary

As you might guess from the title, the book is set during the Egyptian campaign and, in classic Henty fashion, has a young English boy as the protagonist.

Edgar Blagrove, the boy in question, is a son of an English merchant who is left behind in Egypt during the war, so the book follows his adventures as he’s trying to survive, reunite with his family and have adventures along the way (as you do).

Even though Henty’s books are targeted at young boys, the premise sounds like something that I would actually enjoy, but I didn’t.

Let’s dissect this book to find out just how bad it gets, shall we?

3. The Story

The beginning isn’t so great. At first the opening scene promises some action, yet the immersion is broken like glass a couple of pages in with heaps upon heaps of Edgar’s backstory. Nice job, Henty…

Luckily, it’s the only time an extensive flashback like this is used, but the pacing can get about as fast as snail because often pieces of information get repeated in dialogues when nothing bad would’ve happened if the author avoided said repetition.

Moreover, while in the first half or so of the story the hero’s ways of getting out of problems stay realistic and justifiable, the second half has Edgar cross so far into Mary Sue territory that he may as well be called Gary Stu.

(Spoilers ahead)

This kid gets hired by SIDNEY FUCKING SMITH as a midshipman and interpreter. I’m not kidding, that’s an actual plot point!

Let me repeat: A kid who DID NOT previously serve in the navy is made midshipman and interpreter by SIDNEY SMITH, who meets said kid by pure coincidence! And only the interpreter part is justified, since Edgar was educated in several languages from a young age and learned the mother tongues of servants and citizens of Cairo too.

That, in all honesty, was the point where I just lost what little investment I had because it just became too apparent that everything will be fine and Edgar will have a happy ending.

4. The Characters

Before crossing the Gary Stu threshold, Edgar actually had potential to be a good character.

He is a reckless kid who was so bored with his monotonous life in Cairo that he wanted to see the English kick the French in the ass.

He cares about his friends, is kind and ready to help his loved ones and sometimes makes risky decisions.

But then he just becomes somebody who is always right and he gets too perfect. So all the potential goes down the drain like a dead goldfish. Hooray…

Sidi, an Arab boy Edgar rescues in the beginning of the story, is a bit more interesting, mainly due to his dynamic with Edgar as basically adopted brothers. He and his family provide Edgar with shelter in their oasis and help him out in a time of need too. Unfortunately, Sidi is a bit of a flat character for someone who gets a pretty major role in the story, but Henty isn’t too good with characters anyway.

Other characters are flat too. To various degrees. Unfortunately, that’s all I can say because there’s a ton of characters.

However, English officers like Nelson and Sidney Smith are whitewashed and glorified to no end. Henty loves sucking the dick of English nationalism, but I already saw that in my other review so no surprise there.

As for the French side of things… I was genuinely surprised that Napoleon was NOT portrayed as Devil Incarnate and it’s mentioned that he does care about his troops.

Many historical figures are name dropped but don’t appear in person, such as Kleber, Desaix, Junot, Menou, etc. Personally, I’m glad they don’t get a cameo in person for several reasons:

A) the book isn’t about them

B) it would be too unrealistic for Edgar to meet those people

C) after the atrocious portrayal of Montagnards, I DO NOT trust Henty with accuracy when it comes to French Republican generals

Eugene de Beauharnais is omitted once again, even though I’m pretty sure he participated in that campaign. Oh well, shout-out to Eugene from me!

5. The Setting

Henty is, once again, bad with settings and his descriptions are, at times, too minimalistic.

I didn’t feel the action in battle scenes, I couldn’t envision the oasis, the streets of Cairo or any other settings. There’s just not enough to achieve immersion.

6. The Writing

The writing is old fashioned, as it was a book written in the 19th century, but for people who are fluent in English there shouldn’t be a lot of issues with comprehending the vocabulary, except maybe all the naval terms that have no definitions given. Grrr…

I can’t necessarily call Henty’s writing awful, but it’s not for me so it didn’t help my overall impression of the book.

7. The Conclusion

Even though it’s not as bad as “In the Reign of Terror” was, it’s still not a book I would recommend and the improvements are insignificant.

Most characters are still flat, the annoying nationalism has still reared its head, the pacing is longer than the Amazon River and the protagonist becomes a Gary Stu in the end.

The verdict? Please find something else to read.

Anyway, the soirée is officially coming to an end. Please stay tuned because more updates are coming soon.

Love,

Citizen Green Pixel

[cherienymphe]

What are your top 5 AHS seasons and why?

Oooooo ok I know one of these is going to be super controversial so

5. Asylum

"Um Cherie wtf? Why is the best season ever so low?" BECAUSE ITS NOT THE BEST SEASON EVER. I love asylum and it definitely had some amazing plot lines (sister Mary Eunice becoming possessed is a top 3 plot line in the whole show) but asylum just had too much going on for my taste and I know I'm the odd man out because this is the favorite season of just about every fan but to this day I just can't love it as much as everyone else. On top of everything in that season they really decided that it also needed aliens. I'm sorry but I was done 😭 with that being said, it still makes the top 5. Stan Lana Winters

4. Roanoke

I know what you're thinking and no I haven't lost my mind. I loved Roanoke. More than Asylum. Sue me. I thought it was very different and it was a nice different that was a change of pace from the same story style of all the other seasons. Roanoke was also the season that got back into the horror factor imo. It was the first season to genuinely creep me out and scare me in like 3 seasons tbh. Idk but this season really had me hooked. I watched this one live and each week my mind was spinning

3. Apocalypse

Ok this is where it got pretty hard because I feel like my top 3 are going to be obvious but it was just a matter of who was going in what spot. I'd love to put apocalypse at number 2 (because if you've been here for a long time you know what's going in number 1) but the ending really cast a shadow over the whole season. It's still miles better than most of the other seasons but that ending still rubs me the wrong way.

Apocalypse was an era okay? The way I was seated every single week for this season was insane. It's the crossover season between my favorite seasons and it's 95% perfect. Michael Langdon is a great antagonist and I really enjoyed seeing male witches. Returning to the coven was exhilarating and I just really enjoyed seeing the schools explored upon more. Not to mention the return of some of my favorite characters. They chose the perfect season and character for Cody's AHS debut

2. Coven

Arguably the most iconic season. Very quotable. Everybody was acting DOWN. I love anything with witches but especially southern witches and setting this season in Louisiana couldnt be beat. That alone makes this season so personal and near and dear to my heart. This season had me on the edge of my seat every episode and half of AHS' most iconic characters came from this season alone. I enjoyed the inner workings of the coven and seeing witches go toe to toe with each other. Fiona and Marie Laveau were just teeew good and putting Jessica Lange and Angela Bassett in the same season deserves to get your ass ate. With all of that being said, the later half of the season did not live up to the first half but season 3 is still way better than the majority of the show

1. Murder House

This should surprise no one. AHS really came out the gate SWINGING bc murder house is that bitch and will always be that bitch. There isn't a single thing I would change about this season (and that's why some things in apocalypse rubbed me the wrong way). This season was horror galore and easily one of the creepiest seasons. This season alone is solely responsible for teenage girls everywhere thirsting over a blond shaggy haired serial killer. Some of the plot twists in this season had me GAGGED! And this season (along with season 3) made me really attached to the characters that I think some of the other seasons failed to do. It got to a point where you wanted these people to make it out of that house and it still hurts sometimes when I think of their fate